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HAT evening after supper the family remained, till bedtime, in the big,
bare-looking dining-room, the clean, polished floors of which gleamed in
the light of a little fire in the big chimney. Bishop's chair was tilted
back against the wall in a dark corner, and Mrs. Bishop sat knitting
mechanically. Abner was reading--or trying to read--a weekly paper at
the end of the dining-table, aided by a dimly burning glass-lamp. Aunt
Maria had removed the dishes and, with no little splash and clatter, was
washing them in the adjoining kitchen.
Suddenly Abner laid down his paper and began to try to console them for
their loss. Mrs. Bishop listened patiently, but Bishop sat in the very
coma of despair, unconscious of what was going on around him.
“Alf,” Abner called out, sharply, “don't you remember what a
close-fisted scamp I used to be about the time you an' Betsy fust
hitched together?”
“No, I don't,” said the man addressed, almost with a growl at being
roused from what could not have been pleasant reflections.
“I remember folks said you was the stingiest one in our family,” struck
in Mrs. Bishop, plaintively. “Law me! I hain't thought of it from that
day to this. It seems powerful funny now to think of you havin' sech a
reputation, but I railly believe you had it once.”
“An' I deserved it,” Abner folded his paper, and rapped with it on the
table. “You know, Betsy, our old daddy was as close as they make 'em; he
had a rope tied to every copper he had, an' I growed up thinkin' it was
the only safe course in life. I was too stingy to buy ginger-cake an'
cider at camp-meetin' when I was dyin' fer it. I've walked round an'
round a old nigger woman's stand twenty times with a dry throat an' my
fingers on a slick dime, an' finally made tracks fer the nighest spring.
I had my eyes opened to stinginess bein' ungodly by noticin' its effect
on pa. He was a natural human bein' till a body tetched his pocket,
an' then he was a rantin' devil. I got to thinkin' I'd be like 'im by
inheritance ef I didn't call a halt, an' I begun tryin' in various ways
to reform. I remember I lent money a little freer than I had, which
wasn't sayin' much, fer thar was a time when I wouldn't 'a' sold a man
a postage-stamp on a credit ef he'd 'a' left it stuck to the back o' my
neck fer security.
“But I 'll tell you how I made my fust great big slide towards
reformation. It tuck my breath away, an' lots o' my money; but I did it
with my eyes open. I was jest a-thinkin' a minute ago that maybe ef I
told you-uns about how little it hurt me to give it up you mought sleep
better to-night over yore own shortage. Alf, are you listenin'?”
“Yes, I heerd what you said,” mumbled Bishop.
Abner cleared his throat, struck at a moth with his paper, and
continued: “Betsy, you remember our cousin, Jimmy Bartow? You never
knowed 'im well, beca'se you an' Alf was livin' on Holly Creek about
that time, an' he was down in our neighborhood. He never was wuth
shucks, but he twisted his mustache an' greased his hair an' got 'im a
wife as easy as fallin' off a log. He got to clerkin' fer old Joe Mason
in his store at the cross-roads, and the sight o' so much change passin'
through his fingers sort o' turned his brain. He tuck to drinking an'
tryin' to dress his wife fine, an' one thing or other, that made
folks talk. He was our double fust cousin, you know, an' we tuck a big
interest in 'im on that account. After a while old Joe begun to miss
little dribs o' cash now an' then, an' begun to keep tab on Jimmy, an'
'fore the young scamp knowed it, he was ketched up with as plain as day.
“Old Joe made a calculation that Jimmy had done 'im, fust and last, to
the tune of about five hundred dollars, an' told Jimmy to set down by
the stove an' wait fer the sheriff.
“Jimmy knowed he could depend on the family pride, an' he sent fer all
the kin fer miles around. It raised a awful rumpus, fer not one o' our
stock an' generation had ever been jailed, an' the last one of us didn't
want it to happen. I reckon we was afeerd ef it once broke out amongst
us it mought become a epidemic. They galloped in on the'r hosses an'
mules, an' huddled around Mason. They closed his doors, back an' front,
an' patted 'im on the back, an' talked about the'r trade an' influence,
an' begged 'im not to prefer charges; but old Joe stood as solid as
a rock. He said a thief was a thief, ef you spelt it back'ards or
for'ards, or ef he was akin to a king or a corn-fiel' nigger. He said
it was, generally, the bigger the station the bigger the thief. Old Joe
jest set at his stove an' chawed tobacco an' spit. Now an' then he'd
stick his hands down in his pockets an' rip out a oath. Then Jimmy's
young wife come with her little teensy baby, an' set down by Jimmy,
skeerd mighty nigh out of 'er life. Looked like the baby was skeerd too,
fer it never cried ur moved. Then the sheriff driv' up in his buggy an'
come in clinkin' a pair o' handcuffs. He seed what they was all up to
an' stood back to see who would win, Jimmy's kin or old Joe. All at once
I tuck notice o' something that made me madder'n a wet hen. They all
knowed I had money laid up, an' they begun to ax old Mason ef I'd put
up the five hundred dollars would he call it off. I was actu'ly so mad
I couldn't speak. Old Joe said he reckoned, seein' that they was all so
turribly set back, that he'd do it ef I was willin'. The Old Nick got
in me then as big as a side of a house, an' I give the layout about
the toughest talk they ever had. It didn't faze 'em much, fer all they
wanted was to git Jimmy free, an' so they tuck another tack. Ef they'd
git up half amongst 'em all, would I throw in t'other half? That, ef
anything, made me madder. I axed 'em what they tuck me fer--did I look
like a durn fool? An' did they think beca'se they was sech fools I was
one?
