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freely and revealed to him everything concerning her history save only a few things regarding her supernatural revelations which her voices had forbidden her to tell to anyone and that the unjust judge was a hidden listener all the time now you understand how the were able to devise that long array of questions questions whose and ingenuity and penetration are astonishing until we come to by of arc ber s performance and recognize their source ah bishop of you are now this cruel these many years in hell yes verily unless one has come to your help there is but one among the that would do it and it is futile to hope that that one has not already done it of arc we will return to the court and the did they make you still another promise yes but that is not in your i will not tell it now but before three months i will tell it you the judge seems to know the matter he is asking about already one gets this idea from his next question did your voices tell you that you would be before three months often showed a little flash of surprise at good of the judges and she showed one this time i was frequently in terror to find my mind which could not control the voices and saying they counsel her to speak boldly a thing which she would do without any suggestion from them or anybody else but when it comes to telling her any useful thing such as how these manage to guess their way so into her affairs they are always off attending to some other business i am by nature and when such thoughts swept through my head they made me cold with fear and if there was a storm and thunder at the time i by of arc was so ill that i could but with difficulty abide at my post and do my work answered that is not in your i do not know when i shall be set free but some who wish me out of this world will go from it before me it made some of them shiver have your voices told you that you will be de from this prison without a doubt they had and the judge knew it before he asked the question ask me again in three months and i will tell you she said it with such a happy look the tired prisoner and i and drooping yonder why the floods of joy went streaming through us from crown to sole it was all that we could do to hold still and keep from making fatal exposure of our feelings she was to be set free in three months that was what she meant we saw it the voices had told her so and told her true true to the very day may th but we know now that they had hidden from her how she was to be set free but left her in ignorance home again that was our understanding of it s and mine that was our dream and now we would count the days the hours the minutes they would fly lightly along they would soon be over yes we would carry our idol home and there far from the and of the world we would take up cur by of happy life again and live it out as we had begun it in the free air and the sunshine with the friendly sheep and the friendly people for comrades and the grace and charm of the meadows the woods and the river always before our eyes and their deep peace in our hearts yes that was our dream the dream that carried us bravely through that three months to an exact and awful the thought of which would have killed us i think if we had it and been obliged to bear the burden of it upon our hearts the half of those heavy days our reading of the prophecy was this we believed the king s soul was going to be smitten with remorse and that he would privately plan a rescue with s old d on and the and la hire and that this rescue would take place at the end of the three months so we made up our minds to be ready and take a hand in it in the present and also in later was urged to name the exact day of her but she could not do that she had not the permission of her voices moreover the voices themselves did not name the precise day ever since the of the prophecy i have believed that had the idea that her was going to come in the form of death but not that death i divine as she was as she was in battle she was human also she was not solely a saint an angel she was a girl also as human a girl as any in the i n j full of human s and by of arc and and so that death no she could not have lived the three months with that one before her i think you remember that the first time she was wounded she was frightened and cried just as any other girl of seventeen would have done although she had known for eighteen days that she was going to be wounded on that very day no she was not afraid of any ordinary death and an ordinary death was what she believed the prophecy of meant i think for her face showed happiness not horror when she uttered it now i will explain why i think as i do five weeks before she was captured in the battle of her voices told her what was coming they did not tell her the	34
day or the place but said she would be taken prisoner and that it would be before the feast of st john she begged that death certain and swift should be her fate and the brief for she was a free spirit and dreaded the confinement the voices made no promise but only told her to bear whatever came now as they did not refuse the swift death a hopeful young thing like would naturally cherish that fact and make the most of it allowing it to grow and establish itself in her mind and so now that she was told she was to be delivered in three months i think she believed it meant that she would die in her bed in the prison and that that was why she looked happy and content the gates of paradise g open for her the time so short you see her troubles so by of arc soon to be over her reward so close at hand yes that would make her look happy that would make her patient and bold and able to fight her fight out like a soldier save herself if she could of course and try her best for that was the way she was made but die with her face to the front if die she must then later when she charged with trying to kill her with a poisoned fish her notion that she was to be delivered by death in the prison if she had it and i believe she had would naturally be greatly strengthened you see but i am wandering from the trial was asked to definitely name the time that she would be delivered from prison i have always said that i was not permitted to tell you everything i am to be set free and i desire to ask leave of my voices to tell you the day this is why i wish for delay do your voices forbid you to tell the truth is it that you wish to know matters concerning the king of france i tell you again that he will regain his kingdom and that i know it as well as i know that you sit here before me in this she sighed and after a little pause added i should be dead but for this revelation which comforts me always some trivial questions were asked her about st michael s dress and appearance she answered them with dignity but one saw that they gave her pain after a little she said by of arc i have great joy in seeing him for when i see him i have the feeling that i am not in mortal sin she added sometimes st and st have allowed me to confess myself to them here was a possible chance to set a successful for her innocence when you confessed were you in mortal sin do you think but her reply did her no hurt so the inquiry was shifted once more to the revelations made to the king secrets which the court had tried again ana again to force out of but without success now as to the sign given to the king i have already told you that i will tell you nothing about it do you know what the sign was as to that you will not find out from me all this to s secret interview with the s king held apart though two or three others were present it was known through of course that this sign was a crown and was a pledge of the of s mission but that is all a mystery until this day the nature of the crown i mean and will remain a mystery to the end of time we can never know whether a real crown descended upon the king s head or only a symbol the mystic fabric of a vision did you see a crown upon the king s head when he received the revelation by of arc i cannot tell you as to that without did the king have that crown at i think the king put upon his head a crown which he found there but a much richer one was brought him afterwards have you seen that one i cannot tell you without but whether i have seen it or not i have heard say that it was rich and magnificent they went on and her to weariness about that mysterious crown but they got nothing more out of her the sitting closed a long hard day for all of us by chapter x court rested a day then took up work again on saturday the third of march this was one of our the whole court was out of patience and with good reason these three score distinguished illustrious legal had left important posts where their was needed to journey hither from various regions and accomplish a most simple and easy matter condemn and send to death a country of nineteen who could neither read nor write knew nothing of the and of legal could call not a single witness in her was allowed no advocate or adviser and must conduct her case by herself against a hostile judge and a packed jury in two hours she would be hopelessly entangled defeated convicted nothing could be more certain than this so they thought but it was a mistake the two hours had strung out into days what promised to be a had expanded into a siege the thing which had looked so easy had to be difficult the light victim by of arc who was to have been puffed away like a feather remained planted like a rock and on top of all this if anybody had a right to laugh	34
it was the country ass and not the court she was not doing that for that was not her spirit but others were doing it the whole town was laughing in its sleeve and the court knew it and its dignity was deeply hurt the members could not hide their annoyance and so as i have said the was stormy it was easy to see that these men had made up their minds to force words from to day which should up her case and bring it to a prompt conclusion it shows that after all their experience with her they did not know her yet they went into the battle with energy they did not leave the questioning to a particular member no everybody helped they questions at from all over the house and sometimes so many were talking at once that she had to ask them to deliver their fire one at a time and not by the beginning was as usual you are once more required to take the oath pure and simple i will answer to what is in verbal when i do more i will choose the occasion for myself that old ground was and fought over inch by inch with great bitterness and many threats but remained steadfast and the by of arc had to shift to other matters half an hour was spent over s their dress hair general appearance and so on in the hope of fishing something of a sort out of the replies but with no result next the male attire was to of course after many well worn questions had been re asked one or two new ones were put forward did not the king or the queen sometimes ask you to quit the male dress that is not in your do you think you would have if you had taken the dress of your sex i have done best to serve and obey my sovereign lord and master after a while the matter of s standard was taken up in the hope of connecting magic and with it did not your men copy your banner in their the of my guard did it it was to dis them from the rest of the forces it was their own idea were they often renewed yes when the were broken they were renewed the purpose of the questions itself in the next one did you not say to your men that made like your banner would be lucky by i of arc the soldier spirit in was offended at this she drew herself up and said with dignity and fire what i said to them was ride these english down and i did it myself whenever she flung out a scornful speech like that at these french in english livery it lashed them into a rage and that is what happened this time there were ten twenty sometimes even thirty of them on their feet at a time at the prisoner minute after minute but was not disturbed by and by there was peace and the inquiry was resumed it was now sought to turn against the thousand loving honors which had been done her when she was raising france out of the dirt and shame of a century of slavery and did you not cause paintings and images of yourself to be made no at i saw a painting of myself kneeling in before the king and delivering him a letter but i caused no such things to be made were not masses and prayers said in your honor if it was done it was not by my command but if any prayed for me i think it was no harm did the french people believe you were sent of god as to that i know not but whether they believed it or not i was not the less sent of god by of arc if they thought you were sent of god do you think it was well thought if they believed it their trust was not abused what impulse was it think you that moved the people to kiss your hands your feet and your they were glad to see me and so they did those things and i could not have prevented them if i had had the heart those poor people came lovingly to me because i had not done them any hurt but had done the best i could for them according to my strength see what modest little words she uses to describe that touching spectacle her about france walled in on both sides by the multitudes they were glad to see me glad why they were transported with joy to see her when they could not kiss her hands or her feet they knelt in the mire and kissed the prints of her horse they her and that is what these priests were trying to prove it was nothing to them that she was not to blame for what other people did no if she was it was enough she was guilty of mortal sin curious logic one must say did you not stand for some children at at i did and at st and i named the boys charles in honor of the king and the girls i named by of arc did not women touch their rings to those which you wore yes many did but i did not know their reason for it at was your standard carried into the church did you stand at the altar with it in your hand at the yes in passing through the country did you confess yourself in the churches and receive the yes in the dress of a man yes but i do not remember that i	34
if god hates the french but i think that he allowed them to be for their sins it was a sufficiently way to account for a which had now strung out for years but nobody found fault with it there was nobody there who would not punish a sinner ninety six years if he could nor anybody there who would ever dream of such a thing as the lord s being any shade less than men have you ever embraced st and st yes both of them the evil face of betrayed satisfaction when she said that when you hung upon de did you do it in honor of your no satisfaction again no doubt would take it for granted that she hung them there out of sinful love for the when the saints appeared to you did you bow did you make reverence did you kneel yes i did them the most honor and the most reverence that i could a good point for if he could eventually make it appear that these were no saints to whom she had done reverence but devils in disguise now there was the matter of s keeping her by of are supernatural commerce a secret from her parents much might be made of that in particular emphasis had been given to it in a private remark written in the margin of she concealed her visions from her parents and from every one possibly this to her parents might itself be the sign of the source of her mission do you think it was right to go away to the wars without getting your parents leave it is written one must honor his father and his mother i have obeyed them in all things but that and for that i have begged their forgiveness in a letter and gotten it ah you asked their pardon so you knew you were guilty of sin in going without their leave was stirred her eyes and she ex claimed i was commanded of god and it was right to go if i had had a hundred fathers and mothers and been a king s daughter to boot i would have gone did you never ask your voices if you might tell your parents they were willing that i should tell them but i would not for anything have given my parents that pain to the minds of the this conduct of pride that sort of pride move on to ck by of arc did not your voices call you daughter of god answered with simplicity and yes before the siege of and since they have several times called me daughter of god further indications of pride and vanity were sought what horse were you riding when you were captured who gave it you the king you had other things riches of the king for myself i had horses and arms and money to pay the service in my household had you not a treasury yes ten or twelve thousand crowns then she said with it was not a great sum to carry on a war with you have it yet no it is the king s money my brothers hold it for him what were the arms which you left as an offering in the church of st my suit of silver mail and a sword did you put them there in order that they might be adored no it was but an act of devotion and it is the custom of men of war who have been wounded to make such offering there i had been wounded before paris nothing appealed o those stony hearts those dull by of arc not even this pretty picture so simply drawn of the wounded girl soldier hanging her toy harness there in curious companionship with the grim and dusty iron mail of the historic of france no there was nothing in it for them nothing unless evil and injury for that innocent creature could be gotten out of it somehow which aided most you the standard or the standard you whether it was the standard or whether it was i is nothing the came from god but did you base your hopes of victory in yourself or in your standard in neither in god and not was not your standard waved around the king s head at the no it was not why was it that r standard had e at the crowning of the king in the cathedral of rather than those of the other captains then soft and low came that touching speech which will live as long as language lives and pass into all tongues and move all gentle hearts it shall come down to the latest day had borne the burden it had earned the honor y what she said has been many tunes translated but never with success there is a haunting pathos about the original which all efforts to convey it into our tongue it is as subtle as an and escapes in the her words were these iti a hen a p by of arc how simple it is and how beautiful and how it beggars the studied eloquence of the masters of eloquence was a native gift of of arc it came from her lips without effort and without preparation her words were as sublime as her deeds as sublime as her character they had their source in a great heart and were in a great brain general to the of finely speaks of it tt arc la page as that reply enduring in the of celebrated sayings like the cry of a french and christian soul wounded unto death in its patriotism and its faith by chapter xii now	34
as a next move this small secret court of holy did a thing so base that even at this day in my old age it is hard to speak of it with patience in the beginning of her commerce with her voices there at the child solemnly devoted her life to god her pure body and her pure soul to his service you will remember that her parents tried to stop her from going to the wars by her to the court at to compel her to make a marriage which she had never promised to make a marriage with our poor good windy big hard fighting and most dear and lamented comrade the standard bearer who fell in honorable battle and sleeps in god these sixty years peace to his ashes and you will remember how sixteen years old stood up in that venerable court and conducted her case all by herself and tore the poor s case to rags and blew it away with a breath and how the astonished old judge on the bench spoke of her as this child you remember all that then think what i felt to see these false priests here in the wherein io by of arc had fought a fourth lone fight in three years deliberately twist that matter entirely around and try to make out that the into court and pretended that he had promised to marry her and was bent on making him do it certainly there was no that those people were ashamed to stoop to in their hunt for that girl s life what they wanted to show was this that she had committed the sin of from her vow and trying to it detailed the true history of the case but lost her temper as she went along and finished with some words for which he remembers yet whether he is himself in the world he belongs in or has his way into the other the rest of this day and part of the next the court labored upon the old theme the male attire it was shabby work for those grave men to be engaged in for they well knew one of s reasons for clinging to the male dress was that soldiers of the guard were always present in her room whether she was asleep or awake and that the male dress was a better protection for her modesty than the other the court knew that one of s purposes had been the of the duke of and they were curious to know how she had intended to manage it her plan was business like and her statement of it as simple and straightforward by of arc i would have taken english prisoners enough in france for his and failing that i would have invaded england and brought him out by force that was just her way if a thing was to be it was love first and hammer and to follow but no between she added with a little sigh if i had had my freedom three years i would have delivered him have you the permission of your voices to break out of prison whenever you can i have asked their leave several times but they have not given it i think it is as i have said she expected the of death and within the prison walls before the three months should would you escape if you saw the doors open she spoke up frankly and said yes for i should see in that the permission of our lord god helps who help themselves the proverb says but except i thought i had permission i would not go now then at this point something occurred which me every time i think of it and it struck me so at the time that for a moment at least her hopes wandered to the king and put into her mind the same notion about her which and i had settled upon a rescue by her old soldiers i think the idea of the rescue did by of arc occur to her but only as a passing thought and that it quickly passed away some remark of the bishop of moved her to remind him once more that he was an unfair judge and had no right to there and that he was putting himself in great danger what danger he asked i do not know st has promised me help but i do not know the form of it i do not know whether i am to be delivered from this prison or whether when you send me to the there will happen a trouble by which i shall be set free without much thought as to this matter i am of the opinion that it may be one or the other after a pause she added these words memorable forever words whose meaning she may have misunderstood as to that we can never know words which she may have rightly understood as to that also we can never know but words whose mystery fell away from them many a year ago and revealed their real meaning to all the world but what my voices have said is that i shall be delivered by a great victory she paused my heart was beating fast for to me that great victory meant the sudden bursting in of our old soldiers with war cry and clash of steel at the last moment and the carrying off of of arc in triumph but oh that thought had such a short life for now she raised her head and finished with those solemn words which men still so often quote and by of arc dwell words which filled me fear ihey sounded so like a and always they say submit to whatever comes do not fat your from it you will ascend into	34
the kingdom of paradise was she thinking of fire and the stake i think not i thought of it myself but i believe she was only thinking of this slow and cruel of chains and and insult surely was the right name for it it was de la who was asking the questions he was willing to make the most he could out of what she had said as the voices have told you you are going to paradise you feel certain that that will happen and that you will not be damned in hell is that so i believe what they told me i know that i shall be saved it is a answer to me the knowledge that i shall be saved is a great treasure do you think that after that revelation you could be able to commit mortal sin as to that i do not know my hope for salvation is in holding fast to my oath to keep my body and my soul pure since you know you are to be saved do you it necessary to go to confession the was devised but s simple and humble answer left it empty by of arc one cannot keep his conscience too clean we were now arriving at the last day of this new trial had come through the ordeal well it had been a long and wearisome struggle for all concerned all ways had been tried to the and all had failed thus far the were thoroughly vexed and dissatisfied however they resolved to make one more effort put in one more day s work this was done march th early in the sitting a notable trap was set for will you submit to the determination of the church all your words and deeds whether good or bad that was well planned was in imminent peril now if she should say yes it would put her mission itself upon trial and one would know how to decide its source and character promptly if she should say no she would render herself with the crime of but she was equal to the occasion she drew a distinct line of separation between the church s authority over her as a subject member and the matter of her mission she said she loved the church and was ready to support the christian faith with all her strength but as to the works done under her mission those must be judged by god alone who had commanded them to be done the judge still insisted that she submit them to the decision of the church she said i will submit them to our lord who sent me by of arc it would seem to me that he and his church are one and that there should be no difficulty about this matter then she turned upon the judge and said why do you make a difficulty where there is no room for any then de la corrected her notion that there was but one church there were two the church triumphant which is god the saints the angels and the and has its seat in heaven and the church which is our holy father the pope of god the the clergy and all good christians and the which church has its seat in the earth is governed by the holy spirit and cannot will you not submit those matters to the church i am come to the king of france from the church triumphant on high by its and to that church i will submit all those things which i have done for the church i have no other answer now the court took note of this re and would hope to get profit out of it but the matter was dropped for the present and a long chase was then made over the old hunting ground the the visions the male attire and all that in the afternoon the bishop himself took the chair and presided over the closing scenes of the trial along toward the finish this question was asked by one of the judges you have said to my lord the bishop that you by of arc would answer him as you would answer before our holy father the pope and yet there are several questions which you continually refuse to answer would you not answer the pope more fully than you have answered before my lord of would you not feel obliged to answer the pope who is the of god more fully now fell a thunder clap out of a clear sky take me to the pope i will answer to everything that i ought to it made the bishop s purple face fairly with consternation if had only known if she had only known she had lodged a mine under this black conspiracy able to blow the bishop s schemes to the four winds of heaven and she didn t know it she had made that speech by mere instinct not suspecting what tremendous forces were hidden in it and there was none to tell her what she had done i knew and knew and if she had known how to read writing we could have hoped to get the knowledge to her somehow but speech was the only way and none was allowed to approach her near enough for that so there she sat once more of arc the victorious but all unconscious of it she was miserably worn and tired by the long day s struggle and by illness or she must have noticed the effect of that speech and divined the reason of it she had made many master strokes but this was the master stroke it was an appeal to rome it by of arc was her clear right and if she had persisted in it s	34
speaking of the enemy which had come to make war upon but she showed that she made a distinction between them by act and word the being and therefore entitled to less treatment than the english she said as to the duke of i required of him both by letters and by his that he make peace with the king as to the english the only peace for them was that they leave the country and go home then she said that even with the english she had shown a pacific disposition since she had warned them away by before attacking them if they had listened to me said she they would have done wisely at this point she uttered her prophecy again saying with emphasis before seven years they will see it themselves then they presently began to her again by of arc about her male costume and tried to persuade her to voluntarily promise to it i was never deep so i think it no wonder that i was puzzled by their in what seemed a thing of no consequence and could not make out what their reason could be but we all know now we all know now that it was another of their treacherous projects yes if they could but succeed in getting her to formally it they could play a game upon her which would quickly destroy her so they kept at their evil work until at last she broke out and said peace without the permission of god i will not lay it off though you cut off my head at one point she corrected the verbal it makes me say that everything which i have done was done by the counsel of our lord i did not say that i said all which i have well done doubt was cast upon the of her mission because of the ignorance and simplicity of the messenger chosen smiled at that she could have reminded these people that our lord who is no of persons had chosen the lowly for his high purposes even oftener than he had chosen and but she her rebuke in terms it is the of our lord to choose his instruments where he will she was shed what form of prayer she used in by of arc counsel from on high she said the form was brief and simple then she lifted her pallid face and repeated it clasping her chained hands most dear god ri honor of your holy passion i you if you love me that you will reveal to me what i am to answer to these as concerns my dress i know by what command i have put it on but i know not in what manner i am to lay it off i pray you tell me what to do she was charged with having dared against the of god and his saints to assume empire over men and make herself commander in chief that touched the soldier in her she had a deep reverence for priests but the soldier in her had but small reverence for a priest s opinions about war so in her answer to this charge she did not condescend to go into any explanations or excuses but delivered herself with bland indifference and military if i was commander in chief it was to the english death was staring her in the face here all the time but no matter she dearly loved to make these english hearted and whenever they gave her an opening she was prompt to her sting into it she got great refreshment out of these little her days were a desert these were the in it her being in the wars with men was charged against her as an she said by of arc i had a woman with me when i could in towns and lodgings in the field i always slept in my that she and her family had been by the king was charged against her as evidence that the source of her deeds were sordid self seeking she answered that she had not asked this grace of the king it was his own act this third trial was ended at last and once again there was no definite result possibly a fourth trial might succeed in this apparently girl so the malignant bishop set himself to work to plan it he appointed a commission to reduce the substance of the sixty six articles to twelve compact lies as a basis for the new attempt this was done it took several days meantime went to s cell one day with and two of the judges de la and martin to see if he could not manage somehow to into her mission to the examination and decision of the church that is to say to that part of the church which was represented by himself and his creatures once more positively refused de la had a heart in his body and he so pitied this persecuted poor girl that he ventured to do a very daring thing for he asked her if she would be willing to have her case go before the council of by ic of arc and said it contained as many priests of her party as of the english party cried out that she would gladly go before so fairly constructed a as that but before could say another word turned savagely upon him and exclaimed shut up in the devil s name then ventured to do a brave thing too though he did it in great fear for his life he asked if he should enter s submission to the council of upon the minutes no it is not necessary ah said poor reproachfully you set down everything that is against me but you will not set down what is for me	34
it was piteous it would have touched the heart of a brute but was more than that by chapter xiv we were now in the first days of april was ill she had fallen ul the th of march the day after the close of the third trial and was growing worse when the scene which i have just described occurred in her cell it was just like to go there and try to get some advantage out of her weakened state let us note some of the particulars in the new the twelve lies part of the first one says that she has found her salvation she never said anything of the kind it also says she refuses to submit herself to the church not true she was willing to submit all her acts to this except those done by command of god in of her mission those she reserved for the judgment of god she refused to recognize and his as the church but was willing to go before the pope or the council of a of another of the twelve says she admits having threatened with death those who would not obey her distinctly false another says a i by of arc she declares that all she has done has been done by command of god what she really said was all that she had done well a made by herself as you have already seen another of the twelve says she claims that she has never committed any sin she never made any such claim another makes the wearing of the male dress a sin if it was she had high catholic authority for committing it that of the of and the of the tenth article was against her for pretending that st and st spoke french and not english and were french in their politics the twelve were to be submitted first to the learned doctors of of the university of paris for approval they were copied out and ready by the night of april th then did another bold thing he wrote in the margin that many of the twelve put statements in s mouth which were the exact opposite of what she had said that fact would not be considered important by the university of paris and would not influence its decision or stir its humanity in case it had any which it hadn t when acting in a political capacity as at present but it was a brave thing for that good to do all the same the twelve were sent to paris next day april th that afternoon there was a great tumult in by of arc and excited crowds were through all the chief streets chattering and seeking for news for a report had gone abroad that of arc was sick unto death in truth these long had worn her out and she was ill indeed the heads of the english party were in a state of consternation for if should die by the church and go to the grave the pity and the love of the people would turn her wrongs and sufferings and death into a holy and she would be even a power in france dead than she had been when alive the earl of and the english cardinal hurried to the castle and sent messengers flying for was a hard man a rude coarse man a man without compassion there lay the sick girl stretched in her chains in her iron cage not an object to move man to speech one would think yet spoke right out in her hearing and said to the mind you take good care of her the king of england has no mind to have her die a natural death she is dear to him for he bought her dear and he does not want her to die save at the stake now then mind you cure her the doctors asked what had made her ill she said the bishop of had sent her a fish and she thought it was that then d burst out on her and called her names and abused her he understood to by of arc be charging the bishop with her you see and that was not pleasing to him for he was one of s most loving and slaves and it outraged him to have injure his master in the eyes of these great english chiefs these being men who could ruin and would promptly do it if they got the conviction that he was capable of saving from the stake by her and thus the english out of all the real value by her purchase from the duke of had a high fever and the doctors proposed to her said be careful about that she is smart and is capable of killing herself he meant that to escape the stake she might undo the and let herself to death but the doctors her anyway and then she was better not for long though d could not hold still he was so worried and angry about the suspicion of which had hinted at so he came back in the evening and at her till he brought the fever all back again when heard of this he was in a fine temper you may be sure for here was his prey threatening to escape again and all through the over zeal of this fool gave d a quite admirable cursing admirable as to strength i mean for it was said by persons of by of arc s culture that the art of it was not good and after that the kept still remained ill more than two weeks then she grew better she was still very weak but she could bear a little persecution now without much danger to her life it seemed to a good time to furnish it so he called together some of	34
his doctors of and went to her and i went along to keep the record that is to set down what might be useful to and leave out the rest the sight of gave me a shock why she was but a shadow it was difficult for me to realize that this frail little creature with the sad face and drooping form was the same of arc that i had so often seen all fire and enthusiasm charging through a hail of death and the lightning and thunder of the guns at the head of her it wrung my heart to see her looking like this but was not touched he made another of those speeches of his all dripping with and he told that among her answers had been some which had seemed to religion and as she was ignorant and without knowledge of the he had brought some good and wise men to instruct her if she desired it said he we are and disposed by our good will as well as by our to procure for you the salvation of your soul and your body in every way in our power just as we would by of arc do the like for our nearest kin or for ourselves in this we but follow the example of holy church who never the refuge of her bosom against any that are willing to return thanked him for these sayings and said i seem to be in danger of death from this malady if it be the pleasure of god that i die here i beg that i may be heard in confession and also receive my and that i may be buried in consecrated ground thought he saw his opportunity at last this weakened body had the fear of an death before it and the pains of hell to follow this stubborn spirit would surrender now so he spoke out and said then if you want the you must do as all good do and submit to the church he was eager for her answer but when it came there was no surrender in it she still stood to her guns she turned her head away and said wearily i have nothing more to say s temper was stirred and he raised his voice and said that the more she was in danger of death the more she ought to her life and again he refused the things she begged for unless she would submit to the church said if i die in this prison i beg you to have me buried in holy ground if you will not i cast myself upon my there was some more conversation of the like sort by of arc then demanded again and that she submit herself and all her deeds to the church his threatening and went for nothing that body was weak but the spirit in it was the spirit of of arc and out of that came the steadfast answer which these people were already so familiar with and detested so sincerely let come what may i will neither do nor say any otherwise than i have said already in your then the good took turn about and worried her with and arguments and and always they held the of the before her soul and tried to bribe her with them to surrender her mission to the church s judgment that is to their judgment as if they were the church but it availed nothing i could have told them that beforehand if they had asked me but they never asked me an ing i was too humble a creature for their notice then the interview closed with a threat a threat of fearful import a threat calculated to make a catholic christian feel as if the ground were sinking from under him the church calls upon you to submit and she will abandon you as if you were a pagan think of being abandoned by the church that august power in whose hands is lodged the fate of the human race whose stretches beyond by s of arc the that in the shy whose authority is over the millions that live and over the that wait trembling in for or doom whose smile opens the gates of heaven to you whose frown you to the fires of everlasting hell a power whose dominion and earthly empire as earthly empire and the and shows of a village to be abandoned by one s king yes that is death and death is much but to be abandoned by rome to be abandoned by the church ah death is nothing to that for that is to endless life and such a life i could see the red waves tossing in that lake of fire i could see the black of the damned rise out of them and struggle and sink and rise again and i knew that was seeing what i saw while she paused musing and i believed that she must yield now and in truth i hoped she would for these men were able to make the threat good and deliver her over to eternal suffering and i knew that it was in their natures to do it but i was foolish to think that thought and hope that hope of arc was not made as others are made fidelity to principle fidelity to truth fidelity to her word all these were in her bone and in her flesh they were parts of her she could not change she could not cast them out she was the very genius of fidelity she was where she bad taken her stand and planted by of arc her foot there she would abide hell itself could not move her from that place her voices had not given her permission to make the sort of submission that was required therefore she would	34
stand fast she would wait in perfect obedience let come what might my heart was like lead in my body when i went out from that but she she was serene she was not troubled she had done what she believed to be her duty and that was sufficient the consequences were not her affair the last thing she said that time was full of this serenity full of contented repose i am a good christian born and and a good christian i will die by chapter xv two weeks went by the second of may was i come the chill was departed out of the air the wild flowers were springing in the and the birds were in the woods all nature was brilliant with sunshine all spirits were renewed and refreshed all hearts glad the world was alive with hope and cheer the plain beyond the stretched away soft and rich and green the river was and lovely the leafy islands were dainty to see and flung still reflections of themselves upon the shining water and from the tall above the bridge was become again a delight to the eye the most exquisite and satisfying picture of a town that under the arch of heaven anywhere when i say that all hearts were glad and hopeful i mean it in a general sense there were exceptions we who were the friends of of arc also of arc herself that poor girl shut up there in that frowning stretch of mighty walls and towers brooding in darkness so close to the of sunshine yet so far away from it by of arc so longing for any little glimpse of it yet so denied it by those wolves in the black gowns who were her death and the of her good name was ready to go on with his miserable work he had a new scheme to try now he would see what persuasion could do argument eloquence poured out upon the captive from the mouth of a trained expert that was his plan but the reading of the twelve articles to her was not a part of it no even was ashamed to lay that before her even he had a remnant of shame in him away down deep a million deep and that remnant asserted itself now and prevailed on this fair second of may then the black company gathered itself together in the spacious chamber at the end of the great hall of the castle the bishop of on his throne and sixty two minor judges before him with the guards and at their stations and the orator at his desk then we heard the far of chains and presently entered with her and took her seat upon her isolated bench she was looking well now and most fair and beautiful after her fortnight s rest from persecution she glanced about and noted the orator doubtless she divined the situation the orator had written his speech all out and had it in his hand though he held it back of him out of by of arc sight it was so thick that it resembled a book he began but in the midst of a period his memory failed him and he had to snatch a glance at his manuscript which much injured the effect again this happened and then a third time the poor man s face was red with embarrassment the whole great house was pitying him which made the matter worse then dropped in a remark which completed his trouble she said read your book and then i will answer you why it was almost cruel the way those laughed and as for the orator he looked so and helpless that almost anybody would have pitied him and i had to keep from doing it myself yes was feeling very well after her rest and the native mischief that was in her lay near the surface it did not show when she made the remark but i knew it was close in there back of the words when the orator had gotten back his composure he did a wise thing for he followed s advice he made no more attempts at sham but read his speech straight from his book in the speech he compressed the twelve articles into six and made these his text every now and then he stopped and asked questions and replied the nature of the church was explained and once more was asked to submit herself to it by ot she gave her usual answer then she was asked do you believe the church can i believe it cannot but for those deeds and words of mine which were done and uttered by command of god i will answer to him alone will you say that you have no judge upon earth is not our holy father the pope your judge i will say nothing to you about it i have a good master who is our lord and to him i will submit all then came these terrible words if you do not submit to the church you will be pronounced a by these judges here present and burned at the stake ah that would have smitten you or me dead with fright but it only roused the lion heart of of arc and in her answer rang that martial note which had used to stir her soldiers like a call i will not say otherwise than i have said already and if i saw the fire before me i would say it again it was to hear her battle voice once more and see the battle light bum in her eye many there were stirred every man that was a man was stirred whether friend or foe and risked his life again good soul for he wrote in the margin	34
of the record in good plain letters these brave words and there they have by of arc remained these sixty years and there you may read them to this day yes it was just that for this superb answer came from the lips of a girl of nineteen with death and hell staring her in the face of course the matter of the male attire was gone over again and as usual at wearisome length also as usual the customary bribe was offered if she would that dress voluntarily they would let her hear mass but she answered as she had often answered before i will go in a woman s robe to all services of the church if i may be permitted but i will resume the other dress when i return to my cell they set several traps for her in a form that is to say they placed before her and tried to commit her to one end of the without committing themselves to the other but she always saw the game and spoiled it the trap was in this form would you be willing to do so and so if we should give you leave her answer was always in this form or to this effect when you give me leave then you will know yes was at her best that second of may she had all her wits about her and they could not catch her anywhere it was a long long and all the old ground was fought over again foot by of arc by foot and the orator expert worked all his all his eloquence but the result was the familiar one a drawn battle the sixty two retiring upon their base the solitary enemy holding her original position within her original lines by chapter xvi brilliant weather the heavenly weather the weather made everybody s heart to sing as i have told you yes was feeling light hearted and gay and most willing and ready to break out and laugh upon the least occasion and so when the news went around that the young girl in the tower had another defeat against bishop there was abundant laughter abundant laughter among the citizens of both parties for they all hated the bishop it is true the majority of the people wanted burned but that did not keep them from laughing at the man they hated it would have been perilous for anybody to laugh at the english chiefs or at the majority of s assistant judges but to laugh at or d and was safe nobody would report it the difference between and was not noticeable in speech and so there was plenty of opportunity for the opportunities were not thrown away pig by of arc some of the jokes got well worn in the course of two or three months from repeated use for every time started a new trial the folk said the sow has again and every time the trial failed they said it over again with its other meaning the has made a mess of it and so on the third of may and i drifting about the town heard many a wide mouthed let go his joke and his laugh and then move to the next group proud of his wit and happy to work it off again blood the sow has five times and five times has made a mess of it and now and then one was bold enough to but he said it softly sixty three and the might of england against a girl and she on the field five times lived in the great palace of the and it was guarded by english but no matter there was never a dark night but the walls showed next morning that the rude had been there with his paint and brush yes he had been there and had the sacred walls with pictures of in all attitudes except flattering ones clothed in a bishop s and wearing a bishop s cocked on the side of their heads raged and cursed over his and his during seven days then he conceived a to litter to also to make a mess of t by of arc new scheme you shall see what it was for you have not cruel hearts and you would never guess it on the ninth of may there was a summons and and i got our materials together and started but this time we were to go to one of the other towers not the one which was s prison it was round and grim and massive and built of the and and a dismal and forbidding structure we entered the circular room on the ground floor and i saw what turned me sick the instruments of torture and the standing ready here you have the black heart of at the here you have the proof that in his nature there was no such thing as pity one wonders if he ever knew his mother or ever had a sister was there and the vice and the of st also six others among them that false the guards were in their places the rack was there and by it stood the and his in their crimson and meet color for their bloody trade the picture of rose before me stretched upon the rack her feet tied to one end of it her wrists to the other and those red giants turning the and pulling her limbs out of their it seemed to me that i could hear the bones snap and the flesh tear apart and i did not see how that body of the lower half of it remains to day just u then the i o ck inter by of arc servants of the merciful could sit there and look so placid and indifferent	34
after a little arrived and was brought in she saw the rack she saw the attendants and the same picture which i had been seeing must have risen in her mind but do you think she do you think she shuddered no there was no sign of that sort she straightened herself up and there was a slight curl of scorn about her lip but as for fear she showed not a of it this was a memorable but it was the shortest one of all the list when had taken her seat a r sum of her crimes was read to her then made a solemn speech in it he said that in the course of her several trials had refused to answer some of the questions and had answered others with lies but that now he was going to have the truth out of her and the whole of it his manner was full of confidence this time he was sure he had found a way at last to break this child s stubborn spirit and make her beg and cry he would score a victory this time and stop the mouths of the of you see he was only just a man after all and couldn t stand ridicule any better than other people he talked high and his face lighted itself up with all the shifting tints and signs of evil pleasure and promised triumph purple yellow red green they were all with the dull a d by of arc of a man the of them all and finally he burst out in a great passion and said there is the rack and there are its ministers i you will reveal all now or be put to the torture speak then she made that great answer which will live forever made it without fuss or and yet how fine and noble was the sound of it i will tell you nothing more than i have told you no not even if you tear the limbs from my body and even if in my pain i did say something other wise i would always say afterwards that it was the torture that spoke and not i there was no crushing that spirit you should have seen defeated again and he had not dreamed of such a thing i heard it said next day around the town that he had a full confession all written out in his pocket and all ready for to sign i do not know that that was true but it probably was for her mark signed at the bottom of a confession would be the kind of evidence for effect with the public which and his people would particularly value you know no there was no crushing that spirit and no that clear mind consider the depth the wisdom of that answer coming from an ignorant girl why there were not six men in the world who had ever reflected that words forced out of a person by horrible were not necessarily words of and truth yet this by of arc s peasant girl put her finger upon that flaw with an instinct i had always supposed that torture brought out the truth everybody supposed it and when came out with those simple common sense words they seemed to flood the place with light it was like a lightning flash at midnight which suddenly a fair valley sprinkled over with silver streams and gleaming villages and where was only an impenetrable world of darkness before stole a look at me and his face was full of surprise and there was the like to be seen in other faces there consider they were old and deeply yet here was a village maid able to teach them something which they had not known before i heard one of them verily it is a wonderful creature she has laid her hand upon an accepted truth that is as old as the world and it has to dust and rubbish under her touch now whence got she that insight the judges laid their heads together and began to talk low it was plain from chance words which one caught now and then that and were upon the application of the torture and that most of the others were finally broke out with a good deal of in his voice and ordered back to her that was a happy surprise for me i was not expecting that the bishop would yield by of arc when came home that night he said he had found out why the torture was not applied there were two reasons one was a fear that might die under the torture which would not suit the english at all the other was that the torture would effect nothing if was going to take back everything she said under its pains and as to putting her mark to a confession it was believed that not even the rack could ever make her do that so all laughed again and kept it up for three days saying the sow has six times and made six of it and the palace walls got a new a carrying a discarded rack home on its shoulder and weeping in its wake many rewards were offered for the capture of these painters but nobody applied even the english guard feigned blindness and would not see the artists at work the bishop s anger was very high now he could not reconcile himself to the idea of giving up the torture it was the idea he had invented yet and he would not cast it by so he called in some of his on the twelfth and urged the torture again but it was a failure with some s speech had wrought an effect others feared she might die under the torture others did not believe that any amount of suffering could make her put	34
