THE HA'NT GROWS MYSTERIOUS
I waked early and hurried through with my dressing, eager to get down
stairs and report my last night's finding in regard to Mose. My first
impulse had been to rouse the house, but on soberer second thoughts I
had decided to wait till morning. I was glad now that I had; for with
the sunlight streaming in through the eastern windows, with the fresh
breeze bringing the sound of twittering birds, life seemed a more
cheerful affair than it had the night before, and the whole aspect of
the ha'nt took on a distinctly humorous tone.
A ghost who wafted roast chickens through the air and out of doors on a
breeze of its own constructing, appealed to me as having an original
mind. Since my midnight discovery I felt pretty certain that I could
identify the ghost; and as I recalled the masterly way in which Mose
had led and directed the hunt, I decided that he was cleverer than Rad
had given him credit for. I went down stairs with my eyes and ears wide
open prepared for further revelations. The problems of my profession had
never led me into any consideration of the supernatural, and the rather
evanescent business of hunting down a ha'nt came as a welcome contrast
to the very material details of my recent forgery case. I had found what
Terry would call a counter-irritant.
It was still early, and neither the Colonel nor Radnor had appeared; but
Solomon was sweeping off the portico steps and I addressed myself to
him. He was rather coy at first about discussing the matter of the
ha'nt, as he scented my scepticism, but in the end he volunteered:
"Some says de ha'nt's a woman dat one o' de Gaylords long time ago,
should o' married an' didn't, an' dat pined away an' died. An' some says
it's a black man one o' dem whupped to deaf."
"Which do you think it is?" I inquired.
"Bress yuh, Marse Arnold, I ain't thinkin' nuffen. Like es not hit's
bofe. When one sperrit gits oneasy 'pears like he stir up all de odders.
Dey gets so lonely like lyin' all by dereselves in de grave dat dey're
'most crazy for company. An' when dey cayn't get each odder dey'll take
humans. De human what's consorted wid a gohs, Marse Arnold, he's nebber
hisself no moah. He's sort uh half-minded like Mose."
"Is that what's the matter with Mose?" I pursued tentatively. "Does he
consort with ghosts?"
"Mose was bawn dat way, but I reckon maybe dat was what was de matter
wid his mudder, an' he cotched it."
"That was rather an unusual thing, last night, wasn't it, for a ha'nt to
steal a chicken?"
"'Pears like ha'nts must have dere jokes like odder folkses," was as far
as Solomon would go.
At breakfast I repeated what I had seen the night before, and to my
indignation both Radnor and my uncle took it calmly.
"Mose is only a poor half witted fellow but he's as honest as the day,"
the Colonel declared, "and I won't have him turned into a villain for
your entertainment."
"He may be honest," I persisted, "but just the same he knows what became
of that chicken! And what's more, if you look about the house you'll
find there's something else missing."
The Colonel laughed good-naturedly.
"If it raises your suspicions to have Mose prowling around in the night,
you'll have to get used to suspicions; for you'll have 'em during the
rest of your stay. I've known Mose to stop out in the woods for three
nights running--he's as much an animal as he is a man; but he's a tame
animal, and you needn't be afraid of him. If you'd followed him and his
bundle last night I reckon you'd have made a mighty queer discovery. He
has his own little amusements and they aren't exactly ours, but since he
doesn't hurt anybody what's the use in bothering? I've known Mose for
well on to thirty years, and I've never yet known him to do a meanness
to any human being. There aren't many white folks I can say the same
of."
I did not pursue the subject with the Colonel, but I later suggested to
Rad that we continue our investigation. He echoed his father's laugh. If
we set out to investigate all the imaginings that came into the niggers'
heads we should have our hands full, was his reply. I dropped the matter
for the time being, but I was none the less convinced that Mose and the
ghost were near relations; and I determined to keep an eye on him in the
future, at least in so far as one could keep an eye on so slippery an
individual.
In pursuance of this design, I took the opportunity that first morning,
while Rad and his father were engaged with the veterinary surgeon who
had come to doctor a sick colt, of strolling in the direction of the
deserted cabins.
