Lily A. Long

“ They all hang together. What do you think, Mr. Burton?"
"I agree with you that they all seem to hang together."
"But not that Henry would seem to be the responsible person?"
"As to that, I am hardly in a position to express an opinion," he said quietly. He had been examining the curiously knotted cord that had been wound about the unfortunate Mr. Hadley.
The knots rather than the cord itself were what attracted his attention. They were peculiarly intricate,--the knots of a practiced weaver. What was more, they had the same peculiar twist that the woven withes of lilac had had. ”

“ Burton shrugged his shoulders, put his hat back at the customary angle, and set off for Watson's.
He had not wished to arrive at Watson's too early, but now he suddenly had a panic fear that he might be too late. He hurried on, trying to guess his way through an unfamiliar part of the town, and wondering what Henry had done with the watchman who was supposed to keep him in sight. Had he drugged him or tied him up as Hadley had been tied, or merely and effectively killed him? Nothing less would excuse the man's failure to keep the watch set. ”

“ The doctor listened with the glimmer of a smile under his seriousness.
"We all do. It is the great human need." He twisted his face up inscrutably as he added: "I hope you will get your share."
"Thank you," said Burton. His heart sank suddenly. He hadn't wanted to be reminded of his own needs. "Am I to see Miss Underwood this morning?" he asked, facing the inevitable.
"She wishes to see you," said the doctor, somewhat hesitatingly, and a troubled look crossed his face. "She asked me to keep you; I'll tell her you are here." ”

“ Miss Hadley came into the reception room with a nervous flutter in her manner and a startled look in her soft eyes. She was a pretty girl, of an excessively feminine type,--all soft coloring and timid grace. Certainly she was a pleasant thing to look upon, yet Burton's heart rather sank as he stood up to meet her. "She hasn't the backbone to stand by a man," he thought to himself, with a swift recognition of what Henry was going to need. ”

“ Ben was getting too confident, and therefore reckless."
"It was the check you gave him that made him reckless. Of course he is insane. Such a long, brooding course of revenge for a boyish quarrel is clear proof of insanity. But the insanity might have remained latent for years if he had not been crossed. No, you can't get out of it. You will have to reconcile yourself to being regarded as a benefactor."
"Well, perhaps I can stand it, mixed in with some other memories I shall have to take away with me," said Burton grimly. Leslie had not appeared, and he knew what was yet before him. ”

“ Burton made an early call the next day at the house on Rowan Street. Leslie Underwood was in the garden when he came up, and he stopped for a moment at the gate to enjoy the picture she made. It would be impossible for any one with sensibilities not to enjoy a painted picture of a beautiful girl bending before a bed of pansies, her summer gown of blue lawn making an effective contrast to the green grass upon which its folds rippled, and her hair bare to the sun. ”

“ As Henry took the handkerchief from his father's hand, it fell open and the staring eyelet holes glared at the company. He stopped suddenly and a look of dismay went like a wave over his face. He glanced swiftly at his father. But while he hesitated, Selby sprang forward and snatched it from his hand with something like the snarl of an animal.
"Look at that! Look at that, will you?" he almost shouted. Hadley blinked at it and Ralston got up and took the handkerchief in his hand.
"It seems to be the orthodox thing," he said with interest. ”

“ Underwood sputtered, wincing with pain as he spoke. "Good land, man, do you suppose a man with a sprained ankle who isn't going to be able to walk for the rest of his natural life, and then will have to go on crutches for a while, wants to sit down on one of those spindle-legged chairs that break if you look at them? Get me into the surgery. And Leslie, if you have an atom of filial feeling, you might show him the way instead of standing there like a classical figure of despair on a monument smiling at a bloody temple. ”

“ Who that is human would not wish at times that he were a tulip, blooming in perfect beauty, and so doing all that could be asked of him? Or an oak, like that one, fulfilling its nature without blame and without harm?"
"Are you Ben Bussey?" Burton asked on a sudden impulse, remembering the name of the young man whom the hotel clerk had mentioned as being the subject of popular stories. This young man was certainly queer enough to give rise to legends. ”