her mark to a lying confession there were by of arc fourteen men present including the bishop eleven of them dead against the torture and stood their ground in spite of s abuse two with the bishop and insisted upon the torture these two were and the orator the man whom had to read his book thomas de the renowned and master of eloquence age has taught me charity of speech but it fails me when i think of those three names by chapter xvii another ten days wait the great of that treasury of all valuable knowledge and all wisdom the university of paris were still weighing and considering and discussing the twelve lies i had but little to do these ten days so i spent them mainly in walks about the town with but there was no pleasure in them our spirits being so with cares and the outlook for growing so steadily darker and darker all the time and then we naturally contrasted our circumstances with hers this freedom and sunshine with her darkness and chains our with her lonely estate our of one sort and another with her in all she was used to liberty but now she had none she was an out of door creature by nature and habit but now she was shut up day and night in a steel cage like an animal she was used to the light but now she was always in a gloom where all objects about her were dim and she was used to the thousand various sounds which are the cheer and music of a busy but she rd only the monotonous foot s by of arc ss fall of the pacing his watch she had been fond of talking with her mates but now there was no one to talk to she had had an easy laugh but it was gone dumb now she had been born for and and busy work and all manner of joyous but here were only and leaden hours and weary and brooding stillness and thoughts that travel day and night and night and day round and round in the same circle and wear the brain and break the heart with weariness it was death in life yes death in life that is what it must have been and there was another hard thing about it all a young girl in trouble needs the soothing solace and support and sympathy of persons of her own sex and the delicate offices and gentle which only these can furnish yet in all these months of gloomy in her never saw the face of a girl or a woman think how her heart would have leaped to see such a face consider if you would realize how great of arc was remember that it was out of such a place and such circumstances that she came week after week and month after month and confronted the master of france single handed and baffled their schemes defeated their plans detected and avoided their traps and broke their lines their and on the field after every engagement steadfast always true to her faith and by of arc her torture the stake and answering threats of eternal death and the pains of hell with a simple let come what may here i take my stand and will abide if you would realize how great was the soul how profound the wisdom and how luminous the intellect of of arc you must study her there where she fought out that long fight all alone and not merely against the brains and deepest learning of france but against the the meanest and the hardest hearts to be found in any land pagan or christian she was great in battle we all know that great in foresight great in loyalty and patriotism great in persuading discontented chiefs and conflicting interests and passions great in the ability to discover merit and genius wherever it lay hidden great in picturesque and eloquent speech great in the gift of firing the hearts of hopeless men with noble the gift of turning into heroes slaves and into that march to death with songs upon their lips but all these are they keep hand and heart and brain up to their work there is the joy of achievement the inspiration of stir and movement the applause which success the soul is overflowing with life and energy the faculties are at white heat weariness despondency these do not exist yes of arc was great always great by of arc where but she was greatest in the trials there she rose above the and of our human nature and accomplished under and and hopeless conditions all that her splendid of moral and intellectual forces could have accomplished if they had been by the mighty helps of hope and cheer and light the presence of friendly faces and a fair and equal fight with the great world looking on and wondering by chapter xviii toward the end of the ten day interval the university of paris rendered its decision concerning the twelve articles by this finding was guilty upon all the counts she must her errors and make satisfaction or be abandoned to the arm for punishment the university s mind was probably already made up before the articles were laid before it yet it took it from the fifth to the to produce its verdict i think the delay may have been caused by temporary difficulties concerning two points as to who the were who were represented in s voices as to whether her saints spoke french only you understand the university decided emphatically that it was who spoke in those voices it would need to prove that and it did it found out who the were and named them in the verdict satan and this has always seemed a doubtful thing to me and not entitled to much	34
credit i think so for this reason if the university had actually known it was those three it would for very s sake have told by of arc how it knew it and not stopped with the mere assertion since it had made explain how she knew they were not does not that seem reasonable to my mind the university position was weak and i will tell you why it had claimed that s angels were devils in disguise and we all know that devils do disguise themselves as angels up to that point the university s position was strong but you see yourself that it eats it own argument when it turns around and that u can tell who such are while denying the like ability to a person with as good a head on her shoulders as the best one the university could produce the doctors of the university had to see creatures in order to know and if was deceived it is argument that they in their turn could also be deceived for their insight and judgment were surely not clearer than hers as to the other point which i have thought may have proved a difficulty and cost the university delay i will touch but a moment upon that and pass on the university decided that it was for to say that her saints spoke french and not english and were on the french side in political sympathies i think that the thing which troubled the doctors of was this they had decided that the three voices were satan and two other devils but they had also decided that these voices were not on the french side thereby by f arc asserting that they were on the english side and if on the english side then they must be angels and not devils otherwise the situation was embarrassing you see the university being the wisest and deepest and most body in the world it would like to be logical if it could for the sake of its reputation therefore it would study and study days and days trying to find some good common sense reason for proving the voices devils in article no i and proving them angels in article no lo however they had to give it up they found no way out and so to this day the university s verdict remains just so devils in no i angels in no lo and no way to reconcile the the brought the verdict to and with it a letter for which was full of praise the university him on his zeal in hunting down this woman whose had the faithful of the whole west and as it as good as promised him a crown of glory in heaven only a crown in heaven a note and no always something away off yonder not a word about the of which was the thing was destroying his soul for a crown in heaven it must have sounded like a sarcasm to him after all his hard work what should ae do in heaven he did not know anybody there on the nineteenth of may a court of fifty judges sat in the palace to discuss s by of arc fate a few wanted her delivered over to the arm at once for punishment but the rest insisted that she be once more first so the same court met in the castle on the and was brought to the bar a of made a speech to in which he her to save her life and her soul by her errors and to the church he finished with a stern threat if she remained obstinate the of her soul was certain the destruction of her body probable but was immovable she said if i were under sentence and saw the fire before me and the ready to light it more if i were in the fire itself i would say none but the things which i have said in these trials and i would abide by them till i died a deep silence followed now which endured some moments it lay upon me like a weight i knew it for an omen then grave and solemn turned to have you anything further to say the priest bowed low and said nothing my lord prisoner at the bar have you anything further to say nothing then the debate is closed to morrow sentence will be pronounced remove the prisoner by of she seemed to go from the place erect and noble but i do not know my sight was dim with tears to morrow twenty fourth of exactly a year since i saw her go across the plain at the head of her troops her silver shining her silvery cape fluttering in the wind her white flowing her sword held aloft saw her charge the camp three times and carry it saw her wheel to the right and spur for the duke s saw her fling herself against it in the last assault she was ever to make and now that fatal day was come again and see what it was bringing by chapter xix had been guilty of and all the other terrible crimes set forth in the twelve articles and her life was in s hands at last he could send her to the stake at once his work was finished now you think he was satisfied not at all what would his be worth if the people should get the idea into their heads that this of interested priests under the english lash had condemned and burned of arc of france that would be to make of her a holy martyr then her spirit would rise from her body s ashes a thousand fold re enforced and sweep the english into the sea and along with it no the victory was not complete	34
yet s guilt must be established by evidence which would satisfy the people where was that evidence to be found there was only one person in the world who could furnish it of arc herself she must condemn herself and in public at least she must seem to do it but how was this to be managed weeks had by of arc been spent already in trying to get her to surrender time wholly wasted what was to persuade her now torture had been threatened the fire had been threatened what was left deadly fatigue and the sight of the fire the presence of the fire that was left now that was a shrewd thought she was but a girl after all and under illness and exhaustion subject to a girl s weaknesses yes it was thought she had said herself that under the bitter pains of the rack they would be able to a false confession from her it was a hint worth remembering and it was remembered she had furnished another hint at the same time that as soon as the pains were gone she would the confession that hint was also remembered she had herself taught them what to do you see first they must wear out her strength then frighten her with the fire second while the fright was on her she must be made to sign a paper but she would demand a reading of the paper they could not venture to refuse this with the public there to hear suppose that during the reading her courage should return she would refuse to sign then very well even that difficulty could be got over they could read a short paper of no importance then slip a long and deadly one into its place and trick her into that by of arc yet there was still one other difficulty if they made her seem to that would free her from the death penalty they could keep her in a prison of the church but they could not kill her that would not answer for only her death would content the english alive she was a terror in a prison or out of it she had escaped from two already but even that difficulty could be managed would make promises to her in return she would promise to leave off the male dress he would his promises and that would so her that she would not be able to keep hers her lapse would condemn her to the stake and the stake would be ready these were the several moves there was nothing to do but to make them each in its order and the game was won one might almost name the day that the betrayed girl the most innocent creature in france and the noblest would go to her pitiful death and the time was favorable cruelly favorable s spirit had as yet suffered no decay it was as sublime and as ever but her body s forces had been steadily wasting away in those last ten days and a strong mind needs a healthy body for its support the world knows now that s plan was as i have it to you but the world did not know it at that time there are sufficient by of tions that and all the other english chiefs except the highest one the cardinal of were not let into the secret also that only and on the french side knew the scheme sometimes i have doubted if even and knew the whole of it at first however if any did it was these two it is usual to let the condemned pass their last night of life in peace but this grace was denied to poor if one may credit the of the time was into her presence and in the character of priest friend and secret of france and of england he spent some hours in her to do the only right and righteous thing submit to the church as a good christian should and that then she would straightway get out of the of the dreaded english and be transferred to the church s prison where she would be used and have women about her for he knew where to touch her he knew how odious to her was the presence of her rough and profane english guards he knew that her voices had vaguely promised something which she interpreted to be escape rescue release of some sort and the chance to burst upon france once more and complete the great work which she had been of heaven to do also there was that other thing if her failing body could be further weakened by loss of rest and sleep now her tired mind would be dazed and drowsy on th by of arc morrow and in ill condition to stand out against threats and the sight of the stake and also be to traps and which it would be swift to detect when in its normal estate i do not need to tell you that there was no rest for me that night nor for we went to the main gate of the city before nightfall with a hope in our minds based upon that vague prophecy of s voices which seemed to promise a rescue by force at the last moment the immense news had flown swiftly far and wide that at last of arc was condemned and would be and burned alive on the morrow and so crowds of people were flowing in at the gate and other crowds were being refused admission by the these being people who brought doubtful passes or none at all we these crowds eagerly but there was nothing about them to indicate that they were our old in disguise and certainly there were no familiar faces among them and so when the gate was closed at last we turned	34
away grieved and more disappointed than we cared to admit either in speech or thought the streets were tides of excited men it was difficult to make one s way toward midnight our tramp brought us to the neighborhood of the beautiful church of st and there all was bustle and work the square was a wilderness of and people and through a guarded passage dividing the pack were carrying by of arc and and disappearing with them through the gate of the churchyard we asked what was going forward the answer was and the stake don t you know that the french witch is to be burned in the morning then we went away we had no heart for that place at dawn we were at the city gate again this time with a hope which our wearied bodies and minds into a large probability we had heard a report that the of with all his was coming to witness the burning our desire by our imagination turned those nine hundred into s old and their into la hire or the or d and we watched them file in the multitude respectfully dividing and while they passed with our hearts in our throats and our eyes swimming with tears of joy and pride and exultation and we tried to catch glimpses of the faces under the and were prepared to give signal to any recognized face that we were s men and ready and eager to kill and be killed in the good cause how foolish we were but we were young you know and youth all things all things by ic chapter xx in the morning i was at my official post it was on a platform raised the height of a man in the churchyard under the of st on this same platform was a crowd of priests and important citizens and several lawyers abreast it with a small space between was another and larger platform handsomely against sun and rain and richly also it was furnished with comfortable chairs and with two which were more than the others and raised above the general level one of these two was occupied by a prince of the royal blood of england his eminence the cardinal of the other by bishop of in the rest of the chairs sat three the vice eight and the sixty two and lawyers who had sat as s judges in her late trials twenty steps in front of the was another a table of stone built up in retreating courses thus forming steps out of this rose that thing the stake about the stake bundles of and were piled on the x by of arc at the base of the stood three crimson figures the and his at their feet lay what had been a goodly heap of but was now a nest of ruddy coals a foot or two from this was a supply of wood and into a pile shoulder high and containing as much as six pack horse loads think of that we seem so delicately made so so yet it is easier to reduce a granite statue to ashes than it is to do that with a man s body the sight of the stake sent physical pains down the nerves of my body and yet turn as i would my eyes would keep coming back to it such fascination has the and the terrible for us the space occupied by the and the stake was kept open by a wall of english standing elbow to elbow erect and figures fine and in their polished steel while from behind them on every hand stretched far away a level plain of human heads and there was no window and no within our view distant but was black with patches and masses of people but there was no noise no stir it was as if the world was dead the of this silence and solemnity was deepened by a leaden twilight for the sky was hidden by a pall of low hanging storm clouds and above the remote horizon faint of heat lightning played and now an then by of arc one caught the dull and of distant thunder at last the stillness was broken from beyond the square rose an indistinct sound but familiar crisp phrases of command next i saw the plain of heads dividing and the steady swing of a marching host was between my heart leaped for a moment was it la hire and his no that was not their gait no it was the prisoner and her escort it was of arc under guard that was coming my spirits sank as low as they had been before weak as she was they made her walk they would increase her weakness all they could the distance was not great it was but a few hundred yards but short as it was it was a heavy tax upon one who had been lying chained in one spot for months and whose feet had lost their powers from yes and for a year had known only the cool of a and now she was dragging herself through this summer heat this and void as she entered the gate drooping with exhaustion there was that creature at her side with his head bent to her ear we knew afterward that he had been with her again this morning in the prison her with his and her with false promises and that he was now still at the same work at the gate imploring her to yield everything that would be required of her and assuring her that if she would do this all would be well with by of arc her she would be rid of the dreaded english and find safety in the powerful shelter and protection of the church a miserable man a stony hearted man the moment was seated	34
on the platform she closed her eyes and allowed her chin to fall and so sat with her hands in her lap indifferent to everything caring for nothing but rest and she was so white again white as how the faces of that packed mass of humanity lighted up with interest and with what intensity all eyes gazed upon this fragile girl and how natural it was for these people realized that at last they were looking upon that person whom they had so long to see a person whose name and fame filled all europe and made all other names and all other insignificant by comparison of arc the wonder of the time and destined to be the wonder of all times and i could read as by print in their countenances the words that were drifting through their minds can it be true is it that it is this little creature this girl this child with the good face the sweet face the beautiful face the dear and face that has carried by storm charged at the head of victorious armies blown the might of england out of her path with a breath and fought a long campaign solitary and alone against the brains and learning of france and had won it if the fight had been fair evidently had grown afraid of by of arc because of his pretty apparent toward for another was in the chief place here which left my master and me nothing to do but sit idle and look on well i supposed that everything had been done which could be thought of to tire s body and mind but it was a mistake one more device had been invented this was to preach a long sermon to her in that oppressive heat when the preacher began she cast up one distressed and disappointed look then dropped her head again this preacher was an he got his text from the twelve lies he emptied upon all the in detail that had been up in that mess of and called her all the brutal names that the twelve were with working himself into a of fury as he went on but his labors were wasted she seemed lost in dreams she made no sign she did not seem to hear at last he launched this o france how hast thou been abused thou hast always been the home of christianity but now charles who calls himself thy king and governor like the and that he is the words and deeds of a worthless and infamous woman v raised her head and her eyes began to burn and flash the preacher turned toward her it is to you that i speak and i tell you that your king is and a by ic k of arc he might abuse her to his heart s content she could endure that but to her dying moment she could never hear in patience a word against that that treacherous dog our king whose proper place was here at this moment sword in hand these and saving this most noble servant that ever king had in this world and he would have been there if he had not been what i have called him s loyal soul was outraged and she turned upon the preacher and flung out a few words with a spirit which the crowd recognized as being in accordance with the of arc traditions by my faith sir i make bold to say and swear on pain of death that he is the most noble christian of all christians and the best lover of the faith and the church there was an explosion of applause from the crowd which the preacher for he had been aching long to hear an expression like this and now that it was come at last it had fallen to the wrong he had done all the work the other had carried off all the spoil he stamped his foot and shouted to the make her shut up that made the crowd laugh a mob has small respect for a grown man who has to call on a to protect him from a sick girl had the preacher s cause more with by of arc i one sentence than he had helped it with a hundred so he was much put out and had trouble to get a good start again but he needn t have there was no occasion it was mainly an mob it had but obeyed a law of our nature an irresistible law to enjoy and a spirited and promptly delivered retort no matter who makes it the mob was with the preacher it i had been for a moment but only that it would soon return it was there to see this burnt so that it got that satisfaction without too much delay it would be content presently the preacher formally summoned to submit to the church he made the demand with confidence for he had gotten the idea from and that she was worn to the bone exhausted and would not be able to put forth any more resistance and indeed to look at her it seemed that they must be right nevertheless she made one more effort to hold her ground and wearily as to that matter i have answered my judges before i have told them to report all that i have said and done to our holy father the pope to whom and to god first i appeal again out of her native wisdom she had brought those words of tremendous import but was ignorant of their value but they could have availed her nothing in any case now with the stake there and these thousands of enemies about h h yet by of arc made every there and the preacher changed the subject with all haste well might those for	34
s appeal of her case to the pope stripped at once of over it and all that he and his judges had already done in the matter and all that they should do in it went on presently to after some further talk that she had acted by command of god in her deeds and then when an attempt was made to the king and friends of hers and his she stopped that she said i charge my deeds and words upon no one neither upon my king nor any other if there is any fault in them i am responsible and no other she was asked if she would not those of her words and deeds which had been pronounced evil by her judges her answer made confusion and damage again i submit them to god and the pope the pope once more it was very embarrassing here was a person who was asked to submit her case to the church and who frankly offers to submit it to the very head of it what more could any one require how was one to answer such a answer as that the worried judges put their heads together and whispered and planned and discussed then they brought forth this sufficiently sh by of arc but it was the best they could do in so close a place they said the pope was so far away and it was not necessary to go to him anyway because these present judges had sufficient power and authority to deal with the present case and were in effect the church to that extent at another time they could have smiled at this conceit but not now they were not comfortable enough now the mob was getting impatient it was beginning to put on a threatening aspect it was tired of standing tired of the heat and the thunder was coming nearer the lightning was flashing brighter it was necessary to hurry this matter to a close showed a written form which had been prepared and made all ready beforehand and asked her to what is she did not know the word it was explained to her by she tried to understand but she was breaking under exhaustion and she could not gather the meaning it was all a and confusion of strange words in her despair she sent out this cry i appeal to the church universal whether i ought to or no exclaimed you shall instantly or instantly be burnt she glanced up at those awful words and for the first time she saw the stake and the mass of red by of arc coals and than ever now under the constantly deepening storm gloom she gasped and staggered up out of her seat muttering and and gazed upon the people and the scene about her like one who is dazed or thinks he dreams and does not know where he is the priests crowded about her imploring her to sign the paper there were many voices and urging her at once there was great turmoil and shouting and excitement among the and everywhere sign sign from the priests sign sign and be saved and was urging at her ear do as i told you do not destroy yourself i said to these people ah you do not do well to me the judges joined their voices to the others yes even the iron in their hearts melted and they said we pity you so take back what you have said or we must deliver you up to punishment and now there was another voice it was from the other platform solemnly above the din s reading the sentence of death s strength was all spent she stood looking about her in a bewildered way a moment then slowly she sank to her knees and bowed her head and said i submit by of arc they gave her no time to they knew the peril of that the moment the words were out of her mouth was reading to her the and she was repeating the words after him mechanically unconsciously and smiling for her wandering mind was far away in some happier world then this short paper of six lines was slipped aside and a long one of many pages was into its place and she noting nothing put her mark to it saying in pathetic apology that she did not know how to write but a secretary of the king of england was there to take care of that he guided her hand with his own and wrote her name the great crime was accomplished she had signed what she did not know but the others knew she had signed a paper herself a a dealer with devils a liar a of god and his angels a lover of blood a of cruel wicked of satan and this signature of her bound her to resume the dress of a woman there were other promises but that one would answer without the others that one could be made to destroy her pressed forward and praised her for having done such a good day s work but she was still dreamy she hardly heard then pronounced the words which dissolved the and restored her to her by of arc beloved church with all the dear privileges of worship ah she heard that you could see it in the deep gratitude that rose in her face and it with joy but how transient was that happiness for without a tremor of pity in his voice added these crushing words and that she may repent of her crimes and repeat them no more she is to perpetual imprisonment with the bread of affliction and the water of anguish perpetual imprisonment she had never dreamed of that such a thing had never	34
been hinted to her by or by any other had distinctly said and promised that all would be well with her and the very last words spoken to her by on that very platform when he was urging her to was a straight promise that if she would do it she should go free from she stood stunned and speechless a moment then she remembered with such as the thought could furnish that by another clear promise a promise made by himself she would at least be the church s captive and have women about her in place of a brutal foreign so she turned to the body of priests and said with a sad resignation now you men of the church take me to your prison and leave me no longer in the hands of the by of arc english and she gathered up her chains and prepared to move but alas now came these shameful words from and with them a mocking laugh take her to the prison whence she came poor abused girl she stood dumb smitten it was pitiful to see she had been lied to betrayed she saw it all now the of a drum broke upon the stillness and for just one moment she thought of the glorious promised by her voices i read it in the rapture that lit her face then she saw what it was her prison escort and that light faded never to revive again and now her head began a piteous rocking motion swaying slowly this way and that as is the way when one is suffering pain or when one s heart is broken then she went from us with her face in her hands and sobbing bitterly by chapter is no certainty that any one in all was in the secret of the deep game which was playing except the cardinal of then you can imagine the astonishment and of that vast mob gathered there and those crowds of assembled on the two when they saw of arc moving away alive and whole slipping out of their grip at last after all this tedious waiting all this nobody was able to stir or speak for a while so was the universal astonishment so the fact that the stake was actually standing there and its prey gone then suddenly everybody broke into a fury of rage and charges of treachery began to fly freely yes and even stones a stone came near killing the cardinal of it just missed his head but the man who threw it was not to blame for he was excited and a person who is excited never can throw straight the tumult was very great indeed for a while by of arc in the midst of it a of the cardinal even forgot the so far as to the august bishop of himself shaking his fist in his face and shouting by god you are a traitor you lie responded the bishop he a traitor oh far from it he certainly was the last frenchman that any had a right to bring that charge against the earl of lost his temper too he was a soldier but when it came to the when it came to delicate and and he couldn t see any further through a than another so he burst out in his frank warrior fashion and swore that the king of england was being used and that of arc was going to be allowed to cheat the stake but they whispered comfort into his ear give yourself no uneasiness my lord we shall soon have her again perhaps the like tidings found their way all around for good news travels fast as well as bad at any rate the presently down and the huge apart and disappeared and thus we reached the noon of that fearful thursday we two youths were happy happier than any words can tell for we were not in the secret any more than the rest s life was saved we knew that and that was enough france would by of arc hear of this day s infamous work and then why then her gallant sons would flock to her standard by thousands and thousands multitudes upon multitudes and their wrath would be like the wrath of the ocean when the storm winds sweep it and they would themselves against this doomed city and it like the tides of that ocean and of arc would march again in six days seven days one short week noble france grateful france indignant france would be thundering at these gates let us count the hours let us count the minutes let us count the seconds o happy day o day of ecstasy how our hearts sang in our i for we were young then yes we were very young do you think the exhausted prisoner was allowed to rest and sleep after she had spent the small remnant of her strength in dragging her tired body back to the no there was no rest for her with those on her track and some of his people followed her to her straightway they found her dazed and dull her mental and physical forces in a state of they told her she had that she had made certain promises among them to resume the apparel of her sex and that if she the church would cast her out for good and all she heard the words but they had no meaning to her she was like a person who by of arc has taken a and is dying for sleep dying for rest from dying to be let alone and who mechanically does everything the asks taking but dull note of the things done and but them in the memory and so put on the gown which and his	34
people had brought and would come to herself by and by and have at first but a dim idea as to when and how the change had come about went away happy and content had resumed woman s dress without protest also she had been formally warned against he had witnesses to these facts how could matters be better but suppose she should not why then she must be forced to do it did hint to the english guards that if they chose to make their prisoner s and than ever no official notice would be taken of it perhaps so since the guards did begin that policy at once and no official notice was taken of it yes from that moment s life in that was made almost do not ask me to upon it i will not do it x by of mob there who considered the a lie and a trick and among them many half drunk english soldiers moreover these people had gone beyond words they had laid hands upon a number of who were trying to enter the and it had been difficult work to rescue them and save their lives and so refused to go he said he would not go a step without a from so next morning sent an escort of soldiers and then we went matters had not grown meantime but worse the soldiers protected us from bodily damage but as we passed through the great mob at the castle we were assailed with and shameful i bore it well enough though and said to myself with secret satisfaction in three or four short days my lads you will be your tongues in a different sort from this and i shall be there to hear to my mind these were as good as dead men how many of them would still be alive after the rescue that was coming not more than enough to amuse the a short half hour certainly it turned out that the report was true had she was sitting there in her chains clothed again in her male attire she accused nobody that was her way it was not in her character to hold servant to account for what his master had made him do and her mind had cleared now and she knew that th advantage by of arc g which had been taken of her the previous morning had its origin not in tiie subordinate but in the master here is what had happened while slept in the early morning of sunday one of the guards stole her female apparel and put her male attire in its place when she woke she asked for the other dress but the guards refused to give it back she protested and said she was forbidden to wear the male dress but they continued to refuse she had to have clothing for modesty s sake moreover she saw that she could not save her life if she must fight for it against like this so she put on the forbidden garments knowing what the end would be she was weary of the struggle poor thing we had followed in the wake of the vice and the others six or eight and when i saw sitting there forlorn and still in chains when i was expecting to find her situation so different i did not know what to make of it the shock was very great i had doubted the perhaps possibly i had believed in it but had not realized it s victory was complete he had had a harassed and irritated and disgusted look for a long time but that was all gone now and contentment and serenity had taken its place his purple face was full of tranquil and malicious happiness he went trailing his robes and stood in front of with his legs apart and remained so more than by of arc a minute over her and enjoying the sight of this poor ruined creature who had won so lofty a place for him in the service of the meek and merciful of the world lord of the universe in case england kept her promise to him who kept no promises himself presently the judges began to question one of them named who was a man with more insight than prudence remarked upon s change of clothing and said there is something suspicious about this how could it have come about without on the part of others perhaps even something worse thousand devils screamed in a fury will you shut your mouth traitor shouted the soldiers on guard and made a rush for with their it was with the greatest difficulty that he was saved from being run through the body he made no more attempts to help the inquiry poor man the other judges proceeded with the why have you resumed this male habit i did not quite catch her answer for just then a soldier s slipped from his fingers and fell on the stone floor with a crash but i thought i understood to say that she had resumed it of her own motion but you have promised and sworn that yon would not go back to it by of arc was full of anxiety to hear her answer to that question and when it came it was just what i was expecting she said quite quietly i have never intended and never understood myself to swear i would not resume it there i had been sure all along that she did not know what she was doing and saying on the platform thursday and this answer of hers was proof that i had not been mistaken then she went on to add this i had a right to resume it because the promises made to me have not been kept promises that i should be allowed to go	34
to mass and receive the communion and that i should be freed from the bondage of these chains but they are still upon me as you see nevertheless you have and have especially promised to return no more to the dress of a man then held out her hands sorrowfully toward these men and said i would rather die than continue so but if they may be taken off and if i may hear mass and be removed to a prison and have a woman about me i will be good and will do what shall seem good to you that i do at that honor the compact which he and his had made with her its conditions what need of that conditions had been good thing to by of arc and for advantage but they had served their turn let something of a sort and of more consequence be considered the of the male dress was sufficient for all practical purposes but perhaps could be led to add something to that fatal crime so asked her if her voices had spoken to her since thursday and he reminded her of her yes she answered and then it came out that the voices had talked with her about the told her about it i suppose she the heavenly origin of her mission and did it with the mien of one who was not conscious that she had ever it so i was convinced once more that she had had no notion of what she was doing that thursday morning on the platform finally she said my voices told me i did very wrong to confess that what i had done was not well then she sighed and said with simplicity but it was the fear of the fire that made me do so that is fear of the fire had made her sign a paper whose contents she had not understood then but understood now by revelation of her voices and by testimony of her she was sane now and not exhausted her courage had come back and with it her loyalty to the truth she was bravely and serenely speaking it again knowing that it would deliver her body up to that very fire which had such terrors for her by of arc that answer of hers was quite long quite frank wholly free from or it made me shudder i knew she was sentence of death upon herself so did poor and he wrote in the margin abreast of it fatal answer yes all present knew that it was indeed a fatal answer then there fell a silence such as falls in a sick room when the by the dying draw a deep breath and say softly one to another all is over here likewise all was over but after some moments wishing to this matter and make it final put this question do you still believe that your voices are st and st yes and that they come from god yet you denied them on the then she made direct and clear that she had never had any intention to deny them and that if i noted the if if she had made some and on the it was from fear of the fire and was a of the truth there it is again you see she certainly never knew what it was she had done on the until she was told of it afterward by these people and by her voices and now she closed this most painful scene with these words and there was a weary note in them that was pathetic by of arc i would rather do my penance all at once let me die i cannot endure any longer the spirit born for sunshine and liberty so longed for release that it would take it in any form even that several among the company of judges went from the place troubled and sorrowful the others in another mood in the court of the castle we found the earl of and fifty english waiting impatient for news as soon as saw them he shouted laughing think of a man destroying a poor girl and then having the heart to laugh at it make yourselves comfortable it s all over with her by chapter the young can sink into of despondency and it was so with and me now but the hopes of the young are quick to rise again and it was so with ours we called back that vague promise of the voices and said the one to the other that the glorious release was to happen at the last moment that other time was not the last moment but this is it will happen now the king will come la hire will come and with them our and behind them all france and so we were full of heart again and could already hear in fancy that stirring music the clash of steel and the war cries and the uproar of the and in fancy see our prisoner free her chains gone her sword in her hand but this dream was to pass also and come to nothing late at night when came in he said i am come from the and i have a message for you from that poor child a message to me if he had been noticing i think he would have discovered me discovered by of arc that my concerning the prisoner was a for i was caught off my guard and was so moved and so exalted to be so honored by her that i must have shown my feeling in my face and manner a message for me your reverence yes it is something she wishes done she said she had noticed the young man who helps me and	34
that he had a good face and did i think he would do a kindness for her i said i knew you would and asked her what it was and she said a letter would you write a letter to her mother and i said you would but i said i would do it myself and gladly but she said no that my labors were heavy and she thought the young man would not mind the doing of this service for one not able to do it for herself she not knowing how to write then i would have sent for you and at that the sadness vanished out of her face why it was as if she was going to see a friend poor thing but i was not permitted i did my best but the orders remain as strict as ever the doors are closed against all but officials as before none but officials may speak to her so i went back and told her and she sighed and was sad again now this is what she you to write to her mother it is partly a strange message and to me means nothing but she said her mother would understand you will convey her love to her family and her village friends and say there will be no rescue for by of arc that this night and it is the third time in the twelve month and is final she has seen the vision of the tree how strange yes it is strange but that is what she said and said her parents would understand and for a little time she was lost in dreams and and her lips moved and i caught in her muttering these lines which she said over two or three times and they seemed to bring peace and contentment to her i set them down thinking they might have some connection with her letter and be useful but it was not so they were a mere memory floating idly in a tired mind and they have no meaning at least no i took the piece of paper and found what i knew i should find and when in exile ring we shall fainting for glimpse of thee oh rise upon our sight i there was no hope any more i knew it now i knew that s letter was a message to and me as well as to her family and that its object was to banish vain hopes from our minds and tell us from her own mouth of the blow that was going to fall upon us so that we being her soldiers would know it for a command to bear it as became us and her and so submit to the will of god and in thus obeying find of our grief it was like her for she was always thinking of others not of by of arc herself yes her heart was sore for us she could find time to think of us the of her servants and try to soften our pain the burden of our troubles she that was drinking of the bitter waters she that was walking in the valley of the shadow of death i wrote the letter you will know what it cost me without my telling you i wrote it with the same wooden which had put upon the first words ever dictated by of arc that high summons to the english to france two years past when she was a of seventeen it had now set down the last ones which she was ever to dictate then i broke it for the pen that had served of arc could not serve any that would come after her in this earth without the next day may th summoned his and forty two responded it is charitable to believe that the other twenty were ashamed to come the forty two pronounced her a and condemned her to be delivered over to the arm thanked them then he sent orders that be conveyed the next morning to the place known as the old market and that she be then delivered to the civil judge and by the civil judge to the that meant that she would be burnt all the afternoon and evening of tuesday the th the news was flying and the people of the country side to to see the by of arc all at least who could prove their english sympathies and count upon admission the press grew thicker and thicker in the streets the excitement grew higher and higher and now a thing was noticeable again which had been noticeable more than once before that there was pity for in the hearts of many of these people whenever she had been in great danger it had manifested itself and now it was apparent again manifest in a pathetic dumb sorrow which was visible in faces early the next morning wednesday martin and another were sent to to prepare her for death and and i went with them a hard service for me we through the dim winding this way and that and piercing ever deeper and deeper into that vast heart of stone and at last we stood before but she did not know it she sat with her hands in her lap and her head bowed thinking and her face was very sad one might not know what she was thinking of of her home and the peaceful pastures and the friends she was no more td see of her wrongs and her forsaken estate and the which had been put upon her or was it of death the death which she had longed for and which was now so close or was it of the kind of death she must suffer i hoped not for she feared only one kind and that one had for her unspeakable terrors	34
i believed she so feared that one that with her strong by of arc will she would shut the thought of it wholly out of her mind and hope and believe that god would take pity on her and grant her an easier one and so it might chance that the awful news which we were bringing might come as a surprise to her at last we stood silent awhile but she was still of us still deep in her sad and far away then martin said softly she looked up then with a little start and a wan smile and said speak have you a message for me yes my poor child try to bear it do you think you can bear it yes very softly and her head drooped again i am come to prepare you for death a faint shiver trembled through her wasted body there was a pause in the stillness we could hear our then she said still in that low voice when will it be the muffled notes of a bell floated to our ears out of the distance now the time is at hand that slight shiver passed again it is so soon ah it is so soon there was a long silence the distant of the bell through it and we stood motionless and listening but it was broken at by of arc what death is it by fire i oh i knew it i knew it she sprang wildly to her feet and wound her hands in her hair and began to and sob oh so and mourn and grieve and lament and turn to first one and then another of us and search our faces be as hoping she might find help and friendliness there poor thing she that had never denied these to any creature even her wounded enemy on the battle field oh cruel cruel to treat me so and must my body that has never been be consumed today and turned to ashes ah sooner would i that my head were cut off seven times than suffer this death i had the promise of the church s prison when i submitted and if i had but been there and not left here in the hands of my enemies this miserable fate had not befallen me oh i appeal to god the great judge against the injustice which has been done me there was none there that could endure it they turned away with the tears running down their faces in a moment i was on my knees at her feet at once she thought only of my danger and bent and whispered in my ear do not peril yourself good heart there god bless you always and i felt the quick clasp of her hand mine was the last hand she touched with hers in life none saw it history does not know of it or tell of ao by of arc it yet it is true just as i have told it the next moment she saw coming and she went and stood before him and reproached him sa bishop it is by you that i die he was not not touched but said smoothly ah be patient you die because you have not kept your promise but have returned to your sins alas she said if you had put me the church s prison and given me right and proper as you promised this would not have happened and for this i summon you to answer before god then and looked less placidly content than before and he turned him about and went away stood awhile musing she grew calmer but occasionally she wiped her eyes and now and then sobs shook her body but their violence was now and the intervals between them were growing longer finally she looked up and saw who had come in with the bishop and she said to him master peter where shall i be this night have you not good hope in god yes and by his grace i shall be in paradise now martin heard her in confession then she begged for the but how grant the to who b fl been publicly cut by of arc of from the church and was now no more entitled to its privileges than an pagan the brother could not do this but he sent to to inquire what he must do all laws human and divine were alike to that man he respected none of them he sent back orders to grant whatever she wished her last speech to him had reached his fears perhaps it could not reach his heart for he had none the was brought now to that poor soul that had for it with such unutterable longing all these desolate months it was a solemn moment while we had been in the of the prison the public courts of the castle had been filling up with crowds of the sort of men and women who had learned what was going on in s cell and had come with softened hearts to do they knew not what to hear they knew not what we knew nothing of this for they were out of our view and there were other great crowds of the like caste gathered in masses outside the castle gates and when the lights and the other of the passed by coming to in the prison all those multitudes down and began to pray for her and many wept and when the solemn ceremony of the communion began in s cell out of the distance a moving sound was borne moaning to our ears it was those invisible multitudes the for a departing soul by of	34
arc the fear of the fiery death was gone from of arc now to come again no more except for one fleeting then it would pass and serenity and courage would take its place and abide till the end by chapter xxiv at nine o clock the maid of of france went forth in the grace of her innocence and her youth to lay down her life for the country she loved with such devotion and for the king that had abandoned her she sat in the cart that is used only for in one respect she was treated worse than a for whereas she was on her way to be by the civil arm she already bore her judgment inscribed in advance upon a shaped cap which she wore in the cart with her sat the martin and she looked fair and sweet and in her long white robe and when a of sunlight her as she emerged from the gloom of the prison and was yet for a moment still framed in the arch of the gate the multitudes of poor folk murmured a vision a vision and sank to their knees praying and many of the women weeping and the moving for the dying rose again and was taken up and borne along a majestic wave of sound which by of arc accompanied the doomed and blessing her all the sorrowful way to the place of death christ have saint margaret have pity pray for her all ye saints and blessed pray for her saints and angels for her from thy wrath good lord deliver her o lord save her have mercy on her we thee good lord it is just and true what one of the histories has said the poor and the helpless had nothing but their prayers to give of arc but these we may believe were not there are few more pathetic events recorded in history than this weeping helpless praying crowd holding their lighted candles and kneeling on the pavement beneath the prison walls of the old fortress and it was so all the way thousands upon thousands upon their knees and stretching far down the distances thick sown with the faint yellow candle flames like a field with golden flowers but there were some that did not kneel these were the english soldiers they stood elbow to elbow on each side of s road and walled it in all the way and behind these living walls knelt the multitudes by and by a frantic man in priest s garb came wailing and and tore through the crowd and the barrier of soldiers and flung himself on his knees by s cart and put up his hands in crying out by of arc o forgive forgive it was and forgave him forgave him out of a heart that knew nothing but forgiveness nothing but compassion nothing but pity for all that suffer let their be what it might and she had no word of reproach for this poor wretch who had wrought day and night with and and to betray her to her death the soldiers would have killed him but the earl of saved his life what became of him is not known he hid himself from the world somewhere to endure his remorse as he might in the square of the old market stood the two and the stake that had stood before in the churchyard of st the were occupied as before the one by and her judges the other by great the principal being and the english cardinal the square was packed with people the windows and roofs of the blocks of buildings surrounding it were black with them when the preparations had been finished all noise and movement gradually ceased and a waiting stillness followed which was solemn and impressive and now by order of an named preached a sermon wherein he explained that when a branch of the vine which is the church becomes and corrupt it must b away or it wiu corrupt an q by of arc the whole vine he made it appear that through her wickedness was a menace and a peril to the church s purity and and her death therefore necessary when he was come to the end of his discourse he turned toward her and paused a moment then he said the church can no longer protect you go in peace r had been placed wholly apart and ous to signify the church s of her and she sat there in her loneliness waiting in patience and resignation for the end addressed her now he had been advised to read the form of her to her and had brought it with him but he changed his mind fearing that she would proclaim the truth that she had never and so bring shame upon him and eternal he contented himself with her to keep in mind her and repent of them and think of her salvation then he solemnly pronounced her and cut off from the body of the church with a final word he delivered her over to the arm for judgment and sentence weeping knelt and began to pray for whom herself oh no for the king of france her voice rose sweet and clear and penetrated all hearts with its passionate pathos she never thought of his to her she never thought of his desertion of her she never remembered that it by of arc he was an that she was here to die a miserable death she remembered only that he was her king that she was his loyal and loving subject and that his enemies had his cause with evil reports and false charges and he not by to defend himself and so in the very presence of death she forgot her own troubles to all in her hearing to be just to him to	34
ten during a visit to the islands in these letters later in it were so received that on his return he with marked success in and eastern states the passion for travel him on in with a party he visited france italy and and published abroad an account of the trip which at once gained for him an reputation which has never in he married miss of n y and assumed the of the express of which he was part proprietor soon after he retired from to devote english as she is taught by mark twain with sketch of author by mutual book company boston mass one lu l ti t n works of mark twain the celebrated jumping of county the abroad it sketches new and old the gilded age with charles adventures of tom a tramp abroad the prince and the the stolen white elephant life on the adventures of a yankee at king arthur s court merry tales the american the bank note and other new sketches tom abroad the tragedy of of arc more abroad and the man that and other stories and essays this list several minor english as she is taught in the to s johnson one finds this anecdote gate s one day mrs set a little girl to repeat to him doctor samuel johnson s which she went through very correctly the doctor after a pause asked the child what was to bring to an end she said it was a knife no my dear it was not so my aunt said it was a knife why aunt s knife may do but it was a dagger my dear he then asked her the meaning of and which she was unable to give mrs said you cannot expect so young a child to know the meaning of such words he then said my dear how many pence are there in sixpence f i cannot tell sir was the half terrified reply on this addressing himself to mrs he said now my dear lady can anything be more ridiculous than to teach a child s who not know how many pence there are in sixpence english as she is taught in a lecture before the royal society professor quoted the following list of frantic questions and said that they had been asked in an examination mention all the names of places in the world derived from caesar or caesar where are the following rivers all you know of the following the highest of the range the number of in why are the tops of mountains continually covered with snow f name the length and breadth of the streams of which issued from the in the of that list would nearly anybody s knowledge isn t it reasonably possible that in our schools many of the questions in all studies are several miles ahead of where the pupil is that he is set to struggle with things that are beyond his present reach hopelessly beyond his present strength this remark in passing and by way of text now i come to what i was going to say english as she is taught i have just now fallen upon a darling literary curiosity it is a little book a manuscript and the sent it to me with the request that i say whether i think it ought to be published or not i said yes but as i slowly grow wise i briskly grow cautious and so now that the publication is imminent it has seemed to me that i should feel more comfortable if i could divide up this responsibility with the public by adding them to the court therefore i will print some from the book in the hope that they may make to my judgment that the volume has merit which it to publication as to its character every one has english as she is spoke and english as she is wrote this little volume us an instructive array of examples of english as she is taught in the public schools of well this country the collection is made by a teacher in those schools and all the examples in it are genuine none of them have been with or in any way from time to time during several years whenever a pupil has delivered himself of anything english as she is taught peculiarly quaint or in the course of his this teacher and her associates have privately set this thing down in a book strictly following the original as to grammar construction and all and the result is this literary curiosity the contents of the book consist mainly of answers given by the boys and girls to questions said answers being given sometimes sometimes in writing the subjects touched upon are fifteen in number i ii grammar iv v original vi analysis vii history intellectual ix philosophy x xi xii politics music xiv xv you perceive that the poor little young idea has taken a shoot at a good many kinds of game in the course of the book now as to results here are some quaint of words it will be noticed that in all of these instances the sound of the word or the look of it on paper has the child a system of mountains english as she is taught ii a good man in the bible anything that is mean state of being an to an the food of the gods a little rocks in which corn is found a to a grave one who asks questions one who plays anything belonging to the french a very idol person a man who likes a good dinner to make fun of what can be mended one who feels for another a kind of umbrella the murder of an infant a man who does his prayers in public ten acres of land here is one where the phrase	34
