GILBERT INDEPENDENT.
Gilbert Potter felt such an implicit trust in Sandy Flash's promise of
restitution, that, before leaving Chester, he announced the forthcoming
payment of the mortgage to its holder. His homeward ride was like a
triumphal march, to which his heart beat the music. The chill March
winds turned into May-breezes as they touched him; the brown meadows
were quick with ambushed bloom. Within three or four months his life had
touched such extremes of experience, that the fate yet to come seemed to
evolve itself speedily and naturally from that which was over and
gone. Only one obstacle yet remained in his path,--his mother's secret.
Towards that he was powerless; to meet all others he was brimming with
strength and courage.
Mary Potter recognized, even more keenly and with profounder faith than
her son, the guidance of some inscrutable Power. She did not dare to
express so uncertain a hope, but something in her heart whispered that
the day of her own deliverance was not far off, and she took strength
from it.
It was nearly a week before Deb. Smith made her appearance. Gilbert,
in the mean time, had visited her cabin on the Woodrow farm, to find it
deserted, and he was burning with impatience to secure, through her,
the restoration of his independence. He would not announce his changed
prospects, even to Martha Deane, until they were put beyond further
risk. The money once in his hands, he determined to carry it to Chester
without loss of time.
When Deb. arrived, she had a weary, hunted look, but she was unusually
grave and silent, and avoided further reference to the late tragical
episode in her life. Nevertheless, Gilbert led her aside and narrated
to her the particulars of his interview with Sandy Flash. Perhaps he
softened, with pardonable equivocation, the latter's words in regard
to her; perhaps he conveyed a sense of forgiveness which had not been
expressed; for Deb. more than once drew the corners of her hard palms
across her eyes. When he gave the marks by which she was to recognize a
certain spot, she exclaimed,--
“It was hid the night I dreamt of him! I knowed he must ha' been nigh,
by that token. O, Mr. Gilbert, he said true! I know the place; it's not
so far away; this very night you'll have y'r money back!”
After it was dark she set out, with a spade upon her shoulder,
forbidding him to follow, or even to look after her. Both mother and
son were too excited to sleep. They sat by the kitchen-fire, with one
absorbing thought in their minds, and speech presently became easier
than silence.
“Mother,” said Gilbert, “when--I mean _if_--she brings the money, all
that has happened will have been for good. It has proved to us that we
have true friends (and I count my Roger among them), and I think that
our independence will be worth all the more, since we came so nigh
losing it again.”
“Ay, my boy,” she replied; “I was over-hasty, and have been lessoned.
When I bend my mind to submit, I make more headway than when I try to
take the Lord's work into my own hands. I'm fearsome still, but it seems
there's a light coming from somewhere,--I don't know where.”
“Do you feel that way, mother?” he exclaimed. “Do you think--let me
mention it this once!--that the day is near when you will be free to
speak? Will there be anything more you can tell me, when we stand free
upon our own property?”
Mary Potter looked upon his bright, wistful, anxious face, and
sighed. “I can't tell--I can't tell,” she said. “Ah, my boy, you would
understand it, if I dared say one thing, but that might lead you to
guess what mustn't be told; and I will be faithful to the spirit as
well as the letter. It must come soon, but nothing you or I can do would
hasten it a minute.”
“One word more, mother,” he persisted, “will our independence be no help
to you?”
“A great help,” she answered, “or, maybe, a great comfort would be the
true word. Without it, I might be tempted to--but see, Gilbert, how can
I talk? Everything you say pulls at the one thing that cuts my mouth
like a knife, because it's shut tight on it! And the more because I
owe it to you,--because I'm held back from my duty to my child,--maybe,
every day putting a fresh sorrow into his heart! Oh, it's not easy,
Gilbert; it don't grow lighter from use, only my faith is the stronger
and surer, and that helps me to bear it.”
“Mother, I meant never to have spoken of this again,” he said. “But
you're mistaken; it is no sorrow; I never knew what it was to have a
light heart, until you told me your trouble, and the question came to
my mouth to-night because I shall soon feel strong in my own right as
a man, and able to do more than you might guess. If, as you say, no man
can help you, I will wait and be patient with you.”
“That's all we can do now, my child. I wasn't reproaching you for
speaking, for you've held your peace a long while, when I know you've
been fretting; but this isn't one of the troubles that's lightened by
speech, because all talking must go around the outside, and never touch
the thing itself.”
“I understand,” he said, and gazed for a long time into the fire,
without speaking.