“ After some colloquy, which Burton wished vainly that he could understand, Welch explained.
"He says he knew, when he saw the smoke rise this morning, that a man who bore a charmed life would come to his teepee today."
"Oh, did he!" exclaimed Burton. "Well, tell him that when I lit my cigar this morning I knew by the way the smoke rose that I should meet today a wise old man with a silver tongue, who would tell me many wonderful tales of the old days when the Indian and the paleface hunted the buffalo together and were brothers." ”

“ Those children don't go around stoning people in general; they have been put up to it by some one who is always watching a chance,--some one who has used them as an instrument for his malice!"
"You must make some allowance for the intemperate zeal of a daughter, Dr. Burton," said Dr. Underwood. A twinge of pain twisted his smile into a grimace. He had a wide, flexible mouth, and when he grinned he looked a caricature. Burton reflected that a man must be sustained by an unusually strong consciousness of virtue to risk his character on such a grin,--or else it was the very mockery of virtue. ”

“ Don't paint that poor devil any blacker than he is, my girl. He has probably realized long ago that it was all a silly performance, and we don't want to go about harboring malice."
"Of course not. Only,--those things did actually happen to us, Mr. Burton."
"Don't say happen, Leslie," said Mrs. Underwood, with the curious effect she always had of suddenly coming back to consciousness at any word that struck her ethical mind. "Things don't happen to people unless they have deserved them. What seems to be accident may be really punishment for sin." ”

“ Also, it seems that I precipitated a quarrel between Ben and Selby about the price of his work. Taking these things together, how far am I responsible for Selby's death?"
The doctor turned to look at him questioningly. "Don't blame yourself for things you only touch at that distance," he said abruptly. "If the little gods use us as instruments to carry out their plans, we have to take that lot with the rest. Perhaps there is justice in their schemes. We all have to take our chances in this skirmishing that we call life,--and death isn't the worst that might happen." ”

“ Underwood acknowledged Burton's bow with a slight inclination of the head, but with no slightest indication of curiosity. She sat down beside her husband's couch and thoughtfully placed her finger on his pulse.
"Land of the living, Angelica, my ankle hasn't gone to my heart," muttered Dr. Underwood, with some impatience.
Leslie spoke aside to Burton.
"What can we do? It isn't this thing only; this is just an instance. You don't know how horrible it is to have the feeling that some enemy is watching you in the dark. And my father is not practical,--you see that. We have no friends left!" ”

“ He had turned aside from his most direct route to the hotel in this experiment, and he now found himself in a street with which he was not familiar, though he knew the general location. He turned in the direction where his hotel must be, and was glad to hear no longer the sound of feet behind him. Suddenly from the shadow of a large business block, a man sprang out from a driveway and jumped at him. The attack was so sudden and so fierce and Burton was so unprepared that for a moment he was borne backward and almost carried to the ground. ”

“ I don't want to sow seeds of distrust in your mind, but I'm rather anxious to overlook no possible agency."
"I can't believe it is anything more than vulgar curiosity," said Leslie, after a thoughtful pause. "You know people of that sort have so little to occupy their minds that they become inordinately curious about the personal doings and sayings of the people they live among. I don't suppose a delivery wagon goes by in the street that Mrs. Bussey does not know about it, and speculate as to where it is going and what it is going to deliver at whose house. ”

“ Bussey! Is that you?" he asked. "Did you want something?"
There was a sound of pattering feet, as the housekeeper hurried nervously away.
"She lacks invention," said Burton, as he came back to the piano. "It would have been so easy for her to pretend that she came to see if you wanted another lamp, or something of that sort."
"She is stupid past belief," said Leslie, in manifest annoyance.
"Does her habit of eavesdropping suggest nothing to you but idle curiosity?" Burton could not refrain from asking. ”

“ Now, see here, Leslie, it's bad enough to have a daughter bothering a man to death in his own home, but when she begins to tag him around in public affairs, so that he can't even meet a committee of his neighbors who want to search his study in order to arrest him for highway robbery without having her putting herself in evidence, it becomes a regular nuisance. ”