and has got mixed up in the child s mind with politics and the result is a definition which takes one in a sudden and unexpected way republican a sinner mentioned in the bible also in newspapers now and then here are two where the mistake has resulted from sound assisted by remote fact english as she is taught a writer of plays a vessel containing beer and other i cannot quite make out what it was that the pupil in the following instances it would not seem to have been the sound of the word nor the look of it in print a grumbling temper a bird with a flat and no bill living in new the name given to a style of art by the a religious held every hundred years the state of being a staff carried by the deity in the following sentences the ear has been deceiving him again the marriage was he was totally with the whole performance he riding on a philosopher she was very quick at he prayed for the waters to the is watching his sheep they had a here is one which well now how often we do right into the truth without ever suspecting it english as she is taught the men employed by the gas company go round and the indeed they do dear and when you grow up many and many s the time you will notice it in the gas bill in the following sentences the little people have some information to convey every time but in my case they failed to connect the light always went out on the word the of some things is remarkable as bread and her hat is because she wears it on one side he preached to an congregation the captain a bullet through the man s heart tou should take caution and be precarious the girl acted with when the time came that last is a curiously plausible sentence one seems to know what it means and yet he knows all the time that he doesn t here is an odd but entirely proper use of a word and a most sudden descent from a lofty philosophical to a very practical and homely illustration english as she is taught we should endeavor to avoid extremes like those of and bees and here with and in his mind but not ready to his tongue the small scholar has innocently gone and let out a couple of secrets which ought never to have been in any circumstances there are a good many in gardens some of the best are found in the under the head of grammar the little scholars furnish the following information is the without regard to sex a is something to eat should always be used as and as every sentence and name of god must begin with a is well enough but capital letter would have been the following is a brave attempt at a solution but it failed to when they are going to say some prose or poetry before they say the poetry or prose they must put a just after the introduction of the prose or poetry english as she is taught the chapter on is full of fruit from it i take a few mainly in an state a straight line is any distance between two places parallel lines are lines that can never meet until they ran together a circle is a round straight line with a hole in the middle things which are equal to each other are equal to anything else to find the number of square feet in a room you the room by the number of the feet the product is the result right you are in the matter of geography this little book is rich the questions do not appear to have applied the to the subject as did those quoted by professor still they proved plenty difficult enough without that these pupils did not hunt with a they hunted with a shot gun this is shown by the crippled condition of the game they brought in america is divided into the slope and the north america is separated by spain america consists from north to south about five hundred miles l english as she is taught sorrow the young deer made imperfect worked hard in sight i see now that i never understood that poem before i have had glimpses of its meaning in moments when i was not as ignorant with weariness as usual but this is the first time the whole spacious idea of it ever in sight if i were a public school pupil i would put those other studies aside and stick to analysis for after au it is the thing to spread your mind we come now to historical matters historical remains one might say as one turns the pages he is impressed with the depth to which one date has been driven into the american child s head the date is there and it is there to stay and it is always at hand always at a moment s notice but the that belongs with it that is quite another matter only the date itself is familiar and sure its vast fact has failed of it would appear that whenever you ask a public school pupil when a thing anything no matter what happened and he is in doubt he always out his he applies it to everything from the landing of the ark to the english as she is taught i of the horse car well after all it is our first date and so it is right enough to honor it and pay the public schools to teach our children to honor it george washington was bom in washington wrote the of independence in st was in the were the who entered england in under caesar the earth is miles	34
in to proceed with history was called the father of his country queen of spain sold her watch and chain and other so that could discover america the indian wars were very to the country the indians pursued their warfare by hiding in the bushes and then them captain john smith has been the father of his country his life was saved by his daughter the found an insane asylum in the of america the stamp act was to make everybody stamp all materials so they should be and void washington died in spain almost his remains were taken to the cathedral in english as she is taught warfare was where men rode on john brown was a very good insane man who tried to get slaves into virginia he captured all the inhabitants but was finally conquered and condemned to his death the was formed by the fugitive slaves alfred the great reigned years he was distinguished for letting some cakes burn and the lady him henry eight was famous for being a great lost several wives lady jane gray studied greek and latin and was after a few days john bright is noted for an disease lord james the the middle ages come in between antiquity and introduced christianity into england a good many thousand years ago his birthday was november he was once a pope he lived at the time of the rebellion of worms caesar is noted for his famous i came i saw i conquered caesar was really a very great man he was a very great soldier and wrote a book for in the latin was caused by the death of an which she dissolved in a wine cup the only form of government in greece was a limited monkey the war lasted over years greece had only wise men english as she is taught destroyed some statues and had to drink here is a fact correctly stated and yet it is with such ingenious that it can be depended upon to convey every time it is read by the law no woman or of a woman could occupy the throne to show how far a child can travel in history with judicious and in the public school we select the following was born in wales in in the chapter headed intellectual i find a great number of most interesting statements a or two may be found not amiss hall was written by henry snow bound was written by peter the house of the seven was written by lord a was a very writer cotton was a writer who invented the cotton gin and wrote histories wrote the ben johnson survived shakespeare in some respects english as she is taught in the tale it gives account of king alfred on his way to the shrine of thomas bucket was the father of english was a bland verse written of the third century was succeeded by h an american writer his writings were chiefly prose and nearly one hundred years elapsed translated the and it was called st james because he did it in the middle of the chapter i find many pages of information concerning s plays milton s works and those of bacon samuel johnson de foe pope swift burns hood scott george mrs and a fact which shows that into the stomach of the public school pupil is every year the blood bone and of a gigantic literature and the same is there and disposed of in a most successful and characteristic and gratifying public school way i have space but for a trifling few of the results english as she is taught lord was the son of an and a man wm wrote the boy and english as she is taught lord was the son of an and a drunken man wm wrote the boy and on immortality wrote a history of his travels in italy this was original george left a wife and children who mourned greatly for his genius george miss mary mrs cross mrs was the greatest female poet unless george sands is made an exception of is considered a good writer sir walter scott charles alfred the great and johnson were the first great thomas at and then studied law he was raised to the as baron in and died in here are two or three miscellaneous facts that may be of value if taken in moderation s writings are s essays the and paradise lost some people say that these poems were not written by but by another man of the same name a sort of sadness kind of shone in s poems is a very and amusing writer when the public school pupil with the political features of the great republic they throw him sometimes english as she is taught a bill becomes a law when the president it the three of the government is the president rules the world the governor the state the mayor rules the city the first conscientious met in philadelphia the constitution of the united states was established to domestic hostility truth crushed to earth will rise again as follows the constitution of the united states is that part of the book at the end which nobody reads and here she rises once more and there should be a limit to instruction it cannot be wise or well to let the young find out everything is divided into civilized half civilized and savage here are some results of study in music and an interval in music is the distance on the from one piano to the next a rest means you are not to sing it emphasis is putting more distress on one word than another the chapter on contains much that ought not to be lost to science english as she is taught is to study about your bones and occupations which are injurious to health are gas which is blood we have an upper and a lower	34
ful dream tom becomes jealous black revenge chapter xix tom tells the truth chapter xx in a tom s nobility itself chapter xxi youthful eloquence by the young ladies a vision the boy s vengeance satisfied chapter xxii tom s confidence betrayed expects signal punishment chapter old in saved chapter xxiv tom as the village hero days of splendor and nights of horror pursuit of joe chapter xxv about kings and diamonds search for the treasure dead people and ghosts chapter xxvi the haunted house sleepy ghosts a box of gold bitter luck chapter doubts to be settled the young chapter an attempt at number two guard chapter the on joe s track the revenge job aid for the widow vi chapter xxx tie reports under fire the story a new sensation hope giving way to despair chapter an exploring expedition trouble lost in the cave total darkness found but not saved chapter tom tells the story of their escape tom s enemy in safe quarters chapter the fate of joe and tom compare notes an expedition to the cave protection against ghosts an awful snug place a reception at the widow chapter springing a secret mr jones surprise a failure chapter a new order of things poor new adventures planned conclusion illustrations see him tom gave up the brush l i love you preface most of the adventures recorded in this book l really occurred one or two were experiences of my own the rest those of boys who were of mine is drawn from life tom also but not from an individual he is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom i knew and therefore belongs to the order of architecture the odd touched upon were all among children and slaves in the west at the period of this story that is to say thirty or forty years ago although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls i hope it will not be by men and women on that account for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind of what they once were themselves and of how they felt and thought and talked and what queer they sometimes engaged in the author tom tom chapter i no answer tom no answer what s gone with that boy wonder you tom no answer the old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room then she put them up and looked out under them she seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy they were her state pair the pride of her heart and were built for style not service she could have seen through a pair of stove just as well she looked perplexed for a moment and then said not fiercely but still enough for the furniture to hear well i lay if i get hold of you she did not finish for by this time she was bending down and under the bed with the and so she needed breath to the with she nothing but the cat i never did see the beat of that boy she went to the open door and stood in it and looked out among the vines and weeds that constituted the garden no tom so she lifted up her voice at an angle calculated for distance and shouted y o u u tom there was a slight noise behind her and she turned just in time to seize a small boy by the slack of his and arrest his flight there i might v thought of that closet what you been doing in there nothing nothing look at your hands and look at your mouth what is that don t know aunt well know it s jam that s what it is forty times i ve said if you didn t let that jam alone i d skin you hand me that the hovered in the air the peril was desperate my look behind you aunt the old lady whirled round and snatched her skirts out of danger the lad fled on the instant scrambled up the high board fence and disappeared over it his aunt stood surprised a moment and then broke into a gentle laugh hang the boy can t i never learn anything ain t he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time but old fools is the biggest fools there is can t learn an old dog new tricks as the saying is but my goodness he never plays them alike two days and how is a body to know what s coming he to know just how long he can torment me before i get my up and he knows if he can make out to put me off for a minute or make me laugh it s all down again and i can t hit him a i ain t doing my duty by that boy and that s the lord s truth goodness knows spare the rod and the child as the good book says i m a laying up sin and suffering for us both j know he s full of the old scratch but laws a me he s my own dead sister s boy poor thing and i ain t got the heart to lash him somehow every time i let him off my conscience does hurt me so and every time i hit him my old heart most breaks well a well man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble as the scripture says and i reckon it s	34
so he ll play this evening and i ll just be to make him work to morrow to punish him it s mighty hard to make him work when all the boys is having holiday but he hates work more than he hates anything else and i ve for afternoon got to do some of my duty by him or til be the of the tom did play and he had a very good time he got back home barely in season to help jim the small colored boy saw next day s wood and split the before supper at least he was there in time to tell his adventures to jim while jim did three of the work tom s younger brother or rather half brother was already through with his part of the work picking up for he was a quiet boy and had no adventurous troublesome ways while tom was eating his supper and stealing sugar as opportunity offered aunt asked him questions that were full of and very deep for i she wanted to trap him into like many other simple hearted souls it was her pet vanity to believe she was endowed with a talent for dark and mysterious and she loved to contemplate her most transparent devices as of low cunning said she tom it was warm in school it yes m powerful warm warn t it yes m didn t you want to go in a swimming tom a bit of a scare shot through tom a touch of uncomfortable suspicion he searched aunt s face but it told him nothing so he said no m well not very much the old lady reached out her hand and felt tom s shirt and said but you ain t too warm now though and it flattered her to reflect that she had discovered that the shirt was dry without anybody knowing that that was what she had in her mind but in spite of her tom knew where the wind lay now so he what might be the next move some of us on our heads mine s damp yet see aunt was vexed to think she had overlooked that bit of evidence and missed a trick then she had a new inspiration tom you didn t have to undo your shirt collar where i it to pump on your head did you your jacket the trouble vanished out of tom s face he opened his jacket his shirt collar was securely bother well go long with you i d made sure you d played and been a swimming but i forgive ye tom i reckon you re a kind of a cat as the saying is better n you look this time she was half sorry her sagacity had and glad that tom had stumbled into obedient conduct for once but said c well now if i didn t think you his collar with white but it s black why i did it with white tom but tom did not wait for the rest as he went out at the door he said i ll you for that in a safe place tom examined two large needles which were thrust into the of his jacket and had thread bound about them one needle carried white thread and the other black he said she d never noticed if it hadn t been for confound it sometimes she it with white and sometimes she it with black i wish to she d stick to one or t other can t keep the run of em but i bet you i ll lam for that i ll learn him r he was not the model boy of the village he knew the model boy very well though and him within two minutes or even less he had forgotten all his troubles not because his troubles were one whit less heavy and bitter to him than a man s are to a man but because a new and powerful interest bore them down and drove them out of his mind for the time just as men s misfortunes are forgotten in the excitement of new this new interest was a valued novelty in whistling which he had just acquired from a negro and he was suffering to practise it undisturbed it consisted in a peculiar bird like turn a sort of liquid produced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth at short intervals in the midst of the music the reader probably remembers how to do it if he has ever been a boy diligence and attention soon gave him the of it and he strode down the street with his mouth full of harmony and his soul full of gratitude he felt much as an feels who has discovered a new planet no doubt as far as strong deep pleasure is concerned the advantage was with the boy not the the summer evenings were long it was not dark yet presently tom checked his whistle a stranger was before him a boy a shade larger than himself a new comer of any age or either sex was an impressive curiosity in the poor little shabby village of st this boy was well dressed too well dressed on a week day this was simply his cap was a dainty thing his blue cloth was new and and so were his he had shoes on and it was only friday he even wore a a bright bit of ribbon he had a air about him that ate into tom s the more tom stared at ae splendid marvel the higher he turned up his nose at his finery and the and his own seemed to him to grow neither boy spoke if one moved the other moved but only in a circle they kept face to face and eye	34
to eye all the time finally tom said i can you i d like to see you try it well i can do it no you can t either yes i can no you can t i can you can t can can t an uncomfortable pause then tom said what s your t any of your business maybe well i low i ll make it my business well why don t you if you say much i will much much much there now oh you think you re mighty smart don t you i could you with one hand tied behind me if i wanted to well why don t you do it you say you can do it well i will if you fool with me oh yes i ve seen whole families in the same fix you think you re some now don t you oh what a hat you can lump that hat if you don t it i dare you to knock it off and anybody that take a dare will eggs you re a liar you re another you re a fighting liar and t take it up take a walk say if you give me much more of your i ll take a rock your head oh of course you will well i will well why don t you do it then what do you keep saying you will for why don t you do it it s because you re afraid i ain t afraid you are i ain t you are another pause and more and around each other presently they were shoulder to shoulder tom said get away from here go away yourself won t i won t either so they stood each with a foot placed at an angle as a brace and both with might and main and at each other with hate but neither could get an advantage after struggling till be were hot and flushed each relaxed his strain wi watchful caution and tom said you re a coward and a i ll tell my b brother on you and he can you with his lit finger and i ll make him do it too what do i care for your big brother i ve g a brother that s bigger than he is and what s mon he can throw him over that fence too both were imaginary that s a lie your saying so don t make it so tom drew a line in the dust with his big toe an said i dare you to step over that and i ll you til you can t stand up anybody that ll take a dare steal sheep the new boy stepped over promptly and said now you said you d do it now let s see you do it don t you crowd me now you better look out well you said you d do it why don t you do it by for two cents i will do it the new boy took two broad out of his pocket and held them out with derision tom struck them to the ground in an instant both boys were rolling and tumbling in the dirt together like cats and for the space of a minute they and tore at each other s hair and clothes and scratched each other s nose and covered themselves with dust and glory presently the confusion took form and through the fog of battle tom appeared seated the new boy and him with his fists said he the boy only struggled to free himself he was crying mainly from rage and the went on at last the stranger got out a smothered and tom let him up and said now that ii learn you better look out who you re with next time the new boy went off brushing the dust from his clothes sobbing and occasionally looking back and shaking his head and threatening what he would do to tom the next time he caught him out to which tom responded with and started off in high feather and as soon as his back was turned the new boy snatched up a stone threw it and hit him between the shoulders and then turned tail and ran like an tom chased the traitor home and thus found out where he lived he then held a position at the gate for some time daring the enemy to come outside but the enemy only made faces at him through the window and declined at last the enemy s mother appeared and called tom a bad vicious vulgar child and ordered him away so he went away but he said he to lay for that boy x ir he got home pretty late that night and when climbed cautiously in at the window he an in the person of his aunt and m she saw the state his clothes were in her to turn his saturday holiday into at h labor became in its firmness chapter ii morning was come and all the summer world was bright and fresh and with life there was a song in every heart and if the heart was young the music issued at the lips there was cheer in every face and a spring in every step the trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air hill beyond the village and above it was green with vegetation and it lay just far enough away to seem a land dreamy and inviting tom appeared on the with a bucket of and a long handled brush he surveyed the fence and ail gladness left him and a deep met settled down upon his spirit thirty yards of board fence nine feet high life to him seemed hollow and existence but a burden sighing he dipped his brush and passed it along the plank repeated	34
the operation did it again compared the insignificant streak with the far reaching continent of fence and sat down on a tree box discouraged jim came out at the j gate with a tin and singing bringing i water from the town pump had always been hateful work in tom s eyes before but now it did not strike him so he remembered that there was company at the pump white and negro boys and girls were always there waiting their turns resting trading quarrelling fighting and he remembered that although the pump was only a hundred and fifty yards off jim never got back with a bucket of water under an hour and even then somebody generally had to go after him tom said say jim i ll fetch the water if you ll some jim shook his head and said can t tom she me i got to go an dis water an not stop anybody she say she tom to ax me to an so she me go long an tend to my own business she shed tend to de oh never you mind what she said jim that s the way she always talks the bucket i won t be gone only a minute she won t ever know oh i t tom she d take an tar de head off n me deed she would she she never anybody em over the head with her and who cares for that i d like to know she talks awful but talk don t hurt it don t if she don t cry jim i ll give you a marvel i ll give you a white alley jim began to white alley jim and it s a bully my s a mighty gay marvel tell you but tom i s powerful and besides if you will i ll show you my sore toe jim was only human this attraction was too much for him he put down his took the white alley and bent over the toe with absorbing interest while the was being in another moment he was flying down the street with his and a rear tom was with vigor and aunt was retiring from the field with a in her hand and triumph in her eye but tom s energy did not last he began to think of the fun he had planned for this day and his sorrows multiplied soon the free boys would come along on all sorts of delicious and they would make a world of fun of him for having to work the very thought of it burnt him like fire he got out his worldly wealth and examined it bits of toys and enough to buy an exchange of work maybe but not half enough to buy so much as half an hour of pure freedom so he returned his means to his pocket and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys at this dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him nothing less than a great magnificent inspiration he took up his brush and went to work ben in sight presently the very boy of all boys whose ridicule he had been ben s gait was the hop and jump proof enough that his heart was light and his high he was eating an apple and giving a long melodious at intervals followed by a deep toned for he was a as he drew near he speed took the middle of the street leaned far over to and rounded to and with laborious pomp and circumstance for he was the big and considered himself to be drawing nine feet of water he was boat and captain and engine bells combined so he had to imagine himself standing on his own deck giving the orders and them stop her sir ting a ling ling the ran almost out and he drew up slowly toward the ship up to back ting a ling ling his arms straightened and down his sides set her back on the ting a ling ch his right hand meantime describing stately circles for it was representing a forty foot wheel let her go back on the ting a ch the left hand began to describe circles stop the ting a ling ling stop the come ahead on the stop her let your outside turn over slow ting a ling ling ow ow get out that head line lively now come out with your spring line what re you about there take a turn round that stump with the of it stand by that stage now let her go done with the engines sir ting a ling ling sh t s h t sh t trying the tom went on paid no attention to the ben stared a moment and then said hi ji you re up a stump ain t you no answer tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist then he gave his brush another gentle sweep and surveyed the result as before ben ranged up alongside of him tom s mouth watered for the apple but he stuck to his work ben said old chap you got to work hey tom wheeled suddenly and said why it s you ben i warn t noticing say i m going in a swimming am don t you wish you could but of course you d work wouldn t you course you would tom contemplated the boy a bit and said what do you call work why ain t that work tom resumed his and answered carelessly well maybe it is and maybe it ain t all i know is it suits tom oh come now you don t mean to let on that you like it the brush continued to move like it well i don t	34
see why i t to like it does a boy get a chance to a fence that put the thing in a new light ben stopped his apple tom swept his brush back and forth stepped back to note the effect added a touch here and there the effect again ben watching every move and getting more and more interested more and more absorbed presently he said say tom let me a little tom considered was about to consent but he altered his mind no no i reckon it wouldn t hardly do ben you see aunt s awful particular about this fence right here on the street you know but if it was the back fence i wouldn t mind and she wouldn t yes she s awful particular about this fence it s got to be done very careful i reckon there ain t one boy in a thousand maybe two thousand that can do it the way it s got to be done tom gave up the brush no is that so oh come now just try only just a little i d let you if you was me tom ben like to honest but aunt well jim wanted to do it but she wouldn t let him wanted to do it and she wouldn t let now don t you see how fm fixed if you was to tackle this fence and anything was to happen to it oh fu be just as careful now try say fu give you the core of my apple well here no ben now don t fm i ll give you all of it tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face but alacrity in his heart and while the late steamer big worked and in the sun the retired artist sat on a barrel in the shade close by his legs his apple and planned the slaughter of more there was no lack of material boys happened along every little while they came to but remained to by the time ben was out tom had the next chance to for a in good repair and when he played out miller bought in for a dead rat and a string to swing it with and so on and so on hour after hour and when the middle of the afternoon came from being a poor poverty stricken boy in the morning tom was literally rolling in wealth he had besides the things before mentioned twelve part of a jews harp a piece of blue bottle glass to look through a cannon a key that wouldn t anything a fragment of chalk a glass of a a tin soldier a couple of six fire a with only one eye a brass a dog collar but no dog the handle of a knife four pieces of orange and a old window he had had a nice good idle time all the while plenty of company and the fence had three coats of on it if he hadn t run out pf he would have every boy in the village tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world after all he had discovered a great law of human action without knowing it namely that in i to make a man or a boy a thing it is only i necessary to make the thing difficult to attain if i he had been a great and wise philosopher like the writer of this book he would now have comprehended i work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do and this would help him to understand why artificial flowers or performing on a tread mill is work while rolling ten pins or climbing is only amusement there are wealthy gentlemen in england who drive four horse twenty or thirty miles on a daily line in the summer because the privilege costs them considerable money but if they were offered wages for the service that would turn it into work and then they would resign the boy mused awhile over the substantial change which had taken place in his worldly circumstances and then toward to report chapter iii presented himself before aunt who was sitting by an open window in a pleasant apartment which was bedroom breakfast room dining room and library combined the summer air the quiet the of the flowers and the murmur of the bees had had their effect and she was nodding over her knitting for she had no company but the cat and it was asleep in her lap her spectacles were propped up on her gray head for safety she had thought that of course tom had deserted long ago and she wondered at seeing him place himself in her power again in this way he said t i go and play now aunt what a ready how much have you done it s all done aunt tom don t lie to me i can t bear it i ain t aunt it iv all done aunt placed small trust in such evidence she went out to see for herself and she would have been content to find twenty per cent of tom s statement true when she found the entire fence and not only but and and even a streak added to the ground her astonishment was almost unspeakable she said well i never there s no getting round it you can work when you re a mind to tom and then she the compliment by adding but it s powerful seldom you re a mind to i m bound to say well go long and play but mind you get back some time in a week or i ll tan you she was	34
so overcome by the splendor of his achievement that she took him into the closet and selected a choice apple and delivered it to him along with an improving lecture upon the added value and flavor a treat took to itself when it came without sin through virtuous effort and while she closed with a happy flourish he a then he out and saw just starting up the outside that led to the back rooms on the second floor were handy and the air was full of them in a twinkling they raged around like a hail storm and before aunt could collect her surprised faculties and sally to the rescue six or seven had taken personal effect and tom was over the fence and gone there was a gate but as a general thing he was too crowded for time to make use of it his soul was at peace now that he had settled with for calling attention to his black thread and getting him into trouble tom skirted the block and came round into a muddy alley that led by the back of his aunt s he presently got safely beyond the reach of capture and punishment and hastened toward the public square of the village where two military companies of boys had met for conflict according to previous appointment tom was general of one of these armies joe a bosom friend general of the other these two great did not condescend to fight in person that being better suited to the still smaller but sat together on an eminence and conducted the field operations by orders delivered through de camp tom s army won a great victory after a long and hard fought battle then the dead were counted prisoners exchanged the terms of the next agreed upon and the day for the necessary battle appointed after which the armies fell into line and marched away and tom turned homeward alone as he was passing by the house where lived he saw a new girl in the garden a lovely little blue eyed creature with yellow hair into two long tails white summer frock and embroidered the fresh crowned hero fell without firing a shot a certain vanished out of his heart and left not even a memory of herself behind he had thought he loved her to distraction he had regarded his passion as adoration and behold it was only a poor little partiality he had been months winning her she had confessed hardly a week ago he had been the happiest and the boy in the world only seven short days and here in one instant of time she had gone out of his heart like a casual stranger whose visit is done he worshipped this new angel with eye till he saw that she had discovered him then he pretended he did not know she was present and began to show off in all sorts of absurd boyish ways in order to win her admiration he kept up this grotesque foolishness for some time but by and by while he was in the midst of some dangerous performances he glanced aside and saw that the little girl was her way toward the house tom came up to the fence and leaned on it and hoping she would yet awhile longer she halted a moment on the steps and then moved toward the door tom heaved a great sigh as she put her foot on the threshold but his face lit up right away for she tossed a over the fence a moment before she disappeared the boy ran around and stopped within a foot or two of the flower and then shaded his eyes with his hand and began to look down street as if he had discovered something of interest going on in that direction presently he picked up a straw and began trying to balance it oh his nose with his head far back and as he moved from side to side in his efforts he edged nearer and nearer toward the finally bare foot rested upon it his toes closed upon it and he away with the treasure and disappeared round the corner but only for a minute only while he could button the flower inside his jacket next his heart or next his stomach possibly for he was not much posted in and not anyway he returned now and hung about the fence till nightfall showing off as before but the girl never exhibited herself again though tom comforted himself a little with the hope that she had been near some window meantime and been aware of his attentions finally he strode home reluctantly with his poor head full of visions all through supper his spirits were so high that his aunt wondered what had got into the child he took a good scolding about and did not seem to mind it in the least he tried to steal sugar under his aunt s very nose and got his for it he said aunt you don t when he takes it well don t torment a body the way you do you d be always into that sugar if i warn t watching you presently she stepped into the kitchen and happy in his reached for the sugar bowl a sort of over tom which was but s fingers slipped the bowl dropped and broke tom was in in such that he even controlled his tongue and was silent he said to himself that he would not speak a word even when his aunt came in but would sit perfectly still till she asked who did the mischief and then he would tell and there would be nothing so good in the world as to see that pet model catch it he was so of exultation that he could hardly hold himself when the old lady came back and stood above the wreck	34
get his verses had learned his lesson days before tom bent all his energies to the of five verses and he chose part of the sermon on the mount because he could find no verses that were shorter at the end of half an hour tom had a vague general idea of his lesson but no more for his mind was the whole field of human thought and his hands were busy with mary took his book to hear him and he tried to find his way through the fog blessed are the a a poor yes poor blessed are the poor a a in spirit c in spirit blessed are the poor in spirit for they for theirs blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are they that mourn for they they for a s h a for they s h oh i don t know what it is shall oh shall for they shall for they shall a a shall mourn a a blessed are they that shall they that a they that shall mourn for they shall a shall what why don t you tell me mary what do you want to be so mean for oh tom you poor thick headed thing not you i wouldn t do that you must go and learn it again don t you be discouraged tom you ll manage it and if you do i ll give you something ever so nice there now that s a good boy all right what is it mary tell me what it is never you mind tom you know if i say it s nice it is nice you bet you that s so mary all right i ll tackle it again and he did tackle it again and under the double pressure of curiosity and gain he did it with such spirit that he accomplished a shining success mary gave him a brand new knife worth twelve and a half cents and the of delight that swept his system shook him to his foundations true the knife would not cut anything but it was a sure enough and there was inconceivable grandeur in that though where the western boys ever got the idea that such a weapon could possibly be to its injury is an imposing mystery and will always remain so perhaps tom contrived to the cupboard with it and was arranging to begin on the when he was called off to dress for sunday school mary gave him a tin basin of water and a piece of soap and he went outside the door and set the basin on a little bench there then he dipped the soap in the water and laid it down turned up his sleeves poured out the water on the ground gently and then entered the kitchen and began to wipe his face diligently on the behind the door but mary removed the and said now ain t you ashamed tom you mustn t be so bad water won t hurt you tom was a trifle disconcerted the basin was and this time he stood over it a little while gathering resolution took in a big breath and began when he entered the kitchen presently with both eyes shut and groping for the with his hands an honorable testimony of and water was dripping from his face but when he emerged from the he was not yet satisfactory for the clean territory stopped short at his chin and his jaws like a mask below and beyond this line there was a dark expanse of soil that spread downward in front and backward around his neck mary took him in hand and when she was done with him he was a man and a brother without distinction of color and his hair was neatly brushed and its short curls wrought into a dainty and general effect he privately smoothed out the curls with labor and difficulty and his hair close down to his head for he held curls to be and his own filled his life with bitterness then mary got out a suit of his clothing that had been used only on sundays during two were simply called his other clothes and so by that we know the size of his wardrobe the girl put him to rights after he had dressed himself she his neat up to his chin turned his vast shirt collar down over his shoulders brushed him off and crowned him with his straw hat he now looked exceedingly improved and uncomfortable he was fully as uncomfortable as he looked for there was a restraint about whole clothes and cleanliness that him he hoped that mary would forget his shoes but the hope was she them thoroughly with as was die custom and brought them out he lost his temper and said he was always being made to do everything he didn t want to do but mary said please tom that s a good boy so he got into the shoes mary was soon ready and the three children set out for sunday school a place that tom hated with his whole heart but and mary were fond of it sabbath school hours were from nine to half past ten and then church service two of the children always remained for the sermon voluntarily and the other always remained too for stronger reasons the church s high backed would seat about three hundred persons the edifice was but a small plain affair with a sort of pine board tree box on top of it for a at the door tom dropped back a step and a sunday dressed comrade say got a ticket yes what you take for her what	34
been restless and full of and conscience smitten too he could not meet s eye he could not brook her loving gaze but when he saw this small new comer his soul was all with bliss in a moment the next moment he was showing off with all his might boys pulling hair making faces in a word using every art that seemed likely to a girl and win her applause his exaltation had but one the memory of his humiliation in this garden and that record in sand was fast washing out under the waves of happiness that were sweeping over it now the visitors were given the highest seat of honor and as soon as mr speech was finished he introduced them to the school the middle aged man turned out to be a prodigious personage no less a one than the county judge altogether the most august creation these children had ever looked upon and they wondered what kind of material he was made and they half wanted to hear him roar and were half afraid he might too he was from twelve miles away so he had travelled and seen the world these very eyes had looked upon the county court house which was said to have a tin roof the awe which these reflections inspired was by the impressive silence and the ranks of staring eyes this was the great judge brother of their own lawyer immediately went forward to be familiar with the great man and be envied by the school it would have been music to his soul to hear the look at him jim he s a going up there say look i he s a going to shake hands with him he is shaking hands with him by don t you wish you was i mr fell to showing off with all sorts of official and giving orders delivering judgments directions here there everywhere that he could find a the u showed off running hither and thither with his arms full of books and making a deal of the and fuss that insect authority delights in the young lady teachers showed off bending sweetly over pupils that were lately being lifting pretty warning fingers at bad little boys and patting good ones lovingly the young gentlemen teachers showed off with small and other little of authority and fine attention to discipline and most of the teachers of both sexes found business up at the library by the pulpit and it was business that frequently had to be done over again two or three times with much seeming vexation the little girls showed off in various ways and the little boys showed off with such diligence that the air was thick with paper and the murmur of and above it all the great man sat and beamed a majestic smile upon all the house and warmed himself in the sun of his own grandeur for he was showing off too there was only one thing wanting to make mr ecstasy complete and that was a chance to deliver a bible prize and exhibit a several pupils had a few yellow tickets but none had enough he had been around among the star pupils inquiring he would have given worlds now to have that german lad back again with a sound mind and now at this moment when hope was dead tom came forward with nine yellow tickets nine red tickets and ten blue ones and demanded a bible this was a out of a clear sky was not expecting an application from this source for the next ten years but there was no getting around it here were the and they were good for their face tom was therefore elevated to a place with the judge and the other elect and the great news was announced from it was the most surprise of the and so profound was the sensation that it lifted the new hero up to the one s and the school had two to gaze upon in place of one the boys were all eaten up with envy but those that suffered the bitterest pangs were those who perceived too late that they themselves had contributed to this hated splendor by trading tickets to tom for the wealth he had in selling privileges these despised themselves as being the of a fraud a snake in the grass the prize was delivered to tom with as much as the could pump up under the circumstances but it lacked somewhat of the true for the poor fellow s instinct taught him that there was a mystery here that could not well bear the light perhaps it was simply preposterous that this boy had two thousand of wisdom on his premises a dozen would strain his capacity without a doubt was proud and glad and she tried to make tom see it in her face but he wouldn t look she wondered then she was just a grain troubled next a dim suspicion came and went came again she watched a glance told her worlds and then her heart broke and she was jealous and angry and the tears came and she hated everybody tom most of all she thought tom was introduced to the judge but his tongue was tied his breath would hardly come his heart partly because of the awful greatness of the man but mainly because he was her parent he would have liked to fall down and worship him if it were in the dark the judge put his hand on tom s head and called him a fine little man and asked him what his name was the boy stammered gasped and got it out tom no not tom it is thomas ah that s it i thought there	34
was more to it maybe that s very well but you ve another one i and you ll tell it to me won t you tell the gentleman your other name thomas said and say sir you mustn t forget your manners thomas sir that s it that s a good boy fine boy pine manly little fellow two thousand verses is a great many very very great many and you never can be sorry for the trouble you took to learn them for knowledge is worth more than anything there is in the world it s what makes great men and good men you ll be a great man and a good man yourself some day thomas and then you ll look back and say it s all owing to the precious sunday school privileges of my boyhood it s all owing to my dear teachers that taught me to learn it s all owing to the good who encouraged me and watched over me and gave me a beautiful bible a splendid elegant bible to keep and have it all for my own always it s all owing to right bringing up that is what you will say thomas and you wouldn t take any money for those two thousand verses no indeed you wouldn t and now you wouldn t mind telling me and this lady some of the things you ve learned no i know you wouldn t for we are proud of little boys that learn now no doubt you know the names of all the twelve won t you tell us the names of the first two that were appointed tom was at a button hole and looking he blushed now and his eyes fell mr heart sank within him he said to himself it is not possible that the boy can answer the simplest question why did the judge ask him yet he felt obliged to speak up and say answer the gentleman thomas don t be afraid tom still hung fire now i know you ll tell me said the lady the names of the first two were david and let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of the scene chapter v bout half past ten the cracked bell of the small church began to ring and presently the people began to gather for the morning sermon the sunday school children distributed themselves about the house and occupied with their parents so as to be under aunt came and tom and and mary sat with her tom being placed next the aisle in order that he might be as far away from the open window and the outside summer scenes as possible the crowd filed up the the aged and who had seen better days the mayor and his wife for they had a mayor there among other the justice of the peace the widow fair smart and forty a generous good hearted soul and well to do her hill mansion the only palace in town and the most hospitable and much the most lavish in the matter of that st could boast the bent and venerable major and mrs ward lawyer the new notable from a dis next the of the village followed by a troop of lawn clad and ribbon young heart then all the young clerks in town in a body for they had stood in the their cane heads a wall of and admirers till the last girl had run their and last of all came the model boy taking as care of his mother as if she were cut glass he always brought his mother to church and was the pride of all the the boys all hated him he was so good and besides he had been thrown up to them so much his white handkerchief was hanging out of his pocket behind as usual on sundays accidentally tom had no handkerchief and he looked upon boys who had as the congregation being fully assembled now the bell rang once more to warn and and then a solemn hush fell upon the church which was only broken by the and whispering of the choir in the gallery the choir always and whispered all through service there was once a church choir that was not ill bred but i have forgotten where it was now it was a great many years ago and i can scarcely remember anything about it but i think it was in some foreign country the minister gave out the hymn and read it through with a relish in a peculiar style which was much admired in that part of the country his voice began on a medium key and climbed steadily up till it reached a certain point where it bore with strong emphasis upon the word and then plunged down as if from a spring board j toe the rf em he was regarded as a wonderful reader at church he was always called upon to read poetry and when he was through the ladies would lift up their hands and let them fall helplessly in their and wall their eyes and shake their heads as much as to say words cannot express it it is too beautiful too beautiful for this mortal earth after the hymn had been sung the rev mr turned himself into a board and read off notices of meetings and societies and things till it seemed that the list would stretch out to the crack of doom a queer custom which is still kept up in america even in cities away here in this age of abundant newspapers often the less there is to justify a custom the harder it is to get rid of it and now the minister prayed a good generous prayer it was and went into	34
in front of the altar he flew down the other aisle he crossed before the doors he up the home stretch his anguish grew with his progress till presently he was hut a moving in its with the gleam and the speed of light at last the frantic sufferer from its course and sprang into its master s lap he flung it out of the window and the voice of distress quickly away and died in the distance by this time the whole church was red faced and with suppressed laughter and the sermon had come to a dead the discourse was resumed presently but it went lame and halting all possibility of being at an end for even the sentiments were constantly being received with a smothered burst of mirth under cover of some remote back as if the poor parson had said a rarely thing it was a genuine relief to the whole congregation when the ordeal was over and the pronounced tom went home quite cheerful thinking to himself th t there was some satisfaction about divine service when there was a bit of variety in it he had but one thought he was willing that the dog should play with his but he did not think it was upright in him to carry it off chapter vi monday morning found tom miserable monday morning always found him so because it began another week s slow suffering in school he generally began that day with wishing he had had no intervening holiday it made the going into and again so much more odious tom lay thinking presently it occurred to him that he wished he was sick then he could stay home from school here was a vague possibility he his system no was found and he again this time he thought he could detect symptoms and he began to encourage them with considerable hope but they soon grew feeble and presently died wholly away he reflected further suddenly he discovered something one of his upper front teeth was loose this was lucky he was about to begin to groan as a as he called it when it occurred to him that if he came into court with that argument his aunt would pull it out and that would hurt so he thought he would hold the tooth in reserve for the present and seek further nothing offered for some little time and then he remembered hearing the doctor tell about a certain thing that laid up a patient for two or three weeks and threatened to make him lose a finger so the boy eagerly drew his sore toe from under the sheet and held it up for inspection but now he did not know the necessary symptoms however it seemed well worth while to chance it so he fell to groaning with considerable spirit but slept on unconscious tom groaned louder and fancied that he began to feel pain in the toe no result from tom was panting with his exertions by this time he took a rest and then swelled himself up and fetched a succession of admirable groans on tom was he said and shook him this course worked well and tom began to groan again yawned stretched then brought himself up on his elbow with a and began to stare at tom tom went on groaning said tom say tom no response here tom tom what is the matter tom and he shook him and looked in his face anxiously tom moaned out oh don t don t me why what s the matter tom i must call no never mind it ll be over by and by maybe don t call anybody but i don t groan so tom it s awful how long you been this way hours oh don t stir so you ll kill me tom why didn t you wake me sooner oh tom it makes my flesh crawl to hear you tom what is the matter i forgive you everything groan everything you ve ever done to me when i m gone oh tom you ain t dying are you don t tom oh don t maybe i forgive everybody groan tell em so and you give my window and my cat with one eye to that new girl that s come to town and tell but had snatched his clothes and gone tom was suffering in reality now so handsomely was his imagination and so his groans had gathered quite a genuine tone flew down stairs and said oh aunt come tom s dying dying yes m don t wait come quick i don t believe it co but she fled up stairs nevertheless with and mary at her heels and her face grew white too and her lip trembled when she reached the bedside she gasped out you tom tom what s the matter with you oh fm what s the matter with you what is the matter with you child oh my sore toe s the old lady sank down into a chair and laughed little then cried a little then did both together this restored her and she said tom what a turn you did give me now you shut up that nonsense and climb out of this the groans ceased and the pain vanished from the toe the boy felt a little foolish and he said aunt it seemed and it hurt so i never minded my tooth at all your tooth indeed what s the matter with your tooth one of them s loose and it perfectly awful there there now don t begin that groaning again open your mouth well your tooth is loose but you re not going to die about that mary get me a silk thread and a of fire out of the kitchen tom said oh please a don t pull it out it don t hurt	34
