>ABNEY TODD 
 
 FNWESTCOTT

 
 DABNEY TODD
 
 " PEARS TO ME, NEEVEY, YOU GIT YOUNGER THE OLDER YOU 
 ARE. . . . IF. I DIDN T KNOW YOU WAS MOST AS OLD AS MK, 
 I D SAY YOU WAS BOUT TWENTY-FIVE."
 
 DABNEY TODD 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK N. WESTGOTT 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 HEPSEY BURKE 
 
 A SISTER TO DAVID HARUM 
 
 B 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 M. V. HUNTER 
 
 New York 
 THE H. K. FLY COMPANY 
 
 Publishers
 
 Copyright, 1916, by 
 THE H. K. FLY COMPANY.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I THE Dm Is CAST 1 1 
 
 II NANCE PELOT 27 
 
 III IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES. ... 36 
 
 IV NEEVEY TODD 46 
 
 V THE WOLF S BREED 63 
 
 VI DABNEY TO THE RESCUE 71 
 
 VII IN LIGHTER VEIN 78 
 
 VIII LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 90 
 
 IX DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 108 
 
 X NEEVEY LENDS A HAND 125 
 
 XI "Hoss SENSE" 132 
 
 XII CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 142 
 
 XIII DABNEY S TRANQUILLITY Is DIS 
 
 TURBED 155 
 
 XIV BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS 171 
 
 XV BARNEY SHAYNE LAYS DOWN THE 
 
 LAW 1 80 
 
 XVI CHET MAKES A START . .186 
 
 2138726 *
 
 CONTENTS. 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 XVII THE HOPE Box SOCIETY 194 
 
 XVIII BOYS WILL BE BOYS. 208 
 
 XIX THE WAY OF THE STRONG 219 
 
 XX THE ENE OF THE GAME 229 
 
 XXI JOURNEY S END 239 
 
 XXII DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 246 
 
 XXIII SODIUM CHLORIDE 259 
 
 XXIV JOE PELOT KEEPS His WORD 267 
 
 XXV NEEVEY CHANGES HER MIND 277 
 
 XXVI DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 285 
 
 XXVII THE DOUBLE CROSS 297 
 
 XXVIII SANCTUARY 308
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 " Pears to me, Neevey, you git younger the 
 
 older you are. . . . If I didn t know you 
 was most as old as me, I d say you was 
 bout twenty-five" Frontispiece 
 
 Why did fate seem to pursue and torture her, 
 
 who only wanted to be like other girls ? . . 40 
 
 Nance s eyelashes quivered ever so lightly, but 
 it was sign enough. Larry Shayne knew 
 his chance shot had struck home 182 
 
 Together they sat down, hand in hand, before 
 the fireplace, watching the sputtering 
 flame, symbol of the home-life and the 
 race-life from all the ages past and to all 
 the ages still to come. . . 309
 
 DABNEY TODD 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 
 
 IT was a drizzly, uncomfortable sort of after 
 noon. Half a dozen men, vaguely exhaling the 
 atmosphere of the barnyard, as Theosophists 
 assure us our mortal bodies are haloed by the un 
 seen psychic aura, were gathered in Link Watkins 
 store, busily engaged in doing nothing at all. 
 
 Since it was too wet for plowing, or for any other 
 work than mending harness in the barn, and not the 
 kind of weather in which a wise farmer would take 
 his horses out, what more natural than for those who 
 lived within easy reach of the village to drop into 
 the store to gossip until chore time ? 
 
 Though late spring, the rain had injected a chill 
 into the air. [Therefore a cheerful wood fire blazed 
 in the big sheet-iron stove. Several feet in high- 
 laced boots rested on the iron ring around its base, 
 
 ii
 
 12 DABNEY TODD 
 
 and the atmosphere was foggy with the fumes of 
 strong tobacco. 
 
 A good-looking young man, his lithe form clad in 
 a gray sweater and overalls, was painting the ceiling 
 with long, deliberate sweeps. He was so tall that 
 he did not require a ladder. Instead, he stood on 
 the counter, whence he reached his work without ef 
 fort. At the same time he frequently took part in 
 the conversation which flowed steadily along below. 
 
 A large tin can of blue paint hung on his left arm. 
 He dipped in his brush and wiped it off on the edge 
 of the can at intervals with the unhurried precision 
 of a man who meant to do a good job if it took all 
 summer. 
 
 Leaning against the counter, his hat pushed back 
 and a cigar in a corner of his mouth, was Link Wat- 
 kins himself. He left the business of the store to 
 his assistant, Dory Benton, who, gray-bearded, ret 
 icent and watchful of trade, doled out to casual cus 
 tomers everything from dried beans to rat-traps, 
 heedless of the frivolity around the stove. The 
 cash register jingled intermittently, and Link had 
 plenty of time to " visit " while still making money. 
 
 As often happens in a small settlement like this 
 village of New Canaan, far up in the lake country 
 of New York State, the subject under controversy in
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 13 
 
 the store was a new departure in the church. And 
 church gossip, particularly that concerning the church 
 choir, was a never-failing conversational spring, 
 which flowed freely as long as a few customers were 
 gathered in Link s store. 
 
 " We re gettin grand op ry in our service since 
 the new organist come," declared Spencer Howe, 
 crossing one leg over the other with an air of finality. 
 " When I seen that long-haired feller from Redburn 
 carry his violin into the church last Thursday, I 
 knowed there was goin to be somethin what couldn t 
 be called spiritual. An , by jodey! you know what 
 happened Sunday." 
 
 " It s Frank Lester, the new organist, what done 
 it," observed Titus Showell, taking his pipe from his 
 lips, and hurriedly putting it back again. "A fiddle 
 surely can t be called Script ral. I dunno as I ever 
 heerd of one bein played in the Bible or in this 
 town till last Sunday." 
 
 " Nat rally you didn t," agreed Howe. " It s 
 allers harps, an trumpets, an timbrels, an hosannas, 
 an things like that. Not squealin catgut. Why, 
 it s a insult to th Lord! He ain t pleased by no 
 sech new-fangled notions, but wants salvation to run 
 in the good, ole-fashioned ways that was good enough 
 fer our fathers an had oughta be good enough
 
 i 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 fer us! I aim to be a ree-ligious man, an I m 
 trustin to save my soul by doin an sayin what s 
 right. .Therefore Gosh Imighty! What 
 the" 
 
 A large splotch of blue paint had fallen on the 
 back of his hand just as he had thrust it out in ora 
 torical flourish. Before he could finish the ejacula- 
 tory sentence with which he had interrupted his mor 
 alizing, the young man on the counter came tumbling 
 down and sprawled across his knees. 
 
 The tin can of paint flopped upside down in the 
 lap of the peacefully-smoking Titus Showell. 
 
 " M-m-my foot slipped! " stammered the painter, 
 slowly untangling himself. " I reckon I was too 
 near the edge of the counter. Ain t hurt, are you, 
 Titus?" 
 
 " Tain t your fault if I ain t!" snapped Titus. 
 " Pears to me, Chet Todd, s you d do better t stick 
 to blacksmithin , which is your rightful callin , stead 
 o tryin to do all the paintin an other work in New 
 Canaan. Jack of all trades an master o none, you 
 know! Like the feller that manufactures cradles 
 an done fine till he tried to fill all his orders then 
 he most mis ably failed. You may be able t shoe a 
 hoss I ain t sayin you can t but there s many a
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 15 
 
 blacksmith who c dn t even paint a small plcter, let 
 alone a store ceilin ." 
 
 Titus Showell was mad, and though he suffered 
 Chet to wipe the paint off his knees and grunted 
 satisfaction that most of it had fallen to the floor, 
 instead of upon him, he continued to look at the 
 young man as if he regarded him as a general in 
 competent. 
 
 As for Deacon Howe, it was evident that he had 
 resolved to bear his cross with Christian fortitude. 
 He rubbed the paint off his hand and continued his 
 remarks on the decadence of the church choir as if 
 he hadn t been disturbed at all by the untimely inter 
 ruption. 
 
 " It ain t only the violin that s so bad," said he. 
 " But the things they sing is too purty. We don t 
 want purty tunes to lead us to salvation. The next 
 thing you know, they ll be dancin up there in the 
 choir, with the fiddler callin off." 
 
 " Mr. Blake thinks it s all right," ventured Chet, 
 wiping a streak of blue paint down one of his cheeks 
 and across his nose. " Since we ve been singin them 
 anthems an canticles, he says they s a sight more in 
 terest in his sermons than there used to be, and nat 
 urally it makes him more earnest."
 
 1 6 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " If a dominie has to depend on fiddles an op ry 
 singin to make him airnest, then I say he ain t got 
 no real call to be in the ministry," grunted the dea 
 con. 
 
 " Wa al, Spence, you had a hand in bringin him 
 here," broke in another voice, as a well-built man 
 of sixty joined the group at the stove. 
 
 He was big, this new-comer with the twinkling 
 gray eyes and kindly smile; but the chin of him, 
 rugged and uncompromising, and the forceful poise 
 of his well-modeled head, gave more than a passing 
 hint of the iron that lay underneath that smiling ex 
 terior. 
 
 " If you will be a warden," he went on, " you ve 
 got to take the responsibilities. When you re hitched 
 to a plow you have to take it along, no matter where 
 you lead it." 
 
 " That s all right," grumbled Howe. " But I m 
 a warden in a church, not a leader of grand op ry. 
 An I ain t no hoss hitched to a plow, nuther. If I 
 was, I d make a straighter furrow than some s I 
 knows specially when it comes to ree-ligion." 
 
 Dabney Todd threw back his head, closed the 
 twinkling eyes and laughed until each one of the 
 tiny little wrinkles about his likable mouth seemed 
 to be laughing at you individually.
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 17 
 
 " I reckon bein hitched to a plow ain t no worse 
 than bein hooked up to idees that s too old-fashioned 
 to let yer know a new thing s good, Spence," he said. 
 " The hoss-shoes we put on now-a-days ain t the same 
 as they was thirty years ago, an the nails are made 
 diff rent, too. But the bosses don t complain, an I 
 reckon some o the roadsters make better time with 
 the new shoes than what they did with the old." 
 
 " Hoss-shoes ain t ree-ligion," retorted Howe. 
 
 " Prejudices ain t religion, nuther, Spence. If 
 they was, churches would be a sight fuller than what 
 they are. Funny thing," he added, more seriously, 
 " how the world takes its religion. It s tolerant in 
 most everythin else but that. Men can meet to 
 gether an talk bosses, or dogs, or crops, or business, 
 or most any ole thing, an not quarrel serious; but 
 when they git onto religion, which means love an 
 tolerance an the Golden Rule if it means anythin* 
 at all, they re liable to tear each other s hearts out, 
 over it. Men will fight for religion, write for it, 
 an even die for it they ll do any ole thing but live 
 it!" 
 
 The warden was silenced for once, and Dabney 
 Todd turned to Chet : 
 
 " Say, Chet, how much longer are you goin to 
 be with this paintin job? "
 
 1 8 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Guess I ll have it done this afternoon," replied 
 Chet. " If I ain t spilled all my paint." 
 
 " Won t have time to do any work at the shop, 
 will you? " 
 
 " I guess I will if I get through." 
 
 " All right ! Come over as soon as you can. 
 Joe Pelot s got one o them benders of his on ag in, 
 an they ain t much work bein done in his place. 
 None at all, I might say for it don t matter 
 whether a man shoes hosses for a livin , writes books, 
 hoes potatoes or sets in the seats o the mighty, booze 
 will surely make him an his job as much strangers 
 as though they wasn t even on speakin terms. You 
 can t beat rum; you re trimmed at the start, in that 
 race. They s two teams standin out in front of our 
 shop now, waitin till Amos can tend to em. 
 Reckon I ll have to tackle one of em myself if you 
 don t git through fore dark, Chet." 
 
 Chet had his brush going again, by now, and 
 grunted an affirmative um-humph without stopping. 
 
 " Wa al, I ll go back an see how Amos is gittin 
 along. You come on soon as you can, Chet." 
 
 Dabney Todd, his big frame seeming to take up 
 all the spare room in the crowded store, stalked out, 
 the door closing behind him with a bang. 
 
 " Dab ain t a bad sort of man," commented Link
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 19 
 
 Watkins to the circle around the stove. " But he 
 ain t got the right idees bout religion. He don t 
 take it ser ous enough. Why, I seen him an the 
 dominie jest laughin fit to split over in his office this 
 mornin , and I horned in to see what it was all 
 about." 
 
 " What was it? " asked Howe. 
 
 " It was a story Mr. Blake was tellin , an I 
 thought it rather scanci lous comin from a minister." 
 
 " I didn t," interposed Chet, from his perch on the 
 counter. " I heard it, an it made me laugh. An 
 I didn t see why a minister shouldn t tell it. I ain t 
 one o them that thinks just because a man buttons 
 his collar behind, he ain t human. I cal late the 
 more human ministers are, the better servants o the 
 Lord they can be. Go on, give it to em, Link, an 
 let em judge." 
 
 " You tell it, Chet," insisted Link. " I don t be 
 lieve I could remember all o the blamed thing." 
 
 " Well," said Chet, " it was about a sailor who 
 went into a mission meetin* on the Bow ry, New 
 York, one evenin . He felt he was sailin the sea o 
 life in a leaky ship, an fast driftin on the shoals of 
 iniquity, an he wanted to get the anchor of salva 
 tion down in the harbor of repentance. Well, he 
 heard the story about the Crucifixion, an how it was
 
 20 DABNEY TODD 
 
 the Jews that did it. The sailor had never read the 
 New Testament, an it was all new to him. He was 
 so struck by it that he went up to the platform an 
 got converted right there." 
 
 " That s likely enough," commented the Deacon. 
 " If we hadn t all have heerd it all our lives, so that 
 we re kinder used to it, I reckon we d hustle up to 
 be converted, too." 
 
 " Well," continued Chet, " after he d had quite 
 a talk with the minister, an promised to come again 
 to another meetin , he went outside. He wasn t 
 more n a block away from the mission house, thinkin 
 of what he d heard, when a man that he could see 
 was a Jew come walkin along, tendin to his own 
 business an not takin any notice of any one. Well, 
 what does the sailor do but haul off an bust the Jew 
 on the jaw, knockin him flat." 
 
 " What did he do that fer? " asked Titus Showell, 
 deeply interested. 
 
 That s what the Jew asked the sailor," replied 
 Chet. " What did I do it for? says the sailor. 
 * Why, you dirty dog, you killed Christ, an Christ 
 stood for the brother o man. He wanted every 
 body to love their neighbor like themselves, an if 
 any blink-blank son of a gun don t do it, I m goin 
 to prove He had the right idea by handin em a
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 21 
 
 swift wallop. They either got to love their neigh 
 bors or fight me, see? Git away or I ll paste you 
 again ! " 
 
 There were some solemn nods as Chet finished 
 the story and went on with his work. At last Link 
 Watkins remarked, in a tone of triumph: 
 
 "There you are! Ain t that a goshawful story 
 for a minister to tell? I don t quite see into it, but 
 I don t think it s right for any one who preaches 
 from a pulpit ever to talk about a man bein busted 
 on the jaw. It don t sound Script ral to me." 
 
 " Mebbe not," said Chet, contemplatively, " but it 
 seems to kind of show what a mis able mess people 
 make of applyin the principles they re taught. It s 
 a good knock at intolerance, all right, an that s what 
 the minister meant to illustrate by it I heard him 
 say so, himself. I guess he knew what he was up 
 to, all right, when he sprung it." 
 
 Came a little silence; then: 
 
 " There s several things I don t like about Mr. 
 Blake," declared Deacon Howe, smoking gravely. 
 
 " Wa al," rejoined Link, " as Dabney Todd said 
 jest now, you had most to do with bringin him here. 
 You an the other officers of the church can t blame 
 nobody else if he ain t what you thought he d be." 
 
 " We ain t blamin nobody," was the retort.
 
 22 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " On y I ll say this that I didn t bargain for none 
 o these new contraptions in the choir. We allers 
 got along before with singers out o the congrega 
 tion to go up there an render the music called for 
 by the prayer-book, an to sing the hymns as they 
 had ought to be sung. Now, we got a quartette, 
 an them four folks takes all the singin out of our 
 mouths. I don t want no one to praise the Lord 
 for me." 
 
 " No one tries to prevent you singin if you want 
 to," protested Chet, straightening up to his full six 
 feet two. " We people in the choir don t aim to do 
 more than lead. That s what Mr. Blake said when 
 he asked me to sing tenor, and he told the same thing 
 to Pop Jayne an Myrtle Lewis." 
 
 "An Nance Pelot," put in Martin Doover, a 
 burly individual, nearly as tall as Chet, and some 
 twenty pounds heavier. " Why didn t you mention 
 Nance?" 
 
 There was an unpleasant grin on the broad, 
 weather-beaten countenance of Doover, and most of 
 those about the stove shifted uneasily in their seats. 
 
 " If you d give me time, Martin, I was goin to 
 mention Nance Pelot," replied Chet, looking 
 straight into the eyes of the other. " She is in our 
 quartette, an she s a splendid young lady."
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 23 
 
 "Sure she s splendid!" chuckled Martin. "I 
 heerd her sing that duet with you last Sunday, an , 
 by gum, you looked at her as if you c d eat her 
 alive when she dumb to that highest note without 
 squealin ." 
 
 " That s enough, Martin ! " warned Chet. 
 
 " Oh, I dunno. I reckon we hez a right to talk 
 about the choir, so long s we re puttin our money in 
 the plate every Sunday, an helpin to keep it up. 
 Sides, I ain t said nothin that ain t compl ment ry. 
 You sing tenor like that feller I heerd in the minstrel 
 show this winter. Old Pop Jayne makes a good 
 stagger at the bass, an Myrtle Lewis has a what 
 d ye call it? a contralto, that is sure some singin . 
 In course, Myrtle s a little flighty allers staring 
 about th church, with a half-laugh on her face. 
 You ought to tell her bout that, Chet. It s oncom- 
 mon noticeable, with her standin up there, right be 
 hind the preacher." 
 
 " Oh, I don t see nothin wrong with Myrtle," put 
 in Tite Showell. " She s young; she s at the gigglin 
 age; she ain t got to the gruntin age yet. Youth 
 will have its way. Young folks ain t like us, you 
 know. We re always talkin about our ailments an 
 sorrows; young folks has their eyes fixed on the joys 
 o life. Myrtle s young, an young folks is sup-
 
 24 DABNEY TODD 
 
 posed to laugh, even when they s nothin to laugh at. 
 It keeps em young. Laughin an good temper is 
 what wipes birthdays off the calendar fore they can 
 strike in." 
 
 " It ain t only Myrtle," persisted Martin. 
 " They s Nance Pelot. She s allers smilin in 
 church, specially when she looks at Chet." 
 
 " Well, what of it? " snapped Chet. 
 
 " On y that there s them as thinks Nance Pelot 
 oughtn t to be in the choir at all, considerin the sky- 
 larkin she s been suspected of and what s been said 
 about her, an " 
 
 He got no further. For the second time that 
 afternoon Chet Todd s brush thudded on the floor, 
 with a bang that brought all the gossipers up stand 
 ing. 
 
 Something almost electrical snapped in the air. 
 When Chet spoke the words came like rifle shots. 
 
 " Don t you say that, Martin! " 
 
 Chet s eyes held his in strange fascination. The 
 blue sparks blazing there blanched Martin s cheeks; 
 and his loose, weak mouth relaxed. 
 
 " Don t say it, I tell you ! " 
 
 Chet Todd was his father s son. In repose the 
 likeness was not so noticeable ; but standing there on 
 the counter, his head thrust forward and his body
 
 THE DIE IS CAST 25 
 
 tensed, he was Dabney all over. The smile had 
 gone and the iron was at the surface. 
 
 " I just want to tell you, Martin Doover, that 
 Nance Pelot is a good girl ! You an the other nar 
 row-minded bigots of this town who go around 
 throwin mud at a girl because she ain t your kind 
 an has sense enough to keep her business to herself, 
 instead o lettin you and your pack of she-wolves 
 paw it to pieces well, you ain t good enough to 
 clean her shoes an it ain t goin to be healthy for 
 nobody to say a word about her where I can hear 
 em. All this scandal an gossip has got to stop, 
 you hear me? The less brains a man or woman s 
 got, in this town, the more they talk, seems like. It s 
 the same as empty barrels makin more noise than 
 full ones, or empty carts rattlin loudest along the 
 road. Now, Doover, you know what s what. Git 
 out!" 
 
 " I warn t sayin nothin ," protested Martin sul 
 lenly. " That is, not more n " 
 
 " Git! Go now, or you won t be able to go," and 
 Chet, jumping down from the counter, confronted 
 him. 
 
 Cowed, Martin slouched away at what was, for 
 him, rather a swift pace, and headed for his father s 
 farm, a good two miles out of the village.
 
 26 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Chet watched him as he plodded along through 
 the mud and rain. There was a fine determination 
 in his eyes, but his heart was sad. Too well he 
 knew how soon the tale would be all over the village. 
 
 Not that he cared much, after all. To-day the 
 clash had come, as he had determined it should, 
 sooner or later. The insult had been spoken and 
 had been flung back in Doover s teeth. Yes, and 
 Chet thrilled with joy at knowledge that, had not 
 prompt withdrawal been forthcoming, the issue 
 would have been settled by gauge of battle. But 
 Nance ! Nance would she understand ? Would 
 she realize the situation? 
 
 In God s name, why couldn t these country gossips 
 and backbiters let her alone ?
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 NANCE PELOT 
 
 THE rain dripped with a mournful sob from 
 the rusty eaves of the little brown down- 
 at-the-heel place which served as a rectory 
 for New Canaan s old-fashioned Episcopal Church. 
 
 The church itself had been standing more than 
 a hundred years, and the traditions thereof were as 
 old as the building. True, these traditions were 
 cherished by the elder people, rather than the 
 younger. The pastor was expected to be conserva 
 tive. The former rector, in fact, had been wor 
 ried out of the church and village, because, as Spen 
 cer Howe and others of his generation put it, " the 
 dominie catered too much to the young folks." And 
 to-day, with the storm pelting down, Blake the 
 new minister sat there, in his damp, box-like 
 study, with a far-away look in his rather tired eyes, 
 and wondered whether it all was worth while. 
 
 " I seem to have been called to a barren vine 
 yard," he murmured, with dejection. " How great 
 
 27
 
 28 DABNEY TODD 
 
 a work will be necessary, here, to make it fruitful 
 unto the Lord! " 
 
 The discouragements, the ever-recurring objec 
 tions to his way of doing things, and the small, in 
 tangible results of his labors, had already lined his 
 face, after only his first six months in New Canaan. 
 
 Born and bred in the city, its impress was upon 
 him, and New Canaan seemed to him as a new world 
 a world in which the ideals and desires of those 
 he loved, and in whose footsteps he had so humbly 
 tried to follow, were alien. 
 
 The senseless bickerings over nothing, the bitter 
 prejudices and cruel narrowness of his people ap 
 palled him. 
 
 The business of the church called him forth; but 
 whether the gloomy, foreboding day had saddened 
 him, or whether the tension of his fiber was begin 
 ning to let down, he could not bring himself to leave 
 the rectory. 
 
 Undecided what to do, he got up and peered out 
 into the rain. Standing at the doorway, his smile 
 failed him. He flung himself dejectedly into the 
 chair by the window, once more. 
 
 Well along in years, with hair graying at the tem 
 ples and with rather a thin, pensive face, he made 
 a most pathetic figure, slouched down there. How
 
 NANCE PELOT 29 
 
 long he sat thus he failed to realize. But in the 
 end a quaint sort of contentment and a new resolve 
 shone in his eyes; and Blake, because he was as good 
 as the doctrine he preached, knelt to pray for guid 
 ance and to thank Him who is the friend of those 
 who seek Him. 
 
 A gleam of sunshine cut through the clouds ; Blake 
 saw that the rain had stopped. He took his coat and 
 hat, and with sudden decision left the rectory. As 
 he pushed his way along the water-soaked road, he 
 smiled: "Well, perhaps every cloud has a silver 
 lining, after all! " 
 
 He had not gone far when a voice called to him 
 from the porch of one of the clean white dwellings 
 which, straggling along the State road, gave form 
 to the village of New Canaan. 
 
 It was Nance Pelot, busy repairing the damage the 
 storm had done to her flowers. 
 
 A pretty figure she made, standing knee-deep 
 among the rain-beaten blossoms. Her slim, grace 
 ful figure, her hazel eyes, coiled masses of hair and 
 vivid mouth sharply distinguished her from all the 
 other girls of this humdrum little village. 
 
 Blake, pushing open the gate, had hardly reached 
 the porch, where a dripping lilac brushed his shoul 
 der and sprinkled water drops upon his cheek, when
 
 30 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Nance took his hand and gave him a welcoming 
 smile. 
 
 "Why, hello, Mr. Blake!" she cried. "What 
 an afternoon for you to be walking around! " 
 
 " I was just making a few calls, Nance. There s 
 a choir rehearsal this evening, and I wanted to make 
 sure Silas Jayne would be there. We couldn t get 
 along without him, you know, so I went to ask him." 
 
 " I do hope he ll go," said Nance. " I heard this 
 morning he had a wretched cold." 
 
 " It s nothing serious," smiled Blake. " He 
 wheezed for my benefit once or twice when I went in. 
 But he forgot his ailment when I told him we d de 
 cided to put a boy choir into the church. He was 
 afraid we might not want him to sing any more. 
 For the moment he seemed to be downright worried, 
 until I assured him that we would keep our quar 
 tette, even if we did have the boys." 
 
 " Silas Jayne has a good voice, Mr. Blake. The 
 only trouble is that occasionally he seems to lose 
 control of its volume, and startles the rest of us with 
 a roar that s abysmally deep, and drowns us all out. 
 It s really quite dreadful at times, even if it does 
 make you laugh." 
 
 The pout with which Nance Pelot said this was 
 pleasant to see, Blake thought. She was good to
 
 NANCE PELOT 31 
 
 look at, was Nance. He found the bright conver 
 sation and the half irresponsible outbursts of this 
 full-blooded, whole-hearted girl a great relief after 
 an hour with Mrs. Clarissa Howe and others of her 
 kind a ray of sunshine amid the general gloom 
 and dull monotony of New Canaan society. 
 
 Her mother s people were gentlefolk, and there 
 was an unmistakable air of culture about the girl 
 that set her apart from the others in the village. 
 Her grandfather, Warner, and his grand and great 
 grandfathers before him, had made history in the 
 olden days. The patrician face of Nance was a 
 Warner face, and the warm French blood of her 
 father s people had given color and dash to her prim 
 New England heritage. 
 
 Nance hung up Blake s coat and hat and led the 
 way into the sitting-room. 
 
 " Take this rocker, Mr. Blake. You look tired." 
 
 " I am a little tired, Nance," he returned, as he 
 sank comfortably into the well-cushioned chair. 
 " But I can t stay long. I have to see Mrs. Cabot. 
 She is a dear old lady, but so deaf she never hears 
 my side of a controversy. She always manages to 
 miss my very best arguments." 
 
 "There s been a controversy, then?" asked 
 Nance, sitting on the piano bench. "Doctrine?"
 
 32 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Sitting there, her feet swaying back and forth un 
 consciously, her eyes shining, vibrant and intensely 
 alive with magnificent youth, the girl formed a pic 
 ture. Her full, red mouth had an appealing tilt to 
 it that won you; and her hair, the color of ripened 
 wheat, piled up seemingly anyhow, in its well-or 
 dered disorder gave an almost exotic cast to the 
 strong features. 
 
 The trim ankles swinging in and out of her dainty 
 skirt, the high-arched, delicate feet, and the full 
 rounded figure of her, made Blake wonder if New 
 Canaan, with its petty tyrannies and gossip, was all 
 this strong, unbridled girl was to have for her por 
 tion in life. 
 
 The thought haunted him. Surely Nance was not 
 to grow old and wrinkled at thirty-five, worn out with 
 the drudgery that took the happiness out of so many 
 lives. Surely the blood of her race would cry out 
 in her for the good things of life, the refinements 
 and luxuries that Nance herself had known in child 
 hood. The memories of crowds, big cities, wealth, 
 ease, do not fade out when once a full-grown girl 
 has envied them. 
 
 Blake wondered, as he watched her, how this 
 high-spirited and richly-endowed girl could tolerate 
 the melancholy mediocrity of the country village.
 
 NANCE PELOT 33 
 
 He was conscious of the pause in the conversation, 
 and felt confused as he found the girl s eyes ques 
 tioning him. Hurriedly he continued: 
 
 " Doctrine ? No. Not exactly although in 
 directly, of course. It was about music. As you 
 know, Mr. Lester and I have come to the conclu 
 sion that a boy choir in surplice and cassock, to rein 
 force the quartette, would add to the interest of the 
 service. It would not involve any departure from 
 the authorized ritual. It would be merely an elabo 
 ration. I hold that we should praise the Lord with 
 the most perfect ceremony possible. We have 
 Scriptural warrant for that. The priests of the 
 Temple offered their sacrifices with the emblazon 
 ment and pomp they considered due to the glory of 
 the Most High. Why shouldn t we put our sing 
 ers into symbolical vestments, and give them a golden 
 cross to carry as with triumphant hymns of praise 
 they approach the altar?" 
 
 " But Mrs. Cabot did not agree with you? " 
 " Most emphatically not. Mrs. Clarissa Howe, 
 whom I had seen before, also doubted whether it 
 would be exactly proper. But her husband has given 
 me his word he will not oppose the boy choir. It s 
 the first time the senior warden has failed to ac 
 cuse me of trying to turn the church into a place of
 
 34 DABNEY TODD 
 
 amusement, since I have been here. It broke his 
 heart when the other vestrymen voted him down 
 and gave the church a real organist. Some of my 
 people think Frank Lester is an emissary from the 
 devil, sent here for their special damnation - and 
 when they find out that we purpose to have a sur- 
 pliced choir well, it will just about clinch the mat 
 ter in their minds. 
 
 " But I want to tell you, Nance " and Blake 
 showed his determination for the first time, this 
 afternoon " I m going through with it. It s 
 wrong to live the way these people do. God isn t 
 mean or narrow. Fire and brimstone belong to a 
 past age. 
 
 " The hell of our forefathers has been laughed 
 out of court by all who haven t locked the door of 
 reason and thrown away the key. Infant damna 
 tion, predestination, eternal punishment and an 
 avenging Deity have had to go. Intolerance be 
 longs to an age of ignorance. It s unchristian, and 
 I am going to make them see it the right way or 
 leave. If you want to do business to-day in religion 
 you ve got to make it attractive, and I m willing to 
 save souls if I have to go out and advertise to do it. 
 This is just between you and me," he added, smiling. 
 
 It may have been the irony of fate, or pure coin-
 
 NANCE PELOT 35 
 
 cidence that, as if in answer to Blake s ringing words, 
 the kitchen door came crashing in, and a dull jar, like 
 the sound of a falling body, followed it. 
 
 Nance jumped to her feet. Her face went ashen, 
 and fright gave way to a more terrible realization. 
 Blake sensed the truth. Into Nance s eyes came the 
 pitiful look that hunters see in the great eyes of a 
 doe, trapped in the snow-crust. Blake turned his 
 head away as she left the room. He knew it would 
 fatally wound her if he seemed to notice, or offered 
 her his help. 
 
 On the kitchen floor lay Joe Pelot. 
 
 The village drunkard had come homel
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES 
 
 DABNEY TODD S blooded Holsteins were 
 tinkling their way back to town from the 
 pasturage, under the leadership of little 
 Davy Quigg, before Nance had been able to get her 
 father washed and to bed, an inert, senseless lump of 
 sodden stupidity. When sober, Joe Pelot was harm 
 less and good-natured, even though inefficient beyond 
 all hope of regeneration; when drunk his besotted 
 inertia would have made angels weep. 
 
 Nance was nearing the age of twenty-one, and 
 oft-repeated occurrences of the kind had hardened 
 her against the physical revulsion drunkenness 
 brings to most women, but the hurt that would not 
 heal was in her heart. Though her teeth gritted 
 and the tears that came to her eyes were only tiny 
 ones that clung to the lids, still her proud head was 
 bowed. A great fear of happiness at times seized 
 her. This day had been only a day similar to 
 many that had gone before. Always this thing that 
 
 36
 
 IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES 37 
 
 was eating her heart out found some fresh form of 
 insult and shame, and to-day it had evidenced itself 
 before the minister. 
 
 Dabney s Holsteins recalled fleetingly to her the 
 fact that he and his sons were making the money 
 that brought blooded cattle and many other forms 
 of prosperity to them, in the same little shop that 
 her father, and father s father, had owned. Some 
 of the older people even to-day called it Pelot s 
 Forge. 
 
 The forge had gone, and with it the big farm it 
 had paid for; and to-day, dollars dollars as pre 
 cious now as acres had been years ago had gone 
 the same way. 
 
 Anger, too, flared in the girl s heart against one 
 who either maliciously or unwittingly had brought 
 forth this fresh relapse on her father s part. Old 
 Joe Pelot was a drunkard, but he had his virtues. 
 In his sober moments some remnants of a lost re 
 spectability answered Nance s pleadings, and he made 
 at least a half-hearted effort to keep away from 
 drink, despite the insolent jeers of boon companions 
 and the entreaties of those who, like true emissaries 
 of Satan, always seem to take delight in dragging 
 back into the mire all who strive to pull themselves 
 therefrom.
 
 38 DABNEY TODD 
 
 New Canaan was too small, and everybody s busi 
 ness was too certainly some one else s business, to 
 give Nance courage enough to try concealing all of 
 her father s weaknesses. So it was generally known 
 that she had brought him back from Redburn and 
 had opened the little home in New Canaan largely 
 because she had believed she could reform him 
 and, like most of us who profess to believe in the 
 creed of that Man who died that we might all be 
 saved, her neighbors and passing acquaintances never 
 let her forget her task. Nance, because there was 
 a great deal of the thoroughbred in her, never shrank 
 from it. 
 
 Fierce resolve glittered in her eyes, and her small 
 hands clenched vengefully, as she exclaimed: 
 
 " I ll find out who teamed into Redburn to-day. 
 There weren t many. I didn t see anybody pass this 
 house. But I ll ask Chet. He ll know." 
 
 She had her supper alone, as the sun, sinking in a 
 ball of fire, shot its golden rays into the little sitting- 
 room. The windows were open, and the chattering 
 of birds busy about their preparations for the night 
 floated in to her. The little town itself was con 
 tentedly going about its business in a genial sort of 
 after-supper glow. 
 
 The girl felt apart from it all. The happiness
 
 IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES 39 
 
 she could sense in a chance word caught here and 
 there from passersby and near neighbors, not to 
 mention the very maternal twitterings of a sleek 
 mother bluebird in her front yard, seemed to have 
 parted at her very door and flowed on, leaving her 
 utterly alone. 
 
 The room itself caught the girl s attention, and 
 brought a heart-throb of its own. Something from 
 right within had gone into the making of that little 
 home. It was to have been the foundation for her 
 father s rehabilitation. 
 
 The town of Redburn, some few miles away, had 
 always offered too many temptations for Joe Pelot. 
 For this reason alone, Nance had insisted on remov 
 ing to New Canaan. The home they had lived in, 
 at Redburn, with its two tiny rooms, and with her 
 father working for a daily wage, held nothing but 
 bitter memories. This was to have been different. 
 Nance had felt so surely that he would be able to 
 have his own little business here, again. That, 
 somehow, they would make it pay. And the little 
 home was to have been so full of happiness, and 
 faith, and love that they just couldn t think of fail 
 ure. 
 
 The dainty white curtains Nance had made with 
 her own fingers. The pictures were of her own
 
 40 DABNEY TODD 
 
 choosing and the piano oh ! the saving and 
 the planning to make it possible ! 
 
 And now, the stern little bronze Wagner glaring 
 down at her from its place above the piano, seemed 
 to ask if this was to be the end. Was hope to be 
 snatched away from her now in the full glow of her 
 youth? Why did fate seem to pursue and torture 
 her, who only wanted to be like other girls? 
 
 There was none to answer, and her throbbing 
 heart beat against the walls of its prison. 
 
 Minutes lagged by, until the sound of the gate 
 swinging open, and the quick step of some one com 
 ing up the gravel walk sent a flush to her face. The 
 hearty ring of a boyish " Hello, Nance! " found her 
 big, tear-filled eyes smiling a little. 
 
 The visitor felt enough at home to come in with 
 out waiting for further invitation. It was Chet 
 Todd, in his " Sunday best," and not anywhere nearly 
 as comfortable as he had been while painting Link 
 Watkins ceiling. 
 
 Chet, despite the rough-hewn exterior that hid his 
 sterling qualities, made a fine figure of a man. 
 Frank blue eyes that looked at you with honest 
 directness, capable shoulders and strong hands, a 
 well-raised chin and somewhat curling brown hair
 
 cap 
 
 VJW; r^^f^- 
 
 WHY DID FATE SEEM TO PURSUE AND TORTURE HER, WHO 
 ONLY WANTED TO BE LIKE OTHER GIRLS?
 
 IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES 41 
 
 distinguished him far above the average run of coun 
 try youth. Now there was an eager youthfulness to 
 him as he stood gazing at Nance, and the big, honest 
 smile that made him " Chet " to every one was back 
 again in its accustomed place. 
 
 " Say, Nance ! " he cried. " You want to hurry 
 up. We re late now. I been down doin a job of 
 paintin for Link Watkins this afternoon,, an had to 
 give dad a lift afterward at the shop, an I want to 
 tell you I ain t been sittin down none since I got 
 home. Took me bout as long to get the paint off 
 myself as it did to get it on Link s ceiling." 
 
 Chet stopped, out of breath. Nance felt cheered 
 in spite of herself. There was something contagi 
 ous about Chet s enthusiasm, even though his speech 
 was rough at times, and strictly to the point. 
 
 Nance, who had greeted Chet with all the courage 
 at her command, put on her hat and began sorting 
 over, in a half-hearted way, the music they were prac 
 ticing for the following Sunday. 
 
 As Chet followed her with his eyes, he suddenly 
 became conscious of her strained manner, and his 
 hands clenched unknowingly. Some one had told 
 her about Martin Doover. 
 
 He crossed the room to Nance s side, caught the
 
 42 DABNEY TODD 
 
 hand that held the music, and swung her around until 
 she faced him. One look at her confirmed his sus 
 picions. 
 
 " Say, Nance ! " he cried, his face convulsed with 
 anger, " they ain t no one said nothin to you, has 
 they? They ain t no one tried to shame you? " 
 
 The suddenness of it surprised her, so that the 
 music went tumbling to the floor. 
 
 Seconds passed before Nance could find an an 
 swer. 
 
 "Why, Chet Todd," she stammered. "Have 
 you lost your mind? There s a mad look in your 
 eye." 
 
 " No, I ain t lost my mind," he returned. " I 
 ain t lost my mind, an I ain t half as mad as I might 
 be. But I know something s happened to you. You 
 don t look that way when they ain t. What s the 
 matter? You can tell me anythin , everythin you 
 know that, don t you? What is it? " 
 
 Nance s lip quivered as she answered: "My 
 father" 
 
 "Your father?" There was relief in Chet s 
 voice. 
 
 "Your father? Some one s gone an got him 
 loaded again, eh? Who was it, Nance? " 
 
 She was nearer to real tears now than she had
 
 IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES 43 
 
 been all afternoon. Compelled to stand alone, she 
 was capable of it. Looking now into Chet s eyes, 
 she saw kindness and friendship there, and her 
 woman s intuition told her she was not quite alone. 
 Also, womanlike, now that she felt that she had 
 some one to lean on the least bit, she wanted to cry. 
 The cherished human desire that is in all of us, to 
 have some one to confide in, all but overpowered her. 
 
 Chet felt, in some vague way, her thought. 
 