“Old Tommy Todd, Jimmy's own uncle, was thar, but he never had a word to
say. He jest set an' smoked his pipe an' looked about, but he wouldn't
open his mouth when they'd ax him a question. He was knowed to be sech a
skinflint that nobody seemed to count on his help at all, an' he looked
like he was duly thankful fer his reputation to hide behind in sech a
pressure.
“Then they lit into me, an' showed me up in a light I'd never appeared
in before. They said I was the only man thar without a family to
support, an' the only one thar with ready cash in the bank, an' that
ef I'd let my own double fust cousin be jailed, I was a disgrace to 'em
all. They'd not nod to me in the big road, an' ud use the'r influence
agin my stayin' in the church an' eventually gittin' into the kingdom o'
Heaven. I turned from man to devil right thar. I got up on the head of a
tater-barrel behind the counter, an' made the blamedest speech that ever
rolled from a mouth inspired by iniquity. I picked 'em out one by one
an' tore off their shirts, an' chawed the buttons. The only one I let
escape was old Tommy; he never give me a chance to hit him. Then I
finally come down to the prisoner at the bar an' I larruped him. Ever'
time I'd give a yell, Jimmy ud duck his head, an' his wife ud huddle
closer over the baby like she was afeerd splinters ud git in its eyes. I
made fun of 'em till I jest had to quit. Then they turned the'r backs
on me an' begun to figure on doin' without my aid. It was mortgage
this, an' borrow this, an' sell this hoss or wagon or mule or cow, an' a
turrible wrangle. I seed they was gittin' down to business an' left 'em.
“I noticed old Tommy make his escape, an' go out an' unhitch his hoss,
but he didn't mount. Looked like he 'lowed he was at least entitled to
carryin' the news home, whether he he'ped or not. I went to the spring
at the foot o' the rise an' set down. I didn't feel right. In fact, I
felt meaner than I ever had in all my life, an' couldn't 'a' told
why. Somehow I felt all at once ef they did git Jimmy out o' hock an'
presented 'im to his wife an' baby without me a-chippin' in, I'd never
be able to look at 'em without remorse, an' I did think a lots o' Jimmy's
wife an' baby. I set thar watchin' the store about as sorry as a proud
sperit kin feel after a big rage. Fust I'd hope they'd git up the
required amount, an' then I'd almost hope they wouldn't. Once I actually
riz to go offer my share, but the feer that it ud be refused stopped me.
On the whole, I think I was in the mud about as deep as Jimmy was in the
mire, an' I hadn't tuck nobody's money nuther. All at once I begun to
try to see some way out o' my predicament. They wouldn't let me chip in,
but I wondered ef they'd let me pay it all. I believed they would, an'
I was about to hurry in the store when I was balked by the thought
that folks would say I was a born idiot to be payin' my lazy, triflin'
kinfolks out o' the consequences o' the'r devilment; so I set down agin,
an' had another wrastle. I seed old Tommy standin' by his hoss chawin'
his ridin'-switch an' watchin' the door. All at once he looked mighty
contemptible, an' it struck me that I wasn't actin' one bit better, so I
ris an' plunged fer the door. Old Tommy ketched my arm as I was about to
pass 'im an' said, 'What you goin' to do, Ab?' An' I said, 'Uncle Tommy,
I'm a-goin' to pay that boy out ef they 'll let me.'
“'You don't say,' the old fellow grunted, lookin' mighty funny, an' he
slid in the store after me. Somehow I wasn't afeerd o' nothin' with
or without shape. I felt like I was walkin' on air in the brightest,
saftest sunshine I ever felt. They was all huddled over Mason's desk
still a-figurin' an' a-complainin' at the uneven division. Jimmy
set thar with his head ducked an' his young wife was tryin' to fix
some'n' about the baby. She looked like she'd been cryin.'I got up on my
tater-barrel an' knocked on the wall with a axe-handle to attract the'r
attention. Then I begun. I don't know what I said, or how it sounded,
but I seed Jimmy raise his head an' look, an' his wife push back her
poke-bonnet an' stare like I'd been raised from the grave. Along with my
request to be allowed to foot the whole bill, I said I wanted to do it
beca'se I believed I could show Jimmy an' his wife that I was doin'
it out o' genuine regard fer 'em both, an' that I wanted 'em to take
a hopeful new start an' not be depressed. Well, sir, it was like an
avalanche. I never in all my life seed sech a knocked-out gang. Nobody
wanted to talk. The sheriff looked like he was afeerd his handcuffs ud
jingle, an' Jimmy bu'st out cryin'. His wife sobbed till you could
'a' heerd her to the spring. She sprung up an' fetched me her baby an'
begged me to kiss it. With her big glad eyes, an' the tears in 'em, she
looked nigher an angel than any human bein' I ever looked at. Jimmy went
out the back way wipin' his eyes, an' I went to Mason's desk to write
him a check fer the money. He come to my elbow an' looked troubled.