any more i wish i may never stir if it does u i j please don t don t want to stay home from school oh you don t don t you so this row was because you thought you d get to stay home from school and go a fishing tom tom i love you so and you seem to try every way you can to break my old heart with your by this time the instruments were ready the old lady made one end of the silk thread fast to tom s tooth with a and tied the other to the then she seized the of fire and suddenly thrust it almost into the boy s face the tooth hung dangling by the now but all trials bring their as tom to school after breakfast he was the envy of every boy he met because the gap in his upper row of teeth enabled him to in a new and admirable way he gathered quite a following of lads interested in the exhibition and one that had cut his finger and had been a centre of fascination and homage up to this time now found himself suddenly without an and of his glory his heart was heavy and he said a disdain which he did not feel that it wasn t anything to spit like tom but another boy said grapes and he wandered away a hero shortly tom came upon the of the village son of the town was cordially hated and dreaded by all the mothers of the town because he was idle and lawless and vulgar and bad and because all their children admired him so and delighted in his forbidden society and wished they dared to be like him tom was like die rest of the respectable boys in that he envied his gaudy outcast condition and was under strict orders not to play with him so he played with him every time he got a chance was always dressed in the cast off clothes of full grown men and they were in bloom and fluttering with rags his hat was a vast ruin with a wide out of its brim his coat when he wore one hung nearly to his heels and had the buttons far down the back but one supported his trousers the seat of the trousers low and contained nothing the fringed legs dragged in the dirt when not rolled up came and went at his own free will he slept on in fine weather and in empty in wet he did not have to go to school or to church or call any being master or obey anybody he could go fishing or swimming when and where he chose and stay as long as it suited him nobody forbade him to fight he could sit up as late as he pleased he was always the first boy that went in the spring and the last to resume leather in the fall he never had to wash nor put on clean clothes he could swear wonderfully in a word everything that goes to make life precious that boy had so thought every harassed respectable boy in st tom hailed the romantic outcast yourself and see how you like it what s that you got dead cat see him my he s pretty stiff where d you get him bought him a boy what did you give i give a blue ticket and a that i got at the slaughter house where d you get the blue ticket bought it ben two weeks ago for a stick say what is dead cats good for good for cure with no is that so i know something that s better i bet you don t what is it why water water i wouldn t give a for you wouldn t wouldn t you d you ever try it no i t but bob did who told you so why he told and told baker and told jim and jim told ben and ben told a and the told me there now well what of it they ll all lie all but the i don t know him but i never see a that lie now you tell me how bob done it why he took and dipped his hand in a rotten stump where the rain water was in the certainly with his face to the stump yes least i reckon so did he say anything i don t reckon he did i don t know talk about trying to cure with such a blame fool way as that why that ain t a going to do any good you got to go all by yourself to the middle of the woods where you know there s a water stump and just as it s midnight you back up against the stump and jam your hand in and say corn corn meal water water these and then walk away quick eleven steps with your shut and then turn around three times and walk home without speaking to anybody because if you speak the charm s well that sounds like a good way but that ain t the way bob done no sir you can bet he didn t he s the boy in this town and he wouldn t have a on him if he d how to work i ve took off thousands of off of my hands that way i play with so much that i ve always got considerable many sometimes i take em off with a yes s good i ve done that have you what s your way you take and split the and cut the so as to get some blood and then you put the blood on one piece of the and take and dig a hole and bury it bout midnight at the in the dark of the moon and then you	34
head for the space of a minute when she cautiously faced around again a lay before her she thrust it away tom gently put it back she thrust it away again but with less tom patiently returned it to its place then she let it remain tom on his slate please take it i got more the girl glanced at the words but made no sign now the boy began to draw something on the slate hiding his work with his left hand for a time the girl refused to notice but her human curiosity presently began to manifest itself by hardly perceptible signs the boy worked on apparently unconscious the girl made a sort of attempt to see but the boy did not betray that he was aware of it at last she gave in and hesitatingly whispered let me see it tom partly uncovered a dismal of a house with two ends to it and a of smoke issuing from the chimney then the girl s interest began to fasten itself upon the work and she forgot everything else when it was finished she gazed a moment then whispered it s nice make a man the artist erected a man in the front yard that resembled a he could have stepped over the house but the girl was not she was satisfied with the monster and whispered it s a beautiful man now make me coming along tom drew an hour glass with a full moon and straw limbs to it and armed the spreading fingers with a fan the girl said it s ever so nice i wish i could draw it s easy whispered tom i ll learn you oh will you when at noon do you go home to dinner i ll stay if you will that s a what s your name what s yours oh i know it s thomas that s the name they me by i m tom when i m good you call me tom will you yes now tom began to something on the slate hiding the words from the girl but she was not backward this time she begged to see tom said oh it ain t anything yes it is no it ain t you don t want to see yes i do indeed i do please let me you ll tell no i won t deed and deed and double deed i won t you won t tell anybody at all ever s long as you live no i won t ever tell anybody now let me oh you don t want to see now that you treat me so i will see and she put her small hand upon his and a little ensued tom pretending to resist in earnest but letting his hand slip by degrees till these words were revealed love you oh you bad thing and she hit his hand a smart rap but and looked pleased nevertheless just at this juncture the boy felt a slow grip closing on his ear and a steady lifting impulse in that he was borne across the house and deposited in his own seat under a fire of from the whole school then the master stood over him during a few awful moments and finally moved away to his throne without saying a word but although tom s ear his heart was as the school down tom made an honest effort to study but the turmoil within him was too great in turn he took his place in the reading class and made a of it then in the geography class and turned lakes into mountains mountains into rivers and rivers into till chaos was come again then in the class and got turned down by a succession of mere baby words till he brought up at the foot and yielded up the which he had worn with for months chapter vii he harder tom tried to fasten his mind on his book the more his ideas wandered so at last with a sigh and a he gave it up it seemed to him that the noon i recess would never come the air was utterly dead there was not a breath stirring it was the of sleepy days the murmur of the five and twenty studying scholars soothed the soul like the spell that is in the murmur of bees away off in the flaming sunshine hill lifted its soft green sides through a veil of heat tinted with the purple of distance a few birds floated on lazy wing high in the air no other living thing was visible but some cows and they were asleep tom s heart ached to be free or else to have something of interest to do to pass the dreary time his hand wandered into his pocket and his face lit up with a glow of gratitude that was prayer though he did not know it then the cap box came out he released the and put him on the long flat desk the creature probably glowed with a gratitude that amounted to prayer too at this moment but it was premature for when he started to travel off tom turned him aside with a pin and made him take a new direction tom s bosom friend sat next him suffering just as tom had been and now he was deeply and gratefully interested in this entertainment in an instant this bosom friend was joe the two boys were sworn friends all the week and enemies on joe took a pin out of his and began to assist in the prisoner the sport grew in interest soon tom said that they were interfering with each other and neither getting the fullest benefit of the so he put joe s slate on the desk and drew a line down the middle of it from top to bottom now said he as long as	34
he is on your side you can stir him up and i ll let him alone but if you let him get away and get on my side you re to leave him alone as long as i can keep him from crossing over all right go ahead start him up the escaped from tom presently and crossed the joe harassed him awhile and then he got away and crossed back again this change of base occurred often while one boy was worrying the with absorbing interest the other would look on with interest as strong the two heads bowed together over the slate and the two souls dead to all things else at last luck seemed to settle and abide with joe the tried this that and the other course and got as excited and as anxious as the boys themselves but time and again just as he would have victory in his very grasp so to speak and tom s fingers would be to begin joe s pin would head him off and keep j possession at last tom could stand it no longer the temptation was too strong so he reached out and lent a hand with his pin joe was angry in a moment said he tom you let him alone i only just want to stir him up a little joe no sir it ain t fair you just let him alone blame it i ain t going to stir him much let him alone i tell you i won t you shall he s on my side of the line look here joe whose is that don t care whose he is he s on my side of the line and you sha n t touch him well i ll just bet i will though he s my and i ll do what i blame please with him or die a tremendous came down on tom s shoulders and its on joe s and for the space of two minutes the dust continued to fly from the two and the whole school to enjoy it the boys had been too absorbed to notice the hush that had stolen upon the school awhile before when the master came down the room and stood over them he had contemplated a good part of the performance before he contributed his bit of variety to it when school broke up at noon tom flew to and whispered in her ear put on your bonnet and let on you re going home and when you get to the corner give the rest of em the slip and turn down through the lane and come back i ll go the other way and come it over the same way so the one went off with one group of scholars and the other with another in a little while the two met at the bottom of the lane and when they reached the school they had it all to themselves then they sat together with a slate before them and tom gave the pencil held her hand in his guiding it and so created another surprising house when the interest in art began to the two fell to talking tom was swimming in bliss he said do you love rats no i hate them well i do too live ones but i mean dead ones to swing round your head with a string no i don t care for rats much anyway what like is oh i should say so i wish i had some now do you i ve got some i ll let you it awhile but you must give it back to me well you can t this is a pretty early i reckon it s the first one seen this year say i ll give you my tooth for him less see it tom got out a bit of paper and carefully it viewed it wistfully the temptation was very strong at last he said is it tom lifted his lip and showed the well all right said it s a trade tom enclosed the in the cap box that had lately been the s prison and the boys separated each feeling than before when tom reached the little isolated frame he strode in briskly with the manner of one who had come with all honest speed he hung his hat on a and flung himself into his seat with business like alacrity the master on high in his great bottom arm chair was by the drowsy hum of study the interruption roused him thomas i tom knew that when his name was pronounced in full it meant trouble come up here now sir why are you late again as usual tom was about to take refuge in a when he saw two long tails of yellow hair hanging down a back that he recognized by the electric sympathy of love and by that form was the only vacant place on the girls side of the school house he instantly said i stopped to talk with the master s pulse stood still and he stared helplessly the of study ceased the pupils wondered if this boy had lost his mind the master said you you did what stopped to talk with there was no the words thomas this is the most confession i have ever listened to no mere will answer for this offence take off your jacket the master s arm performed until it was tired and the stock of diminished then the order followed now sir go and sit with the girls and let this be a warning to you the that around the room appeared to the boy but in reality that result was caused rather more by his awe of his unknown idol and the dread pleasure that lay in his high good fortune he sat down upon the end of the pine bench and the girl herself	34
away from him with a toss of her head and and whispers traversed the room but tom sat still with his arms upon the long low desk before him and seemed to study his book by and by attention ceased from him and the accustomed school murmur rose upon the dull air once more presently the boy began to steal glances at the girl she observed it made a mouth at him and gave him the back of her head for the space of a minute when she cautiously faced around again a lay before her she thrust it away tom gently put it back she thrust it away again but with less tom patiently returned it to its place then she let it remain tom on his slate please take it i got more the girl glanced at the words but made no sign now the boy began to draw something on the slate hiding his work with his left hand for a time the girl refused to notice but her j human curiosity presently began to manifest itself by hardly perceptible signs the boy worked on apparently unconscious the girl made a sort of attempt to see but the boy did not betray that he was aware of it at last she gave in and hesitatingly whispered let me see it tom partly uncovered a dismal of a house with two ends to it and a of smoke issuing from the chimney then the girl s interest began to fasten itself upon the work and she forgot everything else when it was finished she gazed a moment then whispered it s nice make a man the artist erected a man in the front yard that resembled a he could have stepped over the house but the girl was not she was satisfied with the monster and whispered it s a beautiful man now make me coming along tom drew an hour glass with a full moon and straw limbs to it and armed the spreading fingers with a fan the girl said it s ever so nice i wish i could draw it s easy whispered tom i ll learn you oh will you when at noon do you go home to dinner i ll stay if you will that s a what s your name what s yours oh i know it s thomas that s the name they me by i m tom when i m good you call me tom will you yes now tom began to something on the slate hiding the words from the girl but she was not backward this time she begged to see tom said oh it ain t anything yes it is no it ain t you don t want to see yes i do indeed i do please let me you ll tell no i won t deed and deed and double deed i won t you won t tell anybody at all ever s long as you live no i won t ever tell anybody now let me oh you don t want to now that you treat me so i will see and she put her small hand upon his and a little ensued tom pretending to resist in earnest but letting his hand slip by degrees till these words were revealed love you oh you bad thing and she hit his hand a smart rap but and looked pleased nevertheless just at this juncture the boy felt a slow grip closing on his ear and a steady lifting impulse in that he was borne across the house and deposited in his own seat under a fire of from the whole school then the master stood over him during a few awful moments and finally moved away to his throne without saying a word but although tom s ear his heart was as the school down tom made an honest effort to study but the turmoil within him was too great in turn he took his place in the reading class and made a of it then in the geography class and turned lakes into mountains mountains into rivers and rivers into till chaos was come again then in the class and got turned down by a succession of mere baby words till he brought up at the foot and yielded up the which he had worn with for months chapter vii he harder tom tried to fasten his mind on his book the more his ideas wandered so at last with a sigh and a he gave it up it seemed to him that the noon recess would never come the air was utterly dead there was not a breath stirring it was the of sleepy days the murmur of the five and twenty studying scholars soothed the soul like the spell that is in the murmur of bees away off in the flaming sunshine hill lifted its soft green sides through a veil of heat tinted with the purple of distance a few birds floated on lazy wing high in the air no other living thing was visible but some cows and they were asleep tom s heart ached to be free or else to have something of interest to do to pass the dreary time his hand wandered into his pocket and his face lit up with a glow of gratitude that was prayer though he did not know it then the cap box came out he released the and put him on the long flat desk the creature probably glowed with a gratitude that amounted to prayer too at this moment but it was premature for when he started to travel off tom turned him aside with a pin and made him take a new direction tom s bosom friend sat next him suffering just as tom had been and now he was deeply and gratefully interested in this entertainment in an instant this bosom friend was	34
the authorities so joe turned received the and fell now said joe getting up you got to let me that s fair why i can t do that it ain t in the book well it s blamed that s all well say joe you can be or much the miller s son and lam me with a quarter staff or til be the of and you be robin hood a little while and kill me this was satisfactory and so these adventures were carried out then tom became robin hood again and was allowed by the treacherous to his strength away through his neglected wound and at last joe representing a whole tribe of weeping dragged him sadly forth gave his bow into his feeble hands and tom said where this arrow falls there bury poor robin hood under the tree then he shot die arrow and fell back and would have died but he lit on a and sprang up too gaily for a corpse the boys dressed themselves hid their and went off that there were no any more and wondering what modern civilization could claim to have done to for their loss they said they would rather be a year in forest than president of die united states forever chapter ix t half past nine that night tom and were sent to bed as usual they said their prayers and was soon asleep tom lay awake and waited in restless impatience when it seemed to him that it must be nearly daylight he heard the clock strike ten this was despair he would have tossed and as his nerves demanded but he was afraid he might wake so he lay still and stared up into the dark everything was still by and by out of the stillness little scarcely noises began to themselves the of the clock began to bring itself into notice old beams began to crack mysteriously the stairs faintly evidently spirits were abroad a measured muffled issued from aunt s chamber and now the tiresome of a that no human ingenuity could began next the ghastly of a in the wall at the bed s head made tom shudder it meant that somebody s days were numbered then the howl of a far off dog rose on die night air and was answered by a fainter howl from a distance tom was in an agony at last he was satisfied that time had ceased and eternity begun he began to in spite of himself the clock eleven but he did not hear it and then there came mingling with his half formed dreams a most melancholy the raising of a neighboring window disturbed him a cry of you devil and the crash of an empty bottle against the back of his aunt s brought him wide awake and a single minute later he was dressed and out of the window and creeping along the roof of the ell on all he d with caution once or twice as he went then jumped to the roof of the and thence to the ground was there with his dead cat the boys moved off and disappeared in the gloom at the end of half an hour they were through the tall grass of the it was a of the old fashioned western kind it was on a hill about a mile and a half from the village it had a crazy board fence around it which leaned inward in places and outward the rest of the time but stood upright nowhere grass and weeds grew rank over the whole all the old graves were sunken in there was not a on the place round worm eaten boards staggered over the graves leaning for support and finding none sacred to the memory of so and so had been painted on them once but it could no longer have been read on the most of them now even if there had been light a faint wind moaned through the trees and tom feared it might be the spirits of the dead complaining at being disturbed the boys talked little and only under their breath for the time and the place and the solemnity and silence oppressed their spirits they found the sharp new heap they were seeking and themselves within the protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few feet of the grave then they waited in silence for what seemed a long time the of a distant owl was all the sound that troubled the dead stillness tom s reflections grew oppressive he must force some talk so he said in a whisper do you believe the dead people like it for us to be here whispered i i it s awful solemn like ain t it i bet it is there was a considerable pause while the boys this matter inwardly then tom whispered say do you reckon hears us talking i o course he does least his does tom after a pause i wish said but i never meant any harm everybody calls him a body can t be too lar how they talk bout these yer dead people tom this was a and conversation died again presently tom seized his comrade s arm and said what is it tom and the two clung together with beating hearts sh there tis again didn t you hear it t t f there now you hear it lord tom they re coming they re coming sure what we do i think they ll see us oh tom they can see in the dark same as cats i i hadn t come oh don t be don t believe they ll bother us we ain t doing any harm if we keep perfectly still maybe they won t notice us at all i ll try to tom but lord i m all of a shiver listen the boys	34
bent their heads together and scarcely breathed a muffled sound of voices floated up from the far end of the look see there whispered tom what is it it s devil fire oh tom this is awful some vague figures approached through the gloom swinging an old fashioned tin lantern that the ground with innumerable little of light presently whispered with a shudder it s the devils sure enough three of em tom we re can you pray i ll try but don t you be they ain t going to hurt us now i lay me down to sleep i sh what is it they re one of em is anyway one of em s old s voice tain is it i bet i know it don t you stir nor he ain t sharp enough to notice us drunk the same as usual likely blamed old all right i ll keep still now they re stuck can t find it here they come again now they re hot cold again hot again red hot they re p right this time say i know another o them voices it s joe that s so that half breed i d they was devils a sight what kin they be up to the whisper died wholly out now for the three men had reached the grave and stood within a few feet of the boys hiding place here it is said the third voice and the owner of it held the lantern up and revealed the face of young doctor robinson and joe were carrying a with a rope and a couple of on it they cast down their load and began to open the grave the doctor put the lantern at the head of the grave and came and sat down with his back against one of the elm trees he was so close the boys could have touched him hurry men he said in a low voice the moon might come out at any moment they growled a response and went on digging for some time there was no noise but the grating sound of the their freight of mould and gravel it was very monotonous finally a struck upon the coffin with a dull accent and within another minute or two the men had hoisted it out on the ground they off the lid with their got out the body and it rudely on the ground the moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face the was got ready and the corpse placed on it covered with a blanket and bound to its place with the rope took out a large spring knife and cut off the dangling end of the rope and then said now the thing s ready and you ll just out with another five or here she stays that s the talk said joe look here what does this mean said the doctor you required your pay in advance and i ve paid you yes and you done more than that said joe approaching the doctor who was now standing five years ago you drove me away from your father s kitchen one night when i come to ask for something to eat and you said i warn t there for any good and when i swore get even with you if it took a hundred years your father had me for a did you think i d forget the blood ain t in me for nothing and now i ve got you and you got to settle you know he was threatening the doctor with his fist in his face by this time the doctor struck out suddenly and stretched the on the ground dropped his knife and exclaimed here now don t you hit my and the next moment he had with the doctor and the two were struggling with might and main the grass and tearing the ground with their heels joe sprang to his feet his eyes flaming with passion snatched up s knife and went creeping and stooping round and round about the seeking an opportunity all at once the doctor flung himself free seized the heavy of grave and to the earth with it and in the same instant the half breed saw his chance and drove the knife to the in the young man s breast he and fell partly upon him with his blood and in the same moment the clouds blotted out the dreadful spectacle and the two frightened boys went away in the dark presently when the moon emerged again joe was standing over the two forms contemplating them the doctor murmured gave a long gasp or two and was still the half breed muttered that score is settled damn you then he robbed the body after which he put the fatal knife in s open right hand and sat down on the coffin three four five minutes passed and then began to stir and moan his hand closed upon the knife he raised it glanced at it and let it fall with a shudder then he sat up pushing the body from him and gazed at it and then around him his eyes met joe s lord how is this joe he said it s a dirty business said joe without moving what did you do it for i i never done it look here that kind of talk won t wash trembled and grew white i thought i d got sober i d no business to drink to night but it s in my head yet worse n when we started here i m all in a can t recollect any thing of it hardly tell me joe honest now old did i do it joe i never meant to my soul and honor i never meant to joe tell me how it was joe oh it s	34
awful and him so young and promising why you two was and he fetched you one with the and you fell flat and then up you come all and staggering like and snatched the knife and it into him just as he fetched you another awful and here you ve laid as dead as a till now oh i didn t know what i was a doing i wish i may die this minute if i did it was all on account of the and the excitement i reckon i never used a in my life before joe i ve fought but never with they ll all say that joe don t tell say you won t tell joe that s a good i always liked you joe and stood up for you too don t you remember you won t tell will you joe and the poor creature dropped on his knees before the stolid murderer and clasped his appealing hands no you ve always been fair and square with me and i won t go back on you there now that s as fair as a man can say oh joe you re an angel i ll bless you for this the longest day i live and began to cry come now that s enough of that this ain t any time for you be off yonder way and i ll go this move now and don t leave any tracks behind you started on a trot that quickly increased to a run the half breed stood looking after him he muttered if he s as much stunned with the and with the rum as he had the look of being he won t think of the knife till he s gone so far he ll be afraid to come back after it to such a place by himself chicken heart two or three minutes later the murdered man the corpse the coffin and the open grave were under no inspection but the moon s the stillness was complete again too chapter x he two boys flew on and on toward the village speechless with horror they glanced backward over their shoulders from time to time as if they feared they might be followed every stump that started up in their path seemed a man and an enemy and made them catch their breath and as they sped by some cottages that lay near the village the barking of the aroused watch dogs seemed to give wings to their feet if we can only get to the old before we break down whispered tom in short catches between i can t stand it much longer s hard were his only reply and the boys fixed their eyes on the goal of their hopes and bent to their work to win it they gained steadily on it and at last breast to breast they burst through the open door and fell grateful and exhausted in the shadows beyond by and by their down and tom whispered what do you reckon come of this s if doctor robinson dies i reckon hanging come of it do you though why i know it tom tom thought a while then he said who ll tell we what are you talking about s pose something happened and joe hang why he d kill us some time or other just as dead sure as we re a laying here that s just what i was thinking to myself if anybody tells let do it if he s fool enough he s generally drunk enough tom said nothing went on thinking presently he whispered don t know it how can he tell what s the reason he don t know it because he d just got that when joe done it d you reckon he could see anything d you reckon he anything by that s so tom and besides look a here maybe that done for him no taint likely tom he had liquor in him i could see that and besides he always has well when s full you might take and belt him over the head with a church and you couldn t phase him he says so his own self so it s the same with of course but if a man was dead sober i reckon maybe that might fetch him i after another silence tom said you sure you can keep tom we got to keep you know that that devil wouldn t make any more of us than a couple of cats if we was to bout this and they didn t hang him now look a here tom less take and swear to one another that s what we got to do swear to keep i m agreed it s the best thing would you just hold hands and swear that we oh no that wouldn t do for this that s good enough for little common things specially with they go back on you anyway and if they get in a but there be writing bout a big thing like this and blood tom s whole being applauded this idea it was deep and dark and awful the hour the circumstances the surroundings were in keeping with it he picked up a clean pine that lay in the moonlight took a little fragment of red out of his pocket got the moon on his work and painfully these lines each slow down stroke by his tongue between his teeth and letting up the pressure on the up strokes see next page j was filled with admiration of tom s facility in writing and the of his language he at once took a pin from his and was going to his flesh but tom said hold on don t do that a pin s brass it might have on it j what s it s p	34
that s what it is you just some of it once you ll see so tom the thread from one of his needles and each boy pricked the ball of his thumb and squeezed out a drop of blood in time after many tom managed to sign his using the ball of his little finger for a pen then he showed how to make an h and an f and the oath was complete they buried the close to the wall with some dismal ceremonies and and the that bound their tongues were considered to be locked and the key thrown away a figure crept stealthily through a break in the other end of the ruined building now but they did not notice it tom whispered does this keep us from ever telling always of course it does it don t make any difference what happens we got to keep we d drop down dead don t you know that yes i reckon that s so they continued to whisper for some little time presently a dog set up a long howl just outside within ten feet of them the boys clasped each other suddenly in an agony of fright which of us does he mean gasped i peep through the crack quick no you tom i can t i can t do it please tom there tis again oh i m thankful whispered tom i know his voice it s bull oh that s good i tell you tom i was most scared to death a bet anything it was a stray dog the dog howled again the boys hearts sank once more oh my that ain t no bull whispered do tom tom with fear yielded and put his eye to the crack his whisper was hardly audible when he said oh it s a stray dog quick tom quick who does he mean he must mean us both we re right together oh tom i reckon we re i reckon there ain t no mistake bout where i ll go to i been so wicked fetch it this comes of playing and doing everything a s told not to do i might a been good like if i d a tried but no i wouldn t of course but if ever i get off this time i lay i ll just in sunday schools and tom began to a little you bad and began to too if mr owned a slave named bull tom would have spoken of him as s bull but a son or a dog of that name was bull it tom you re just old pie o what am oh i i only had half your chance tom choked off and whispered look look he s got his back to us looked with joy in his heart well he has by did he before yes he did but i like a fool never thought oh this is bully you know who can he mean the howling stopped tom pricked up his ears sh what s that he whispered sounds like like no it s somebody tom that is it where is it i it s down at end sounds so anyway used to sleep there sometimes long with the but laws bless you he just lifts things when he besides i reckon he ain t ever coming back to this town any more the spirit of adventure rose in the boys souls once more do you t to go if i lead i don t like to much tom s pose it s joe tom but presently the temptation rose up strong again and the boys agreed to try with the understanding that they would take to their heels if die stopped so they went stealthily down the one behind the other when they had got to within five steps of the tom stepped on a stick and it broke with a sharp snap hie man moaned a little and his face came into die moonlight it was the boys hearts had stood still and their hopes too when the man moved but their fears passed away now they out through the broken boarding and stopped at a little distance to exchange a parting word that long howl rose on the night air again they turned and saw the strange dog standing a few feet of where was lying and facing with his nose pointing oh it s him exclaimed both boys in a breath say tom they say a stray dog come howling around miller s house bout midnight as much as two weeks ago and a come in and lit on the and sung the very same evening and there ain t anybody dead there yet well i know that and suppose there ain t didn t miller fall in the kitchen fire and burn herself terrible the very next saturday yes but she t dead and what s more she s getting better too all right you wait and see she s a just as dead sure as s that s what the say and they know all about these kind of things then they separated when tom crept in at his bedroom window the night was almost spent he with excessive caution and fell asleep himself that nobody knew of his he was not aware that the gently was awake and had been so for an hour when tom awoke was dressed and gone there was a late look in the light a late sense in the atmosphere he was startled why had he not been called persecuted till he was up as usual the thought filled him with within five minutes he was dressed and down stairs feeling sore and drowsy the family were still at table but they had finished breakfast there was no voice of rebuke but there were averted eyes there was a silence	34
s life faded and vanished away for plainly this had sold himself to satan and it would be fatal to with the property of such a power as that why didn t you leave what did you want to come here for somebody said i couldn t help it i couldn t help it moaned i wanted to run away but i couldn t seem to come anywhere but here and he fell to sobbing again joe repeated his statement just as calmly a few minutes afterward on the under oath and the boys seeing that the were still withheld were confirmed in their belief that joe had sold himself to the devil he was now become to them the most interesting object they had ever looked upon and they could not take their fascinated eyes from his face they inwardly resolved to watch him nights when opportunity should offer in the hope of getting a glimpse of his dread master joe to raise the body of the murdered man and put it in a wagon for removal and it was whispered through the shuddering crowd that the wound a little the boys thought that this happy circumstance would turn suspicion in the right direction but they were disappointed for more than one remarked it was within three feet of when it done it tom s fearful secret and conscience disturbed his sleep for as much as a week after this and at breakfast one morning said tom you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me awake half the time tom and dropped his eyes it s a bad sign said gravely what you got on your mind tom nothing nothing t i know of but the boy s hand shook so that he his coffee and you do talk such stuff said last night you said it s blood it s blood that s what it is you said that over and over and you said don t torment me so i ll tell tell what what is it you ll tell everything was swimming before tom there is no telling what might have happened now but luckily the concern passed out of aunt s face and she came to tom s relief without knowing it she said it s that dreadful murder i dream about it most every night myself sometimes i dream it s me that done it mary said she had been affected much the same way seemed satisfied tom got out of the presence as quick as he could and after that he complained of for a week and tied up his jaws every night he never knew that lay nightly watching and frequently slipped the free and then leaned on his elbow listening a good while at a time and afterward slipped the back to its place again tom s distress of mind wore off gradually and the grew irksome and was discarded if really managed to make anything out of tom s he kept it to himself it seemed to tom that his never would get done holding on dead cats and thus keeping his trouble present to his mind noticed that tom never was at one of these inquiries though it had been his habit to take the lead in all new he noticed too that tom never acted as a witness and that was strange and did not overlook the fact that tom even showed a marked aversion to these and always avoided them when he could but said nothing however even went out of at last and ceased to torture tom s conscience every day or two during this time of sorrow tom watched his opportunity and went to the little jail window and such small comforts through to the murderer as he could get hold of the jail was a trifling little brick den that stood in a marsh at the edge of the village and no guards were afforded for it indeed it was seldom occupied these greatly helped to ease tom s conscience the villagers had a strong desire to tar and feather joe and ride him on a rail for body but so formidable was his character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead in the matter so it was dropped he had been careful to begin both of his statements with the fight without the grave robbery that preceded it therefore it was deemed wisest not to try the case in the courts at present chapter xii ne of the reasons why tom s mind had drifted away from its secret troubles was that it had found a new and matter to interest itself about had stopped coming to school tom had struggled with his pride a few days and tried to whistle her down the wind but failed he began to find himself hanging around her father s house nights and feeling very miserable she was ill what if she should die there was distraction in the thought he no longer took an interest in war nor even in the charm of life was gone there was nothing but left he put his away and his bat there was no joy in them any more his aunt was concerned she began to try all manner of on him she was one of those people who are with patent and all new methods of producing health or mending it she was an in these things when something fresh in this line came out she was in a fever right away to try it not on herself for she was never but on anybody else that came handy she was a for all the health and and the solemn ignorance they were with was breath to her nostrils all the rot they contained about and how to go to bed and how to get up and what to eat and what to	34
drink and how much exercise to take and what frame of mind to keep one s self in and what sort of clothing to wear was all gospel to her and she never observed that her health journals of the current month upset everything they had recommended the month before she was as simple hearted and honest as the day was long and so she was an easy victim she gathered together her and her and thus armed with death went about on her pale horse speaking with hell following after but she never suspected that she was not an angel of healing and the of in disguise to the suffering neighbors the water treatment was new now and tom s low condition was a to hen she had him out at daylight every morning stood him up in the and drowned him with a of cold water then she him down with a like a file and so brought him to then she rolled him up in a wet sheet and put him away under blankets till she his soul clean and the low of it came through his as tom said yet notwithstanding all this the boy grew more and more melancholy and pale and dejected she added hot shower and the boy remained as dismal as a she began to assist the water with a slim diet and she calculated his capacity as she would a s and filled him up every day with cure tom had become indifferent to persecution by this time this phase filled the old lady s heart with consternation this indifference must be broken up at any cost now she heard of pain for the first time she ordered a lot at once she tasted it and was filled with gratitude it was simply fire in a liquid form she dropped the water treatment and everything else and pinned her faith to pain she gave tom a and watched with the deepest anxiety for the result her troubles were instantly at rest her soul at peace again for the indifference was broken up the boy could not have shown a interest if she had built a fire under him tom felt that it was time to wake up this sort of life might be romantic enough in his condition but it was getting to have too little sentiment and too much variety about it so he thought over various plans for relief and finally hit upon that of to be fond of pain he asked for it so often that he became a nuisance and his aunt ended by telling him to help himself and quit her if it had been she would have had no to her delight but since it was tom she watched the bottle she found that the medicine did really but it did not occur to her that the boy was mending the health of a crack in the sitting room floor with it one day tom was in the act of the crack when his aunt s yellow cat came along the and begging for a tom said don t ask for it unless you want it peter but peter signified that he did want it you better make sure peter was sure now you ve asked for it and i ll give it to you because there ain t anything mean about me but if you find you don t like it you mustn t blame anybody but your own self peter was agreeable so tom his mouth open and poured down the pain peter sprang a couple of yards in the air and then delivered a war and set off round and round the room against furniture flower pots and making general next he rose on his hind feet and around in a frenzy of enjoyment with his head over his shoulder and his voice his happiness then he went tearing around the house again spreading chaos and destruction in his path aunt entered in time to see him throw a few double deliver a final mighty and sail through the open window carrying the rest of the flower pots with him the old lady stood with astonishment peering over her glasses tom lay on the floor with laughter tom what on earth that cat don t know aunt gasped the boy why i never see anything like it what did make him act so deed i don t know aunt cats always act so when they re having a good time they do do they there was something in the tone that made tom apprehensive yes m that is i believe they do you do yes m the old lady was bending down tom watching with interest by anxiety too late he divined her drift the handle of the was visible under the bed aunt took it held it up tom and dropped his eyes aunt raised him by the usual handle his ear and cracked his head soundly with her now sir what did you want to treat that poor dumb beast so for i done it out of pity for him because he hadn t any aunt hadn t any aunt you what has that got to do with it heaps because if he d had one she d a burnt him out herself she d a his out of him any more feeling than if he was a human aunt felt a sudden pang of remorse this was putting the thing in a new light what was cruelty to a cat might be cruelty to a boy too she began to soften she felt sorry her eyes watered a little and she put her hand on tom s head and said gently i was meaning for the best tom and tom it did do you good tom looked up in her face with just a perceptible twinkle peeping through his gravity i know you was	34
meaning for the best and so was i with peter it done him good too i never see him get around so since oh go long with you tom before you me again and you try and see if you can t be a good boy for once and you needn t take any more medicine tom reached school ahead of time it was noticed that this strange thing had been every day and now as usual of late he hung about the gate of the instead of playing with his comrades he was sick he said and he looked it he tried to seem to be looking everywhere but whither he really was looking down the road presently in sight and tom s face lighted he gazed a moment and then turned sorrowfully away when arrived tom him and led up to opportunities for remark about but the giddy lad never could see the bait tom watched and watched hoping whenever a frock came in sight and the owner of it as soon as he saw she was not the right one at last ceased to appear and he dropped hopelessly into the he entered the empty and sat down to suffer then one more frock passed in at the gate and tom s heart gave a great bound the next instant he was out and going on like an indian yelling laughing chasing boys jumping over the fence at risk of life and limb throwing standing on his head doing all the heroic things he could conceive of and keeping a eye out all the while to see if was noticing but she seemed to be unconscious of it all she never looked could it be possible that she was not aware that he was there he carried his exploits to her immediate vicinity came war around snatched a boy s cap hurled it to the roof of the broke through a group of boys tumbling them in every direction and fell himself under s nose almost her and she turned with her nose in the air and he heard her say some people think they re mighty always showing off tom s cheeks burned he gathered himself up and off crushed and chapter xiii m s mind was made up now he was gloomy and desperate he was a forsaken boy he said nobody loved him when they found out what they had driven him to perhaps they would be sorry he had tried to do right and get along but they would not let him since nothing would do them but to be rid of him let it be so and let them blame him for the consequences why shouldn t they what right had the to complain yes they had forced him to it at last he would lead a life of crime there was no choice by this time he was far down meadow lane and the bell for school to take up faintly upon his ear he sobbed now to think he should never never hear that old familiar sound any more it was very hard but it was forced on him since he was driven out into the cold world he must submit but he forgave them then the sobs came thick and fast just at this point he met his soul s sworn comrade joe hard eyed and with evidently a great and dismal purpose in his heart plainly here were two souls with but a single thought tom wiping his eyes with his sleeve began to out something about a resolution to escape from hard usage and lack of sympathy at home by abroad into the great world never to return and ended by hoping that joe would not forget him but it that this was a request which joe had just been going to make of tom and had come to hunt him up for that purpose his mother had whipped him for drinking some cream which he had never tasted and knew nothing about it was plain that she was tired of him and wished him to go if she felt that way there was nothing for him to do but he hoped she would be happy and never regret having driven her poor boy out into the world to suffer and die as the two boys walked along they made a new compact to stand by each other and be brothers and never separate till death relieved them of their troubles then they began to lay their plans joe was for being a and living on in a remote cave and dying some time of cold and want and grief but after listening to tom he that there were some conspicuous advantages about a life of crime and so he consented to be a three miles below st at a point where the river was a trifle over a mile wide there was a long narrow wooded island with a shallow bar at the head of it and this offered well as a it was not inhabited it lay far over toward the further shore abreast a dense and almost wholly forest so s island was chosen who were to be the subjects of their was a matter that did not occur to them then they hunted up and he joined them promptly for all were one to him he was indifferent they presently separated to meet at a lonely spot on the river bank two miles above the village at the favorite hour which was midnight there was a small log there which they meant to capture each would bring hooks and lines and such provision as he could steal in the most dark and mysterious way as became and before the afternoon was done they had all managed to enjoy the sweet glory of spreading the fact that pretty soon the town would hear something	34
all who got this vague hint were to be and wait about midnight tom arrived with a boiled ham and a few trifles and stopped in a dense on a small bluff overlooking the meeting place it was and very still the mighty river lay like an ocean at rest tom listened a moment but no sound disturbed the quiet then he gave a low distinct whistle it was answered from under the bluff tom whistled twice more these were answered in the same way then a guarded voice said who goes there tom the black of the spanish main name your names the red handed and joe the terror of the seas tom had furnished these tides from his favorite literature tis well give the two hoarse whispers delivered the same awful word simultaneously to the brooding night blood then tom tumbled his ham over the bluff and let himself down after it tearing both skin and clothes to some extent in the effort there was an easy comfortable path along the shore under the bluff but it lacked the advantages of difficulty and danger so valued by a the terror of the seas had brought a side of bacon and had about worn himself out with getting it there the red handed had stolen a and a quantity of half cured leaf tobacco and had also brought a few corn to make pipes with but none of the smoked or but himself the black of the spanish main said it would never do to start without some fire that was a wise thought matches were hardly known there in that day they saw a fire upon a great a hundred yards above and they went stealthily thither and helped themselves to a they made an imposing ad venture of it saying every now and then and suddenly halting with finger on lip moving with hands on imaginary dagger and giving orders in dismal whispers that if the foe stirred to let him have it to the because dead men tell no tales they knew well enough that the were all down at the village laying in stores or having a but still that was no excuse for their conducting this thing in an way they off presently tom in command at the after oar and joe at the forward tom stood gloomy and with folded arms and gave his orders in a low stern whisper and bring her to the wind aye aye sir steady steady y y y steady it is sir let her go off a point point it is sir as the boys steadily and drove the toward mid stream it was no doubt understood that these orders were given only for style and were not intended to mean anything in particular what sail s she carrying courses tops and flying sir send the r up lay out aloft there half a dozen of ye l lively now aye aye sir shake out that l sheets and now my aye aye sir a lee hard a port stand by to meet her when she comes port port now men with a will stead y y y steady it is sir the drew beyond the middle of the river the boys pointed her head right and then lay on their oars the river was not high so there was not more than a two or three mile current hardly a word was said during the next three quarters of an hour now the was passing before the distant town two or three glimmering lights showed where it lay peacefully sleeping beyond the vague vast sweep of star water unconscious of the tremendous event that was happening the black stood still with folded arms looking his last upon the scene of his former joys and his later sufferings and wishing she could see him now abroad on the wild sea facing peril and death with heart going to his doom with a grim smile on his lips it was but a small strain on his imagination to remove s island beyond of the village and so he looked his last with a broken and satisfied heart the other were looking their last too and they all looked so long that they came near letting the current drift them out of the range of the island but they discovered the danger in time and made shift to it about two o clock in the morning the on the bar two hundred yards above the head of the island and they back and forth until they had landed their freight part of the little s consisted of an old sail and this they spread over a nook in the bushes for a tent to shelter their provisions but they themselves would sleep in the open air in good weather as became they built a fire against the side of a great log twenty or thirty steps within the sombre depths of the forest and then cooked some bacon in the pan for supper and used up half of the corn stock they had brought it seemed glorious sport to be in that wild free way in the virgin forest of an and island far from the haunts of men and they said they never would return to civilization the climbing fire lit up their faces and threw its ruddy glare upon the tree trunks of their forest temple and upon the foliage and vines when the last crisp of bacon was gone and the last allowance of corn devoured the boys stretched themselves out on the grass filled with contentment they could have found a cooler place but they would not deny themselves such a romantic feature as the camp fire ain t it gay said joe it s nuts said tom what would the boys say if they could see us say well they d just die to be here hey i reckon so	34
said i m suited i don t want nothing better n this i don t ever get enough to eat gen ally and here they can t come and pick at a and him so it s just the life for me said tom you don t have to get up mornings and you don t have to go to school and wash and all that blame foolishness you see a don t have to do anything joe when he s ashore but a he has to be praying considerable and then he don t have any fun anyway all by himself that way oh yes that s so said joe but i hadn t thought much about it you know i d a good deal rather be a now that i ve tried it you see said tom people don t go much on nowadays like they used to in old times but a s always respected and a s got to sleep on the hardest place he can find and put and ashes on his head and stand out in the rain and what does he put and ashes on his head for inquired but they ve got to do it always do you d have to do that if you was a d if i would said well what would you do i but i wouldn t do that why you d have to you get around it why i just wouldn t stand it i d run away run away well you would be a nice old of a you d be a disgrace the red handed made no response being better employed he had finished out a and now he fitted a weed stem to it loaded it with tobacco and was pressing a coal to the charge and blowing a cloud of fragrant smoke he was in the full bloom of luxurious contentment the other envied him this majestic vice and secretly resolved to acquire it shortly presently said what does have to do tom said oh they have just a bully time take ships and burn them and get the money and bury it in awful places in their island where there s ghosts and things to watch it and kill everybody in the ships make em walk a plank and they carry the women to the island said joe they don t kill the women no assented tom they don t kill the women they re too noble and the women s always beautiful too and don t they wear the clothes oh no all gold and silver and di said joe with enthusiasm who said why the his own clothing i reckon i ain t dressed for a said v he with a pathos in his voice but i ain t got none but these but the other boys told him the fine clothes would come fast enough after they should have begun their adventures they made him understand that his poor rags would do to begin with though it was customary for wealthy to start with a proper wardrobe gradually their talk died out and began to steal upon the eyelids of the little the pipe dropped from the fingers of the red handed and he slept the sleep of the conscience free and the weary the terror of the seas and the black of the spanish main had more difficulty in getting to sleep they said their prayers inwardly and lying down since there was nobody there with authority to make them kneel and aloud in truth they had a mind not to say them at all but they were afraid to proceed to such as that lest they might call down a sudden and special from heaven then at once i they reached and hovered upon the imminent verge of sleep but an intruder came now that would not down it was conscience they began to feel a vague fear that they had been doing wrong to run away and next they thought of the stolen meat and then the real torture came they tried to argue it away by reminding conscience that they had and apples scores of times but conscience was not to be appeased by such thin it seemed to them in the end that there was no getting around the stubborn fact that taking was only while taking bacon and and was plain simple stealing and there was a command against that in the bible so they inwardly resolved that so long as they remained in the business their should not again be with the crime of stealing then conscience granted a and these curiously inconsistent fell peacefully to sleep chapter xiv hen tom awoke in the morning he j wondered where he was he sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked around then he comprehended it was the cool gray dawn and there was a delicious sense of i repose and peace in the deep calm and silence of the woods not a leaf stirred not a sound upon great nature s meditation stood upon the leaves and a white of ashes covered the fire and a thin blue breath of smoke rose straight into the air joe and still slept now far away in the woods a bird called another answered presently the of a was heard gradually the cool dim gray of the morning and as gradually sounds multiplied and life manifested itself the marvel of nature shaking off sleep and going to work unfolded itself to the musing boy a little green worm came crawling over a leaf lifting two thirds of his body into the air from time to time and around then proceeding again for he was measuring tom said and when the worm approached him of its own accord he sat as still as a stone with his hopes rising and falling by turns as the	34