Mary Potter watched his face, in the wavering light of the flame. She
marked the growing decision of the features, the forward, fearless
glance of the large, deep-set eye, the fuller firmness and sweetness of
the mouth, and the general expression, not only of self-reliance, but of
authority, which was spread over the entire countenance. Both her pride
in her son, and her respect for him, increased as she gazed. Heretofore,
she had rather considered her secret as her own property, her right to
which he should not question; but now it seemed as if she were forced
to withhold something that of right belonged to him. Yet no thought that
the mysterious obligation might be broken ever entered her mind.
Gilbert was thinking of Martha Deane. He had passed that first timidity
of love which shrinks from the knowledge of others, and longed to tell
his mother what noble fidelity and courage Martha had exhibited. Only
the recollection of the fearful swoon into which she had fallen bound
his tongue; he felt that the first return to the subject must come from
her. She lay back in her chair and seemed to sleep; he rose from time
to time, went out into the lane and listened,--and so the hours passed
away.
Towards midnight a heavy step was heard, and Deb. Smith, hot, panting,
her arms daubed with earth, and a wild light in her eyes, entered the
kitchen. With one hand she grasped the ends of her strong tow-linen
apron, with the other she still shouldered the spade. She knelt upon the
floor between the two, set the apron in the light of the fire, unrolled
the end of a leathern saddle-bag, and disclosed the recovered treasure.
“See if it's all right!” she said.
Mary Potter and Gilbert bent over the rolls and counted them. It was the
entire sum, untouched.
“Have you got a sup o' whiskey, Mr. Gilbert?” Deb. Smith asked. “Ugh!
I'm hot and out o' breath, and yet I feel mortal cold. There was a
screech-owl hootin' in the cedar; and I dunno how't is, but there always
seems to be things around, where money's buried. You can't see 'em, but
you hear 'em. I thought I'd ha' dropped when I turned up the sassyfrack
bush, and got hold on it; and all the way back I feared a big arm'd come
out o' every fence-corner, and snatch it from me!” [Footnote: It does
not seem to have been generally known in the neighborhood that the money
was unearthed. A tradition of that and other treasure buried by Sandy
Flash, is still kept alive; and during the past ten years two midnight
attempts have been made to find it, within a hundred yards of the spot
indicated in the narrative.]
Mary Potter set the kettle on the fire, and Deb. Smith was soon
refreshed with a glass of hot grog. Then she lighted her pipe and
watched the two as they made preparations for the journey to Chester
on the morrow, now and then nodding her head with an expression which
chased away the haggard sorrow from her features.
This time the journey was performed without incident. The road was safe,
the skies were propitious, and Gilbert Potter returned from Chester an
independent man, with the redeemed mortgage in his pocket. His first
care was to assure his mother of the joyous fact; his next to seek
Martha Deane, and consult with her about their brightening future.
On the way to Kennett Square, he fell in with Mark, who was radiant with
the promise of Richard Rudd's new house, secured to him by the shrewd
assistance of Miss Betsy Lavender.
“I tell you what it is, Gilbert,” said he; “don't you think I might
as well speak to Daddy Fairthorn about Sally? I'm gettin' into good
business now, and I guess th' old folks might spare her pretty soon.”
“The sooner, Mark, the better for you; and you can buy the wedding-suit
at once, for I have your hundred dollars ready.”
“You don't mean that you wont use it, Gilbert?”
Who so delighted as Mark, when he heard Gilbert's unexpected story? “Oh,
glory!” he exclaimed; “the tide's turnin', old fellow! What'll you bet
you're not married before I am? It's got all over the country that you
and Martha are engaged, and that the Doctor's full o' gall and wormwood
about it; I hear it wherever I go, and there's more for you than there
is against you, I tell you that!”
The fact was as Mark had stated. No one was positively known to have
spread the rumor, but it was afloat and generally believed. The result
was to invest Gilbert with a fresh interest. His courage in confronting
Sandy Flash, his robbery, his wonderful preservation from death, and his
singular connection, through Deb. Smith, with Sandy Flash's capture, had
thrown a romantic halo around his name, which was now softly brightened
by the report of his love. The stain of his birth and the uncertainty of
his parentage did not lessen this interest, but rather increased it; and
as any man who is much talked about in a country community will speedily
find two parties created, one enthusiastically admiring, the other
contemptuously depreciating him, so now it happened in this case.
The admirers, however, were in a large majority, and they possessed a
great advantage over the detractors, being supported by a multitude
of facts, while the latter were unable to point to any act of Gilbert
Potter's life that was not upright and honorable. Even his love of
Martha Deane was shorn of its presumption by her reciprocal affection.
The rumor that she had openly defied her father's will created great
sympathy, for herself and for Gilbert, among the young people of both
sexes,--a sympathy which frequently was made manifest to Dr. Deane,
and annoyed him not a little. His stubborn opposition to his daughter's
attachment increased, in proportion as his power to prevent it
diminished.