 " Don t you mind, Nance," he consoled her. 
 
 " Well, I do mind," she managed to answer. 
 " It s the first time in three weeks. He was trying 
 this time, Chet. You you ve been more than 
 kind." 
 
 " Shucks ! I ain t kind. I d do anything for you, 
 Nance." 
 
 " I believe that," she answered, looking thought 
 fully down upon the sheets of music on the floor. 
 " There isn t anything we can do about it now. You 
 don t know whether anybody went to Redburn to-day 
 with a team? I mean, anybody of that kind, you 
 know anybody that would do such a villainous 
 thing as as lead my father into temptation." 
 
 " Only one person that I know of," replied Chet. 
 " It looked as if it was goin to be a hard rain, an 
 it scared em all except one man."
 
 44 DABNEY TODD 
 
 "Who was he?" 
 
 " Martin Doover. I mean young Mart. He 
 went down with a load o potatoes, an got back early 
 in the afternoon. I seen him later at Watkins store, 
 after he d been home an put his team away. He 
 told me he d been to Redburn." 
 
 " Did he stop at my father s shop? " 
 
 " I reckon he did. Old man Howe seen them 
 talkin together before he come into the store. They 
 were in the back of the shop, behind a wagon, an he 
 lowed they seemed to have some confidential things 
 to say to each other." 
 
 It was all becoming very clear to Chet. Know 
 ing Martin s breed, the signs were unmistakable. 
 
 "Was my father himself?" 
 
 " He didn t say nothin about that. But I know 
 he was workin in the shop right after dinner. I 
 seen him shoein Paul Cuddeback s drivin horse be 
 fore I went in to Watkins s. So I reckon he was 
 all right. You can bet your life on it, Nance, Mar 
 tin Doover is to blame this time." 
 
 Chet s score with Martin weighed heavily. 
 
 Time had flown and the choir rehearsal had been 
 quite forgotten, until the outer door to the porch 
 burst open, and a girl of about eighteen came breez 
 ing into the hall, and thence to the sitting-room.
 
 IDLE TONGUES AND SHARP ONES 45 
 
 " Come on, you folks ! We ve been waiting 
 twenty minutes now. Ready, Nance? How do you 
 do, Chet? I reckoned I d find you here." 
 
 It was Myrtle Lewis, the contralto of the quar 
 tette, and the significant giggle which accompanied 
 her last sentence made Chet turn scarlet at once. 
 
 "Shucks! Myrtle!" he stammered. "I ain t 
 no more likely to be here than some place else. I 
 jest came in to try over my duet with Nance." 
 
 " I didn t hear any singing as I came on the 
 porch," remarked Myrtle. " You must have been 
 doing it pianissimo. Ah! Here s Nance, at last! " 
 
 Together they all walked down to the church. 
 Nance, now quite herself again, gave no hint or sign 
 of the grief corroding her heart. Chet, through all 
 his sorrow for her, could not help sensing keen ad 
 miration of her fortitude. 
 
 After the rehearsal Chet and Nance walked home 
 together, and the young spring moon, peeping over 
 the treetops sometime later, found them still at 
 Nance s gate. Youth takes a long time to say good 
 night, and whatever it was that they said to each 
 other matters not. But Nance, as she closed her 
 eyes that night, found the little star of hope, which 
 turns the grayest of days into bright ones, still shin 
 ing.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 NEEVEY TODD 
 
 CHET had been in such a hurry to dress, 
 and to see Nance, that he had got away 
 from the supper table before his father had 
 come home. 
 
 When Dabney Todd did get in to supper, he was 
 confronted with a blaze of variegated color at the 
 other side of the table that made him blink. It was 
 a new silk waist worn by the lady who had been the 
 sharer of his joys and sorrows for nearly thirty-five 
 years, Minerva Middleton Todd. Plump and good- 
 humored was Minerva, with cheeks ruddy as apples, 
 kindly blue eyes eyes like Chet s behind spark 
 ling, gold-bowed glasses, and a smile so cheery that 
 it could melt to softness even the most vinegar- faced 
 deacon of the village church. 
 
 " Sufferin snakes!" ejaculated Dabney, eyeing 
 his spouse. " Where did ye git that hoss-scarer, 
 Neevey? " 
 
 46
 
 NEEVEY TODD 47 
 
 "What s the matter with it?" she demanded, 
 coldly. 
 
 " Ain t nothin th matter with it s fur s I know 
 cept it looks like it might catch fire if anybody was 
 to shake hands with you a little hard. It s surely a 
 hot pattern." Then, with an air of conviction: 
 " Don t take no fortune-teller to know where it come 
 from." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " That there Cash Bailey come through town to 
 day. Stopped to have his horse shod. I seen that 
 thunder-an -lightnin cross-bar stuff you re wearin , 
 on his wagon. I might have knowed he d have you 
 totin some of it around afore sundown." 
 
 "DabneyTodd!" 
 
 It was a command. 
 
 Dabney knew he had gone far enough. So he 
 hastened to add, with strained enthusiasm: 
 
 " It s real purty at that, Neevey. I m plumb glad 
 you got it. Scotch, ain t it? " 
 
 Neevey s red face broke into such a gratified smile, 
 that her husband was glad he had admired it. 
 
 "Yes," she answered. " It s the tartan of of 
 some clan. I don t mind jest which one. Rob Roy, 
 or Cameron, or Lindsay, or suthin . Anyhow, it 
 was the purtiest in the wagon, an I picked it out for
 
 4 8 DABNEY TODD 
 
 myself. That there Cash Bailey is a right smart 
 young feller. I ve heard tell of him afore. He s 
 a nephew of John Bailey, who keeps store over to 
 Twelve Corners. Cash said these colors give tone 
 to my complexion. It s the stylishest thing on Fifth 
 Avenue, N York." 
 
 " They s certainly style about it," murmured Dab- 
 ney. " It ain t like nothin I ever seen afore." 
 
 " Little you know about style," said Minerva. 
 " What s your idee of it, anyhow, Dabby? " 
 
 " Oh," answered her husband, pensively, " I 
 reckon somethin cut on the bias, with embroidered 
 circingle, tatted holdbacks an crocheted tugs, also a 
 velvet basque ruther high on the crupper, would be 
 about it. Then put in a bolero, with scolloped 
 slashin s piped with plain red an yaller insertion, 
 an " 
 
 " There, there, that ll do ! " interrupted Minerva, 
 reddening. " You can t make sport o me, Dabby 
 Todd! I can git along all right, I cal late, without 
 none o your suggestions. By the way, Cash told 
 me he d be here ev ry two weeks for a spell. I m 
 goin to buy a pair of pants for you next time he 
 comes." 
 
 "Oh, you air?" was the startled response. 
 "What color be they?"
 
 NEEVEY TODD 49 
 
 " Blue robin s egg blue with a black stripe 
 down em. Course you ll on y wear em to church 
 an sociables an maybe when you have an auc 
 tion." 
 
 Minerva Middleton Todd, despite her decided 
 manner, always had a predominance of good temper 
 shining in her broad, healthy-hued face to counter 
 act any sternness of manner which might seem to 
 leaven her disposition. In the gorgeous plaid silk 
 waist she was flamboyant, but not unattractive. 
 
 " Pears to me, Neevey, you git younger the older 
 you are. Now you have that blue an red an yaller 
 on, an your hair all primped up in them wavy 
 wrinkles on your forehead, you re as likely-lookin as 
 any young gal in this village. If I didn t know you 
 was most as old as me, I d say you was bout twenty- 
 five." 
 
 " G long, Dabby ! I m an old woman, with two 
 big grown men for sons, an a granddaughter. I ll 
 be fifty-four come nex fall, an I ain t aimin to hide 
 my age, nuther. Tain t that as is botherin me jest 
 now." 
 
 "Is anythin botherin ye?" inquired Dabney, as 
 he accepted a hot corn muffin, and proceeded to flavor 
 it to his taste with butter and molasses. " I notice 
 ye been thinkin bout somethin sides yer new waist
 
 50 DABNEY TODD 
 
 all through supper, an that ain t nat ral, less they s 
 somethin on your mind." 
 
 " It s about Chet," she confessed. 
 
 "What about Chet? Ain t nothin wrong with 
 him s I see. He works every day either in th 
 shop or outside. He painted Link Watkins s store 
 to-day, and worked in the shop afterward. He don t 
 gad aroun none, an sence he s been singin in the 
 choir he ain t runnin off to Redburn. Ain t got no 
 time to. The choir practices nigh every night." 
 
 " Yes, an that s jest it. When he practices he s 
 singin with Nance Pelot always Nance, never no 
 body else, Dabby; an afterwards he always takes 
 her home." 
 
 " What if he does? At his time o life, when all 
 the young fellers like to be doin the seein -Nellie- 
 home racket, I don t blame him none. If you ll cast 
 your mem ry back about thirty-five years, or some 
 sech matter " 
 
 " That ain t the p int at all, Dabby," Minerva 
 interrupted decidedly. " We re talkin about Chet, 
 now. As I was sayin , he always takes Nance to 
 choir-rehearsals, an afterwards " 
 
 " Of course he sees her home, an Nance is the 
 finest-lookin gal in town, at that."
 
 NEEVEY TODD 51 
 
 Dabney Todd said this in the defiant tone of one 
 who expects argument, but is prepared to uphold his 
 own opinions. 
 
 " I warn t never much on singin , Neevey," he 
 laughed. "But, gosh all hemlock! I slicked up 
 to you without singin . Every time I look at Chet 
 an that big giant of an Amos, an think o the good 
 times an troubles we been through together, well, 
 I ain t never felt sorry about it, an I never had to 
 thank that whiskered-up old he-bobcat of a father 
 of yours for it, nuther. I always said if ever I had 
 any young ones, I wouldn t make life the hell on 
 earth for em that your old man made for me." 
 
 When Neevey was particularly moved she always 
 had to cry. Dabney knew the signs now approach 
 ing, and hastened to put up the floodgates. Getting 
 up from the table, he came round to his wife. 
 
 " Now, now, Neevey," he coaxed, " I didn t mean 
 nothin " 
 
 "Go way!" she repulsed him. "Don t you 
 dare!" 
 
 His only answer was to take her in his arms and 
 give her a resounding smack and a good hug which 
 very strongly resembled that of a grizzly. Then 
 he set off to the shop where, in his little glassed-in
 
 52 DABNEY TODD 
 
 office, he spent his evenings, toiling over his books, 
 a corncob pipe for company and a comfortable bank- 
 balance to cheer him. 
 
 When Neevey Todd had washed her supper dishes, 
 she put on her new spring hat the hat with the 
 violets and red roses draped a knitted white wool 
 shawl across her ample shoulders, and went over to 
 the church. 
 
 Myrtle had already reached it, with Nance and 
 Chet, but there was no sound of singing as Neevey 
 stopped at the church door. She hesitated a mo 
 ment, then, pushing it open, went in and marched 
 straight up the center aisle to the railing which sepa 
 rated the chancel and choir gallery from the pews 
 for the congregation. 
 
 Until the advent of the new rector the choir had 
 been a haphazard affair, with anybody crowding into 
 the seats who thought he or she could sing, and often 
 without any idea of doing so. It had been an ex 
 cellent place for unobserved flirtation. Blake had 
 changed all that. He had won his fight for a regu 
 lar, paid organist; and, with a lot of urging, had 
 persuaded Frank Lester to come over from Red- 
 burn to take the position. Lester soon after had 
 induced his friend, Carl Meyer, to play his violin 
 in the church occasionally.
 
 NEEVEY TODD 53 
 
 The people of New Canaan required to be 
 " jolted," to arouse their interest in anything. The 
 violin had beyond all question accomplished that re 
 sult. As Clarissa Howe said, it sent them out of 
 church " with their teeth chatterinV 
 
 The choir now had become an accepted part of 
 the church, and Blake and Lester had whipped it 
 into a hard-working organization. Still Neevey, 
 pausing at the doorway, had her misgivings. Her 
 antipathy to Nance took root in several ways. 
 
 Chet was her baby, and Neevey had very definite 
 ideas concerning the girl who should take her place 
 in his life. Not quite her place. No mother ever 
 can admit two things first, that any woman in the 
 world is good enough to marry her boy; and second, 
 that that woman, once a member of the family, can 
 supplant her. Complete abdication in favor of a 
 wife lies quite outside the imagination of mother 
 hood. 
 
 Though she hardly admitted it even to herself, 
 the idea of Chet s marriage, at all, filled her with a 
 vague, inchoate dread. It seemed only one more 
 cross to be borne. Truly, as Dabney had said, sor 
 rows, troubles and cares had not passed them by. 
 Privations had not spared them. The law she had 
 laid down for herself was not less stern or more un-
 
 54 DABNEY TODD 
 
 compromising than the creed she expected others to 
 live by. Precious little she had not sacrificed that 
 her boys might get ahead that Chet and Amos 
 might be well taken care of when Dabney and she 
 passed on. The little luxuries and vanities that the 
 young women of her time indulged in she had, with 
 Spartan-like determination, turned from. 
 
 The need of privation had passed, as evidenced by 
 the new waist. But even the waist would be laid 
 away and treasured for special occasions. The 
 truth was that Neevey had denied herself so long, 
 that her indulgences now netted her but little happi 
 ness. 
 
 Hers was a stern code; life to her was a serious 
 business. The eager, bubbling youth of Nance, her 
 freedom of convention, her communing with the 
 birds and the wild things of the woods, her city ways 
 and her different sort of clothes, were to Neevey, 
 sacrilegious, wanton and not likely to be the means 
 to any good end. Asked to state definitely a single 
 objection to the girl, Neevey would have been at a 
 loss to do more than exhibit her aversion and dis 
 like. 
 
 Her attitude was, in reality, only the unconscious 
 and unadmitted jealousy of age for youth, the sus 
 picion of the passing generation for that which comes
 
 NEEVEY TODD 55 
 
 the same spirit that Ibsen so trenchantly portrays 
 in " The Master Builder." 
 
 An honest soul, without spitefulness in her heart, 
 she was never consciously unkind. For no small 
 consideration would she have given Nance a needless 
 hurt. Though Neevey had never realized it, what 
 had turned her against the girl had been her over 
 powering fear that these signs of wildness and prodi 
 gality would surely reap their harvest. And the 
 mothersense, within, determined her to keep Chet, 
 her boy, away from its entangling. 
 
 Chet s mother had held herself above the petty 
 gossip of her neighbors. Nevertheless, she knew 
 that Nance had evidenced a sort of friendship for 
 Larry Shayne, a ne er-do-well who had been mixed 
 up in an affair with a girl over at Twelve Corners; 
 and that she had been seen riding with him and one 
 of his Redburn cronies. Larry Shayne, sleek, self- 
 willed idler that he was, typified all that Neevey dis 
 liked most, and even this slight friendship had served 
 to confirm her prejudices regarding Nance. 
 
 In a way, Neevey was justified for some suspicions 
 of Nance, if as it seemed the girl tolerated any 
 advances from Larry. For this worthless son of a 
 vicious father was, by all accounts, one of the most 
 designing rogues who ever played on the credulities
 
 56 DABNEY TODD 
 
 and weaknesses of women, or spent in idle wanton 
 ness the earnings of his father s evil business. 
 
 Professor Meyer happened to be tuning his in 
 strument, taking no heed of the members of the 
 choir and others who were in the gallery, as Neevey 
 entered and walked to the chancel. 
 
 "Mercy on me!" she ejaculated, below her 
 breath. " That fiddle is squeakin like a rusty gate ! 
 Why don t the man play, if he s goin to? An all 
 them folks walkin about in front of the organ, 
 talkin . It s like the County Fair, more n a 
 church ! " 
 
 Frank Lester, at the keyboard, was sorting his 
 music. He saw, through the aid of the mirror 
 before him, that a strikingly-attired lady had come 
 up to the chancel rail, and turned around to bow 
 politely. 
 
 " Good evening, Mrs. Todd. Won t you take a 
 seat?" 
 
 " Thank you. If I ain t intrudin ." 
 
 " Not at all. We are pleased to have the mem 
 bers of the congregation show an interest in our 
 work." 
 
 " Humph! I see some of the choir takes a pow - 
 ful lot of int rest in each other," she replied. " I 
 don t know what s got into that boy of mine, but
 
 NEEVEY TODD 57 
 
 he s gurglin somethin all day long fit to shame a 
 meadow lark. Seemed to me twas bout time I 
 found out what was bewitchin the big calf. Guess 
 I ain t goin to have to look much further," she 
 added to herself, peering at Chet, who was bending 
 over Nance Pelot as she sat on one of the seats, her 
 eyes cast down upon her music. 
 
 Chet s back was to the body of the church, and 
 neither he nor Nance was aware of the presence of 
 his mother. 
 
 " Now! " cried Lester, commandingly, as he laid 
 his hands upon the keyboard. " Let us have that 
 anthem! Are you all ready? " 
 
 The members of the choir stood up. There came 
 a little buzzing of conversation, among the youths 
 and maidens, with here or there an unsanctified titter. 
 The organist rapped sharply for silence. 
 
 "Order!" cried he. 
 
 Nance arose to her feet. She and Chet, side by 
 side, saw Mrs. Todd at the same moment. 
 
 Chet nodded to his mother, while Nance s face 
 took on a deeper pink, as she ventured to smile at 
 the good lady. Neevey did not respond to either. 
 Arms folded, she sat stiffly in the front pew, and, 
 with a critical expression, prepared to listen to the 
 singing and to watch Chet.
 
 58 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Benny! " called out the organist. " Where are 
 you?" Then, louder: " Benny Zepp !" 
 
 u I m comin ! " piped a voice from the back of 
 the church. " What d yer want? " 
 
 A boy about eleven years of age, with a 
 turned-up nose, red hair, and as Neevey expressed 
 it, half-audibly, " with more devilment in him than 
 most boys of twice his age ought to have," came 
 shuffling up the aisle. He stood near Neevey and 
 looked up at Lester. 
 
 " Oh, there you are! " exclaimed Lester. " Get 
 around to the back of that organ, will you? You re 
 holding up the rehearsal." 
 
 " All right ! " the boy answered. Then, after 
 taking a step forward, he stopped, as if something 
 had occurred to him. 
 
 "Mr. Lester!" 
 
 "Well?" returned the organist, with impatience. 
 " What is it? " He swung around on his bench, to 
 ward the boy. 
 
 " I ve been readin the paper that Mr. Blake has 
 printed an put in the pews every Sunday," and he 
 held up a leaflet Blake distributed each Sabbath, con 
 taining the choir program and a synopsis of his ser 
 mon. 
 
 " What about it? " queried Lester, truculently.
 
 NEEVEY TODD 59 
 
 " Oh, hold yer hosses ! " exclaimed Benny, in so 
 low a tone as to be heard only by Neevey Todd. 
 " You re li ble to ditch yerself if you r ar up so 
 rid c lous." 
 
 "What did you say?" ejaculated the organist, 
 who knew Benny had made some remark, although 
 he could not hear it. " Speak up ! " 
 
 " I said I wanted my name down as assistant or 
 ganist. Everybody that does anythin reg lar here 
 has some title or other, an I ain t got none. I don t 
 think that s fair, an I ain t goin to stand fer it, no 
 how! 1 
 
 A cackle of laughter broke from Professor Meyer, 
 which was echoed by a loud guffaw from Pop Jayne. 
 Lester was quite serious, however, as he turned upon 
 the boy. 
 
 "You go and pump that organ!" he ordered. 
 " That s all you have to do." 
 
 " All? Ain t it enough? " grumbled Benny, as he 
 walked around the rail to the chancel, and so to 
 ward the organ. " I claim that I m assistant or 
 ganist, an they ain t no reason why I shouldn t be in 
 the church paper, same as you an Professor Meyer." 
 
 " You talk as if you played the organ," snorted 
 Lester. " Wait till you know how to do that, so 
 that you can help me sometimes, and you shall have
 
 6o DABNEY TODD 
 
 your name printed in large type. Now get to 
 your work. We want to begin." 
 
 "Then I ain t the assistant organist?" persisted 
 Benny. 
 
 " Don t talk nonsense ! " 
 
 Benny went behind the organ, but not to work, and 
 Neevey caught his mischievous little face staring out 
 at her. It was quite obvious that the young rascal, 
 tired of being constantly reminded of his menial in 
 feriority and jealous of the organist s commanding 
 position, had declared a general strike in the pump 
 ing department. 
 
 " Now, professor, we ll begin. The prelude ! " 
 announced Lester. " Start with me! " 
 
 He placed his hands on the keyboard again, and 
 pressed several keys for a resounding chord. But 
 not a sound came from the organ. Professor Mey 
 er s violin squeaked out thinly, alone. 
 
 " What the " began Lester, violently. " Begin 
 again, professor! " 
 
 The second attempt was no better than the first. 
 Lester jumped from the bench and ran to the side 
 of the organ. Before he got there, Benny Zepp was 
 out in the open, ready to dodge the enemy. 
 
 "What do you mean by this, you you young 
 rebel? " roared Lester.
 
 NEEVEY TODD 61 
 
 Benny permitted a slow smile to widen his mouth 
 and push up his short nose a little higher than usual, 
 as he piped: 
 
 " Am I the assistant organist? " 
 
 " Assistant nothing, you scoundrel ! " spluttered 
 Lester, while the members of the choir tittered. 
 
 " You can t play the organ without me," persisted 
 Benny. " If I ain t there to pump the wind, how 
 much music can you git? " 
 
 " You ll get more music than you want if you 
 don t go and do your work," retorted Lester. 
 " You re paid for pumping the organ, aren t you? " 
 
 " Ten cents a week! " squeaked Benny. " Tain t 
 nough. I want more money, or my name printed, 
 same s yours. You talk about your tistic temper. 
 Well, I ve got some o that, too. I reckon if a 
 growed-up man can have a big temper, a kid can 
 have a little one, can t he? That s fair, ain t it, I d 
 like to know? An I want twenty-five cents, or you 
 can git somebody else at the bellowses." 
 
 Lester regarded the little tyrant for a few mo 
 ments. He remembered that he had been talking 
 about " artistic temperament," the Sunday before. 
 Here was its first fruit! He knew Benny had lis 
 tened and been impressed. 
 
 " I knew I d fetch him," smiled Benny, pumping
 
 62 DABNEY TODD 
 
 like a fire-engine, a bright new quarter lying in his 
 pocket. " He has me here three an four nights a 
 week, playin the air out of her quicker n I can pump 
 her in, an I m goin to have a quarter, or bust up 
 the choir ! " 
 
 Something of a crowd had dropped in before the 
 rehearsal was over. No one was more surprised 
 than Neevey when Blake, singling her out from Mrs. 
 Howe and a half-dozen other estimable ladies, of 
 fered her his arm, and quite gallantly started home 
 with her. There were others at the door who had 
 anticipated that compliment; wherefore Neevey, flat 
 tered into forgetting all her worries, took some pains 
 to bid each of them individually a knowing good 
 night. Such is woman ! 
 
 Blake, able strategist that he was, could see 
 trouble a long way off; but, even for him, his cap 
 ture of Neevey to-night savored of real art.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE WOLF S BREED 
 
 SQUINT-EYED, heavy-jawed, smiling Barney 
 Shayne had a reputation for giving people 
 just what they wanted, and for not asking 
 questions. Particularly the latter. People that did 
 business with Barney Shayne had, for the most part, 
 a particular aversion to questions. They well re 
 alized that the prying activities of busybodies in a 
 small community never observed union hours, but 
 might at any time of day or night circulate ugly 
 truths about them. Barney s great and growing 
 success depended largely upon his tact in never an 
 swering questions or asking them. 
 
 It was a far cry from the mean little groggery in 
 which Barney had made his humble start to the gilded 
 Seneca Inn, where he held forth this Saturday night. 
 His squinty smile had followed him through his 
 varied career, and had paid him well. But if one 
 looked closely, you could see that the smile began 
 and ended in the eyes. It got no nearer its owner s 
 
 63
 
 64 DABNEY TODD 
 
 heart. Prosperity had cloaked the hamlike fists and 
 bull neck with a seeming harmlessness. But those 
 who knew could tell you differently. Barney Shayne 
 was a man with the brakes on. 
 
 There had been a time years back, before his 
 heart had become a chunk of ice, when a smiling- 
 faced little woman, Larry s mother, had found a 
 great deal to love and admire in the head of the 
 house of Shayne. To-day, on rare occasions, when 
 mellow with drink, Barney Shayne allowed his soul 
 to commune with itself, and surely and truly it lined 
 straight back to the little home of other days 
 Larry s mother waiting at the gate and Barney him 
 self coming up the road, his dinner-pail on his arm 
 and the grime of the mills on his hands. 
 
 But what was the use? 
 
 The little corner saloon had given way to a finer 
 one. This to another larger still and then poli 
 tics. . . . Here was a man s game! And because 
 he had been so successfully grafted upon, without 
 questioning the why of it, he found it easy to graft 
 on others, adding thereto an artistic touch of his 
 own. If any little job of particular neatness and 
 dispatch had to be done in the matter of buying or 
 selling a franchise, Barney had his finger in the pub 
 lic pie. No election could be put through success-
 
 THE WOLF S BREED 65 
 
 fully without his invaluable and skillful aid. No 
 town official sat safe in office without the security of 
 some prop or other, leaning on Barney s friendship 
 and patronage. In fine, the community was his 
 oyster, to be opened by him as he saw fit. 
 
 There were those of his henchmen who said he 
 could have anything he wanted in Redburn; and 
 though the ways were devious, the end, with its cer 
 tain results, found them speakers of true words. 
 
 To-night there was a line three deep in the bar 
 room. An odor of stale beer-slops and perspiring 
 bodies filled the place. From the cafe the thump- 
 thump-thump of a piano and the wheezy syncopation 
 of a fiddle, pierced now and then by the shrill, nervous 
 laughter of young girls and older ones. And, 
 keeping time with it all, sounded the steady drag- 
 drag of slurring feet gliding over the polished floor. 
 
 The cash registers were singing a merry little tune. 
 Barney, with his profoundly Oriental oiliness, was 
 grinning like a fat Chinese Buddha. Out in the 
 lobby of the hotel the incandescents burned in a haze 
 of blue smoke. And there, leaning against the cigar- 
 stand, was Larry Shayne, cultivating two strangers. 
 By the look of it, he was in a fair way to succeed in 
 gaining their friendship. But, had he been gifted 
 with second sight, he would have seen that the busi-
 
 66 DABNEY TODD 
 
 ness under hand might well have called for the as 
 sistance of that older and abler strategist, Shayne 
 senior. 
 
 Larry s unsteady eyes wandered from the one to 
 the other, as he milled over the conversation in his 
 mind. It was so absurdly simple, this idea of theirs, 
 that he should buy for them a little, straggling, rock- 
 strewn farm, which had lain idle for years, the build 
 ings on it falling apart, desolate, grim and de 
 serted. 
 
 And, too, their idea of giving Redburn a country 
 club and a golf course particularly appealed to him. 
 Lucky for old Joe Pelot that some one wanted it 
 for something! Even an insane man wouldn t have 
 tried to farm it. Maybe it would make a country 
 club, the boy opined to himself, lying there as it did, 
 along the lake. But wait until the wind should blow 
 from the south, and the brackish swamp that fol 
 lowed the southern boundary of the farm should 
 send its bitter, acrid smell rolling up to their club 
 house. Well, he should worry ! 
 
 Naturally, old Joe would demand a fabulous price 
 for it, if he should come to know what it was wanted 
 for. The only way to go about the business would 
 be to approach the old man in some casual manner 
 calculated not to awaken the cupidity of a man who
 
 THE WOLF S BREED 67 
 
 saw, in every dollar, ten drinks of whiskey. Old Joe, 
 handled right, ought certainly to prove an easy man 
 to deal with. 
 
 For parties doing business through a third one, 
 the strangers were surprisingly well furnished with 
 the facts in the case. True enough, the farm be 
 longed to Joe s daughter, and, certainly, she was not 
 of age. That was common talk; but Larry should 
 have been sharp enough to question the source of 
 their information. 
 
 Barney Shayne was as he was because it had paid; 
 his son because it was to his liking. And therein 
 lay a vast difference. The natural instinct of self- 
 preservation would have made the father cunning 
 and wary. He would not have lost the tricks his 
 son cast away. 
 
 " Why, there ain t a chance ! " he confided to 
 them. " Not one in a million that Old Joe will ever 
 suspect I ain t after it for myself. I know that old 
 rum-hound better than I know myself, and if I can t 
 do business with him at the right price, no one in 
 this town can." 
 
 " Well, what about the girl?" insisted the older 
 of the two. " She s said to be a smart one. We 
 may be able to handle the old man, all right, only to 
 have her trip us, in the end. And what a pity that
 
 68 DABNEY TODD 
 
 would be, when Redburn needs a country club so 
 badly, with all the improvement and uplift that it 
 implies? " 
 
 He winked sagely and took another drink. Larry 
 winked back at him and followed his example. 
 Right well Larry knew that men of this peculiarly 
 smooth type, with protuberant " bay-windows " and 
 with flabby little bags under their eyes, don t build 
 country clubs and play golf. 
 
 Said Larry, wiping his loose mouth : 
 
 " Leave the girl to me. I ll arrange that. If 
 you ask me, the only hitch ll be that you re offering 
 him too much." 
 
 A spark of the father s caution and shrewdness 
 guided him now. 
 
 " It s all right giving him a big price to close it up 
 quick if it ain t so big it ll make him suspicious. 
 Why, that farm ain t worth ten dollars an acre, and 
 you offering him a hundred per to clinch it quick 
 well, maybe it ll be all right." 
 
 So quoth Larry, knowing well enough that Joe 
 Pelot would be lucky to get even ten dollars an acre, 
 after he was through with the deal. 
 
 Real estate and Larry were friends of short ac 
 quaintance and of questionable prosperity. Still, 
 Larry Shayne in real estate and insurance was a lot
 
 THE WOLFS BREED 69 
 
 more inviting than Larry Shayne as nondescript lieu 
 tenant of the unsavory Seneca Inn. 
 
 There were those and many of them too 
 who dared not, for very obvious reasons, openly 
 object to Barney s son. But the line was clearly 
 drawn against him, and no one knew it better than 
 Larry himself. He was nobody s fool. Real es 
 tate had, however, opened some doors to the boy. 
 He had a way with him when he tried, and a man 
 ner of a sort, that made his devil-may-care self at 
 tractive to some people. And he was handsome, 
 too, with his wavy black hair, red cheeks and full- 
 lipped mouth a dangerous man to girls who could 
 not rightly appraise him, as more than one had found 
 to her sorrow. Unscrupulous by nature, and pro 
 tected by his father s power, he drove down life s 
 highway with a free rein. What though his chariot- 
 wheels crushed a mere woman, now and then? 
 Were there not plenty more? 
 
 It was after nine before his visitors made ready 
 to leave. Then Larry put them into his big gray 
 " six " and waited at the station with them until the 
 ten o clock train bore them away into the night. 
 Later, with several of his convivial companions, he 
 tasted of the iniquity so invitingly served up by his 
 worthy father. It was long after one before the
 
 70 DABNEY TODD 
 
 beetle-like electric eyes that bathed the Seneca Inn 
 in a phosphorescent glow began to dim. The har 
 vest had been a bountiful one.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 DABNEY TO THE RESCUE 
 
 THE following Wednesday, Neevey Todd, 
 standing at her open window, gazed with 
 a feeling of self-justification at Larry s 
 racy-looking roadster standing in front of Nance 
 Pelot s home. To give Neevey her just due, this 
 antipathy of hers towards Nance had lately caused 
 her some misgiving. Had she, after all she had 
 more than once asked herself been fair to Nance? 
 
 The car had been there a long while, when Dab- 
 ney, coming earlier than usual for supper, joined his 
 wife. Righteous indignation shone in Neevey s 
 eyes. 
 
 " There you are, Dab Todd," she greeted him. 
 " Take a look at that!" And she pointed down the 
 street at Larry s car. " An me plaguin myself I 
 had read her wrong. What you got to say to that? " 
 
 Dabney peered at the car through his glasses, 
 then over them, and scratched his head, but found 
 no ready answer. 
 
 "Huh? What say?" demanded his helpmate
 
 72 DABNEY TODD 
 
 sharply. " Was I right or was I wrong about that 
 gal? Now tell me! " 
 
 For a moment he tried to evade the issue, but, 
 finding himself cornered, had to meet it. 
 
 " Wa al now, Neevey," he said at last, " don t go 
 kickin over the tugs. You ain t goin to git nowhere 
 like that. It s a steady pull straight from the cross 
 bar as takes the wagon up the hill. I ain t got no 
 more use for that there feller than what you have. 
 Ever since he wanted me to let him bid in that big 
 sorril team when I was auctionin off Mrs. Weeden s 
 stock an farm tools, I ve knowed he warn t no good. 
 No man is, who d rob a widow. He d ha got that 
 team for three hundred if I hadn t shet him off. As 
 twas I knocked em down for five hundred an fifty, 
 an they was dirt cheap at that." 
 
 "An he didn t get em?" 
 
 " No. He bid up to four hundred an quit. But 
 that s all over now. The p int I make is that a feller 
 who d steal eggs in a barn in the daytime is purty 
 apt to go after the chickens at night, and break the 
 lock of the hen-roost to do it. An I m tellin you 
 that girl might be needin the help of a good friend 
 right now more n ever in her life, if what I see bout 
 a week back s got anythin to do with the comin o 
 that black sheep."
 
 DABNEY TO THE RESCUE 73 
 
 " Satan give you the power of makin black white 
 when it pleases you, Dab Todd," snorted Neevey. 
 " But if you got anythin on your mind, you d better 
 say it quick." 
 
 " Well, mother, if you got your opinion made up 
 already, why, argufyin ain t no use. What I was 
 goin to say was that that last spell o rain raised 
 hob around here, an I was nat rally curious to see 
 how that piece o wheat down by the lake was 
 a-standin it. So I hitched up ole Diamond and druv 
 out there, the other day." 
 
 "Jest because you was curious?" demanded 
 Minerva sharply. 
 
 " Uh-huh. Curiosity s one o the strongest an 
 strangest things in human nater, you know," he an 
 swered, with a shrewd glance at his partner. It 
 killed the cat, remember, which means nine lives at 
 one whack; an Josh Billings himself took notice of 
 it by sayin it was a most pow ful peculiar thing." 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 " Oh, he said it was so dum peculiar that it would 
 make a whole passel o folks stop to look at a hole 
 in the ground, when they wouldn t never even notice 
 the stars in the sky. But no matter. It was jest 
 curiosity that took me out to ards that there farm, 
 I m tellin you. It was rainin that day, so I warn t
 
 74 DABNEY TODD 
 
 lookin to meet many folks along the way. I d jest 
 about got to that ole Warner place when I see a 
 couple o city-lookin folks tyin up there. Wa al, 
 I warn t curious none so s you could notice it; but 
 comin back, I m dog-goned if I don t see them same 
 two fellers out there in the rain, walkin round that 
 ol farm, dippin water out o the holes an hollers, 
 an pourin a little bit out o one into a bottle, an 
 then a bit out of another, till they darn near had 
 enough to fill their rig. 
 
 " Now, that place ain t no good for nothin as a 
 farm. Bout all you could raise on it is ragweed an 
 wild carrots. The soil s poorer n poverty in a gale 
 o wind. So it comes over me them fellers is plumb 
 crazy or is up to somethin . The more I thought 
 about it, the crazier it seemed. I got to figurin 
 they was downright idiots, or that their business was 
 a pressin one, to git em out there, wadin around 
 in the mud." 
 
 " An that Shayne boy is mixed up in it? " 
 " He sure is. I heard that at the Courthouse in 
 Redburn this morning, when I was makin my returns 
 for the last auction I had. Now, I don t think 
 there s anythin too dirty for this here Shayne to do. 
 His father s record couldn t be cleaned, not even if 
 you b iled it in lye, an the son s a chip o the ole
 
 DABNEY TO THE RESCUE 75 
 
 block no, ruther say, a piece o punk off the same 
 rotten ole log." 
 
 " I believe you there! " assented Minerva, warmly. 
 l That s why I can t never understand why Nance, 
 if she s what you say, can endure to train with sech 
 a no-nation scoundrel ! " 
 
 " Must be a reason, Neevey, an not necessarily 
 anythin reflectin on her, neither," Dabney asserted. 
 " When a hoss limps it s cause he s lame, and when 
 a woman does the same thing, there s somethin been 
 done to spoil her gait. An if Nance has got him 
 followin her round, tain t her fault." 
 
 "Yes, but what does he want with Nance?" 
 Neevey inquired, screwing up her eyes behind her 
 glasses, with a quizzical expression, as she went on, 
 meaningly: " You don t s pose he wants to git that 
 old farm of her mother s from her? Why, tain t 
 even in her name yet." 
 
 " Wa al, that boy s makin an awful effort to be 
 a real estate man," Dabney answered emphatically. 
 Bringing his hand down on the back of his chair, he 
 added: " By the pink-toed prophet, I ll bet he ain t 
 losin no time ! " 
 
 " Chances are he s got old Joe on his side already, 
 if he s been able to git to him, huh, Dabney? " 
 
 " That s the most sensible thing you said to-day.
 
 76 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Now he s hot-footin it after Nance. Wa al, he ain t 
 got it yet. I m one of the executors of ole Jedge 
 Warner s will, an fore anyone goes buyin in that 
 farm I m goin to do a little hesitatin ." 
 
 " When does Nance git the property? " 
 
 " Third of August, this year. She ll be twenty- 
 one, then, an no one can keep her out of it after 
 that. Now, Neevey, the farm ain t much good for 
 nothin , s fur s I see without there s some scheme 
 in connection with it. So you let the girl alone, an 
 if she ain t right herself, Chet ll find it out, an he ll 
 drop her like pizen." 
 
 " I don t set no store by that kind o talk, Dab 
 Todd not a bit. There s too many nice girls 
 throwin themselves away on wuthless fellows ev ry 
 day. Some on em knew what they was doin , I tell 
 you." 
 
 Neevey wagged her head decisively. Dabney 
 waited until she was quite through, then quietly he 
 asked: 
 
 " Mother, do you know what s blinder n a sleepin 
 mole?" 
 
 " I dunno. Lots o things, I guess." 
 
 " Mebbe. But the blindest of em all is a young 
 man when you try to make him see the freckles 
 on his sweetheart s nose. He ll think they re sun-
 
 DABNEY TO THE RESCUE 77 
 
 shadders, an that they make her all the purtier." 
 
 Neevey was silent for a brief moment; her bark 
 was loud, but her bite well, no one but herself 
 had ever felt it. 
 
 Dabney tried to pat her hand softly, but Neevey 
 turned on him with a start. 
 
 " That s right! " she scolded. " You always was 
 a regular Don Ju-an. With a sentimental old goose 
 like you for a father, it s no wonder that fool Chet s 
 got to chasin Link s customers out of his store cause 
 they re airin their feelin s a bit." 
 
 Feeling that he had in no wise convinced Minerva, 
 Dabney retired from the fray like the wise man he 
 was, and beat a retreat down to the store, which his 
 spouse had just mentioned. 
 
 As he went, he murmured with philosophical resig 
 nation : 
 
 " There s only one thing in the world more sot in 
 an opinion than what a woman is, an that s two 
 women! "
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 
 
 AROUND the stove he found the usual knot 
 of wiseacres, all consistently engaged in the 
 arduous task of verbal gymnastics, the while 
 they practiced their aim at the sawdust filled box be 
 side the stove or whittled bits of box-covers with 
 well-sharpened knives. As he entered, the subject 
 under discussion was the President s foreign policy. 
 Not one of them but could have given the adminis 
 tration cards and spades and beaten it to a frazzle 
 in all branches of diplomacy. 
 
