XI
THE next morning Judge Hollis walked into Caleb Trench’s little back room.
In the broad daylight the judge was a stately figure, tall, stout, white-haired, with a high Roman nose and a mouth and chin like a Spartan’s. He always wore an old-fashioned, long frock coat, a high pointed collar and stiff black tie; in summer his waistcoat was white marseilles, with large buttons and a heavy watch-chain; he carried a gold-headed cane and he took snuff.
He found Trench in his shirt sleeves, plodding over some papers, his face flushed and his jaw set, a trick he had in perplexity. The judge eyed him grimly. “Well,� he said, “what’s the price of cockerels to-day?�
Trench, who had not noticed his entrance, rose and gave the old man a chair. “To-day I’m figuring out the price of men,� he replied; “every single investor in the Eaton Land Company has been notified—in one way or another—that only Aylett men are to go to the Democratic Convention.�
The judge whistled softly.
“It’s true,� said Trench, throwing back his head with a peculiar gesture of the right hand that was atonce characteristic and striking. “I’m ashamed for you Democrats,� he added.
The judge squared his massive shoulders and gripped his gold-headed cane. “You young black Republican agitator,� he retorted bitterly, “produce your evidence.�
Trench brought his palm down sharply on his desk. “It’s here,� he said; “Aaron Todd has been threatened, but he did not put in his last savings and is standing firm; the rest are like frightened sheep. Because I pointed out this lever in my Cresset speech they seem to think it’s a fulfillment, and they’ve poured in on me to-day to beg me to get their investments out for them! Meanwhile the company has declared that no dividends will be paid until after election, neither will they refund. If I carry the cases into court against Eaton, he’ll take advantage of the bankruptcy law. The investors in the country are frightened to death, and they’d vote for Satan for governor if they thought it would insure their money. Yarnall’s an honest man, but there are fifty hand-bills in circulation accusing him of everything short of arson and murder. That’s your Democratic campaign.�
“And your Republican one is to stir up the niggers,� thundered the judge. “Peter Mahan’s been out in the Bottoms speaking to ten thousand blacks! By the Lord Harry, sir, I wish they were all stuffed down his throat!�
Whereat Caleb Trench laughed suddenly. “Judge,�he said, “if Peter Mahan could be elected, you’d have a clean straight administration.�
“He can’t be, sir,� snapped the judge, “and I’m glad of it!�
“You’ll be sorry,� Trench remarked calmly, “unless you nominate Yarnall.�
“I’m for Aylett,� the judge said soberly. “I shall vote for Aylett in the convention; Yarnall will split the party. That’s what you want, you young cub!�
Caleb smiled. “I’m interested to know how much money it will take to nominate Aylett,� he said; “you’re for Aylett, judge, but you’re not strong enough to defeat Yarnall.�
“Neither are you strong enough to nominate him,� said the judge sharply. “You look out for the blood feud, Caleb; these fellows behind Jacob Eaton haven’t forgotten that the Yarnalls drew the last blood. They’re mighty like North American Indians, and your Cresset speech stirred up a hornet’s nest. I’m for Aylett and peace.�
Trench folded the papers on his desk reflectively. “I can’t make out Jacob Eaton,� he said.
The judge chuckled. “He’s a mighty queer package,� he said grimly, “a cross between a mollycoddle and a bully. Jinny Eaton raised him in jeweler’s cotton for fear he’d catch the measles, and he went to college with a silver christening mug and a silk quilt. When he got there he drank whiskey and played the races, and some poor devil, who was working his way through college, coached him forhis exams. He got out with a diploma but no honors, and enough bad habits to sink a ship. Then Jinny introduced him to society as the Model Young Man. He’s been speculating ever since, and he’s got the shrewd business sense that old man Eaton had. He doesn’t care two cents for Aylett, but he’s going to fight Yarnall to the knife. He— What the devil’s the matter with Zeb Bartlett?� the judge suddenly added, stooping to look out of the window. “He’s been walking past the front door, back and forth, four or five times since I’ve been sitting here, and he’s making faces until he looks like a sculpin.�
Trench laughed grimly. “He does that at intervals,� he replied, “because I won’t lend him a dollar to get tipsy on.�
The judge grunted, his head still lowered to command a view of the shambling figure of the idiot. Then he rose suddenly and went to the window, thrusting his hand into his pocket. “Here, Zeb!� he shouted, in his stentorian tones, “take that and get drunk, and I’ll have you arrested,� and he flung out fifty cents.
Bartlett groveled for it in the dust, found it and grinned idiotically. Then, retreating a few steps, he looked back and kissed his hand, still gurgling. The judge watched him out of sight, then he sat down and took snuff. “Don’t let that fool hang around here,� he said sharply; “it will get a crank into his head and the Lord knows how it’s going to come out. Give him a quarter and let him go.�
“I won’t,� said Caleb dryly. “I’d rather give it to his grandmother; she’ll need it.�
“To be sure,� said the judge ironically, “and she’d give it to him with a dime on top of it; that’s a woman down to the ground. If there’s anything worthless within a hundred miles, they’ll adore it!�
As he spoke, there was a rustle in the outer shop and Miss Sarah suddenly thrust her head in the door. She always wore the most extraordinary bonnets, and the one to-day had a long green plume that trembled and swayed behind her head like the pendulum of an eight-day clock.
