by Bret Harte
the tribute whichshe wished to place on the grave of an old lover to please a THIRDman. Meantime, she had put her two little hands behind her back in thesimulated attitude of "a good girl," and was saying half smilingly, andhe even thought half wistfully:--
"Are yo' satisfied?"
"Perfectly."
"Then let's go away. It's mighty hot here."
They turned away, and descending the slope again re-entered the thickershade of the main avenue. Here they seemed to have left the sterneraspect of Death. They walked slowly; the air was heavy with the hotincense of flowers; the road sinking a little left a grassy bank on oneside. Here Miss Sally halted and listlessly seated herself, motioningCourtland to do the same. He obeyed eagerly. The incident of the wreathhad troubled him, albeit with contending sensations. She had given it toplease HIM; why should HE question the manner, or torment himself withany retrospective thought? He would have given worlds to have been ableto accept it lightly or gallantly,--with any other girl he could; buthe knew he was trembling on the verge of a passionate declaration; themagnitude of the stake was too great to be imperiled by a levityof which she was more a mistress than himself, and he knew that hissentiment had failed to impress her. His pride kept him from appealingto her strangely practical nature, although he had recognized andaccepted it, and had even begun to believe it an essential part of thestrong fascination she had over him. But being neither a coward nor aweak, hesitating idealist, when he deliberately took his seat besideher he as deliberately made up his mind to accept his fate, whatever itmight be, then and there.
Perhaps there was something of this in his face. "I thought yo' werelooking a little white, co'nnle," she said quietly, "and I reckonedwe might sit down a spell, and then take it slowly home. Yo' ain'taccustomed to the So'th'n sun, and the air in the hollow WAS swampy." Ashe made a slight gesture of denial, she went on with a pretty sisterlysuperiority: "That's the way of yo' No'th'n men. Yo' think yo' cando everything just as if yo' were reared to it, and yo' never makeallowance for different climates, different blood, and differentcustoms. That's where yo' slip up."
But he was already leaning towards her with his dark earnest eyes fixedupon her in a way she could no longer mistake. "At the risk of slippingup again, Miss Dows," he said gently, dropping into her dialect withutterly unconscious flattery, "I am going to ask you to teach meeverything YOU wish, to be all that YOU demand--which would be farbetter. You have said we were good friends; I want you to let me hope tobe more. I want you to overlook my deficiencies and the differences ofmy race and let me meet you on the only level where I can claim to bethe equal of your own people--that of loving you. Give me only the samechance you gave the other poor fellow who sleeps yonder--the same chanceyou gave the luckier man who carried the wreath for you to put upon hisgrave."
She had listened with delicately knitted brows, the faintest touch ofcolor, and a half-laughing, half-superior disapprobation. When he hadfinished, she uttered a plaintive little sigh. "Yo' oughtn't to havesaid that, co'nnle, but yo' and me are too good friends to let even THATstand between us. And to prove it to yo' I'm going to forget it rightaway--and so are yo'."
"But I cannot," he said quickly; "if I could I should be unworthy ofeven your friendship. If you must reject it, do not make me feel theshame of thinking you believe me capable of wanton trifling. I know thatthis avowal is abrupt to you, but it is not to me. You have knownme only for three months, but these three months have been to me therealization of three years' dreaming!" As she remained looking at himwith bright, curious eyes, but still shaking her fair head distressedly,he moved nearer and caught her hand in the little pale lilac threadglove that was, nevertheless, too wide for her small fingers, and saidappealingly: "But why should YOU forget it? Why must it be a forbiddentopic? What is the barrier? Are you no longer free? Speak, MissDows--give me some hope. Miss Dows!--Sally!"
She had drawn herself away, distressed, protesting, her fair head turnedaside, until with a slight twist and narrowing of her hand she succeededin slipping it from the glove which she left a prisoner in his eagerclasp. "There! Yo' can keep the glove, co'nnle," she said, breathingquickly. "Sit down! This is not the place nor the weather for huskingfrolics! Well!--yo' want to know WHY yo' mustn't speak to me in thatway. Be still, and I'll tell yo'."