“ Bussey," interposed the doctor. "We do many things in this house that we ought not to do and we leave undone many things that we ought to do, but we haven't yet achieved the distinction of staying in bed till twelve of the clock."
"How would we have got Ben down from that second floor where he lies like a log, if the house had gone?" cried Mrs. Bussey, with a sudden access of fury, as the thought struck her. Then she saw Henry Underwood leaning against the door-post, a sardonic smile on his white face. "You villain, that's what you were trying to do," she screamed. ”

“ The figure of a man moving with a sort of stealthy swiftness among the shadows of the garden caught his eye, and instantly he was alert. The man crossed an open patch of moonlight and, with a curious feeling that it was what he had expected, Burton recognized Henry Underwood. He came directly toward the side of the house where the surgery was, and a moment later Burton heard the outer door of the back hall open, and footsteps went past his closed door. ”

“ The clerk smiled his disinterested smile. "They're afraid to. I told you it wasn't considered healthy to oppose Dr. Underwood. Something is bound to happen to them."
"Nonsense," said Burton impatiently.
"Of course," agreed the smiling clerk, and sauntered away.
Burton sat still and considered. His personal irritation was swallowed up in this more serious complication. How did this curious and unexpected situation affect the commission with which he was charged? He thought of Rachel Overman, fastidious, critical, ultra refined, and in spite of his preoccupation he smiled to himself. ”

“ The Indian continued to look at Burton with a frank interest that did not approach rudeness or lessen his dignity. It was hard to say whether his curiosity was friendly or not. He seemed a mixture of the child and the Sphinx.
"How!" said Burton, with friendly intent.
"How!" responded Washitonka. Then he turned to Welch and made some observations in a very guttural voice.
"He says he has come to see the man who has a charmed life," said Welch with a laugh. ”

“ Sprigg. "Burning people's houses over their heads, in the dead of night! Hanging's too good for him."
"You have not an atom of evidence to go on," cried Burton, exasperated into argument. "You might just as well accuse me, or Mr. Selby, or any one else. Henry Underwood has no ill-will against you,--"
"The doctor said that fire would come and burn the children up; Mr. Hadley heard him." ”

“ It was with deliberate intention that he said to the hotel clerk, after he had registered: "How far is it to Dr. Underwood's house?"
The clerk looked up with the sudden awakening of curiosity that Burton had expected, then glanced at the registered name.
"You want his office?"
"No. His home."
"It's out on Rowan street, not very far from here. Know the doctor?"
"No. I'm a stranger here. Is he a regular physician?"
"Oh, yes."
"In practice?"
"When he gets any."
"Is there anything peculiar about him?"
The clerk permitted himself a languid smile. "There is nothing about him that isn't peculiar. ”

“ And she answered with a rocking, monotonous cadence that flared its mockery in his ears.
"Men have died, and worms have eaten them," she said slowly, "but--not for love."
Burton flushed to the roots of his hair. He knew that he had not been honest in his plea,--that it was for Rachel's sake and not for Philip's (confound the boy!) ”

“ There is a squaw who comes down from the Reservation to sell beadwork and things like that on the streets, but she is the only one I ever see nowadays."
"Yes, I got this basket from her today. But I want a mate to it. Is there any one in town who can weave in the Indian fashion?"
"I don't know of any one."
"Would you know if there were any one? Excuse the persistence of a tourist and a faddist!"
Underwood aroused himself to a more genuine interest. "Why, if it is a matter that you have your heart set upon, I certainly should be glad to give you any information possible. ”

“ I have no doubt he made him work for his keep, all right."
"Then Ben would be likely to know whether Selby learned weaving from the Indians, wouldn't he?" exclaimed Burton. "That's the way to find out! Can I talk to Ben Bussey?"
"Certainly. He sees people whenever he likes. That back part of the house, over the kitchen, is given over to them, and they are as independent there as if they lived in their own house. But why are you so curious about Selby's Indian experiences? If one is to believe gossip, he had more experiences than he would care to have remembered against him nowadays. ”

