Returning Thanks.
The captors of these outlaws were more merciful than the rowdies, for
Nathaniel Grimes went to a farmhouse not far away and borrowed some
clothes to replace those tar-besmeared which Turner had on. When he had
changed his garments the two constables and Nebeker conducted the
prisoners on horseback to the county seat where they were locked up in
jail.
In the meantime Jasper Very, John Larkin, and Nathaniel Grimes mounted
their horses and made their way up Bald Knob to a little meetinghouse
on its top where services were to be held. Very's encounter with the
outlaws had made him late in reaching the church, which caused some
surprise to those who had assembled, for they knew their pastor to be a
very punctual man. However, he thought it best not to mention the cause
of his delay. Simply remarking that he was unavoidably detained, he
began the services.
Early the next morning our three friends started down the knob, Jasper
Very to go to Judge LeMonde's house personally to thank Miss Viola for
her part in helping him to avoid the trap set for him, and Larkin and
Grimes to ride about fifteen miles down the river road to keep an
engagement to preach that night at a small hamlet called Bridgewater.
When Jasper Very dismounted at Judge LeMonde's barn gate, he was met by
Mose Williams, who burst forth with loud and eager words: "Hi! Hi!
Mas'r Very, ah knows dat yo' circumwented dem villians. Yo' don't ketch
dis coon nappin'. I war a-layin' low las' night to see de outcome of
dat amberscade, an' ah seed wid mah own eyes dat yo' won out."
"What did you see, Mose, and how did you see it?" asked the preacher.
"Ah war a-hidin' behin' de upper big post of de barn gate, an' ah hearn
hosses' hoofs beatin' up de road, an' soon de constables cum along wid
de prisoners. Wa'n't dem moonshiners mad, do? Jes' as dey war
'proaching de gate Sam Wiles said: 'Dat cantin' preacher has got me
'rested twice now, but he won't do it ag'in. Ah'll die 'fore ah'll let
him beat me 'n'ur time.' An' den dat monkey, Zibe Turner, fell to
cussin' yo' an' de constables an' de Jedge an' all de ch'ch people
permiscus. He said, ef he knew de rascal what giv' de plot away, he
would skin 'im alive an' hang up his skin in his back yard to skeer
away de ghosts. He swore sich drefful oaths ah was afeered de trees by
de roadside was gwine to fall on 'em. He mad mah blood run col', an' ah
war pow'ful glad he didn't 'spect me."
"Well, Mose, you are safe for the present anyway, for these wicked men
will be tried in court soon, and they will be sent to jail for quite a
while. Now put my horse in a stall, for I am going to make a call at
the big house."
Saying this, Jasper Very handed his bridle to Mose, and also gave him
two bits in silver. He then passed through a second gate and walked
toward the mansion, which was some two hundred yards distant. When he
got near the door, Sport, king of all Judge LeMonde's hunting dogs,
came bounding toward him, loudly barking. This great animal was
dangerous to strangers but, knowing Very, he came up to him and licked
his hand with his red tongue. Very spoke to him and admired his noble
form--his high forehead, intelligent eyes, wide nostrils, deep chest,
long yellow body, slim but muscular legs--then walked on to the front
piazza and rang the doorbell.
While he is waiting there let us take a peep inside. Miss Viola
LeMonde, by a law of mind not yet explained, had a premonition that a
certain clergyman would visit her that morning. So she had a particular
care as to her apparel. She called her faithful maidservant Nora to
bring her a white dress, which had a faint shade of blue mixed with the
white. This gown, which exactly fitted her shapely figure, she put on,
and around her neck and wrists she placed soft and delicate ruching.
Then she went to the flower conservatory and selecting a deep-red
rosebud, placed it against some dark green leaves and pinned it to her
dress. Her hair was formed at the back in a large knot of gold, while
over her beautiful brows it was brushed smooth, giving her a look like
a Madonna.
When Very rang the bell Viola was in the sitting-room to the right of
the hall. Nora opened the door and invited him into the drawing-room at
the left of the hall. With a perversity which no mere man understands,
and we suppose is unaccountable to woman's mind, Viola would not at
once greet the minister, but laid that duty upon her mother. In a
minute or two Madame LeMonde, a stately dame in form and mien, worthy
of the position she occupied, walked into the room and cordially shook
hands with Mr. Very. "I am glad to see you this fine morning, Mr.