creature still came toward him or seemed inclined to go elsewhere and when at last it considered a painful moment with its curved body in the air and then came down upon tom s leg and began a journey over him his whole heart was glad for that meant that he was going to have a new suit of clothes without the shadow of a doubt a gaudy uniform now a procession of appeared from nowhere in particular and went about their labors one struggled by with a dead spider five times as big as itself in its arms and it straight up a tree trunk a brown spotted lady climbed the dizzy height of a grass blade and tom bent down close to it and said lady lady fly away home your house is on fire your children s alone and she took wing and went off to see about it which did not surprise the boy for he knew of old that this insect was about and he had practised upon its simplicity more than once a came next heaving at its ball and tom touched the creature to see it shut its legs against its body and pretend to be dead the birds were fairly by this time a the northern lit in a tree over tom s head and out her of her neighbors in a rapture of enjoyment then a shrill swept down a flash of blue flame and stopped on a almost within the boy s reach cocked his head to one side and eyed the strangers with a curiosity a gray and a big fellow of the fox kind came along sitting up at intervals to inspect and chatter at the boys for the wild things had probably never seen a human being before and scarcely knew whether to be afraid or not all nature was wide awake and stirring now long of sunlight pierced down through the dense foliage far and near and a few came fluttering upon the scene tom stirred up the other and they all away with a shout and in a minute or two were stripped and chasing after and tumbling over each other in the shallow water of the white they felt no longing for the little village sleeping in the distance beyond the majestic waste of water a current or a slight rise in the river had carried off their but this only gratified them since its going was something like burning the bridge between them and civilization they came back to camp wonderfully refreshed glad hearted and and they soon had the camp fire blazing up again found a spring of clear cold water close by and the boys made cups of broad oak or leaves and felt that water with such a charm as that would be a good enough substitute for coffee while joe was x bacon for breakfast tom and asked him to hold on a minute they stepped to a promising nook in the river bank and threw in their lines almost immediately they had reward joe had not had time to get impatient before they were back again with some handsome bass a couple of sun perch and a small provisions enough for quite a family they the fish with the bacon and were astonished for no fish had ever seemed so delicious before they did not know that the quicker a fresh water fish is on the fire after he is caught the better he is and they reflected little upon what a open air sleeping open air exercise bathing and a large of hunger make too they lay around in the shade after breakfast while had a smoke and then went off through the woods on an exploring expedition they along over logs through tangled among solemn of the forest hung from their crowns to the ground with a drooping of vines now and then they came upon snug with grass and with flowers they found plenty of things to be delighted with but nothing to be astonished at they discovered that the island was about three miles long and a quarter of a mile wide and that the shore it lay to was only separated from it by a narrow channel hardly two hundred yards wide they took a swim about every hour so it was close upon the middle of the afternoon when they got back to camp they were too hungry to stop to fish but they upon cold ham and then threw themselves down in the shade to talk but the talk soon began to drag and then died the stillness the solemnity that in the woods and the sense of loneliness began to tell upon the spirits of the boys they fell to thinking a sort of longing crept upon them this took dim shape presently it was even x the red handed was dreaming of his and empty but they were all ashamed of their weakness and none was brave enough to speak his thought x for some time now the boys had been conscious of a peculiar sound in the distance just as one sometimes is of the of a clock which he takes no distinct note of but now this mysterious sound became more pronounced and forced a recognition the boys started glanced at each other and then each assumed a listening attitude there was a long silence profound and unbroken then a deep sullen boom came floating down out of the distance what is it exclaimed joe under his breath i wonder said tom in a whisper tain t thunder said in an awed tone thunder hark said tom don t talk they waited a time that seemed an age and then the same muffled boom troubled the solemn hush let s go and see they sprang to their feet and hurried to the shore toward the town they parted the bushes on	34
or two later the s head was standing high up against the boat s swell and the voyage was begun tom felt happy in his success for he knew it was the boat s last trip for the night at the end of a long twelve or fifteen minutes the wheels stopped and tom slipped overboard and swam ashore in the dusk landing fifty yards out of danger of possible he flew along and shortly found himself at his aunt s back fence he climbed over approached the ell and looked in at the sitting room window for a light was burning there there sat aunt mary and joe s mother together talking they were by the bed and the bed was between them and the door tom went to the door and began to softly lift the latch then he pressed gently and the door yielded a crack he continued pushing cautiously and every time it till he judged he might squeeze through on his knees so he put his head through and began what makes the candle blow so said aunt tom hurried up why that door s open i believe why of course it is no end of strange things now go long and shut it tom disappeared under the bed just in time he lay and breathed himself for a time and then crept to where he could almost touch his aunt s foot h but as i was saying said aunt he warn t bad so to say only mischievous only just giddy and you know he warn t any more responsible than a he never meant any harm and he was the best hearted boy that ever was and she began to cry it was just so with my joe always full of his and up to every kind of mischief but he was just as unselfish and kind as he could be and laws bless me to think i went and whipped him for taking that cream never once that i it out myself because it was sour and i never to see him again in this world never never never poor abused boy and mrs sobbed as if her heart would break i hope tom s better off where he is said but if he d been better in some ways tom felt the glare of the old lady s eye though he could not see it not a word against my tom now that he s gone god take care of him never you trouble yourself sir oh mrs i don t know how to give him up i don t know how to give him up he was such a comfort to me although he tormented my old heart out of me most the lord and the lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the lord but it s so hard oh it s so hard only last saturday my joe a right under my nose and i knocked him little did i know then how soon oh if it was to do over again him and bless him for it yes yes yes i know just how you feel mrs i know just exactly how you feel no longer ago than yesterday noon my tom took and filled the cat full of pain and i did think the would tear the house down and god forgive me i cracked tom s head with my poor boy poor dead boy but he s out of all his troubles now and the last words i ever heard him say was to reproach but this memory was too much for the old lady and she broke entirely down tom was now himself and more in pity of himself than anybody else he could hear mary crying and putting in a kindly word for him from time to time he began to have a nobler opinion of himself than ever before still he was sufficiently touched by his aunt s grief to long to rush out from under the bed and her with joy and the theatrical of the thing appealed strongly to his nature too but he resisted and lay still he went on listening and gathered by odds and ends that it was at first that the boys had got drowned while taking a swim then the small had been missed next certain boys said the missing lads had promised that the village should hear something soon the wise heads had put this and that together and decided that the lads had gone off on that and would turn up at the next town below presently but toward noon the had been found lodged against the shore some five or six miles below the village and then hope perished they must be drowned else hunger would have driven them home by nightfall if not sooner it was believed that the search for the bodies had been a fruitless effort merely because the drowning must have occurred in since the boys being good would otherwise have escaped to shore this was if the bodies continued missing until sunday all hope would be given over and the would be preached on that morning tom shuddered mrs gave a sobbing good night and turned to go then with a mutual impulse the two women flung themselves into each other s arms and had a good cry and then parted aunt was tender far beyond her wont in her good night to and mary a bit and mary went off crying with all her heart aunt knelt down and prayed for tom so so and with such love in her words and her old trembling voice that he was in tears again long before she was through he had to keep still long after she went to bed for she kept making broken hearted from time to time tossing and	34
chest full of gold and silver hey but it roused only a faint enthusiasm which faded out with no reply tom tried one or two other but they failed too it was work joe sat up the sand with a stick and looking very gloomy finally he said oh boys let s give it up i want to go home it s so oh no joe you ll feel better by and by said tom just think of the fishing that s here i don t care for fishing i want to go home but joe there ain t such another swimming anywhere j swimming s no good i don t seem to care for it somehow when there ain t anybody to say i sha n t go in i mean to go home oh baby you want to see your mother i reckon yes i do want to see my and you would too if you had one i ain t any more baby than you are and joe a little well we ll let the cry baby go home to his mother won t we poor thing does it want to see its mother and so it shall you like it here don t you we ll stay won t we said y e s without any heart in it i ll never speak to you again as long as i live said joe rising there now and he moved away and began to dress himself who cares said tom nobody wants you to go long home and get laughed at oh you re a nice and me ain t cry babies we ll stay won t we let him go if he wants to i reckon we can get along without him per but tom was uneasy nevertheless and was alarmed to see joe go sullenly on with his dressing and then it was to see joe s preparations so wistfully and keeping up such an ominous silence presently without a parting word joe began to off toward the shore tom s heart began to sink he glanced at could not bear the look and dropped his eyes then he said i want to go too tom it was getting so lone some anyway and now it be worse let s us go too tom i won t you can all go if you want to i mean to stay tom i better go well go long who s you began to pick up his scattered clothes he said tom i you d come too now you think it over we ll wait for you when we get to shore well you ll wait a blame long time that s all started sorrowfully away and tom stood looking after him with a strong desire at his heart to yield his pride and go along too he hoped the boys would stop but they still slowly on it suddenly dawned on tom that it was become very lonely and still he made one final struggle with his pride and then darted after his comrades yelling wait wait i want to tell you something they presently stopped and turned around when he got to where they were he began his secret and they listened till at last they saw the point he was driving at and then they set up a war of applause and said it was splendid and said if he had told them at first they wouldn t have started away he made a plausible excuse but his real reason had been the fear that not even the secret would keep them with him any very great length of time and so he had meant to hold it in reserve as a last the lads came back and went at their sports again with a will chattering all the time about tom s plan and admiring the genius of it after a dainty egg and fish dinner tom said he wanted to learn to smoke now joe caught at the idea and said he would like to try too so made pipes and filled them these had never smoked anything before but cigars made of vine and they bit the tongue and were not considered manly anyway now they stretched themselves out on their elbows and began to puff and with slender confidence the smoke had an unpleasant taste and they a little but tom said why it s just as easy if i d a this was all i d a learnt long ago so would i said joe it s just nothing why many a time i ve looked at people smoking and thought well i wish i could do that but i never thought i could said tom that s just the way with me t it you ve heard me talk just that way haven t you i ll leave it to if i haven t yes heaps of times said i well i have too said tom oh hundreds of times once down by the slaughter house don t you remember bob was there and miller and when i said it don t you remember bout me saying that yes that s so said that was the day after i lost a white alley no twas the day before there i told you so said tom it i i could smoke this pipe all day said joe j don t feel sick neither do i said tom j could smoke it all day but i bet you couldn t why he d over just with two draws just let him try it once hid i bet he would and miller i wish i could see miller tackle it once oh don t said joe why i bet you miller couldn t any more do this than nothing just one little would fetch him deed it would joe say i wish the	34
boys could see us now so do i say boys don t say anything about it and some time when they re around i ll come up to you and say joe got a pipe i want a smoke and you ll say kind of careless like as if it warn t anything you ll say yes i got my old pipe and another one but my ain t very good and i ll say oh that s all right if it s strong enough and then you ll out with the pipes and we ll light up just as ca m and then just see em look by that be gay tom i wish it was so do i and when we tell em we learned when we was off won t they wish they d been along oh i reckon not i ll just bet they will so the talk ran on but presently it began to flag a trifle and grow the the increased every pore inside the boys cheeks became a fountain they could scarcely out the under their tongues fast enough to prevent an little down their throats occurred in spite of all they could do and sudden followed every time both boys were looking very pale and miserable now joe s pipe dropped from his fingers tom s followed both fountains were going furiously and both with might and main joe said feebly i ve lost my knife i reckon i better go and find it tom said with quivering lips and halting utterance i ll help you you go over that way and i ll hunt around by the spring no you needn t come we can find it so sat down again and waited an hour then he found it and went to find his comrades they were wide apart in the woods both very pale both fast asleep but something informed him that if they had had any trouble they had got rid of it they were not at supper that night they had a humble look and when prepared his pipe after the meal and was going to prepare theirs they said no they were not feeling very well something they ate at dinner had with them about midnight joe awoke and called the boys there was a brooding in the air that seemed to something the boys huddled themselves together and sought the friendly companionship of the fire though the dull dead heat of the breathless atmosphere was stifling they sat still intent and waiting the solemn hush continued beyond the light of the fire everything was swallowed up in the blackness of darkness presently there came a quivering glow that vaguely revealed the foliage for a moment and then vanished by and by another came a little stronger then another then a faint moan came sighing through the branches of the forest and the boys felt a fleeting breath upon their cheeks and shuddered with the fancy that the spirit of the night had gone by there was a pause now a weird flash turned night into day and showed every little grass blade separate and distinct that grew about their feet and it showed three white startled faces too a deep peal of thunder went rolling and tumbling down the heavens and lost itself in sullen in the distance a sweep of chilly air passed by rustling all the leaves and the ashes about the fire another fierce glare lit up the forest and an instant crash followed that seemed to the tree tops right over the boys heads they clung together in terror in the thick gloom that followed a few big rain drops fell upon the leaves quick boys go for the tent exclaimed tom they sprang away stumbling over roots and among vines in the dark no two plunging in the same direction a furious blast roared through the trees making everything sing as it went one blinding flash after another came and peal on peal of thunder and now a rain poured down and the rising drove it in sheets along the ground the boys cried out to each other but the roaring wind and the thunder drowned their voices utterly however one by one they in at last and took shelter under the tent cold scared and streaming with water but to have company in misery seemed something to be grateful for they could not talk the old sail so furiously even if the other noises would have allowed them the tempest rose higher and higher and presently the sail tore loose from its and went away on the blast the boys seized each others hands and fled with many and to the shelter of a great oak that stood upon the river bank now the battle was at its highest under the ceaseless of lightning that in the skies everything below stood out in clean cut and distinctness the bending trees the river white with foam the driving spray of the dim outlines of the high on the other side through the drifting cloud rack and the veil of rain every little while some giant tree yielded the fight and fell crashing through the younger growth and the came now in ear bursts keen and sharp and appalling the storm in one effort that seemed likely to tear the island to pieces burn it up drown it to the tree tops blow it away and every creature in it all at one and the moment it was a wild night for young heads to be out in but at last the battle was done and the forces retired with weaker and weaker and and peace resumed her sway the boys went back to camp a good deal awed but they found there was still something to be thankful for because the great the shelter of their beds was a ruin now by the and they were not under it	34
most of the boys could say that and so that the distinction too much the group away still recalling memories of the lost heroes in awed voices when the sunday school hour was finished the next morning the bell began to toll instead of ringing in the usual way it was a very still sabbath and the mournful sound seemed in keeping with the musing hush that lay upon nature the villagers began to gather a moment in the to converse in whispers about the sad event but there was no whispering in the house only the rustling of dresses as the women gathered to their seats disturbed the silence there none could remember when the little church had been so full before there was finally a waiting pause an expectant and then aunt entered followed by and mary and they by the family all in deep black and the whole congregation the old minister as well rose reverently and stood until the were seated in the front there was another silence broken at intervals by muffled sobs and then the minister spread his hands abroad and prayed a moving hymn was sung and the text followed i am the and the life as the service proceeded the clergyman drew such pictures of the graces the winning ways and the rare promise of the lost lads that every soul there thinking he recognized these pictures felt a pang in remembering that he had persistently blinded himself to them always before and had as persistently seen only faults and in the poor boys the minister related many a touching incident in the lives of the departed too which illustrated their sweet generous natures and the people could easily see now how noble and beautiful those were and remembered with grief that at the time they occurred they had seemed rank well deserving of die the congregation became more and more moved as the pathetic tale went on till at last the whole company broke down and joined the weeping in a chorus of sobs the preacher himself giving way to his feelings and crying in the pulpit there was a rustle in the gallery which nobody noticed a moment later the church door the minister raised his streaming eyes above his handkerchief and stood first one and then another pair of eyes followed the minister s and then almost with one impulse the congregation rose and stared while the three dead boys came marching up the aisle tom in the lead joe next and a ruin of drooping rags in the rear they had been hid in the unused gallery listening to their own funeral sermon aunt mary and the threw themselves upon their restored ones smothered them with kisses and poured out while poor stood abashed and uncomfortable not knowing exactly what to do or where to hide from so many eyes he wavered and started to away but tom seized him and said aunt it ain t fair somebody s got to be glad to see and so they shall i m glad to see him poor thing and the loving attentions aunt upon him were the one thing capable of making him more uncomfortable than he was before suddenly the minister shouted at the top of his voice l praise god from whom all blessings flow sing and put your hearts in it and they did old hundred swelled up with a triumphant burst and while it shook the tom the looked around upon the about him and confessed in his heart that this was the moment of his life as the sold congregation out they said they would almost be willing to be made ridiculous again to hear old hundred sung like that once more tom got more and kisses that day according to aunt s varying moods than he had earned before in a year and he hardly knew which expressed the most to god and affection for himself chapter xviii hat was tom s great secret the scheme to return home with his brother and attend their own they had over to the shore on a log at dusk on saturday landing five or six miles below the village they had slept in the woods at the edge of the town till nearly daylight and had then crept through back lanes and and finished their sleep in the gallery of the church among a chaos of benches at breakfast monday morning aunt and mary were very loving to tom and very attentive to his wants there was an unusual amount of talk in the course of it aunt said well i don t say it wasn t a fine joke tom to keep everybody suffering most a week so you boys had a good time but it is a pity you could be so hard hearted as to let me suffer so if you could come over on a log to go to your funeral you could have come over and give me a hint some way that you warn t dead but only run off yes you could have done that tom said mary and i believe you would if you had thought of it would you tom said aunt her face lighting wistfully say now would you if you d thought of it i well i don t know v spoiled everything tom i hoped you loved me that much said aunt with a grieved tone that the boy it would have been something if you d cared enough to think of it even if you didn t jo it now that ain t any harm pleaded mary c lt s only tom s giddy way he is always in such a rush that he never thinks of anything more s the pity would have thought and would have come and done it too tom you ll look back some day when it s too late	34
moved with a dignified as became a who felt that the public eye was on him and indeed it was he tried not to seem to see the looks or hear the remarks as he passed along but they were food and drink to him smaller boys than himself at his heels as proud to be seen with him and by him as if he had been the at the head of a procession or the elephant leading a into town boys of his own size pretended not to know he had been away at all but they were with envy nevertheless they would have given anything to have that skin of his and his glittering and tom would not have parted with either for a at school the children made so much of him and of joe and delivered such eloquent admiration from their eyes that the two heroes were not long in becoming stuck up they began to tell their adventures to hungry listeners but they only began it was not a thing likely to have an end with like theirs to furnish material and finally when they got out their pipes and went serenely puffing around the very summit of glory was reached tom decided that he could be independent of now glory was sufficient he would live for glory now that he was distinguished maybe she would be wanting to make up well let her she should see that he could be as indifferent as some other people presently she arrived tom pretended not to see her he moved away and joined a group of boys and girls and began to talk soon he observed that she was back and forth with flushed face and dancing eyes pretending to be busy chasing and screaming with laughter when she made a capture but he noticed that she always made her in his vicinity and that she seemed to cast a conscious eye in his direction at such times too it gratified all the vicious vanity that was in him and so instead of winning him it only set him up the more and made him the more to avoid betraying that he knew she was about presently she gave over and moved about sighing once or twice and glancing and wistfully toward tom then she observed that now tom was talking more particularly to than to any one else she felt a sharp pang and grew disturbed and uneasy at once she tried to go away but her feet were treacherous and carried her to the group instead she said to a girl almost at tom s elbow with sham vivacity why mary you bad girl why didn t you come to sunday school i did come didn t you see me why no did you where did you sit i was in miss class where i always go i saw you did you why it s funny i didn t see you i wanted to tell you about the oh that s jolly who s going to give it my ma s going to let me have one oh i hope she ll let me come well she will the s for me she ll let anybody come that i want and i want you that s ever so nice when is it going to be by and by maybe about oh won t it be fun you going to have all the girls and boys yes every one that s friends to me or wants to be and she glanced ever so at tom but he talked right along to about the terrible storm on the island and how the lightning tore the great tree all to while he was standing within three feet of it oh may i come said grace miller yes and me said sally yes and me too said and joe yes and so on with clapping of joyful hands till all the group had begged for invitations but tom and then tom turned coolly away still talking and took with him s lips trembled and the tears came to her eyes she hid these signs with a forced and went on chattering but the life had gone out of the now and out of everything else she got away as soon as she could and hid herself and had what her sex call a good cry then she sat moody with wounded i pride till the bell rang she roused up now with a cast in her eye and gave her tails a shake and said she knew what she d do at recess tom continued his with with self satisfaction and he kept drifting about to find and her with the performance at last he her but there was a sudden falling of his she was sitting on a little bench behind the looking at a picture book with alfred temple and so absorbed were they and their heads so close together over the book that they did not seem to be conscious of anything in the world besides jealousy r n red hot through tom s veins he began to hate himself for throwing away the chance had offered for a reconciliation he called himself a fool and all the hard names he could think of he wanted to cry with vexation happily along as they walked for her heart was singing but tom s tongue had lost its function he did not was saying and whenever she paused he could only an awkward assent which was as often as otherwise he kept drifting to the rear of the again and again to his with the hateful spectacle there he could not help it and it him to see as he thought he saw that never once suspected that he was even in the land of the living but she did see nevertheless and she knew she was winning her fight too	34
and was glad to see him suffer as she had suffered s happy became intolerable tom hinted at things he had to attend to things that must be done and time was fleeting but in vain the girl on tom thought oh hang her ain t i ever going to get rid of her at last he must be attending to those things and she said that she would be around when school let out and he hastened away her for it any other boy tom thought grating his teeth any boy in the whole town but that saint louis that thinks he dresses so fine and is aristocracy oh all right i licked you the first day you ever saw this town and you again you just wait till i i you out i ll just take and and hfe went through the motions of an imaginary boy the air and kicking and oh you do do you you do you now then let that learn you and so the imaginary was finished to his satisfaction tom fled home at noon his conscience could not endure any more of s grateful happiness and his jealousy could bear no more of the other distress resumed her picture with alfred but as the minutes dragged along and no tom came to suffer her triumph began to cloud and she lost interest gravity and absent followed and then melancholy two or three times she pricked up her ear at a footstep but it was a false hope no tom came at last she grew entirely miserable and wished she hadn t carried it so far when poor alfred seeing that he was losing her he did not know how kept exclaiming oh here s a jolly one look at this she lost patience at last and said oh don t bother me i don t care for them and burst into tears and got up and walked away alfred dropped alongside and was going to try to comfort her but she said go away and leave me alone can t you i hate you so the boy halted wondering what he could have done for she had said she would look at pictures all through the and she walked on crying then alfred went musing into the deserted he was and angry he easily guessed his way to the truth the girl had simply made a convenience of him to vent her spite upon tom he was far from tom the less when this thought occurred to him he wished there was some way to get that boy into trouble without much risk to himself tom s book fell under his eye here was his opportunity he gratefully opened to the lesson for the afternoon and poured ink upon the page glancing in at a window behind him at the moment saw the act and moved on without discovering herself she started homeward now intending to find tom and tell him tom would be thankful and their troubles would be healed before she was home however she had changed her mind the thought of tom s treatment of her when she was talking about her came back and filled her with shame she resolved to let him get whipped on the book s account and to hate him forever into the bargain chapter xix om arrived at home in a dreary mood and the first thing his aunt said to him showed him that he had brought his sorrows to an market tom i ve a notion to skin you alive what have i done well you ve done enough here i go over to like an old expecting going to make her believe all that about that dream when lo and behold you she d found out from joe that you was over here and heard all the talk we had that night tom i don t know what is to become of a boy that will act like that it makes me feel so bad to think you could let me go to and make such a fool of myself and never say a word this was a new aspect of the thing his of the morning had seemed to tom a good joke before and very ingenious it merely looked mean and shabby now he hung his head and could not think of anything to say for a moment then he said i wish i hadn t done it but i didn t think oh child you never think you never think of anything but your own selfishness you could think to come all the way over here from s island in the night to laugh at our troubles and you could think to fool me with a lie about a dream but you couldn t ever think to pity us and save us from sorrow i know now it was mean but i didn t mean to be mean i didn t honest and besides i didn t come over here to laugh at you that night what did you come for then it was to tell you not to be uneasy about us because we hadn t got tom tom i would be the soul in this world if i could believe you ever had as good a thought as that but you know you never did and know it tom indeed and deed i did i wish i may never stir if i didn t oh tom don t lie don t do it it only makes things a hundred times worse it ain t a lie it s the truth i wanted to keep you from that was all that made me come i d give the whole world to believe that it would cover up a power of sins tom i d most be glad you d run off and acted	34
so bad but it ain t reasonable because why didn t you tell me child why you see when you got to talking about the funeral i just got all full of the idea of our coming and hiding in the church and i couldn t somehow bear to spoil it so i just put the bark back in my pocket and kept what bark the bark i had wrote on to tell you we d gone i wish now you d up when i kissed you i do honest the hard lines in his aunt s face relaxed and a sudden tenderness dawned in her eyes did you kiss me tom why yes i did are you sure you did tom why yes i did certain sure what did you kiss me for tom because i loved you so and you laid there moaning and i was so sorry the words sounded like truth the old lady could not hide a tremor in her voice when she said kiss me again tom and be off with you to school now and don t bother me any more the moment he was gone she ran to a closet and got out the ruin of a jacket which tom had gone in then she stopped with it in her hand and said to herself no i don t dare poor boy i reckon he s lied about it but it s a blessed blessed lie there s such a comfort come from it i hope the lord i know the lord will forgive him because it was such in him to tell it but i don t want to find out it s a lie i won t look she put the jacket away and stood by musing a minute twice she put out her hand to take the garment again and twice she refrained once more she ventured and this time she fortified herself with the thought it s a good lie it s a good lie i won t let it grieve me so she sought the jacket pocket a moment later she was reading tom s piece of bark through flowing tears and saying i could forgive the boy now if he d committed a million sins chapter xx here was something about aunt s manner when she kissed tom that swept away his low spirits and made him and happy again he started to school and had the luck of coming upon at the head of meadow lane his mood always determined his manner without a moment s hesitation he ran to her and said i acted mighty mean to day and i m so sorry i won t ever ever do that way again as long as ever i live please make up won t you the girl stopped and looked him scornfully in the face i ll thank you to keep yourself to yourself mr thomas i ll never speak to you again she tossed her head and passed on tom was so stunned that he had not even presence of mind enough to say who cares miss until the right time to say it had gone by so he said nothing but he was in a fine rage nevertheless he into the wishing she were a boy and imagining i how he would her if she were he presently encountered her and delivered a remark as he passed she hurled one in return and the angry breach was complete it seemed to in her hot resentment that she could hardly wait for school to take in she was so impatient to see tom for the injured book if she had had any lingering notion of exposing alfred temple tom s offensive fling had driven it entirely away poor girl she did not know how fast she was trouble herself the master mr had reached middle age with an ambition the darling of his desires was to be a doctor but poverty had that he should be nothing higher than a village every day he took a mysterious book out of his desk and absorbed himself in it at times when no classes were he kept that book under lock and key there was not an jn school but was to have a glimpse of it but the chance never came every boy and girl had a theory about the nature of that book but no two theories were alike and there was no way of getting at the facts in the case now as was passing by the desk which stood near the door she noticed that the key was in the lock it was a precious moment she glanced around found herself alone and the next instant she had the book in her hands the title page professor somebody s carried no information to her mind so she began to turn the leaves she came at once upon a handsomely engraved and colored a human figure naked at that moment a shadow fell on the page and tom stepped in at the door and caught a glimpse of the picture snatched at the book to close it and had the hard luck to tear the pictured page half down the middle she thrust the volume into the desk turned the key and burst out crying with shame and vexation tom you are just as mean as you can be to up on a person and look at what they re looking at how could j know you was looking at anything you ought to be ashamed of yourself tom you know you re going to tell on me and oh what shall i do what shall i do i ll be whipped and i never was whipped in school then she stamped her little foot and said be so mean if you want to j know something that s going to happen	34
you just wait and you ll see hateful hateful hateful and she flung out of the house with a new explosion of crying tom stood still rather by this presently he said to himself what a curious kind of a fool a girl is never been licked in school what s a that s just like a girl they re so thin and chicken hearted well of course ain t going to tell old on this little fool because there s other ways of getting even on her that ain t so mean but what of it old will ask who it was tore his book nobody ll answer then he ll do just the way he always does ask first one and then t other and when he comes to the right girl he ll know it without any telling girls faces always tell on them they ain t got any she ll get licked well it s a kind of a tight place for because there ain t any way out of it tom the thing a moment longer and then added all right though she d like to see me in just such a fix let her sweat it out tom joined the of scholars outside in a few moments the master arrived and school took in tom did not feel a strong interest in his studies every time he stole a glance at the girls side of the room s face troubled him considering all things he did not want to pity her and yet it was all he could do to help it he could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name presently the book discovery was made and tom s mind was entirely full of his own matters for a while after that roused up from her of distress and showed good interest in the proceedings she did not expect that tom could get out of his trouble by denying that he the ink on the book himself and she was right the denial only seemed to make the thing worse for tom supposed she would be glad of that and she tried to believe she was glad of it but she found she was not certain when the worst came to the worst she had an impulse to get up and tell on alfred temple but she made an effort and forced herself to keep still because said she to herself he ll tell about me tearing the picture sure i wouldn t say a word not to save his life tom took his and went back to his seat not at all broken hearted for he thought it was possible that he had upset the ink on the himself in some bout he had denied it for form s sake and because it was custom and had stuck to the denial from principle a whole hour drifted by the master sat nodding in his throne the air was drowsy with the hum of study by and by mr straightened himself up yawned then unlocked his desk and reached for his book but seemed whether to take it out or leave it most of the pupils glanced up languidly but there were two among them that watched his movements with intent eyes mr his book for a while then took it out and settled himself in his chair to read tom shot a glance at he had seen a hunted and helpless rabbit look as she did with a gun at its head instantly he forgot his quarrel with her quick something must be done done in a flash too but the very of the emergency his invention good he had an inspiration he would run and snatch the book spring through the door and fly but his resolution shook for one little instant and the chance was lost the master opened the volume if tom only had the wasted opportunity back again too late there was no help for now he said the next moment the master faced the school every eye sank under his gaze there was that in it which smote even the innocent with fear there was silence while one might count ten the master was gathering his wrath then he spoke who tore this book there was not a sound one could have heard a pin drop the stillness continued the master searched face after face for signs of guilt did you tear this book a denial another pause joseph did you another denial tom s uneasiness grew more and more intense under the slow torture of these proceedings the master the ranks of boys considered a while then turned to the girls a shake of the head grade miller the same sign did you do this another negative the next girl was tom was trembling from head to foot with excitement and a sense of the of the situation tom glanced at her face it was white with terror did you tear no look me in the face her hands rose in appeal did you tear this book a thought shot like lightning through tom s brain he sprang to his feet and shouted j done it the school stared in perplexity at this incredible folly tom stood a moment to gather his faculties and when he stepped forward to go to his punishment the surprise the gratitude the adoration that shone upon him out of poor s eyes seemed pay enough for a hundred inspired by the splendor of his own act he took without an the most merciless that even mr had ever administered and also received with indifference the added cruelty of a command to remain two hours after school should be dismissed for he knew who would wait for him outside till his was done and not count the tedious time as loss	34
either tom went to bed that night planning vengeance against alfred temple for with shame and repentance had told him all not forgetting her own treachery but even the longing for vengeance had to give way soon to pleasanter and he fell asleep at last with s latest words lingering in his ear tom how could you be so noble chapter xxi was approaching the always severe grew and more than ever for he wanted the school to make a good showing on examination day his rod and his were seldom idle now at least among the smaller pupils only the biggest boys and young ladies of eighteen and twenty escaped mr were very vigorous ones too for although he carried under his wig a perfectly bald and shiny head he had only reached middle age and there was no sign of in his muscle as the great day approached all the tyranny that was in him came to the surface he seemed to take a pleasure in the least the consequence was that the smaller boys spent their days in terror and suffering and their nights in revenge they threw away no opportunity to do the master a mischief but he kept ahead all the time the that followed every success was so sweeping and majestic that the boys always retired from the field badly at last they together and hit upon a plan that promised a dazzling victory they swore in the sign painter s boy told him the scheme and asked his help he had his own reasons for being delighted for the master in his father s family and had given the boy ample cause to hate him the master s wife would go on a visit to the country in a few days and there would be nothing to interfere with the plan the master always prepared himself for great occasions by getting pretty well and the sign painter s boy said that when the had reached the proper condition on examination evening he would manage the thing while he in his chair then he would have him awakened at the right time and hurried away to school in the fulness of time the interesting occasion arrived at eight in the evening the was brilliantly lighted and adorned with wreaths and of foliage and flowers the master sat in his great chair upon a raised platform with his behind him he was looking tolerably mellow three rows of benches on each side and six rows in front of him were occupied by the of the town and by the parents of the pupils to his left back of the rows of citizens was a spacious temporary platform upon which were seated the scholars who were to take part in the exercises of the evening rows of small boys washed and dressed to an intolerable state of discomfort rows of big boys of girls and young ladies clad in lawn and muslin and conscious of their bare arms their ancient their bits of pink and blue ribbon and the flowers in their hair all die rest of the house was filled with non scholars the exercises began a very little boy stood up and you d scarce expect one of my age to speak in public on the stage etc accompanying himself with the painfully exact and gestures which a machine might have used supposing the machine to be a trifle out of order but he got through safely though cruelly scared and got a fine round of applause when he made his bow and retired a little girl mary had a little lamb etc performed a compassion inspiring got her of applause and sat down flushed and happy tom stepped forward with conceited confidence and into the and give me liberty or give me death speech with fine fury and frantic and broke down in the middle of it a ghastly stage fright seized him his legs under him and he was like to choke true he had the manifest sympathy of the house but he had the house s silence too which was even worse than its sympathy the master frowned and this com the disaster tom struggled awhile and then retired utterly defeated there was a weak attempt at applause but it died early l the boy stood on the burning deck followed also the came down and other gems then there were reading exercises and a fight the meagre latin class with honor the prime feature of the evening was in order original by the young ladies each in her turn stepped forward to the edge of the platform cleared her throat held up her manuscript tied with dainty ribbon and proceeded to read with labored attention to expression and the were the same that had been illuminated upon similar occasions by their mothers before them their and doubtless all their ancestors in the female line clear back to the friendship was one memories of other days religion in history dream land the advantages of culture forms of political government compared and contrasted melancholy filial love heart etc etc a feature in these was a nursed and melancholy another was a and of fine language another was a tendency to in by the ears particularly words and phrases until they were worn entirely out and a peculiarity that marked and was die and intolerable sermon that its crippled tail at die end of each and every one of them no matter what die subject might be a brain effort was made to it into some aspect or other that die moral and religious mind could contemplate with the glaring of these sermons was not sufficient to compass the of the fashion from the schools and it is not sufficient to day it never will be sufficient while the world stands perhaps there is no school in all our land where the young ladies do not feel obliged	34
to close their with a sermon and you will find that the sermon of the most frivolous and the least girl in the school is always the longest and the most pious but enough of this homely truth is let us return to the examination the first composition that was read was one entitled is this then life perhaps the reader can endure an extract from it in the common walks of life with what delightful emotions does the youthful mind look forward to some anticipated scene of imagination is busy rose tinted pictures of joy in fancy the of fashion sees herself amid the throng the observed of all her graceful form arrayed in snowy robes is whirling through the of the joyous dance her eye is brightest her step is in the gay assembly in such delicious fancies time quickly by and the welcome hour arrives for her entrance into the world of which she has had such bright dreams how fairy like does everything appear to her enchanted vision each new scene is more charming than the last but after a while she finds that beneath this goodly exterior all is vanity the flattery which once charmed her soul now harshly upon her ear the ball room has lost its charms and with wasted health and heart she turns away with the conviction that earthly pleasures cannot satisfy the of the soul and so forth and so on there was a of gratification from time to time during the reading accompanied by whispered of how sweet how eloquent so true etc and after the thing had with a peculiarly sermon the applause was enthusiastic then arose a slim melancholy girl whose face had the interesting that comes of and and read a poem two of it will do a maiden s farewell to good bye i love thee well but yet for a while do i leave thee now sad yes sad thoughts of thee my heart doth swell and burning recollections throng my brow for i have wandered through thy woods have and read near s stream have listened to s floods and on s side s beam yet shame i not to bear an o er full heart nor blush to turn behind my tearful eyes lis from no stranger land i now must part tis to no strangers left i yield these sighs welcome and home were mine within this state whose i leave whose fade fast from me and cold must be mine eyes and heart and when dear they turn cold on thee there were very few there who knew what the meant but the poem was very satisfactory nevertheless next appeared a dark black eyed black haired young lady who paused an impressive moment assumed a tragic expression and began to read in a measured solemn tone a vision u dark and was night around the throne on high not a single star quivered but the deep of the heavy thunder constantly upon the ear whilst the terrific lightning in angry mood through the cloudy chambers of heaven seeming to scorn the power exerted over its terror by the illustrious even the boisterous winds came forth from their mystic homes and about as if to by their aid the of the scene at such a time so dark so dreary for human sympathy my very spirit sighed but instead thereof my dearest friend my my and guide my joy in grief my second bliss in joy came to my side she moved like one of those bright beings pictured in the sunny walks of fancy s by the romantic and young a queen of beauty save by her own loveliness so soft was her step it failed to make even a sound and but for the thrill imparted by her genial touch as other beauties she would have glided away a strange sadness rested upon her features like icy tears upon the robe of december as she pointed to the elements without and bade me contemplate the two beings presented this nightmare occupied some ten pages of manuscript and wound up with a sermon so destructive of all hope to non that it took the first prize this composition was considered to be the very finest effort of the evening the mayor of the village in delivering the prize to the author of it made a warm speech in which he said that it was by far the most eloquent thing he had ever listened to and that daniel himself might well be proud of it it may be remarked in passing that the number of in which the word was over and human experience referred to as life s page was up to the usual average now the master mellow almost to the verge of put his chair aside turned his back to the audience and began to draw a map of america on the to exercise the geography class upon but he made a sad business of it with his unsteady hand and a smothered over the house he knew what the matter was and set himself to right it he out lines and but he only distorted them more than ever and the was more pronounced he threw his entire attention upon his work now as if determined not to be put down by the mirth he felt that all eyes were fastened upon him he imagined he was succeeding and yet the continued it even increased and well it might there was a garret above pierced with a over his head and down through this came a cat suspended around the by a string she had a rag tied about her head and jaws to keep her from as she slowly descended she curved upward and at the string she swung downward and at the air the rose higher and higher the cat was within six inches of the absorbed teacher s	34
entire age when he got abroad at last he was hardly grateful that he had been spared remembering how lonely was his estate how and forlorn he was he drifted down the street and found jim acting as judge in a court that was trying a cat for murder in the presence of her victim a bird he found joe and up an alley eating a stolen poor lads they like tom had suffered a chapter t last the sleepy atmosphere was stirred and vigorously the murder trial came on in the court it became the absorbing topic of village talk immediately tom could not get away from it every reference to the murder sent a shudder to his heart for his troubled conscience and fears almost persuaded him that these remarks were put forth in his hearing as he did not see how he could be suspected of knowing anything about the murder but still he could not be comfortable in the midst of this gossip it kept him in a cold shiver all the time he took to a lonely place to have a talk with him it would be some relief to his tongue for a little while to divide his burden of distress with another sufferer moreover he wanted to assure himself that had remained discreet have you ever told anybody about that bout what you know what course i haven t never a word never a solitary word so help me what makes you ask well i was why tom we wouldn t be alive two days if that got found out tou know that tom felt more comfortable after a pause they couldn t anybody get you to tell could they get me to tell why if i wanted that half breed devil to me they could get me to tell they ain t no different way well that s all right then i reckon we re safe as long as we keep but let s swear again anyway it s more i m agreed so they swore again with dread what is the talk around i ve heard a power of it talk well it s just all the time it keeps me in a sweat constant so s i want to hide ers that s just the same way they go on round me i reckon he s a don t you feel sorry for him sometimes most always most always he ain t no account but then he t ever done anything to hurt anybody just fishes a little to get money to get drunk on and around considerable but lord we all do that most of us and such like but he s kind of good he give me half a fish once when there warn t enough for two and lots of times he s kind of stood by me when i was out of luck well he s mended for me and hooks on to my line i wish we could get him out of there my we couldn t get him out tom and besides t do any good they d him again yes so they would but i hate to hear em abuse him so like the when he never done that i do too tom lord i hear em say he s the looking villain in this country and they wonder he wasn t ever hung before yes they talk like that all the time i ve heard em say that if he was to get free they d him and they d do it too the boys had a long talk but it brought them little comfort as the twilight drew on they found themselves hanging about the neighborhood of the little isolated jail perhaps with an hope that something would happen that might clear away their difficulties but nothing happened there seemed to be no angels or interested in this captive did as they had often done before went to the cell grating and gave some tobacco and matches he was on the ground floor and there were no guards his gratitude for their gifts had always smote their before it cut deeper than ever this time they felt cowardly and treacherous to the last degree when said you ve been mighty good to me boys better n anybody else in this town and i don t forget it i don t often i says to myself says i i used to mend all the boys and things and show em where the good places was and em what i could and now they ve all forgot old when he s in trouble but tom don t and don t they don t forget him says i and i don t forget them well boys i done an awful thing drunk and crazy at the time the only way i account for it and now i got to swing for it and it s right right and best too i reckon hope so anyway well we won t talk about that i don t want to make you feel bad you ve me but what i want to say is don t you ever get drunk then you won t ever get here stand a litter west so that s it it s a prime comfort to see faces that s friendly when a body s in such a of trouble and there don t none come here but good friendly faces good friendly faces up on one another s backs and let me touch em that s it shake hands ll come through the bars but mine s too big little hands and weak but they ve helped a power and they d help him more if they could tom went home miserable and his dreams that	34