 " I tell you, sir," Spencer Howe was asserting, 
 while he reached for a soggy cracker and another 
 bit of cheese for Spence, being a deacon, felt cer 
 tain concessions were due him " I tell you, if I d 
 a had the handlin o that there matter, I d ha said 
 to England, France an Rooshy " 
 
 " Devil of a lot you d said ! " interrupted Titus 
 Showell, worrying off a fresh " chaw." " If you 
 
 78
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 79 
 
 couldn t write a furrin note no better n what you 
 pay your bills " 
 
 " That s a personal matter I refuse to have dis 
 cussed here ! " blurted Spence, amid general laugh 
 ter. "Now" 
 
 " Reckon mebbe he could of handled it all right, 
 after all," put in Pop Jayne, viciously shaving a long 
 curlecue of soft wood. " This here dy-plomacy is 
 all a matter o bluff, anyhow, an the deacon s all- 
 fired good on that. Bluff s what makes the world 
 go round, anyhow that an love. Ain t it, Dab- 
 ney? " he appealed to Todd, who had just come to 
 anchor in a creaking rocker by the stove a rocker 
 strongly bound with cord and braced with wire. 
 
 " Wa al, I dunno much about love, not at my age," 
 drawled Dabney, " an as fer bluff, I ain t never used 
 none " 
 
 A general chorus of indignant protest interrupted 
 him, a moment. After it had subsided, he continued : 
 
 " Except where I thought it might be to the in 
 terests of all concerned. However, there s times 
 when it s a mighty useful quality. As fer instance 
 when somebody s tryin to put it all over you, an 
 you can take him down a peg, to his own advantage, 
 without no harm done. The way old Bill Hayes 
 done, for example, out to Milton Corner."
 
 8o DABNEY TODD 
 
 He paused a minute, leaned back and rocked 
 slowly, while a smile broadened his good-humored 
 mouth. The others, scenting a story, demanded it 
 insistently. 
 
 " Wa al, it was this way," Dabney presently re 
 sumed. " Bill, you know, run the only strictly third- 
 rate hotel in the world to be advertised as sech. 
 Yes, sir, he had the dad-blamed nerve to put it right 
 on his sign. I swan to man if he didn t I Why, I 
 can see it yet, jest as it was painted, though that was 
 all o forty year ago. It advertised that Hayes run 
 the original and only third-rate hotel in the world, 
 where everythin failed to suit, where there was 
 tough steak, useless servants, debilitated coffee an a 
 delapidated livery-stable. It claimed that the hotel 
 was universally execrated, an was run by the laziest 
 man in the state, by an overwhelmin majority! Sat 
 isfaction was not guaranteed, an no money was 
 refunded. Everythin was warranted strictly 
 shoddy!" 
 
 "G long!" ejaculated Dory Benton, the clerk, 
 pausing with incredulity as he weighed his hand in 
 the scales, along with ten pounds of lard. " He 
 never could ha meant that an if he didn t, it 
 wouldn t ha been honest to put it out to the pub 
 lic!"
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 81 
 
 " Fact, though," asserted Dabney, " an facts is 
 as stubborn as mules almost as stubborn as the 
 run o womenfolks, when they git their minds sot. 
 Yes, sir, that s the way the sign run, an not a word 
 of it true, nuther. It was the slickest tavern Bill 
 ever run, an he had five. They all burned, too, 
 heavily insured, an in the last fire twenty boarders 
 was throwed out in the dead o winter, in their shirt- 
 flaps. It was an A-One place, all right. But that 
 ain t what I m comin at. I m aimin to illustrate 
 this here bluff proposition, an how useful it some 
 times is when the other feller thinks he s smarter n 
 what you be, an aims to put one over on you an 
 make you plumb ridic l us. 
 
 " It was this way. One cold January night a 
 couple o tony critters come along in a sleigh an put 
 up to the hotel. One of em was toxicated, an the 
 other was feelin right up on his shoe-taps, too. 
 They set round, a spell, tryin to jolly the ole man 
 but not gettin nowhere much, till at last one of em 
 whispers to t other one, loud enough so Bill could 
 hear it: 
 
 " Say, he must be an original old Rube. Just 
 you watch me get him on a string ! 
 
 " Go to it, says the second one. Bet you five 
 bucks he trims you !
 
 82 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Wa al," continued Dabney, drawing out his 
 pocket-knife and picking up a bit of wood, just to 
 do in Rome as the Romans were all doing, " they 
 closed the bet, an the fresh one started in to do up 
 Bill. 
 
 " See here, my friend, says he, * we re goin to 
 stay all night, and we want the best there is, for 
 breakfast. I don t suppose, though, you got any 
 thing at all eatable in such a place, have you? 
 
 " * Oh, I dunno, says Bill. I reckon as how I 
 kin pervide most anythin you kin think of. 
 
 " So? says the city feiler. Well, how about 
 quail on toast? 
 
 " Quail it is, ef you say so, comes back Bill. 
 Only, I tell you now, it ll mebbe cost you a trifle 
 high. 
 
 " Oh, cuss the cost! says the sport. Go to it, 
 old man at your own figure ! 
 
 " Done ! says Bill, an that settled it." 
 
 Dabney eyed his whittling with a critical eye, and 
 kept an impressive silence, till Dory Benton, unable 
 to contain himself, demanded: 
 
 "Well, what next?" 
 
 " Next? " queried Dabney. " Wait on, a minute; 
 hold your hosses, an I ll tell you. Bill, he was 
 pow ful worrited, bout that time. He felt his reper-
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 83 
 
 tation was at stake, an he couldn t bear to be put 
 down a peg by them there city fellers. When they 
 went to bed, he set round in a great quand y, tryin 
 to see his way through the mux he d got himself into. 
 There it was the dead o winter, with not a name- 
 able quail in a hundred miles that he could git holt 
 on, an his word pledged to deliver quail on toast in 
 the mornin . 
 
 " No, Bill couldn t see his way clear, nohow. He 
 went to bed, but couldn t sleep a wink, thinkin of the 
 touse he was in. But after a while an idee struck 
 him. He got up, lit the lantern an hypered down 
 the back-stairs, out to the hen-house. It jest hap 
 pened he had a brood o young chicks, bout the size 
 o quail an without a bit more chaw to em. He 
 gethered in two plump ones an executed em an 
 dressed em right off. Then he raided the rabbit- 
 hutch, an pretty soon had a nice mess of rabbit- 
 meat and the two chickens on to parbile. After that 
 he went back to bed again, an slept like a volunteer 
 fireman on a winter s night when he hears the bell 
 ring fer a fire at the far end o the township. 
 
 " Next mornin the city fellers come downstairs 
 happy an expectant, ready to git the jay landlord s 
 whole tarnal flock o goats. 
 
 " Bill was all ready fer em, believe me. Says he
 
 84 DABNEY TODD 
 
 to his wife Sally Hayes, her that was a Bean: 
 Sally, says he, you git the trimmin s ready fer the 
 rest o this here scrumptious day-joor-nay, an put 
 the oatmeal on. Make everythin extry salubr ous. 
 I ll tend to the meat-victuals myself. 
 
 " While she was fixin some red-hot baked pota 
 toes, sody-biscuits, bees -honey, blueberry-pickles an 
 maple-syrup, an b ilin the tea, Bill, he took an 
 br iled them there chicks to a turn, hard-b iled some 
 eggs an toasted some riz bread, which he soused in 
 melted butter. He cut the eggs in slices an laid 
 a row of em round three plates. Then he put the 
 toast in the middle an put the * quails on the toast. 
 Spence Howe, if you had a feed like that, this min 
 ute, you wouldn t be pryin up that fly-screen to git 
 that sliver of cheese when you think Link Watkins, 
 here, ain t watchin you, now would you? " 
 
 When the laugh at Spence had subsided, Dabney 
 continued: 
 
 " By the pink-toed prophet, them quails looked 
 like what the doctor ordered, an no mistake. The 
 rabbit made up for the scarcity of meat, an the ef 
 fect was stoopendous. When the city fellers see the 
 table, there wa n t two surpriseder men on earth, 
 now I m goin to tell you. They both on em set 
 there, pickin away an nibbhV, plumb flabbergasted,
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 85 
 
 with Bill peekin through a crack in the door at em, 
 scared yet juberous. 
 
 "After a little silence: It s sure quail! whis 
 pered one of em. I see where I win that V, 
 Henry. 
 
 " Win is right, says the other. But how the 
 devil? 
 
 I don t know, nor care, the first one answers 
 quickly. 
 
 " But but there isn t a quail to be had ! 
 
 " You owe me five bucks, Henry, says the win 
 ner, spearin a baked potato pommy de terrier, I 
 believe old Bill used to call em, or somethin . I 
 don t know how he did it, but I do know quail, when 
 I taste it, and that s enough for me. 
 
 " They fell to, then, an rended them little fowls 
 limb from gizzard, still wonderin , but mighty 
 tickled. When they come to settle the damage, Bill 
 was right on the job. 
 
 " Let s see, let s see, he figgered, runnin up a 
 colyume, thar s lodgin fer two city sports, bait fer 
 two hosses, two breakfasts with quail most on- 
 usual out o season an extrys. That ll come to 
 about ten dollars, seein it s you. 
 
 " They gulped like hornpouts, but was game an 
 settled; didn t count their change, nuther.
 
 86 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Get our sleigh, quick, was all they said. If 
 we stick round here, we ll maybe step on a bean, or 
 something, an that ll be another dollar. 
 
 " Just afore they started, they called Bill out to 
 where they was settin in the sleigh, all tucked up in 
 their buffalo. 
 
 " Landlord, says one, mighty respectful, I ve 
 lost five bones, already, but I ll cough up another five 
 if you ll answer me one question. Where in blazes 
 did you get those quail? 
 
 " Bill, he never said a word, but went back into 
 the tavern, an come out in a minute with a basket. 
 In the basket was a rabbit-skin an a handful of 
 feathers downy, leetle pin-feathers. 
 
 " Nary a word did he utter, but just stood and 
 muxed them feathers an that hide round an round 
 with his hand. 
 
 The city sports stared a minute, plumb dod- 
 gasted. Then all at once the one that had lost the 
 money throwed Bill a fiver, an give a slash with the 
 whip. 
 
 " l Gid-dap! he hollered, an away they went, 
 wiser but sadder an poorer. Ole Bill, he stood 
 there in the road, the happiest man in ten counties, 
 I reckon. An all because why? Because he d 
 smote the ungodly hip an thigh, hadn t let himself
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 87 
 
 be stumped, an had met them that would of mocked 
 him, with the efficient weapon of bluff. 
 
 " Yes, sir," Dabney terminated with emphasis, 
 " they s times when it s not only justifiable, but even 
 obligat ry, an I cal late that there was one of em." 
 
 " I don t," objected Titus Showell, casting sheeps - 
 eyes at the cracker-barrel but not venturing a raid. 
 " To my way o thinkin , it wasn t nothin but ob- 
 tainin money under false pretenses, no better than 
 the trick Hod Littlefield an Lester Brooks put over 
 on George Stevens a couple of years ago, down to 
 the Pond." 
 
 "How was that, Titus?" inquired Pop Jayne. 
 " I don t seem to recollect rightly." 
 
 " Oh, George used to have a case o Pabst come 
 in by express, once in a while mebbe twice an 
 he used to keep it in his cellar. That was when the 
 Pond was prohibition, you know. Well, Hod an 
 Lester used to git kind of dry, at times; an so one 
 night they abstracted that s the word, I reckon 
 abstracted a dozen bottles, which was about one good 
 drink fer em. 
 
 " George, he got wind of where his oh-be-joyful 
 had went, an had em took. Lawed em both, 
 charged with larceny. Hod was awful sore, almost 
 as sore as that time Mrs. Stone run him off her farm
 
 88 DABNEY TODD 
 
 an he got ketched in the barbed-wire fence an she 
 warmed it to him with a barr l-stave quite a spell till 
 he got clear an run home in the snow without hardly 
 no pants on at all, to speak of. So he an Lester 
 put their heads together an hatched a scheme. 
 
 " They went to George an offered to pay up the 
 damage, if he d withdraw his charge. Which he 
 done, an they settled. Then they turned round an 
 had him took fer illegal sellin of liquor yes, an 
 got him fined, too. Can you beat that fer neigh 
 borly love an affection? " 
 
 Silence followed, a moment, broken only by the 
 crisp slither of Dabney s blade through the soft 
 wood. Then said Dabney: 
 
 " If I d put up a gag like that, I d of felt the way 
 Eddie Mann did that time he went bear-huntin in 
 Canada, an got chased by a grizzly. Ed, he run 
 five miles, so they say, an finally crawled into a holler 
 tree. The bear waited fer him to come out, all 
 night, but Ed he decided to stay. After a while it 
 come on to rain, an shrunk the wood, an Ed got 
 stuck. The bear went home, but Ed found he 
 couldn t. All day he shivered an prayed fer deliv 
 erance in that there log, an finally decided his time 
 had come an he d have to go to his last reward. 
 
 " That made him think over all the mean things
 
 IN LIGHTER VEIN 89 
 
 he d ever done in this life, an one by one he prayed 
 to be forgiven. At last, however, he remembered 
 one thing so dod-rotted mean he didn t dast pray 
 about it, an that was " 
 
 " Well, what? " demanded Dory Benton, eagerly. 
 Benton, the local Republican politician and member 
 of the county committee, might always be depended 
 on to butt in with an interrupting question at the 
 climax of a story. 
 
 " Wa al," drawled Dabney, arising from his seat 
 by the stove and shutting up his knife, " what he 
 thought of was how he d voted the Republican ticket 
 all his life. When he considered that, he begun to 
 feel terrible pindlin an small. He shrunk an 
 shrunk so, that, by the pink-toed prophet ! he pretty 
 soon crawled out a knot-hole in the tree an went 
 home an that s where I m goin , too. Good 
 night!"
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 
 
 JOE PELOT had lain sick for many days. 
 More than two weeks had passed since he had 
 fallen helplessly on the kitchen floor, and 
 still he was only able to putter around the house a 
 bit. Whiskey and Joe were near the parting of the 
 ways. He had piled the straws upon the camel s 
 back until the poor camel could rise no longer, and 
 even its efforts were numbered. 
 
 Nance had eked out an existence after a fashion, 
 but she was getting to her wits end. Meager and 
 irregular as had been the money old Joe had earned, 
 still it had sufficed. Never before had there been a 
 period of two lean weeks intervening. 
 
 Doc Rand had told her to-day that it would be a 
 long time before her father would be able to work. 
 Nance had pleaded with him, but the kindly faced 
 old practitioner had not been able to alter his verdict. 
 Only too well he understood the seriousness of her 
 father s condition. In his heart he knew the old 
 man had, by long years of intemperance, passed even 
 
 90
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 91 
 
 the wide limits of tolerance that the human body de 
 velops under abuse. 
 
 The girl knew the time had come for her to go 
 out and earn the daily bread, but where to go or what 
 to do left her without an answer. 
 
 Nance had guarded, with a great deal of fear, 
 knowledge of the fact that she had sung in a mean 
 little moving-picture theater back in Redburn. Sev 
 eral Saturdays, since she had been in New Canaan, 
 she had journeyed to the town to earn a few scanty 
 dollars, which had gone for the keeping of both of 
 them. And once, when Blake had invited the choir 
 to a little May party, she had begged a ride over to 
 the city, and had accepted Larry Shayne s offer to 
 bring her home in his car. That time the money, 
 stretched and pieced out almost to the breaking point, 
 had gone, in part, for an inexpensive but smart little 
 dress. 
 
 For one who claimed to own his theater, Morris 
 Rosenblatt, a beefy-faced and thick-neck shyster 
 Jew lawyer, spent a good deal of time at the Seneca 
 Inn, and there made many detailed reports regard 
 ing the profits of said theater to Barney himself. 
 So it was only fair to conjecture that the unspeak 
 able Rosenblatt didn t own nearly as much as he 
 seemed to.
 
 92 DABNEY TODD 
 
 This Rosenblatt creature was of the dregs of 
 Jewry one of those base creatures who disgrace 
 the name of Judah by pretending not to be a He 
 brew, by trying to associate only with Gentiles and 
 by having none of the virtues of either, with all the 
 vices of both. Greedy, crooked and dishonest, he 
 had already been refused admission to the bar, in 
 Boston, on grounds of bad moral character, and had 
 only got himself admitted to practice in New York 
 State by false declarations. His specialty was de 
 fending low characters, dope-fiends and wrecks, 
 fleecing them out of their last remaining funds and, 
 in general, double-crossing everybody. 
 
 Rosenblatt was, in his way, as great an ulcer on 
 the body politic as Shayne senior was in his. Ever 
 since he had tried to defend some crooked claim 
 of a morphine-addict and had demanded fifty dol 
 lars a day and expenses, from the court only to 
 be excluded from the case by a disgusted judge 
 he had been something of a joke, in town, and had 
 borne the nickname of " Shark " and " Jewfish." 
 Of late he had become a henchman and a satellite of 
 the elder Shayne, under the guise of operating a 
 movie house for which Shayne was really putting 
 up the money. Both Larry and his vicious son en 
 joyed their contact with the business, giving them,
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 93 
 
 as it did, some entree to the fringes of the theatrical 
 business, and bringing a certain amount of business 
 to the Seneca Inn. 
 
 The connection had been particularly agreeable 
 to Larry Shayne, since it had given him a chance to 
 cultivate an acquaintance with Nance Pelot. In 
 dealing with women, Larry had a system of his own, 
 and, having found it so uniformly successful, had not 
 questioned its effect and progress with Nance. He 
 had made the mistake of thinking: "Like father, 
 like daughter." Therein Larry had erred. His ac 
 quaintance with old Joe dated back to late boyhood. 
 Joe had often, in happier times, merited the squint- 
 eyed Shayne smile. In fact, Larry had so to 
 speak grown up with Joe s intoxication. 
 
 Perhaps his mistake had been a natural one. 
 
 The great wonder that Larry s savoir faire had 
 brought home to Nance had been that so many had 
 been taken in by it. To her it had seemed so shabby, 
 so make-believe, that she couldn t feel more than a 
 passing pity for her less fortunate sisters who paid 
 the price. Nance s tuition in that phase of life had 
 been slight, but a few days in such a place had been 
 illumining. 
 
 Again, Nance knew New Canaan would not have 
 understood. A city, or even a small town, might
 
 94 DABNEY TODD 
 
 not have questioned ; but in this little country village, 
 beyond peradventure of a doubt, her employment, 
 in a moving picture theater and dance hall, would 
 have been misconstrued into something bordering 
 on downright immorality. 
 
 Nance little knew that some folks, Martin Doover, 
 for instance, had already placed that construction on 
 her to them mysterious visits to Redburn. 
 And she held the respect and good-will of New 
 Canaan more precious than she could well express. 
 Blake s kindliness, the choir attachments and many 
 other little associations now went a great way to 
 ward making up for the things she had missed. She 
 had been happier here than ever before in all her 
 life. Only here had she found any measure of that 
 sympathy, friendship and good-will which mean so 
 much in a young woman s existence. And here, too 
 though this she scarcely realized and would not, 
 had she realized it, have admitted it to herself 
 dwelt Chet Todd. 
 
 Looking back now, the money seemed to repre 
 sent so much of sacrifice; but she wondered if it had 
 been too much. She had risked pride, and happi 
 ness, the respect of others, but never herself she 
 knew that so infinitely well! And the money, the 
 bright and shining money that every one took and
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 95 
 
 no one questioned, had meant food and clothes and 
 shelter; had meant life! 
 
 Thus to-day, Nance knew she was prepared to 
 make the fight again. 
 
 Had Morris Rosenblatt and the tin-panny piano 
 of his movie-house still been available, she knew she 
 could have turned to them with even a bitter glad 
 ness; to them, a seeming oasis in a world of uncer 
 tainty. 
 
 She smiled faintly at the irony of her decision. 
 It was not a thing of choice. What else was there 
 to do? 
 
 Her father s little shop, with its worn-out, cast- 
 off tools, was of no value. Besides, it held for both 
 of them no more than the bare chance of self-sup 
 port, and for him only the semblance of employ 
 ment. Beyond that, what was there? A farm! A 
 miserable, rock-strewn farm, all but valueless. Such 
 were their assets. 
 
 The first great tragedy of her life had found her 
 a young girl, kneeling beside her dead mother, the 
 promise still warm on her lips that she would keep 
 the little farm for her own. It was to be hers and 
 her children s children s. Some day it was to be val 
 uable her mother s one legacy to posterity. They 
 would point to it with pride as the foundation of
 
 96 DABNEY TODD 
 
 their fortunes, and each generation in its turn would 
 not be forgotten. 
 
 Poor, sweet little mother ! How solemnly she had 
 made Nance a party to this quixotic dream. The 
 girl wondered what must have been her thought 
 could she have seen it to-day a haunted house, set 
 in a sea of mud and desolation. 
 
 Nance knew too well, even in her hour of need, 
 what her answer must have been, had some one of 
 fered her money for it. At least, she had been 
 spared the agony of that, as well as the grief of see 
 ing her husband, sinking lower and lower in the mire 
 of intoxication, approach the inevitable end of evil 
 living. Much as Nance missed her mother, she 
 would not even had she been able have called 
 her back to earth again from the long sleep of ob 
 livion. 
 
 She had been so absorbed with her thoughts and 
 the decision they had led her to, that she had failed 
 to notice the car come panting up to her doorway 
 and stop. 
 
 Walking up the path was Larry Shayne. 
 
 Nance s heart fluttered. Her feeling at this mo 
 ment was not unlike that of a wild animal suddenly 
 surprised in its lair. The mental debate whether to 
 run away, or to stay and meet him, left her cold
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 97 
 
 in her tracks and there he was in the doorway, 
 coming toward her, his cap in one hand and the other 
 held out in greeting. 
 
 " Hello, Nance ! " she heard him saying. 
 " You re a perfect picture, standing there staring at 
 me that way." Then again : " Why, you don t 
 seem very glad to see me, little girl. What s wrong ? 
 What s the trouble all about, anyway? " 
 
 Nance was quite herself now. The deadly calm 
 of her level voice showed that. 
 
 "Were you invited here, Larry Shayne?" The 
 directness of her cold, incisive words erased the smile 
 from his lips. 
 
 ; Why, you ain t going to take that tone with me, 
 are you, Nance?" he protested. "Seems to me 
 you ve known me long enough not to be so stand 
 offish. Why can t we be friends? Why can t you 
 think of me as as something besides an 
 enemy? " 
 
 " We have been over all that before," she an 
 swered, with a glint in her eyes. " I believed I had 
 made myself perfectly clear. If I have left any sin 
 gle thing unsaid that has given you reason to think 
 there could be anything further between you and me, 
 I am truly sorry. Your ways are not mine, and 
 that s an end to it."
 
 98 DABNEY TODD 
 
 "Aw! Don t say that, Nance!" he pleaded. 
 " Don t say anything you re going to be sorry for." 
 
 "Sorry?" The sarcasm of it! She continued, 
 steadily: "Why, every privilege my friendship 
 gave you, you have abused, and tried to cheapen me 
 with. But why go over all that again? The one 
 thing I asked was that you should stay away. Your 
 coming here to-day was a matter of small importance 
 to you. It was the one thing I ve dreaded for 
 weeks." 
 
 There was a sob in her voice, as she continued: 
 
 " I have been happy here in a way. These peo 
 ple are my friends, and I want their respect. More 
 and more I ve realized lately what they must have 
 thought when they saw me driving around with you, 
 seemingly accepting your hospitality and friend 
 ship. They knew you much better than I did, and, 
 you know, they don t like you in this town. That 
 car out there will set a hundred tongues to wagging. 
 Right now, I ll venture, there isn t a soul in New 
 Canaan but knows, and some of them are pointing 
 to it, glad it s there to shame me." 
 
 The girl s emotion overcame her. Her eyes fill 
 ing with tears, she sank into a chair, all of her re 
 serve gone now, and her throbbing heart a-smother. 
 
 " It isn t fair! " she sobbed. " It isn t fair! "
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 99 
 
 Larry Shayne had foreseen some such reception, 
 and he had expected anger and distrust, but hardly 
 tears not tears from Nance. 
 
 Watching her, he began to appreciate dimly the 
 gulf between them, and for the first time seriously 
 wondered if he had let her slip through his fingers. 
 
 There was a great deal about the girl he couldn t 
 understand. To put it in his vernacular, he couldn t 
 figure her. Still, very decidedly he meant to have 
 her some day when he should get around to it. 
 Larry boasted that he always got everything he really 
 went after. In his conceit he believed no woman 
 could withstand him, once he had set his mind on 
 her. And Nance should prove no exception to the 
 rule. 
 
 Drink had made a fool of him, or he wouldn t 
 have lost her before, thought he. What an idiot 
 he had been to suggest that trip down the St. Law 
 rence to Montreal and Quebec! He smiled to him 
 self a little as he remembered her flaming indigna 
 tion. To-day he had come under no misapprehen 
 sion. 
 
 But time would heal all that. 
 
 Larry was shrewd enough to wait until Nance had 
 regained control of herself before he spoke; and had 
 it been pure invention on his part, the tangent his
 
 ioo DABNEY TODD 
 
 conversation took would have been worthy of the 
 best Shayne traditions. 
 
 " Why, Nance," said he, in a gentle tone, " I 
 didn t think I needed an invitation. The pleasure 
 of seeing you didn t bring me here. I came on busi 
 ness." 
 
 Business! 
 
 Somehow it penetrated the girl s brain. What 
 business could Larry Shayne have with her? What 
 legitimate business did he ever have with anybody? 
 Who had ever dealt with him, whether man or 
 woman, without having in the end bitterly regretted 
 it? 
 
 Larry failed to sense her attitude, but with fatu 
 ous and labored good-humor pressed his campaign. 
 
 Yes," he rambled on. " I came here to make 
 you an offer on your farm. I ve got a pretty good 
 little real estate business of my own now, and I have 
 a chance to sell that farm for you. A real fancy 
 offer, too. I thought it was your dad s until I went 
 over to the Courthouse this morning." 
 
 Larry was lying now. He had hoped to get hold 
 of the farm through old Joe himself. Finding her 
 father not at his shop had knocked his plans a bit 
 awry. Indeed, he had even hoped to time his ar 
 rival at their home so as to find Nance out, and still
 
 IOI 
 
 see Joe alone. As he went on, the girl listened me 
 chanically, without seeming to show any interest. 
 
 " You know, you ain t got any right to expect a 
 big price for that place, Nance, and I figure you 
 ought to jump at the proposition I m going to make 
 you. I ll bet you ain t had another offer for it in 
 ten years. And no matter what you think of me, 
 I want to tell you I ve boosted the price all it ll 
 stand. Now we want to close it up quick, fore this 
 fellow backs out. If we do, it means twenty-five 
 dollars an acre. Think of that! What do you 
 say?" 
 
 Nance shook her head. 
 
 " It s idle sitting here talking about it. It s not 
 for sale." 
 
 "Not for sale?" Larry wondered if he heard 
 right. "You mean it ain t enough? Why, you 
 couldn t give that farm to some folks I know." 
 
 Nance knew he was telling the truth, now, and 
 vaguely wondered why he had made such an ex 
 travagant offer. A look at the place would have 
 told any one he was offering twice what it was worth. 
 
 Was there a hint of charity in the proposal? At 
 the thought, she shuddered. It seemed passing 
 strange to her that this man should ail at once be 
 taking so very active an interest in her.
 
 102 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Strange, too, that she had foreseen herself a party 
 to just such a conversation as this. 
 
 " No," she murmured. "No ... it s not the 
 price. The price is too high. But I can t sell it. 
 You would hardly understand, I believe. But it was 
 my mother s farm. She gave it to me, to keep for 
 her. I guess I couldn t sell it and be happy." 
 
 Nance was calm again, and well aware of the de 
 cision she was making. Also of the fact she was 
 throwing away the one opportunity she was likely 
 to have of securing money enough to tide her over. 
 
 It seemed almost providential, this offer, coming 
 in her hour of direst need. 
 
 Larry Shayne argued long and well, to no avail. 
 One less determined than he, or with finer feelings, 
 would have desisted long before he did. 
 
 Nance denying herself and her father, that she 
 might be true to a promise given, strangely puzzled 
 him. Not by the longest flight of his imagination 
 could he picture himself standing on any such tri 
 fling principle. It was as far removed from him as 
 the stars. 
 
 He was nearer to loving Nance Pelot at that mo 
 ment had love been possible to him than he 
 had ever been before. And fear of losing her gave 
 him the courage to venture on dangerous ground.
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 103 
 
 " Well, Nance," he risked, at last, " I don t want 
 to tell you your business, but it don t seem to me that 
 you re doing the right thing by your dad. You ve 
 got him to think of. What are you going to do 
 about him? Where are you going to get the money 
 to keep things going?" 
 
 " I m going to work," she shot back at him. 
 " There must be something I can do. I m strong 
 and active, willing to labor, and determined not to 
 be dependent on anybody. I m positive that if I 
 once make up my mind to work, and get over caring 
 what kind of work it is just so it s honest I 
 shall be able to get along, some way or other." 
 
 " You just try it," he warned. " There isn t a 
 decent job in this whole place for a girl like you. 
 What are you going to do? Go out and wash 
 dishes and scrub floors, for a lot of ignorant no 
 bodies, who ll never let you forget for a minute that 
 you are what you are?" 
 
 Nance was silent. 
 
 " Can you see yourself," he went on, carried away 
 by his own eloquence, " a worn-out, flat-chested 
 woman at twenty-five, your hands swollen and boiled 
 in lye until they re only things fit to work and eat 
 with? No, you can t see that, huh? Well, you 
 wait until some of the good people in this town come
 
 io 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 a-running in to help you ! I ain t your kind, you 
 say? All right! I ll let that go. I won t insult 
 you by offering you money. You don t want that 
 from me. But I will get you a chance to work. 
 My old man needs some one to hit that piano of his 
 every Wednesday and Saturday night some one 
 that won t scare the customers out of the place, and 
 it s your job if you want it. And my dad ain t no 
 tightwad. What do you say?" 
 
 His impassioned words brought Nance out of her 
 chair. Nervously she paced back and forth across 
 the room. She had argued this over with herself 
 before he had come; and as his words fell from his 
 lips she knew her fate was being read for her. But 
 she could not deny herself that last brief minute of 
 hesitation which was her woman s right. 
 
 The repugnance and loathing she had for the 
 place she put aside. The putting of herself in 
 Larry s hands chilled her; in that last moment it was 
 to Chet that her thoughts went out. 
 
 As she turned to face Larry Shayne, staring at 
 her in the growing twilight, she sent a fervent little 
 prayer heavenward that Chet Todd might not 
 know. 
 
 "When do we go?" she asked, simply, all in 
 flection gone from her voice.
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 105 
 
 It was an effort for him to answer. What it 
 had cost her he almost understood, though vaguely 
 for, despite all his vileness, some spark of man 
 hood still glowed deep in his mean little soul; some 
 faint, expiring flicker of decency not yet quite 
 drowned by the rising flood of intemperance, vice 
 and dishonesty that had come to him from his base 
 father as a patrimony. 
 
 "To-night! Now !" he articulated. 
 
 Nance drooped her head in sign of assent. An 
 evil glitter leaped into Larry s unsteady eyes. He 
 felt that he had won the first battle of a campaign 
 which could end only in complete victory. 
 
 As the car swung into the road, Nance huddled 
 down in the robe he had placed around her. The 
 seconds that elapsed before they would be passing 
 Todd s blacksmith shop seemed countless hours to 
 the girl, her teeth biting into her lips until they were 
 white. She assured and reassured herself over and 
 over, countless hundreds of times, that she would 
 not look up and then, when they had almost 
 passed, she turned. There, in the glow of his forge, 
 stood Chet, his face dead white, staring at her. 
 
 The man beside her wondered why she sobbed so 
 bitterly to herself. 
 
 Nance Pelot knew that she could never forget
 
 106 DABNEY TODD 
 
 those eyes, staring out at her from beside the fire 
 of the forge. 
 
 Back in Dabney s shop it was very quiet. A 
 rigidity as of death seemed to freeze Chet. 
 
 The bellows fell in with a gulp. Long after the 
 car had dropped out of sight, and the monotonous 
 drumming of the evenly-hitting motor had died away 
 to an indistinct hum, he stood as cold and motion 
 less as the anvil at which he had been working. He 
 was alone. A stillness crept in with the gathering 
 shadows of evening that seemed to smother the 
 faintly smoldering fire in the forge. After a while 
 the hands that held the hammer and tongs relaxed. 
 The tools fell to the floor, sending up a clatter that 
 echoed and reechoed in the silence. 
 
 When finally Chet did move, it was to put out the 
 glowing coals. He stood for a long time, staring 
 dully at the dead fire. Slowly, little by little, he be 
 gan to realize that he was sick sick with a weari 
 ness that made the task of lugging his big body 
 homeward an undertaking beyond his power to per 
 form. His head throbbed until the big shoulders 
 sagged with the weight of it. 
 
 Night was at hand. His father or Amos would 
 be coming for him soon. Supper would be waiting 
 Neevey, his mother, watching for him. Supper
 
 LARRY SHAYNE LEADS TRUMPS 107 
 
 food it seemed so useless ! Home ! It was 
 the one place he could not bear, just now Amos 
 happy face his mother s inquiring eyes. Slowly 
 he dragged his feet to the door, shut it and dropped 
 the crossbar into place. 
 
 He turned then, and started off across the back 
 pasture. At the gate he stopped, and, with unsee 
 ing eyes, stared across the fields to Nance Pelot s 
 home, a single light gleaming from her kitchen win 
 dow. Standing there, in the darkness, he drew one 
 of his big, smoke-blackened hands across his eyes. 
 It came away wet. 
 
 " I ain t got your manners, Larry Shayne," he 
 muttered, " and I ain t got your clothes, your auto 
 or your money. But you can t have her. No, by 
 God, you shan t! " 
 
 He swung his two big hands out in front of him. 
 
 "Not as long as I got these, you won t!" he 
 cried. "You ve got to fight me for her! "
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 
 
 WHEN Cash Bailey chugged into New 
 Canaan with his new motor delivery- 
 wagon, that week, it created a sensation, 
 and even served in a way to bring Chet back to his 
 feet. The mechanical bent of his nature was too 
 strong for him not to show some enthusiasm over 
 Cash s new car. The engine was thirty-five horse 
 power, Cash proudly asserted to the group gath 
 ered about his machine, and it could climb hills like 
 a fly running up a window-pane. The body had 
 been Cash s own idea, and he had fitted up the in 
 terior to resemble a tiny store. 
 
 " It s a Gideon," he explained to Dabney Todd, as 
 he ran the car up a narrow driveway from the state 
 road. " Horses are too slow for me. I have to 
 get around in a hurry now that my trade has grown 
 so big. This car cost a thousand dollars, but it will 
 pay for itself fore snow flies." 
 
 " Looks all right," observed Dabney, in slow ap- 
 
 108
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 109 
 
 praisal. " This is certainly the age of improve 
 ments, an we got to keep up with em or git left at 
 the post, whether it s in travel, or religion, or 
 politics, or what-not. Nice machine, all right. 
 Shouldn t wonder if she s a lot faster than any car 
 in town." 
 
 "Well, rather!" was the grinning response. 
 " I ll leave her here while I go round with some of 
 these dress patterns I have orders for." 
 
 "It s safe to leave her, I s pose?" asked Dab- 
 ney. 
 
 " Sure ! An automobile will always stay put. 
 That s one of its advantages over a horse. It ain t 
 everlastin ly pullin at the tie-rope, tryin to break 
 loose." 
 
 Cash walked away, his arms full of dry goods, 
 while Dabney Todd continued to gaze at the new 
 motor car, on either side of which was emblazoned, 
 in large gold letters, " Cash Bailey, the Bargain 
 Man." 
 
 " Wa al, he may git his money out of it," remarked 
 Titus Showell. " But a hoss is good enough for me. 
 Say, Dabney, why did you let him back up in front 
 of the engine house? You couldn t git the doors 
 open without him movin ." 
 
 " I m chief of the New Canaan Fire Company,
 
 no DABNEY TODD 
 
 Tite," replied Dabney Todd, with dignity. " I give 
 him permission to put his auto there." 
 
 For the rest of the day there was usually a group 
 inspecting Cash Bailey s new machine, and the gen 
 eral opinion, despite some adverse criticisms en 
 gendered, one might have guessed, by envy rather 
 than by intelligent understanding, was that she was a 
 " hum-dinger." 
 
 It was about dusk when Cash, having finished for 
 the day, sat smoking and gossiping in Link Wat- 
 kins store. Cash realized the value of social pop 
 ularity. He usually had a new story whenever he 
 came into the village, and always brought the news 
 of the outside world in a more intimate manner than 
 it could be conveyed in even the best-edited news 
 paper. 
 
 Suddenly the church bell clanged; the first stroke 
 was followed rapidly by many others. 
 
 "By hokey! " cried Tite Showell, springing to 
 his feet, regardless of his rheumatism. " There s 
 the fire bell!" 
 
 He dashed out of the store, followed by the 
 others, all members of the volunteer fire department. 
 
 " Looks as if it might be Deacon Howe s house 
 or barn," cried Link. " It s over about that way, 
 anyhow."
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT in 
 
 Dabney Todd had lingered at his supper, and was 
 still in his house when he heard the bell. 
 
 Neevey handed him his coat and helmet almost 
 as soon as he was out of his chair. He put them 
 on as he rushed to the frame structure " a little piece 
 down the road " from his house, where was kept the 
 old hand-pump, or " tub " as gayly red and golden 
 as it was inefficient that New Canaan called its 
 fire engine. 
 
 " There s that auto of Cash Bailey s right in front 
 of the door!" he shouted to Chet. "Help me 
 move it! " 
 
 Chet obeyed or tried to. But the two could 
 not stir the cumbersome machine. The other men, 
 from Link Watkins , were not yet in sight. 
 
 " That gol-fired thing hadn t ought to be here ! " 
 cried Dabney, as he stepped on the running-board. 
 
 "You let Cash leave it! " answered Chet. 
 
 " More fool, I! " ejaculated Dabney. " Go on, 
 blame me while the blamin s good! " 
 
 " Can t we move it, some way or other? " 
 
 " We will, or bust the dad-blamed thing!" ex 
 claimed Dabney. " Know anythin about automo 
 biles?" 
 
 "Not much. Why?" 
 
 Dabney s only answer was to lean over into the
 
 H2 DABNEY TODD 
 
 car and inspect the control with a thoughtful eye. 
 
 " I ll have to git into the drivin seat afore I can 
 do anythin ," he muttered. " Wa al, here goes!" 
 
 He climbed in and placed his two hands on the 
 steering wheel, as he had seen motorists do. Then, 
 as he pulled a lever, his foot pressed the self-starter. 
 
 The powerful engine began to turn over, slowly. 
 All at once the gas caught. Came a swift, drum 
 ming roar from the exhaust. 
 
 Rrrrrawk! ground clashing gears. 
 
 Suddenly, as Dabney clung desperately to the 
 wheel, the car gave a tremendous jump and started 
 straight through the village. 
 
 At the bend in the road it met Cash and the men 
 from the store. Cash gave one frightened yell when 
 he saw his new car zigzagging toward him, with 
 Dabney his hair flying wild madly " whoa- 
 ing " and " gee-ing." 
 
 The sight of the careening car froze most of them 
 in their tracks. But Cash, trying to stop the flying 
 car with his bare hands, jumped directly in front of 
 it. Wildly waving his arms, he howled at the top 
 of his voice: 
 
 "Throw off the switch, you old fool!" 
 
 Right there Cash came within an inch of making 
 Dabney his executioner. As the car sped on in the
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 113 
 
 gloom, Link and Tite picked him out of the mud. 
 The wind had been knocked out of him and he 
 showed a bruise on one side of his face, but in spite 
 of all their efforts, he started off after the fleeing 
 machine, streaking it down the road like a pursuing 
 Nemesis, in the dusk. 
 