She smoothed down the folds of her frock, sitting sideways on the bank,one little foot touching the road. "Yo' mustn't speak that way to me,"she went on slowly, "because it's as much as yo' company's wo'th, asmuch as OUR property's wo'th, as much maybe as yo' life's wo'th! Don'tlift yo' comb, co'nnle; if you don't care for THAT, others may. Sitstill, I tell yo'! Well, yo' come here from the No'th to run thisproperty for money--that's square and fair business; THAT any fool herecan understand--it's No'th'n style; it don't interfere with these fools'family affairs; it don't bring into their blood any No'th'n taint;it don't divide their clannishness; it don't separate father and son,sister and brother; and even if yo' got a foothold here and settleddown, they know they can always outvote yo' five to one! But let thesesame fools know that yo' 're courtin' a So'th'n girl known to be 'Union'during the wah, that girl who has laughed at their foolishness; let themeven THINK that he wants that girl to mix up the family and the race andthe property for him, and there ain't a young or old fool that believesin So'th'n isolation as the price of So'th'n salvation that wouldn'trise against yo'! There isn't one that wouldn't make shipwreck of yo'rsyndicate and yo'r capital and the prosperity of Redlands for the nextfour years to come, and think they were doing right! They began tosuspect yo' from the first! They suspected yo' when yo' never wentanywhere, but stuck close to the fahm and me. That's why I wanted yo'to show yourself among the girls; they wouldn't have minded yo' flirtingwith them with the chance of yo' breaking yo' heart over Tave Reed orLympy Morris! They're fools enough to believe that a snub or a jiltfrom a So'th'n girl would pay them back for a lost battle or a ruinedplantation!"
For the first time Miss Sally saw Courtland's calm blood fly to hischeek and kindle in his eye. "You surely do not expect ME to toleratethis blind and insolent interference!" he said, rising to his feet.
She lifted her ungloved hand in deprecation. "Sit still, co'nnle. Yo''ve been a soldier, and yo' know what duty is. Well! what's yo' duty toyo' company?"
"It neither includes my private affairs nor regulates the beating of myheart. I will resign."
"And leave me and Aunt Miranda and the plantation?"
"No! The company will find another superintendent to look after youraunt's affairs and carry out our plans. And you, Sally--you will let mefind you a home and fortune North? There is work for me there; there isroom for you among my people."
She shook her head slowly with a sweet but superior smile. "No, co'nnle!I didn't believe in the wah, but the least I could do was to stand by myfolks and share the punishment that I knew was coming from it. I despisethis foolishness as much as yo', but I can't run away from it. Come,co'nnle, I won't ask yo' to forget this; mo', I'll even believe yo'MEANT it, but yo' 'll promise me yo' won't speak of it again as longas yo' are with the company and Aunt Miranda and me! There mustn't bemore--there mustn't even SEEM to be more--between us."
"But then I may hope?" he said, eagerly grasping her hand.
"I promise nothing, for yo' must not even have THAT excuse for speakingof this again, either from anything I do or may seem to do." Shestopped, released her hand, as her eyes were suddenly fixed on thedistance. Then she said with a slight smile, but without the leastembarrassment or impatience: "There's Mr. Champney coming here now. Ireckon he's looking to see if that wreath is safe."
Courtland looked up quickly. He could see the straw hat of the youngEnglishman just above the myrtle bushes in a path intersecting theavenue. A faint shadow crossed his face. "Let me know one thing more,"he said hurriedly. "I know I have no right to ask the question, buthas--has--has Mr. Champney anything to do with your decision?"
She smiled brightly. "Yo' asked just now if yo' could have the samechance he and Chet Brooks had.
Well, poor Chet is dead, and Mr.Champney--well!--wait and see." She lifted her voice and called, "Mr.Champney!" The young fellow came briskly towards them; his face betrayeda slight