not of course what do they want to hop for but i mean you d just see em scattered around you know in a kind of a general way like that old richard richard what s his other name he didn t have any other name kings don t have any but a given name no but they don t well if they like it tom all right but i don t want to be a king and have only just a given name like a but say where you going dig first well i don t know s pose we tackle that old dead limb tree on the hill t other side of still house branch r i m agreed so they got a crippled pick and a and set out on their three mile tramp they arrived hot and panting and threw themselves down in the shade of a neighboring elm to rest and have a smoke i like this said tom so do i say if we find a treasure here what you going to do with your share well i ll have pie and a glass of every day and i ll go to every that comes along i bet i ll have a gay time well ain t you going to save any of it save it what for why so as to have something to live on by and by oh that ain t any use would come back to yer town some day and get his claws on it if i didn t hurry up and i tell you he d clean it out pretty quick what you going to do with tom i m going to buy a new drum and a sure sword and a red and a bull and get married married that s it tom why you ain t in your right mind you ll see well that s the thing you could do look at and my mother fight why they used to fight all the time i remember mighty well that ain t anything the girl i m going to marry won t fight tom i reckon they re all alike they ll all comb a body now you better think bout this awhile i tell you you better what s the name of the it ain t a at all it s a girl it s all the same i reckon some says some says girl both s right like enough anyway what s her name tom i ll tell you some time not now all right that do only if you get married i ll be more than ever no you won t you ll come and live with me now stir out of this and we ll go to digging they worked and for half an hour no result they toiled another half hour still no result said do they always bury it as deep as this sometimes not always not generally i reckon we haven t got the right place so they chose a new spot and began again the labor dragged a little but still they made progress they away in silence for some time finally leaned on his the drops from his brow with his sleeve and said where you going to dig next after we get this one i reckon maybe we ll tackle the old tree that s over yonder on hill back of the widow s i reckon that be a good one but won t the widow take it away from us tom it s on her land she take it away maybe she d like to try it once whoever finds one of these hid treasures it belongs to him it don t make any difference whose land it s on that was satisfactory the work went on by and by said blame it we must be in the wrong place again what do you think it is mighty curious i don t understand it sometimes interfere i reckon maybe that s what s the trouble now ain t got no power in the well that s so i didn t think of that oh know what the matter is what a blamed lot of fools we are you got to find out where the shadow of the limb falls at midnight and that s where you dig then it we ve away all this work for nothing now hang it all we got to come back in the night it s an awful long way can you get out i bet i will we ve got to do it to night too because if somebody sees these holes they ll know in a minute what s here and they ll go for it well i ll come around and to night all right let s hide the tools in the bushes the boys were there that night about the appointed time they sat in the shadow waiting it was a lonely place and an hour made solemn by old traditions spirits whispered in the rustling leaves ghosts in the the deep of a hound floated up out of the distance an owl answered with his note the boys were subdued by these and talked little by and by they judged that twelve had come they marked where the shadow fell and began to dig their hopes commenced to rise their interest grew stronger and their industry kept pace with it the hole deepened and still deepened but every time their hearts jumped to hear the pick strike upon something they only suffered a new disappointment it was only a stone or a at last tom said it ain t any use we re wrong again well but we cant be wrong we spotted the to a dot i know it but then there s another thing what s that why we only guessed at the time	34
whose head was drooping upon his knees stirred him up with his foot and said here you re a ain t you all right though nothing s happened my have i been asleep oh partly partly nearly time for us to be moving what we do with what little we ve got left i don t know leave it here as we ve always done i reckon no use to take it away till we start south six hundred and fifty in silver s something to carry well all right it won t matter to come here once more but say come in the night as we used to do it s better yes but look here it may be a good while before i get the right chance at that job accidents might happen tain t in such a very good place we ll just regularly bury it and bury it deep good idea said the comrade who walked across the room knelt down raised one of the and took out a bag that pleasantly he from it twenty or thirty dollars for himself and as much for joe and passed the bag to the latter who was on his knees in the corner now digging with his knife the boys forgot all their fears all their miseries in an instant with eyes they watched every movement luck the splendor of it was beyond all imagination six hundred dollars was money enough to make half a dozen boys rich here was under the happiest there would not be any uncertainty as to where to dig they each other every moment eloquent and easily understood for they simply meant oh but ain t you glad now we re here joe s knife struck upon something said he what is it said his comrade half rotten plank no it s a box i believe here bear a hand and we ll see what it s here for v never mind i ve broke a hole he reached his hand in and drew it out man it s money the two men examined the handful of they were gold the boys above were as excited as themselves and as delighted joe s comrade said we ll make quick work of this there s an old rusty pick over amongst the weeds in the corner the other side of the fireplace i saw it a minute ago he ran and brought the boys pick and joe took the pick looked it over shook his head muttered something to himself and then began to use it the box was soon it was not very large it was iron bound and had been very strong before the slow years had injured it the men contemplated the treasure awhile in silence there s thousands of dollars here said joe twas always said that s gang used to be around here one summer the stranger observed i know it said joe and this looks like it i should say now you won t need to do that job the half breed frowned said he you don t know me least you don t know m about that thing tain t robbery altogether it s revenge and a wicked light in his eyes i ll need your help in it when it s finished then go home to your and your and stand by till you hear from me well if you say so what we do with this bury it again yes delight overhead no by the great no profound distress overhead i d nearly forgot that pick had fresh earth on it the boys were sick with terror in a moment what business has a pick and a here what business with fresh earth on them who brought them here and where are they gone have you heard anybody seen anybody what bury it again and leave them to come and see the ground disturbed not exactly not exactly we ll take it to my den why of course might have thought of that before you mean number one number two under the cross the other place is bad too common all right it s nearly dark enough to start joe got up and went about from window to window cautiously peeping out presently he said who could have brought those tools here do you reckon they can be up stairs the boys breath them joe put his hand on his knife halted a moment and then turned toward the the boys thought of the closet but their strength was gone the steps came creaking up the stairs the intolerable distress of the situation woke the stricken resolution of the lads they were about to spring for the closet when there was a crash of rotten and joe landed on the ground amid the of the ruined he gathered himself up cursing and his comrade said now what s the use of all that if it s anybody and they re up there let them stay there who cares if they want to jump down now and get into trouble who objects it will be dark in fifteen minutes and then let them follow us if they want to i m willing in my opinion whoever those things in here caught a sight of us and took us for ghosts or devils or something i ll bet they re running yet joe grumbled awhile then he agreed with his friend that what daylight was left ought to be in getting things ready for leaving shortly afterward they slipped out of the house in the deepening twilight and moved toward the river with their precious box tom and rose up weak but vastly relieved and stared after them through the between the logs of the house follow not they	34
they were content to reach ground again without broken necks and take the track over the hill they did not talk much they were too much absorbed in themselves the ill luck that made them take the and the pick there but for that joe never would have suspected he would have hidden the silver with the gold to wait there till his revenge was satisfied and then he would have had the misfortune to find that money turn up missing bitter bitter luck that the tools were ever brought there they resolved to keep a for that when he should come to town out for chances to do his job and follow him to number two wherever that might be then a ghastly thought occurred to tom revenge what if he means us oh don t said nearly fainting they talked it all over and as they entered town they agreed to believe that he might possibly mean somebody else at least that he might at least mean nobody but tom since only tom had very very small comfort it was to tom to be alone in danger company would be a palpable improvement he thought chapter he adventure of the day tormented tom s dreams that night four times he had his hands on that rich treasure and four times it wasted to in his fingers as sleep him and brought back the hard reality of his misfortune as he lay in the early morning recalling the incidents of his great adventure he noticed that they seemed curiously subdued and far away somewhat as if they had happened in another world or in a time long gone by then it occurred to him that the great adventure itself must be a dream there was one very strong argument in favor of this idea namely that the quantity of coin he had seen was too vast to be real he had never seen as much as fifty dollars in one mass before and he was like all boys of his age and station in life in that he imagined that all to hundreds and thousands were mere fanciful forms of speech and that no such sums really existed in the world he never had supposed for a moment that so large a sum as a hun dollars was to be found in actual in any one s possession if his notions of treasure had been they would have been found to consist of a handful of real and a of vague splendid dollars but the incidents of his adventure grew sensibly and clearer under the of thinking them over and so he presently found himself leaning to the impression that the thing might not have been a dream after all this uncertainty must be swept away he would snatch a hurried breakfast and go and find was sitting on the of a dangling his feet in the water and looking very melancholy tom concluded to let lead up to the subject if he did not do it then the adventure would be proved to have been only a dream yourself silence for a minute tom if we d a left the blame tools at the dead tree we d a got the money oh ain t it awful tain t a dream then tain t a dream somehow i most wish it was dog d if i don t what ain t a dream oh that thing yesterday i been half thinking it was dream if them stairs hadn t broke down you d a seen how much dream it was i ve had dreams enough all night with that patch eyed spanish devil going for me all through em rot him no not rot him find him track the money tom we ll never find him a don t have only one chance for such a pile and that one s lost i d feel mighty if i was to see him anyway well so d i but i d like to see him anyway and track him out to his number two number two yes that s it i been thinking bout that but i can t make nothing out of it what do you reckon it is i it s too deep say maybe it s the number of a house no tom that ain t it if it is it ain t in this one horse town they ain t no numbers here well that s so think a minute here it s the number of a room in a tavern you know oh that s the trick they ain t only two we can find out quick you stay here till i come tom was off at once he did not care to have s company in public places he was gone half an hour he found that in the best tavern no had long been occupied by a young lawyer and was still so occupied in the less house no was a mystery the tavern keeper s young son said it was kept locked all the time and he never saw anybody go into it or come out of it except at night he did not know any particular reason for this state of things had had some little curiosity but it was rather feeble had made the most of the mystery by entertaining himself with the idea that that room was ha had noticed that there was a light in there the night before that s what found out i reckon that s the very no we re after i reckon it is tom now what you going to do think tom thought a long time then he said i ll tell you the back door of that no is the door that comes out into that little close alley between the tavern and the old rattle trap of	34
night long and i ll do it every night too if you ll do the other part of the job all right i will all you got to do is to trot up street a block and and if i m asleep you throw some gravel at the window and that fetch me agreed and good as wheat i now the storm s over and i ll go home it begin to be daylight in a couple of hours you go back and watch that long will you i said i would tom and i will i ll ha nt that tavern every night for a year i ll sleep all day and i ll stand watch all night that s all right now where you going to sleep in ben he lets me and so does his s man uncle i water for uncle whenever he wants me to and any time i ask him he gives me a little something to eat if he can spare it that s a mighty good tom he likes me i don t ever act as if i was above him sometime i ve set right down and eat with him but you needn t tell that a body s got to do things when he s awful hungry he wouldn t want to do as a steady thing well if i don t want you in the i ll let you sleep i won t come around any time you see something s up in the night just right around and chapter he first thing tom heard on friday morning was a glad piece of news judge s family had come back to town the night before both joe and the treasure sunk into secondary importance for a moment and took the chief place in the boy s interest he saw her and they had an good time playing and keeper with a crowd of their the day was completed and crowned in a peculiarly satisfactory way her mother tc the next day for the long promised and and she consented the child s delight was boundless and tom s not more moderate the invitations were sent out before sunset and straightway the young folks of the village were thrown into a fever of preparation and anticipation tom s excitement enabled him to keep awake until a pretty late hour and he had good hopes of hearing s and of having his treasure to astonish and the with next day but he was disappointed no signal came that night morning came eventually and by ten or eleven o clock a giddy and company were gathered at judge s and everything was ready for a start it was not the custom for elderly people to mar the with their presence the children were considered safe enough under the wings of a few young ladies of eighteen and a few young gentlemen of twenty three or the old steam was for the occasion presently the gay throng filed up the main street laden with was sick and had to miss the fun mary remained at home to entertain him the last thing mrs said to was you ll not get back till late perhaps you d better stay all night with some of the girls that live near the landing child then i ll stay with mamma very well and mind and behave yourself and don t be any trouble presently as they tripped along tom said to say i ll tell you what we ll do stead of going to joe s we ll climb right up the hill and stop at the widow she ll have ice cream she has it most every day dead loads of it and she ll be awful glad to have us oh that will be fun then reflected a moment and said but what will mamma say how she ever know the girl turned the idea over in her mind and said reluctantly i reckon it s wrong but but your mother won t know and so what s the harm all she wants is that you ll be safe and i bet you she d a said go there if she d a thought of it i know she would i the widow splendid hospitality was a tempting bait it and tom s presently carried the day so it was decided to say nothing to anybody about the night s programme presently it occurred to tom that maybe might come this very night and give the signal the thought took a deal of the spirit out of his still he could not bear to give up the fun at widow and why should he give it up he reasoned the signal did not come the night before so why should it be any more likely to come to night the sure fun of the evening the uncertain treasure and he determined to yield to the stronger inclination and not allow himself to think of the box of money another time that day three miles below town the stopped at the mouth of a hollow and tied up the crowd ashore and soon the forest distances and heights echoed far and near with and laughter all the different ways of getting hot and tired were gone through with and by and by the back to camp fortified with responsible and then the destruction of the good things began after the feast there was a refreshing season of rest and chat in the shade of spreading oaks by somebody shouted who s ready for the cave everybody was bundles of candles were procured and straightway there was a general up the hill the mouth of the cave was up the an opening shaped like a letter a its massive door stood within was a small chamber chilly as an ice house and walled by nature with solid that	34
was with a cold sweat it was romantic and mysterious to stand here in the deep gloom and look out upon the green valley shining in the sun but the of the situation quickly wore off and the began again the moment a candle was lighted there was a general rush upon the owner of it a struggle and a gallant defence followed but the candle was soon knocked down or blown out and then there was a glad of laughter and a new chase but all things have an end by the procession went down the steep descent of the main avenue the flickering rank of lights dimly revealing the lofty walls of rock almost to their point of sixty feet overhead this main avenue was not more than eight or ten feet wide every few steps other lofty and still from it on either hand for cave was but a vast of crooked that ran into each other and out again and led nowhere it was said that one might wander days and nights together through its intricate of and and never find the end of the cave and that he might go down and down and still down into the earth and it was just the same under and no end to any of them no man knew the cave that was an impossible thing most of the young men knew a portion of it and it was not customary to venture much beyond this known portion tom knew as much of the cave as any one the procession moved along the main avenue some three quarters of a mile and then groups and couples began to slip aside into branch avenues fly along the dismal and take each other by surprise at points where the joined again parties were able to each other for the space of half an hour without going beyond the known ground by and by one group after another came straggling back to the mouth of the cave panting from head to foot with with clay and entirely delighted with the success of the day then they were astonished to find that they had been taking no note of time and that night was about at hand the bell had been calling for half an hour however this sort of close to the day s adventures was romantic and therefore satisfactory when the with her wild freight pushed into the stream nobody cared sixpence for the wasted time but the captain of the craft was already upon his watch when the s lights went past the wharf he heard no noise on board for the young people were as subdued and still as people usually are who are nearly tired to death he wondered what boat it was and why she did not stop at the wharf and then he dropped her out of his mind and put his attention upon his business the night was growing cloudy and dark ten o clock came and the noise of ceased scattered lights began to wink out all straggling disappeared the village itself to its and left the small alone with the silence and the ghosts eleven o clock came and the tavern lights were put out darkness everywhere now waited what seemed a weary long time but nothing happened his faith was was there any use was there really any use why not give it up and turn in a noise fell upon his ear he was all attention in an instant the alley door closed softly he sprang to the corner of the brick store the next moment two men brushed by him and one seemed to have something under his arm it must be that box so they were going to remove the treasure why call tom now it would be absurd the men would get away with the box and never be found again no he would stick to their wake and follow them he would trust to the darkness for security from discovery so with himself stepped out and glided along behind the men cat like with bare feet allowing them to keep just far enough ahead not to be invisible they moved up the river street three blocks then turned to the left up a cross street they went straight ahead then until they came to the path that led up hill this they took they passed by the old s house half way up the hill without hesitating and still climbed upward good thought they will bury it in the old but they never stopped at the they passed on up the summit they plunged into the narrow path between the tall bushes and were at once hidden in the gloom closed up and his distance now for they would never be able to see him he trotted along awhile then his pace fearing he was gaining too fast moved on a piece then stopped altogether listened no sound none save that he seemed to hear the beating of his own heart the of an owl came over the hill ominous sound but no footsteps heavens was everything lost he was about to spring with winged feet when a man cleared his throat not four feet from him s heart shot into his throat but he swallowed it again and then he stood there shaking as if a dozen had taken charge of him at once and so weak that he thought he must surely fall to the ground he knew where he was he knew he was within five steps of the leading into widow grounds very well he thought let them bury it there it won t be hard to find now there was a voice a very low voice joe s damn her maybe she s got company there s lights late as it is i can t see any this was that stranger s voice	34
the stranger of the haunted house a deadly chill went to s heart this then was the revenge job his thought was to fly then he remembered that the widow had been kind to him more than once and maybe these men were going to murder her he wished he dared venture to warn her but he knew he didn t dare they might come and catch him he thought all this and more in the moment that elapsed between the stranger s remark and joe s next which was because the bush is in your way now this way now you see don t you yes well there is company there i reckon better give it up give it up and i just leaving this country forever give it up and maybe never have another chance i tell you again as told you before i don t care for her you may have it but her husband was rough on me many times he was rough on me and mainly he was the justice of the peace that me for a and that ain t all it ain t a part of it he had me in front of the jail like with all the town looking on o you understand he took advantage of me and died but i ll take it out of her oh don t kill her don t do that kill who said anything about killing i would kill him if he was here but not her when you want to get revenge on a woman you don t kill her you go for her looks you her nostrils you her ears like a sow by god that s keep your opinion to yourself it will be safest for you ill tie her to the bed if she to death is that my fault i ll not cry if she does my friend you ll help me in this thing for my sake that s why you re here i t be able alone if you i ll kill you do you understand that and if i have to kill you i ll kill her and then i reckon nobody ever know much about who done this business well if it s got to be done let s get at it the quicker the better i m all in a shiver do it now and company there look here get suspicious of you first thing you know no we ll wait till the lights are out there s no hurry felt that a silence was going to a thing still more awful than any amount of talk so he held his breath and stepped back planted his foot carefully and firmly after one legged in a precarious way and almost over first on one side and then on the other he took another step back with the same and the same risks then another and another and a snapped under his foot his breath stopped and he listened there was no sound the stillness was perfect his gratitude was now he turned in his tracks between the walls of bushes turned himself as carefully as if he were a ship and then stepped quickly but cautiously along when he emerged at the he felt secure and so he picked up his heels and flew down down he sped till he reached the s he at the door and presently the heads of the old man and his two sons were thrust from windows what s the row there who s what do you want let me in quick i ll tell everything why who are you quick let me in indeed it ain t a name to open many doors i judge but let him in lads and let s see what s the trouble please don t ever tell told you were s first words when he got in please don t i d be killed sure but the widow s been good friends to me sometimes and i want to tell i will tell if you ll promise you won t ever say it was me by george he has got something to tell or he wouldn t act so exclaimed the old man out with it and nobody here ever tell lad three minutes later the old man and his sons well armed were up the hill and just entering the path on their weapons in their hands accompanied them no further he hid behind a great and fell to listening there was a anxious silence and then all of a sudden there was an explosion of and a cry waited for no particulars he sprang away and sped down the hill as fast as his legs could carry him chapter xxx j s the earliest suspicion of dawn appeared on sunday morning came groping up the hill and gently at the old s door the inmates were asleep but it was a sleep that was set on a hair on account of the exciting episode of the night a call came from a window who s there s scared voice answered in a low tone please let me in it s only it s a name that can open this door night or day lad and welcome these were strange words to the vagabond boy s ears and the he had ever heard he could not recollect that the closing word had ever been applied in his case before the door was quickly unlocked and he entered was given a seat and the old man and his brace of tall sons speedily dressed themselves now my boy i hope you re good and hungry because breakfast will be ready as soon as the sun s	34
that you want to keep dark now trust me tell me what it is and trust i won t betray you looked into the old man s honest eyes a moment then bent over and whispered in his ear tain t a it s joe the almost jumped out of his chair in a moment he said it s all plain enough now when you talked about ears and noses i judged that that was your own because white men don t take that sort of revenge but an that s a different matter altogether during breakfast the talk went on and in the course of it the old man said that the last thing which he and his sons had done before going to bed was to get a lantern and examine the and its vicinity for marks of blood they found none but captured a bundle of of what if the words had been lightning they could not have leaped with a more suddenness from s lips his eyes were staring wide now and his breath suspended waiting for the answer the started stared in return three seconds five seconds ten then replied of s tools why what s the matter with you sank back panting gently but deeply grateful the eyed him gravely curiously and presently said yes s tools that appears to relieve you a good deal but what did give you that turn what were you expecting we d found was in a close place the inquiring eye was upon him he would have given anything for material for a plausible answer nothing suggested itself the inquiring eye was deeper and deeper a senseless reply offered there was no time to weigh it so at a venture he uttered it feebly sunday school books maybe poor was too distressed to smile but the old man laughed loud and shook up the details of his from head to foot and ended by saying that such a laugh was money in a man s pocket because it cut down the doctor s bill like everything then he added poor old chap you re white and you ain t well a bit no wonder you re a little and off your balance but you ll come out of it rest and sleep will fetch you out all right i hope was irritated to think he had been such a goose and betrayed such a suspicious excitement for he had dropped the idea that the parcel brought from the tavern was the treasure as soon as he had heard the talk at the widow s he had only thought it was not the treasure however he had not known that it wasn t and so the suggestion of a captured bundle was too much for his self possession but on the whole he felt glad the little episode had happened for now he knew beyond all question that that bundle was not the bundle and so his mind was at rest and exceedingly comfortable in fact everything seemed to be drifting just in the right direction now the treasure must be still in no the men would be captured and that day and he and tom could seize the gold that night without any trouble or any fear of interruption just as breakfast was completed there was a knock at the door jumped for a hiding place for he had no mind to be connected even with the late event the admitted several ladies and gentlemen among them the widow and noticed that groups of citizens were climbing up the hill to stare at the so the news had spread the had to tell the story of the night to the visitors the widow s gratitude for her preservation was don t say a word about it madam there s another that you re more to than you are to me and my boys maybe but he don t allow me to tell his name we wouldn t have been there but for him of course this excited a curiosity so vast that it almost the main matter but the allowed it to eat into the of his visitors and through them be to die whole town for he refused to part with his secret when all else had been learned the widow said i went to sleep reading in bed and slept straight through all that noise why didn t you come and wake me we judged it warn t worth while those fellows warn t likely to come again they hadn t any tools left to work with and what was the use of waking you up and you to death my three negro men stood guard at your house all the rest of the night they ve just come back more visitors came and the story had to be told and for a couple of hours more there was no sabbath school during day school but everybody was early at church the stirring event was well news came that not a sign of the two had been yet discovered when the sermon was finished judge s wife dropped alongside of mrs as she moved down the aisle witb the crowd and said is my going to sleep all day i just expected she would be tired to death your yes with a startled look didn t she stay with you last night why no mrs turned pale and sank into a just as aunt talking briskly with a friend passed by aunt said good morning mrs good morning mrs i ve got a boy that s turned up missing i reckon my tom stayed at your house last night one of you and now he s afraid to come to church i ve got to settle with him mrs shook	34
her head feebly and turned paler than ever he didn t stay with us said mrs beginning to look uneasy a marked anxiety came into aunt s face joe have you seen my tom this morning no m when did you see him last joe tried to remember but was not sure he could say the people had stopped moving out of church whispers passed along and a uneasiness took possession of every countenance children were anxiously questioned and young teachers they all said they had not noticed whether tom and were on board the on the homeward trip it was dark no one thought of inquiring if any one was missing one young man finally out his fear that they were still in the cave mrs away aunt fell to crying and wringing her hands the alarm swept from lip to lip from group to group from street to street and within five minutes the bells were wildly and the whole town was up the hill episode sank into instant the were forgotten horses were were the ordered out and before the horror was half an hour old two hundred men were pouring down and river toward the cave all the long afternoon the village seemed empty and dead many women visited aunt and mrs and tried to comfort them they cried with them too and that was still better than words all the tedious night the town waited for news but when the morning dawned at last all the word that came was send more candles and send food mrs was and aunt also judge sent messages of hope and encouragement from the cave but they conveyed no real cheer the old came home toward daylight with candle with day and almost worn out he found still in the bed that had been provided for him and with fever the were all at the cave so the widow came and took charge of the patient she said she would do her best by him because whether he was good bad or indifferent he was the lord s and nothing that was the lord s was a thing to be neglected the said had good spots in him and the widow said you can depend on it that s the lord s mark he don t leave it off he never does puts it somewhere on every creature that comes from his hands early in the parties of men began to into the village but the strongest of the citizens continued searching all the news that could be gained was that of the were being that had never been visited before that every corner and was going to be thoroughly searched that wherever one wandered through the of passages lights were to be seen flitting hither and thither in the distance and and sent their hollow to the ear down the sombre in one place far from the section usually traversed by the names tom had been found traced upon the rocky wall with candle smoke and near at hand a soiled bit of ribbon mrs recognized the ribbon and cried over it she said it was the last she should ever have of her child and that no other memorial of her could ever be so precious because this one parted latest from the living body before the awful death came some said that now and then in the cave a far away speck of light would glimmer and then a glorious shout would burst forth and a score of men go down the echoing aisle and then a sickening disappointment always followed the children were not there it was only a s light three dreadful days and nights dragged their tedious hours along and the village sank into a hopeless stupor no one had heart for anything the accidental discovery just made that the proprietor of the tavern i kept liquor on his premises scarcely fluttered the public pulse tremendous as the fact was in a interval feebly led up to the subject of and finally asked dimly the worst if anything had been discovered at the tavern since he had been ill yes said the widow started up in bed wild eyed what what was it liquor and the place has been shut up lie down child what a turn you did give me only tell me just one only just one please was it tom that found it the widow burst into tears hush hush child hush i ve told you before you must not talk you are very very sick then nothing but liquor had been found there would have been a great if it had been the gold so the treasure was gone forever gone forever but what could she be crying about curious that she should cry these thoughts worked their dim way through s mind and under the weariness they gave him he fell asleep the widow said to herself there he s asleep poor wreck tom find it pity but somebody could find tom ah there ain t many left now that s got hope enough or strength enough either to go on searching id chapter ow to return to tom and s share in the they tripped along the with the rest of the company visiting the familiar wonders of the cave wonders with rather names such as the drawing room the cathedral s palace and so on presently the hide and seek began and tom and engaged in it with zeal until the exertion began to grow a trifle wearisome then they wandered down a avenue holding their candles aloft and reading the tangled web work of names dates post office addresses and with which the rocky walls had been in candle smoke still drifting along and talking they scarcely noticed that they were now in a part of the cave whose walls were not they smoked their	34
own names under an overhanging shelf and moved on presently they came to a place where a little stream of water over a ledge and carrying a with it had in the slow dragging ages formed a and ruffled in gleaming and stone tom squeezed his small body behind it in order to it for s gratification he found that it a sort of steep natural which was enclosed between narrow walls and at once the ambition to be a seized him responded to his call and they made a smoke mark for future guidance and started upon their quest they wound this way and that far down into the depths of the cave made another mark and off in search of to tell the upper d about in one place they found a spacious from whose ceiling depended a multitude of shining of the length and of a man s leg they walked all about it wondering and admiring and presently left it by one of the numerous passages that opened into it this shortly brought them to a spring whose basin was with a of glittering it was in the midst of a whose walls were supported by many fantastic pillars which had been formed by the joining of great and together the result of the ceaseless water of centuries under the roof vast knots of had packed themselves together thousands in a bunch the lights disturbed the creatures and they came down by hundreds and darting furiously at the candles tom knew their ways and the danger of this sort of conduct he seized s hand and hurried her into the first corridor that offered and none too soon for a bat struck s light out with its wing while she was passing out of the the chased the children a good distance but the plunged into every new passage that offered and at last got rid of the perilous things tom found a lake shortly which stretched its dim length away until its shape was lost in the shadows he wanted to explore its borders but concluded that it would be best to sit down and rest awhile first now for the first time the deep stillness of the place laid a hand upon the spirits of the children said why i didn t notice but it seems ever so long since i heard any of the others come to think we are away down below them and i don t know how far away north or south or east or whichever it is we couldn t hear them here grew apprehensive i wonder how long we ve been down here tom we better start back yes i reckon we better p we better can you find the way tom it s all a mixed up to me i reckon i could find it but then the if they put our candles out it will be an awful fix let s try some other way so as not to go through there well but i hope we won t get lost it would be so awful and the girl shuddered at the thought of the dreadful possibilities they started through a corridor and traversed it in silence a long way glancing at each new opening to see if there was anything familiar about the look of it but they were all strange every time tom made an examination would watch his face for an encouraging sign and he would say cheerily oh it s all right this ain t the one but we ll come to it right away but he felt less and less hopeful with each failure and presently began to turn off into avenues at sheer random in desperate hope of finding the one that was wanted he still said it was all right but there was such a leaden dread at his heart that the words had lost their ring and sounded just as if he had said all is lost clung to his side in an anguish of fear and tried hard to keep back the tears but they would come at last she said oh tom never mind the let s go back that way we seem to get worse and worse off all the time listen said he profound silence silence so deep that even their were conspicuous in the hush tom shouted the call went echoing down the empty and died out in the distance in a faint sound that resembled a ripple of mocking laughter oh don t do it again tom it is too horrid said it is horrid but i better they might hear us you know and he shouted again the might was even a horror than the ghostly laughter it so confessed a hope the children stood still and listened but there was no result tom turned upon the back track at once and hurried his steps it was but a while before a certain in his manner revealed another fearful fact to he could not find his way back i oh tom you didn t make any marks i was such a fool such a fool i never thought we might want to come back i can t find the way it s all mixed up tom tom we re lost we re lost we never can get out of this awful place oh why did we ever leave the others she sank to the ground and burst into such a frenzy of crying that tom was appalled with the idea that she might die or lose her reason he sat down by her and put his arms around her she buried her face in his bosom she clung to him she poured out hei terrors her regrets and the far echoes turned them all to laughter tom begged her to pluck up hope again and she said she could not he fell to and himself for getting her into	34
this miserable situation this had a better effect she said she would try to hope again she would get up and follow wherever he might lead if only he would not talk like that any more for he was no more to blame than she she said so they moved on again simply at random all they could do was to move keep moving for a little while hope made a show of not with any reason to back it but only because it is its nature to when the spring has not been taken out of it by age and familiarity with failure by and by tom took s candle and blew it out this economy meant so much words were not needed understood and her hope died again she knew that tom had a whole candle and three or four pieces in his pockets yet he must by and by fatigue began to assert its claims the children tried to pay attention for it was dreadful to think of sitting down when time was grown to be so precious moving in some direction in any direction was at least progress and might bear fruit but to sit down was to invite death and its pursuit at last s frail limbs refused to carry her farther she sat down tom rested with her and they talked of home and the friends there and the comfortable beds and above all the light cried and tom tried to think of some way of comfort ing her but all his were grown with use and sounded like fatigue bore so heavily upon that she off to sleep tom was grateful he sat looking into her drawn face and saw it grow smooth and natural under the influence of pleasant dreams and by and by a smile dawned and rested there the peaceful face reflected somewhat of peace and healing into his own spirit and his thoughts wandered away to times and dreamy memories while he was deep in his woke up with a little laugh but it was stricken dead upon her lips and a groan followed it oh how could i sleep i wish i never never had no no i don t tom don t look so i won t say it again i m glad you ve slept you ll feel rested now and we ll find the way out we can try tom but i ve seen such a beautiful country in my dream i reckon we are going there maybe not maybe not cheer up and let s go on trying they rose up and wandered along hand in hand and hopeless they tried to estimate how long they had been in the cave but all they knew was that it seemed days and weeks and yet it was plain that this could not be for their candles were not gone yet a long time after this they could not tell how long tom said they must go softly and listen for dripping water they must find a spring they found one presently and tom said it was time to rest again both were cruelly tired yet said she thought she could go a little farther she was surprised to hear tom she could not understand it they sat down and tom fastened his candle to the wall in front of them with some clay thought was soon busy nothing was said for some time then broke the silence tom i am so hungry tom took something out of his pocket do you remember this said he almost smiled it s our wedding cake tom yes i wish it was as big as a barrel for it s all we ve got i saved it from the for us to dream on tom the way grown up people do with but it be our she dropped the sentence where it was tom divided the cake and ate with good appetite while tom at his there was abundance of cold water to finish the feast with by and by suggested that they move on again tom was silent a moment then he said can you bear it if i tell you something s face but she thought she could well then we must stay here where there s water to drink that little piece is our last candle gave loose to tears and tom did what he could to comfort her but with little effect at length said tom well they ll miss us and hunt for us yes they will certainly they will maybe they re hunting for us now tom why i reckon maybe they are i hope they are when would they miss us tom when they get back to the boat i reckon tom it might be dark then would they notice we hadn t come i don t know but anyway your mother would miss you as soon as they got home a frightened look in s face brought tom to his senses and he saw that he had made a blunder was not to have gone home that night the children became silent nd thoughtful in a moment a new burst of grief from showed tom that the thing in his mind had struck hers also that the sabbath morning might be half spent before mrs discovered that was not at mrs s the children fastened their eyes upon their bit of candle and watched it melt slowly and away saw the half inch of stand alone at last saw the feeble flame rise and fall climb the thin column of smoke linger at top a moment and then the horror of utter darkness reigned how long afterward it was that came to a slow consciousness that she was crying in tom s arms neither could tell all that they knew was that after what seemed a	34
mighty stretch of time both awoke out of a dead stupor of sleep and resumed their miseries once more tom said it might be sunday now maybe monday he tried to get to talk but her sorrows were too oppressive all her hopes were gone tom said that they must have been missed long ago and no doubt the search was going on he would shout and maybe some one would come he tried it but in the darkness the distant echoes sounded so that he tried it no more the hours wasted away and hunger came to torment the again a portion of tom s half of the cake was left they divided and ate it but they seemed than before the poor morsel of food only desire by and by tom said sh did you hear that both held their breath and listened there was a sound like the faintest far off shout instantly tom answered it and leading by the hand started groping down the corridor in its direction presently he listened again again the sound was heard and apparently a little it s them said tom they re coming come along we re all right now the joy of the prisoners was almost overwhelming their speed was slow however because were somewhat common and had to be guarded against they shortly came to one and had to stop it might be three feet deep it might be a hundred there was no passing it at any rate tom got down on his breast and reached as far down as he could no bottom they must stay there and wait until the came they listened evidently the distant were growing more distant a moment or two more and they had gone altogether the heart sinking misery of it tom until he was hoarse but it was of no use he talked to but an age of anxious waiting passed and no sounds came again the children their way back to the spring the weary time dragged on they slept again and awoke and woe stricken tom believed it must be tuesday by this time now an idea struck him there were some side passages near at hand it would be better to explore some of these than bear the weight of the heavy time in idleness he took a line from his pocket tied it to a and he and started tom in the lead the line as he along at the end of twenty steps the corridor ended in a place tom got down on his knees and felt below and then as far around the corner as he could reach with his hands conveniently he made an effort to stretch yet a little farther to the right and at that moment not twenty yards away a human hand holding a candle appeared from behind a rock tom lifted up a glorious shout and instantly that hand was followed by the body it belonged to joe s tom was he could not move he was vastly gratified the next moment to see the take to his heels and get himself out of sight tom wondered that joe had not recognized his voice and come over and killed him for in court but the echoes must have disguised the voice without doubt that was it he reasoned tom s fright weakened every muscle in his body he said to himself that if he had strength enough to get back to the spring he would stay there and nothing should tempt him to run the risk of meeting joe again he was careful to keep from what it was he had seen he told her he had only shouted for luck but hunger and wretchedness rise superior to fears in the long run another tedious wait at the spring and another long sleep brought changes the children awoke tortured with a raging hunger tom believed that it must be wednesday or thursday or even friday or saturday now and that the search had been given over he proposed to explore another passage he felt willing to risk joe and all other terrors but was very weak she had sunk into a dreary and would not be roused she said she would wait now where she was and die it would not be long she told tom to go with the line and explore if he chose but she implored him to come back every little while and speak to her and she made him promise that when the awful time came he would stay by her and hold her hand until all was over tom kissed her with a choking sensation in his throat and made a show of being confident of finding the or an escape from the cave then he took the line in his hand and went groping down one of the passages on his hands and knees distressed with hunger and sick with of coming doom chapter tuesday afternoon came and to the twilight the village of st still mourned the lost children had not been found public prayers had been offered up for them and many and many a private prayer that had the s whole heart in it but still no good news came from the cave the majority of the had given up the quest and gone back to their daily saying that it was plain the children could never be found mrs was very ill and a great part of the time people said it was to hear her call her child and raise her head and listen a whole minute at a time then lay it wearily down again with a moan aunt had drooped into a settled melancholy and her gray hair had grown almost white the village went to its rest on tuesday night sad and forlorn away in the middle of the night a wild peal burst from the village bells	34
and in a moment the streets were with frantic half clad people who shouted turn out i turn out they re found they re found tin and horns were added to the din the population itself and moved toward the river met the children coming in an open carriage drawn by shouting citizens thronged around it joined its homeward march and swept up the main street roaring after the village was illuminated nobody went to bed again it was the greatest night the little town had ever seen during the first half hour a procession of villagers filed through judge s house seized the saved ones and kissed them squeezed mrs s hand tried to speak but couldn t and drifted out tears all over the place aunt s happiness was complete and mrs s nearly so it would be complete however as soon as the messenger with the great news to the cave should get the word to her husband tom lay upon a sofa with an eager about him and told the history of the wonderful adventure putting in many striking additions to adorn it withal and closed with a description of how he left and went on an exploring expedition how he followed two avenues as far as his line would reach how he followed a third to the fullest stretch of the line and was about to turn back when he a far off speck that looked like daylight dropped the line and toward it pushed his head and shoulders through a small hole and saw the broad rolling by and if it had only happened to be night he would not have seen that speck of daylight and would not have that passage any more he told how he went back for and broke the good news and she told him not to fret her with such stuff for she was tired and knew she was going to die and wanted to he described how he labored with her and convinced her and how she almost died for joy when she had to where she actually saw the blue speck of daylight how he pushed his way out at the hole and then helped her out how they sat there and cried for gladness how some men came along in a and tom hailed them and told them their situation and their condition how the men didn t believe the wild tale at first because said they you are five miles down the river below the valley the cave is in then took them aboard rowed to a house gave them supper made them rest till two or three hours after dark and then brought them home before day dawn judge and the handful of with him were out in the cave by the they had strung behind them and informed of the great news three days and nights of toil and hunger in the cave were not to be shaken off at once as tom and soon discovered they were all of wednesday and thursday and seemed to grow more and more tired and worn all the time tom got about a little on thursday was down town friday and nearly as whole as ever saturday but did not leave her room until sunday and then she looked as if she had passed through a wasting illness tom learned of s sickness and went to see him on friday but could not be admitted to the bedroom neither could he on saturday or sunday he was admitted daily after that but was warned to keep still about his adventure and introduce no exciting topic the widow stayed by to see that he obeyed at home tom learned of the hill event also that the ragged man s body had eventually been found in the river near the he had been drowned while trying to escape perhaps about a fortnight after tom s rescue from the cave he started off to visit who had grown plenty strong enough now to hear exciting talk and tom had some that would interest him he thought judge s house was on tom s way and he stopped to see the judge and some friends set tom to talking and some one asked him if he wouldn t like to go to the cave again tom said he thought he wouldn t mind it the judge said well there are others just like you tom not the least doubt but we have taken care of that nobody will get lost in that cave any more why because i had its big door with iron two weeks ago and triple locked and got the keys tom turned as white as a sheet what s the matter boy here run somebody fetch a glass of water the water was brought and thrown into tom s face ah now you re all right what was the matter with you tom oh judge joe s in the cave chapter a few minutes the news had spread and a dozen loads of men were on t le r y to s cave ip y and the well filled with pas sen ers soon followed tom was i in the that bore judge when the cave door was unlocked a sorrowful sight presented itself in the dim twilight of the place joe lay stretched upon the ground dead with his face close to the crack of the door as if his longing eyes had been fixed to the latest moment upon the light and the cheer of the free world outside tom was touched for he knew by his own experience how this wretch had suffered his pity was moved but nevertheless he felt an sense of relief and security now which revealed to him in a degree which he had not fully appreciated before how vast a weight of dread had been lying upon him since the day he lifted	34
his voice against this bloody minded outcast joe s knife lay close by its blade broken in two the great foundation beam of the door had been and through with tedious labor useless labor too it was for the native rock formed a sill outside it and upon that stubborn material the knife had wrought no effect the only damage done was to the knife itself but if there had been no stony there the labor would have been useless still for if the beam had been wholly cut away joe could not have squeezed his body under the door and he knew it so he had only that place in order to be doing something in order to pass the weary time in order to employ his tortured faculties ordinarily one could find half a dozen bits of candle stuck around in the of this left there by but there were none now the prisoner had searched them out and eaten them he had also contrived to catch a few and these also he had eaten leaving only their claws the poor unfortunate had starved to death in one place near at hand a had been slowly growing up from the ground for ages by the water from a overhead the captive had broken off the and upon the stump had placed a stone wherein he had a shallow hollow to catch the precious drop that fell once in every three minutes with the dreary regularity of a clock a once in four and twenty hours that drop was falling when the were new when fell when the foundations of rome were laid when christ was when the conqueror created the british empire when sailed when the at was news it is falling now it will still be falling when all these things shall have sunk down the afternoon of history and the twilight of tradition and been swallowed up in the thick night of oblivion has everything a purpose and a mission did this drop fall patiently during five thousand years to be ready for this flitting human insect s need and has it another important object to accomplish ten thousand years to come no matter it is many and many a year since the half breed out the stone to catch the drops but to this day the longest at that pathetic stone and that slow dropping water when he comes to see the wonders of s cave joe s cup stands first in the list of the s even s palace cannot rival it joe was buried near the mouth of the cave and people there in boats and from the towns and from all the farms and for seven miles around they brought their children and all sorts of provisions and confessed that they had had almost as satisfactory a time at the funeral as they could have had at the hanging this funeral stopped the further growth of one thing the petition to the governor for joe s pardon the petition had been largely signed many tearful and eloquent meetings had been held and a committee of women been appointed to go in deep mourning and wail around the governor and him to be a merciful ass and his duty under foot joe was believed to have killed five citizens of the village but what of that if he had been satan himself there would have been plenty of ready to their names to a pardon petition and a tear on it from their permanently and water works j the morning after the funeral tom took to a private place to have an important talk had learned all about tom s adventure from the and the widow by this time but tom said he reckoned there was one thing they had not told him that thing was what he wanted to talk about now s face he said i y what it is you got into no and never found anything but nobody told me it was you but i just it must a ben you soon as i heard bout that business and i you hadn t got the money you d a got at me some way or other and told me even if you was to everybody else tom something s always told me we d never get of that why j never told on that tavern keeper you know his tavern was all right the saturday i went to the don t you remember you was to watch there that night oh yes why it seems bout a year ago it was that very night that i joe to the s you followed him yes but you keep i reckon joe s left friends behind him and i don t want em on me and doing me mean tricks if it hadn t ben for me he d be down in now all right then told his entire adventure in confidence to tom who had only heard of the s part of it before well said presently coming back to the main question whoever the in no the money too i it s a for us tom that money wasn t ever in no what searched his comrade s face keenly tom have you got on the track of that money again it s in the cave s eyes blazed say it again tom the money s in th cave tom honest now is it fun or earnest earnest just as earnest as ever i was in my life will you go in there with me and help get it out i bet i will i will if it s where we can blaze our way to it and not get lost we can do that without the least little bit of trouble in the world good as wheat what makes you think the money s you just wait till we	34