 Suddenly two long cones of light shot out ahead 
 of the speeding monster, and red glow began to 
 glower behind it. In some of his frantic manipu 
 lations, Dabney had switched on the electric lights. 
 
 Chet had stared after his father, as the car 
 plunged away. Then he turned to the terrified 
 Neevey, to reassure her. 
 
 " Don t worry, mother," he begged. " Dad can 
 drive anythin . He ll be all right." 
 
 " I know he can drive anythin that lets itself be 
 druv, Chet," she replied, tearfully. " But an auty- 
 wobile ain t got no more sense than a buzz-saw, an 
 it s jest about as dangerous. I m goin to hitch up 
 the bay mare an skive along after him." 
 
 " I ll go with you," declared Chet. " There ain t 
 any fire. Link has found out it s just Deacon 
 Howe s hired man burnin some brush in his yard." 
 
 " No, you won t go with me, nuther ! I ain t 
 goin to overload the mare. I ll hook her to the 
 runabout, and she ll take me along as fast as that
 
 ii 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 left-handed thrashin machine what s runnin away 
 with y r father ! " 
 
 Neevey and Chet ran to the barn and in a jiffy 
 threw the harness on to the mare. 
 
 " Let me go, too ! " pleaded Chet, once more. 
 
 " No, no ! " she refused, clambering into the high 
 runabout the vehicle Dabney generally used when 
 he had to drive to the city or to the scene of one 
 of the farm auctions at which he officiated. 
 
 Dabney was long since out of sight. Minerva 
 stopped at Link Watkins store and asked which 
 way he had gone. 
 
 " Down the north road," volunteered Spencer 
 Howe, who, with Tite Showe ll, Paul Cuddeback 
 and others, had come back to the store, after watch 
 ing Cash out of sight. " He was swingin from one 
 side of the road to the other, an he come nigh 
 runnin into Joe Pelot s blacksmith shop as he went 
 around the corner. I was kinder s prised to see him 
 drivin a car. Dinged if I ever thought he c d 
 do it." 
 
 " Wa al, he ll tame the dod-rotted thing afore he s 
 done with it," opined Tite. " Don t s pose it s as 
 hard as breakin a colt, at that." 
 
 Neevey heard this much as she clucked to her 
 mare and sped away.
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 115 
 
 " They don t know nothin bout it," she mut 
 tered. ; They forget that an autywobile ain t hu 
 man." 
 
 Up one hill and down another sped the carriage. 
 
 "Gently, Diamond!" Neevey cautioned. 
 
 The mare swerved a little as she approached a 
 bridge over a creek. Something was thundering 
 toward Neevey, with nothing visible but two great 
 flaming eyes that cast furrows of light straight into 
 her face. 
 
 " Heaven save us ! It s comin ! " shouted 
 Neevey, in terror. 
 
 She had just time to rein to one side, when the 
 monster with the flaming eyes roared down upon 
 her. 
 
 Neevey never knew how she escaped being tossed 
 into the air and smashed to smithereens. The 
 bridge was only just wide enough for two vehicles 
 to pass, even when driven carefully. With the big 
 motor car sweeping down at thirty miles an hour, 
 and a man at the wheel who never had been in an 
 automobile before, it was only the mercy of a kind 
 Providence that prevented disaster. 
 
 "Land sakes! It s Dabney, goin back!" cried 
 she. He must, she understood, have struck to the 
 left into the Woodstock road, and so have come
 
 n6 DABNEY TODD 
 
 round through " Pinhook " village into the main 
 road to New Canaan again. How he had ever 
 made those turns, alive, she could not imagine; but 
 little that mattered. He had made them, and was 
 still master of the machine that was enough for 
 Neevey. 
 
 It required a minute or so to turn the excited mare, 
 and was a risky business. But Neevey had been 
 used to driving all her life, and Diamond knew her 
 voice. So she made the turn with no other dam 
 age than scraping some paint off one wheel and 
 scratching the back of the runabout against the fence. 
 Whoa, Diamond! Foller that red light goin 
 up the hill ! Land o love ! How it does seesaw ! " 
 
 A crash of racked gears! The red light stopped. 
 
 For once, Neevey threw all caution to the winds, 
 and whipped Diamond to a gallop down the hill. 
 
 Just as she neared the bottom, the red light, which 
 had been stationary, shot forward again, disappear 
 ing round a bend in the road. 
 
 Neevey went after it, and saw that it was rushing 
 down toward the corner, where Pelot s blacksmith 
 shop filled the angle. 
 
 " Which way will he turn if he turns at all? " 
 Neevey shrieked, in her panic talking continuously 
 to Diamond, and alternately standing up and sitting
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 117 
 
 down in the speeding runabout. " If he takes the 
 east, he ll slam plumb into Link Watkins s, an if 
 he goes west, there ain t nothin in front but 
 Showell s ice meadow less he was to make a short 
 turn south jest afore he gits there. Nobody can 
 tell me Dab can do that in an autymobile. He can 
 turn on a ten-cent piece in a buggy, but this is diff rent 
 awful diff rent!" 
 
 An incandescent light hung overhead, in the mid 
 dle of the road where it forked in three different di 
 rections; one of the few public lights in the village. 
 
 A group of men, with two boys one of whom 
 was Benny Zepp were huddled to one side of the 
 thoroughfare, where the glow of the electric light 
 shone on them. They were respectfully giving the 
 oncoming motor car the right of way, no matter 
 which direction it might take. 
 
 " By heck ! Dab has a good grip on the lines, 
 but I swan to man I don t believe he can git her 
 down to a walk," observed Tite Showell. " She 
 has a gait on her like a quarter-horse. Look out, 
 boys!" 
 
 The warning was uttered in a high-pitched yell, 
 for Dabney Todd had reached the forks and was 
 hurtling toward the onlookers. 
 
 " He s goin south! " shouted Spencer Howe.
 
 n8 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Don t you think it! He s headed west! " cor 
 rected Link Watkins. " He ll hit your fence, 
 Tite." 
 
 " Not so s you d notice it ! " came from Showell. 
 " By jings, he s goin to your place! " 
 
 Titus Showell was right. After a second of an 
 guishing uncertainty, during which it seemed as if 
 the unwieldy machine would jump the wide ditch 
 into the midst of the crowd of excited spectators, it 
 veered abruptly east and slewed toward the store. 
 
 " Git back, Dory! " roared Link Watkins, as his 
 assistant, Dory Benton, came doddering out of the 
 front door. " Give him room! " 
 
 It is possible that Dory had moved faster in the 
 course of his life than he did at this instant. But 
 none of the men who watched him could remember 
 the time. He dashed around the corner of the 
 store and took a flying leap down the steep bank into 
 the compost-heap outside Link s stable. 
 
 A roar of mingled laughter, advice and warning 
 burst from the assembled onlookers. 
 
 The motor-car with Dabney Todd tugging 
 valiantly, but blindly, at the steering-wheel, and pull 
 ing at every lever in sight in the hope of stopping 
 was close behind Dory. Unconsciously, his foot 
 was pressing the accelerator pedal.
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 119 
 
 " Whoa! " yelled Dabney. 
 
 But a motor car doesn t take any heed of 
 " Whoa ! " If it did, Dabney would have come to 
 a halt long before, for he had been shouting the 
 order ever since he had first found the machine was 
 going its own way, regardless of his wishes. 
 
 He made a frantic grab at a lever, missed it, and 
 threw all his strength onto the steering-wheel, giving 
 it a mighty wrench. Next moment, Link Watkins 
 horse-rail, to which customers hitched while inside 
 the store, stood on end. Then it burst into splinters. 
 
 The spectators, forgetting to laugh, ducked for 
 cover as though a bomb had been exploded among 
 them. 
 
 Pieces of wood, clods of earth and a shower of 
 stones, mingled with shirts, dress goods and bolts 
 of ribbon, fell all over Dabney, rattling on the seat 
 by his side and against the wind-shield. 
 
 He gave himself up for lost, but still maintained 
 his wild grip on the wheel, as the car circled in 
 front of the store. Even if he had run into an 
 earthquake, instinct told him that his only hope lay 
 in the steering apparatus. 
 
 " Whee, Skinny!" shouted the boy with Benny 
 Zepp. " Look at him spinnin ! It s better n a 
 three ring circus! "
 
 120 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Sh d say it is ! " shouted Benny. " You never 
 seen nothin like that in one! " 
 
 "Dabby!" screamed Neevey, from her seat in 
 the runabout, as she controlled her plunging mare. 
 " Git away from that store, will you? Stop turnin 
 round!" 
 
 This was good advice as far as it went. But 
 Dabney neither heard nor heeded it. He couldn t. 
 The automobile, racheting and thumping, as it 
 described such narrow circles in the road that it 
 threatened every moment to turn turtle. 
 
 Neevey caught glimpses of Dabney s determined 
 face at intervals as he faced the arc light. She saw 
 that he was holding to the wheel with the grimness 
 of desperation. 
 
 "He ll conquer that whirligig yet if he ain t 
 killed! " she muttered, through her teeth. " But I 
 wish he d drive straight one way or the other. 
 Spinnin roun without gittin nowhere is plumb 
 foolishness." 
 
 Whoa ! " gasped Dabney, again. 
 
 He twisted the wheel in another direction. The 
 machine, with a series of deafening reports that no 
 body could account for, darted toward Neevey and 
 the others who had been viewing the performance 
 from what they deemed a safe distance.
 
 Down the street raged the motor car, and passing 
 Pelot s blacksmith shop, took the west road at a 
 smart clip. 
 
 " Look, Skinny ! He s goin to drive into his 
 own hitch-barn ! " cried the other boy, Gabe Showell, 
 youngest son of Titus. " An there s Chet Todd 
 waitin for him." 
 
 "Aw!" retorted Benny, scornfully. "Chet 
 couldn t hold that there auto. Tain t like a hoss. 
 Sides, he s goin right down the road to your place." 
 
 " If he don t stop fore he gits there, he ll be in 
 the ice meadow," was the response. " They s a 
 short turn, but he won t be able to make it with that 
 there " 
 
 A splintering, tearing crash finished his sentence 
 for him. 
 
 Dabney had not made the short turn. 
 
 Instead, he had shot straight ahead, against the 
 heavy rail fence which separated Titus Showell s ice 
 field from the public road. 
 
 The meadow lay low, and, when heavy rains came, 
 was mostly under water. As cold weather ap 
 proached, Tite Showell turned more water in, with 
 the result of a pretty fair crop of ice. In the spring 
 he generally planted corn there. 
 
 No corn had been planted yet, however, and there
 
 122 DABNEY TODD 
 
 was water enough in the big ten-acre field to make 
 it look like a lake. 
 
 Crash! Splash! 
 
 Hardly had the motor torn its way through the 
 fence than it was half hidden in water. The wheels 
 bogged down in the mud, as the machine came to a 
 stop. 
 
 " Mercy ! He s killed 1 " screamed Neevey, as 
 she galloped her mare to the fence and pulled up. 
 " It s as dark as a cellar in that field, an there s 
 three foot o water an mud. Dabby! " 
 
 The last word was emitted in a frantic shriek that 
 Gabe Showell declared to Benny Zepp could be heard 
 up at the church. 
 
 What s the matter?" growled Dabney s voice 
 out of the blackness. " Don t worry, Neevey. 
 I ve halted the darned thing, anyhow. Git a lan 
 tern!" 
 
 Not one, but five, lanterns were already bobbing 
 down the road. As they approached, two of them 
 were seen to be in the hands of Chet and Amos Todd 
 respectively, while Joe Pelot, Spencer Howe and 
 Lije Conklin each carried one. 
 
 There was light enough now to see that Dabney 
 was standing up in the machine, looking for a way 
 to get out of the field without wading through the
 
 DABNEY RIDES THE GOAT 123 
 
 water. The wind-shield was smashed to nothing. 
 
 " Good thing I didn t cut myself on that blamed 
 glass ! " remarked Dabney, as he climbed over the 
 back of the car. " Give me a hand, Chet, so s I 
 can jump clear." 
 
 He made a masterly leap that almost brought him 
 ashore. Half-wading, half-dragged by Chet, he 
 reached safety. Minerva s arms were round him, 
 on the instant, mindless of mud and water, and her 
 motherly, wifely love was cherishing him, so miracu 
 lously restored to her after dire peril. 
 
 While they drove home together, to have Neevey 
 look him over for possible personal injuries, Chet, 
 Amos and Lije, with a team of horses, drew the car 
 out of the mud, so that Chet could determine how 
 badly it was damaged. 
 
 By the time they had the car back into the road 
 Cash came panting up. He shook his head despair 
 ingly, as he stood there looking at his machine, the 
 perspiration streaming down his face on to his mud- 
 stained clothes. 
 
 " Ain t nothin the matter with it, Cash," ventured 
 Chet, " cept the wind-shield s broke. An I can fix 
 that if you git me the glass." 
 
 " S all right, Chet," Cash gasped between breaths. 
 " Don t mind the dog-goned thing nohow. I got
 
 i2 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 * 
 
 her insured, and I m the agent for the company, 
 
 and the claim-adjuster, too. So I don t see how 
 I m going to lose by the deal, no matter how it 
 turns out. I m a sure winner, either way. But I 
 ain t hankering after chasing another one o them 
 things half way across the county and back. If that 
 darn fool dad of yours had been a little more ac 
 curate, I d have collected on them accident policies 
 o mine or been beatin a harp in heaven by now."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 NEEVEY LENDS A HAND 
 
 THE delicacy and reserve with which Larry 
 Shayne now treated Nance surprised the 
 girl. His patience, never a virtue with 
 him, suggested strongly that he had talked things 
 over with his father. Larry had not been in New 
 Canaan since he had brought her home that first 
 night. 
 
 Joe, her father, showed little surprise at her ab 
 sence that evening, but there was a dumb appeal in 
 his colorless eyes that seemed to beg forgiveness 
 for the yoke he had placed on her. 
 
 Nance went back and forth now on the stage, stay 
 ing each night in Redburn. If the villagers ques 
 tioned her unduly, it was only because she kept her 
 business a secret. Secrecy and concealment were 
 synonymous to them, and people only concealed that 
 which was bad. Their logic was plain. 
 
 Dabney was one of the few who refused to be- 
 125
 
 126 DABNEY TODD 
 
 lieve ill of the girl merely because she said nothing 
 about her affairs. 
 
 " I reckon it ain t nobody s kill-or-cure but hers," 
 he stoutly affirmed to the circle of country-store 
 debaters. " Other people s secrets ain t no to-do 
 of mine, as I can see. I got business of my own 
 which is more than some can say that are always in 
 everybody s else. An as for secrets, let me tell you 
 this, nobody s so fond of em as them that ain t got 
 no idee in this world of keepin em. Most people 
 want to git holt of secrets for the same reason a 
 spendthrift wants money for purposes of circu 
 lation!" 
 
 The girl s absence from the choir the following 
 Sunday had sent Blake to her, and Nance had quite 
 simply told him she was working in Redburn, and 
 that her work precluded the possibility of her giving 
 any time to the choir rehearsals. 
 
 Blake, be it said to his credit, was sure enough of 
 Nance not to invite her confidence against her will, 
 nor to ask things she left unsaid. Still, he did se 
 cure her promise to be there at least on Sundays, 
 satisfied that she would come well enough prepared, 
 anyhow, to do her part. 
 
 Blake now had other worries. The boy choir 
 was not progressing as he had hoped. The vest-
 
 NEEVEY LENDS A HAND 127 
 
 ments had arrived during the week, and Lester and 
 he had had their hands full, getting the choir into 
 shape. 
 
 It had been necessary to call in the assistance of 
 some one skilled with needle and thread, and Neevey 
 had graciously volunteered. Blake, returning to 
 the manse, found her busy with needle and pins, re 
 fitting a cassock to the slim shoulders of Gabe 
 Showell. 
 
 Neevey had become very enthusiastic about the 
 choir, a state of mind that Blake was happy to note. 
 
 " We certainly shall owe a great deal to you, Mrs. 
 Todd, when the choir marches up the aisle next Sun 
 day," said he. 
 
 Neevey smiled at him. 
 
 * This is the first time you ever had anything of 
 the kind in New Canaan, isn t it? " he went on. 
 
 Well, no not exactly," she answered, slowly. 
 " One time, three years ago, it was tried but in a 
 diff rent way. We had quite a choir in the church, 
 those days." 
 
 " Yes? What kind of a choir was it? " 
 
 ; Well, to tell the truth, I don t believe the name 
 of it is in the dictionary. Mr. Wilbur organized it. 
 He was our organist then. There were a whole 
 lot of little girls in the choir nice, feeble little
 
 iz8 , DABNEY TODD 
 
 things. But you couldn t hear one of em sing with 
 a stethoscope." 
 
 Blake laughed heartily. 
 
 " Strange," he smiled, " the ideas some people 
 have of what will help the church. And it isn t a 
 question of their faithfulness, either." 
 
 " No," agreed Neevey. " I know folks who has 
 allers been that way, as Christian as you could make 
 em, but rather loose in the head when it come to 
 doin things for the church." 
 
 " For instance? " Blake lured her on. 
 
 " Well, I remember one Thanksgivin , back bout 
 ten years ago, there was a skittish old maid, by the 
 name of Spafford, livin here in town, an she was 
 allers goin on bout art in the higher form, if you 
 get what I mean, as Hazel Devine says. An so we 
 was bluffed into lettin her plan the decorations for 
 the Thanksgivin services. She come over for me 
 in the afternoon, to let me have a sort of dress-re 
 hearsal-look at what she d accomplished. I tell you, 
 she d jest turned her art wide open an jumped for 
 safety. She d filled the chancel with stacks of wheat, 
 punkins an apples, until the place looked more like 
 a barn than a House of God. Then she put some 
 nice bunches of celery in the vases on the altar, and 
 jus naturally filled the place up from top to bottom.
 
 NEEVEY LENDS A HAND 129 
 
 She asked me what I thought about it. I said that if 
 she would hang a festoon of onions across the front 
 of the altar, with a picked chicken at each end, the 
 thing would be a perfect dream." 
 
 " Rather cruel of you, Mrs. Todd," Blake 
 summed, shaking his head, but still laughing. 
 " What did she say to that? " 
 
 Neevey chuckled. 
 
 " Why, she got so mad she nearly lost her re 
 ligion. She allowed that if her efforts to uplift the 
 artistic sense of the community by appropriate re 
 ligious symbolism, or somethin to that effect, wasn t 
 appreciated, the best place she could find in the 
 church would be outside it. How was that for 
 high ? Jest as I said at first : You never can have 
 any fun with some folks. They dunno how to take 
 a joke. I m allers sorry for folks as is born with 
 out a sense of the ridiculous. Life must be an aw 
 ful grind to them. Next to a new tooth-brush, or a 
 liver pill, a wholesome sense of the ridiculous makes 
 you feel better n anythin else. At any rate, it helps 
 you over a lot of hard places in life, an keeps you 
 from makin a fool of yourself." 
 
 Dabney came for her later, and as they walked 
 home Blake gazed after them admiringly. They 
 were so surely what they seemed honest, hard-
 
 i 3 o DABNEY TODD 
 
 headed but tender-hearted country folks. Close in 
 money matters, perhaps but kindly withal; and Blake 
 hesitated a moment for the word to complete his 
 thought. Efficient! Yes, that was it efficient! 
 
 Chet had seen Nance, but their talk had been be 
 side the mark. Nance had managed that. It had 
 not been lack of courage that held Chet back. He 
 knew what he must say to her some day, but he re 
 alized that he did not now possess the tact to do it 
 gracefully. He knew also that Nance had given 
 him little reason to think his interfering with her 
 affairs would be received any too kindly. 
 
 Dabney, wiser than most, kept the boy busy from 
 morning till night, certain that hard work was the 
 best thing for people " off their feed," as he put it. 
 Dabney, supreme when the occasion demanded, had 
 temporarily silenced Neevey s fears about their son 
 by going over to see Joe Pelot himself, and by veri 
 fying his belief that Larry Shayne was trying to 
 purchase Nance s farm. Once he could make sure 
 of this all-important fact, he knew that with a little 
 time and patience he could discover the motive for 
 Shayne s peculiar activities. 
 
 Of all this Chet knew nothing. And Dabney 
 rightly intended that he should not. If Chet wanted
 
 NEEVEY LENDS A HAND 131 
 
 the girl, he would, according to his father s creed, 
 have to make his own fight for her. Dabney Todd 
 was farsighted enough to realize that it was on the 
 girl herself that Chet must decide unaided.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 " HOSS SENSE " 
 
 TAKING his regular turn at the forge with 
 Amos, it so happened that Chet was in the 
 shop when Lije Conklin brought his horse 
 to be shod. Dabney and his two sons looked it 
 over suspiciously. All three knew horses. This 
 one was a tall roan, with a long neck, white-rimmed, 
 evil eyes and an aggressively upstanding mane and 
 tail. Lije had bought him only a few days before 
 at an auction and if life has any grab-bag chances 
 to offer, surely it is at the horse-auction, whether in 
 city or country. 
 
 The roan evidently had made up his mind that 
 he did not want to be shod; for, as Amos ap 
 proached, he lashed out with his hind foot viciously. 
 "Hello!" exclaimed Amos. "He s insulted if 
 you even look at him. Mean, ain t he, Lije? " 
 
 " He s got me plumb buffaloed," confessed Lije, 
 picking up a hammer from a bench. " I ll knock his 
 
 132
 
 "HOSS SENSE" 133 
 
 durned head off if he don t behave." Then, to the 
 horse, commandingly : u Here, you ! What s the 
 trouble?" 
 
 Lije was going forward in a dignified way, but all 
 his dignity was shivered to splinters, as the roan 
 went for him with both heels at once. 
 
 " I m through! " confessed Lije. " See what you 
 can do with him, Amos." 
 
 Amos was game. He went up to the animal on 
 one side, while Lije tried to get within reach of his 
 head on the other. The roan was vigilant and both 
 were compelled to jump back out of the danger zone, 
 but not before he had kicked the hammer out of 
 Lije s grasp. 
 
 "Almost got you that time, Lije!" remarked 
 Dabney, as he came into the shop. 
 
 " Took the skin off n a finger," growled Lije. 
 " He s goin to pull away from that wall, too. 
 Wouldn t s prise me a hull lot if he took the wall 
 with him." 
 
 " He s a jim-dandy, ain t he? " commented Amos. 
 " Acts like we d have to hoist him into the rack if 
 ever we cal late to git them shoes off him say 
 nothin bout puttin on new ones." 
 
 " That s what," assented Lije. " He s the peski 
 est goat I ever tried to handle. Looks like he don t
 
 i 3 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 cal late to have you do nothin with him, nohow." 
 
 " Oh! we ll fix him up, all right," Dabney assured 
 him; "Amos ain t afraid o nothin they bring in." 
 
 " I ll bet a cooky that in his best days Daddy d 
 have stood back an thought awhile afore he d ha 
 tackled an old he-lion like that," thought Amos. 
 
 It was at this moment that Tite Showell and 
 Spencer Howe sauntered over from Link Watkins 
 store and wisely looked the horse over. 
 
 Pears like that roan s givin you boys a heap o 
 trouble," remarked Spencer. " Queer how a hoss 
 will keep a-trouncin around an cuttin up, when he 
 might know he ll have to give in at last." 
 
 "That s so," sniffed Tite Showell. "When a 
 hoss has to have shoes, they re goin to be fixed on 
 him somehow or nother. If they ain t no other 
 way, I recommend you lay him on his back an clamp 
 his legs in a vise, so s he can t kick. That ought to 
 hold him." 
 
 " I wouldn t talk like that, Tite," Dabney said 
 dissentingly. " Don t sound right. An they ain t 
 no call for the Deacon to go into a laughin -gas fit 
 over it, nuther." 
 
 " Oh, I dunno," retorted Spence, nettled. " I 
 thought what Tite said was real funny. An it 
 comes purty nigh bein true, as well."
 
 "HOSS SENSE" 135 
 
 ; Tain t true ! " declared Dabney, sharply. 
 " Bout that roan or no other hoss. S fur s I see, 
 Lije an Amos ain t goin the right way to git him 
 where they want him. Trouble is they don t study 
 him nowheres but in his hind feet. They ain t no 
 logic in them. If you want to know what to do with 
 a hoss what s actin contrairy, go to his head an 
 git at what s in his mind. Course that ain t no ways 
 easy. I ain t sayin it is." 
 
 " You bet it ain t ! " put in Chet, soberly. " No," 
 he went on. " A horse can think of only one thing 
 at a time an mos gen ally he s thinkin of some 
 dummed thing you don t expect." 
 
 " That s gospel truth," Howe agreed. " It s as 
 true as the comin o spring. The wust of a hoss 
 is that as soon as he thinks o somethin , he goes 
 right ahead an does it, an if you don t have a tight 
 line on him, you may go over the plow-handles or 
 the dash of the buggy whichever you happen to 
 be drivin afore he changes his mind, or you find 
 out what he s thinkin about." 
 
 " Hosses is always changin what little mind they 
 got," put in Tite Showell. " Of all the dum crit 
 ters on earth, they re the dumdest. The power they 
 give, for the feed they git, makes em the most ex 
 pensive of all motors, an they kill more human
 
 136 DABNEY TODD 
 
 bein s a year than any other animal. Don t talk 
 hoss to me! " 
 
 " This blamed roan has been actin up like 
 a groundhog with his tail in a trap, dad," put Amos, 
 in an aggrieved tone. " You see how he dum nigh 
 killed Lije a while ago. If he ll take my advice, 
 he ll sell him back to the man he bought him of, or 
 saw him off on some one else that wants somethin 
 with a dash o cussedness in him." 
 
 Dabney Todd walked slowly toward the horse, 
 facing him, and careful not to make any abrupt 
 movement. 
 
 The roan rolled his eyes, showing a larger rim 
 of white than ever; at the same time the breath came 
 faster from the dilated nostrils, and he quivered 
 nervously. 
 
 " Who-a, babe ! " soothed Dabney. " I ain t 
 goin to hurt ye. They been gittm ye all excited, 
 ain t they? That s the hull trouble. You re some 
 high-strung, an you don t want shoes on ye less 
 you re sure it ain t goin to pain that sore foot o 
 your n." 
 
 "Sore foot?" cried Lije, in surprise. "Is any- 
 thin wrong with him that a-way? " 
 
 " Off hind foot been cut with wire or somethin ," 
 returned Dabney. " I seen the blood soon as I
 
 " HOSS SENSE " 137 
 
 come in. Tain t nothin much, but it s enough to 
 make him skeery when you go to tetch it." 
 
 By this time Dabney was near enough to the horse 
 to reach out and touch him, stroking his nose gently. 
 
 " There ! Ye needn t back away. This ain t 
 goin to do ye no harm. Once ye git it into ye that 
 you re among friends, you ll skitter right down an 
 be good. I know ye will." 
 
 Dabney drew closer and pushed up the horse s 
 lip, to look at his teeth. He did this from force 
 of habit, almost without realizing what he was about. 
 
 "H m! You re young, ain t ye? Only risin 
 eight. Couldn t expect ye to act like you was 
 eighteen. But you ve had enough shoes nailed on to 
 know it ain t no painful operation. Lemme look 
 at that sore hock. Say, Chet! Bring some warm 
 water an a sponge." 
 
 While Chet retired to the stable for the things 
 his father wanted, the latter stooped and very gently 
 ran his hand down the roan s hind leg first, how 
 ever, obtaining a firm grip on the tail, to hold it 
 down. 
 
 " A hoss can t kick without liftin his tail," he ob 
 served, quietly. " Not that this one is aimin to 
 kick no more, now he s quieted down." 
 
 " I wouldn t trust him," grunted Lije.
 
 i 3 8 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " No, you wouldn t trust him an that s most 
 of the trouble," rejoined Dabney. " Don t you 
 think he knows you re suspicious of him an afraid 
 of him? It don t do to go nigh a hoss feelin that 
 way, if you want him to do what you want. You 
 couldn t git a man to be wuth a durn to you if he 
 knowed you didn t like him an was afraid to trust 
 him. An I am tellin you that hosses is pow ful like 
 men on y more so. ... Put that water an 
 sponge down over here, Chet, while I see how bad 
 he s hurt." 
 
 Tenderly, Dabney lifted the foot. His experi 
 enced eyes told him at once that the horse had picked 
 up a piece of wire somewhere, which had wrapped 
 itself around the hock. Probably it had been soon 
 thrown off, but not before doing some damage. 
 The injury was slight, but sufficient to make the 
 high-spirited creature nervous and resentful when 
 at all roughly approached. 
 
 " It takes a vet nary surgeon to handle a thing 
 like that, dad," said Amos, rather apologetically. 
 " I don t purtend to be that. I m jest a blacksmith. 
 I can shoe a hoss, but I ain t no surgeon." 
 
 " Nuther am I," growled Dabney, without look 
 ing up from his occupation of gently bathing the 
 hock with warm water.
 
 " HOSS SENSE " 139 
 
 " Why, yes, you are," corrected Lije. " Least 
 ways, I ve allers thought you was. I don t know 
 another man in New Canaan that can hold a candle 
 to you, in this line. If anybody had oughta have 
 a degree of Vet nary Surgeon, it s you ! " 
 
 " No, sir," insisted Dabney. " Don t you git 
 that idee into your head, Lije Conklin. I m jest a 
 plain hoss doctor. I ain t never claimed to be 
 nothin more, s fur s I recollec . I can doctor a 
 hoss, or a cow, an mos gen ally I know what s the 
 matter with a dog or cat when they git off their 
 feed or acts any other way s ain t right. But I 
 ain t never laid no claim to a diplomy with Latin 
 and English mixed up in it." 
 
 The washing of the wound was complete by this 
 time. The horse had stood perfectly quiet, evi 
 dently enjoying the comfort of the warm water. 
 Dabney put on some salve of his own composition. 
 Then, standing up, he announced that the roan could 
 now be shod without trouble. 
 
 "Air you plumb sure of that, Dabney?" asked 
 Lije, incredulously. " I d ruther see you put him 
 in the rack, if there s any doubt about him behavin 
 while Amos shoes him. It d save a heap of time, 
 and you d be sure there wouldn t be no fight in him 
 leastways, none that you couldn t handle."
 
 1 40 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Dabney regarded Lije Conklin curiously. At last 
 he replied, in slow, even tones: 
 
 " Wa al, I reckon you re correct bout bein able 
 to handle him if we was to fix ropes an straps all 
 over him, so he couldn t make even a wiggle. Then 
 we could lift him clear of the floor, and he wouldn t 
 have no more chance than a mosquito in a spider s 
 web. But, would you call that givin the hoss a 
 square deal? " 
 
 " Why not? " growled Lije. 
 
 " Wa al, you d hate to have some feller offer to 
 lick you if you d have yourself put into a straitwes- 
 kit fust, with yer hands strapped to your sides an 
 hobbles on your feet. You d kinder think he was 
 seekin a sort of undue advantage, wouldn t you?" 
 
 "That s different!" objected Lije. 
 
 " I dunno s it s so very different," replied Dab 
 ney. " But I ll tell you what I ll do. I ll have 
 Chet take off them front shoes fust, and put one on. 
 After that, if the hoss stands anyways still, I reckon 
 we may say he s safe, and we ll fit on his other three 
 shoes. Git at it, Chet." 
 
 "All right, Dad!" 
 
 Chet took off the two old shoes without any ob 
 jections from the horse. Then he put on a new 
 one without difficulty.
 
 "HOSS SENSE" 141 
 
 The roan pulled at his halter and swayed occa 
 sionally, but not more than any horse might while 
 being shod. When the shoe was nailed on and 
 Chet put the foot down, the horse stood quietly 
 waiting for the other foot to be picked up. All his 
 nervousness had vanished. 
 
 " There you be, Lije," said Dabney, patting the 
 roan s neck. " The main p int allers is to find out 
 what s makin him nervous, an do away with that. 
 Another thing I ll tell you it s a dummed sight 
 easier to control a hoss in a blacksmith shop with 
 warm water an a soft sponge, than by hittin him 
 with a hammer-handle, jest as it s easier to make a 
 man good by givin him decent work at liberal wages 
 than it is by slavin and starvin him, and jailin him 
 when human nater rebels. 
 
 " Nater s all one, whether plant, animal or hu 
 man an she always yields her fruit accordin to 
 the soil. If preachers, teachers, editors, reformers 
 an politicians knew that little thing, an acted ac 
 cordin , we d have a dum sight better world than 
 what we have, to-day." 
 
 He smiled a trifle enigmatically, then turned and 
 walked out of the shop, leaving a germ or two of new 
 ideas to root in the consciousness of his hearers.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 
 
 iHESE were days that found Chet strangely 
 aloof from his accustomed haunts. Singu 
 larly enough, the quiet woods and running 
 brooks called to him, and he found great solace in 
 seeing them through Nance s eyes. All of the 
 many little things she had pointed out came back to 
 him on these solitary vigils. For hours at a time, 
 in the gathering dusk of evening, he would stretch 
 himself out in the tall wiregrass, under the giant 
 elms standing guard upon Storm King, and from this 
 vantage point watch the smoke curling up from the 
 little village, dreaming of Nance, intent on finding 
 some way to go to her and say what was in his heart. 
 Aimlessly wandering down the road to-night, he 
 had left the village behind, and almost gained the 
 old stone bridge over the Onondaga, when he saw 
 a strange little camp pitched beside the road. 
 An auto had been driven down a narrow side 
 142
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 143 
 
 road, a short distance from the main highway, and 
 from its side a small shelter tent was staked out. 
 Chet could see a man tinkering over the fire, and to 
 his nostrils came the appetizing odor of frying 
 bacon. A giant Llewellyn setter at the man s side 
 barked at the boy, and, as the stranger turned, Chet 
 recognized Cash Bailey. 
 
 "Hello, Chet!" was Cash s cheery greeting. 
 " Just in time. Had supper? " 
 
 Yes, thanks. Nice evening!" 
 
 " Every evening s nice, if you know how to take 
 it," Cash answered, " but I ll admit this one is 
 nicer n most." 
 
 "What you doin here?" asked Chet. "You 
 ain t gave up the store, have you? " 
 
 " No, not for good. But I m on an outdoor trip, 
 just now, with a line of stock that goes great in the 
 country some extra nice tinware, brooms, cali 
 coes, doilies, table-covers, paper lamp-shades an 
 other art-goods too numerous to mention. It s too 
 fine weather to be indoors, Chet. I m glad to be 
 on the road. There s something about being out 
 doors that gets under my skin. I ve figured out a 
 philosophy regarding it that s almost as satisfying 
 as selling goods." 
 
 Chet had flung himself into the cool grass, and
 
 144 DABNEY TODD 
 
 was filling his pipe, with a reflective face, while Cash 
 went on with his preparations for supper. 
 
 Chet watched him while he ate, and, as he ob 
 served the kindly Cash, a great envy of this wayside 
 philosopher, who seemed never to have been touched 
 by care or sorrow, came over him. The boy won 
 dered what had first sent him over the hills and far 
 away in the first little wagon Cash had ever owned. 
 
 "Why d you ever do it?" asked he. "What 
 made you ever take to peddlin goods, outside the 
 store? Most merchants are willin to set still an 
 let the tide come to em. How d you happen to 
 begin goin out after it?" 
 
 "Well, Chet," Cash smiled. "As an Indian 
 would say, that s a heap big question. For every 
 reason in the world, I guess, but mostly because I 
 wanted freedom. Freedom of action, and thought, 
 and you don t find it within four walls. You ve got 
 to be out on the highway, looking down from the 
 hills on the countryside smiling in the sun, or sleep 
 ing under the stars, to get that. I walk, or ride, 
 where I will. My thoughts are as free as the wind. 
 And you re not standing still, either. Don t fool 
 yourself there, Chet. You re growing all the time. 
 Why, the mountains were flat once. It may have 
 been millions and millions of years ago. But to-day
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 145 
 
 you see them towering to the clouds and you can 
 hardly believe that they were ever anything but what 
 they are. Men don t take so long to develop, but 
 the principle holds good." 
 
 Cash filled his pipe, and puffed contentedly for a 
 while, before he began washing his dishes in the 
 little stream. Then he went on: 
 
 " Did you ever sleep out in the open? Well, if 
 you haven t, you don t know what real sleep is. I 
 work all day, going from farmhouse to farmhouse, 
 with now and then a hamlet or village, to vary the 
 monotony. I ve talked till I m hoarse, but I ve sold 
 goods. Well, evening comes, and I climb a big hill, 
 with its secret of what s beyond, and maybe, when 
 I get to the top, I see the sun going down on the 
 other side of the lake, setting the bushes and sedge- 
 grass on fire, and lighting up the big trees. Or 
 maybe it s just something I ve seen a hundred times 
 before but it s beautiful. And then it s supper 
 time. I look around for a place to camp for the 
 night. It s hiding down there somewhere in a nook 
 of the valley, and I go around down the hill as fast 
 as I can, the brakes screaming and the blue smoke 
 from the exhaust trailing out behind." Cash 
 paused, and looked away at the distant sunset. 
 " Chet, you can t buy that kind of fun."
 
 i 4 6 DABNEY TODD 
 
 The spirit of wanderlust that Cash breathed in 
 with the air had begun to catch Chet. 
 
 " Give me a towel and let me help," he pleaded, 
 ready to have Cash go on for hours. 
 
 "That s freedom, Chet! And it s free as the 
 air. You re in the lap of God Himself when you re 
 out in the open country, and man s petty laws 
 aren t worth thinking of. Or if you get to the 
 lowlands, you pass a farmhouse, perhaps, and you 
 see the farmer and his hired man coming out of the 
 stable or driving the cows to pasture. They ve done 
 their chores, and soon they ll be goin to sound sleep. 
 It is their nightly reward for a hard day s labor. 
 And, Lord ! Chet ! You know how hard a man 
 
 works on a farm? " 
 
 i 
 
 "Don t I?" commented Chet, sententiously. 
 The chickens have gone to bed, but, as you pass 
 the hen-roost, you can hear em bickerin and 
 scratchin . Once in a while you ll hear the tweet! 
 of a robin or the caw of a crow. Did you ever no 
 tice how pretty a crow can sound when you hear him 
 at sundown? Seems impossible to you, eh? Well, 
 you just listen, next time. But it s the man on the 
 road who gets close to crow nature and every 
 other kind of nature. When God created this earth, 
 He didn t put man in a house, did He? Not by a
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 147 
 
 jugful. He gave him a Garden to live in, with 
 fruit, flowers, running streams the beauties His 
 hand had made all round him. I tell you, Chet, 
 a man needs the fresh soil to bring out the best that s 
 in him. He wasn t made to live inside of four 
 walls, with a man-made roof over him. Nor to 
 work that way, either. No, sir ! " 
 
 " I m beginnin to think so myself," returned 
 Chet, slowly, " workin day after day in a black 
 smith shop, doin the same thing over and over, with 
 the smoke and smell of burnin hoofs always in your 
 nostrils. I tell you, Cash, I m tired of it. The dig 
 nity of labor that folks like to talk about, so much, 
 is usually praised most by them that ain t ever had 
 so much as one small blister on their hands, from 
 work. I want somethin new. I want to make a 
 change." 
 
 "Well, why don t you?" 
 
 The question came abruptly, as Cash Bailey 
 turned his keen -eyes upon his companion and looked 
 him over from head to foot in the fast-gathering 
 gloom. 
 
 " How? What could /do? I don t know any- 
 thin about sellin goods from a wagon. Every man 
 to his trade, Cash." 
 
 "Piffle! You don t have to peddle goods from
 
 i 4 8 DABNEY TODD 
 
 a wagon. Abraham Lincoln was a rail-splitter at 
 one time; Andrew Johnson a shoemaker, Marshall 
 Field a five-dollar-a-week clerk. You are a black 
 smith. What of that? You can be anythin your 
 ambition desires. Any one can. All a man needs 
 to get ahead is vision. Understand? Vision, and 
 the will to follow it." 
 