Very," she said. "Did you escape the base designs of those wicked men
last night! Viola told me of the plot they had laid to do you harm. I
am sorry that my husband and son were away, that they could not help
you in your need."
"Yes, Mrs. LeMonde, thanks to the timely warning that your good
daughter sent me, I was able to thwart their evil purposes; and at this
moment the ringleaders, Sam Wiles, Zibe Turner, and Harve Davis are in
the county jail. I have called personally to thank your daughter for
her kindness to me. Is she at home this morning?"
"She is, Mr. Very, and if you will excuse me, I will send her into the
room."
By this time Viola had brought her perverse little heart into harmony
with her real wish and, having quieted her nerves by a strong effort of
will, she was ready to heed her mother's summons to enter the
drawing-room. As she stepped across the threshold there was a moment of
embarrassment during which neither spoke; but it was only for a moment,
Jasper Very being too full of gratitude to remain long silent. "Miss
Viola," he said, grasping her hand, "I have come this morning to thank
you for your great kindness in apprising me of Sam Wiles' plot to
injure me. I am under a thousand obligations to you for what you did."
"Do not speak of that, Mr. Very; it was a thing any friend would have
done. But tell me whether or not you escaped from their intentions
without any injury to yourself."
"Yes, thanks to your promptness, I was able to enlist some friends on
my behalf, and with them and some officers of the law we were able to
outwit the ruffians and beat them at their own game." He then laid
before her in detail the events of the past night.
Viola listened with closest attention to the narrative. When Jasper
spoke of being surrounded by the outlaws and their threats, the color
left her cheeks; but when he told how their enemies were overcome and
the ludricrous predicament of Turner as he sat in the pot of tar, a
sigh of relief escaped her lips, which was followed by a hearty laugh.
However, her mood soon changed, and with a serious look coming into her
blue eyes she said: "I am sure those moonshiners are a menace to our
community. They are becoming more and more hardened and reckless. I
fear that they will yet do some of us great injury. They doubtless hate
papa, who has to sentence them to prison, and they are foes of all
order-loving men and women in this region. As to Sam Wiles, I cannot
bear to be near him. His very presence repels and frightens me. When he
looked at me in church last Sunday night, I shuddered. It seemed as
though a venomous snake had put its folds around my neck. Zibe Turner,
called the monster dwarf, seems to me to be almost less than human. He
combines the ferocity of the tiger, the slyness of the fox, and the
shape of a monkey. I am doubly alarmed when he is near."
"This is the natural recoil of virtue away from vice," said Jasper
Very. "God has given to woman an intuitive sense which, without any
long process of reasoning, shows her when a man is bad. It is her
protection against his greater strength. It is the Almighty's gift to
her, and is beyond the value of rubies. If she will use it, she need
never be deceived as to a man's inner character."
"I suppose that is why we women can trust some people from the moment
we see them and are suspicions of others from the very first."
"Undoubtedly it is; and all women should beware of men whose persons,
looks, or acts repel that fine discriminating sense within them. Every
man should ask himself the question: 'Have I sufficient moral integrity
and nobility to pass muster before the eyes of a pure-minded woman!' If
he can say 'Yes' to this, he is to be congratulated."
"I am afraid most men are so self-sufficient that they think the other
sex is blind to their faults, and will tolerate and cling to them
whether or not."
"They may think so when they reflect only lightly; but when they
consider deeply, they know that they can receive the respect of good
women only when they are worthy of it. This should stimulate them to be
knightly in character--pure, true, gentle, kind, brave, thoroughly
good."
"I am glad you have such a high ideal, and trust you will live up to
it. If so, you will be my Sir Knight, to lead me to Uncle Pete's cabin.
His little girl is down with the measles, and I have promised to act as
doctor and nurse for the poor child."
"I will be happy to act as your humble servant on this errand of mercy.
In the meantime I wish to get your consent to go with me in a buggy to
Mount Zion meeting-house next Friday. An all-day meeting is to be held
there, and I am to preach in the morning. I desire the help of your
voice in the singing. We can return in the afternoon. What do you say?"
"If mamma gives permission, I shall gladly go; but let us proceed now
to the quarters, and you shall comfort the soul of the mother while I
try to help the girl's body."