It was a damp malarious looking spot, though I dare say in the old days
when the land was drained, it had been healthy enough. Just below the
cabins lay the largest of the four pools which gave the plantation its
name. The other three lying in the pastures higher up were used for
watering the stock and were kept clean and free from plant growth. But
the lower pool, abandoned like the cabins, had been allowed to overflow
its banks until it was completely surrounded with rushes and lily pads.
A rank growth of willow trees hung over the water and shut out all but
the merest glint of sunlight.
Above this pool the cabins stretched in a double row occupying the base
of the declivity on which the "big house" stood. There were as many as a
dozen, I should think, built of logs and unpainted shack, consisting for
the most part of a single large room, though a few had a loft above and
a rough lean-to in the rear. A walk bordered by laurels stretched down
the center between the two rows, and as the trees had not been clipped
for a good many years, the shade was somewhat sombre. Add to this the
fact that one or two of the roofs had fallen in, that the hinges were
missing from several doors, that there was not a whole pane of glass in
all the dozen cabins, and it will readily be seen that the place gave
rise to no very cheerful fancies. I wondered that the Colonel did not
have the houses pulled down; they were not a souvenir of past times
which I myself should have cared to preserve.
The damp earth where the shade was thickest, plainly showed the marks of
foot-prints--some made by bare feet, some by shoes--but I could not
follow them for more than a yard or so, and I could not be certain they
were not our own traces of the night before. I poked into every one of
the cabins, but found nothing suspicious about their appearance. I did
not, to be sure, ascend to any of the half dozen lofts, as there were no
stairs and no suggestion of a ladder anywhere about. The open traps
however which led to them were so thickly festooned with spider webs and
dirt, that it did not seem possible that anyone had passed through for a
dozen years. Finding no sign of habitation, either human or spiritual, I
finally turned back to the house with a philosophic shrug and the
reflection that Cat-Eye Mose's nocturnal vagaries were no affair of
mine.
During the next few days we in the front part of the house heard only
faint echoes of the excitement, though I believe that the ha'nt, both
past and present, was the chief topic of conversation among the negroes,
not only at Four-Pools but among the neighboring plantations as well. I
spent my time those first few days in getting acquainted with my new
surroundings. The chief business of the farm was horse raising, and the
Colonel kept a well stocked stable. A riding horse was put at my
disposal, and in company with Radnor I explored the greater part of the
valley.
We visited at a number of houses in the neighborhood, but there was one
in particular where we stopped most frequently, and it did not take me
long to discover the reason. "Mathers Hall", an ivy-covered rambling
structure, red brick with white trimmings--in style half colonial, half
old English--was situated a mile or so from Four-Pools. The Hall had
sheltered three generations of Matherses, and the fourth generation was
growing up. There was a huge family, mostly girls, who had married and
moved away to Washington or Richmond or Baltimore. They all came back in
the summer however bringing their babies with them, and the place was
the center of gaiety in the neighborhood. There was just one unmarried
daughter left--Polly, nineteen years old, and the most heartlessly
charming young person it has ever been my misfortune to meet. As is
likely to be the case with the baby of a large family, Polly was
thoroughly spoiled, but that fact did not in the least diminish her
charm.
Report had it, at the time of my arrival, that after refusing every
marriageable man in the county, she was now trying to make up her mind
between Jim Mattison and Radnor. Whether or not these statistics were
exaggerated, I cannot say, but in any case the many other aspirants for
her favor had tacitly dropped out of the running, and the race was
clearly between the two.