 Chet nodded thoughtfully. 
 
 "What do you intend to be, Chet? Are you 
 content to be just Dabney Todd s son, shoein horses 
 and mendin plows and cultivators? You say your 
 self you re tired of that, already. Good for you! 
 It s a hopeful sign. Some of these days you re goin 
 to break away from it all and the sooner you do 
 the better you ll be." 
 
 " But I don t know anythin but my own busi 
 ness," the boy put in. 
 
 " All right ! You can mend anything that has 
 iron and steel in it, and you know how to make a 
 gas-engine work when it gets cranky. Why, Chet, 
 you ve got a great opportunity here. You can re 
 pair automobiles. Yes, sir!" 
 
 " I have done it," broke in Chet. " Nigh a dozen 
 times autos have had trouble in New Canaan. 
 Sometimes it would be only a bit of dirt in the car 
 buretor, cracked plug, or a broken fan-belt, or it
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 149 
 
 might be somethin worse. I was always able to fix 
 em." 
 
 " Good ! Now, why don t you go in the auto 
 mobile business altogether? " 
 
 "Sell em?" 
 
 " Not only that. Open a garage of your own, 
 where you can do repairs or have your men do 
 em. Get the agency for some good standard ma 
 chines, and demonstrate em to your customers. 
 There s plenty of openings. In fact, the right man 
 makes his own opening, and I ^m banking on your 
 being that kind of fellow, Chet. Of course, it ll 
 take grit and you ll have troubles enough to make 
 you hate yourself. Some men give it all up before 
 getting well started. But, Chet, I don t believe 
 you re a quitter." 
 
 " I don t believe I am either," answered Chet 
 with a certain grimness. " I don t seem to remem 
 ber anythin I ever really set out to do, that I didn t 
 finish." 
 
 " Then here s your chance. I m not goin to tell 
 you just how you re to start. If you can t figure 
 that out for yourself, you wouldn t make a success 
 after you d started. A part of this round world is 
 yours as it is any man s. Jump in and grab your 
 share. You ll have to fight for it, and hit hard.
 
 i 5 o DABNEY TODD 
 
 The other fellow will be tryin to beat you out of it. 
 But handle him the way you do a horse that don t 
 want you to shoe it easily, if you can, but with a 
 good solid grip when you must." 
 
 " I d certainly like to be in the automobile busi 
 ness!" Chet exclaimed. "Think of it, Cash, my 
 own business! A garage of my own! Why, I d 
 put a real stage line in between here and half a 
 dozen other towns, and I d make it pay. I d sell 
 cars, too." 
 
 " Well, you d better think this thing over, Chet," 
 Cash agreed, adding enigmatically: " It would be 
 good for your complaint." 
 
 " Complaint? What d you think s the matter 
 with me? 
 
 " Don t you s pose I can see that somethin s on 
 your mind? A husky fellow like you don t go 
 walkin out into the country alone in the evening, 
 not goin nowhere in partic lar, and stoppin once in 
 a while to pull leaves off a bush, or kick stones out 
 of his way, forgettin to go on again for a while, 
 unless there s some reason inside. / know. In my 
 business I see no end of people; and women I sell 
 things to often will drop a remark that tells me 
 they re in trouble, even when they don t say so out- 
 right."
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 151 
 
 A short silence fell between the two. Then : 
 
 " I got walking out into the country for the same 
 reason that you like it," said Chet, ignoring the last 
 part of Cash s speech. " I feel the need of free 
 dom of bein some place where I can fill my lungs 
 with pure air, and where I can jump and kick, and 
 yell, if I want to." 
 
 " But you don t kick and yell; you just shuffle 
 along like a lame calf, and have about the same look 
 on your face, if you ll excuse my sayin so. You 
 ain t playin the game, Chet. This evenin s sunset 
 was the prettiest I ve seen this summer. What do 
 you know about it? If anybody d asked you quick, 
 you wouldn t ha been able to say whether it was 
 the sun or the moon goin down back of that wood 
 over there. Fresh air is fine, but you ve got to take 
 it in with long breaths, or it don t do you any good. 
 I ll tell you more about what s the matter with you 
 the cause o your heartache." 
 
 Chet did not speak. Moodily, he knocked the 
 ashes out of his pipe, waiting for Cash to go on. 
 
 " Want me to tell you, Chet? " 
 
 The boy nodded. 
 
 " Girl ! " exploded Cash Bailey. " Just girl I I 
 know the signs ! " 
 
 Chet turned upon his companion almost fiercely,
 
 152 DABNEY TODD 
 
 bending forward so that he could look straight into 
 his eyes. 
 
 "Who d you mean?" he demanded. "What 
 girl?" 
 
 "How should I know?" laughed Cash. "Any 
 girl would have the same effect on you, if you wanted 
 her. Her name ain t of any importance in this dis 
 cussion. Whether it s Sally, Ann or Prue, Kate, 
 Jemima or Clara Jane, it s all one, so far as makin 
 you go lollygaggin round, moonstruck and mis able. 
 A rose by any name would smell as sweet. A best 
 girl, by any name whatsomever, always spoils the 
 appetite an upsets the pulse, if she s really an truly 
 got the hooks into you." 
 
 Chet relaxed in the grass, and looked up at the 
 stars, as he answered quietly: 
 
 " I calc late that s so. Every fellow that likes a 
 girl thinks she s the only one, I reckon. But you re 
 only guessin about that with me, Cash. Still, if it 
 was true " 
 
 " I hope it is true," swiftly interrupted Cash 
 Bailey. " Because that 11 help you to win." 
 
 " Money? " 
 
 " Oh, yes money, of course. That s what you 
 go into business for to make the long green. 
 Not only because you want to pile up a whole lot
 
 CASH BAILEY STIRS THE COALS 153 
 
 of it, but because there s so much fun in makin it. 
 It s like fishin . I ve seen a man pull a two-pound 
 trout out o the water, and, after lookin it over, give 
 it away. Why? Because he didn t want the fish so 
 much as the sport of landin it. He d been playin 
 for that fish with his fly-rod and half a dozen differ 
 ent kinds of flies for two hours, and he d enjoyed 
 every minute. There you are ! It s the same in 
 business, if a man s made o the genuine stuff." 
 
 " But I want money," declared Chet. " Lots of 
 it!" 
 
 u Of course you do especially if there s a girl. 
 You ve got to do it for her. But the money isn t 
 everything with her, neither. When a girl gets 
 married, she wants somethin in her home besides 
 a lot of talk about crops and potato-bugs. You ve 
 got to be a man of the world, in a way, if you want 
 to make a woman happy and contented in her own 
 home. Lord! How a woman does admire a 
 fighter a fellow who does things ! He don t need 
 to be a big husky chap like you, neither, Chet if 
 he s got the brains. If some girl s worryia you, go 
 to her and find out what s what. Worryin .about it 
 and moonin to yourself won t help none ! " 
 
 Thus Cash and Chet talked till very late; and 
 when Cash bade the boy good-night, a new deter-
 
 i 5 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 mination shone in Chet s eyes a light that would 
 have gladdened the heart of Nance Pelot, had she 
 been able to see it there. So busy was Chet with 
 his thoughts that he had reached home before he re 
 alized he was even in the village.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 DABNEY S TRANQUILLITY is DISTURBED 
 
 THOUGH Chet was slow to become enthu 
 siastic, once he had been aroused he 
 clung with a tenacity of purpose that never 
 acknowledged defeat. In this he followed his 
 father s footsteps, for one of Dabney s favorite 
 aphorisms was: "Many a bulldog s been licked, 
 an then in the end chawed up the other dog, simply 
 because when he was licked he didn t know it! " 
 
 Cash Bailey had fired the boy with strange ideas, 
 and Chet awoke next morning determined to talk 
 things over with his father. 
 
 " Dad," he blurted out, bluntly, " I m goin to sell 
 that forty acres you gave me last year, if you ll let 
 me." 
 
 They were at breakfast. Amos had already gone 
 to work. 
 
 " Why, Chet, what s wrong with the place now? " 
 Dabney asked incredulously. " I figured that farm 
 was a right val able piece of land." 
 
 155
 
 156 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " None finer round here," Chet agreed. " But 
 I m aimin to make more money than I m gettin out 
 of that farm. What do you say to buyin it back? " 
 
 Dabney carefully set down the saucer in which he 
 had been rocking and blowing his tea, and stared 
 with some astonishment at his son. 
 
 " Now, Chet," he warned, " don t you go tryin 
 to slip one over on your paw. Don t you git to 
 thinkin you re goin to shake me down for a fancy 
 price just cause you re one of the fam ly. You go 
 an sell that farm, if you want to she s yourn 
 but I sure would do some thinkin fore I let go on 
 her. What re you plannin on doin with all that 
 money, anyhow? " 
 
 " I m goin to build a fireproof garage and go in 
 the automobile business." 
 
 It came straight from the shoulder, and Chet anx 
 iously watched his father s face. 
 
 " There ll be a barrel of money in it, dad, if I 
 work it right," Chet continued eagerly. " I ll buy 
 an sell machines, repair em, an carry a full line of 
 accessories for automobilists on the road. I ll put 
 in a gasoline tank an make a good thing out o that. 
 I ll sell oil and pick up a dollar every way I turn. 
 Won t you help me do it, dad? Won t you? " 
 
 Dabney s answer was a flank attack.
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 157 
 
 " Chet Todd," he boomed, " you never figured 
 all that out by yourself. No, sirree ! Where d you 
 git this idea, huh? Who you been talkin to? " 
 
 " Cash Bailey." 
 
 There was no hesitation in Chet s manner any 
 longer. 
 
 "Cash Bailey!" Dabney ejaculated. "I might 
 ha knowed it. First he sells my wife a shirtwaist 
 made o stuff that warn t intended for nothin else 
 but a uniform for the Kiltie band, an now he gits 
 my son a-wantin to sell his farm, to go in the auto 
 mobile business. Gosh all hemlock! What ll he 
 have me doin next? " 
 
 " Don t you go flyin off the handle about Cash, 
 dad! " Chet put in. "Here I ve been goin along 
 doin nothin in particular, just waiting for some 
 thing to turn up, and it makes me sick. I don t get 
 a chance that way. Cash is right. If you re goin 
 to get anywhere, you got to do your own rowin ." 
 
 " Son," laughed Dabney, " you re sure plumb het 
 up bout this, ain t you? " 
 
 " I got my mind made up, if that s what you mean, 
 dad. I ain t goin to go on like Amos. Shoein 
 hosses an repairin cultivators, and the like, ain t 
 goin to satisfy me. I want my own business, an 
 I m goin to get it, some way. If I make good,
 
 158 DABNEY TODD 
 
 they ll say what a smart boy you got and if I 
 don t, they ll just as surely give me the laugh. But 
 I ll take that chance." 
 
 " Wa al, now, Chet," said Dabney, kindly, " you 
 ain t never heard of your dad lettin any one give 
 his boys the laugh if he was able to keep him from 
 doin it, have yuh? " 
 
 Chet read the assurance in his father s eyes. He 
 pushed back his chair and leaned across the table 
 toward him. 
 
 " You mean I get a chance to do this, dad? " he 
 cried eagerly. " You mean you don t call me crazy 
 to think automobiles are what this town needs? 
 And you ll give me the money to start? " 
 
 " Yep," Dabney said, knowingly, his eyes half 
 closed, as he pondered the matter. " I cal late, all 
 bluffin aside an bluff s a mighty useful thing, at 
 times, to make the other feller show his hand I 
 cal late you hit a good idee, in this. You re showin 
 real Todd grit an sense. You re lookin ahead 
 now, when you re talkin autymobiles, an it s only 
 men who look ahead that get ahead. They ll have 
 lots of autymobiles here or bust, some day. If you 
 start now, you ll be ready when the time comes, and 
 the man on the job does the business." 
 
 Dabney s mind wandered for a minute.
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 159 
 
 " How fine that ll be, Chet," he went on, at last. 
 " Hosses are gittin scarce. People are usin em 
 less an less, until soon they won t need em much 
 for anythin but plowin an cultivatin . Work ll be 
 gittin scarcer an scarcer all the time down to the 
 old shop, and you, my boy, will be on the job, ready 
 to give em the new things they ll want then. 
 Growin up with em, so to speak, an keepin the 
 name of Todd on top." 
 
 "You really think I ll succeed, then?" asked 
 Cher, excitedly. 
 
 " Uh-huh. Every one usually does that s got 
 brains an energy. Life had oughta mean success, 
 if it means anythin , I cal late whatever Power 
 made this world, meant for all to have enough, an 
 nobody to suffer want in such a garden o plenty. 
 Yes, Chet, you ll git thar all right, if no greedy, 
 graspin hawg pushes in an does you out of the re 
 sults of your labors." 
 
 " I won t let em ! " exclaimed Chet, with vigorous 
 determination. 
 
 " You can t always help it," said his father 
 sagely. " Hog nature is sometimes too strong in 
 some people to be overcome by the human nature 
 in others. Jest as some shoats will git their feet 
 in the trough usually the runts, at that an
 
 160 DABNEY TODD 
 
 crowd out all the others, so they s men will try the 
 same dodge, in the game of life. These here trust 
 maggots " 
 
 " Magnates, father." 
 
 " Maggots I said, an maggot I mean! " affirmed 
 Dabney, decidedly. " Don t they illustrate it? 
 Don t they raise prices, make shoddy goods, buy an 
 sell legislatures, crow r d the little kids into their mills 
 an mines an fact ries, an then when their men com 
 plain, shoot an jail em? Don t they make wars 
 between nations, strew the battlefields with dead 
 men, an fill the world with orphans an widders, I d 
 like to know? " 
 
 Chet remained silent a moment, pondering. 
 
 " Now," continued Dabney, after a little pause, 
 " if the people that do the work only got the re 
 ward, it d be all right, I cal late. The world be 
 longs to them that tills an mines an builds an sows 
 an reaps, not to them that plots an schemes an 
 cheats an gambles in stocks an bonds. Some day 
 we ll git sense enough to take from each accordin 
 to his ability, an give to each accordin* to his need. 
 That ll be the millenyum, I reckon. But till then 
 Chet, we got to look out for the maggots. We 
 have em right here in New Canaan, on a small scale 
 same principle, only weaker. So, when you git
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 161 
 
 into business, watch out! Watch out, boy, that s 
 all I got to say! An good luck to you. When 
 d you reckon you ll need that there money? " 
 
 Chet walked on air that day. Plans had to be 
 formed, a location selected, arrangements made to 
 get the agencies he wanted, and a hundred other 
 things. The boy s mind was filled to overflowing 
 with enthusiasm for his task. Man-like, in the first 
 flush of business activity, he forgot Nance for the 
 time being. 
 
 Surely Cash had been right. Already people 
 were beginning to treat him with a new dignity. 
 He was no longer just Dabney Todd s son, but a 
 full-grown man, ready to take his place in the world, 
 and if he thought of Nance at all, it was only to 
 wonder what she would say to all this. 
 
 Dabney idled away the entire morning in the lit 
 tle office in his shop. This was for him quite an 
 unusual proceeding. 
 
 Chet had started the train of thought that wor 
 ried him now. Was it possible, he asked himself, 
 that a great, big overgrown boy like Chet, could 
 generate all that ambition of his -own accord? Dab 
 ney allowed for Cash s influence, and still knew he 
 had not answered himself. 
 
 The Redburn stage pulled in about ten o clock on
 
 1 62 DABNEY TODD 
 
 its morning trip. Now Jed Peters, who drove it, 
 was sweeping it out and tinkering with the engine 
 over in front of Watkins store, while Dabney, sit 
 ting where he was, watched him with interest. 
 
 The stage would not leave on its return trip until 
 two in the afternoon. So Jed took his time, and 
 Dabney still found him interesting. Somehow, the 
 stage seemed to intrude into the question he was de 
 bating with himself. The connection eluded him 
 for a long while. 
 
 It suddenly hit him a broadside. 
 
 " Sufferin cats!" he ejaculated. "That s it 
 Nance Pelot ! " 
 
 Starting, he knocked half the litter on his desk to 
 the floor; and as he bent over, picking it up piece 
 by piece, " Dabney! " he murmured, "you re gittin 
 downright stupid ! " 
 
 For a man who was stupid, Dabney did a lot of 
 quick thinking during the short walk home to din 
 ner. When he drove Diamond out of the barn, a 
 few minutes after he had left the table, Neevey got 
 a noncommittal answer to her question as to where 
 he " cal lated hikerin to, now? " 
 
 Jed Peters carried very few passengers on his 
 afternoon trips, and as Dabney drove up to Link 
 Watkins , a few minutes before the stage was due
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 163 
 
 to leave, he saw that Nance was the only passenger. 
 
 " Hello, Nance ! " he greeted her. " Better jump 
 in here and ride with me. I happen to be goin 
 over to the city." 
 
 Nance entertained a real fondness for Dabney, in 
 spite of the fact that his prosperity always served 
 to remind her of her father s broken fortunes. She 
 knew, of course, no blame attached to Dabney, in 
 the matter; and then, too, Dabney was such a kind- 
 hearted, shrewd, humorous old fellow and above 
 all, was he not the father of Chet? 
 
 Now, however, she shrank from accepting his 
 offer. For some time in fact, ever since having 
 begun work for the unspeakable Jew, Morris Rosen 
 blatt she had tried her best to keep to herself. 
 And just now, of all times, she certainly did not 
 fancy the long ride to Redburn with him, and the 
 opportunity it offered for conversation. 
 
 " Thanks, Mr. Todd," she smiled. " I guess I 
 won t, this time." 
 
 You sure are going to change your mind, 
 Nance," he answered whimsically. " Seein as how 
 I hitched up for the express purpose of takin you 
 over. I ain t recollectin any business that s callin 
 me to Redburn." 
 
 Nance could not have told what decided her to
 
 1 64 DABNEY TODD 
 
 accept his invitation. Surely those smiling eyes 
 meant her no harm. 
 
 When Jed came out, ready to stait, Nance and 
 Dabney were a long way down the road. As he 
 passed them he waved his hand at Dabney calling 
 him four kinds of a " hoss thief." 
 
 They were passing Nance s farm before Dabney 
 found what he wanted to say to her. All the way 
 out he had been covertly watching and appraising 
 her. No wonder, he thought, that Chet wanted 
 the girl. The finely-chiseled mouth and nose ap 
 pealed to him compellingly. 
 
 " Nance, you ain t changed your mind bout sellin 
 that farm?" he said, as he pointed toward it with 
 his whip. 
 
 " Hardly, Mr. Todd," she asserted positively. 
 
 Wa al, now, I ain t tellin you all my suspicions, 
 but I got em, an , if I was you, Nance, I wouldn t 
 change my mind about lettin go on it, cause jest 
 as sure as you do, you re goin to make me disap 
 point yuh, an I don t want to be downright mean 
 that-a-way." 
 
 " I thought my father had made it clear to you 
 that I couldn t sell the old place," she replied. 
 
 " Yeh, he did say that, Nance. But I ain t for- 
 glttin I m not goin to have a say in the matter after
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 165 
 
 August, an , as I said before, if what I suspect is 
 true, three months won t be long for them to wait 
 as wants to git it." 
 
 "Well, what are you hinting at? " she asked. 
 
 Dabney chuckled. 
 
 " Nance, I m ashamed of you, puttin the buck up 
 to an ole man like that. Why, what I m thinkin is 
 so plumb preposterous, I m dog-goned if I ain t 
 afeerd to tell you. If I m wrong, this county d have 
 the laugh on me for the rest of my nat ral life. No, 
 sirree ! I ain t sayin . But I ve got my eyes open, 
 an I m doin a consid rable bit o seein an lis- 
 tenin ." 
 
 Dabney had had his say, and, try as she would, 
 Nance could not find out what he was rolling over 
 in his mind. 
 
 They drove along in silence for a while before 
 Dabney turned to her again. 
 
 " I m jest wonderin , Nance," he said, whimsically, 
 " what kind of an ole he-bear you think I be. Now 
 tut, tut! Don t go flatterin me that-a-way, cause 
 I been tryin to figger out jest what I d think o my 
 self if I was you an it don t seem to call for no 
 flattery, much. Though they ain t no man can say 
 I took undue advantage on him, or ever turned the 
 corners, when I d passed my word."
 
 166 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Slowly, gravely, almost as father might have done 
 who had not seen his daughter in years of separa 
 tion, Dabney Todd began speaking to her of past 
 days and of the long struggles of his existence. 
 
 Nance sat absorbed as this old man unfolded his 
 life to her. She knew Dabney well enough to know 
 that it was unusual, and that it in some way bore 
 directly on her. 
 
 " I been a savin man, Nance," he went on. 
 " Never denyin myself what I ought to have, mind 
 you, but lookin ahead for a rainy day. Some 
 times it rained purty blamed hard for me. Still, I 
 ain t complainin . Some folks are meant to git on, 
 I allow. Others ain t got the knack of it, an I m 
 jest wonderin if they ain t a notion in that purty 
 little head o yourn that I got a lot o things the good 
 Lord intended for your paw." 
 
 Something seemed to catch in Nance s throat. 
 All she could do was to shake her head. Not that 
 Dabney was wrong, but because she knew the fault 
 was not his. 
 
 * Yes, I guess I d think a little that way now and 
 then myself, if I was you," he continued, medita 
 tively. Your paw an me started even, back there 
 years ago, an we run along quite nice for a spell, 
 till somethin slipped up an hit him a wallop in the
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 167 
 
 back. Men don t give in to anythin like he did, 
 with their eyes open. Maybe, I says to myself, God 
 intended Joe Pelot to drink for the example he d 
 be to somebody else. We ain t no way o tellin 
 how He moves the checkers around. But I ll bet 
 He ain t takin all the good out o one man without 
 givin it to some one else." . 
 
 Nance was sobbing to herself now. 
 
 " And I been watchin you stick to him," contin 
 ued Dabney, " carin for him, an holdin of your 
 head up an I been proud of you. . . . You ain t 
 no quitter, Nance Pelot! I been sittin back, sort 
 o despisin myself cause I warn t man enough to 
 come an tell you what I thought, an let you know 
 you had a friend you could count on. . . ." Dab 
 ney smiled to himself. " Seems that some o the 
 members o my family ain t been so backward." 
 
 Dabney s voice was getting husky, too. 
 
 " But I m tellin you now, Nance, when you re in 
 trouble come to me. An I d like to know if you 
 want to promise me you won t do nothin now or 
 after August with that farm, without askin me 
 about it." 
 
 Words just then were beyond Nance, but Dabney 
 felt her slender fingers resting ever so gently on his 
 big, horny fist.
 
 1 68 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Old Diamond plodded along for a great many 
 minutes before Dabney spoke again. 
 
 " There s some folks in New Canaan can t under 
 stand you, little girl . . . an it s got em worried 
 to death. You mustn t forget people s prejudices if 
 you want to be happy no, sir." 
 
 Since Dabney was now getting near the real pur 
 pose of his being there, he hesitated a little over his 
 diplomacy. Despite all his good intentions and his 
 great innate tact in dealing with almost any situation 
 which might arise, he found this a peculiarly delicate 
 place to be in. But, after a little pause, he went on: 
 
 " An that brings me to what I want to say to 
 you it s jest this if you want to run round with 
 the Shayne boy, wa al, I, for one, say it s nobody s 
 business but your own. I know there s them who 
 don t agree with me, but they don t bother me. 
 Course, he s got a purty shady reputation, an he s 
 left his mark on some but, shucks ! Ef you want 
 him, why " 
 
 Had he built her hopes up to dash them to the 
 ground this way? Was this, then, all she could 
 expect? Anger flared in her eyes. 
 
 "Is that the way I have impressed you?" she 
 halted him sharply. " Is that the kind of girl you 
 think you are offering your friendship to? Do you
 
 DABNEY IS DISTURBED 169 
 
 know me so little that you can believe I want Larry 
 Shayne that he can be anything to me? " 
 
 Dabney met her shining eyes, but there was only 
 happiness in his. 
 
 " There, there ! " he soothed her. " Don t you 
 go gittin all excited that-a-way. I jest wanted to 
 hear you say you didn t cotton to the stripe of that 
 blackbird. I was sure of you right along, but I 
 wanted to hear you say it. An I don t mind tellin 
 you, Nance, your goin over to the city two and three 
 nights a week has got my nat ral curiosity aroused. 
 Now you go on an tell me what it s all about." 
 
 Kindly and patiently, Dabney wheedled it out of 
 her her need of money, her fear of what folks 
 would say, her repugnance to Larry, and the horror 
 the place held for her. 
 
 When she had finished, Dabney was silent before 
 the sacrifice the girl had made. Wisely he shook 
 his head. He was profoundly touched. The end 
 less wonder of woman! He wondered what Nee- 
 vey would say to this if she knew. 
 
 " Nance," he said, at last, " I ain t aimin to be 
 no religious man, but what you ve jest told me makes 
 me sure God ain t far away. He s been givin you 
 the courage an nerve to keep a stiff upper lip, an 
 I guess He ain t goin to forgit you now, noways.
 
 170 DABNEY TODD 
 
 If things git so you can t stand em no longer with 
 out goin mad, you come to me. If Joe ain t able 
 to work in a couple of weeks, we ll fix it up some 
 other way." 
 
 Insistently she made him promise that Neevey and 
 Chet must not know. Dabney s plea for Chet was 
 in vain. 
 
 " You ve got to have faith," she said, a far-away 
 look in her eyes, " when you can t understand. If 
 you can t, or don t believe why, what happens 
 won t matter much. I want it to be so with Chet, 
 Mr. Todd. Won t you give me your promise? " 
 
 In the end, Dabney promised, and Nance knew 
 his promises were too sparingly given, ever to be 
 doubted. The old man s word had ever been his 
 bond, and no bond ever written could have held him 
 more tightly than his simple " Yes " or " No." 
 
 Though it tremendously embarrassed him, he 
 drove her straight to the doors of the Seneca Inn, 
 and serenely failed to see Larry Shayne staring out 
 at him, unable to believe his own vice-sodden eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS 
 
 NEEVEY TODD, passing Nona Haynes 
 house that same afternoon, heard a lot of 
 girls giggling inside. She stopped invol 
 untarily. Before she could go on, Nona looked out 
 the open window and waved invitingly at Neevey. 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Todd, won t you come in and help 
 us? " she cried. " We ve got some fancy sewing we 
 don t know just how to do. We won t keep you 
 very long." 
 
 Neevey smiled at the flattery and went in. There 
 came a chorus of " Good afternoon, Mrs. Todd! " 
 and Myrtle Lewis held up a long strip of white linen 
 before her the instant she had settled into a com 
 fortable arm-chair. 
 
 "What s that thing?" she asked. "Looks like 
 one o them cloths I ve seen at the circus, with a hole 
 for the colored man s head to go through, when you 
 pay a nickel to throw balls at him. I seen Chet 
 land on him three times, hand-runnin ." 
 
 171
 
 1 72 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " It s a fudge apron," announced Nona Haynes, 
 solemnly. 
 
 "A what?" 
 
 " A fudge apron. You know, making fudge is a 
 messy job, and a girl doesn t like to get her nice 
 white waist and skirt all brown and sticky with 
 chocolate. Cash Bailey brought these aprons the 
 last time he was here, and most of the girls bought 
 one. It s a wonder he didn t try to sell you one, 
 Mrs. Todd." 
 
 " He knowed better," sniffed Neevey. " But tell 
 me how this thing works." 
 
 ; Why, you push your head through this hole, and 
 the apron comes down in front and behind. It s 
 stamped for embroidery around the neck, and in 
 front there will be a bird, with wings outspread. 
 Cash said the design was Bluebirds of Happiness. 
 
 " Trust Cash Bailey for giving his goods a fancy 
 name," commented Neevey. "Well?" 
 
 " Here s the silk floss, four beautiful shades of 
 blue, for the bluebirds," put in Myrtle Lewis, hold 
 ing it up. " But none of us knows exactly how to 
 begin. Won t you show us? " 
 
 " Me, an ole woman, show you smart young things 
 how to embroider? " protested Neevey, pretending 
 embarrassment. " Land o livin , you ll git me more
 
 BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS 173 
 
 excited than a cat at a mouse-show. Go on long 
 with you! " 
 
 " Please, please ! " begged Myrtle, laughing. 
 " Nobody knows half as much about anything, as 
 you do! " 
 
 Neevey could not resist the coaxing, and in a few 
 minutes she had set them all to work, while she went 
 from one to the other, to see how they were getting 
 on. 
 
 " Embroiderin is a thing that has to be done 
 right from the beginnin ," she proclaimed. " I 
 mean that for you, Milly Watkins. You ve begun 
 the right wing of that bluebird so nat ral that it s 
 goin to seem ready to fly off the apron. But the 
 way you ve started the other will make it drop as if 
 it belonged to a sick chicken. You ll have to be 
 careful you don t git the silk raveled, too, or you ll 
 be plumb ashamed o that work when you git through. 
 I think this fudge apron notion is all foolishness, 
 anyhow. The idee of all you gals comin together 
 just to make these here things." 
 
 " It wasn t only to make fudge aprons," cor 
 rected Nona Haynes. " We re going to hold a 
 * Hope Box meeting, and we thought we could talk 
 it over while we embroidered." 
 
 "What in the world is a hope box?" asked
 
 i 7 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Neevey. " I b lieve I ve heard the word before, 
 but I don t rightly know, even now, jest what it is." 
 
 Hazel Devine the school teacher was in the 
 habit of taking a serious and academic view of things. 
 She held up one hand to command attention. 
 
 Rather tall and thin, this damsel of about thirty 
 summers and a few extra winters, had been unfor 
 tunate enough to have had a smattering of Bostonese 
 impressed upon her in her teens. Now she never 
 let an opportunity pass to remind everybody of the 
 fact. 
 
 " A hope box," she elucidated, with her best Bos 
 ton manner, " is a chest, or drawer, in which a girl 
 places all the things she is preparing for use after 
 she is married." 
 
 " You mean, she hopes to be married, so she calls 
 it a hope box, Hazel? " tittered Milly Watkins. 
 
 Hazel ignored the interruption. " That is my 
 understanding," she went on. " She ll require house 
 linen of all kinds, new clothing for herself, fancy 
 articles of decoration, and so on. Even fudge 
 aprons are good things to put in a hope box." 
 
 " Well, now, where is the meeting to be held? " 
 asked Myrtle. " That s the next question." 
 
 " At my house," offered Nona Haynes. " Of 
 course, mother s not very well, now, but I m sure
 
 BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS 175 
 
 she will be better by the time we have the meeting. 
 It s to be two weeks from to-day. We settled that 
 before." 
 
 There was more discussion of the hope box meet 
 ing, but Neevey took no part in it. Indeed, the only 
 reason that kept her after seeing that the girls were 
 all well started on their embroidery, was that she 
 wanted to ask about Nona s mother. This estim 
 able lady had long been New Canaan s most distin 
 guished invalid, her ailments furnishing a subject of 
 gossip that the community would sorely have missed, 
 had the sufferer by any chance been restored to 
 health. 
 
 " I s pose she s in bed, Nona? " she inquired. 
 
 " Yes. The doctor said that was the best place 
 for her, and* she s taking medicine regularly." 
 
 "Medicine?" echoed Neevey, scornfully. "Health 
 is allers more in the open air than in bottles. 
 That s what I told the doctor when I had that 
 bad spell last winter. He lowed I was bout right, 
 but he had to give me pills and things, too. He 
 decided it was indigestion more n anything. He 
 pulled me through all right." 
 
 " Doctor Rand generally does," remarked Hazel, 
 in her quiet way. " When he doesn t, it is usually 
 because he hasn t been called in time."
 
 176 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " That s so," agreed Neevey, quickly. " Most 
 of em is so afraid to spend a dollar on a doctor that 
 they wait till they re nearly dead before they send 
 for him. Then, if he don t raise em right out of 
 the grave the way the Lord did Lazarus they 
 say he ain t a good doctor. Some folks in New 
 Canaan are so tight, they wouldn t invest a nickel 
 for seed that would give them ten-dollar bills." 
 
 " You weren t confined to your bed when you were 
 sick last spring?" asked Hazel, with an effort to 
 change the line of conversation for Clarissa Howe s 
 benefit, Clarissa s well known parsimony being no 
 secret. 
 
 " Oh, no. Jest didn t feel right that was all. 
 Doc Rand give me a list of things I mustn t eat, and 
 said I d die if I didn t go to bed and keep still. He 
 said my case was a good deal like Tim Cronin s. 
 Well, doctors don t know everything. I made up 
 my mind that if I had to die, I d do it in the open 
 air. It was late in the spring, and cherries was ripe 
 some of em, at least. So I got a ladder an 
 things, and I picked cherries off that big tree near 
 our barn for four days. At the end of that time 
 I d picked enough to make all the cherry-butter I 
 needed for the year, and I was better n I d been 
 since I was a young girl."
 
 BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS 177 
 
 " You couldn t have been as sick as Tim Cronin," 
 remarked Hazel. " He died." 
 
 " Of course he did. He took cold from movin 
 about the cellar one winter. He was subject to em 
 anyhow. He d take cold if anybody left the piano 
 open after dark. When his wife found how bad 
 he was, she put him to bed and packed hot water 
 bottles all around him. But the cork come out of 
 one o the bottles, and Tim jumped into the middle 
 of the room, howlin that he was on fire. That ex- 
 posin of him made him worse, an soon he couldn t 
 set up. He only lived three weeks after that. 
 Well, now, let me look over the work you gals are 
 doin on your fudge aprons, and I ll go." 
 
 " Don t go yet," begged Myrtle. " We re sure 
 to get our work wrong if you leave us." 
 
 " If you can t do it when I m away, you can t make 
 nothin of em anyhow," rejoined Neevey. " What 
 are you laughin at, Myrtle? " 
 
 " I was thinking about poor Tim Cronin, and how 
 easy it was for him to take cold. I guess I oughtn t 
 to laugh, but it seems so funny." 
 
 " Well, I was sorry for Tim an still more for 
 Norah. She d been a good wife to him, an she 
 felt real bad when Tim was laid away. Said she d 
 most goshawful miss the Saturday night beatin s
 
 i 7 8 DABNEY TODD 
 
 he d been givin her, regular, for more n twenty- 
 seven years. They took the place of massidge an 
 Swedish gymnastics with her, I reckon. Laughin , 
 be you? All right, girls, laugh away. There s 
 nothin wicked in laughin when you see a joke if 
 it s decent. I used to think it was sinful to have 
 fun. But I tell you gals there ain t nothin s so 
 healthy for the complexion as a good laugh. It may 
 be bad for the teeth, though, if you ain t careful. 
 You remember Mrs. Sullivan, who used to live out 
 the east road, near Plover s Creek? " 
 
 " I remember her very well," answered Hazel, 
 completely bored to death. 
 
 " Yes. Well, she had too much fun one time. 
 She was at the circus, an she laughed so hard at the 
 clown, that she cracked her upper plate in two 
 places." 
 
 Neevey departed while the girls were still gig 
 gling over her last sally, and in a minute or two 
 they all settled down to make final arrangements 
 about the hope box meeting. 
 
 They decided, after considerable discussion, that 
 it should be held at Nona Haynes , at the time al 
 ready set, provided her mother had quite recovered 
 in the meantime. 
 
 " Don t forget, girls," laughed Myrtle Lewis,
 
 BLUEBIRDS OF HAPPINESS 179 
 
 " that one of the rules of the Hope Box Society will 
 be that whoever is married within a year is to have 
 anything she wants out of all the other girls hope 
 boxes. That was my idea." 
 
 " A very commendable one," pronounced Hazel 
 solemnly. " Charmingly splendid, I should call it 
 if you comprehend the significance of my allu 
 
 sion."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 BARNEY 3HAYNE LAYS DOWN THE LAW 
 
 IT was just about the time the girls were leaving 
 Nona Haynes , that Dabney said good-by to 
 Nance in front of Barney Shayne s hotel. 
 Larry had figured, all along, that once Nance had 
 compromised herself sufficiently to be ignored by the 
 townspeople, she would, in her anger and humilia 
 tion, turn to him and provide him with an easy op 
 portunity to get both the girl and the farm. He 
 knew her desire to keep her work in Redburn a secret 
 would bring that result about quicker than anything 
 he could contrive. The sight of Dabney standing 
 out in front, handing the girl down from his buggy, 
 with rough courtesy, was a shock to his plans. He 
 had contemplated nothing of the kind. This de 
 velopment introduced serious complications into his 
 wolf-hunt of the girl. 
 
 It was not until Nance was having dinner that 
 Larry joined her. He had made no progress to 
 ward getting her consent to sell the farm, and of 
 
 180
 
 SHAYNE LAYS DOWN THE LAW 181 
 
 late her talk on the subject had become so pointed 
 as to make it a decidedly unpleasant matter to bring 
 up. 
 
 On the other hand, his people were demanding 
 action, and had threatened to try and secure the 
 property through other parties, if he could not 
 shortly close the transaction. Larry had raised his 
 price to Nance repeatedly, until now it nearly dou 
 bled his original offer. As for the girl herself, 
 Larry knew he had been only marking time. Now, 
 sitting down beside her, jealousy and disappointment 
 showed plainly in his eyes. It was so early that the 
 cafe was empty and he was glad they were alone. 
 
 " Well," he said, with a smile on his good-looking 
 face, " I see father-in-law is right on the job." 
 
 Nance understood the reference. 
 
 "Father-in-law?" she inquired. "A mighty good 
 friend, I should call him, nothing more. I don t 
 know of anything that would lead you to jump 
 to that conclusion." She paused. " Evidently you 
 aren t pleased at his bringing me here." 
 
 " Say, look here, Nance," he cried. " Don t play 
 with me like that. You bet I ain t crazy about see 
 ing that old chromo drive you up here. I ve had 
 that Todd family rubbed under my nose till I m sick 
 of them. Friendship? Humph! I suppose it was
 
 1 82 DABNEY TODD 
 
 friendship that made Chet Todd chase Martin 
 Doover out of Link Watkins s store because Mart 
 was foolish enough to make a crack at him about 
 you and me. Oh, you didn t know anything about 
 that? " He watched her closely. 
 
 " Well, I guess you re the only one who didn t," 
 he continued. " I don t care what you say. I know 
 that rube jack-of-all-trades has got his heart set on 
 marrying you some day." 
 
 In vain Nance tried to stop him. 
 
 " Yes, and now the old man s got to bringing you 
 over here to work. Course he ain t got anything to 
 do nothing else to keep him busy. So he goes 
 riding round the country with you. I tell you, 
 Nance, it s all poppycock. I ll bet my life on it, 
 that old mossback s been filling you up with a lot of 
 dope about not selling the farm." 
 
 Nance s eyelashes quivered ever so lightly, but it 
 was sign enough. Larry Shayne knew his chance 
 shot had struck home. 
 
 "Sure! Of course not! That old miser wants 
 it himself, and he knows if he keeps it away from 
 me, he ll get it in time." 
 
 Nance stood up, her cheeks flaming. Her chair, 
 falling over, set up a din in the deserted cafe. 
 
 " You you beast ! " she flung at him.
 
 SHAYNE LAYS DOWN THE LAW 183 
 
 Larry grasped her hand tightly. The fingers of 
 his other hand held her arm in a vise. The fight 
 was gone out of him now. 
 
 "Nance!" he pleaded. "Nance! For God s 
 sake, tell me you ain t thinking of marrying that 
 rube! You can t do it, Nance! You can t! 
 What s he going to be able to give you? You can t 
 tie yourself up for life to a man like Chet Todd ! 
 I tell you, I won t let you ! I love you ! " he whis 
 pered hoarsely. " I love you, little girl honest to 
 God I do ! I ll own this place some day. We ll 
 have money to burn, you and me ! Nance 
 Nance ! " < 
 
 He was beside himself, his voice rising louder and 
 louder, as the girl managed to wrench herself free. 
 