“Judge,� she said, “I wish you’d get up and go home. It sounds rude, Caleb, but he’s always insisting on dinner at one o’clock sharp, because his grandmother had it, and he’s never there until the roast is overdone or the gravy is spoiled! Besides, I’m alarmed; I’ve discovered something about Juniper.� Miss Sarah came in and shut the door and put her back against it, her air conveying some deep and awful mystery. “He’s got fifty dollars.�
The judge brought down his heavy brows over his high nose in a judicial frown, but his eyes snapped. “What’s the nigger been up to?� he asked calmly; “been negotiating law business for him, Trench?�
Caleb shook his head, smiling.
“He’s been stealing,� said Miss Sarah with conviction.
“Think likely,� said the judge, “but from whom?Not me, Sarah; if it had been from me it would have been fifty cents.�
“I never thought it was from you,� she retorted scornfully, “but I’ve hunted the house over to see if he could have pawned anything and—�
The judge brought his hand down on his knee. “The silver teapot, Sarah!�
She shook her head. “Aunt Charity’s got it; she gave a supper last night and they had their usual fight and she locked him out. He sat on the step all night and came to our house for something to eat; then he showed the fifty-dollar bill. Of course he stole it.�
The judge meditated, looking grim.
It was Trench who made the suggestion. “Isn’t that rather large for campaign money?� he asked mildly.
The judge swore, then he got up and reached for his hat. “I’ll make him take it back,� he said viciously.
“Take it where?� demanded Miss Sarah vaguely.
“To Ballyshank!� retorted the judge, jamming his hat down on his head.
They all emerged into the outer room just as Miss Royall appeared in the shop-door. She was dressed in a pink muslin with a wide straw hat trimmed with pink roses, and looked like a woodland nymph. The judge swung off his hat.
“We’ve been having a political tournament,� he said, “and now comes the Queen of Love and Beauty.�
Diana liked the old man and smiled her most charming smile. Miss Sarah went up and pecked her cheek, a rite that elderly ladies still like to perform in public. Trench, longing to play the host but too proud to risk a rebuke, bowed silently. Something in Diana’s eye warned him that she was minded to make him repent the dance she had given him; the scoldings she had received were rankling in her mind. Unhappily, too, something in the judge’s manner said, “So ho! is this a flirtation?� Her cheeks burned.
The judge blundered. “Let me offer a chair,� he said, with old-fashioned courtesy, “then we will ask you to help us solve a riddle of Sarah’s. She has found that Juniper is unusually rich, a kind of ebony John Jacob Astor, the proud possessor of fifty dollars.�
Diana declined the chair. “Juniper?� she repeated. “Oh, yes, I know all about it!�
“Did he steal it from you, dear?� Miss Sarah asked excitedly.
“Jacob Eaton gave it to him,� Diana replied simply, “he thought he needed it; he’s been out of work, and you know what a nuisance Lysander is.�
“But fifty dollars, my dear!� protested Miss Hollis faintly.
Diana caught the glances between the judge and Trench and stiffened. “My cousin is generous,� she said.
The judge took snuff.
Poor Caleb fell into the snare. “Miss Royall, do sit down,� he urged, pushing forward the chair.
Diana’s chin went up; her eyes sparkled. “Thank you, I only came for that bolt of pink ribbon,� she said grandly, indicating it with her parasol, and then, opening her purse, “How much is it?�
“It’s sold,� said Trench, and shut his lips like a steel trap.
Diana turned crimson. “Oh,� she said, then she swung around and drew her arm through Miss Sarah’s thin black silk-clad elbow, that was like the hook of a grappling iron. “I think you were going?� she cooed.
The old lady hesitated, confused. “I—I—� she began.
“Here’s the carriage,� said Diana sweetly, and drew her out of the door; “there’s room for you, judge,� she called back, not even glancing at Trench.
“I’ll walk,� said the judge, “I’m a young man yet; don’t you forget it, my girl!�
Diana laughed. “The youngest I know, in heart,� she said, and waved her hand as they drove off.
The judge looked at Caleb soberly. “You’ve done it, young man,� he said quietly.
A slow painful blush went up to Caleb’s hair. “So be it,� he said bitterly. “I’m human and I’ve borne all I can,� and he turned away. “My God!� he added, with a violence so unusual and so heartfelt that it startled the judge, “does that girl think me the dirt under her feet because I’ve sold ribbon? I’m a gentleman; I’m as well-born and as well-bred as she is, but she won’t recognize it—more than halfan hour. One day she’s—she’s an angel of courtesy and kindness, the next she insults me. She and Eaton have made my life here a hell!� He clenched his hands until the nails bit into the flesh.
“She’s young,� said Judge Hollis slowly, “and ill advised.�
Trench struggled to be calm; his face paled again, the light died out of his eyes. “Let her leave me in peace!� he cried at last.
The judge drew a pattern on the floor with his stick. “She admires you immensely,� he said deliberately, “and she respects you.�
Trench laughed bitterly.
The judge put on his hat again and held out his hand. “I’ll give you the odds on the money, Caleb,� he said, “but I’d like to know—by the Lord Harry, I’d like to know—what Eaton’s buying niggers for at this late date?�
He got no answer. Caleb’s face was as set as flint.