Thepeoplecouldnotunderstandthis。Theboy’smiserieswentsteadilyon,weekafterweek。Itisquitelikelythatthepeoplewouldhaveunderstoodiftheyhadknownhowhewasemployinghissparetime。Hesleptinanout—cabinnearFlint’s;andthere,nights,henursedhisbruisesandhishumiliations,andstudiedandstudiedoverasingleproblem——howhecouldmurderFlintBucknerandnotbefoundout。Itwastheonlyjoyhehadinlife;thesehoursweretheonlyonesinthetwenty—fourwhichhelookedforwardtowitheagernessandspentinhappiness。
Hethoughtofpoison。No——thatwouldnotserve;theinquestwouldrevealwhereitwasprocuredandwhohadprocuredit。HethoughtofashotinthebackinalonelyplacewhenFlintwouldbehomewardboundatmidnight——hisunvaryinghourforthetrip。No——somebodymightbenear,andcatchhim。Hethoughtofstabbinghiminhissleep。No——hemightstrikeaninefficientblow,andFlintwouldseizehim。Heexaminedahundreddifferentways——noneofthemwouldanswer;forineventheveryobscurestandsecretestofthemtherewasalwaysthefataldefectofarisk,achance,apossibilitythathemightbefoundout。Hewouldhavenoneofthat。
Buthewaspatient,endlesslypatient。Therewasnohurry,hesaidtohimself。HewouldneverleaveFlinttillhelefthimacorpse;therewasnohurry——hewouldfindtheway。Itwassomewhere,andhewouldendureshameandpainandmiseryuntilhefoundit。Yes,somewheretherewasawaywhichwouldleavenotatrace,noteventhefaintestcluetothemurderer——therewasnohurry——hewouldfindthatway,andthen——oh,then,itwouldjustbegoodtobealive!Meantimehewoulddiligentlykeepuphisreputationformeekness;andalso,asalwaystheretofore,hewouldallownoonetohearhimsayaresentfuloroffensivethingabouthisoppressor。
Twodaysbeforethebefore—mentionedOctobermorningFlinthadboughtsomethings,andheandFetlockhadbroughtthemhometoFlint’scabin:afreshboxofcandles,whichtheyputinthecorner;atincanofblasting—powder,whichtheyplaceduponthecandle—box;akegofblasting—powder,whichtheyplacedunderFlint’sbunk;ahugecoiloffuse,whichtheyhungonapeg。FetlockreasonedthatFlint’sminingoperationshadoutgrownthepick,andthatblastingwasabouttobeginnow。Hehadseenblastingdone,andhehadanotionoftheprocess,buthehadneverhelpedinit。Hisconjecturewasright——blasting—timehadcome。Inthemorningthepaircarriedfuse,drills,andthepowder—cantotheshaft;itwasnoweightfeetdeep,andtogetintoitandoutofitashortladderwasused。Theydescended,andbycommandFetlockheldthedrill——withoutanyinstructionsastotherightwaytoholdit——andFlintproceededtostrike。Thesledgecamedown;thedrillsprangoutofFetlock’shand,almostasamatterofcourse。
\"Youmangysonofanigger,isthatanywaytoholdadrill?Pickitup!
Standitup!There——holdfast。D——you!I’llteachyou!\"
Attheendofanhourthedrillingwasfinished。
\"Now,then,chargeit。\"
Theboystartedtopourinthepowder。
\"Idiot!\"
Aheavybatonthejawlaidtheladout。
\"Getup!Youcan’tliesnivelingthere。Now,then,stickinthefusefirst。Nowputinthepowder。Holdon,holdon!Areyougoingtofilltheholeallup?Ofallthesap—headedmilksopsI——Putinsomedirt!
Putinsomegravel!Tampitdown!Holdon,holdon!Oh,greatScott!