 In the doorway stood Barney. His eagle eyes 
 took in the scene instantly. Though ever an in 
 dulgent father, his complaisance ceased when it in 
 terfered with business. 
 
 The boy winced under that glowering gaze. 
 
 " You damn fool ! " he yelled. " Is this the kind 
 of stuff you re trying to pull on me? They ain t 
 enough people howlin already you got to help it 
 along. If you ve got any more of this up your 
 sleeve, you go somewhere else and get it out of you. 
 A hell of a lot of help you are to me! "
 
 1 84 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Larry shrugged his shoulders but he went. 
 Too well he knew his father even to think, for so 
 much as a single second, of arguing with him. 
 
 Barney turned to Nance with a command : 
 You let that kid alone d ye understand, miss? 
 If you and him gets into any argument, don t have it 
 here, or you ll be lookin for a job." 
 
 Nance meekly bowed her head as he stamped out. 
 She knew explanation was useless here. 
 
 In the weeks she had been working for him Bar 
 ney Shayne had not addressed her more than a half- 
 dozen times. Yet Nance knew she could repeat 
 wofd for word, that minute, if necessity offered, 
 every command he had made. 
 
 When he spoke, his world moved. 
 
 There were times when the place nauseated her, 
 and she wondered if she could go on. Dabney s 
 offer opened the way for her, but Nance knew she 
 could not avail herself of it without risk of losing 
 Chet. 
 
 He must come to her. She could not go to him. 
 That was as final as the law. 
 
 That night, staring through the tobacco smoke, 
 and unmindful of the clattering dishes and licentious 
 laughter, she thought of Chet and recalled his anger 
 the evening, so long ago, when he had found her
 
 NANCE S EYELASHES QUIVERED EVER SO LIGHTLY, BUT IT 
 \VAS SIGN ENOUGH. LARRY SHAYNE KNEW HIS CHANCE SHOT 
 HAD STRUCK HOME.
 
 SHAYNE LAYS DOWN THE LAW 185 
 
 brooding over her father, and the relief in his eyes 
 that she had not heard of his tilt with Martin. 
 
 He had been willing to fight for her! He had 
 done the one, big, primitive thing no woman can re 
 sist to throw down the gauge of battle in her 
 behalf! 
 
 How well she remembered the first day her father 
 and she had driven over to New Canaan. Their 
 horse had cast a shoe, and Chet had replaced it. 
 She had watched the big muscles playing over his 
 back, and the giant arms of him. Yet he was only 
 a boy with a boy s face but he had a man s 
 strength. The friendly walks, the choir work, and 
 all the little intimacies they had known, came back 
 to her. 
 
 Sitting there, her eyes and ears filled with the 
 coarseness and tawdriness of the people around her, 
 she saw Chet through everything and was happy.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 CHET MAKES A START 
 
 DABNEY, true to his promise, said nothing to 
 Chet. He had satisfied himself his boy was 
 not building air-castles that would tumble 
 down upon him and break his heart when his efforts 
 and ambitions had ceased to amuse the lady of his 
 dreams. 
 
 Chet had walked home from church with Nance 
 several times recently, and a great happiness had 
 dawned in the girl s eyes at knowledge of Chet s 
 determination to strike out for himself. 
 
 But there had been no mention of Larry Shayne 
 or Redburn. The multitudinous duties facing Chet 
 absorbed every waking hour. Already the garage 
 was taking shape, and Chet expected to go to Syra 
 cuse the following week, to confer with the manu 
 facturers he hoped to represent. 
 
 Though the actual work of building the garage 
 had been left to a contractor, the general idea was 
 
 186
 
 CHET iMAKES A START 187 
 
 Chet s own. He knew what he wanted an ample 
 fireproof structure, the walls of cement blocks, and 
 the roof of iron and glass. 
 
 The erection of such a pretentious building, unlike 
 anything else in New Canaan, naturally caused a 
 flutter in the village, and drew from Link Watkins 
 store and elsewhere a group of earnest watchers. 
 These had made sage comments from time to time, 
 and would have offered suggestions to the rather 
 fiery Irish contractor, if he would have permitted it. 
 
 City or country, the human race can find few di 
 versions more fascinating than idly watching other 
 people work and telling them just what to do. The 
 pointing out of errors, in particular, is a form of 
 sport irresistible to man. 
 
 " Reckon we ll all have to git autymobiles now," 
 observed Tite Showell. " When this place is ready, 
 it s goin to drive you out o business, Dabney." 
 
 " Wa al, if it does, what then? " rejoined Dabney. 
 " The business ll still be in the family. Besides, I 
 might turn my own shop into a garage if the time 
 ever come when they warn t no more horseshoein 
 to be done." 
 
 " They s one thing," chuckled Paul Cuddeback. 
 " You re purty good at drivin an autymobile into 
 an ice meadow, eh, Dabney? "
 
 1 88 DABNEY TODD 
 
 This allusion caused a general guffaw, and Tite, 
 during the merriment, stepped into the open cement 
 box. 
 
 " Stand back there, you fellers! " growled Mur 
 phy, the contractor. " Keep out o my cement, will 
 yer?" 
 
 Tite Showell spluttered an incoherent retort, as 
 he tried to scrape the cement off his shoe with a 
 shovel. 
 
 " They ain t nuthin slow about that boy, Dab- 
 ney," he said later. 
 
 " No, sir ! Nothin slow about Chet," nodded 
 Dabney. " He don t need no contractor, as a mat 
 ter o fact. He could have done it all himself. 
 But he keeps Murphy right on the job, by tellin him 
 how well he s doin . Wa al, you fellows do the 
 bossin . I ll have to be gittin back to my own place, 
 to see how Amos is gittin along. Horseshoein ain t 
 played out yet, not by a dummed sight, even if we are 
 goin to have a garage in town." 
 
 " Don t see no place for lightnin -rods," Spencer 
 Howe observed to Tite. " I don t set much store 
 by em, cause if the good Lord wants to strike a 
 buildin with a bolt from heaven, nothin man can 
 do is goin to stop Him. But a lightnin -rod is a 
 sort of appeal to Him a kind o prayer for mercy
 
 CHET MAKES A START 189 
 
 an He allers answers prayers when it s His will." 
 
 " Maybe Chet figures lightnin -rods is as ole- 
 fashioned as horses," Tite commented. 
 
 Day after day, as the building progressed, there 
 was a crowd of idlers noting and criticizing. By the 
 time it was finished, most of them were certain they 
 could build a garage themselves, if they wanted 
 one. 
 
 Among those particularly interested in the new 
 garage was Hazel Devine. Each afternoon she had 
 gone a little out of her way, so that she could pass 
 the building, and always she had chanced to meet 
 Chet and exchange a greeting, following it with a 
 remark as to the progress of the work. 
 
 The garage walls were up, and the workmen were 
 putting the roof on, when one afternoon Hazel 
 stopped Chet. 
 
 " Mr. Todd, I think your garage is too cute for 
 anything," she began. 
 
 "Yes?" responded Chet. 
 
 " How can you doubt it? What would we do if 
 it were not for men like you, who think of the higher 
 things if you understand me. You are going to 
 sell motors, too aren t you, Mr. Todd? " 
 
 " That s one reason why I m building the garage," 
 replied Chet.
 
 1 90 DABNEY TODD 
 
 The little school-mistress smiled coyly, and fum 
 bled with a letter in her bag. 
 
 " I m going to impart a secret to you, Mr. Todd," 
 she simpered, with a glance at the boy that indicated 
 she might, had he been willing to listen, have told 
 him a very personal one. 
 
 " Thanks ! " was Chet s dry answer. " But don t 
 you do nothin rash, now, Hazel." 
 
 " Why, Mr. Todd! " she tittered. " You are so 
 what shall I say? au fait! " 
 
 " Well, I m going to look that up, and if it s what 
 I think it is, you look out. Now for the secret. 
 What is it?" asked Chet. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! Well, I thought it would be highly 
 elevating, as well as educational, if you understood 
 me, if I could drive my own car back and forth to 
 school. The children, the dears ! would appreciate 
 it, don t you think? We must not forget the ex 
 ample we set the little ones. So I asked papa if he 
 wouldn t buy me an automobile. I told him I could 
 get one here, from you, and that if he would send 
 me the money, I would engage a car at once. And 
 he has consented. So I want you to enter me for 
 one of your very best ones. Something refined 
 if you understand what I mean. Small, but fash 
 ionable. I detest those large, vulgar cars."
 
 CHET MAKES A START 191 
 
 Chet was helpless before this avalanche of talk. 
 Here he had sold a car before he had any cars to 
 sell. 
 
 " Do you mean you re ready to buy a car of me 
 now, Hazel? " 
 
 " Quite so. This letter I have just received from 
 papa gives his consent, and insures me the required 
 cash when it shall be demanded. I should like you 
 to furnish me with a car as soon as you are open for 
 business." 
 
 " A business man is always open for business," 
 replied Chet, repeating an axiom that had been im 
 pressed upon him by Cash Bailey. " I can promise 
 you the car within two weeks." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Todd, how perfectly sublime ! Do 
 you know, I think the sensation of gliding along the 
 great highway, with no effort on your part, and the 
 engine of your car, like a sentient thing, absorbing 
 its its " 
 
 "Gas?" suggested Chet. "That s what makes 
 it run, same as hot air makes lots of people go." 
 
 Hazel s smile became chilly. The atmosphere 
 grew frigid to such a marked degree. Chet was no 
 fool, and could not help knowing that Hazel Devine 
 had exhibited a ladylike and academic preference for 
 him on many occasions, much to his embarrassment.
 
 1 92 DABNEY TODD 
 
 She gazed at him now with a thoughtful affection 
 that might lead her to throw herself into his arms, 
 for anything he knew. So he hurried back to the 
 business proposition with which the conversation had 
 begun, and asked her if she was prepared to pay the 
 customary deposit of fifty dollars before he ordered 
 the car. 
 
 She nodded her head at him coyly. 
 You re a regular business man, aren t you, Mr. 
 Todd? Papa has enclosed a check in this letter. It 
 was that fortunate circumstance that encouraged me 
 to speak to you about the car. And, oh, Mr. Todd, 
 will you really show me how to make myself pro 
 ficient in the management of my new car? " 
 
 " I ll do it, of course," was his short reply. Cash 
 had said nothing about this end of the business. 
 " If you ll come to my father s office I ll give you a 
 receipt for the fifty. Of course you know the make 
 you want? " 
 
 " Why, no, Mr. Todd," she hesitated. " Get me 
 one of your prettiest ones. Really I have no prefer 
 ence as to who makes it." 
 
 Chet gave her a receipt for the money, and after 
 five minutes of talk about the higher planes of the 
 new freedom, Hazel went her way. 
 
 If there was any one in New Canaan, save Nance,
 
 CHET MAKES A START 193 
 
 who failed to pass judgment on his business, or the 
 prospects he had of succeeding, Chet could not re 
 call them. Even Joe Pelot had hobbled his way 
 down town to look over the situation. 
 
 And yet the one who did not come was the one 
 Chet missed and longed for the most. If he had 
 known, there was no one who wanted to be there 
 so much as Nance. For her it was the realization 
 of Chet s dream, and she felt a strange desire to 
 caress and fondle every bit of brick and stone that 
 had gone into the building of it.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 
 
 THE day set for the organization of the Hope 
 Box Society was a beautiful one, with a 
 cloudless sky giving promise of continued 
 fine weather. 
 
 By three o clock everybody invited was in Nona 
 Haynes s home. It had been decided that, besides 
 girls, it would be well to have some of the matrons 
 of the village present, to give steadiness to the pro 
 ceedings. So Neevey Todd, Clarissa Howe and 
 Mrs. Link Watkins were present. 
 
 Hazel Devine opened the meeting by explaining 
 the object of the Society. 
 
 " It has been observed," she said, " that some of 
 the brides in New Canaan in the last few years 
 have lacked tablecloths, pillow-slips, quilts and many 
 other luxuries so necessary to the refined home. 
 Sometimes such things have been given to her, but 
 there has been no regularity about it. The Hope 
 
 194
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 195 
 
 Box Society is therefore greatly needed, especially 
 by such of us as still entertain hopes I mean 
 by those who expect oh dear, you know what I 
 mean " 
 
 Blushing in her most girlish manner, she glanced 
 about the room. 
 
 " Very good ! " commended Neevey, anxious to 
 cut Hazel short. " I think we should do good to 
 others while helpin ourselves. It s only single gals 
 who want hope boxes. But, as I am here, I ll vol 
 unteer my services. Let s git to work." 
 
 Now everybody brought out the particular thing 
 she intended doing, and settled down to sewing. 
 Needles flashed, and the snip-snip of scissors, with 
 an occasional snap of thread, made a musical ac 
 companiment to the trickle of talk that intermit 
 tently flowed on and on. 
 
 Neevey broke a short silence, as she finished a 
 hem. 
 
 " Reminds me of when we was gittin ready for 
 your shower, Clarissa, jest afore you married 
 Spencer." 
 
 " Huh-huh ! " mumbled Mrs. Howe, without look 
 ing up from her work. 
 
 " My stars ! " continued Neevey. " That was a 
 long time ago ! "
 
 196 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " I dunno s it was so very long," was Clarissa s in 
 dignant retort. We ain t none of us as young 
 as we was then. You was married to Dabney quite 
 a spell before Spence got me." 
 
 " We was married thirty-two years ago, come 
 next October, the ninth," said Neevey, promptly. 
 
 "Is that all?" rejoined Clarissa, with a certain 
 gleam in her small eyes. " Dabney was sayin to 
 Spence yesterday he believed he d been married forty 
 years, or a little better. Reckon it seemed so to 
 him." 
 
 A tap at the door opening on the porch inter 
 rupted this little tilt. 
 
 " Why, Lena Klumm! " cried Nona, in a tone of 
 welcome. " Come right in. Take your hat an 
 cloak off. Here s a chair." 
 
 Lena was a large woman of middle age, with 
 yellow hair, big red arms which gleamed through 
 her thin white waist as if they would set the sleeves 
 afire, and a long face, with a determined jaw. 
 
 She took off a hat like a black pancake, and a 
 brocaded silk cape of archaic pattern. Then, as she 
 unwrapped a paper parcel she had brought, she said 
 rather indistinctly, for she had three pins from 
 the package in her mouth: 
 
 " I hadn t no invite to this meetin , but I heard
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 197 
 
 at the store, as ever body in town was expected to 
 come. There s to be doin s to-night, too, ain t 
 they?" 
 
 " Yes. The men folks an everybody is comin , 
 and there ll be speakin an singin . I m going to re 
 cite," Nona informed her. 
 
 " I s pose you ll let Titus come to-night, Lena? " 
 grinned Clarissa. 
 
 Lena Klumm looked coquettish. 
 
 " Oh, g long, Clarissa ! " she exclaimed. " How 
 could I keep him away if he wants to come? Who 
 said they was anythin between Titus an I? I 
 hope to goodness they ain t no idle gossip runnin 
 round this village, about us, when they ain t no call 
 for it." 
 
 Well, ain t they?" persisted Neevey. "Titus 
 lowed to me the other day as he might want to 
 use some o the silk gowns an jew lry Martha left 
 behind her. I knowed then what was likely to hap 
 pen, an I s picioned who he had his eye on, for his 
 second. You know, Lena, whether my guess was 
 correct. Anyhow, if you want a hope box, it don t 
 need no prophet out o Judah to tell me why. You 
 ought to make Tite give you one." 
 
 * Well, of course," gurgled Lena, trying to blush. 
 " Titus could cut down one o them cedars in his
 
 198 DABNEY TODD 
 
 wood-lot an make a box for me that d be jest what 
 I want. But Lordy! I wouldn t ask him. 
 People is talkin enough, as it is. As I said to Titus 
 last night " 
 
 A general giggle caused Lena Klumm to break 
 off her speech, and for the next hour everybody 
 worked hard, with only an occasional remark on in 
 different topics to vary the monotony. 
 
 " Well, it s close on half-past five," announced 
 Nona at last. " We ll have the men folks here be 
 fore we know it." 
 
 The hope box gathering broke up, and the vis 
 itors all hurried away, to primp for the evening, 
 while Nona and her mother busied themselves get 
 ting the house ready. 
 
 As Nona had predicted, the men came early for 
 supper. A few had had a hasty snack at home, 
 while getting into their Sunday clothes after the 
 usual sluice in the tin washbowl outside the kitchen 
 door but the majority had taken time only to wash, 
 change and drive to the Haynes . A constant stream 
 of buggies, runabouts, surreys, buckboards, demo 
 crats and big box wagons rolled up to the front gate, 
 dropped the women and children, and hurried 
 around to the church sheds, where the horses, still 
 in the shafts, were blanketed and tied in long rows.
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 199 
 
 At the house Benny Zepp and several other ur 
 chins, including Gabe Showell, Eph Conklin and Van 
 Cuddeback, kept watchful eyes on the preparations 
 for supper. All were members of the angel boy- 
 choir of the New Canaan Episcopal Church, now an 
 established institution. 
 
 Fluttering about, in white starched frocks, was a 
 bevy of girls ranging in age from five to thirteen 
 or fourteen. Most of them wore corkscrew ring 
 lets, with a large bow of ribbon over one ear, and 
 altogether they were too " touch-me-not " charming 
 for the boys to take liberties with at first. Later, 
 when the grown-ups were not looking, there came a 
 constant hubbub of girlish squeals, mingled with boy 
 ish snickerings, which told of bashful advances and 
 coy repulses. 
 
 By seven o clock, when everybody had arrived, 
 the committee of ladies in charge of supper was in 
 full swing. 
 
 To each guest was handed a paper napkin and 
 plate, with knife, fork and spoon. These were fol 
 lowed by offerings of scalloped potatoes, cookies, 
 sandwiches, cake, pie, jelly, pickles and so forth, 
 immediately supplemented by cu ps of hot coffee. 
 By some mysterious juggling skill, acquired through 
 much practice at pass-around functions, nobody
 
 200 DABNEY TODD 
 
 spilled anything, and everybody had a loose hand 
 when another slice of cake or pie or more sand 
 wiches came along. 
 
 "Make long arms, ev ybody!" exclaimed 
 Neevey, passing refreshments. " The Lord helps 
 them that help themselves, an them that s backward 
 about comin forward, now, ain t got no call to kick, 
 later, if they ain t well foddered up." 
 
 Most of the company was crowded together in 
 long lines along the walls of two large rooms that 
 had been thrown into one, while stray individuals, 
 couples or groups overflowed to the hall, the porch, 
 the kitchen and two bedrooms. Boys and girls were 
 everywhere. 
 
 There sounded a constant buzz of conversation, 
 with laughter and good humor so general that old 
 Mrs. Cabot, deaf as a grindstone, cackled sympa 
 thetically from time to time, without knowing at all 
 what had been said. 
 
 Dabney Todd was in high feather. He told 
 stories of his boyhood and the pranks he and his 
 comrades used to play, until Neevey warned him that 
 he was saying things which might put mischief into 
 the heads of some of the young people present. 
 
 " Shucks! " he replied. " No fear. Boys nowa 
 days ain t got the sperit we had. An , of course,"
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 201 
 
 he added solemnly, as he noticed Benny Zepp and 
 Gabe Showell listening with lively interest, " it s a 
 good thing they ain t. Say, Neevey, what s that 
 there plate beln handed round for? It ain t got 
 nothin in it as I see." 
 
 " It soon will have something in it," she told 
 him. You ll put in fifty cents, for your supper 
 and mine. You didn t think we was gittin it for 
 nothin , did you? The money goes to the Ladies 
 Aid." 
 
 After the collection, which took some little time, 
 Nona Haynes rapped on the table with her knuckles. 
 
 " Silence, please ! Mrs. Clarissa Howe will read 
 a poem." 
 
 " Gee! " whispered Benny Zepp to Gabe Showell. 
 " Let s beat it. Where s the other fellers? " 
 
 A subdued scuffling accompanied the retreat of the 
 young gentlemen by way of the back door, while 
 the ladies of their own age all very prim, with 
 hands in laps, and feet crossed stared hard and 
 soulfully at Mrs. Howe. 
 
 The adult portion of the company had disposed 
 itself to listen, most of the men leaning angularly 
 against walls and door-casings, while their wives set 
 tled down in their chairs, handkerchiefs ready to hide 
 a yawn. They had heard Clarissa read before.
 
 202 DABNEY TODD 
 
 "H m!" coughed Clarissa. "This poem is 
 called The Journey of a Wandering Soul. It was 
 written by a lady missionary to Thibet, just before 
 she left her home in Salem, Massachusetts. I cut the 
 verses out of a Boston paper." 
 
 Clarissa hemmed twice more. Then, holding up 
 a long newspaper clipping which give direful prom 
 ise of some twelve or fifteen verses, she began, in a 
 nasal sing-song: 
 
 " My soul, who hath, in mists of thought, 
 
 Tried happiness to gain, 
 How vainly hath thou solace sought, 
 
 And surcease from thy pain ! 
 
 Oh heart, which dost to higher spheres, 
 
 Soar up on downy wing, 
 Sad are the memories which years 
 
 Of baffled yearnings bring! " 
 
 The other thirteen verses were of the same type, 
 and when they had all been reeled off, with almost 
 as much expression as the grind of a moving pic 
 ture machine, the sudden stoppage of the drone woke 
 Dabney with a start. 
 
 "Fine!" he exclaimed, mechanically. "Awful 
 good, Clarissa ! "
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 203 
 
 Clarissa s hard face cracked into a gratified smile, 
 while Tite Showell whispered in Dabney s ear: 
 
 " Say, where the Sam Hill did she find them there 
 verses? Why, blame my cats; there must h been 
 nigh twenty-five on em, an not a bit o sense in the 
 hull thing." 
 
 " Shet up, Tite ! " whispered Dabney. " Spence 
 Howe is a warden of the church, an I d like to know 
 if his wife can t speak a piece o po try for the bene 
 fit o the Ladies Aid, without you cuttin up about 
 it? I think they re goin to make you an Lena 
 sing a duet next." 
 
 " Git out! " snickered Tite. " They ain t no sech 
 thing. Lena an me sometimes sings together when 
 we s alone. But we ain t no concert folks, no more n 
 what you be! " 
 
 Lije Conklin, very stiff in a shiny broadcloth coat 
 that he called a " Prince Albert," with gray trousers, 
 a celluloid collar and blue tie, gave " Paul Revere s 
 Ride," in a foghorn voice that carried clear out to 
 the state road. He was followed by Myrtle Lewis, 
 with " Barbara Frietchie," and then the phonograph 
 came into action. 
 
 The machine had been borrowed from Link Wat- 
 kins, who had acquired it from one of his customers 
 who could not pay his bill in any other way. It
 
 204 DABNEY TODD 
 
 was an old-timer, which wheezed and sighed a great 
 deal, but there was no mistaking the tunes when it 
 gave forth brassily, " Silver Threads Among the 
 Gold," " Grandfather s Clock," and " Sweet Belle 
 Mahone." 
 
 The phonograph helped out two or three times 
 during the evening. As the company tired of reci 
 tations, Link turned on the machine for another 
 breathing spell. 
 
 When the program was nearing an end, Link held 
 up his hand for attention. 
 
 " Now, ladies and gentlemen," he announced, " we 
 come to the real treat of the evenin . I beg to say 
 that Miss Hazel Devine will read to you a paper en 
 titled The New Dawn. " 
 
 Link did not seem to note the lack of enthusiasm 
 his announcement had made. 
 
 " Miss Devine has, at a great sacrifice to herself, 
 spent several weeks writin this paper, an she asks 
 me to say that she ll need your undivided attention 
 an no noise." 
 
 Link sat down. The announcement had been 
 quite an effort for him. 
 
 Hazel made her way to the center of the room, 
 and, after aweing the assemblage into silence, be 
 gan:
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 205 
 
 " We are gathered here to-night, in the sanctity 
 of our home, in the midst of plenty, and it seems 
 to me the occasion furnishes a suitable moment for 
 us to turn our thoughts to the newer life, to the de 
 velopment of our realization that we are One with 
 the All and that there is no Evil save as we our 
 selves admit it. I call upon you to follow me to 
 the higher planes of intelligence and the loftier 
 regions of existence we are destined to fill, as it 
 were, and I shall attempt to lead you in that di 
 rection." 
 
 Hazel s attempt was courageous and patient. On 
 and on, she wound herself about the " stars and or 
 bits of the higher world," until, as Neevey said after 
 ward, she was so high up she was afraid to look down 
 for fear of getting seasick. 
 
 Gradually the audience thinned. It was very 
 warm in the house, and many of the men slipped 
 out onto the porch, or strolled about the lawn, talk 
 ing crops, with a side-light on politics, while the la 
 dies who were fortunate enough to be in the other 
 room discussed under their breath the sickness in 
 and about the village, Mrs. Muller s rheumatism, the 
 whooping-cough in the Morrison family, and how 
 the Pollock boy had been rushed off to Redburn to 
 be operated on for appendicitis.
 
 206 DABNEY TODD 
 
 The other luckless ones, Neevey among them, 
 were left marooned in an ocean of new thought. 
 
 Through it all Hazel went on steadily, until, at 
 half-past ten, sheer exhaustion brought the torture 
 to an end. Then the company began to think of 
 breaking up, and Blake, who had inveigled Nance 
 into coming, requested her to stand up and lead 
 them in singing " Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 Meanwhile, half a dozen boys could have been 
 seen cautiously stealing quietly away from the church 
 barns. 
 
 " Where s Benny Zepp an them other boys, 
 Tite?" asked Dabney Todd, as the song was fin 
 ished. " I don t see your boy, Gabe, neither, nor 
 Van Cuddeback, nor " 
 
 " I dunno," replied Tite. " Why, yes. There 
 they be ! Hey, Gabe ! Where you been? " 
 
 " Nowheres, dad!" lied Gabe, innocently. "I 
 been here most o the time." 
 
 Benny Zepp said nothing, but there was a strange 
 look in his and the other boys eyes, as if they had 
 some weighty secret among them. 
 
 A great bustle filled the bedrooms where the outer 
 garments and hats had been left. The chirp of fare 
 wells mingled with the giggles of girls and the 
 chuckles of some of the young men who wanted to
 
 THE HOPE BOX SOCIETY 207 
 
 get in a few words before going over to the church 
 barns for the horses. 
 
 Suddenly a roar of dismay came echoing down the 
 road from the darkness. Benny and his friends 
 slipped out of the back door and were swallowed up 
 in the gloom, with a celerity which might per 
 haps have given rise to some suspicions that they 
 were more or less connected with the cause of the 
 disturbance. 
 
 " What in nation s that? " exclaimed Dabney. 
 " Somethin wrong over to the barns, from the sound 
 of it" 
 
 " It sure is," assented Lije Conklin. " Ole Mart 
 Doover is cussin like sin ! An Paul Cuddeback ! " 
 
 " An Joe Bunt, an Matthias Rossiter, an Jim 
 Spafford, an Dan Kelly," added Amos Todd, going 
 out to the porch with his father. " Most every 
 body as was here to-night is j inin in. It must be 
 the hosses. I ll go over an see, dad." 
 
 " So will I," declared Dabney. " Bring yer lan 
 tern, Amos ! "
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 BOYS WILL BE BOYS 
 
 THE horse barns belonging to the church con 
 sisted of two long sheds, open at the front, 
 but partitioned into stalls. The stalls them 
 selves were deep enough for the horses to draw their 
 vehicles so far in that they would be out of the 
 weather. 
 
 The twenty stalls were all occupied, this night, 
 and several teams were tied up to the board fence 
 at the end of the sheds. There was no light ex 
 cept from the flash of lanterns bobbing about here 
 and there. 
 
 "What s the trouble, Mart?" asked Dabney, as 
 with Chet, Amos and Lije Conklin, he came up to 
 the barns. " What s bitin all you men? " 
 
 " It s them cussed boys ! " barked Paul Cudde- 
 back. 
 
 "What they done?" 
 
 " Done? Wa al, if ever I git a holt on any of 
 208
 
 BOYS WILL BE BOYS 209 
 
 em, I ll fix em so s they won t never do it ag in," 
 snorted Doover. 
 
 " I ll skin em alive ! That s what I ll do ! " was 
 the mild threat of Matthias Rossiter. 
 
 " Oh, shucks! That s all right! " shouted Dab- 
 ney Todd, impatiently. " But what the blazes have 
 they done? What ye takin the harness off y r hoss 
 for, Dan?" 
 
 Dan Kelly, red-faced and burly, pushed his demo 
 crat back, after unhooking the tugs and unbuckling 
 the holdbacks, so that his horse stood clear. In one 
 hand he held an assortment of muddled straps, with 
 a saddle that seemed to be coming apart. 
 
 Dabney stepped closer, and threw the light of his 
 lantern on the horse and the things in Dan s hand. 
 As he shook his head gravely, he remarked, in a puz 
 zled tone : 
 
 " That there harness o your n don t seem to fit! 
 The headpiece is a sight too small for that mare, 
 an you ain t got her bitted, nuther. No wonder the 
 rest of the harness slipped off. I never see such a 
 tarnal mess in all my born days. What s the mat 
 ter with it all, anyhow? " 
 
 "Matter?" roared Dan Kelly. " Hell s bells! 
 Can t you see what s the matter? " 
 
 " By guffey ! " ejaculated Tite Showell. " It looks
 
 210 DABNEY TODD 
 
 to me as if some mischee-vious folks has been tam- 
 perin with the hosses." 
 
 "Tamperin ?" shrieked Kelly angrily. "They ve 
 changed the harness on every hoss in the barns I It 
 ain t only mine ! The wrong harness is on em all ! 
 It s a mix-up as it ll take all night to straighten out. 
 That s what s wrong. An it s some o them damned 
 infernal boys as done it! " 
 
 Lije Conklin peered about with his lantern, in 
 and out of the sheds, and behind them. 
 
 "Where are the boys?" he demanded. "They 
 was in the house jest now." 
 
 " Yes, for about a minute," said Dabney. " But 
 before that they was away for nigh two hours. I 
 was wonderin they wasn t in the house listenin to 
 the phonygraf. It must have took em all that time 
 to make this pickle." 
 
 Amos had been poking about among the horses. 
 He came up and remarked : 
 
 "They ve put that saddle off Joe Brunt s little 
 sorrel on Tite Showell s big bay mare. It s a won 
 der the mare didn t kick the mischief out of em. 
 She s a blamed ugly critter when she ain t handled 
 jest so. I ve shod her often enough to know that." 
 
 " She s been kickin all right," grumbled Tite, as 
 he took the saddle off. " She s bruk the whiffletree
 
 BOYS WILL BE BOYS 211 
 
 to flinders, an they s a hole in the dash you could 
 crawl through. It wouldn t have s prised me to find 
 the hull blame buggy smashed into junk." 
 
 " What s it all about, Tite?" 
 
 It was the languishing Lena Klumm who asked 
 this, in a sympathetic tone. " Your mare ain t hurt, 
 is she?" 
 
 " Not so very much, Lena," replied Titus, trying 
 to make his voice tender. " I ll git you home all 
 right." 
 
 " I know you will, Titus ! " she answered, softly, 
 giving him a smile, in the light of the lantern, that 
 drove away his anger. " I guess you ll fix what 
 ever the trouble is. You always can." 
 
 "Mush!" muttered Neevey, below her breath. 
 Then, to her husband, in peremptory accents: 
 " Will you tell me an the other ladies here what all 
 this touse is about? Folks want to git home some 
 time to-night." 
 
 " They re goin to have a fine time doin it," rasped 
 Dabney. " Them boys onregenerate little Hus- 
 sians ! has been an lifted all the harness off n the 
 bosses where it belongs, an put it on others, and 
 they ain t nobody goin to git home till daylight, from 
 the looks o things." 
 
 " That s what," agreed Lije Conklin.
 
 212 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Why," went on Dabney, " they ve even separ 
 ated each harness, so that some of it s on one hoss 
 an some on another, an not ?, blamed strap will fit 
 anywhere ! I been used to harness ever sence I was 
 knee-high to a cricket, but I swan to man I never see 
 the like o this. It s the beatinest thing ever I laid 
 eyes on ! " 
 
 " An they ve went an took off the buckles an 
 snappers from some on em, jest to be the more ag- 
 geravatin ," growled Paul Cuddeback, as he dis 
 covered fresh troubles. " Well, if that boy of mine s 
 in this, you can bet he ll be sorry afore I git through 
 with him." 
 
 " If the boys did it at all, your boy Van was in 
 it," remarked Titus. " They was all together, to 
 night. Shouldn t wonder if Van was the leader in 
 all this." 
 
 " Oh, I dunno ! " retorted Paul, quick to defend 
 his boy from outside attack. " I reckon your Gabe 
 was jest as bad! " 
 
 Spencer Howe, who had come up a little behind 
 the others, and had just found his rig, interrupted 
 the controversy by howling, frantically : 
 
 " Say! Look a this, will yer? Here s a pair o 
 hames a-straddlin my bay colt, right across his neck ! 
 Why, this colt won t be worth a whoop in "
 
 BOYS WILL BE BOYS 213 
 
 " Spencer ! " warned Clarissa Howe, in an awful 
 voice, stepping toward him. " What was you goin 
 to say? " 
 
 " When? " snapped Spencer, defiantly. 
 
 Then ! An 1 you a warden in the church ! Spen 
 cer Washington Lafayette Howe, you was goin to 
 swear ! You know you was ! Don t deny it, Spen 
 cer! It makes me shudder." 
 
 " You shouldn t have let him stand out here in 
 the open shed, deacon," remonstrated Dabney. " I 
 wouldn t leave no val able hoss o mine out of a 
 locked stable all evenin that is, not one worth as 
 much as your colt. It was takin a chance. You got 
 to admit that. Anyway he ain t hurt none." 
 
 " Wouldn t have been no chance about it if we 
 wasn t pestered with the worst set o boys this side 
 o Gomorrah," rejoined the deacon. " But I m gol- 
 dinged if I m goin to stand for it. I ll write to the 
 distric attorney this very night, an " 
 
 " No, don t write to-night, Spence," broke in Dab 
 ney, with a dry smile. " Not to-night." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Because," replied Dabney, " there s a true sayin 
 that you should never write a letter when you re mad, 
 glad or drunk." 
 
 " Wa al, I ain t drunk," retorted Spence, " an I
 
 2i 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 need to be mad to git into the letter jest what I 
 want to say. Why, that colt " 
 
 " Listen to me, Spencer Howe," interposed Clar 
 issa. " You jest find the harness belongin to you, 
 an take me home. I got to bake in the mornin. 
 My sponge is all set, an I ain t goin to have no sour 
 batch o bread on account o your old colt. I m goin 
 to git up at five, no matter what you aim to do, an 
 I reckon I have a right to some sleep." 
 
 By this time everybody had set to work to sort 
 out the harness. It proved a long, tiresome task, 
 rendered the more difficult because there was no 
 light save the fitful gleams from lanterns carried 
 from one rig to another. The horses were restive, 
 too. They had been standing for hours in the sheds, 
 or outside; and moreover, had been disturbed by the 
 boys, when, with hurried, bungling fingers, they 
 changed the harness. 
 
 The bustle now, at an hour when their infallible 
 horse sense told them they should have been com 
 fortable in their warm stables, added to their ir 
 ritation. 
 
 It was past midnight before everything had been 
 adjusted. Even then, some of the pieces of har 
 ness had not been found, and more than one indig 
 nant owner was obliged to twist a wire where there
 
 BOYS WILL BE BOYS 215 
 
 should have been a buckle, and to substitute rope 
 for a leather strap. 
 
 One by one, however, the various vehicles drove 
 away, until only one was left. This was the demo 
 crat belonging to the Zepp family. In it were seated 
 Mrs. Zepp and her daughter, Lizzie, while gruff 
 Peter Zepp looked angrily about for his missing son, 
 Benny. 
 
 "Where in tarnation is that dod-ratted boy?" 
 stormed Peter. " I ain t seen him all through this 
 fuss." 
 
 " Of course you ain t," said Dabney Todd, with 
 a shrug. " He knowed better n to show hisself 
 while we was gittin things -straight. He an the 
 others in this have all kep out o sight, nat rally. I 
 reckon Benny s went home." 
 
 " Yes, I guess that s right," assented Peter. " He 
 must of. Where else could he of hypered to, but 
 there?" 
 
 " I don t believe it," objected Mrs. Zepp, with a 
 mother s solicitousness. " Benny couldn t huck it all 
 that way more n three mile specially in the 
 dark. It s a lonesome road, through the woods part 
 of the way, and Benny always was scarey about goin 
 into places like that. Look on the other side of the 
 barns again, Peter."
 
 216 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " He ain t there," declared Peter, angrily. " I 
 been all about. Let him walk. You allers make too 
 much of a baby o that boy, Marthy. I m goin to 
 lick him good when I do see him. Reckon he knows 
 that. So maybe he won t be in no hurry to git home." 
 
 " Well, let s wait a little while," pleaded the 
 mother. 
 
 " No, I ain t goin to wait another minute ! He 
 can huck it! " 
 
 With an obstinate shake of the head, Peter 
 climbed to the driver s seat, by the side of his wife, 
 and shook the lines. Then, with a short " Good 
 night, everybody!" he drove down to the road, 
 carefully picking his way by the light of the lan 
 tern swinging under the wagon. 
 
 He had reached the outskirts of the village, pre 
 paratory to climbing the long hill which would take 
 him through the woods referred to by Mrs. Zepp, 
 when a shadowy figure crept from behind a tree and 
 ran to the rear of the democrat. 
 
 It was Benny Zepp ! 
 
 With a light spring, the boy vaulted over the 
 low tailboard, and lay in the bottom of the wagon. 
 Here he snuggled against his sister, who occupied 
 a seat behind her father and mother. 
 
 "Oh, Benny!"
 
 BOYS WILL BE BOYS 217 
 
 The girl repressed a cry with difficulty, as she 
 placed a hand reassuringly on her brother s shoul 
 der. 
 
 "Hush! Lizzie! Don t say nothin ! " whis 
 pered Ben. 
 
 The boy knew he could depend on his sister to 
 help him out of a scrape. By the time the rig 
 turned into the Zepp farmyard he was fast asleep. 
 
 When the Zepps had driven away, Dabney Todd 
 and Neevey walked slowly homeward. There was 
 silence between them until they had almost reached 
 their gate. Both were thinking. Suddenly, Neevey 
 turned to her husband and remarked, softly: 
 
 " Dabby, you was sayin to-night, when you was 
 talkin about what awful rips boys used to be when 
 you were young, that boys in these here days don t 
 git into mischief like you used to. You said they 
 hadn t got no sperit, an that sperit was a good 
 thing. What do you think of our New Canaan boys 
 now?" 
 
 For a few moments Dabney did not reply. When 
 he did speak, it was in a tone that to Neevey seemed 
 regretful: 
 
 " Mebbe I was wrong after all, Neevey. Mebbe 
 I misjedged and underestimated em, same as all old 
 folks always does young uns. By the pink-toed
 
 218 DABNEY TODD 
 
 prophet, they certainly put over a good one, to 
 night! I wonder how it was us boys forty-five 
 years ago never thought o this here changin the 
 harness business? "
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE WAY OF THE STRONG 
 
 THE fortnight that Chet Todd was away from 
 New Canaan, and in the city, interviewing 
 automobile manufacturers, was a time of 
 wonderment and stimulus to him. Though this trip 
 was his first taste of the outside world, yet, thanks 
 to his acquaintance with Nance and Blake, the boy 
 was able to get some perspective, not only of him 
 self, but of the village he had left. 
 