It seemed to me, had I been Polly, that it would not take me long to
decide. Rad was as likable a young fellow as one would ever meet; he
came from one of the best families in the county, with the prospect of
inheriting at his father's death a very fair sized fortune. It struck me
that a girl would have to search a good while before discovering an
equally desirable husband. But I was surprised to find that this was not
the general opinion in the neighborhood. Radnor's reputation, I learned
with something of a shock, was far from what it should have been. I was
told with a meaning undertone that he "favored" his brother Jeff. Though
many of the stories were doubtless exaggerated, I learned subsequently
that there was too much truth in some of them. It was openly said that
Polly Mathers would be doing a great deal better if she chose young
Mattison, for though he might not have the prospect of as much money as
Radnor Gaylord, he was infinitely the steadier of the two. Mattison was
a good-looking and rather ill-natured young giant, but it did not strike
me at the time, nor later in the light of succeeding events, that he was
particularly endowed with brains. By way of occupation, he was described
as being in "politics"; at that time he was sheriff of the county, and
was fully aware of the importance of the office.
I fear that Polly had a good deal of the coquette in her make-up, and
she thoroughly enjoyed the jealousy between the two young men. Whenever
Radnor by any chance incurred her displeasure, she retaliated by
transferring her smiles to Mattison; and the virtuous young sheriff took
good care that if Rad committed any slips, Polly should hear of them. As
a result, they succeeded in keeping his temper in a very inflammable
state.
I had not been long at Four-Pools before I commenced to see that there
was an undercurrent to the life of the household which I had not at
first suspected. The Colonel had grown strict as he grew old; his
experience with his elder son had made him bitter, and he did not adopt
the most diplomatic way of dealing with Radnor. The boy had inherited a
good share of his father's stubborn temper and indomitable will; the
two, living alone, inevitably clashed. Radnor at times seemed possessed
of the very devil of perversity; and if he ever drank or gambled, it
was as much to assert his independence as for any other reason. There
were days when he and his father were barely on speaking terms.
Life at the plantation, however, was for the most part easy-going and
flexible, as is likely to be the case in a bachelor establishment. We
dropped cigar ashes anywhere we pleased, cocked our feet on the parlor
table if we saw fit, and let the dogs troop all over the place. I spent
the greater part of my time on horseback, riding about the country with
Radnor on business for the farm. He, I soon discovered, did most of the
actual work, though his father was still the nominal head of affairs.
The raising of thorough-breds is no longer the lucrative business that
it used to be, and it required a good manager to bring the balance out
on the right side of the ledger. Rad was such a spectacular looking
young fellow that I was really surprised to find what sound business
judgment he possessed. He insisted upon introducing modern methods where
his father would have been content to drift along in the casual manner
of the old South, and his clear-sightedness more than doubled the
income of the place.
In the healthy out-of-door life I soon forgot that nerves existed. The
only thing which at all marred the enjoyment of those first few days was
the knowledge of occasional clashings between Radnor and his father. I
think that they were both rather ashamed of these outbreaks, and I
noticed that they tried to conceal the fact from me by an elaborate if
somewhat stiff courtesy toward each other.
In order to make clear the puzzling series of events which followed, I
must go back to, I believe, the fifth night of my arrival. Radnor was
giving a dance at Four-Pools for the purpose, he said, of introducing me
into society; though as a matter of fact Polly Mathers was the guest of
honor. In any case the party was given, and everyone in the neighborhood
(the term "neighborhood" is broad in Virginia; it describes a ten mile
radius) both young and old came in carriages or on horseback; the
younger ones to dance half the night, the older ones to play cards and
look on. I met a great many pretty girls that evening--the South
deserves its reputation--but Polly Mathers was by far the prettiest; and
the contest for her favors between Radnor and young Mattison was
spirited and open. Had Rad consulted his private wishes, the sheriff
would not have been among the guests.
It was getting on toward the end of the evening and the musicians, a
band of negro fiddlers made up from the different plantations, were
resting after a Virginia reel that had been more a romp than a dance,
when someone--I think it was Polly herself--suggested that the company
adjourn to the laurel walk to see if the ha'nt were visible. The story
of old Aunt Sukie's convulsions and of the spirited roast chicken had
spread through the countryside, and there had been a good many laughing
allusions to it during the evening. Running upstairs in search of a hat
I met Rad on the landing, buttoning something white inside his coat,
something that to my eyes looked suspiciously like a sheet. He laughed
and put his finger on his lips as he went on down to join the others.