getoutoftheway!\"Hesnatchedtheironandtampedthechargehimself,meantimecursingandblaspheminglikeafiend。Thenhefiredthefuse,climbedoutoftheshaft,andranfiftyyardsaway,Fetlockfollowing。
Theystoodwaitingafewminutes,thenagreatvolumeofsmokeandrocksbursthighintotheairwithathunderousexplosion;afteralittletherewasashowerofdescendingstones;thenallwassereneagain。
\"IwishtoGodyou’dbeeninit!\"remarkedthemaster。
Theywentdowntheshaft,cleaneditout,drilledanotherhole,andputinanothercharge。
\"Lookhere!Howmuchfuseareyouproposingtowaste?Don’tyouknowhowtotimeafuse?\"
\"No,sir。\"
\"Youdon’t!Well,ifyoudon’tbeatanythingIeversaw!\"
Heclimbedoutoftheshaftandspokedown:
\"Well,idiot,areyougoingtobeallday?Cutthefuseandlightit!\"
Thetremblingcreaturebegan:
\"Ifyouplease,sir,I——\"
\"Youtalkbacktome?Cutitandlightit!\"
Theboycutandlit。
\"Ger—reatScott!aone—minutefuse!Iwishyouwerein——\"
Inhisragehesnatchedtheladderoutoftheshaftandran。Theboywasaghast。
\"Oh,myGod!Help。Help!Oh,saveme!\"heimplored。\"Oh,whatcanI
do!WhatcanIdo!\"
Hebackedagainstthewallastightlyashecould;thesputteringfusefrightenedthevoiceoutofhim;hisbreathstoodstill;hestoodgazingandimpotent;intwoseconds,threeseconds,fourhewouldbeflyingtowardtheskytorntofragments。Thenhehadaninspiration。Hesprangatthefuse;severedtheinchofitthatwasleftaboveground,andwassaved。
Hesankdownlimpandhalflifelesswithfright,hisstrengthgone;buthemutteredwithadeepjoy:
\"Hehaslearntme!Iknewtherewasaway,ifIwouldwait。\"
AfteramatteroffiveminutesBucknerstoletotheshaft,lookingworriedanduneasy,andpeereddownintoit。Hetookinthesituation;
hesawwhathadhappened。Heloweredtheladder,andtheboydraggedhimselfweaklyupit。Hewasverywhite。HisappearanceaddedsomethingtoBuckner’suncomfortablestate,andhesaid,withashowofregretandsympathywhichsatuponhimawkwardlyfromlackofpractice:
\"Itwasanaccident,youknow。Don’tsayanythingaboutittoanybody;
Iwasexcited,anddidn’tnoticewhatIwasdoing。You’renotlookingwell;you’veworkedenoughforto—day;godowntomycabinandeatwhatyouwant,andrest。It’sjustanaccident,youknow,onaccountofmybeingexcited。\"
\"Itscaredme,\"saidthelad,ashestartedaway;\"butIlearntsomething,soIdon’tmindit。\"
\"Damnedeasytoplease!\"mutteredBuckner,followinghimwithhiseye。
Iwonderifhe’lltell?Mightn’the?……Iwishithadkilledhim。\"
Theboytooknoadvantageofhisholidayinthematterofresting;heemployeditinwork,eagerandfeverishandhappywork。AthickgrowthofchaparralextendeddownthemountainsidecleartoFlint’scabin;themostofFetlock’slaborwasdoneinthedarkintricaciesofthatstubborngrowth;therestofitwasdoneinhisownshanty。Atlastallwascomplete,andhesaid:
\"Ifhe’sgotanysuspicionsthatI’mgoingtotellonhim,hewon’tkeepthemlong,to—morrow。HewillseethatIamthesamemilksopasIalwayswas——alldayandthenext。Andthedayafterto—morrownightthere’llbeanendofhim;nobodywilleverguesswhofinishedhimupnorhowitwasdone。Hedroppedmetheideahisownself,andthat’sodd。\"
V
Thenextdaycameandwent。
Itisnowalmostmidnight,andinfiveminutesthenewmorningwillbegin。Thesceneisinthetavernbilliard—room。Roughmeninroughclothing,slouch—hats,breechesstuffedintoboot—tops,somewithvests,nonewithcoats,aregroupedabouttheboiler—ironstove,whichhasruddycheeksandisdistributingagratefulwarmth;thebilliard—ballsareclacking;thereisnoothersound——thatis,within;thewindisfitfullymoaningwithout。Themenlookbored;alsoexpectant。Ahulkingbroad—