We may therefore conceive his sensations when Gilbert Potter himself
boldly entered his presence. The latter, after Mark's description, very
imperfect though it was, of Martha's courageous assertion of the rights
of her heart, had swiftly made up his mind to stand beside her in the
struggle, with equal firmness and equal pride. He would openly seek an
interview with her, and if he should find her father at home, as was
probable at that hour, would frankly and respectfully acknowledge his
love, and defend it against any attack.
On entering the room, he quietly stepped forward with extended hand, and
saluted the Doctor, who was so taken by surprise that he mechanically
answered the greeting before he could reflect what manner to adopt
towards the unwelcome visitor.
“What might be thy business with me?” he asked, stiffly, recovering from
the first shock.
“I called to see Martha,” Gilbert answered. “I have some news which she
will be glad to hear.”
“Young man,” said the Doctor, with his sternest face and voice, “I may
as well come to the point with thee, at once. If thee had had decency
enough to apply to me before speaking thy mind to Martha, it would have
saved us all a great deal of trouble. I could have told thee then, as I
tell thee now, that I will never consent to her marriage with thee.
Thee must give up all thought of such a thing.”
“I will do so,” Gilbert replied, “when Martha tells me with her own
mouth that such is her will. I am not one of the men who manage their
hearts according to circumstances. I wish, indeed, I were more worthy of
Martha; but I am trying to deserve her, and I know no better way than to
be faithful as she is faithful. I mean no disrespect to you, Dr. Deane.
You are her father; you have every right to care for her happiness, and
I will admit that you honestly think I am not the man who could make her
happy. All I ask is, that you should wait a little and know me better.
Martha and I have both decided that we must wait, and there is time
enough for you to watch my conduct, examine my character, and perhaps
come to a more favorable judgment of me.”
Dr. Deane saw that it would be harder to deal with Gilbert Potter
than he had imagined. The young man stood before him so honestly and
fearlessly, meeting his angry gaze with such calm, frank eyes, and
braving his despotic will with such a modest, respectful opposal, that
he was forced to withdraw from his haughty position, and to set forth
the same reasons which he had presented to his daughter.
“I see,” he said, with a tone slightly less arrogant, “that thee
is sensible, in some respects, and therefore I put the case to thy
understanding. It's too plain to be argued. Martha is a rich bait for a
poor man, and perhaps I oughtn't to wonder--knowing the heart of man
as I do--that thee was tempted to turn her head to favor thee; but the
money is not yet hers, and I, as her father, can never allow that thy
poverty shall stand for three years between her and some honorable man
to whom her money would be no temptation! Why, if all I hear be true,
thee hasn't even any certain roof to shelter a wife; thy property, such
as it is, may be taken out of thy hands!”
Gilbert could not calmly hear these insinuations. All his independent
pride of character was aroused; a dark flush came into his face, the
blood was pulsing hotly through his veins, and indignant speech was
rising to his lips, when the inner door unexpectedly opened, and Martha
entered the room.
She instantly guessed what was taking place, and summoned up all her
self-possession, to stand by Gilbert, without increasing her father's
exasperation. To the former, her apparition was like oil on troubled
waters. His quick blood struck into warm channels of joy, as he met her
glowing eyes, and felt the throb of her soft, elastic palm against his
own. Dr. Deane set his teeth, drew up his under lip, and handled his
cane with restless fingers.
“Father,” said Martha, “if you are talking of me, it is better that
I should be present. I am sure there is nothing that either thee or
Gilbert would wish to conceal from me.”
“No, Martha!” Gilbert exclaimed; “I came to bring you good news. The
mortgage on my farm is lifted, and I am an independent man!”
“Without my help! Does thee hear that, father?”
Gilbert did not understand her remark; without heeding it, he
continued,--
“Sandy Flash, after his sentence, sent for me and told me where the
money he took from me was to be found. I carried it to Chester, and have
paid off all my remaining debt. Martha, your father has just charged me
with being tempted by your property. I say to you, in his presence,
put it beyond my reach,--give it away, forfeit the conditions of the
legacy,--let me show truly whether I ever thought of money in seeking
you!”
“Gilbert,” she said, gently, “father doesn't yet know you as I do.
Others will no doubt say the same thing, and we must both make up our
minds to have it said; yet I cannot, for that, relinquish what is mine
of right. We are not called upon to sacrifice to the mistaken opinions
of men; your life and mine will show, and manifest to others in time,
whether it is a selfish tie that binds us together.”
“Martha!” Dr. Deane exclaimed, feeling that he should lose ground,
unless this turn of the conversation were interrupted; “thee compels me
to show thee how impossible the thing is, even if this man were of the
richest. Admitting that he is able to support a family, admitting that
thee waits three years, comes into thy property, and is still of a
mind to marry him against my will, can thee forget--or has he so little
consideration for thee as to forget--that he bears his mother's name?”