“ Higgins stepped quickly inside, and as soon as Burton, who followed in his wake, had entered, he closed the front door, turned the key and slipped it into his pocket.
"Excuse me," he said, in a brisk undertone. "No one wants you, Doctor. I want Mr. Henry Underwood."
"You want him, Higgins? What for?"
"Assault."
"Assault? Henry? You're crazy. Henry hasn't spirit enough to assault any one. I'd bail him out with the greatest joy in the world, if he did. Whom did he assault, in the name of Goshen?"
"Mr. Hadley." ”

“ You will see that Underwood is taken home--not before eleven o'clock--and that your plainclothes man stays with him from that minute until further orders. And no one must know that he is out of jail except the man with him. I'll see the family in the morning and explain, and I'll see Selby in the course of the morning and see that he knows the news. Then just an hour after he is in the house,--neither more nor less,--there is to be an alarm of fire. You will see about that. Then I'll see you afterwards and we'll decide whether to go on with it."
"I guess I've got it straight," said Watson. ”

“ Miss Underwood herself smiled a welcome at him from the head of the table.
"You are to breakfast tête-à-tête with me," she said, answering his unconscious look of inquiry. "Mother always breakfasts in her room, and poor father will have to do the same this morning. Henry has been gardening for hours. So you have only myself left!"
"I can imagine worse fates," said Burton. And then, with a curiosity about Henry which was none the less keen because he did not intend to make it public, he asked: "Is your brother an enthusiastic gardener?" ”

“ He can make you lay on your back all your life, like he done with Ben Bussey. He'd a been well long afore this if the doctor had treated him right."
"Come away from this," said Burton in a low voice to Leslie. "You see you can do no good. There is no reason why you should endure this."
She let him guide her through the crowd, but as they turned away, Selby called to Burton:
"You say we haven't any evidence. I'm going to get it. There is no one in High Ridge but Henry Underwood who would do such a trick, and I am going to prove it against him. We've stood this just long enough." ”

“ Burton had been standing by the fireplace, listening. His eye had already caught sight of a folded paper on the mantel which had a curiously familiar look. Surely he had no interest in preventing the truth from being known; yet he was on the point of moving nearer and getting quiet possession of the paper when some one else noticed it and picked it up.
"Here's a message from him," he shouted, and then read aloud:
"If you keep on accusing me, and slandering me in public, worse things will happen to you next. ”

“ As he came around by the other side of the burned house, he saw that two boys were still lingering on the scene of the morning's excitement. They were talking vigorously, and when Burton stopped by the fence and looked in, one of the boys, recognizing a kindred interest in the drama of life, called to him:
"Did yer see the bush where the kid was found?"
"What kid?" asked Burton.
"The Sprigg baby. He was right in here among the lilac bushes and the soft little shoots had been tied together around him, so's he couldn't get away, like Moses an' the bulrushes. Right in here. ”

“ It is an outrage that such a man should be loose in the community. We are none of us safe in our beds."
It was Hadley. Some exclamation made him turn at that moment and he saw Leslie Underwood, and suddenly fell silent. But the woman to whom he had been talking did not fall silent. Instead, she rushed up to Leslie and screamed at her, between angry sobs:
"Yes, you'd better come and look at your father's work. I wonder that you dare show your face! Burnt in our beds we might have been and that's what he meant, and all because the boys threw some bits of stones playful-like at his old buggy. ”

“ Selby walked up to Henry with out-thrust chin, and spoke in a manner that struck Burton as deliberately offensive and provocative.
"That's what you have to say, is it? Now my advice to you is that you say just as little as possible. You're not far enough out of the woods yourself to holler very loud."
"How so? Do you mean now that it was I who robbed you?" Henry asked tauntingly. "It would have been quite easy for me to wear my father's cloak, if I wanted to throw suspicion on him; and to hide these things in the room, wouldn't it? Come, now! ”