shoulderedminer,ofmiddleage,withgrizzledwhiskers,andanunfriendlyeyesetinanunsociableface,rises,slipsacoiloffuseuponhisarm,gathersupsomeotherpersonalproperties,anddepartswithoutwordorgreetingtoanybody。ItisFlintBuckner。Asthedoorclosesbehindhimabuzzoftalkbreaksout。
\"Theregularestmanthateverwas,\"saidJakeParker,theblacksmith:
\"youcantellwhenit’stwelvejustbyhimleaving,withoutlookingatyourWaterbury。\"
\"Andit’stheonlyvirtuehe’sgot,asfurasIknow,\"saidPeterHawes,miner。
\"He’sjustablightonthissociety,\"saidWells—Fargo’sman,Ferguson。
\"IfIwasrunningthisshopI’dmakehimsaysomething,sometimeorother,orvamostheranch。\"Thiswithasuggestiveglanceatthebarkeeper,whodidnotchoosetoseeit,sincethemanunderdiscussionwasagoodcustomer,andwenthomeprettywellsetup,everynight,withrefreshmentsfurnishedfromthebar。
\"Say,\"saidHamSandwich,miner,\"doesanyofyouboyseverrecollectofhimaskingyoutotakeadrink?\"
\"Him?FlintBuckner?Oh,Laura!\"
Thissarcasticrejoindercameinaspontaneousgeneraloutburstinoneformofwordsoranotherfromthecrowd。Afterabriefsilence,PatRiley,miner,said:
\"He’sthe15—puzzle,thatcuss。Andhisboy’sanotherone。Ican’tmakethemout。\"
\"Noranybodyelse,\"saidHamSandwich;\"andiftheyare15—puzzleshowareyougoingtorankupthatotherone?WhenitcomestoA1right—downsolidmysteriousness,helaysoverbothofthem。Easy——don’the?\"
\"Youbet!\"
Everybodysaidit。Everymanbutone。Hewasthenew—comer——Peterson。
Heorderedthedrinksallround,andaskedwhoNo。3mightbe。Allansweredatonce,\"ArchyStillman!\"
\"Isheamystery?\"askedPeterson。
\"Isheamystery?IsArchyStillmanamystery?\"saidWells—Fargo’sman,Ferguson。\"Why,thefourthdimension’sfoolishnesstohim。\"
ForFergusonwaslearned。
Petersonwantedtohearallabouthim;everybodywantedtotellhim;
everybodybegan。ButBillyStevens,thebarkeeper,calledthehousetoorder,andsaidoneatatimewasbest。Hedistributedthedrinks,andappointedFergusontolead。Fergusonsaid:
\"Well,he’saboy。Andthatisjustaboutallweknowabouthim。Youcanpumphimtillyouaretired;itain’tanyuse;youwon’tgetanything。Atleastabouthisintentions,orlineofbusiness,orwherehe’sfrom,andsuchthingsasthat。Andasforgettingatthenatureandget—upofhismainbigchiefmystery,why,he’lljustchangethesubject,that’sall。Youcanguesstillyou’reblackintheface——it’syourprivilege——butsupposeyoudo,wheredoyouarriveat?Nowhere,asnearasIcanmakeout。\"
\"Whatishisbigchiefone?\"
\"Sight,maybe。Hearing,maybe。Instinct,maybe。Magic,maybe。Takeyourchoice——grownups,twenty—five;childrenandservants,halfprice。
NowI’lltellyouwhathecando。Youcanstarthere,andjustdisappear;youcangoandhidewhereveryouwantto,Idon’tcarewhereitis,norhowfar——andhe’llgostraightandputhisfingeronyou。\"
\"Youdon’tmeanit!\"
\"Ijustdo,though。Weather’snothingtohim——elementalconditionsisnothingtohim——hedon’teventakenoticeofthem。\"
\"Oh,come!Dark?Rain?Snow?Hey?\"
\"It’sallthesametohim。Hedon’tgiveadamn。\"
\"Oh,say——includingfog,per’aps?\"
\"Fog!he’sgotaneye’tcanplunkthroughitlikeabullet。\"
\"Now,boys,honorbright,what’shegivingme?\"
\"It’safact!\"theyallshouted。\"Goon,Wells—Fargo。\"
\"Well,sir,youcanleavehimhere,chattingwiththeboys,andyoucanslipoutandgotoanycabininthiscampandopenabook——yes,sir,adozenofthem——andtakethepageinyourmemory,andhe’llstartoutandgostraighttothatcabinandopeneveryoneofthembooksattherightpage,andcallitoff,andnevermakeamistake。\"
\"Hemustbethedevil!\"
\"Morethanonehasthoughtit。NowI’lltellyouaperfectlywonderfulthingthathedone。Theothernighthe——\"
Therewasasuddengreatmurmurofsoundsoutside,thedoorflewopen,andanexcitedcrowdburstin,withthecamp’sonewhitewomanintheleadandcrying:
