THE RIVALS.
Due to the abundant harvest of that year, and the universal need of
extra labor for a time, Gilbert Potter would have found his burden too
heavy, but for welcome help from an unexpected quarter. On the very
morning that he first thrust his sickle into the ripened wheat, Deb
Smith made her appearance, in a short-armed chemise and skirt of
tow-cloth.
“I knowed ye'd want a hand,” she said, “without sendin' to ask. I'll
reap ag'inst the best man in Chester County, and you won't begrudge me
my bushel o' wheat a day, when the harvest's in.”
With this exordium, and a pull at the black jug under the elder-bushes
in the fence-corner, she took her sickle and bent to work. It was her
boast that she could beat both men and women on their own ground. She
had spun her twenty-four cuts of yarn, in a day, and husked her fifty
shocks of heavy corn. For Gilbert she did her best, amazing him each day
with a fresh performance, and was well worth the additional daily quart
of whiskey which she consumed.
In this pressing, sweltering labor, Gilbert dulled, though he could not
conquer, his unhappy mood. Mary Potter, with a true mother's instinct,
surmised a trouble, but the indications were too indefinite for
conjecture. She could only hope that her son had not been called upon
to suffer a fresh reproach, from the unremoved stain hanging over his
birth.
Miss Betsy Lavender's company at this time was her greatest relief, in
a double sense. No ten persons in Kennett possessed half the amount of
confidences which were intrusted to this single lady; there was that in
her face which said: “I only blab what I choose, and what's locked up,
_is_ locked up.” This was true; she was the greatest distributor of
news, and the closest receptacle of secrets--anomalous as the two
characters may seem--that ever blessed a country community.
Miss Betsy, like Deb Smith, knew that she could be of service on the
Potter farm, and, although her stay was perforce short, on account of an
approaching house-warming near Doe-Run, her willing arms helped to tide
Mary Potter over the heaviest labor of harvest. There were thus hours of
afternoon rest, even in the midst of the busy season, and during one
of these the mother opened her heart in relation to her son's silent,
gloomy moods.
“You'll perhaps say it's all my fancy, Betsy,” she said, “and indeed I
hope it is; but I know you see more than most people, and two heads are
better than one. How does Gilbert seem to you?”
Miss Betsy mused awhile, with an unusual gravity on her long face. “I
dunno,” she remarked, at length; “I've noticed that some men have their
vapors and tantrums, jist as some women have, and Gilbert's of an age
to--well, Mary, has the thought of his marryin' ever come into your
head?”
“No!” exclaimed Mary Potter, with almost a frightened air.
“I'll be bound! Some women are lookin' out for daughter-in-laws before
their sons have a beard, and others think theirs is only fit to wear
short jackets when they ought to be raisin' up families. I dunno but
what it'll be a cross to you, Mary,--you set so much store by Gilbert,
and it's natural, like, that you should want to have him all to
y'rself,--but a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto
his wife,--or somethin' like it. Yes, I say it, although nobody clove
unto me.”
Mary Potter said nothing. Her face grew very pale, and such an
expression of pain came into it that Miss Betsy, who saw everything
without seeming to look at anything, made haste to add a consoling word.
“Indeed, Mary,” she said, “now I come to consider upon it, you won't
have so much of a cross. You a'n't the mother you've showed yourself to
be, if you're not anxious to see Gilbert happy, and as for leavin'
his mother, there'll be no leavin' needful, in his case, but on the
contrary, quite the reverse, namely, a comin' to you. And it's no bad
fortin', though I can't say it of my own experience; but never mind, all
the same, I've seen the likes--to have a brisk, cheerful daughter-in-law
keepin' house, and you a-settin' by the window, knittin' and restin'
from mornin' till night, and maybe little caps and clothes to make, and
lots o' things to teach, that young wives don't know o' theirselves. And
then, after awhile you'll be called 'Granny,' but you won't mind it, for
grandchildren's a mighty comfort, and no responsibility like your own.
Why, I've knowed women that never seen what rest or comfort was, till
they'd got to be grandmothers!”
Something in this homely speech touched Mary Potter's heart, and gave
her the relief of tears. “Betsy,” she said at last, “I have had a heavy
burden to bear, and it has made me weak.”
“Made me weak,” Miss Betsy repeated. “And no wonder. Don't think I can't
guess that, Mary.”
Here two tears trickled down the ridge of her nose, and she furtively
wiped them off while adjusting her high comb. Mary Potter's face was
turned towards her with a wistful, appealing expression, which she
understood.
“Mary,” she said, “I don't measure people with a two-foot rule. I take a
ten-foot pole, and let it cover all that comes under it. Them that does
their dooty to Man, I guess you won't have much trouble in squarin'
accounts with the Lord. You know how I feel towards you without my
tellin' of it, and them that's quick o' the tongue are always full o'
the heart. Now, Mary, I know as plain as if you 'd said it, that there's
somethin' on your mind, and you dunno whether to share it with me
or not. What I say is, don't hurry yourself; I 'd rather show
fellow-feelin' than cur'osity; so, see your way clear first, and when
the tellin' _me_ anything can help, tell it--not before.”