 The men he met were aggressive, and yet had an 
 ease of manner that filled him with great desire to 
 make himself as they were. He thought of Nance 
 and the directness with which these men would have 
 ridden over the barriers that kept him away from 
 her. His clothes too came in for criticism. He 
 could see they smacked of the country. They were 
 not alert, businesslike-looking clothes. 
 
 The prosperity of the men he talked to im 
 pressed him. Cross-examining himself, he realized 
 their look of prosperity claimed his respect, even 
 
 219
 
 220 DABNEY TODD 
 
 before their intrinsic worth held him. In that mo 
 ment one of his father s oft-repeated maxims came 
 back to him, that " Nothing succeeds like success." 
 Chet knew now what that meant, and the Chet 
 Todd who came back to New Canaan had little of 
 the appearance of the one who had left. 
 
 Snuggling in his pockets were the contracts he 
 had made. He was now the authorized agent of 
 the Gideon Motor Car Company and two others 
 equally well-known. 
 
 The hours he had spent coming home had found 
 him determined to see Nance and do away with 
 all the pretense that had" existed between them since 
 the night she had ridden away with Larry Shayne. 
 
 It was Thursday evening when he reached home. 
 His father was at the shop; his mother, away. 
 Throwing his bag into the hall, he made off for 
 Nance s house, determined to act before his de 
 cision could slip away. 
 
 The Pelot house was dark in front, but Chet 
 detected a light from the back. 
 
 Without hesitation he strode to the rear of the 
 house, and through the unshadowed window stared 
 into the kitchen. 
 
 A muttered oath escaped him. 
 
 Sitting at the table were Joe Pelot and young Mar-
 
 THE WAY OF THE STRONG 221 
 
 tin Doover. Joe was not exactly drunk, but his 
 loose jaw, bleary eyes and trembling hands told that 
 he was half seas over. He was listening, with a 
 stupid effort at concentration, to something that Mar 
 tin was saying in low, earnest tones. In his gnarled 
 hand he held a sheaf of bank-bills. 
 
 You know, Joe," were the first words of Doo- 
 ver s that came to Chet s ears, " you ain t been 
 treated right." 
 
 " I know it," returned Joe, in maudlin self-pity. 
 " No one gives me a square deal." 
 
 " Sure ! But you got friends that s goin to stand 
 by you. They know you re havin a hard time. 
 That s why they ve sent me with this money. 
 There s five hundred dollars in this wad an it ll 
 put you right on your feet. You ll soon be able 
 to pay it back." 
 
 " I see. It s a loan, is it? " 
 
 " That s it. Look at these bills ! Ain t they the 
 real thing? Eh?" 
 
 Joe Pelot reached out to take the money, but 
 Doover drew back, with a grin. 
 
 " Hold on, Joe. There s somethin else. These 
 friends o mine are goin to help you, but, jest as a 
 matter o form, you can sign this paper. It don t 
 amount to nothin jest sayin you owe the money.
 
 222 DABNEY TODD 
 
 Of course, if you never could pay it, no one could 
 make you. But you can sign this, so they ll know I 
 give you the money. Get that? " 
 
 " Sure 1 " agreed Joe, his covetous eyes on the 
 bills a sum larger than he had possessed since 
 his young and prosperous days. " Where s the pa 
 per?" 
 
 "Here!" 
 
 There was pen and ink on the table. Chet had 
 no doubt these had been placed there, ready, by 
 Doover. Mart put the pen in the old man s palsied 
 fingers. 
 
 Then, leaning eagerly over the table, he watched 
 and waited for the signature with a fever of eager 
 ness which had old Joe been in his right senses 
 surely must have convinced him arose from more 
 than mere friendship and the desire to help him. 
 
 Joe scrawled his name at the bottom of the paper, 
 and at the same time Doover placed the money in 
 his hand. 
 
 Then something snapped in Chet. Here was 
 something that needed his attention ; something that 
 could be handled in only one way. This man was 
 using old Joe to strike down the girl he loved. Chet 
 remembered other days when Martin had spoken 
 slightingly of Nance, and he knew the time had come
 
 THE WAY OF THE STRONG 223 
 
 to settle old scores and prevent this new outrage. 
 
 He looked at his fists, half-seen, there in the 
 dark, and thought of the promise he had made that 
 night in the back pasture. 
 
 The time had come. 
 
 Silently he made his way to the door. Quickly 
 swinging it open, he jumped into the room. The 
 suddenness of his entrance sent Martin reeling back 
 ward. 
 
 But Joe looked at him unseeingly. The bills 
 slipping through his fingers, he staggered to the other 
 side of the room, muttering to himself as he dropped 
 into a chair. 
 
 Martin, insane with rage, drooling at the mouth, 
 glared at Chet, until the whites of his eyes became 
 red. The boy, already in his shirtsleeves, held him 
 at bay. 
 
 Through gritting teeth he had his say. 
 
 " Once before, Mart Doover, you ran," he cried. 
 " This time you stay." 
 
 He locked the door and flung down the key. 
 
 " Now give me that paper 1 " cried he, command- 
 ingly. 
 
 Instead, Doover made a jump for the door, thrust 
 ing the paper into his coat-pocket. 
 
 Chet had overheard enough at home to under-
 
 224 DABNEY TODD 
 
 stand Nance was being pressed to sell her farm. 
 He felt certain the paper that the wretched Joe 
 had signed was in some way connected with this 
 deal, and his devotion to Nance surged up in his 
 bosom in a maelstrom of hate against those who 
 would defraud her. 
 
 As Doover reached the door, he was twisted round 
 and flung, for the moment helpless, spinning across 
 to the opposite wall. 
 
 He recovered himself. Lowering his head like 
 a charging bull, his coarse features working con 
 vulsively, and his big fists swinging, he came for 
 ward a step, his red-rimmed eyes fixed on Chet s 
 stony face. 
 
 " Give me that paper ! " repeated Chet. " I m 
 most certainly going to kill you if you don t I " 
 
 The only answer was a foul curse. 
 
 Chet s fist, hardened by years of toil at the forge, 
 and with the urge of constantly used, toughened mus 
 cles behind it, struck him in the jaw, and again 
 hurled Martin reeling back. 
 
 " Damn you ! " spat Doover. " You started this, 
 an by God I m goin to finish it ! " Roaring with 
 hate and rage, he leaped, to " rush " the boy and 
 annihilate him. 
 
 Chet parried the attack, but could not keep Doo-
 
 THE WAY OF THE STRONG 225 
 
 ver from getting a grip on him. Panting, tugging, 
 round and round the room they swayed. 
 
 Chet lunged after Doover, to strike again. But 
 Martin sank to his knees, so that the blow passed 
 over his shoulder. Then, leaping up, he flung his 
 gorilla-like arms around the boy and lifted him 
 from his feet. 
 
 Down they went to the floor, rolling over and 
 over, each struggling to get a grip which would 
 down his foe, with neither successful. 
 
 Chairs were sent hurtling across the room, 
 hampering the fighters. 
 
 Chet availed himself of a slight relaxation of 
 Martin s grip, as a chair got in his way, and gained 
 his feet. He rushed Martin. For a few moments 
 they waled in murderous blows. 
 
 Blood was now freely flowing from Martin s 
 mouth. There was an ugly bruise over Chet s right 
 eye. Their clothes were disheveled; the sound of 
 their panting breaths filled the air. 
 
 They broke away from each other, to breathe; 
 and, as they circled like fighting dogs, watched for 
 an opening. 
 
 Martin rushed. Playing his favorite trick again, 
 he stooped to avoid the right and left swings Chet 
 aimed at him. Then, with his arms around the boy s
 
 226 DABNEY TODD 
 
 waist, he lifted him and sent him flying over the 
 table. 
 
 As Chet reached the floor, hands first, he turned 
 a complete somersault, which landed him on his 
 back. The table and its contents lay scattered on 
 the floor. Through it all old Joe mumbled and 
 leered with maudlin terror. 
 
 Doover s innate brutality evinced itself. He 
 sprang to stamp on Chet s face. Before he could 
 bring down his heavy boot, Chet seized him by the 
 ankle, and down went Doover on his face. 
 
 For a moment, victory hung in the balance, for 
 both men were helpless. Then Chet, with a su 
 preme effort, turned his enemy over and leaped to 
 his feet, as Mart, too, scrambled up. 
 
 Mart, finding himself unable to overcome the 
 other with bare hands, seized one of the chairs. 
 Swinging it over his head, he aimed a terrific blow. 
 Chet ran in, stooping. The chair whirled over his 
 head. He sent his fist flying up under the pro 
 truding jaw of his antagonist. 
 
 The blow had not been aimed scientifically, but 
 it went home. And behind it lay a hundred and 
 eighty pounds of clean, powerful bone and sinew. 
 The impact of the boy s fist was annihilating. 
 
 With a shudder, a groan, Martin collapsed and
 
 THE WAY OF THE STRONG 227 
 
 lay quite still. Quiet came back to the little room. 
 
 The boy turned his vanquished enemy over, and 
 feeling in his pockets, found the receipt Nance s 
 father had given him. 
 
 There it was, as he had feared. Old Joe had 
 signed his name to a promissory note for five hun 
 dred dollars, in favor of Larry Shayne, and had 
 given the farm as security. 
 
 Chet saw the simplicity of the thing. Either 
 Nance s father would have to pay back the money, 
 a circumstance beyond all possibility, or stand guilty 
 of obtaining money under false pretense or his 
 daughter would have to sell the farm to settle the 
 claim. 
 
 And Martin was to have been witness to the trans 
 action. 
 
 The smooth cunning of it drew forth an involun 
 tary sort of admiration for the man who had used 
 the poor fool at his feet so well. And Chet won 
 dered if Shayne and he would ever meet as he and 
 Martin had to-night. 
 
 Slowly, as the moments dragged on, the boy made 
 up his mind. Then he picked up the scattered bills 
 and put them back in Martin s pocket. After an 
 other pause, he carefully tore up the note bit by bit 
 and watched the scraps smolder and burn in the fire.
 
 228 DABNEY TODD 
 
 As he watched the last little piece twisting and 
 curling itself into a blackened nothing, his blood 
 froze within him; the pounding of his heart shook 
 his big body. 
 
 Some one had stepped on to the front porch. 
 Then he heard the front door opening. 
 
 He wanted to move, but could not. Inert as 
 though gripped by a nightmare, he stood there mo 
 tionless, hardly breathing. 
 
 He gazed around the disordered room. The 
 chairs were piled up in shattered wreckage, the table 
 was overturned, and a wet, sticky mess was spread 
 ing over the floor, where the contents of dishes that 
 had been on the table had fallen. And in one cor 
 ner crouched old Joe ! 
 
 Chet s eyes took it all in; then he felt them drawn 
 to the dining room. 
 
 In the doorway, speechless and bewildered, stood 
 Nance.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE END OF THE GAME 
 
 IT was not in Larry Shaync s nature to quit. To 
 have expected that he was through with try 
 ing to win Nance and secure her consent to sell 
 the farm would have been folly. Not for any 
 money would he have allowed himself to be made 
 foolish in his father s eyes. He was now more than 
 ever determined to succeed with the girl. The snubs 
 and humiliations she had made him suffer could 
 wait. Once he had her, she should pay for them 
 all. A double desire therefore now possessed him 
 one for the girl, herself, the other for the ven 
 geance he meant to work upon her, when she should 
 lie helpless in his power. 
 
 One direct result of the last stormy scene he had 
 had with her had been his determination to try his 
 skill with her father. He would have preferred 
 the other way, but the girl s stubbornness had told 
 him plainly he was wasting time. 
 
 229
 
 230 DABNEY TODD 
 
 For several days he had brooded over his plans 
 to catch Nance off her guard. To a certainty he 
 could count on her being away from home on regu 
 lar nights of the week, had he been willing to go 
 to old Joe himself. But he had known he stood 
 outside the law in what he planned proposing, and 
 so had cast around for some one else to do his evil 
 work for him. 
 
 Larry had been well enough informed of events 
 in New Canaan to know that Chet Todd was away. 
 Out of bitterness against him, Martin Doover had 
 suggested himself as equally hating the boy, and only 
 too willing to square accounts for the insult Chet 
 had given him. 
 
 Larry Shayne held a peculiar fascination for Mart 
 Doover. Shayne s clothes, his spendthrift ways and 
 profligateness appealed to Doover as wholly to be 
 desired; and Larry smiled as he recalled his good- 
 natured tolerance of the uncouth Martin. Now he 
 was about to reap the interest of his acquaintance. 
 
 Knowing Martin would come to the Seneca the 
 first time he drove to town, Larry had sat down to 
 await his advent. In due time Martin had come, 
 and Larry had unfolded his plans to him, with the 
 result which Chet s untimely intervention has just 
 shown.
 
 THE END OF THE GAME 231 
 
 Not overestimating Martin s ability, Larry 
 back in Redburn, watching Nance wondered if 
 young Mart had succeeded with Joe. It was 
 Wednesday night, and Nance would not be back 
 in New Canaan until nearly noon the following day. 
 
 Larry did not question his accomplice s final 
 success. The strategy of whisky over Joe Pelot was 
 too certain for doubt. But if anything had made 
 him postpone his visit, Larry saw how essential it 
 was that Nance should not return the following 
 morning. It was vital that Joe should have a 
 chance to spend part of his windfall. That once 
 accomplished, Larry knew success was assured. 
 
 Before he closed his eyes that night, he had hit 
 upon a plan that laid him open to a little risk. 
 
 Early the next morning a telephone message came 
 to the modest little boarding-house where Nance 
 spent the night when in Redburn, requesting the 
 good-natured Mrs. Weatherly to inform Nance, 
 when she arose, that she would be needed that even 
 ing at the hotel, and to tell her not to return home. 
 
 This would not be apt to excite any suspicions on 
 her part. Some evenings she played for the per 
 formance at the " Jewfish s " movie theater; and 
 some, at the Inn. Her usual plan, after having 
 spent a night at Redburn had been to breakfast
 
 232 DABNEY TODD 
 
 and go back home to New Canaan on the morning 
 stage, at ten. Larry knew she could not make 
 the trip back and forth, and be in Redburn again 
 in time to go to work at six in the cabaret of the 
 hotel. 
 
 He knew she would not stay at the movie-theater. 
 Vague whispers had of late been circulating that 
 Morris Rosenblatt was in some way connected with 
 a tentacle of the white-slaving business in Redburn, 
 and to Nance the theater was as a pest-house. Also, 
 loathing the Seneca as Larry knew she did, there 
 was little likelihood of her coming before evening. 
 By that time the afternoon stage would have left, 
 and she would probably be unable to get home at all, 
 that night. 
 
 He had intended to be on hand at about six, and, 
 when she came, question her arrival and disarm her 
 with the statement that some one had played a 
 practical joke on her. 
 
 The whole scheme seemed fool-proof. Larry felt 
 almost positive it would keep the girl away from 
 home and at her boarding-place in Redburn long 
 enough to permit Doover s machinations to go 
 through. He congratulated himself on the rare acu 
 men with which he had arranged the matter. 
 
 Staying over for some special event at the hotel
 
 THE END OF THE GAME 233 
 
 was no strange experience to Nance, so she took the 
 message in a very matter-of-fact manner. Her 
 father was so rapidly getting able to be about, that 
 she had no misgivings concerning him. Also, the ex 
 tra money was very welcome. 
 
 The day passed rapidly for her, and it was a 
 few minutes of six before she arrived at the hotel. 
 
 Larry had been nervously waiting an hour for 
 her. Rather unexpectedly, his father had returned 
 from the races at Unionville earlier than had been 
 his wont, and Larry had no intention of letting 
 Nance s presence become known to him, if he could 
 prevent it. 
 
 Several times he glanced into the cafe, where his 
 father and some cronies, in whose car he had re 
 turned, sat drinking. He wondered if they ever 
 would finish and then, with rage, he saw Nance 
 walking in. 
 
 He saw her speak to his father, and watched him 
 eyeing her as she removed her hat and coat. 
 
 Suddenly, Barney excused himself to his friends, 
 and started over to Nance. The interrogation on 
 his face decided Larry to retreat. He slipped out 
 into the lobby. 
 
 " What s the reason of this, Miss Pelot? " Barney 
 inquired.
 
 234 DABNEY TODD 
 
 "Reason?" she replied, questioningly. "Why, 
 you sent for me, didn t you? " 
 
 " What for? Do you think I need a piano-player 
 to amuse a lot of waiters? There ain t enough do 
 ing around here on a Thursday to pay for the lights. 
 When I want you I ll let you know." 
 
 " Why, there must be some mistake, Mr. Shayne. 
 Mrs. Weatherly gave me, a telephone message from 
 the hotel, asking me to stay over. I would have 
 gone home on the stage this morning, but for that." 
 
 :< Who gave you a message? " he thundered. " I 
 ain t been in the place all day. If there s any one 
 givin orders around here, it s me! " 
 
 Turning, he bawled out a command for Otto, the 
 bus boy, to catch Miss Gillen, the day operator, and 
 bring her to him. 
 
 " I ll find out if any one s tryin to kid me," he 
 declared, angrily. 
 
 In a few seconds Miss Gillen came in, and Barney 
 turned on her with a snarl : 
 
 " Say, miss, who telephoned Weatherly s board- 
 in -house this morning, and left a message for Miss 
 Pelot?" 
 
 The girl hesitated before replying. 
 
 "Oh, there was some one, eh?" he bullied. 
 "Who was it?"
 
 THE END OF THE GAME 235 
 
 " Why I don t want to get any one in trou 
 ble," she stammered. 
 
 " Nix on that stuff! What s that you got there? 
 Your call-sheet? Well, give it to me I" and he 
 grabbed it out of her hand. " I ll save you the 
 trouble of tellin me. What s the number? " 
 
 " Cedar, two-double-four," answered Nance. 
 
 Barney ran his finger down the sheet. His face 
 grew ever darker, as rage gained upon him, until 
 he seemed to wear an evil mask almost as vicious 
 as the coarse, red, sensual face of his satellite, Jew- 
 fish Rosenblatt, himself. 
 
 "Yeh, here it is! House call, huh! Who s 
 chargin up house calls ? Who was it ? Come on ! " 
 
 That last was a rifle-shot, and the girl answered : 
 
 " Mr. ... Shayne, sir." 
 
 " Him? All right ! You go now, and listen ! 
 if you wanta work for me, you speak up when 
 I ask you somethin ." 
 
 Barney was by now so terrified that he shook as 
 with an ague. 
 
 "You sit down!" he ordered Nance. "Wait 
 here!" 
 
 Sitting there, she could hear him in the bar, shout 
 ing for Larry. Soon he came tramping in, the boy 
 at his heels. Nance shuddered as he cursed his son.
 
 236 DABNEY TODD 
 
 "You big hunkie!" he bellowed. U I wanta 
 know why in hell you called this girl up and wished 
 her on to me for a Thursday night! " 
 
 Larry, remembering other scenes with his father, 
 only trembled. 
 
 " Why, it was a little joke. That s all, dad 
 just a little joke," he managed to get out. 
 
 " Joke ! " shrieked the old man. " Joke 
 makin a monkey-house out o my place? I could 
 bust your head in for this ! " He made a swing 
 at Larry. You boob ! I m goin to give her five 
 dollars an send her home, an it ll come out o you ! " 
 
 He stripped a bill off his roll and handed it to 
 Nance, who drew away. 
 
 " Go on, take it ! " he urged. " Get a rig and 
 go home. . . . and don t come back. I ve stood 
 this damn foolishness long enough. You re the best 
 piano-player I ever had, and if I had anythin but 
 a half-baked idiot for a son you d be all right." 
 
 He tucked the bill into Nance s hand, and as he 
 wheeled, fetched Larry a cuff on the face with his 
 open hand that sent him stumbling backward. 
 
 All the way into the bar they could hear him 
 cursing, as he made his way there to join his friends, 
 who had been discreet enough to anticipate the trou 
 ble in the cafe.
 
 THE END OF THE GAME 237 
 
 Nance realized that she was through. Her job 
 was gone. Barney had made up her mind for her. 
 As the meaning of his words dawned on her mind, 
 an involuntary sigh of relief escaped her. 
 
 Larry read it aright. 
 
 "Well, what re you going to do now?" he 
 sneered. 
 
 " Wash dishes and scrub floors, if I have to," she 
 shot back at him. " And when I ve scrubbed floors 
 until my back is broken and washed dishes until my 
 hands are raw, I ll think of you and be glad I m do 
 ing what I am. No matter what it is, at any rate 
 I shan t have to come in contact with you, or fight 
 the evil net you re trying to throw over me ! " 
 
 " Well, git ! Go back to your drunken bum of a 
 father, and little I ll care ! " 
 
 "You" 
 
 She paused, her hands clenched, and stood before 
 him, as determined as his father had been. 
 
 " You wouldn t talk to a man that way, you cur! 
 My father has not been drunk in weeks. He is 
 crawling about the house, a half-invalid, while I ve 
 been down here, working for him." 
 
 The perversity that made Larry a weakling im 
 pelled him to be incautious now, that he might see 
 her wince.
 
 238 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " I guess you ain t heard the news, then," he 
 bluffed. * Your old man was rip-roaring drunk last 
 night." 
 
 It was a staggering blow. For a minute the girl 
 thought she would faint. 
 
 The wolf had shown his fangs. It was plain 
 enough now why he had planned to keep her in 
 town. 
 
 Murder was in Nance s mind. 
 
 " You . . . you . . ." But the words were 
 strangled in her tears. Sobbing and alone, she found 
 herself on the sidewalk.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 JOURNEY S END 
 
 HOW she endured those long miles in the 
 hack Nance did not know. The intermin 
 able ride was an effort that left her weak 
 and exhausted. What she expected to find brought 
 her almost to the verge of panic. Her soul lay sick 
 within her at realization that, after all, her father 
 had not been able to play the part of a man, but 
 had once more fallen back into the mire of his sod 
 den vice. 
 
 An aeon of time seemed to elapse before the liv 
 eryman dropped her at her door. Quickly she let 
 herself in, and rushed through the house to the 
 kitchen. In the doorway, she stopped cold, the dis 
 ordered room before her. 
 
 Her father mumbling in his chair a man lying 
 flat on the floor in the center, Chet Todd, huge 
 and primitive, his shirt torn to shreds, and his face 
 covered with blood! One eye was swollen shut. 
 There he stood staring at her out of the other! 
 
 239
 
 2 4 o DABNEY TODD 
 
 While they peered at each other, in tense silence, 
 the man on the floor slowly struggled up. His eyes 
 went around the room, bewildered. Nance recog 
 nized him, Mart Doover ! 
 
 Then speech came back to her. Pointing to Mar 
 tin, she asked, a great comprehension in her eyes : 
 
 "He did this?" 
 Yes . . ." answered Chet. 
 
 He nodded his head slowly. 
 
 Coming to him, she took his huge hands in hers. 
 She saw where the skin had been rubbed off the 
 knuckles. His face was cut, as well. 
 
 Had there been any doubt in her mind as to the 
 grimness of the battle which had been fought there, 
 the heavy smell of sweat and blood on Chet s big 
 body must have told her the truth. 
 
 The strength in her Nance never had quite real 
 ized till then. Compellingly, she forced the boy into 
 a chair, then got her father to his room. 
 
 Chet sat there, half dazed, watching Martin and 
 wondering if his punishment had been complete. 
 
 Martin raised himself painfully on his elbow, his 
 face working as he spoke to the man there before 
 him. 
 
 " You goin to hit me ag in, if I git up? " he asked. 
 
 Chet shook his head.
 
 JOURNEY S END 241 
 
 " No. ... I ain t ever goin to hit you any more, 
 Mart because you ain t goin to be round here, 
 after to-night. You want to get this, cause if I 
 see you again, you re goin to jail. . . . Now, pick 
 up the key and hike ! . . . Move ! " 
 
 Slowly, painfully, he reached out and took the 
 key. His eyes, red-shot and murderous as they 
 blinked at Chet, spoke only too well the vengeance 
 Doover would have taken had he dared or been 
 able. Lamely he dragged himself to the door. 
 When Nance returned to the room he was gone. 
 
 Martin Doover was saying good-by to New 
 Canaan. 
 
 Carefully the girl bathed Chet s bruised face and 
 swollen eye. 
 
 " Oh, Chet," she whispered, " when I think of 
 what you ve saved us from ! " Her voice broke, 
 unsteadily. 
 
 " There, there, there ! " he soothed her. " It was 
 only what any man would ha done. Don t you go 
 an git all worked up over it 1 " 
 
 " It was splendid, Chet, glorious, big! " she kept 
 on. " The spirit of knight-errantry isn t dead, yet. 
 It s living, here and now, right here in New Canaan, 
 in you ! " 
 
 "Sh-h-h-h, Nance!"
 
 242 DABNEY TODD 
 
 She kept a little silence, as she ministered to him; 
 then in a calmer tone, asked: 
 
 " You re all right, Chet? Feeling better, now? " 
 
 Chet nodded his head affirmatively. But there 
 came no sound from his lips. 
 
 It had been days since he had seen her, and weeks 
 on end since they had been alone together. He was 
 afraid of himself. 
 
 Gradually they righted the disordered room. 
 Bending over to replace the articles on the old table, 
 the boy s heart came into his mouth as he felt the 
 silken touch of her hair on his face. 
 
 He wanted to remember the things he had planned 
 to say to her, but they refused to come back. In his 
 heart burned only a savage desire to crush her to him. 
 
 She was his woman; he wanted her. 
 
 When the kitchen was in order, she questioned 
 the boy and drew from him, reluctantly, his story 
 of how he had come to see her and had ended by 
 finding Martin there and then of the fight. 
 
 She knew, now, that she loved Chet Todd. 
 
 Once there came to her eyes even a half-wild de 
 termination to take the boy in her arms, to mother 
 and fondle him. 
 
 A clock chimed eleven, and Chet made ready to 
 go. Nance stopped him.
 
 JOURNEY S END 243 
 
 " Not that way, Chet ! There s something I must 
 say before you go." 
 
 He stared at her uncomprehendingly. 
 
 " You ve never questioned me, Chet," she said, 
 " even since the night you saw me riding away in 
 Larry Shayne s car. You haven t been able to un 
 derstand why I ve gone to Redburn two and three 
 nights a week. Wait! " she warned him, as he went 
 to speak. " You hated Larry Shayne. And you 
 despised the part of me that found pleasure in his 
 company. Yes, you did. Did you expect we could 
 go on meeting each other under those conditions, 
 and that I wouldn t realize it? I want you to tell 
 me why you pretended not to notice what I was do 
 ing. Once, before to-night, you were willing to 
 fight for me. Why, then, didn t you try to do some 
 thing about it? Did you think I should come to 
 you and explain myself? " 
 
 The fire glowed back into Chet s eyes, as he lis 
 tened to her arraignment of him. 
 
 " Why, I didn t have any right to question you. 
 Good God, Nance! You don t think I doubted 
 you?" 
 
 " No, Chet, I know you didn t ! At first I couldn t 
 let you know. You wouldn t have understood. 
 Then, later, when I wanted to tell you, you put your
 
 244 DABNEY TODD 
 
 pride against mine, and left me alone. You say 
 you didn t have the right to question me before. 
 Well, after what has happened to-night, you have 1 
 I want you to understand," she went on. " If I 
 have been foolish enough to let my pride stand in 
 the way before, that time has passed." 
 
 Though Chet protested, she told him, word for 
 word, the conversation she had had with Larry 
 Shayne the day he had seen her riding away with 
 him, and all the circumstances that had led up to 
 it. 
 
 Nance Pelot was proving herself. There glowed 
 a deep gratitude in the boy s heart that she was 
 as he had known she would be. 
 
 In the end, when she had told him of the pres 
 sure that had been placed on her to sell the farm, 
 and had given him some inkling of what had hap 
 pened back in Redburn that night, her voice was 
 shaken with emotion. 
 
 " But I ll get on, some way," she said, defiantly. 
 " I ve just got tol And we ll be friends, you and I. 
 I guess I couldn t live without that." 
 
 Chet started to speak. 
 
 " Please," she entreated, " go now. It s late. 
 And please don t say anything further to-night. I 
 just couldn t bear it, now. But I ll be here for you
 
 JOURNEY S END 245 
 
 to take me to choir rehearsal, Friday evening. Then 
 maybe we ll both have thought things out, a little, 
 and know where we stand. You ll come then, won t 
 you, Chet?" 
 
 The boy nodded silent affirmation. A tense mo 
 ment passed between them, as they stood gazing at 
 each other in a silence more eloquent than any words, 
 before he let go her hand. 
 
 Then he started for the kitchen door. 
 
 " No, Chet," she murmured. " You came that 
 way the front door now." 
 
 Silently the boy passed out into the night. He 
 knew he would have explanations to make himself 
 at home. But as he walked slowly along, they were 
 far away.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 
 
 FOR the last three Sundays, the Rev. Mr. 
 Blake had announced in church that " Shout 
 ing Tom " Madison, the outspoken evange 
 list who had swept like a whirlwind through a dozen 
 cities, leaving thousands of converts in his wake, 
 would preach in Redburn for six weeks. As the 
 opening day drew near it divided public interest 
 with Chet s business. 
 
 Like the Athenians of old, the New Canaanites 
 were always glad to hear or tell any new thing. 
 The advent of an evangelist in the neighborhood was, 
 of a truth, more than a nine days wonder to these 
 simple folk, who never had heard of Madison s own 
 personal motto : " A hundred thousand sinners, five 
 hundred thousand dollars ! " 
 
 Nance s return to active work in the choir caused 
 some talk. Dabney, quick to notice this, did a great 
 deal to allay it by circulating his opinion that she 
 must have finished her work in Redburn. He also 
 
 246
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 247 
 
 took good care to let folks see him walking home 
 with Nance. It was easier for him to shape public 
 opinion than it was to explain to Nance his reason 
 for wanting to walk with her. To make it seem 
 more natural, he negotiated for and bought two old 
 wagons from old Joe, that he had no earthly use 
 for. 
 
 Martin Doover had left town, and Chet s bat 
 tered face remained somewhat of a mystery, until 
 Link Watkins expressed his opinion that Chet had 
 been thrown out of one of the cars he had been 
 trying to buy. This raised such a good laugh that 
 the boy let it pass for the truth. 
 
 Neevey, however, was not fooled, and as Chet 
 
 would not explain, she knew Nance Pelot figured 
 
 in it some way. 
 
 Blake smiled to himself as he watched Nance 
 
 and Chet poring over the same piece of music. 
 
 Truly, it was a strange world. 
 
 The following Sunday the great revival opened 
 
 in Redburn. Blake, in answer to the evangelist s 
 
 request to have all the churches of the district closed 
 
 that day, had notified his people during the week, 
 
 and had again urged them to go. 
 
 Sunday dawned bright and clear. The service 
 
 was to begin at two o clock; but several hours be-
 
 248 DABNEY TODD 
 
 fore that, people began to drive in from the out 
 lying villages and farms, in rigs of all patterns, from 
 the glittering two-seated surrey to the humble demo 
 crat. A few automobiles, their wheels and radiators 
 powdered with the dust of country roads, were also 
 in evidence. 
 
 New Canaan was well represented. Dabney 
 Todd, with Neevey and Amos, were early arrivals. 
 
 " Guess you folks is hungry," suggested Neevey, 
 when Dabney had tied up in the hitch-barn. " We ll 
 have some lunch right now, in the wagon." 
 
 Without waiting for a response, she produced a 
 bulging basket, the contents of which her husband 
 and son put out of sight with business-like celerity. 
 Neevey s appetite was working well, too. 
 
 " Sakes alive 1 There s Clarissa Howe an the 
 Deacon jest drivin in," she exclaimed. " An 
 there s Blake, with Hazel Devine. I don t see Tite 
 Showell, but I" 
 
 Tite allers goes to the other hitch-barn in Water 
 Street," explained Dabney. " I seen him jest ahead 
 of us when we come to the foot o the lake. Link 
 Watkins was with him. They druv into town on 
 the west road. Tite s ole hoss don t go well on the 
 hard brick pavement. We al, ready to go? " 
 
 They walked along the main street, and soon came
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 249 
 
 in sight of the great wooden structure that had been 
 built especially for the meetings. A crowd already 
 surrounded it, among them a number of New Canaan- 
 ites. The unpainted front doors were all closed, 
 but people were going in and out of those at the 
 rear, amid a general air of bustling preparation. 
 A great event was at hand, and all the inhabitants 
 for miles around were preparing for an emotional 
 excitation such as rarely offered itself in that quiet 
 community. 
 
 "Who s them folks?" asked Neevey, of Blake, 
 who was walking with them. " Choir singers, I 
 reckon? " 
 
 " Some of them," replied Blake. " But it takes 
 a lot of men to get the place ready and to run 
 things for the meetin s. I suppose some are ushers. 
 Good mornin , Titus. Glad to see you, Link." 
 
 Titus and Link Watkins returned the greetings, 
 and another group from New Canaan, including Paul 
 Cuddeback, Myrtle Lewis and Nona Haynes, passed 
 along, nodding and exchanging a few words with 
 Dabney s party. 
 
 A general atmosphere of holiday-making pre 
 vailed, and everybody seemed pleased to see every 
 body else. The only regret was that they would 
 have to wait an hour before the doors would open.
 
 2 5 o DABNEY TODD 
 
 Redburn people were abroad, as well as those 
 from the country. " Shouting Tom " Madison s 
 name was known to everybody in America. He had 
 gained the reputation of hitting straight from the 
 shoulder, and though he might hurt some persons, 
 he was quite likely to bring those same individuals 
 into the fold. He made converts by the hundred, 
 at every meeting, under the psychological stress of 
 mass-stimulus; and though, as always happens, some 
 of them very soon " backslid," still he had built up 
 for himself a tremendous national reputation. So 
 the people of Redburn and all the country round 
 were determined by no means to miss his first serv 
 ice, where they might see for themselves wherein his 
 great persuasive power lay. Patiently, they waited 
 standing outside the temple, or strolling about the 
 sunlighted streets, until they could get in. 
 
 When, at one o clock, the large double doors were 
 flung open, there was a rush. The long line that 
 had been clinging to the wooden walls for hours was 
 swallowed up in a few minutes. Then came the 
 others. 
 
 Neevey marched up one of the sawdust aisles to 
 a seat near the front, with Dabney and Amos on 
 either side of her. She saw that the immense plat 
 form, with its seats for the choir at the back, and
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 251 
 
 its reading-desk in the center, was fairly well oc 
 cupied already. The choir were all in their places. 
 Neevey calculated there must be more than a hun 
 dred. 
 
 " This here smell of new pine is mighty satis- 
 fyin ," remarked Dabney. " I dunno anythin 
 cleaner. Seems to me it ought to help the preacher 
 to git to the hearts o folks, cause a man as is 
 clean is gen ally readier to listen to reason than 
 one as ain t." 
 
 Blake smiled at this whimsical idea, but didn t con 
 tradict it. As for Neevey, she was too much occu 
 pied in looking about her to take any notice of what 
 her husband had said. 
 
 There was not much opportunity for further con 
 versation, just then. The choir leader a husky- 
 looking young man, with a dominating voice 
 faced the choir, both arms upraised. Then he 
 brought them down with a sweep. [The singers 
 broke out into a lusty chorus that rang among the 
 rafters, and, embracing the now large assemblage, 
 compelled them to take part. in the great, swelling 
 harmony. 
 
 The building was nearly full. In a few moments 
 the doors must be closed on throngs outside, waiting 
 to get in. No one could help being inspired by the
 
 252 DABNEY TODD 
 
 music, and when the thousands of voices joined in, 
 the effect was electrical. 
 
 Suddenly the music ceased, and a stockily-built 
 middle-aged man, with keen eyes, a humorous mouth 
 and a decided manner, stepped to the front of the 
 platform. It was "Shouting Tom" Madison! With 
 out any prelude he said, in a deep, resonant voice : 
 
 " We ll sing the Doxology." 
 
 The response was hearty, and, as the last strains 
 died away, he offered a prayer, and then began his 
 address. 
 
 " Shouting Tom " did not spare anybody, and his 
 words could rightly be described as burning. The 
 first thing he said -gave the whole vast audience a 
 shock. 
 
 " It is a wonder that God gives you any chance 
 of heaven, when he looks over the gang on this 
 earth." 
 
 "Land sakes, Dabby!" murmured Neevey. 
 " He looked straight at us when he said that." 
 
 " I don t think he meant me," returned Dabney, 
 in a whisper. " Who s sitting behind us? By jings, 
 it s Spencer Howe ! Wow ! That was pretty tough 
 on the deacon." 
 
 It seemed as if Madison really did mean Spencer, 
 for his next sentence was:
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 253 
 
 " There s a whole lot of you deacons who don t 
 deac. Wake up, you fellows, and dig for Christ 
 a little harder. You d be better for it, and so would 
 others in the church. 
 
 " I don t say all you people who go to church on 
 Sunday and put your dimes in the collection plate 
 are hypocrites. But I d think more of some of you 
 if you didn t pose as Christians when your hearts 
 aren t in it. And also if, when you can easily spare 
 a dollar, you wouldn t spend it on autos or travel 
 or worldly books or pleasures, but would give it to 
 the work of salvation, instead of the measley little 
 dime or quarter you drop in!" Then he added, 
 pointing a finger at the other side of the place: 
 " Yes, I mean you and you and you ! If you 
 don t like what I say, come out like real men and 
 women, and tell me you ll do better." 
 
 By this time the speaker was warmed up. His 
 powerful arms swung, as, with clenched fists, he 
 drove home his sentences. 
 
 " Don t be too sure," he cried, " that you are 
 bound direct for eternal torment or everlasting hap 
 piness. There are some people who think they are 
 on the way to hell when they are so close to heaven 
 they can almost hear the angels sing. And there 
 are some so near hell they can almost smell the
 
 254 DABNEY TODD 
 
 sulphur fumes. But, whether you are a Christian or 
 not, you must all be present on the judgment day." 
 
 Neevey had been looking at Link Watkins, in a 
 seat near the front, fumbling about in his pockets, as 
 if searching for something. The keen eyes of Tom 
 Madison detected a little inattention in Link s neigh 
 borhood, caused by the old man s maneuvers. Stop 
 ping short in his sermon, Madison pointed directly 
 at Link and demanded: 
 
 "What s the matter? Lost your specs? Look 
 about the house when you get home, and you ll find 
 them in the family bible, where you left them six 
 months ago, the last time you had it open. It s a 
 better book than any that preaches up-to-date non 
 sense and all this modern science heresy; that tries 
 to prove the damnable doctrine of evolution and 
 make man only a part of the universe, instead of 
 its crowning achievement that all the rest of infini 
 tude was created to serve and bow before ! Look 
 out, you dabblers in the sin of science ! " 
 
 There came a burst of laughter at this apt ac 
 cusation, for Link Watkins was well-known to have 
 leanings toward modern scientific thought, and was 
 suspected of even having gone so far as to read Dar 
 win s " Origin of Species." Neevey saw that the 
 old store-keeper s ears were flaming.
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 255 
 
 The evangelist shouted on and on. In rapid suc 
 cession he trained his shrapnel shells on the liquor 
 question; and though there was a coarse brutality 
 in his words, the fire of the man himself and his 
 mad enthusiasm robbed them of their offensiveness, 
 and left them living things that went straight to the 
 mark. 
 
 " God never questions penitents," he thundered. 
 " If you were a drunkard, He ll forgive you. He 
 doesn t care what you have been or what you have 
 done, if you only stick to the old doctrines and re 
 pent." 
 
 Then denunciations gave way to pleadings, and 
 he stretched forth his hands, as he asked, pite- 
 ously: 
 
 " Won t you come forward and take my hand, in 
 token that you are willing to be saved? Don t be 
 ashamed. The Man, Christ, was not ashamed of 
 you when He gave His life for you on Calvary. 
 Who ll be the first?" 
 
 No one stirred. The spell of that vast multitude 
 held them. 
 