\"Mychild!mychild!she’slostandgone!FortheloveofGodhelpmetofindArchyStillman;we’vehuntedeverywhere!\"
Saidthebarkeeper:
\"Sitdown,sitdown,Mrs。Hogan,anddon’tworry。Heaskedforabedthreehoursago,tuckeredouttrampingthetrailsthewayhe’salwaysdoing,andwentup—stairs。HamSandwich,runupandrousthimout;he’sinNo。14。\"
Theyouthwassoondown—stairsandready。HeaskedMrs。Hoganforparticulars。
\"Blessyou,dear,thereain’tany;Iwishtherewas。Iputhertosleepatsevenintheevening,andwhenIwentinthereanhouragotogotobedmyself,shewasgone。Irushedforyourcabin,dear,andyouwasn’tthere,andI’vehuntedforyoueversince,ateverycabindownthegulch,andnowI’vecomeupagain,andI’mthatdistractedandscaredandheart—
broke;but,thankstoGod,I’vefoundyouatlast,dearheart,andyou’llfindmychild。Comeon!comequick!\"
\"Moverightalong;I’mwithyou,madam。Gotoyourcabinfirst。\"
Thewholecompanystreamedouttojointhehunt。Allthesouthernhalfofthevillagewasup,ahundredmenstrong,andwaitingoutside,avaguedarkmasssprinkledwithtwinklinglanterns。Themassfellintocolumnsbythreesandfourstoaccommodateitselftothenarrowroad,andstrodebrisklyalongsouthwardinthewakeoftheleaders。InafewminutestheHogancabinwasreached。
\"There’sthebunk,\"saidMrs。Hogan;\"there’swhereshewas;it’swhereIlaidheratseveno’clock;butwheresheisnow,Godonlyknows。\"
\"Handmealantern,\"saidArchy。Hesetitonthehardearthfloorandkneltbyit,pretendingtoexaminethegroundclosely。\"Here’shertrack,\"hesaid,touchingthegroundhereandthereandyonderwithhisfinger。\"Doyousee?\"
Severalofthecompanydroppedupontheirkneesanddidtheirbesttosee。Oneortwothoughttheydiscernedsomethinglikeatrack;theothersshooktheirheadsandconfessedthatthesmoothhardsurfacehadnomarksuponitwhichtheireyesweresharpenoughtodiscover。Onesaid,\"Maybeachild’sfootcouldmakeamarkonit,butIdon’tseehow。\"
YoungStillmansteppedoutside,heldthelighttotheground,turnedleftward,andmovedthreesteps,closelyexamining;thensaid,\"I’vegotthedirection——comealong;takethelantern,somebody。\"
Hestrodeoffswiftlysouthward,thefilesfollowing,swayingandbendinginandoutwiththedeepcurvesofthegorge。Thusamile,andthemouthofthegorgewasreached;beforethemstretchedthesagebrushplain,dim,vast,andvague。Stillmancalledahalt,saying,\"Wemustn’tstartwrong,now;wemusttakethedirectionagain。\"
Hetookalanternandexaminedthegroundforamatteroftwentyyards;
thensaid,\"Comeon;it’sallright,\"andgaveupthelantern。Inandoutamongthesage—busheshemarched,aquarterofamile,bearinggraduallytotheright;thentookanewdirectionandmadeanothergreatsemicircle;thenchangedagainandmovedduewestnearlyhalfamile——andstopped。
\"Shegaveitup,here,poorlittlechap。Holdthelantern。Youcanseewhereshesat。\"
Butthiswasinaslickalkaliflatwhichwassurfacedlikesteel,andnopersoninthepartywasquitehardyenoughtoclaimaneyesightthatcoulddetectthetrackofacushiononaveneerlikethat。Thebereavedmotherfelluponherkneesandkissedthespot,lamenting。
\"Butwhereisshe,then?\"someonesaid。\"Shedidn’tstayhere。Wecanseethatmuch,anyway。\"
Stillmanmovedaboutinacirclearoundtheplace,withthelantern,pretendingtohuntfortracks。
\"Well!\"hesaidpresently,inanannoyedtone,\"Idon’tunderstandit。\"
Heexaminedagain。\"Nouse。Shewashere——that’scertain;sheneverwalkedawayfromhere——andthat’scertain。It’sapuzzle;Ican’tmakeitout。\"
Themotherlostheartthen。
\"Oh,myGod!oh,blessedVirgin!someflyingbeasthasgother。I’llneverseeheragain!\"
\"Ah,don’tgiveup,\"saidArchy。\"We’llfindher——don’tgiveup。\"
\"Godblessyouforthewords,ArchyStillman!\"andsheseizedhishandandkisseditfervently。