“'I said it was five hundred dollars,' said he, 'but I was sorter
averagin' the loss. I ain't a-goin' to run no risks in a matter like
this. I'd feel better to call it four hundred. You see, Jimmy's been a
sort o' standby with me, an' has fetched me lots o' trade. Make it four
hundred and I 'll keep 'im. I don't believe he 'll ever git wrong agin.'
“And Jimmy never did. He stayed thar for five yeer on a stretch, an'
was the best clerk in the county. I was paid a thousandfold. I never met
them two in my life that they didn't look jest like they thought I was
all right, an' that made me feel like I was to some extent. Old Tommy,
though, was the funniest thing about it. He bored me mighty nigh to
death. He'd come to my cabin whar I was livin' at the time an' set by my
fire an' smoke an' never say hardly a word. It looked like some 'n' was
on his mind, an' he couldn't git it off. One night when he'd stayed
longer 'n usual, I pinned 'im down an' axed 'im what was the matter. He
got up quick an' said nothin' aileded 'im, but he stopped at the fence
an' called me out. He was as white as a sheet an' quiverin' all over.
Said he: 'I've got to have this over with, Ab. I may as well tell you
an' be done with it. It's been botherin' the life out o' me, an' I 'll
never git rid of it till it's done. I want to pay you half o' that money
you spent on Jimmy. I had the cash that day, an' it 'ain't done me one
bit o' good sence then. I 'll never sleep well till I go you halvers.'
“'I cayn't sell that to you, Uncle Tommy,' I said, laughin'. 'No, siree,
you couldn't chip into that investment ef you doubled yore offer. I've
found out what it is wuth. But,' said I, 'ef you've got two hundred
that's burnin' a hole in yore pocket, ur conscience, an' want to yank it
out, go give it to Jimmy's wife to he'p her educate that baby.'
“It struck 'im betwixt the eyes, but he didn't say yes or no. He slid
away in the moonlight, all bent over an' quiet. I never seed 'im agin
fer a month, an' then I called 'im out of a crowd o' fellers at the
court-house an' axed 'im what he'd done. He looked bothered a little,
but he gave me a straight look like he wasn't ready to sneak out o'
anything.
“'I thought it over,' said he, 'but I railly don't see no reason why I
ort to help Jimmy's child any more 'n a whole passle o' others that have
as much claim on me by blood; but somehow I do feel like goin' cahoot
with you in what's already been done, an' I'm still ready to jine you,
ef you are willin'.'
“I didn't take his money, but it set me to thinkin'. When old Tommy
died, ten years after that, they found he had six wool socks filled with
gold an' silver coin under his house, an' nobody ever heerd o' his doin'
any charity work. I wish now that I'd 'a' lifted that cash an' 'a' put
it whar it would do good. If I had he'd 'a' had a taste o' some 'n' that
never glorified his pallet.”
When Abner concluded, Mrs. Bishop went to the fire and pushed the chunks
together into a heap in the fireplace. Bishop moved in his chair, but he
said nothing.
“I remember heerin' about that, brother Ab,” Mrs. Bishop said, a
reminiscent intonation in her voice. “Some folks wondered powerful over
it. I don't believe money does a body much good jest to hold an' keep.
As the Lord is my judge, I jest wanted that bank deposit fer Alan and
Adele. I wanted it, an' I wanted it bad, but I cayn't believe it was a
sin.”
Something like a groan escaped Bishop's lips as he lowered the front
posts of his chair to the floor.
“What's the use o' talkin' about it?” he said, impatiently. “What's the
use o' anything?”
He rose and moved towards the door leading to his room.
“Alfred,” Mrs. Bishop called to him, “are you goin' to bed without
holdin' prayer?”
“I'm goin' to omit it to-night,” he said. “I don't feel well, one bit.
Besides, I reckon each pusson kin pray in private according to the way
they feel.”
Abner stood up, and removing the lamp-chimney he lighted a candle by the
flame.
“I tried to put a moral lesson in what I said just now,” he smiled,
mechanically, “but I missed fire. Alf's sufferin' is jest unselfishness
puore an' undefiled; he wants to set his children up in the world. This
green globe is a sight better 'n some folks thinks it is. You kin find a
little speck o' goody in mighty nigh ever' chestnut.”
“That's so, brother Ab,” said his sister; “but we are ruined
now--ruined, ruined!”
“Ef you will look at it that way,” admitted Abner, reaching for his
candle; “but thar's a place ahead whar thar never was a bank, or a
dollar, or a railroad, an' it ain't fur ahead, nuther. Some folks say
it begins heer in this life.”