“It wouldn't help now,” Mary Potter responded.
“Wouldn't help now. Then wait awhile. Nothin' 's so dangerous as
speakin' before the time, whomsoever and wheresoever. Folks talk o'
bridlin' the tongue; let 'em git a blind halter, say I, and a curb-bit,
and a martingale! Not that I set an example, Goodness knows, for mine
runs like a mill-clapper, rickety-rick, rickety-rick; but never mind, it
may be fast, but it isn't loose!”
In her own mysterious way, Miss Betsy succeeded in imparting a good
deal of comfort to Mary Potter. She promised “to keep Gilbert under her
eyes,”--which, indeed, she did, quite unconsciously to himself, during
the last two days of her stay. At table she engaged him in conversation,
bringing in references, in the most wonderfully innocent and random
manner, to most of the families in the neighborhood. So skilfully did
she operate that even Mary Potter failed to perceive her strategy. Deb
Smith, sitting bare-armed on the other side of the table, and eating
like six dragoons, was the ostensible target of her speech, and
Gilbert was thus stealthily approached in flank. When she tied her
bonnet-strings to leave, and the mother accompanied her to the gate, she
left this indefinite consolation behind her:
“Keep up your sperrits, Mary. I think I'm on the right scent about
Gilbert, but these young men are shy foxes. Let me alone, awhile yet,
and whatever you do, let _him_ alone. There's no danger--not even a
snarl, I guess. Nothin' to bother your head about. You weren't his
mother. Good lack! if I'm right, you'll see no more o' his tantrums in
two months' time--and so, good-bye to you!”
The oats followed close upon the wheat harvest, and there was no respite
from labor until the last load was hauled into the barn, filling its
ample bays to the very rafters. Then Gilbert, mounted on his favorite
Roger, rode up to Kennett Square one Saturday afternoon, in obedience to
a message from Mr. Alfred Barton, informing him that the other gentlemen
would there meet to consult measures for mutual protection against
highwaymen in general and Sandy Flash in particular. As every young
man in the neighborhood owned his horse and musket, nothing more was
necessary than to adopt a system of action.
The meeting was held in the bar-room of the Unicorn, and as every second
man had his own particular scheme to advocate, it was both long and
noisy. Many thought the action unnecessary, but were willing, for the
sake of the community, to give their services. The simplest plan--to
choose a competent leader, and submit to his management--never occurred
to these free and independent volunteers, until all other means of unity
had failed. Then Alfred Barton, as the originator of the measure,
was chosen, and presented the rude but sufficient plan which had been
suggested to him by Dr. Deane. The men were to meet every Saturday
evening at the Unicorn, and exchange intelligence; but they could be
called together at any time by a summons from Barton. The landlord
of the Unicorn was highly satisfied with this arrangement, but no one
noticed the interest with which the ostler, an Irishman named Dougherty,
listened to the discussion.
Barton's horse was hitched beside Gilbert's, and as the two were
mounting, the former said,--
“If you're going home, Gilbert, why not come down our lane, and go
through by Carson's. We can talk the matter over a little; if there's
any running to do, I depend a good deal on your horse.”
Gilbert saw no reason for declining this invitation, and the two rode
side by side down the lane to the Barton farm-house. The sun was still
an hour high, but a fragrant odor of broiled herring drifted out of the
open kitchen-window. Barton thereupon urged him to stop and take supper,
with a cordiality which we can only explain by hinting at his secret
intention to become the purchaser of Gilbert's horse.
“Old-man Barton” was sitting in his arm-chair by the window, feebly
brandishing his stick at the flies, and watching his daughter Ann, as
she transferred the herrings from the gridiron to a pewter platter.
“Father, this is Gilbert Potter,” said Mr. Alfred, introducing his
guest.
The bent head was lifted with an effort, and the keen eyes were fixed on
the young man, who came forward to take the crooked, half-extended hand.
“What Gilbert Potter?” he croaked.
Mr. Alfred bit his lips, and looked both embarrassed and annoyed. But he
could do no less than say,--
“Mary Potter's son.”
Gilbert straightened himself proudly, as if to face a coming insult.
After a long, steady gaze, the old man gave one of his hieroglyphic
snorts, and then muttered to him self,--“Looks like her.”
During the meal, he was so occupied with the labor of feeding himself,
that he seemed to forget Gilbert's presence. Bending his head sideways,
from time to time, he jerked out a croaking question, which his son,
whatever annoyance he might feel, was forced to answer according to the
old man's humor.
“In at the Doctor's, boy?”
“A few minutes, daddy, before we came together.”
“See her? Was she at home?”
“Yes,” came very shortly from Mr. Alfred's lips; he clenched his fists
under the table-cloth.