“Father!”
“Let me speak, Martha,” said Gilbert, lifting his head, which had
drooped for a moment. His voice was earnest and sorrowful, yet firm.
“It is true that I bear my mother's name. It is the name of a good, an
honest, an honorable, and a God-fearing woman. I wish I could be certain
that the name which legally belongs to me will be as honorable and as
welcome. But Martha knows, and you, her father, have a right to know,
that I shall have another. I have not been inconsiderate. I trampled
down my love for her, as long as I believed it would bring disgrace. I
will not say that now, knowing her as I do, I could ever give her up,
even if the disgrace was not removed,”--
“Thank you, Gilbert!” Martha interrupted.
“But there is none, Dr. Deane,” he continued, “and when the time comes,
my birth will be shown to be as honorable as your own, or Mark's.”
Dr. Deane was strangely excited at these words. His face colored, and
he darted a piercing, suspicious glance at Gilbert. The latter, however,
stood quietly before him, too possessed by what he had said to notice
the Doctor's peculiar expression; but it returned to his memory
afterwards.
“Why,” the Doctor at last stammered, “I never heard of this before!”
“No,” Gilbert answered, “and I must ask of you not to mention it
further, at present. I must beg you to be patient until my mother is
able to declare the truth.”
“What keeps her from it?”
“I don't know,” Gilbert sadly replied.
“Come!” cried the Doctor, as sternly as ever, “this is rather a likely
story! If Potter isn't thy name, what is?”
“I don't know,” Gilbert repeated.
“No; nor no one else! How dare thee address my daughter,--talk of
marriage with her,--when thee don't know thy real name? What name would
thee offer to her in exchange for her own? Young man, I don't believe
thee!”
“I do,” said Martha, rising and moving to Gilbert's side.
“Martha, go to thy room!” the Doctor cried. “And as for thee, Gilbert
Potter, or Gilbert Anything, I tell thee, once and for all, never speak
of this thing again,--at least, until thee can show a legal name and an
honorable birth! Thee has not prejudiced me in thy favor by thy
devices, and it stands to reason that I should forbid thee to see my
daughter,--to enter my doors!”
“Dr. Deane,” said Gilbert, with sad yet inflexible dignity, “it is
impossible, after what you have said, that I should seek to enter your
door, until my words are proved true, and I am justified in your eyes.
The day may come sooner than you think. But I will do nothing secretly;
I won't promise anything to you that I can't promise to myself; and so I
tell you, honestly and above-board, that while I shall not ask Martha
to share my life until I can offer her my true name, I must see her from
time to time. I'm not fairly called upon to give up that.”
“No, Gilbert,” said Martha, who had not yet moved from her place by his
side, “it is as necessary to my happiness as to yours. I will not ask
you to come here again; you cannot, and must not, even for my sake; but
when I need your counsel and your sympathy, and there is no other way
left, I will go to you.”
“Martha!” Dr. Deane exclaimed; but the word conveys no idea of his wrath
and amazement.
“Father,” she said, “this is thy house, and it is for thee to direct,
here. Within its walls, I will conduct myself according to thy wishes; I
will receive no guest whom thee forbids, and will even respect thy views
in regard to my intercourse with our friends; but unless thee wants
to deprive me of all liberty, and set aside every right of mine as an
accountable being, thee must allow me sometimes to do what both my heart
and my conscience command!”
“Is it a woman's place,” he angrily asked, “to visit a man?”
“When the two have need of each other, and God has joined their hearts
in love and in truth, and the man is held back from reaching the woman,
then it is her place to go to him!”
Never before had Dr. Deane beheld upon his daughter's sweet, gentle face
such an expression of lofty spiritual authority. While her determination
really outraged his conventional nature, he felt that it came from a
higher source than his prohibition. He knew that nothing which he could
urge at that moment would have the slightest weight in her mind, and
moreover, that the liberal, independent customs of the neighborhood,
as well as the respect of his sect for professed spiritual guidance,
withheld him from any harsh attempt at coercion. He was powerless, but
still inflexible.
As for Martha, what she had said was simply included in what she was
resolved to do; the greater embraced the less. It was a defiance of her
father's authority, very painful from the necessity of its assertion,
but rendered inevitable by his course. She knew with what tenacity he
would seize and hold every inch of relinquished ground; she felt, as
keenly as Gilbert himself, the implied insult which he could not resent;
and her pride, her sense of justice, and the strong fidelity of her
woman's heart, alike impelled her to stand firm.
“Good-bye, Martha!” Gilbert said, taking her hand “I must wait.”
“We wait together, Gilbert!”