It was a bright moonlight night almost as light as day. We moved across
the open lawn in a fairly compact body. The girls, though they had been
laughing all the evening at the exploits of the ha'nt, showed a cautious
tendency to keep on the inside. Rad was in the front ranks leading the
hunt, but I noticed as we entered the shrubbery that he disappeared
among the shadows, and I for one was fairly certain that our search
would be rewarded. We paused in a group at the nearer end of the row of
cabins and stood waiting for the ha'nt to show himself. He was obliging.
Four or five minutes, and a faint flutter of white appeared in the
distance at the farther end of the laurel walk. Then as we stood with
expectant eyes fixed on the spot, we saw a tall white figure sway across
a patch of moonlight with a beckoning gesture in our direction, while
the breeze bore a faintly whispered, "Come! Come!" We were none of us
overbold; our faith was not strong enough to run the risk of spoiling
the illusion. With shrieks and laughter we turned and made
helter-skelter for the house, breaking in among the elder members of
the party with the panting announcement, "We've seen the ha'nt!"
Polly loitered on the veranda while supper was being served, waiting, I
suspect for Radnor to reappear. I joined her, very willing indeed that
the young man should delay. Polly, her white dress gleaming in the
moonlight, her eyes filled with laughter, her cheeks glowing with
excitement, was the most entrancing little creature I have ever seen.
She was so bubbling over with youth and light-heartedness that I felt,
in contrast, as if I were already tottering on the brink of the grave. I
was just thirty that summer, but if I live to be a hundred I shall never
feel so old again.
"Well Solomon," I remarked as I helped myself to some cakes he was
passing, "we've been consorting with ghosts tonight."
"I reckon dis yere gohs would answer to de name o' Marse Radnah," said
Solomon, with a wise shake of his head. "But just de same it ain't safe
to mock at ha'nts. Dey'll get it back at you when you ain't expectin'
it!"
After an intermission of half an hour or so the music commenced again,
but still no Radnor. Polly cast more than one glance in the direction of
the laurels and the sparkle in her eyes grew ominous. Presently young
Mattison appeared in the doorway and asked her to come in and dance, but
she said that she was tired, and we three stood laughing and chatting
for some ten minutes longer, when a step suddenly sounded on the gravel
path and Radnor rounded the corner of the house. As the bright moonlight
fell on his face, I stared at him in astonishment. He was pale to his
very lips and there were strained anxious lines beneath his eyes.
"What's the matter, Radnor?" Polly cried. "You look as if you'd found
the ha'nt!"
He made an effort at composure and laughed in return, though to my ears
the laugh sounded very hollow.
"I believe this is my dance, isn't it, Polly?" he asked, joining us with
rather an over-acted air of carelessness.
"Your dance was over half an hour ago," Polly returned. "This is Mr.
Mattison's."
She turned indoors with the young man, and Rad following on their
heels, made his way to the punch bowl where I saw him toss off three or
four glasses with no visible interval between them. I, decidedly
puzzled, watched him for the rest of the evening. He appeared to have
some disturbing matter on his mind, and his gaiety was clearly forced.
It was well on toward morning when the party broke up, and after some
slight conversation of a desultory sort the Colonel, Rad and I went up
to our rooms. Whether it was the excitement of the evening or the coffee
I had drunk, in any case I was not sleepy. I turned in, only to lie for
an hour or more with my eyes wide open staring at a patch of moonlight
on the ceiling. My old trouble of insomnia had overtaken me again. I
finally rose and paced the floor in sheer desperation, and then paused
to stare out of the window at the peaceful moonlit picture before me.
Suddenly I heard, as on the night of my arrival, the soft creaking of
the French window in the library, which opened on to the veranda just
below me. Quickly alert, I leaned forward determined to learn if
possible the reason for Mose's midnight wanderings. To my astonishment
it was Radnor who stepped out from the shadow of the house, carrying a
large black bundle in his arms. I clutched the frame of the window and
stared after him in dumb amazement, as he crossed the strip of moonlit
lawn and plunged into the shadows of the laurel growth.