get in there if we don t find it til agree to give you my drum and every thing i ve got in the world i will by all right it s a when do you say right now if you say it are you strong enough is it far in the cave i ben on my pins a little three or four days now but i can t walk more n a mile tom least i don t think i could it s about five mile into there the way anybody but me would go but there s a mighty short cut that they don t anybody but me know about i ll take you right to it in a i ll float the down there and i ll pull it back again all by myself you needn t ever turn your hand over less start right off tom all right we want some bread and meat and our pipes and a little bag or two and two or three strings and some of these new things they call matches i tell you many s the time i wished i had some when i was in there before a trifle after noon the boys borrowed a small from a citizen who was absent and got under way at once when they were several miles below cave hollow tom said now you see this bluff here looks all alike all the way down from the cave hollow no houses no bushes all alike but do you see that white place up yonder where there s been a well that s one of my marks we ll get ashore now they landed now where we re a standing you could touch that hole i got out of with a fishing pole see if you can find it searched all the place about and found nothing tom proudly marched into a thick of bushes and said here you are look at it it s the hole in this country you just keep about it all along i ve been wanting to be a robber but i knew i d got to have a thing like this and where to run across it was the bother we ve got it now and we ll keep it quiet only we ll let joe and ben in because of course there s got to be a gang or else there wouldn t be any style about it tom s gang it sounds splendid don t it well it just does tom and who ll we rob oh most anybody people that s mostly the way and kill them no not always hive them in the cave till they raise a what s a money you make them raise all they can off n their friends and after you ve kept them a year if it ain t raised then you kill them that s the general way only you don t kill the women you shut up the women but you don t kill them they re always beautiful and rich and awfully scared you take their watches and things but you always take your hat off and talk polite they ain t anybody as polite as robbers you ll see that in any book well the women get to loving you and after they ve been in the cave a week or two weeks they stop crying and after that you couldn t get them to leave if you drove them out they d turn right around and come back it s so in all the books why it s real bully tom i believe it s better n to be a yes it s better in some ways because it s close to home and and all that by this time everything was ready and the boys entered the hole tom in the lead they toiled their way to the farther end of the then made their strings fast and moved on a few steps brought them to the spring and tom felt a shudder quiver all through him he showed the fragment of candle perched on a lump of clay against the wall and described how he and had watched the flame struggle and the boys began to quiet down to whispers now for the stillness and gloom of the place oppressed their spirits they went on and presently entered and followed tom s other corridor until they reached the jumping off place the candles revealed the fact that it was not really a precipice but only a steep clay hill twenty or thirty feet high tom whispered now til show you something he held his candle aloft and said look as far around the corner as you can do you see that on the big rock over yonder done with candle smoke tom it s a cross t now where s your number two under the cross hey right yonder s where i saw joe up his candle stared at the mystic sign awhile and then said with a voice tom less out of here what and leave the treasure yes leave it joe s ghost is round about there certain no it ain t no it ain t it would ha nt the place where he died away out at the mouth of the cave five mile here no tom it wouldn t it would hang round the money i know the ways of ghosts and so do you tom began to fear that was right gathered in his mind but presently an idea occurred to him what fools we re making of ourselves joe s ghost ain t a going to come around where there s a cross the point was well taken it had its effect tom i didn t think of that but that s so it s luck for us that cross is i	34
reckon we ll climb down there and have a hunt for that box tom went first cutting rude steps in the clay hill as he descended followed four avenues opened out of the small which the great rock stood in the boys examined three of them with no result they found a small recess in the one nearest the base of the rock with a of blankets spread down in it also an old some bacon and the well bones of two or three fowls but there was no money box the lads searched and this place but in vain tom said he said under the cross well this comes nearest to being under the cross it can t be under the rock itself because that sets solid on the ground they searched everywhere once more and then sat down discouraged could suggest nothing by and by tom said there s and some candle on the clay about one side of this rock but not on the other sides now what s that for i bet you the money ij under the rock i m going to dig in the clay that ain t no bad notion tom said with animation tom s real was out at once and he had not dug four inches before he struck wood hey you hear that began to dig and scratch now some boards were soon uncovered and removed they had concealed a natural chasm which led under the rock tom got into this and held his candle as far under the rock as he could but said he could not see to the end of the he proposed to explore he stooped and passed under the narrow way descended gradually he followed its winding course first to the right then to the left at his heels tom turned a short curve by and by and exclaimed my goodness it was the treasure box sure enough occupying a snug little along with an empty powder a couple of guns in leather cases two or three pairs of old a leather belt and some other rubbish well soaked with the water got it at last said among the with his hand my but we re rich tom i always reckoned we d get it it s just too good to believe but we have got it sure say let s not fool around here let s snake it out see if i can lift the box it weighed about fifty pounds tom could lift it after an awkward fashion but could not carry it conveniently i thought so he said they carried it like it was heavy that day at the ha house i noticed that i reckon i was right to think of the little bags along the money was soon in the bags and the boys took it up to the cross rock now less fetch the guns and things said no leave them there they re just the tricks to have when we go to we ll keep them there all the time and we ll hold our there too it s an awful snug place for what j but robbers always have and of course we ve got to have them too come along we ve been in here a long time it s getting late i reckon i m hungry too we ll eat and smoke when we get to the they presently emerged into the of bushes looked out found the coast clear and were soon and smoking in the as the sun dipped toward the horizon they pushed out and got under way tom up the shore through the long twilight cheerily with and landed shortly after dark now said tom we ll hide the money in the of the widow s and come up in the morning and we ll it and divide and then we ll hunt up a place out in the woods for it where it will be safe just you lay quiet here and watch the stuff till i run and hook s little wagon i won t be gone a minute he disappeared and presently returned with the wagon put the two small into it threw some old rags on top of them and started off dragging his cargo behind him when die boys reached the s they stopped to rest just as they were about to move on the stepped out and said who s that r and tom good come along with me boys you are keeping everybody waiting here hurry up trot ahead i ll haul the wagon for you why it s not as light as it might be got bricks in it or old metal old metal said tom i judged so the boys in this town will take more trouble and fool away more time hunting up six bits worth of old iron to sell to the than they would to make twice the money at regular work but that s human nature hurry along hurry along the boys wanted to know what the hurry was about never mind you ll see when we get to the widow said with some apprehension for he was long used to being accused mr jones we haven t been doing nothing the laughed well i don t know my boy i don t know about that ain t you and the widow good friends yes well she s ben good friends to me anyway all right then what do you want to be afraid for this question was not entirely answered in s slow mind before he found himself pushed along with tom into mrs drawing room mr jones left the wagon near the door and followed the place was lighted and everybody that was of any consequence in the village was there the were there the the aunt mary the minister the editor and a great many more and	34
all dressed in their best the widow received the boys as heartily as any one could well receive two such looking beings they were covered with clay and candle aunt blushed crimson with humiliation and frowned and shook her head at tom nobody suffered half as much as the two boys did however mr jones said tom wasn t at home yet so i gave him up but i stumbled on him and right at my door and so i just brought them along in a hurry and you did just right said the widow come with me boys she took them to a and said now wash and dress yourselves here are two new suits of clothes shirts everything complete they re s no no thanks mr jones bought one and i the other but they ll fit both of you get into them we ll come down when you are up enough then she left chapter said tom we can slope if we can find a rope the window ain t high from the ground what do you want to slope for well i ain t used to that kind of a crowd i can t stand it i ain t going down there tom oh bother it ain t anything i don t mind it a bit i ll take care of you appeared tom said he has been waiting for you all the afternoon mary got your sunday clothes ready and everybody s been about you say ain t this and clay on your clothes now mr you tend to your own business what s all this blow out about anyway it s one of the widow s parties that she s always having this time it s for the and his sons on account of that scrape they helped her out of the other night and say i can tell you something if you want to know well what why old mr jones is going to try to spring something on the people here to night but i overheard him tell to day about it as a secret but i reckon it s not much of a secret now everybody knows the widow too for all she tries to let on she don t mr jones was bound should be here couldn t get along with his grand secret without you know secret about what about the robbers to the widow s i reckon mr jones was going to make a grand time over his surprise but i bet you it will drop pretty flat chuckled in a very contented and satisfied way was it you that told oh never mind who it was somebody told that s enough there s only one person in this town mean enough to do that and that s you if you had been in s place you d a down the hill and never told anybody on the robbers you can t do any but mean things and you can t bear to see anybody praised for doing good ones there no thanks as the widow says and tom s ears and helped him to the door with several now go and tell if you dare and to morrow you ll catch it some minutes later the widow s guests were at die supper table and a dozen children were propped up at little side tables in the same room after the fashion of that country and that day at the proper time mr jones made his little speech in which he thanked the widow for the honor she was doing himself and his sons but said that there was another person whose modesty and so forth and so on he sprung his secret about s share in the adventure in the finest dramatic manner he was master of but the surprise it occasioned was largely and not as and as it might have been under happier circumstances however the widow made a pretty fair show of astonishment and heaped so many compliments and so much gratitude upon that he almost forgot the nearly intolerable discomfort of his new clothes in the entirely intolerable discomfort of being set up as a for everybody s gaze and everybody s the widow said she meant to give a home under her roof and have him educated and that when she could spare the money she would start him in business in a modest way tom s chance was come he said don t need it s rich nothing but a heavy strain upon the good manners of the company kept back the due and proper complimentary laugh at this pleasant joke but the silence was a little awkward tom broke it s got money maybe you don t believe it but he s got lots of it oh you needn t smile i reckon i can show you you just wait a minute tom ran out of doors the company looked at each other with a perplexed interest and at who was tongue tied what tom said aunt well there ain t ever any making of that boy out i never tom entered struggling with the weight of his and aunt did not finish her sentence tom poured the mass of yellow coin upon the table and said what did i tell you half of it s s and half of it s mine the spectacle took the general breath away all gazed nobody spoke for a moment then there was a unanimous call for an explanation tom said he could furnish it and he did the tale was long but of interest there was scarcely an interruption from any one to break the charm of its flow when he had finished mr jones said i thought i had fixed up a little surprise for this occasion but it don t amount to anything now	34
this one makes it sing mighty small i m willing to allow the money was counted the sum amounted to a little over twelve thousand dollars it was more than any one present had ever seen at one time before though several persons were there who were worth considerably more than that in property chapter he reader may rest satisfied that tom s and s made a mighty stir in the poor little village of st so vast a sum all in actual cash seemed next to incredible it was talked about j over until the reason of many of the citizens under the strain of the excitement every haunted house in st and the neighboring villages was plank by plank and its foundations dug up and for hidden treasure and not by boys but men pretty grave men too some of them wherever tom and appeared they were admired stared at the boys were not able to remember that their remarks had possessed weight before but now their sayings were and repeated everything they did seemed somehow to be regarded as remarkable they had evidently lost the power of doing and saying commonplace things moreover their past history was up and discovered to bear marks of conspicuous originality the village paper published sketches of the boys the widow put s money out at six per cent and judge did the same with tom s at aunt s request each lad had an income now that was simply prodigious a dollar for every week day in the year and half of the sundays it was just what the minister got no it was what he was promised he generally couldn t collect it a dollar and a quarter a week would board lodge and school a boy in those old simple days and clothe him and wash him too for that matter judge had conceived a great opinion of tom he said that no commonplace boy would ever have got his daughter out of the cave when told her father in strict confidence how tom had taken her at school the judge was visibly moved and when she pleaded grace for the mighty lie which tom had told in order to shift that from her shoulders to his own the judge said with a fine outburst that it was a noble a generous a lie a lie that was worthy to hold up its lead and march down through history breast to breast with george washington s truth about the thought her father had never looked so tall and so superb as when he walked the floor and stamped his foot and said that she went straight off and told tom about it judge hoped to see tom a great lawyer or a great soldier some day he said he meant to look h to it that tom should be admitted to the national military academy and afterward trained in the best law school in the country in order that he might be ready for either career or both s wealth and the fact that he was now under the widow protection introduced him into society no dragged him into it hurled him into it and his sufferings were almost more than he could bear the widow s servants kept him clean and neat and brushed and they him nightly in sheets that had not one little spot or stain which he could press to his heart and know for a friend he had to eat with a knife and fork he had to use cup and plate he had to learn his book he had to go to church he had to talk so properly that speech was become in his mouth he turned the bars and of civilization shut him in and bound him hand and foot he bravely bore his miseries three weeks and then one day turned up missing for forty eight hours the widow hunted for him everywhere in great distress the public were profoundly concerned they searched high and low they dragged the river for his body early the third morning tom wisely went among some old empty down behind the abandoned slaughter house and in one of them he found the had slept there he had just upon some stolen odds and ends of i food and was lying off now in comfort with his pipe he was and clad in the same old ruin of rags that had made him picturesque in the days when he was free and happy tom him out told him the trouble he had been causing and urged him to go home s face lost its tranquil content and took a melancholy cast he said don t talk about it tom tried it and it don t work it don t work tom it ain t for me i ain t used to it the s good to me and friendly but i can t stand them ways she makes me get up just at the same time every morning she makes me wash they comb me all to thunder she won t let me sleep in the i got to wear them blamed clothes that just me tom they don t seem to any air through em somehow and they re so rotten nice that i can t set down nor lay down nor roll around s i t slid on a cellar door for well it to be years i got to go to church and sweat and sweat i hate them sermons i can t a fly in there i can t i got to wear shoes all sunday the eats by a bell she goes to bed by a bell she up by a bell everything s so awful lar a body can t stand it well everybody does that way tom it don t make no difference i ain	34
if i had made one just at the time of the catastrophe i was obliged to admit that i had made one to myself though not aloud it was this si adam s al am a t en days later i was thinking about the falls and i said to myself how wonderful it is to see that vast body of water tumble down there then in an instant a bright thought flashed into my head and i let it fly saying it would be a deal more wonderful to see it tumble up there and i was just about to kill myself with laughing at it when all nature broke loose in war and death and i had to flee for my life there she said with triumph that is just it the serpent mentioned that very jest and called it the first chestnut and said it was with the creation alas i am indeed to blame would that i were not witty oh would that i had never had that radiant thought a next tear we have named it she caught it while i was up on the north shore of the caught it in the timber a couple of miles from our dug out or it might have been four she isn t certain which it us in some ways and may be a relation that is what she thinks but this is an error in my judgment the difference in size the conclusion that it is a different and new kind of animal a fish perhaps though when i put it in the water to see it sank and she in and snatched it out before there was for the experiment to determine the matter i still think it is a fish but she is indifferent about what it is and will not let me have it to try i do not ss ai am next tear understand this the coming of the creature seems to have changed her whole nature and made her unreasonable about experiments she thinks more of it than she does of any of the other animals but is not able to explain why her mind is disordered everything shows it sometimes she carries the fish in her arms half the night when it and wants to get to the water at such times the water comes out of the places in her face that she looks out of and she the fish on the back and makes soft sounds with her mouth to soothe it and sorrow and solicitude in a hundred ways i have never seen her do like this with any other fish and it troubles me greatly she used to carry the s h next year young around so and play with them before we lost our property but it was only play she never took on about them like this when their dinner with them s b h sunday she doesn t work sundays but lies around all tired out and likes to have the fish over her and she makes fool noises to amuse it and to its and that makes it laugh i have not seen a fish before that could laugh this makes me doubt i have come to like sunday myself all the week a body so there ought to be more in the old days they were tough but now they come handy i s ai am a wednesday it isn t a fish i cannot quite make out what it is it makes curious devilish noises when not satisfied and says when it is it is not one of us for it doesn t walk it is not a bird for it doesn t fly it is not a for it doesn t hop it is not a snake for it doesn t crawl i feel sure it is not a fish though i cannot get a chance to find out whether it can swim or not it merely lies around and mostly on its back with its feet up i have not seen any other animal do that before i said i believed it was an but she only admired the word without understanding it in my judgment it is either an or some kind of a if it dies i will take it apart and see what its arrangements are i never had a thing me so from a months later the perplexity instead of i sleep but little it has ceased from lying around and goes about on its four legs now yet it from the other four legged animals in that its front legs are unusually short consequently this causes the main part of its person to stick up high in the air and this is not attractive it is built much as we are but its method of travelling shows that it is not of our breed the short front legs and long hind ones indicate that it is of the family but it is a marked of the species since the true whereas this one never does still it is a curious and interesting variety and has not been before as i dis from t k three months later covered it i have felt justified in securing the credit of the discovery by my name to it and hence have called it it must have been a young one when it came for it has grown exceedingly since it must be five times as big now as it was then and when discontented is able to make from twenty two to times the noise it made at first does not this but has the contrary effect for this reason i the system she it by persuasion and by giving it things which she had previously told it she wouldn t give it as already observed i was not at home when it first came and she told me she it	34
use for one thing she answered up so promptly that it seemed like a dictionary speaking and for another thing where could they find out whether it was right or not for she was the only cultivated dog there was by and by when i was older she brought home the word a dog s tale one time and worked it pretty hard all the week at different making much and despondency and it was at this time that i noticed that during that week she was asked for the meaning at eight different and flashed out a fresh definition every time which showed me that she had presence of mind than culture though i said nothing of course she had one word which she always kept on hand and ready like a life a kind of emergency word to on when she was likely to get washed overboard in a sudden way that was the word s when she happened to fetch out a long word which had had its day weeks before and its prepared gone to a dog tale her pile if there was a stranger there of course it knocked him for a couple of minutes then he would come to and by that time she would be away down the wind on another tack and not expecting anything so when he d hail and ask her to cash in i the only dog on the inside of her game could see her canvas a moment but only just a moment then it would belly out and full and she would say as calm as a summer s day it s with or some long of a word like that and go placidly about and away on the next tack perfectly comfortable you know and leave that stranger looking profane and embarrassed and the the a dog s tale floor with their tails in and their faces with a and it was the same with phrases she would drag home a whole phrase if it had a grand and play it six nights and two es and explain it a new way every time which she had to for all she cared for was the phrase she wasn t interested in what it meant and knew those dogs hadn t wit enough to catch her anyway yes she was a she got so she wasn t afraid of anything she had such confidence in the ignorance of those creatures she even brought anecdotes that she had heard the family and the dinner guests laugh and shout over and as a rule she got the of one chestnut a dog s tale another chestnut where of course it didn t fit and hadn t any point and when she the she fell over and rolled on the floor and laughed and in the most insane way while i could see that she was wondering to herself why it didn t seem as as it did when she first heard it but no harm was done the others rolled and privately ashamed of themselves for not seeing the point and never suspecting that the fault was not with them and there wasn t any to see you can see by these things that she was of a rather vain and frivolous character still she had virtues and enough to make up i think she had a kind heart and gentle ways a dog s tale and never for done her but put them easily out of her mind and forgot them and she taught her children her and from her we learned also to be brave and prompt in time of danger and not to run away but face the peril that threatened friend or stranger and help him the best we could without stopping to think what the cost might be to us and she taught us not by words only but by example and that is the best way and the and the most lasting why the brave things she did the splendid things she was just a soldier and so modest about it well you couldn t help admiring her and you couldn t help her not even a king charles span a dog s tale could remain entirely in her so as you see there was more to her than her education ii hen i was well grown at last i was sold and taken away and i never saw her again she was broken hearted and so was i and we cried but she comforted me as well as she could and said we were sent into this world for a wise and good purpose and must do our duties without take our life as we might find it live it for the best good of others and never mind about the results they were not our affair she said men who did like this would have a noble and beautiful reward lo m a dog tale by and by in another world and although we animals would not go there to do well and right without reward would give to our brief lives a and dignity which in itself would be a reward she had gathered these things from time to time when she had gone to the school with the children and had laid them up in her memory more carefully than she had done with those other words and phrases and she had studied them deeply for her good and ours one may see by this that she had a wise and thoughtful head for all there was so much lightness and vanity in it so we said our and looked our last upon each other through our tears and the last thing she said ii a dog s tale keeping it for the last to make me remember it the better i think was in	34
memory of me when there is a time of danger to another do not think of think of mother and do as she would do do you think i could forget that no ill t was such a charming home my new one a fine great house with pictures arid delicate and rich furniture and no gloom anywhere but all the wilderness of dainty colors lit up with sunshine and the spacious grounds around it and the great garden oh and noble trees and flowers no end and i was the same as a member of the family and they loved me and me and did not give me a new name but called me by my old one that was dear to me a dog s tale because my mother had given it me she got it out of a song and the knew that song and said it was a beautiful name mrs gray was thirty and so sweet and so lovely you cannot imagine it and was ten and just like her mother just a darling slender little copy of her with tails down her back and short and the baby was a year old and plump and and fond of me and never could get enough of on my tail and me and laughing out its innocent happiness and mr gray was thirty eight and tall and slender and handsome a little bald in front alert quick in his movements prompt decided a dog s tale and with that kind of trim face that just seems to and sparkle with frosty he was a renowned i do not know what the word means but my mother would know how to use it and get effects she would know how to a with it and make a lap dog look sorry he came but that is not the best one the best one was my mother could a trust on that one that would skin the tax off the whole herd the was not a book or a picture or a place to wash your hands in as the college president s dog said no that is the the is quite different and is filled with and bottles and a dog s tale and wires and strange machines and every week other came there and sat in the place and used the machines and discussed and made what they called experiments and discoveries and often i came too and stood around and listened and tried to for the sake of my mother and in loving memory of her although it was a pain to me as what she was losing out of her life and i gaining nothing at all for try as i might i was never able to make anything out of it at all other times i lay on the floor in the mistress s and slept she gently using me for a knowing it pleased me for it was a caress other times i spent an i a dog s tale in the nursery and got well and made happy other times i watched by the there when the baby was asleep and the nurse out for a few minutes on the baby s affairs other times i and through the and the garden with till we were tired out then on the grass in the shade of a tree while she read her book other times i went visiting among the neighbor dogs for there were some most pleasant ones not far away and one very handsome and courteous and graceful one a curly haired irish by the name of robin who was a like me and belonged to the scotch minister the servants in our house were all a dog s tale kind to me and were fond of me and so as you see mine was a pleasant life there could not be a happier dog than i was nor a one i will say this for myself for it is only the truth i tried in all ways to do well and right and honor my mother s memory and her and earn the happiness that had come to me as best i could by and by came my little and then my cup was full my happiness was perfect it was the dearest uttle thing and so smooth and soft and and had such cunning little awkward and such affectionate eyes and such a sweet and innocent face and it made me so proud to see how the children and their mother adored it i a dog s tale and it and exclaimed over every little wonderful thing it did it did seem to me that life was just too lovely to then came the winter one day i was standing a watch in the nursery that is to say i was asleep on the bed the baby was asleep in the which was alongside the bed on the side next the fireplace it was the kind of that has a lofty tent over it made of a stuff that you can see through the nurse was out and we two were alone a spark from the wood fire was shot out and it lit on the slope of the tent i suppose a quiet interval followed then a scream from the baby woke me and there was that tent flaming a dog s tale up toward the ceiling before i could think i sprang to the floor in my fright and in a second was half way to the door but in the next half second my mother s farewell was sounding in my ears and i was back on the bed again i reached my head through the flames and dragged the baby out by the and it along and we fell to the floor together in a cloud of smoke i snatched a new hold and dragged the screaming	34
sounding the depth of the water with a i thought it was desperately and was that there was any moral about such a publication being satisfied with this effort i looked for other worlds to conquer and it struck me that it would make good interesting matter to charge the editor of a neighboring country paper with a piece of i si hi i t it i l wild and see him i did it putting the article into the form of a on the burial of sir john and a pretty crude it was too then i two prominent citizens not because they had done anything to deserve it but merely because i thought it was my duty to make the paper lively next i gently touched up the stranger the lion of the day the gorgeous tailor from he was a of the first water and the dressed man in the state he was an woman every week he wrote poetry first venture for the journal about his conquest his for my week were headed to mary in h l meaning to mary in of course but while setting up the piece i was suddenly from head to heel by what i regarded as a perfect of humor and i compressed it into a at the bottom thus we will let this thing pass just this once but we wish mr j to distinctly that we have a character to sustain and from this time forth when he wants to with his friends in h he must select some other medium than the columns of this journal the paper came out and i never knew any little thing attract so much wild attention as those playful trifles of mine for once the journal was in demand a novelty it had not experienced before the whole town was stirred dropped in with a double shot early in the when he that it was an infant as he called me that had done him the damage he simply pulled my ears and went away but he threw up his situation that night and left town for good the tailor came with his goose and a pair of but he despised me too and departed for the south that night the two citizens came with threats of and went away at my the ed my first literary venture in with a next day suffering for blood to drink but he ended by me cordially and inviting me down to the store to wash away all in a friendly of s it was his little joke my uncle was very angry when he got back so i thought considering what an i had given the paper and considering also that gratitude for his preservation ought to have been uppermost in his mind inasmuch as by his delay he had so wonderfully escaped and getting his head shot off but he softened when he looked at the accounts and saw that i had actually the wild number of thirty three new and had the vegetables to show for it cord wood beans and enough to run the family for two years in the editor of the thus mildly down upon a correspondent who posted him as a radical while he was writing the first word the middle his i s crossing his t s and his period he knew he was a sentence that was with and with falsehood exchange was told by the physician that a southern climate would improve my health and so i went down to and got a berth on the morning glory and johnson ii wild county as associate editor when i went on duty i found the chief editor sitting back in a three legged chair with his feet on a pine table there was another pine table in the room and another afflicted chair and both were half buried under newspapers and scraps and sheets of manuscript there was a wooden box of sand sprinkled with cigar and old soldiers and a stove with a door hanging by its upper the chief editor had a long black cloth on and white linen his boots were small and neatly he wore a ruffled shirt a large seal ring a standing collar of pattern and a with the ends hanging down in date of costume about he was smoking a cigar and trying to think of a word and in his hair he had his locks a good deal he was fearfully and i judged that he was a particularly he told me to take the and through them and write up the spirit of the press into the article all of their contents that seemed of interest i wrote as follows spirit op the press the of the semi weekly earthquake evidently labor under a with regard to the hack railroad it is not the object of the company to leave wild off to one side on the contrary they consider it one of the most important points along the line and consequently can have no desire to slight it the gentlemen of the earthquake will of course take pleasure in making the john w blossom esq the able editor of the and battle cry of freedom arrived in the city yesterday he is stopping at the van house we observe that our contemporary of the mud springs morning howl has fallen into the error of supposing that the election of van is not an established fact but he will have discovered his mistake before this reaches him no doubt he was doubtless by election returns it is pleasant to note that the city of is to con in tract with some new york gentlemen to its streets with the pavement the daily the measure with ability and seems confident of ultimate success i passed my manuscript over to the chief editor for acceptance	34
alteration or destruction he glanced at it and his face clouded he ran his eye down the pages and his countenance grew it was easy to see that something was wrong presently he sprang up and said thunder and lightning do you suppose i am going to speak of those cattle that way do you suppose my are going to stand such as that give me the pen is n wild i never saw a pen scrape and scratch its way so or plough through another man s and so while he was in the midst of his work somebody shot at him through the open window and the of my ear ah said he that is that smith of the moral he was due yesterday and he snatched a navy revolver from his belt and fired smith dropped shot in the the shot spoiled smith s aim who was just taking a second chance and he crippled a stranger it was me merely a finger shot off then the chief editor went on with his and just i t in as he finished them a hand came down the stove pipe and the explosion shivered the stove into a thousand fragments however it did no further damage except that a piece knocked a couple of my teeth out that stove is utterly ruined said the chief editor i said i believed it was well no matter don t want it this kind of weather i know the man that did it ill get him now here is the way this to be written i took the manuscript it was with and till its mother wouldn t have known it if it had had one it now read as follows wild spirit op the press the of the semi weekly earthquake are evidently to palm off upon a noble and people another of their vile and brutal with regard to that most glorious conception of the nineteenth century the railroad the idea that was to be left off at one side originated in their own brains or rather in the which they regard as brains they had better swallow this lie if they want to save their abandoned the they so richly deserve that ass blossom of the and battle cry of freedom is down here again at the van we observe that the of the mud springs morning howl is giving out with his usual i in for lying that van is not elected the heaven bom mission of is to truth to error to and the tone of public morals and manners and make all men more gentle more virtuous more charitable and in all ways better and and happier and yet this black hearted scoundrel his great office persistently to the of falsehood and vulgarity wants a pavement it wants a jail and a more the idea of a pavement in a one horse town composed of two gin mills a blacksmith shop and that plaster of a newspaper the daily the crawling insect who the is about this business with his customary and imagining that he is talking sense wild now that is the way to write and to the point milk gives me the fan about this time a brick came through the window with a crash and gave me a considerable of a in the back i moved out of range i began to feel in the way the chief said that was the colonel likely ive been expecting him for two days he will be up now right away he was correct the colonel appeared in the door a moment afterwards with a revolver in his hand he said sir have i the honor of addressing the who this sheet in you have be seated sir be of the chair one of its legs is gone i believe i have the honor of addressing the liar colonel right sir i have a little account to settle with you if you are at leisure we will begin i have an article on the encouraging progress of moral and intellectual development in america to finish but there is no hurry begin both pistols rang out their fierce at the same instant the chief lost a lock of his hair and the colonel s bullet ended its career in the part of my the colonel s left shoulder was a little they fired again both wild missed their men this time but i got my share a shot in the arm at the third fire both gentlemen were wounded slightly and i had a i then said i believed i would go out and take a walk as this was a private matter and i had a delicacy about in it further but both gentlemen begged me to keep my seat and assured me that i was not in the way they then talked about the and the crops while they and i fell to tying up my wounds but presently they opened fire again with animation and every shot took effect but it is proper to remark that five out of the six fell to my share the sixth one wounded the colonel who remarked in with fine humor that he would have to say good morning now as he had business up town he then inquired the way to the s and left the chief turned to me and said i am expecting company to dinner and shall have to get ready it will be a favor to me if you will read proof and attend to the customers i a little at the idea of attending to the customers but i was too bewildered by the that was still ringing in my ears to think of anything to say he continued jones will be here at three him will call earlier perhaps throw him out of the window will be along about four	34
kill him that is all for to day i believe if you wild have any odd time you may write a article on the police give the chief rats the are under the table weapons in the drawer there in the comer and up there in the pigeon holes in case of accident go to the surgeon down stairs he we take it out in trade he was gone i shuddered at the end of the next three hours i had been through perils so awful that all peace of mind and all cheerfulness were gone from me had called and thrown me out of the window jones arrived promptly and when i got ready to do the he took the job off my hands in an encounter with a stranger not in in the bill of fare i had lost my another stranger by the name of left me a mere wreck and ruin of rags and at last at bay in the comer and beset by an mob of and who and swore and flourished their weapons about my head till the air with glancing flashes of steel i was in the act of my berth on the paper when the chief arrived and with him a of charmed and enthusiastic friends then ensued a scene of riot and such as no human pen or steel one either could describe people were shot blown up thrown out of the window there was a brief wild of with a confused and frantic war dance glimmering through it and then all was over in five minutes there was silence and the chief and i sat alone and surveyed the ruin that the floor around us he said you ll like this place when you get used to it i said i ll have to get you to excuse me i think maybe i might write to suit you after a while as soon as i had had some practice and learned the language i am confident i could but to speak the plain truth that sort of energy of expression has its and a man is liable to interruption you see that yourself vigorous writing in is calculated to the public no doubt but then i do not like to attract so much attention as it calls forth i can t write with comfort when i am interrupted so much as i have been to day i like this berth well enough but i don t like to be left here to wait on the customers the experiences are novel i grant you and entertaining too after a fashion but they are not distributed a gentleman shoots at you through the window and me a shell comes down the stove pipe for your gratification and sends the stove door down my throat a friend drops in to compliments with you and m with bullet holes till my skin won t hold my principles you go to dinner and wild jones comes with his throws me out of the window tears all my clothes off and an entire stranger takes my with the easy freedom of an old acquaintance and in less than five minutes all the in the country arrive in their war paint and proceed to scare the rest of me to death with their take it altogether i never had such a spirited time in all my life as i have had to day no i like you and i like calm way of explaining things to the customers but you see i am not used to it the southern heart is too impulsive southern hospitality is too lavish with the stranger the which i have written to day and in into whose cold sentences your hand has the fervent spirit of will wake up another nest of all that mob of will come and they will come hungry too and want somebody for breakfast i shall have to bid you adieu i decline to be present at these i came south for my health i will go back on the same errand and suddenly is too stirring for me after which we parted with mutual regret and i took apartments at the hospital hen i was a boy in a office in a loose long legged tow headed clad of about sixteen in one day and without removing his hands from the depths of his trousers pockets or taking off his faded ruin of a hat whose broken rim limp and ragged about his eyes and ears like a eaten leaf stared indifferently then leaned his hip against the table crossed his mighty aimed at a distant fly from a in his upper teeth laid him low and said with s the i am the said the editor following this curious bit of architecture along up to its clock face with his eye don t want anybody fur to learn the business tain t likely well i don t know would you like to learn it s so po he t nm me no mo so i want to a show if i kin tain t no what i m strong and hearty and i don t wild turn my back on no kind of work hard soft do you think you would like to the business well i don t re ly k yer a what i do so s i a chance fur to make my way i d as soon print n s anything can you read write well i ve seed people could lay over me not good enough to keep store i don t reckon but up as fur as twelve times twelve i ain t no side of that is what me where is your home i m f what s your father s him oh he s a blacksmith no no i don t mean his trade what s his religious	34
oh i didn t you he s a no no you don t get my meaning yet what i mean is does he belong to any church now you re i couldn t make out what you was a to through yo head no way b long to a church why he s be n the kind of a free will for forty year they ain t no ones n what he is mighty good man is everybody says that if they said any they wild wouldn t say it not much they wouldn t what is your own religion well you ve kind o got me and you t got me so mighty much i think t if a he another when he s in trouble and don t and don t do no mean things n he ain no business to do and don t spell the s name with a little g he ain t no he s about as as if he b longed to a church but suppose he did spell it with a little g what then well if he done it a purpose i reckon he wouldn t stand no chance he t to have no chance anyway i m most rotten certain bout that what is your name i think maybe you ll do we ll give you a trial anyway all right when you like to begin now so within ten minutes after we had first this he was one of us and with his coat off and hard at it beyond that end of our establishment which was farthest from the street was a deserted garden and thickly grown with the and weed and its common friend the stately in the midst of this spot was a decayed and wild aged little frame house with but one room one window and no ceiling it had been a smoke house a generation before was given this lonely and ghostly den as a the village recognized a treasure in right away a butt to play jokes on it was easy to see that he was green and confiding george jones had the glory of the first joke on him he gave him a cigar with a fire in it and winked to the crowd to come the thing exploded presently and swept away the bulk of s eyebrows and he simply said i consider them kind of and seemed to suspect nothing the next evening george and poured a bucket of ice water over him one day while was in swimming tom tied his clothes made a of tom s by way of a third joke was played upon a day or two later he walked up the middle aisle of the village ch sunday night with a staring hand bill pinned between his shoulders the spent the remainder of the night after church in the cellar of a deserted house and sat on the cellar door till towards breakfast time to make sure that the prisoner remembered that if any noise was made some rough skeleton of the late and only local the village a piece of property which he had bought of himself at for fifty dollars great competition when lay very sick in the a fortnight before his death the fifty dollars had gone promptly for and had considerably hurried up the change of in the skeleton the doctor would put s skeleton in s bed this was done about half past ten in the evening about s usual midnight the village came creeping stealthily through the weeds and towards the lonely frame den they reached the win wild dow and peeped in there sat the long legged on his bed in a very short shirt and nothing more he was dangling his legs back and forth and the music of races out of a paper comb which he was pressing against his mouth by him lay a new jews harp a new top a solid india rubber ball a handful of painted five pounds of store and a well of as big and as thick as a volume of sheet music he had sold the skeleton to a travelling for three dollars and was enjoying the result mr s item fur esteemed friend mr john william of virginia city walked into the office where we are sub editor at a late last night with an expression of profound and suffering upon his and sighing heavily laid the following item reverently upon the desk and walked slowly out again he paused a moment at the door and seemed struggling to command his feelings sufficiently to enable wild o ts him to speak and then nodding his head towards his manuscript ejaculated in a broken voice friend of mine oh how sad and burst into tears we were so moved at his distress that we did not think to call him back and endeavor to comfort him until he was gone and it was too late the paper had to press but knowing that our friend would consider the publication of this item important and the hope that to print it would afford a melancholy satisfaction to his heart we stopped the press at once and inserted it in our distressing accident last evening about six o clock as mr william an old and respectable citizen mr s item of south park was leaving his residence to go down town as has been his usual custom for many years with the exception only of a short interval in the spring of during which he was confined to his bed by injuries received in attempting to stop a horse by placing himself directly in its wake and throwing up his hands and shouting which if he had done so even a single moment sooner must inevitably have frightened the animal	34
agricultural paper did not take temporary of an agricultural paper without neither would a take command of a ship without but i was in circumstances that made the salary an object the regular editor of the paper was going off for a holiday and i accepted the terms he offered and took his place an agricultural editor f the sensation of being at work t again was luxurious and i wrought all the week with pleasure we went to press and i waited a day with some solicitude to see whether my effort was going to attract any notice as i left the office towards a group of men and boys at the foot of the stairs dispersed with one impulse and gave me and i heard one or two of them say that s him i was naturally pleased by this incident the next morning i found a similar group at the foot of the stairs and scattering couples and individuals standing here and there in the street and over the way watching me with interest the group separated and fell back si wild as i approached and i heard a man say look at his eye i pretended not to observe the notice i was but secretly i was pleased with it and was to write an account of it to my aunt i went up the short flight of stairs and heard cheery voices and ft ringing laugh as i drew near the door which i opened and caught a glimpse of two yoimg rural looking men whose faces and lengthened when they saw me and then they both plunged through the window with a great crash i was surprised in about half an hour an old gentleman with a flowing beard and a fine but rather austere face entered and sat down at my invitation he seemed to have something on his an agricultural editor mind he took ofl his hat and set it on the floor and got out of it a red silk handkerchief and a copy of our paper he put the paper on his lap and while he polished his spectacles with his handkerchief he said are you the new editor i said i was have you ever an agricultural paper before no i said this is my first attempt very likely have you had any experience in practically no i believe i have not some instinct told me so said the old gentleman putting on his spectacles and looking over them at me with while he folded wild his paper into a convenient shape i wish to read you what must have made me have that instinct it was this listen and see if it was you that wrote it should never be pulled it them it is much better to send a boy up and let him shake the tree now what do you think of that for i really suppose you wrote it think of it why i think it is good i think it is sense i have no doubt that every year millions and millions of of are spoiled in this alone by being pulled in a half ripe condition when if they had sent a boy up to shake the tree s an agricultural editor shake your grandmother don t grow on trees oh they don t don t they well who said they did the language was intended to be wholly anybody that knows anything will know that i meant that the boy should shake the vine then this old person got up and tore his paper all into small and stamped on them and broke several things with his cane and said i did not know as much as a cow and then went out and the door after him and in short acted in such a way that i fancied he was displeased about something but not knowing what the trouble was i could not be any help to him pretty soon after this a long wild with locks hanging down to his and a week s from the hills and valleys of his face darted within the door and motion less with finger on lip and head and body bent in listening attitude no was heard still he listened no then he turned the key in the door and came towards me till he was within long reaching distance of me when he stopped and after my face with intense interest for a while drew a folded copy of our paper from his bosom and said there you wrote that read it to me quick relieve me i suffer i read as follows and as the sen s an agricultural editor fell from my lips i could see the relief come i could see the drawn muscles and the anxiety go out of the face and rest and peace the features like the merciful moonlight over a desolate landscape the is a fine bird but great care is necessary in it it should not be imported earlier than june or later than september in the winter it should be kept in a warm place where it can out its young it is evident that we are to have a backward season for grain therefore it will be well for the to begin setting out his corn and planting his cakes in july instead of august concerning the this is a favorite with the natives of the interior of new england who pre wild fer it to the for the making of fruit cake and who likewise give it the preference over the for feeding cows as being more filling and fully as satisfying the is the only of the orange family that will in the north except the and one or two varieties of the but the custom of planting it in the front yard with the is fast going out of for it is now generally that	34
the as a shade tree is a failure now as the warm weather approaches and the begin to the excited listener sprang towards me to shake hands and said there there that will do i know i am all right now because you have read it just as i did word for word but stranger when i an agricultural editor first read it this morning i said to myself i never never believed it before notwithstanding my friends kept me under watch so strict but now i believe i am crazy and with that i fetched a howl that you might have heard two miles and started out to kill somebody because you know i knew it would come to that sooner or later and so i might as w ell begin i read one of them over again so as to be certain and then i burned my house down and started i have crippled several people and have got one fellow up a tree where i can get him if i want him but i thought i would call in here as i passed along and make the thing perfectly certain and now it is certain and i tell i wild you it is lucky for the chap that is in the tree i should have killed him sure as i went back good bye sir good bye you have taken a great load off my mind my reason has stood the strain of one of your agricultural articles and i know that nothing can ever it now good bye f sir i felt a little about the and this person had been entertaining himself with for i could not help feeling to them but these thoughts were quickly banished for the regular editor walked in i thought to myself now if you had gone to egypt as i recommended you to i might have had a chance to get my hand in b ut you wouldn t an agricultural editor do it and here you are i sort of expected you the editor was looking sad and perplexed and dejected he surveyed the wreck which that old and these two young farmers had made and then said this is a sad business a very sad business there is the bottle broken and six panes of glass and a and two but that is not the worst the reputation of the paper is injured and permanently i fear true there never was such a call for the paper before and it never sold such a large edition or to such but does one want to be famous for and prosper upon the of his mind my friend as i am an wild honest man the street out here is full of people and others are on the fences waiting to get a glimpse of you because they think you are crazy and well they might after reading your they are a disgrace to why what put it into head that you could a paper of this nature you do not seem to know the first of you speak of a and a as being the same thing you talk of the season for cows and you recommend the of the on account of its and its excellence as a your remark that will lie quiet if music be played to them was superfluous entirely superfluous an agricultural editor ing always lie quiet care nothing whatever about music ah heavens and earth friend if you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life you could not have with higher honor than you could to day i never saw anything like it your observation that the horse chestnut as an article of commerce is steadily gaining in fa is simply calculated to destroy this journal i want you to throw up your situation and go i want no more holiday i could not enjoy it if i had it certainly not with you in my chair i would always stand in dread of what you might be going to recommend next it makes me lose all patience every time i think s r wild of your discussing beds under the head of landscape i want you to go nothing on earth could persuade me to take another holiday oh why didn t you teu me you didn t know anything about tell you you you you son of a it s the first time i ever heard such an remark i tell you i have been in the business going on fourteen years and it is the first time i ever heard of a man s having to know anything order to a newspaper you who write the dramatic for the second rate papers why a parcel i of promoted and ap who know an agricultural editor as much about good acting as i do about good farming and no more who review the books people who never wrote one who do up the heavy leaders on parties who have had the largest opportunities for knowing nothing about it who the indian gentlemen who do not know a from a and who never have had to run a foot race with a or pluck arrows out of the several members of their families to build the evening with who write the appeals and about the flowing bowl folks who will never draw another sober breath till they do it in the grave who the agricultural papers you wild men as a general thing who fail in the poetry line yellow colored novel line sensation drama line city editor line and finally fall back on as a temporary from the poor house you try to tell me anything about the newspaper ness sir i have been through it to and i tell you that the less a man knows the bigger the noise he makes and the j	34