“That's right, boy; stick up to her!” and he chuckled and munched
together in a way which it made Gilbert sick to hear. The tail of the
lean herring on his plate remained untasted; he swallowed the thin tea
which Miss Ann poured out, and the heavy “half-Indian” bread with a
choking sensation. He had but one desire,--to get away from the room,
out of human sight and hearing.
Barton, ill at ease, and avoiding Gilbert's eye, accompanied him to the
lane. He felt that the old man's garrulity ought to be explained, but
knew not what to say. Gilbert spared him the trouble--
“When are we to wish you joy, Barton?” he asked, in a cold, hard voice.
Barton laughed in a forced way, clutched at his tawny whisker, and with
something like a flush on his heavy face, answered in what was meant to
be an indifferent tone:
“Oh, it's a joke of the old man's--don't mean anything.”
“It seems to be a joke of the whole neighborhood, then; I have heard it
from others.”
“Have you?” Barton eagerly asked. “Do people talk about it much? What do
they say?”
This exhibition of vulgar vanity, as he considered it, was so repulsive
to Gilbert, in his desperate, excited condition, that for a moment he
did not trust himself to speak. Holding the bridle of his horse, he
walked mechanically down the slope, Barton following him.
Suddenly he stopped, faced the latter, and said, in a stern voice: “I
must know, first, whether you are betrothed to Martha Deane.”
His manner was so unexpectedly solemn and peremptory that Barton,
startled from his self-possession, stammered,--
“N-no: that is, not yet.”
Another pause. Barton, curious to know how far gossip had already gone,
repeated the question:
“Well, what do people say?”
“Some, that you and she will be married,” Gilbert answered, speaking
slowly and with difficulty, “and some that you won't. Which are right?”
“Damme, if _I_ know!” Barton exclaimed, returning to his customary
swagger. It was quite enough that the matter was generally talked about,
and he had said nothing to settle it, in either way. But his manner,
more than his words, convinced Gilbert that there was no betrothal as
yet, and that the vanity of being regarded as the successful suitor of a
lovely girl had a more prominent place than love, in his rival's heart.
By so much was his torture lightened, and the passion of the moment
subsided, after having so nearly betrayed itself.
“I say, Gilbert,” Barton presently remarked, walking on towards the bars
which led into the meadow-field; “it's time you were looking around in
that way, hey?”
“It will be time enough when I am out of debt.”
“But you ought, now, to have a wife in your house.”
“I have a mother, Barton.”
“That's true, Gilbert. Just as I have a father. The old man's queer, as
you saw--kept me out of marrying; when I was young, and now drives me to
it. I might ha' had children grown”--
He paused, laying his hand on the young man's shoulder. Gilbert fancied
that he saw on Barton's coarse, dull face the fleeting stamp of some
long-buried regret, and a little of the recent bitterness died out of
his heart.
“Good-bye!” he said, offering his hand with greater ease than he would
have thought possible, fifteen minutes sooner.
“Good-bye, Gilbert! Take care of Roger. Sandy Flash has a fine piece of
horse-flesh, but you beat him once--Damnation! You _could_ beat him, I
mean. If he comes within ten miles of us, I'll have the summonses out in
no time.”
Gilbert cantered lightly down the meadow. The soft breath of the summer
evening fanned his face, and something of the peace expressed in the
rich repose of the landscape fell upon his heart. But peace, he felt,
could only come to him through love. The shame upon his name--the slow
result of labor--even the painful store of memories which the years had
crowded in his brain--might all be lightly borne, or forgotten, could
his arms once clasp the now uncertain treasure. A tender mist came over
his deep, dark eyes, a passionate longing breathed in his softened lips,
and he said to himself,--
“I would lie down and die at her feet, if that could make her happy; but
how to live, and live without her?” This was a darkness which his mind
refused to entertain. Love sees no justice on Earth or in Heaven, that
includes not its own fulfilled desire.
Before reaching home, he tried to review the situation calmly. Barton's
true relation to Martha Deane he partially suspected, so far as regarded
the former's vanity and his slavish subservience to his father's will;
but he was equally avaricious, and it was well known in Kennett that
Martha possessed, or would possess, a handsome property in her own
right. Gilbert, therefore, saw every reason to believe that Barton was
an actual, if not a very passionate wooer.
That fact, however, was in itself of no great importance, unless Dr.
Deane favored the suit. The result depended on Martha herself; she was
called an “independent girl,” which she certainly was, by contrast with
other girls of the same age. It was this free, firm, independent, yet
wholly womanly spirit which Gilbert honored in her, and which (unless
her father's influence were too powerful) would yet save her to him, if
she but loved him. Then he felt that his nervous, inflammable fear of
Barton was incompatible with true honor for her, with trust in her pure
and lofty nature. If she were so easily swayed, how could she stand
the test which he was still resolved--nay, forced by circumstances--to
apply?
With something like shame of his past excitement, yet with strength
which had grown out of it, his reflections were terminated by Roger
stopping at the barn-yard gate.