higher the salary he commands heaven knows if i had but been ignorant instead of cultivated and impudent instead of i could have made a name for myself in this cold selfish world i take my leave sir since i have been treated as you have treated me i am perfectly willing to go but i have done my an agricultural editor duty i have fulfilled my contract as far as i was permitted to do it i said i make your paper of interest to all classes and i have i said i could run your circulation up to twenty thousand copies and if i had had two more weeks i d have done it and i d have given you the best class of readers that ever an agricultural paper had not a farmer in it nor a solitary individual who could tell a tree from a vine to save his life you are the by this not me pie plant i then left the killing of caesar being the only true and account ever published taken from the roman daily evening of ike date of thai tremendous occurrence g in the world a newspaper re much up the details of a bloody and mysterious murder and writing them up with caesar he takes a living delight in this labor of love for such it is to him especially if he knows that all the other papers have gone to press and his will be the only one that will contain the dreadful intelligence a feeling of regret has often come over me that i was not in rome when caesar was killed on an evening paper and the only one in the city and getting at least twelve hours ahead of the paper boys with this most magnificent item that ever fell to the lot of the craft other events have happened as startling as this but none that possessed so peculiarly all the characteristics of the favorite item of the present day into wild and by the high rank fame and social and political standing of the actors in it however as i was not permitted to report caesar s in the regular way it has at least afforded me rare satisfaction to the following able account of it from the original latin of the roman daily evening of that date second edition our usually quiet city of rome was thrown into a state of wild excitement yesterday by the occurrence of one of those bloody which the heart and fill the soul with fear while they inspire all thinking men with for the future of a city where human life is held so and the laws are so openly set at defiance as the result of that caesar it is our painful duty as public to record the death of one of our most esteemed citizens a man whose name is known wherever this paper and whose fame it has been our pleasure and our privilege to extend and also to protect from the tongue of and falsehood to the best of our poor ability we refer to mr j caesar the emperor elect the facts of the case as nearly as our could determine them from the conflicting statements of were about as follows the affair was an election row of course nine of the ghastly that disgrace the city nowadays grow out of the and and by these accursed rome would be the by it if her very were elected to serve a century for in our experience we have never even been wild able to choose a dog without the event with a dozen and a general of the station house with drunken it is said that when the immense majority for at the in the market was declared the other day and the crown was offered to that gentleman even his amazing in refusing it three times was not sufficient to save him from the whispered of such men as of the tenth ward and other of the disappointed candidate mostly from the and and other outside districts who were overheard speaking and contemptuously of mr caesar s conduct upon that occasion we are further informed that there are many among us who think they are justified in believing that the of caesar was a put up thing caesar a cut and dried arrangement by and a lot of his hired and carried out only too faithfully according to the programme whether there be good grounds for this suspicion or not we leave to the people to judge for themselves only asking that they will read the following account of the sad occurrence carefully and before they render that judgment the was already in and caesar was coming down the street towards the conversing with some personal friends and followed as usual by a large number of citizens just as he was passing in front of store he was observing casually to a gentleman who our thinks is a fortune that the of march were come the reply was yes they are come but not gone yet at this wild moment stepped up and passed the time of day and asked caesar to read a or a tract or something of the kind which he had brought for his perusal mr also said something about an humble suit which he wanted read begged that attention might be paid to his first because it was of personal consequence to caesar the latter replied that what concerned himself should be read last or words to that effect begged and him to read the paper instantly however caesar shook him off and refused to read any petition in the street he then entered the and the crowd followed him mark that it is hinted by william shakespeare who saw the beginning and the end of the unfortunate that this was simply a note discovering to caesar	34
commission of inquiry into and how to quiet that country with its disagreeable reform association made up of and and john and university and other more interested in other people s business than in their own i appointed it did it stop their mouths no they merely pointed out that it was a commission composed wholly of my the very men whose acts were to be inquired into they said it was equivalent to a commission of wolves to inquire into committed upon a nothing can satisfy a cursed englishman and were the fault frank with my this visit had a more fortunate result than was anticipated one member of the commission was a leading official another an official of the government in the third a it was feared that the work of the commission would not be more genuine than that of innumerable so called by local officials but it appears that the commission was met by a very of awful testimony one who was present at a public hearing writes men of stone would be moved by the stories that are being unfolded as the commission into the awful history of rubber collection it is evident the were moved of their report and its bearing upon the issue presented by the conditions in the state something is said on a page of this certain were ordered by the in the one section visited but the latest word is that after its departure conditions were soon worse than before its coming m t lo p k i i only what h me p lo king s character they could not be more so if i were a a peasant a they remind the world that from the earliest days my house has been chapel and combined and both working full time that i practised upon my queen and my daughters and them daily shame and that when my queen lay in the happy refuge of her coffin and a daughter implored me on her knees to let her look for the last time upon her mother s face i refused and that three years ago not being satisfied with the stolen spoils of a whole alien nation i robbed my own child of her property and appeared by in court a spectacle to the civilized world to defend the act and complete the crime it is as i have said they are unfair unjust they will and give new to such things as those or to any other things that count against me but they will not mention any act of mine that is in my favor i have spent more money on art than any other monarch of my time and they know it do they speak of it do they tell about it no they do not they prefer to work up what they call ghastly into offensive object lessons whose purpose is to make sentimental people shudder and prejudice them against me they remark that if the innocent blood shed in the state by king ii y v t king s were put in and the placed side by side the line would stretch miles if the of his ten millions of starved and dead could rise up and march in single file it would take them seven months and four days to pass a given point if together in a body they would occupy more ground than st louis covers world s fair and if they should all clap their bony hands at once the crash would be heard at a distance of it makes me tired i and they do similar miracles with the money i have from that blood and put into my pocket they pile it into egyptian they carpet with it they spread it across the sky and the shadow it casts makes twilight in the earth and the tears i have caused the hearts i have broken oh nothing can persuade them to let them alone meditative pause well no matter i did beat the anyway there s comfort in that reads with mocking smile the president s order of recognition of april the government of the united states its sympathy with and approval of the humane and benevolent purposes of my scheme and will order the officers of the united states both on land and sea to recognize its flag as the flag of a friendly government possibly the would like to take that back now but they will find that my agents are king s not over there in america for nothing but there is no danger neither nations nor can afford to confess a blunder a contented smile begins to read from report by rev pf m american missionary in the free state i furnish some of the many incidents which have come under my own personal observation they reveal the organized system of plunder and outrage which has been and is now being carried on in that unfortunate country by king of i say king because he and he alone is now responsible since he is the absolute sovereign he himself such when our government in laid the foundation of the free state by its flag little did it know that this j concern under the guise of was really king of one of the most heartless and most rulers that ever sat on a throne this is apart from his known corrupt morals which have made his name and his family a in two our government would most certainly not have recognized that flag had it known that it was really king who was asking for recognition had it known that it was setting up in the heart of africa an absolute had it known that having put down african slavery in our own country at great cost of blood and money it was a worse form of slavery right in africa j with evil yes i certainly was	34
a shade too clever for the it hurts it them they can t get over it i puts a shame upon them in another way too and a graver king s way for they never can rid their records of the fact that their vain republic champion and of the liberties of the world is the only in history that has lent its power and influence to the establishing of an absolute contemplating with an eye a stately pile of the they write tons of these things they seem to be always around always always eye witnessing the and everything they see they commit to paper they are always from place to place the natives consider them their only friends they go to them with their sorrows they show them their and their wounds inflicted by my soldier police they hold up the of their arms and lament because their hands have been off as punishment for not bringing in enough rubber and as proof to be laid before my officers that the required punishment was well and truly carried out one of these saw eighty one of these hands drying over a fire for to my officials and of course he must go and set it down and king s print it they travel and travel they spy and spy and nothing is too trivial for them to print takes up a reads a passage from report of a journey made in july august and september by rev a e a british missionary soon we began talking and without any encouragement on my part the natives began the tales i had become so accustomed to they were living in peace and when the white men came in from the lake with all sorts of to do this and that and they thought it meant slavery so they attempted to keep the white men out of their country but without avail the were too much for them so they submitted and made up their minds to do the best they could under the altered circumstances first came the command to build houses for the soldiers and this was done without a murmur then they had to feed the soldiers and all the men and women on who accompanied them then they were told to bring in rubber this was quite a new thing for them to do there was rubber in the forest several days away from their home but that it was worth anything was news to them a small reward was offered and a rush was made for the rubber what strange white men to give us cloth and beads for the sap of a wild vine they rejoiced in what they thought their good fortune but soon the reward was reduced until at last they were told to bring in the rubber for nothing to this they tried to but to their great surprise several were shot by the soldiers and the rest were told with many curses and blows to go at once or more would be killed terrified they began to prepare their food for the fortnight s absence from the village which the collection of rubber en king s the soldiers discovered them sitting about what not gone yet bang bang bang and down fell one and another dead in the midst of wives and companions there is a terrible wail and an attempt made to prepare the dead for burial but this is not allowed all must go at once to the forest without food yes without food and off the poor v had to go without even their boxes to make fires many died in the forests of hunger and exposure and still more from the of the ferocious soldiers in charge of the post in spite of all their efforts the amount fell off and more and more were killed i was shown around the place and the of former big chiefs were pointed out a careful estimate made the population of say seven years ago to be people in and about the post within a of say a quarter of a mile all told they would not muster now and there is so much sadness and gloom about them that they are fast we stayed there all day on monday and had many talks with the people on the sunday some of the boys had told me of some bones which they had seen so on the monday i asked to be shown these bones lying about on the grass within a few yards of the house i was were numbers of human bones in some cases complete i counted thirty six and saw many sets of bones from which the were missing i called one of the men and asked the meaning of it when the rubber began said he the soldiers shot so many we grew tired of burying and very often we were not allowed to bury and so just dragged the bodies out into the grass and left them there are hundreds all around if you would like to see them but i had seen more than enough and was by the stories that came from men and king s their bad se ful time they had passed the might be considered m with what waa done here how the people submitted i don t know and even now i wonder as i think of patience that some of them managed to run away is some cause o days and the one was the collection of in as at with iv them paid their milk flung to the i stayed there thing that impressed itself upon n rubber i saw long of men con their little baskets under their arms of salt and the two yards of men saw their trembling timidity and in fact a great deal that all went to prove the state of that exists and the slavery in	34
of the forehead to rub up tobacco and in we continued to walk and examine late in the afternoon and counted forty one bodies the rest had been eaten up by the people on returning to the camp we crossed a yoimg woman shot in the back of the head one hand was cut away i asked why and n explained that they always cut off the right hand to give to the state on their return can you not show me some of the hands i asked so he conducted us to a of sticks under which was burning a slow fire and there they were the right hands i counted them eighty one in all there were not less than sixty women prisoners i saw them we all say that we have as fully as possible the whole outrage and find it was a plan previously made to get all the possible and to catch and kill the poor people m the death trap another detail as we sec they report cases of it with a most offensive my do not forget to remark that inasmuch as i am absolute and with a word can prevent in the anything i choose to prevent then whatsoever is done there by my permission is my act my personal act that do it that the hand of my agent is as truly r im i n fa i king s the things they can imagine with me for an inspiration one englishman offers to give me the odds of three to one and bet me anything i like up to guineas that for years i am going to be the most conspicuous foreigner in hell the man is so beside himself with anger that he does not perceive that the idea is foolish foolish and you see there could be no both of us would be on account of the loss of interest on the at four or five per cent this would amount to i do not know how much exactly but by the time the term was up and the bet a person could buy hell itself with the another madman wants to a memorial for the of my name out of my and and is full of enthusiasm over his strange project he has it all out and drawn to scale out of the he will build a combined monument and to me which shall exactly the great of whose base covers thirteen acres and whose is feet above ground he desires to stuff me and stand me up in the sky on that and crowned with my flag in one hand and a butcher knife and in the other he will build the in the centre of a tract a brooding solitude king s with weeds and the ruins of burned villages where the spirits of the starved and murdered dead will voice their forever in the whispers of the wandering winds from the like the of a wheel there are to be forty grand avenues of approach each thirty five miles long and each on both sides by standing a yard and a half apart and together in line by short chains stretching from wrist to wrist and attached to tried and true old stamped with my private trade mark a and butcher knife crossed with motto by this sign we prosper each fence to consist of on a side which is to each avenue it is remarked with satisfaction that it three or four thousand miles single of all told and would stretch across america from new york to san it is remarked further in the hopeful tone of a railroad company of its that my is a year when my plant is running full time and that therefore if i am spared ten years longer there will be fresh enough to add feet to the making it by a long way the construction on the earth and fresh enough to continue the file on piles a thousand miles into d my yearly ihe king s put a knife through a child s stomach they cut off the hands and brought them to c d white officer and spread them out in a row for him to sec they left them lying there because the white man had seen them so they did not need to take them to p captured children left in the bush to die by the soldiers friends came to a captured girl but refused saying the white man wanted her because she was young extract from a native girl s testimony on our way the soldiers saw a little child and when they went to kill it the child laughed so the soldier took the butt of his gun and struck the child with it and then cut off its head one day they killed my half sister and cut off her head hands and feet because she had on then they caught another sister and sold her to from the w w people and now she is a somehow wish it had not slave there the little child laughed a long pause musing that innocent creature somehow i wish it had not laughed reads children government encouragement of inter slave traffic the monstrous upon villages in their supplies of compel the natives to sell their fellows and children to other tribes in order to meet th fine a father and mother forced to sell their little boy widow forced to sell her little girl king s hang the monotonous what would he have me do let a widow off merely because she is a widow he knows quite well that there is nothing much left now but i have nothing against as a class but business is business and ive got to live haven t i even if it does cause inconvenience to somebody here and there reads men by	34
the torture of their wives and daughters to make the men furnish rubber and supplies and so get their captured women released from chains and the explained to me that he caught the women and brought them in chained together neck to neck by direction of his employer an agent explained that he was forced to catch women in preference to men as then the men brought in supplies quicker but he did not explain how the children deprived of their parents obtained their own food supplies a file of captured women allowing women and children to die of starvation in prison mu ing death from hunger a lingering long misery that must be days and days and still days and days the forces of the body failing away little by little yes it must be the hardest death of all and to sec food carried by every day and you can have none of it of course the little children cry for it and that the mother s heart if sigh ah well it cannot be helped circumstances make this discipline necessary reads king s the of sixty women how stupid how s goose flesh will rise with horror at the news of the sacred emblem that is what will shout yes will it can hear me charged with half a million a year for twenty years and keep its composure but to profane the symbol is quite another matter it will regard this as serious it will wake up and want to look into my record indeed it will i seem to hear the distant hum already it was wrong to the women clearly wrong wrong i can see it now myself and am sorry it happened sincerely sorry i believe it would have answered just as well to skin them with a sigh but none of us thought of that one cannot think of everything and after all it is but human to it will make a stir it surely will these persons will begin to ask again as now and then in times past how i can hope to win and keep the respect of the human race if i continue to give up my life to murder and scornfully when have they heard me say i wanted the respect of the human race do they me with the common herd do they forget that i am a king what king has valued the respect of the human race i mean deep down in his private heart if they would reflect king s they would know that it is impossible that a king should value the respect of the human race he stands upon an eminence and looks out over the world and sees multitudes of meek human things the persons and to the and of a dozen human things who are in no way better or finer than themselves made on just their own pattern in fact and out of the same quality of mud when it talks it is a race of but a king knows it for a race of its history gives it away if men were really men how could a be possible and how could i be possible but we are possible we are quite safe and with god s help we shall continue the business at the old stand it will be found that the race will put up with us in its way it may pull a face now and then and make large talk but it will stay on its knees all the same making large talk is one of its it works itself up and at the mouth and just when you think it is going to throw a brick it a poem i lord what a race it is i king s a a a out of date a fading planet in the glare of day a flickering candle in the bright sun s ray burnt to the fruit left too late high on a bough ripe till it s rotten by god forsaken and by time forgotten watching the crumbling edges of his lands a god to whom dumb millions pray from in the west to far lord of a frost bound continent he stands her seeming ruin his dim mind and in the frozen stupor of his sleep he hears dull as she falls and mighty fragments dropping in the deep it is fine one is obliged to it it is a great picture and impressive the handles his pen well still with opportunity i would him a god it is the to a dot a god and a royal poor lad soft hearted and out of place a god to whom dumb millions pray j correct too and compact the soul and spirit of the human race compressed into half a sentence on their knees on their knees to a little tin deity together they would stretch away and away and away across the plains fading and and failing jn a perspective why even b h in new york times king s the s vision could not reach to the final frontier of that continental spread of human now why should a king value the respect of the human race it is quite unreasonable to expect it a curious race certainly it finds fault with me and with my occupations and forgets that neither of us could exist an hour without its sanction it is our and protector it is our our friend our fortress for this it has our gratitude our deep and honest gratitude but not our respect let it and fret and if it likes that is all right we do not mind that turns over leaves of a pausing now and then to read a and make a comment the poets how they do hunt that poor i french english americans they all have	34
association binding itself to regard the principles of administration adopted in both these the united states government the act of was not submitted by the president of the united states for by the because its as a whole was thought by him to involve responsibility for of the claims of rival powers in the region the act of with a this point was formally by the united states whether wc are without obligation to reach a hand to this people the intelligent reader will judge for himself saw neither fortress nor flag of any civilization save that of the united states which he carried along the water course the first appeal for recognition and for moral support was naturally government whose flag was first carried mr in north american review this government at the outset its lively interest in the well being and future progress of the vast region now committed to your majesty s wise care by being the first among the powers to recognize the flag of the association of the as that of a state president to king september the recognition by the united states was the birth into new life of the association seriously as its existence by opposing interests and mr th vol he the president of the united states desires to sec in the of the region which shall be subjected to this beneficent rule of the association of the the consistent with the just rights of other address of mr u s representative at conference so marked was the acceptance by the conference of the views presented on the part of the united states that von die action of the conference after germany the first place of influence in the the conference to the united states mr in north american review february i m in sending a representative to this assembly the government of the u s has wished to show the great interest and deep sympathy it feels in the great work of which the conference seeks to realize our country must feel beyond all others an immense interest in the work of this assembly mr u s representative at j conference ist november ip i p j mr the conference that he has been by his government to sign the general act adopted by the conference the president says that the u s minister s will be received by the conference with extreme satisfaction records f conference june l po claiming as at to speak in the name of almighty god the at declared them to be equally animated by the firm intention of putting an end to the crimes and by the traffic in african slaves of protecting effectually the and of the benefits of peace and civilization in land h r fox the president continues to hope that the government of the u s which was the first to recognize the will not be one of the last to give it the assistance i f which h may stand in need remarks of bi i of conference may l go ought king to be hanged by w t tea with ths john h c n o in ths h i o c n o in ths h of for the somewhat startling suggestion in the heading of this interview the missionary is in no way responsible the credit of it or if you like the belongs entirely to the editor of the review who without wishes to pose the question as a matter for serious discussion since charles i s head was cut off opposite nearly two hundred and years ago the which doth hedge about a king has been held in slight and scant regard by the and their descendants hence there is nothing shocking or outrageous in the discussion of the question whether the acts of any sovereign are such as to justify the calling in of the services of the public it is not of course for a to pronounce judgment but no function of the public writer is so imperative as that of calling attention to great wrongs and no duty is more imperious than that of that no rank or station should be allowed to shield from justice the real criminal when he is once discovered the between the reform association and the emperor of the has now arrived at a stage in which it is necessary to take a further step towards the the above article which came to hand as the was in press is commended to the and to readers of his m t si of unspeakable wrongs and the punishment of no less unspeakable the rev j h an english missionary has lived for the last seven years in that region f central africa the upper which king has made over to one of his groups of financial associates known as the a b i r society on the strictly business basis of a half share in the profits wrung from the blood and misery of the natives he has now returned to england and last month he called at house to tell me the latest from the mr is a young man in a dangerous state of and no wonder after living for seven years face to face with the of the state it is impossible to deny that he does well to be angry when he began as is the wont of those who have emerged from the depths to detail stories of murder the outrage and torture of women the of children and the whole infernal of horrors served up the background of sometimes voluntary and sometimes incredible though it seems enforced by the orders of the officers i cut him and said dear mr as in oriental the india office the first page of the letter into two words after compliments or a c so let us our	34
nd if he were still with us he would not rebuke me for the liberty i have taken the knowledge of military exhibited in this book will be found to be correct but it is not mine i took it from army ed hardy s cavalry ed and s of military etiquette west point ed vn it act be m me to s by the that i the i private call sec i lifted it as it is the strain in the n by when th t vas it he did net it a call it was i the book i have distributed ta s and r al incidents and such things so as tc the tale over the difficult places this idea is not original with me i it cut of says very re things happen at the ri ht e and the rest do not happen at all the conscientious historian correct these defects the cats in the chair do not belong to me but to another these are all the exceptions what is left of the book is mine mark twain lone tree hill new october part i a horse s tale soldier boy privately to himself am bill s horse i have spent my life under his saddle with him in it too and he is good for two hundred pounds without his clothes and there is no telling how much he does weigh when he is out on the war path and has his on he is over six feet is young hasn t an of waste flesh i a horse s tale is straight graceful in his motions quick as a cat and has a handsome face and black hair dangling down on his shoulders and is beautiful to look at and nobody is than he is and nobody is stronger except myself yes a person that doubts that he is fine to see should see him in his on my back and his rifle peeping above his shoulder chasing a hostile trail with me going like the wind and his hair streaming out behind from the shelter of his broad yes he is a sight to look at then and i m part of it myself i am his favorite horse out of big as he is i have carried him eighty one miles between nightfall and sunrise on the and i a horse s tale am good for fifty day in and day out and all the time i am not large but i am built on a business basis i have carried him thousands and thousands of miles on duty for the army and there s not a nor a pass nor a valley nor a fort nor a trading post nor a range in the whole sweep of the rocky mountains and the great plains that we don t know as well as we know the calls he is chief of to the army of the frontier and it makes us very important in such a position as i hold in the military service one needs to be of good family and possess an education much above the common to be worthy of the place i am the best educated horse outside of the everybody says a horse s tale and the best it may be so it is not for me to say modesty is the best policy i think bill taught me the most of what i know my mother taught me much and i taught myself the rest lay a row of before me and as many other tribes as you please and i can name the tribe every belongs to by the make of it name it in horse talk and could do it in american if i had speech i know some of the indian signs the signs they m ke with their hands and by signal fires at night and columns of smoke by day bill taught me how to drag wounded soldiers out of the line of fire with my teeth and ive done it too at least a horse s tale i ve dragged him out of the battle when he was wounded and not just once but twice yes i know a lot of things i remember forms and and faces and you can t disguise a person that s done me a kindness so that i won t know him thereafter wherever i find him i know the art of searching for a trail and i know the stale track from the fresh i can keep a trail all by myself with bill asleep in the saddle ask him he will tell you so many a time when he has ridden all night he has said to me at dawn take the watch boy if the trail call me then he goes to sleep he knows he can trust me because i have a reputation a horse that has a reputation does not play with it a horse s tale my mother was all american no spider about her i can tell you she was of the best blood of the blue grass aristocracy very proud and or maybe it is i don t know which it is but it is no matter size is the main thing about a word and that one s up to standard she spent her military life as colonel of the tenth and saw a deal of rough service distinguished service it was too i mean she carried the colonel but it s all the same where would he be without his horse he wouldn t arrive it takes two to make a colonel of she was a fine horse but never got above that she was strong enough for the service and had the endurance a horse s tale too but she couldn t quite come up	34
to the speed required a horse has to have steel in his muscle and lightning in his blood my father was a nothing as to that is nothing as to recent but plenty good enough when you go a good way back when professor marsh was out here hunting bones for the chapel of university he found of horses no bigger than a fox in the rocks and he said they were ancestors of my father my mother heard him say it and he said those were two million years old which astonished her and made her pretensions look small and pretty not to say let me see i used to know the a horse s tale meaning of those words but well it was years ago and t as vivid now as it was when they were fresh that sort of words doesn t keep in the kind of climate we have out here professor marsh said those were so that makes me part blue grass and part if there is any older or better stock you will have to look for it among the four hundred i reckon i am satisfied with it and am a happy horse too though born out of and now we are back at fort once more after a away up as far as the big horn everything quiet and as usual but no and feeling fairly easy a horse s tale the seventh cavalry still in garrison here also the ninth two companies and some all glad to see me including general the officers ladies and children well and called upon me with sugar colonel seventh cavalry said some pleasant things mrs was very complimentary also captain and mrs marsh company b seventh cavalry also the who is always kind and pleasant to me because i kicked the lungs out of a once it was and marsh that furnished the sugar nice children the at the post i think that poor orphan child is on her way from france everybody is full of the subject her father was gen a horse s tale s brother married a beautiful young spanish lady ten years ago and has never been in america since they lived in spain a year or two then went to france both died some months ago this little girl that is coming is the only child general is glad to have her he has never seen her he is a very nice old bachelor but is an old bachelor just the same and isn t more than about a year this side of retirement by age limit and so what does he know about taking care of a little maid nine years old if i could have her it would be another matter for i know all about children and they me bill will tell you so himself i have some of this news from over a horse s tale hearing the garrison gossip the rest of it i got from the general s dog is the great he is privileged all over the post like the seventh cavalry s dog and visits everybody s quarters and up everything that is going in the way of news has no imagination and no great deal of culture perhaps but he has a historical mind and a good memory and so he is the person i depend upon mainly to post me up when i get back from a that is if is out on and i can t get hold of him ii letter from to general y dear brother in law please let me write again in spanish i cannot trust my english and i am aware from what your brother used to say that army officers educated at the military academy of the united states are taught our tongue it is as i told you in my other letter both my poor sister and her husband when they found they could not recover expressed the wish that you should a horse s tale have their little as knowing that you would presently be retired from the army rather than that she should remain with me who am broken in health or go to your mother in whose health is also frail you do not know the child therefore i must tell you something about her you will not be ashamed of her looks for she is a copy in little of her beautiful mother and it is that beauty which is not even in your country she has her mother s charm and grace and good heart and sense of justice and she has her father s vivacity and cheerfulness and pluck and spirit of enterprise with the affectionate disposition and sincerity of both parents a horse s tale my sister for her spanish home all these years of exile she was always talking of spain to the child and tending and the love of spain in the little thing s heart as a precious flower and she died happy in the knowledge that the of her patriotic labors was as rich as even she could desire is a sufficiently good little scholar for her nine years her mother taught her spanish herself and kept it always fresh upon her ear and her tongue by hardly ever speaking with her in any other tongue her father was her english teacher and talked with her in that language almost exclusively french has been her speech for more than seven years among her here she has a horse s tale a good working use of german and italian it is true that there is always a faint foreign fragrance about her speech no matter what language she is talking but it is only just noticeable nothing more and is rather a charm than a mar i think in the ordinary child studies is neither before nor behind the average	34
child of nine i should say but i can say this for her in love for her friends and in high and good she has not many equals and in my opinion no and i beg of you let her have her way with the dumb animals they are her worship it is an inheritance from her mother she knows but little of and keep them from her sight a horse s tale if you can she would up at them and make trouble in her small but quite decided and resolute way for she has a character of her own and neither nor sometimes her judgment is at fault but i think her intentions are always right once when she was a little creature of three or four years she suddenly brought her tiny foot down upon the floor in an apparent outbreak of indignation then fetched it a backward wipe and stooped down to examine the result her mother said why what is it child what has stirred you so mamma the big ant was trying to kill the little one and so you protected the little one a horse s tale yes mamma because he had no friend and i wouldn t let the big one kill him but you have killed them both was distressed and her lip trembled she picked up the remains and laid them upon her palm and said poor little i m so sorry and i didn t mean to kill you but there wasn t any other way to save you it was such a hurry she is a dear and sweet little lady and when she goes it will give me a sore heart but she will be happy with you and if your heart is old and tired give it into her keeping she will make it young again she will refresh it she will make it sing be good to her for all our a horse s tale my exile will soon be over now as soon as i am a little stronger i shall see my spain again and that will make me young again ill general to his mother am glad to know that you are all well in san that of yours has been here well i do not quite know how many days it is nobody can keep account of days or anything else where she is mother she did what the indians were never able to do she took the fort took it the first day took me too took the the captains the women the children and the dumb brutes a horse s tale took bill and all his took the garrison to the last man and in forty eight hours the indian was hers illustrious old thunder bird and all do i seem to have lost my solemnity my gravity my my dignity you would lose your own in my circumstances mother you never saw such a winning little devil she is all energy and spirit and sunshine and interest in everybody and everything and out her prodigal love upon every creature that will take it high or low christian or pagan or and none has declined it to date and none ever will i think but she has a temper and sometimes it catches fire and flames up and is likely to burn whatever is near it a horse s tale but it is soon over the passion goes as quickly as it comes of course she has an indian name already indians always a stranger early thunder bird attended to her case he gave her the indian equivalent for or fire fly he said times ver quiet ver soft like summer night but when she mad she blaze isn t it good can t you see the she s beautiful mother beautiful as a picture and there is a touch of you in her face and of her father poor george and in her and her fearless ways and her and she is always bringing george back to me these impulsive natures are dramatic george was dramatic so is this a horse s tale lightning so is bill when first arrived it was in the bill was away carrying orders to major fuller at five forks up in the hills at mid afternoon i was at my desk trying to work and this had been making it impossible for half an hour at last i said oh you little can t you be qui t just a minute or two and let your poor old uncle attend to a part of his duties ill try uncle i will indeed she said well then that s a good child kiss me now then sit up in that chair and set your eye on that clock there that s right if you stir a horse s tale if you so much as wink for four whole minutes i ll bite you it was very sweet and humble and obedient she looked sitting there still as a mouse i could hardly keep from setting her free and telling her to make as much as she wanted to during as much as two minutes there was a most unnatural and heavenly quiet and repose then bill came thundering up to the door in all his finery flung himself out of the saddle said to his horse wait for me boy and stepped in and stopped dead in his tracks gazing at the child she forgot orders and was on the floor in a moment saying oh you are so beautiful do you like me a horse s tale shoulders and looking so solemn and til and satisfied and the charming indians oh how you would on them dear and they would on you too and they would let you hold their babies the way they do me and they are	34
s tale take care of her they think they can they would tell you so themselves you see the seventh cavalry has never had a child of its very own before and neither has the ninth and so they are like all new mothers they think there is no other child like theirs no other child so wonderful none that is so worthy to be faithfully and tenderly looked after and protected these of mine are very good mothers i think and wiser than some other mothers for they let her take lots of risks and it is a good education for her and the more risks she takes and comes successfully out of the they are of her they adopted her with grave and formal military ceremonies of their own in a horse s tale is the truer word that were so profoundly solemn and earnest that the spectacle would have been if it hadn t been so touching it was a good show and as stately and complex as guard mount and the of the colors and it had its own special music composed for the occasion by the of the seventh and the child was as serious as the most serious war worn soldier of them all and finally when they her upon the shoulder of the oldest and pronounced her well and truly adopted and the bands struck up and all saluted and she saluted in return it was better and more moving than any kindred thing i have seen on the stage because a horse s tale stage things are make believe but this was real and the players hearts were in it it happened several weeks ago and was followed by some additional the men created a couple of new ranks unknown to the army and conferred them upon with ceremonies suitable to a duke so now she is general of the seventh cavalry and flag lieutenant of the ninth with the privilege by the men of writing u s a after her name also they presented her a pair of both dark blue the one with f l on it the other with c g also a sword she wears them finally they granted her the salute i am a horse s tale witness that that ceremony is faithfully observed by both parties and most gravely and too i have never seen a soldier smile yet while delivering it nor ca thy in returning it i was not present at these proceedings and am ignorant of them but i was where i could see i was afraid of one thing the jealousy of the other children of the post but there is nothing of that i am glad to say on the contrary they are proud of their comrade and her honors it is a surprising thing but it is true the children are devoted to for she has turned their dull frontier life into a sort of continuous festival also they know her for a and steady friend a friend a horse s tale who can always be depended upon and does not change with the weather she has become a rather extraordinary rider under the of a more than extraordinary teacher which is her pet name for bill she it he has not only taught her seventeen ways of breaking her neck but twenty two ways of avoiding it he has into her the best and protection of a confidence he did it gradually little by little a step at a time and each step made sure before the next was and so he her along up through terrors that had been by training before she reached them and therefore were not as a horse s terrors when she got to them well she is a daring little rider now and is perfect in what she knows of by and by she will know the art like a west point and will exercise it as she doesn t know anything about side does that distress you and she is a fine without any saddle at all does that discomfort you do not let it she is not in any danger i give you my word you said that if my heart was old and tired she would refresh it and you said truly i do not know how i got along without her before i was a forlorn old tree but now that this vine has wound itself about me and become the life of my life it is very different as a a horse s tale of business for me and for she is competent but i like my share of it and of course likes hers for raised george and is george over again in so many ways that she brings back s youth and the joys of that long vanished time my father tried to set free twenty years ago when we still lived in virginia but without success she considered herself a member of the family and wouldn t go and so a member of the family she remained and has held that position ever since and holds it now for when my mother sent her here from san when we learned that was coming she only changed from one division of the a horse s tale family to the other she has the warm heart of her race and its lavish affections and when arrived the pair were mother and child in five minutes and that is what they are to date and will continue really thinks she raised george and that is one of her but perhaps it was a mutual raising for their ages were the same thirteen years short of mine but they were at any rate as regards that there is no room for dispute thinks is the best catholic in america except herself she could not pay any one a higher compliment than that and	34
could not receive one that would please her better is satisfied that there has never been a more a horse s tale wonderful child than she has conceived the curious idea that is and that one of them is a boy twin and failed to get got is the idea to argue with her that this is nonsense is a waste of breath her mind is made up and arguments do not affect it she says look at her she loves and girl plays and everything a girl loves and she s gentle and sweet and ain t cruel to dumb brutes now that s the girl twin but she loves boy plays and drums and and and rough riding and ain t afraid of anybody or anything and that s the boy twin deed you needn t tell me she s only one child no sir she s and one of them got up a horse s tale out of sight out of sight but that don t make any difference that boy is in there and you can see him look out of her eyes when her temper is up then went on in her simple and earnest way to furnish illustrations look at that tom would anybody a but that child of course they wouldn t it ain t natural well the boy had the tied up and was all the time it and starving it and she pitied the po thing and tried tc buy it from the boy and the tears was in her eyes that was the girl twin you see she offered him her and he flung it down she offered him all the she had which was a horse s tale two and he flung them down she offered him half a paper of pins worth forty and he made a mouth at her and one of them in the s back that was the limit you know it called for the other twin her eyes blazed up and she jumped for him like a wild cat and when she was done with him she was rags and he wasn t anything but an that was most undoubtedly the other twin you see coming to the front no sir don t tell me he ain t in there i ve seen him with my own eyes and plenty of times at that what is an i don t know tom it s one of her words she loves the big ones you know and i pick them up a horse s tale from her they sound good and i can t help it what happened after she had converted the boy into an why she the and him by force and fetched him home and left the and things on the ground him of course like she does with every creature in two days she had him so stuck after her that she well you know how he follows her everywhere and sets on her shoulder often when she rides her all of which is the girl twin to the front you see and he does what he pleases and is up to all kinds of and is a perfect nuisance in the kitchen well they all stand a horse s tale it but they wouldn t if it was another person s bird here she began to chuckle comfortably and presently she said well you know she s a nuisance herself miss is she is so busy and into everything like that bird it s all just as innocent you know and she don t mean any harm and is so good and dear and it ain t her fault it s her nature her interest is always a working and always red hot and she can t keep quiet well yesterday it was please miss don t do that and please miss let that alone and please miss don t make so much noise and so on and so on till i reckon i had found fault fourteen times in fifteen minutes then she a horse s tale looked up at me with her big brown eyes that can plead so and said in that odd little foreign way that goes to your heart please make me a compliment and of course you did it you old fool tom i just her up to my breast and says oh you po dear little thing you ain t got a fault in the world and you can do anything you want to and tear the house down and yo old black won t say a word why of course of course knew you d spoil the child she brushed away her tears and said with dignity spoil the child spoil that child a horses tale tom there can t anybody spoil her she s the king bee of this post and everybody her and is her slave and yet as you know your own self she ain t the least little bit spoiled then she her mind with this retort tom she makes you do anything she wants to and you can t deny it so if she could be spoilt she d been spoilt long ago because you are the very worst look at that pile of cats in your chair and you sitting on a candle box just as patient it s because they re her cats if were a soldier i could punish her for such large frankness as that i changed the subject and made her resume her illustrations she had against me fairly ii a horse s tale and i wasn t going to her victory by it she proceeded to offer this incident in evidence on her twin theory two weeks ago when she got her finger open she turned pretty pale with the pain but she never said a word i took her in my	34
lap and the surgeon off the blood and took a needle and thread and began to it up it had to have a lot of and each one made her a little but she never let go a sound at last the surgeon was so full of admiration that he said c well you are a brave little thing f and she said just as ca m and simple as if she was talking about the weather there isn t anybody but the you see it was the boy a horse s tale twin that the surgeon was a dealing with i don t know sir at least only what she says she s always talking about him and says he was the hero spain ever had or any other country they have it up and down the children do she standing up for the and they working george washington for all he is worth do they quarrel no it s only and the way children do they want her to be an american but she can t be anything but a she says you see her mother was always longing for home po thing and thinking about it and so the child is just as much a as if she d n a horse s tale always lived there she thinks she remembers how spain looked but i reckon she don t because she was only a baby when they moved to france she is very proud to be a does that please you very well be content your niece is loyal to her her mother laid deep the foundations of her love for spain and she will go back to you as good a as you are yourself she has made me promise to take her to you for a long visit when the war office me i attend to her studies myself has she told you that yes i am her school master and she makes pretty good progress i think everything considered everything considered being translated means holidays i a horse s tale but the fact is she was not born for study and it comes hard hard for me too it hurts me like a physical pain to see that free spirit of the air and the sunshine laboring and over a book and sometimes when i find her gazing far away towards the plain and the blue mountains with the longing in her eyes i have to throw open the prison doors i can t help it a quaint little scholar she is and makes plenty of once i put the question what does the govern she rested her elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand and took that problem under deep consideration presently she looked up and answered with a rising a shade of uncertainty a horse s tale the case here are a couple of her which were delivered with tranquil confidence of chap is masculine is feminine she is not a genius you see but just a normal child they all make mistakes of that sort there is a glad light in her eye which is pretty to see when she finds herself able to answer a question promptly and accurately without any hesitation as for instance this morning dear what is a why a native of she still drops a foreign word into her talk now and then and there is still a subtle foreign flavor or fragrance about even her a horse s tale and long may this abide for it has for me a charm that is very pleasant sometimes her english is and and she has a child s sweet tooth but for her health s sake i try to keep its under check she is obedient as is proper for a and recognized military personage which she is but the chain presses sometimes for instance we were out for a walk and passed by some bushes that were with wild her face brightened and she put her hands together and delivered herself of this speech most oh if i was permitted a vice it would be the could i resist that no i gave her a a horse s tale you ask about her languages they take care of themselves they will not get rusty here our are not made up of natives alone far from it and she is picking up indian tongues diligently vi soldier boy and the u a n hen did you come arrived at where from salt lake are you in the service no trade trade i reckon what do you know about it i saw you when you came i recognized your master he is a bad sort trap robber horse thief man a a i a horse s tale i know him very well stole you didn t he well it amounted to that i thought so where is his he stopped at white cloud s camp he is another of the same is aside they are laying for bill again i guess aloud what is your name which one have you got more than one i get a new one every time i m stolen i used to have an honest name but that was early i ve forgotten it since then i ve had thirteen what is a false name it s a fine large word and a horse s tale is in my line it has quite a learned and sound are you educated well no i can t claim it i can take down bars i can distinguish from shoe i can a saddle boil with the college bred and i know a few other things not many i have had no chance i have always had to work besides i am of low birth and no family you speak my dialect like a native but you are not a you	34

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