 " Don t be too proud to walk up here and say 
 you re sorry. Don t let the sneers of some God 
 forsaken gang you have been training with hold you 
 back now. Come to me! " he apostrophized.
 
 256 DABNEY TODD 
 
 And he held his hands out invitingly to the en 
 thralled audience. 
 
 " Hit the trail, if you want salvation ! And re 
 member that if you hold back because you fear the 
 sneers of your friends in this life, they will give 
 you the horse laugh in hell, because you were fool 
 ish enough to listen to them here in Redburn to 
 day. In hell, brethren in the real, material, blaz 
 ing place of eternal fire and brimstone torments 
 without end that an outraged God has prepared 
 for all who insult Him by refusing to believe His 
 word!" 
 
 They were not holding back now. [The aisles 
 were filled with terrified people eager to grasp the 
 evangelist s hand and declare anew their faith in 
 God. It seemed that there would be no end to the 
 struggling, hysterical line that surged toward the 
 platform. 
 
 " Say, I can t stand this," said Deacon Howe, in 
 Dabney s ear. " I m goin up." 
 
 " That s what he d oughta do," whispered Neevey 
 to Dabney. " I ve a good mind to go, myself." 
 
 " Shouting Tom " understood the dramatic values. 
 He turned to the choir director and gave a signal. 
 Instantly a Gospel hymn to a marching tune thun 
 dered through the great hall. The words were fa-
 
 DABNEY HITS THE TRAIL 257 
 
 miliar, and as the revivalist motioned to the audience 
 to join it, they obeyed with a will. 
 
 Dabney, his face glowing like a ruddy winter ap 
 ple, turned to Amos : 
 
 " Amos, I allers been a-sayin to myself that some 
 day, when I got a little time, I was goin to git my 
 house in order, an tell God I was sorry for a lot 
 of the pesky mean things I done to other folks, an 
 promise to do better. Now, my boy, if you re willin 
 to walk up there with your ole dad, I want you to 
 come along." 
 
 As they marched up the aisle, Neevey Todd, star 
 ing at them from her seat, knew she was the proud 
 est woman in the world. 
 
 She watched them until they were halfway to 
 ward the platform, when suddenly something fa 
 miliar about a figure limping his way along the aisle, 
 with the aid of his cane, struck her. 
 
 So great was Neevey s surprise that she almost 
 lost sight of Dabney and Amos in her excitement. 
 
 It was old Joe Pelot ! 
 
 As Neevey watched, she saw a strong man take 
 Joe s arm in his; and, half supporting him, they 
 went up the trail together. 
 
 That man was Blake. 
 
 Far back in the upper gallery, a young girl watched
 
 258 DABNEY TODD 
 
 fascinated, even as Neevey and the boy beside 
 her watched, too. There were scalding tears in 
 the girl s eyes but they were tears of happiness, 
 as she wondered if this strange disciple of God had 
 been sent to crown her faith in her father with suc 
 cess. The boy found his lips dry with emotion. 
 Some vital force that neither one was conscious of 
 drew her hand into his. He, unmindful of all else, 
 pressed it tenderly in his strong grasp. 
 
 Nance and Chet, there unknown to the others, 
 knew that the music singing in their souls was 
 sweeter far than any ever sung by mortal choir.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 SODIUM CHLORIDE 
 
 IT was getting well along in November, and 
 Chet s business had begun to drop off, as he 
 had expected it would, during the winter 
 months. He had sold a good number of cars by 
 now, had so enlarged his garage that he had been 
 obliged to hire two men to help him, and was real 
 izing a fine profit from his repair-shop. 
 
 The boy had determined that early spring should 
 see him prepared to make good his promise to con 
 nect up the nearby towns with a system of automo 
 bile stages. 
 
 Nance was no longer a stranger, and the two of 
 them had driven countless miles together, during 
 the late days of Indian summer. The countryside, 
 then at its best, was a study in golden browns and 
 rich yellows, save where the juniper bushes or wild 
 buckthorns raised their blood-red leaves. 
 
 Several times on these rides they had met Cash 
 still the same cheerful optimist as ever. 
 
 259
 
 26o DABNEY TODD 
 
 Cash marveled at the change in the boy. His 
 manner and speech, even his appearance, were al 
 tered. Cash well knew the girl at Chet s side was 
 feeding and keeping aglow the tiny flame he him 
 self had kindled. 
 
 Last week, snow had fallen. Almost every day 
 brought its flurry; and the gray, overcast skies told 
 plainly of the approach of winter. 
 
 So, when three gentlemen from Syracuse dropped 
 off the stage in New Canaan and asked to be driven 
 along the lake, it surprised Chet a bit. It was not 
 the kind of weather to send city men touring coun 
 try roads. 
 
 As he brought out his car, he scrutinized the three 
 strangers. Two of them were businesslike-looking 
 men, while the third, a scholarly-appearing fellow, 
 with a rather preoccupied expression in his tired 
 eyes, smacked of the laboratory or classroom. 
 
 It did not take long to reach the lake road that 
 branched off to the left, with only one field between 
 it and the water. 
 
 " Wait a moment," requested one of the men, 
 leaning forward to touch Chet on the shoulder. 
 " We ll take a look around here." 
 
 They were driving past Nance Pelot s farm. 
 
 * Rough-looking place ! " remarked the man who
 
 SODIUM CHLORIDE 261 
 
 had spoken first, as the three got out of the car. 
 " Doesn t look as if anything was ever raised on it. 
 Pretty view, though! " 
 
 " Yes," replied Chet " You can see along the 
 lake for more than ten miles, from here." 
 
 The boy s thoughts were busy, as he tried to de 
 termine what reason his passengers had for getting 
 out of the car here. He did not believe the view 
 had much to do with it. 
 
 " Wait for us here,] directed one of the men. 
 ; We are going up the hill, so we can see the coun 
 try better." 
 
 They climbed over the tumble-down fence and 
 walked away, while Chet watched them curiously. 
 Reaching the top^ of the hill, they stood there for a 
 few moments, and then disappeared on the other 
 side. 
 
 Two of the strangers were the same men who 
 had talked to Larry Shayne in the Seneca Inn, 
 months past. Both of them deferred to the schol 
 arly-looking man who accompanied them to-day. 
 
 Once out of Chet s sight, they turned directly for 
 the lower end of the farm, and once there, gave 
 their attention to certain depressions in the surface, 
 filled with water from marshy springs. 
 
 "Well, Van Praag, what do you say?" one of
 
 262 DABNEY TODD 
 
 them asked the little man, who, on his hands and 
 knees, was cautiously tasting and smelling the water 
 as it bubbled out of the ground. " Do you see any 
 indications that we ve found what we re looking for, 
 or are we on a wild-goose chase, after all? " 
 
 Van Praag stood up and wiped his hands before 
 he replied: 
 
 " Veil, vithout some laboratory work, I can t say 
 joost how heavy the solution is. But it s goot brine, 
 that s plain. The incrustations seem to crystallize 
 in cubes. If the crystals ver solid, it might mean 
 halite, but the vay they crumble in the fingers is 
 proove they have been deposited there recently, und 
 have been subjected to rapid evaporation in the air. 
 
 " Und, besides," he continued, " the number of 
 springs in this small area, all containing solution of 
 about the same density, vould convince me that the 
 springs have passed through extensive deposits of 
 Silurian salt." 
 
 You mean, Van Praag, you think we have dis 
 covered a continuation of the Onondaga series of 
 deposits? " 
 
 " I think that s certain," the little man said, pon- 
 deringly. The whole fault of this land shows a 
 similarity to the topography of the surface over the 
 Salina beds."
 
 SODIUM CHLORIDE 263 
 
 Brewster, the eldest of the three, turned to his 
 partner. 
 
 ; Why, Ed, we ve made a ten-strike ! This prop 
 erty will be worth thousands to us. Once we get a 
 railroad in here, we ll market it as cheaply as we do 
 in Syracuse." 
 
 " We told you that right along," Ed answered 
 " Ed " being no other than G. Edward Haines, pres 
 ident of the Iroquois Salt Company. 
 
 " But how are we going to get it? " he continued. 
 " There s the rub. I m through with that man 
 Shayne. We can t change our story to the girl, or 
 she ll sure get suspicious. I say, let s go to her our 
 selves and make her an offer that will stagger her. 
 If that don t work, we ll talk leases, if we have to." 
 
 It was more than half an hour before they re 
 turned, and then they did not come back the way 
 they had gone, but along a gulley that serpentined 
 its way through the hollow and finally emptied into 
 the lake. 
 
 " We are looking around to buy a place," volun 
 teered the man who had done most of the talking. 
 " This farm might suit us." 
 
 " I don t think you could get this farm," replied 
 Chet, shortly. 
 
 "Why not?"
 
 264 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Because it s not for sale. Everybody in New 
 Canaan knows the owner has lately refused to part 
 with it." 
 
 " Maybe she will if the price is high enough. We 
 are willing to pay a reasonable price more than 
 the owner would be likely to get from anybody else. 
 Well, you can drive us back to the village." 
 
 As they went back, Chet wondered whether this 
 was another move of Larry Shayne s. That he 
 had ever wanted the place for himself was prepos 
 terous. He had perhaps told these men to look at 
 the farm, in person, and had given them to under 
 stand that it was only a question of price. If they 
 offered enough, they would get it. Knowing Larry 
 as well as he did, Chet could quite believe he would 
 assure them of that. Larry had always been all 
 things to all men, and had never stinted himself on 
 promises, to gain his ends. 
 
 There was no more conversation between the 
 strangers and Chet. He left them at the New 
 Canaan House and returned to the garage. 
 
 " What s that ar little bottle down behind the 
 cushion of the back seat? " exclaimed one of his 
 helpers. " Did those men forgit it? " 
 
 " I guess they did," Chet replied, as he took the 
 bottle. " Clean her off good, Jimmy. Put in a
 
 SODIUM CHLORIDE 265 
 
 quart of oil, give her some grease an fill the radi 
 ator." 
 
 Chet examined the bottle. 
 
 It was one of Van Praag s laboratory jars, and 
 was half full of what looked like water. He shook 
 it up. Then he pulled out the rubber cork and 
 smelled the contents. The pungent brine filled his 
 nostrils. 
 
 He closed the little glass jar and sat down to 
 think. Beyond a question the contents of this jar 
 had come from Nance Pelot s farm. What did it 
 mean? 
 
 For possibly five minutes Chet sat there, deciding 
 where to turn. He knew nothing of chemistry, and 
 was reasonably sure Blake could not help him. Out 
 of the jumble of names running through his mind, 
 he recalled that of Knute Knudsen, over at the big 
 beet-sugar refinery, near Unionville. Knudsen was 
 the chemist of the plant. Chet determined to inter 
 view Knudsen at once. 
 
 Knudsen was glad to see the boy, and smiled good- 
 naturedly at his excitement, as he took the container 
 into his hands and opened it. 
 
 "Where did you get this?" he asked, humor 
 ously. " Out of somebody s salt-pork barrel? It s 
 salt raw brine, with a lot of nitrates of one kind
 
 266 DABNEY TODD 
 
 or another in it. I don t have to go any further to 
 tell you that! " 
 
 You mean, Knute, it s the brine that commercial 
 salt table-salt, I mean is made from? " 
 
 " Exactly. If you want to wait until I make a 
 hydrochloric acid gas test, I ll show you a slight pre 
 cipitation even from the little brine you ve got." 
 
 This was stupendous ! 
 
 Chet had heard enough. To Knudsen s impor 
 tunities as to where he had got it, Chet was deaf. 
 
 Driving home, he was in a quandary. 
 
 It meant that Nance Pelot was rich, if the wells 
 were of any capacity. 
 
 No wonder Larry Shayne had tried so hard to get 
 the farm! Chet laughed long afterward, when he 
 found out that Shayne had been used as a blind in 
 the whole transaction, and got a peculiar satisfaction 
 out of knowing that Larry had gorged the bait with 
 out question.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 JOE PELOT KEEPS HIS WORD 
 
 JOE PELOT S conversion was a nine days won 
 der. It left him utterly prostrate. For once 
 in his life he was face to face with himself, and 
 the horror of that night in the kitchen hung over him 
 like a pall. 
 
 Deep in his mind was a misty remembrance of the 
 paper he had signed and given to Martin Doover. 
 His poor brain, weakened by long-continued drink 
 ing, refused to answer the query: " What was writ 
 ten there? " Try as he would, he could not recall 
 what it had been. He had only a dim recollection 
 of money and a foreboding sense that Martin had 
 persuaded him to sign a receipt of some kind. 
 
 Larry Shayne s name, in some way, clung to it. 
 Joe tried to find Martin, but his father told him he 
 had left home. He was in despair and afraid to 
 mention the matter to Nance. 
 
 He brooded over it, until, at last, with sudden 
 resolution, he made up his mind to go down to Red- 
 
 267
 
 268 DABNEY TODD 
 
 burn and see Larry Shayne. Larry had that paper, 
 whatever it was. Joe might have some difficulty in 
 getting it, but he would try for it, anyhow. A cer 
 tain reviving spirit of manhood, reawakened in him 
 now that King Alcohol had moved out and reason 
 had moved in, strengthened him to a resolve that, 
 formerly, would have been an utter impossibility to 
 him. 
 
 He borrowed a horse and buggy from Lije Conk- 
 lin, telling Lije he wanted to go out to the farm. 
 The weather was threatening, and Lije was not keen 
 about risking a horse in it. But he had worked for 
 old Joe a great many years, and couldn t say No to 
 his request. 
 
 It was noon when Joe left New Canaan. Lije 
 never suspected that he intended going to Redburn. 
 Clouds were lowering as he drove away, and a few 
 flakes of snow scurried about him, threatening soon 
 to add an inch or two to the already heavy white 
 blankets that covered the landscape. A chill wind 
 whistled in his ears, as he pulled his cloth cap well 
 down, and took the lines in his mittened hands. 
 
 " Coin to be a cold trip, Joe," remarked Lije. 
 " Good thing you ain t goin fur." 
 
 " Cold weather won t hurt me none," was Joe s 
 reply, as he waved Lije a farewell.
 
 JOE PELOT KEEPS HIS WORD 269 
 
 By the time he reached the lake road it was snow 
 ing hard, and the wind had increased in ferocity. 
 He pushed on with busy thoughts, taking little heed 
 of the storm. 
 
 Several hours later, stiffened with cold, and with 
 a sheathing of ice on horse, harness, and buggy, the 
 lap-robe crackling with frozen snow, Joe got down 
 at the Seneca Inn and went inside. 
 
 It was some minutes before the warmth of the 
 place thawed him out so that he could speak coher 
 ently. Then he asked the bartender for Larry. 
 
 " Larry s out of town," replied that individual. 
 " He s gone to Syracuse. You d better get a drink 
 under your belt, old-timer. You re mighty nigh all 
 in." 
 
 " No, I got to refuse you," replied Joe. " Me 
 an drink ain t speakin . You don t suppose he ll be 
 back to-day, do yuh? " 
 
 " I don t know. If this snow keeps up, he won t 
 get nowheres. What do you want to see him about? 
 His old man s here." 
 
 " Nope," Joe said, forlornly. " Barney couldn t 
 do nothin for me." 
 
 " Well, sit down an wait awhile. The kid may 
 come in on the four o clock train. You won t have 
 one on me, eh, Joe? "
 
 2 7 o DABNEY TODD 
 
 He had seen Joe Pelot wearing his shoes out on 
 the bar rail for so many summers and winters that it 
 made him laugh to see the battered old wreck pick 
 ing his way into the hotel office, shaking his head 
 negatively. 
 
 The storm had filled the office with a motley crew 
 of men who made their way to the bar and back, at 
 intervals, and Joe s decision began to torture his soul. 
 Lije s horse shivered outside under the robe Joe had 
 thrown over him. The clock seemed to stand still. 
 Joe began to wonder if he could sit there another 
 hour, so close to temptation, and not be overwhelmed 
 by it. 
 
 Through it all the storm continued, the wind grow 
 ing higher, and the snow piling up against doors and 
 windows. With dread the old man listened to the 
 high and rising note of the storm-gale, shrieking 
 round the inn as though all the evil Djinns of Victor 
 Hugo s poem had been borne aloft on its stinging 
 breath. 
 
 Several times he hobbled into the bar and stood 
 there, sucking in the breath of the place. It had a 
 bouquet for him, of tempting savor. 
 
 Four o clock came finally, and with infinite torture 
 the moments dragged on, until he knew there was no 
 hope of seeing Larry Shayne that day.
 
 JOE PELOT KEEPS HIS WORD 271 
 
 " Guess I got to be gittin back," he told his 
 friend the bartender. " No use waitin round 
 here any longer." 
 
 You ain t thinkin of drivin home in this storm, 
 are you?" the bartender asked incredulously. 
 " You ll never make it! " 
 
 " Well, I reckon I can t stay here no longer." 
 
 Joe Pelot knew whereof he spoke. 
 
 " I ain t goin to let you go out in that blizzard 
 without a bracer ! Here ! " . . . and he mixed him 
 a steaming toddy. There was a touch of humanity 
 in this, from the white-aproned man, according to his 
 lights. " Drink her down ! " 
 
 " No, I m on the water wagon," insisted old Joe. 
 
 But, somehow, his hand came up and rested on the 
 bar, some little distance from the glass, while the 
 fragrant vapor curled into his nostrils, awakening a 
 longing that increased as the moments passed. 
 
 By this time Joe s fingers were touching the glass. 
 He could resist no longer. His craving had over 
 come him. 
 
 Next moment he had gulped down half of the still 
 warm mixture ; and then he drained the glass. 
 
 The fiery liquid burned its way down his throat. 
 
 As the bartender watched him, he wondered if the 
 man before him had suddenly gone mad. Joe s eyes
 
 272 DABNEY TODD 
 
 were widening, until they looked insane, and he stared 
 at the empty glass in horror. 
 
 With a terrible revulsion of feeling he had all at 
 once realized that he had been unable to keep his 
 sworn, pledged word of honor, even with God! 
 
 Slowly the fingers that held the frail glass con 
 tracted, until it shivered in a hundred pieces on the 
 floor. Spellbound the bartender watched him pull 
 the heavy mitten over his cut hand; then, before he 
 could prevent, Joe Pelot was outside in his buggy, 
 whipping his horse into the storm. 
 
 A few minutes later he was lost in the clutch of 
 the blizzard. Now his horse plodded on at a walk, 
 through the snowdrifts; and again, in places where 
 the wind had scoured the road clean, he galloped. 
 
 An hour later, they still were going on. Joe me 
 chanically held to the lines, but the horse plodded 
 along, unguided. 
 
 Unseeingly he peered ahead. It began to grow 
 dark. Vaguely he realized that he was lost. Lije s 
 horse, trusting to his equine intuition, kept his head 
 for many miles, but now the storm was overcoming 
 him. 
 
 Joe did not know where he was. Nothing could 
 be seen but the driving snow, as night closed in. 
 
 The warmth of the liquor had evaporated, and he
 
 JOE PELOT KEEPS HIS WORD 273 
 
 had been growing numb for some time. It was not 
 an unpleasant feeling merely a drowsiness that in 
 clined him to lean back under the buggy-top and doze 
 luxuriously. 
 
 The horse stumbled off the road and into a field 
 where the fence was down, and went on and on in 
 aimless patience. 
 
 Joe gave way to the increasing drowsiness; and 
 then came sleep. 
 
 Back in New Canaan, Lije Conklin was worrying 
 about his horse. Joe Pelot ought to have been back 
 long ago if he had only gone as far as the farm. 
 Lije made up his mind to go and see Nance. 
 
 He found Nance as worried over her father s ab 
 sence as he was. 
 
 " No, Lije, he s not here. Why, I didn t even 
 know my father had gone to the farm. Where can 
 he be in all this storm? " 
 
 The girl s face was white, and her eyes became un 
 naturally large with terror. Her father must have 
 met with some accident. Perhaps the horse had 
 stumbled, and Joe had not been able to get him to 
 his feet. Perhaps no, no ! And yet perhaps ? 
 
 It was night now. She must get some one to help 
 her find him. She could not ask Lije. 
 
 Chet ! Yes, he would do it for her !
 
 274 DABNEY TODD 
 
 He asked her no questions. When she had told 
 him that she feared her father was in the storm 
 somewhere on the road to Redburn, he understood 
 what she meant. Without discussion, with no word 
 of blame for Joe, he bent his energies to the task 
 at hand. Never, thought Nance, had he seemed so 
 masterful, so essential to her very existence, so much 
 a man! 
 
 It was not long before he had Diamond, hitched 
 to a light cutter, at her door. Automobiles were 
 useless now. 
 
 Tenderly he wrapped her in a heavy blanket. 
 They did not talk. The girl s face was half covered 
 with a woolen shawl, through which she peered into 
 the gloom, as Chet drove doggedly on. 
 
 The snow had stopped, and the night was far 
 colder than the afternoon had been. Chet knew it 
 must be nearly zero. 
 
 Suddenly the boy pulled up, as he stared into the 
 snowy waste on his right. He had seen something 
 in a fence corner that had awakened his worst 
 fears. 
 
 Placing the lines in Nance s hand, he jumped out 
 of the buggy. 
 
 She saw him plowing his way through the heavy 
 drifts into the field, making his way to the Some-
 
 JOE PELOT KEEPS HIS WORD 275 
 
 thing in the corner. Then she heard him calling: 
 
 "Joe! Joe/" 
 
 No response. 
 
 Nance was out of the buggy herself, now, and was 
 stumbling through the snow. 
 
 "Is he there, Chet?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Not hurt?" she asked in agony. "He s all 
 right, isn t he? Just lost the road, and wait 
 ing" 
 
 " Yes, waiting! " interrupted Chet softly. " I ll 
 get another blanket to put around him. Then I ll 
 lead his horse out of the field, and we can take him 
 home. Don t worry." 
 
 Nance was already on her way to get the blanket. 
 Tenderly she wrapped it around the insensible form 
 of her father, in the buggy. As Chet led the horse 
 to the road, she got in by her father s side and took 
 the lines. 
 
 " I ll drive," she said bravely. " Will you go 
 first?" 
 
 Chet led the way in his sleigh, and so the two 
 rigs went back to the village. 
 
 With the boy s help, she got her father into bed 
 and ministered to him, until he became conscious 
 enough to recognize her.
 
 276 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Nance! " he whispered, so faintly that she had 
 to bend low to catch his words. " Nance ! " 
 
 Doc Rand was there now. He steadied the girl as 
 she spoke. 
 
 u Yes, father? " she sobbed. 
 
 It was another five minutes before he could speak. 
 [The girl wondered if he could go on. 
 
 "I ... come . . . back," he mumbled faintly, 
 "from . . . Redburn . . ." the words were com 
 ing hard " cause ... I couldn t keep my 
 word . . ." 
 
 Nance was limp in Chet s arms. 
 
 ". . . and I ... wanted to ... with . . . 
 Him. . . ." 
 
 Doc Rand felt the body relax, and motioned Chet 
 to take the girl away. 
 
 Joe Pelot had paid the price. Who shall say that 
 he had not won his reward?
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 NEEVEY CHANGES HER MIND 
 
 JOE PELOT S passing brought a new tide in 
 Nance s affairs. Through the years she had be 
 lieved in her father, when hope had all but de 
 serted her, and he had not failed her in the end. 
 The determination and courage that held forth so 
 defiantly in his daughter had come to the surface in 
 him, at his last hour. 
 
 His untimely taking off had made Nance almost 
 forget the news Chet had brought back to her from 
 Unionville. As days passed, and Nance became 
 more reconciled to her father s death, the farm and 
 its future came more and more to occupy her atten 
 tion. 
 
 Brewster had stayed on in New Canaan, and had 
 gone to see her several times. 
 
 Through those devious channels by which news 
 circulates and secrets leak out, New Canaan came 
 to understand his mission there. People gazed in 
 awe at Nance and talked of the wealth she would 
 
 277
 
 278 DABNEY TODD 
 
 have, some day. Village-like, each repeating added 
 to the amount she would receive, until it grew to fabu 
 lous figures. New Canaan, once suspicious of her 
 in poverty, now began to veer round toward her. 
 Her breaking-off of even the superficial friendship 
 she had seemed to show for young Shayne was also 
 interpreted greatly in her favor. Maybe after all, 
 the village thought, the girl had been misjudged. 
 Here, as everywhere in the world, was being demon 
 strated the truth of the old adage : " Money talks." 
 
 The change of feeling toward Nance became every 
 day more apparent. The townsfolk had regarded 
 her superficially, and, since they had not understood 
 her, had decided against her; she had had to fight 
 the narrow-minded prejudices of a small community 
 by sheer goodness of heart and blamelessness of life. 
 Now, that she was coming forth triumphant from the 
 battle, her worth shone all the more brilliantly be 
 cause it had been so obscured by undeserved sus 
 picion. 
 
 The secrecy which had veiled her movements in 
 Redburn had been torn away, and those who had 
 doubted her knew now that the girl had been work 
 ing to support her father. 
 
 Nance, for her part, was too glad to find them 
 at last on pleasant terms with her, to go deeply into
 
 279 
 
 the causes of their former unfriendliness. She had 
 seen something of the world, and knew human na 
 ture. The people of New Canaan were, on the 
 whole, not unlike those of any other community. 
 They followed their leader, as people did every 
 where. 
 
 For Neevey, Dabney s prophecy had come to pass, 
 and she had an uncomfortable feeling about the 
 prejudices she had felt against Nance, now happily 
 shown to have been unwarranted. 
 
 Neevey, true to her word once Nance had proven 
 herself, put her pride behind her, and during the 
 days of the girl s bereavement did all that was in her 
 power to comfort and console her. She now found 
 so much to admire in the girl, that Dabney slyly won 
 dered if whether Neevey, seeing the battle going 
 strongly against her, had not decided to change 
 fronts, determined at any cost to be with the victors. 
 Dabney knew he never would forget the expression 
 on Neevey s face when he told her of his ride with 
 Nance. 
 
 Chet, from afar, looked upon his mother s friend 
 liness for the girl with a happy heart. 
 
 Neevey had just cleared away the supper-dishes 
 one evening, when Nance entered, her cheeks a-glow- 
 ing.
 
 280 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Good evening, Mrs. Todd," said she, as Neevey 
 pushed forward a chair for her. " Is Mr. Todd 
 home?" 
 
 What s happened? " asked Dabney, kindly, from 
 his chair beside the fire. " Got four millionaires 
 who all want to marry you, an you dunno which one 
 to take ? " 
 
 Nance obligingly smiled at Dabney s sally, as she 
 answered: 
 
 " Not exactly, Mr. Todd. It s about the farm. 
 The Iroquois Salt Company has offered to lease it 
 for fifty thousand dollars. That s a great deal of 
 money. To tell you the truth, I can hardly imagine 
 such a sum. Just think ! Fifty thousand dollars ! 
 Why, it all seems like a dream, to me. I just can t 
 make myself realize it s coming to me, me, Nance 
 Pelot. I have to keep pinching myself to make sure 
 I m really and truly awake ! " 
 
 Dabney Todd drew a few puffs through his corn 
 cob, with a serious face. 
 
 " Yes, fifty thousand makes quite a wad, Nance. 
 But you ll have to get more for that farm. After 
 a while, you ll get used to fifty thousand, and a mil 
 lion won t look such a lot to you." 
 
 " Well, what shall I do, Mr. Todd? I told you 
 I wouldn t do anything about disposing of the farm
 
 NEEVEY CHANGES HER MIND 281 
 
 without asking you. It took me a long time to con 
 vince them I positively wouldn t sell the place, and 
 now they ve made me this wonderful offer." 
 
 " It s a sight of money no denyin 1 it. But 
 shucks ! you ain t goin to be needin that all at once. 
 If this here Irokoy Salt Company s willin to give 
 you fifty thousand dollars for the salt rights, they ve 
 went into it far enough to know they can afford it, 
 an a little to spare. You sign that lease, an you 
 might jest as well sell the farm. I wouldn t, if I 
 was you. There s lots of outs about that plan. 
 Far as you re concerned, you re through." 
 
 " You think the farm is very valuable, don t you, 
 Mr. Todd?" 
 
 " Lord alive, yes! Any land folks will offer you 
 fifty thousand dollars for is val able. What you 
 want to do is to lease it on a fair percentage of 
 what it perduces. Make em give you a cooperative 
 contract, that will guarantee you a profit on every 
 ton they take out. Understand me, Nance ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " An fix it so you ll get a bonus of four or five 
 thousand dollars." 
 
 " Five thousand dollars? " 
 
 " Cert nly ! You ve got to have some ready cash 
 to go on, while they re puttin in machinery; an they
 
 2 8z DABNEY TODD 
 
 won t touch it till they get a railroad in here. Five 
 thousand dollars will carry you along in New Canaan 
 for a little while." 
 
 "A little while?" 
 
 Nance s voice trembled. She could not grasp the 
 immensity of the good fortune that seemed to be 
 actually in her hands. 
 
 " There s another thing, Nance," Dabney prof 
 fered. " Before you sign any such contract, you let 
 me take it down to Redburn. I don t want to git 
 cheated out of the fun o settin in a big game like 
 this." 
 
 For nearly half an hour Dabney went over the 
 details of the arrangement he advised Nance to 
 make. As he talked, the girl realized more than 
 ever how shrewd and far-seeing was this good-hu 
 mored, often careless-seeming, elderly man. Living 
 in a small village, he had maintained a steady and 
 broad outlook on life, supplementing the wisdom 
 thus gained by much reading. 
 
 Even Neevey, while professing to make light of 
 her husband s business acumen and general knowl 
 edge of affairs, glanced at Kim more than once with 
 pride. 
 
 Dabney knew it might be some time before Nance 
 received her money, and that the surest way to close
 
 NEEVEY CHANGES HER MIND 283 
 
 the deal would be to place her beyond any pressing 
 need. 
 
 As Nance rose to leave, he said: 
 
 " In the meantime, while you re waitin , I ll auc 
 tion off for you what little stuff they s left around 
 your paw s shop. It ll bring you in enough to keep 
 you goin a couple of months or more, an if you 
 ain t fixed up then, maybe I could be induced to loan 
 you a little money on that farm. I ain t promisin 
 you nothin , Nance, but if you want to try me an see, 
 there won t be no harm done." 
 
 The last was said with a humorous twinkle in the 
 gray eyes. 
 
 Neevey opened the door for Nance, and closed it 
 again when she found it was snowing. 
 
 " Can t let you go out that way, Nance. Wait 
 till I git you a wrap." 
 
 When she returned it was with her favorite shawl, 
 which she placed around the girl. Nance gazed at 
 it admiringly. 
 
 "A real Paisley shawl! I can t take this, Mrs. 
 Todd," she pleaded. 
 
 " Now don t you try goin ag in me," Neevey 
 retorted. " I can t have you runnin around barkin 
 your head off." 
 
 Dabney pretended to be busy filling his pipe. But
 
 284 DABNEY TODD 
 
 he did it only so that he could bend his head to hide 
 his gratified smile. He knew now that Neevey had 
 taken Nance Pelot to her heart. The offer of the 
 Paisley shawl had proved that, to the uttermost.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 
 
 SEVERAL days later bills announcing a sale 
 by auction of the tools, forge, and other 
 contents of Joe Pelot s blacksmith shop, ap 
 peared in Link Watkins store and were scattered 
 about the surrounding country. 
 
 When the day of the sale arrived, Nance pre 
 pared the sandwiches and coffee, which, according 
 to custom, would be served at noon free to all who 
 came. To see that nobody was overlooked, Lena 
 Klumm came early to Nance s home that morning, 
 and the two had everything ready in ample time. 
 
 Dabney took charge at the shop, and lighted a 
 fire on the forge himself, so that the place should be 
 comfortable. Benny Zepp was placed at the bel 
 lows, and admonished to blow up the fire whenever it 
 seemed to be going down. 
 
 " It ought to be easy for you, Benny," said Dab 
 ney. " You re used to blowin the organ bellows, 
 
 285
 
 286 DABNEY TODD 
 
 down to the church, an this is about the same thing. 
 When the sale s over, I ll give you a quarter." 
 
 Benny grinned a freckled and gap-toothed grin, 
 and announced himself well pleased with the terms, 
 even though he was not listed as " Assistant Auc 
 tioneer." 
 
 There were other things to be sold besides the 
 contents of the blacksmith shop. Several persons in 
 and near New Canaan who had odds and ends to 
 dispose of, not numerous or valuable enough to 
 warrant a separate auction, brought them here, to 
 be knocked down by the auctioneer at the regular 
 percentage. There was a grandfather s clock, a 
 spinning-wheel, a home-made cradle, some chairs, 
 a wheelbarrow, an ancient incubator and other 
 " duffle," all piled up in one corner of the shop. 
 
 By ten o clock, when the sale was advertised to 
 begin, more than a hundred men, and a few women, 
 had congregated in and around the shop. Some of 
 the rigs of those from out of town were in neigh 
 boring barns, while others the horses well blan 
 keted were strung along the road. 
 
 Although the season was early winter, with snow 
 everywhere, it was not very cold, and the bright sun 
 shine made it a cheerful scene. 
 
 Dabney Todd got up on a heavy box behind the
 
 DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 287 
 
 anvil, so that he was elevated about a foot above 
 the others. Amos was by his side to act as clerk, 
 and two or three young men, volunteers, brought 
 forward such small things as could be carried when 
 Dabney asked for them. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen," he began, " all the contents 
 of this shop are to be sold without reserve, and every 
 body is free to bid." 
 
 " I reckon the bids air about the only things as 
 is free, ain t they, Dab? " grinned Spencer Howe. 
 
 " No," flashed back Dabney. " There ll be a free 
 lunch, an you ll git a good feed that some one else 
 will pay for. That had oughta attract you! " 
 
 The laugh at Deacon Howe s expense set the pro 
 ceedings off in the good humor that meant lively 
 bidding. Dabney knew that a joke to start with was 
 calculated to arouse the sporting spirit that would 
 enable him to get good prices. 
 
 " The first thing to be sold, gentlemen, is the 
 forge. Everythin goes with it fire-box, water 
 tank, chimbley, shovels, pokers, bellows an boy. 
 I won t let you pay for the boy. He ll be throwed 
 in. Blow up the fire, Benny, and let em see how 
 well the bellows work." 
 
 Benny pumped away at the bellows, and the fire 
 roared up the chimney, sending a comfortable red
 
 288 DABNEY TODD 
 
 glare over the laughing faces of the men crowded 
 around the auctioneer, all dominated by what is prob 
 ably one of the strongest of human emotions the 
 hope of getting something for nothing. 
 
 " There you are, gentlemen ! The fire s as clear 
 as a trout stream and as steady at Tite Showell s 
 corncob pipe an a dummed sight more useful." 
 
 " I dunno bout that," grumbled Titus. " You 
 don t know everything, Dabney ! " 
 
 " No. If I did, I d know why you don t start 
 biddin on this splendid forge. Come on! It s got 
 to be sold. Who s goin to start before Benny 
 Zepp drops dead? Did I hear you say fifty dollars, 
 PaulCuddeback?" 
 
 " No, you didn t! " growled Paul. " What do I 
 want bellerses for? " 
 
 Your wife might use em to blow you out o bed 
 in the mornin , so that you d do the milkin , stid of 
 her," replied Dabney. 
 
 " Five dollars ! " bid Mart Doover, the older. 
 
 " Rediculous bids are not considered," was 
 Dabney s rebuke. " Lemme hear a decent offer. 
 That s all I want." 
 
 " Ten dollars ! " came from a farmer in the back 
 ground. 
 
 " Ten dollars ! Almost as bad as five. But I ll
 
 DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 289 
 
 take that bid. Ten dollars ten dollars ten dol 
 fifteen fifteen fifteen dollars fifteen 
 twenty twenty twenty twenty-two two 
 two twenty-three three ! " 
 
 Dabney stopped, and picking up a hammer from 
 the anvil, waved it belligerently. 
 
 " Blame me if this ain t the worst crowd I ever 
 had dealin s with! Why, this forge cost two hun 
 dred dollars when it was new! " 
 
 Yes, when it was new! " sarcastically from Tite 
 Showell. 
 
 Yes, an that s a dummed sight more than you 
 was wuth when you was new, Titus," replied Dabney. 
 " No one would have gave two cents for you! " 
 
 This brought out a howl of derisive laughter, in 
 the midst of which Dabney roared : 
 
 " Twenty-five I am bid. Who said thirty? 
 Thirty it should be thirty! See it sell! See it 
 sell ! Come on, somebody ! " 
 
 "Thirty!" shouted a man from Redburn, a 
 blacksmith. 
 
 This bid was raised by a rival blacksmith from 
 
 
 
 Twelve Corners, and at last the forge was knocked 
 down for forty-nine dollars. Dabney admitted aft 
 erward, to Nance Pelot, that it was more than he 
 had expected, because the forge, like everything else
 
 2 po DABNEY TODD 
 
 in the shop, had been second-hand when Joe had 
 bought it. 
 
 He had just finished selling a few small lots when 
 Nance and Lena Klumm, accompanied by Gabe 
 Showell and Van Cuddeback, appeared in the door 
 way, carrying pails of hot coffee and baskets of 
 sandwiches. 
 
 "It s twelve o clock, gentlemen," announced Dab- 
 ney. " The sale will begin again at one. Gabe 
 Showell, put that can of coffee ag in the fire over 
 there, to keep warm. Good mornin , Nance ! We 
 are all glad to see you. Most on us is hungry, too." 
 
 He went home to get his own dinner, while the 
 company fell upon the coffee and sandwiches with a 
 will. Amid much chaffing and rough-and-ready in 
 terchange of rural witticisms, the lunch was con 
 sumed down to the ultimate crumb for was it not 
 gratis? And free lunch, whether at country auction 
 or in a city bar-room, is always a center of attraction. 
 
 Nance had gathered up the baskets and pails, after 
 the meal, and was on her way home with Lena 
 Klumm, when she met Dabney going back to the 
 shop. 
 
 " It looks as if we d git more n two hundred dol 
 lars out of the sale, Nance," he said. " I ve got 
 only a few more things to sell, an the folks will bid
 
 DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 291 
 
 better, now they ve had lunch. They allers do. 
 They s nothin more good-natured than a full stum- 
 mick." 
 
 Pipes were going when Dabney mounted his box 
 and smiled at the crowd. 
 
 " That s right, men! Smoke up! But don t for- 
 git that this here anvil in front o me is one o the 
 old-fashioned kind, made when men knew what an 
 vils was, an when they put only the best metal 
 in em. Why, this anvil knows its business so well 
 you don t have to think how you re goin to fix up a 
 shoe on it. Jest leave it to the anvil. It s a jim- 
 slicker, I m tellin ye. Who s the lucky man as is 
 goin to git it? They s only one of em, remember. 
 I could sell twenty if I had em. But you ll have to 
 bid ag in each other for this. . . . What s that? 
 Two dollars?" 
 
 He shrieked the last two words, with a horrified 
 expression on his ruddy face and a flash in his 
 eyes. 
 
 " Deacon Howe, I don t know how you can look 
 me in the face, as a ree-ligious man, an bid two dol 
 lars for an anvil like this. Say! Ain t you afeerd 
 somethin will happen to you? " 
 
 Two dollars! " repeated Spencer Howe, stolidly. 
 
 "Very well!" came from Dabney, in sorrowful
 
 292 DABNEY TODD 
 
 accents. " Two dollars I m bid. I m sure you men 
 won t allow such a sin to be perpetrated before you. 
 Besides, you all want this splendid anvil. Go on! 
 Two dollars bid two dollars two dollars! 
 Cheaper n a broom! See it sell! I ve a notion to 
 bid it in myself. An I would if I didn t have all I 
 want. Three dollars four four four ! Do 
 I hear five five five ? Four dollars is all I m 
 gittin ! But it s gotta be sold. Four dollars 
 four four! " 
 
 His keen eyes swept the faces around him. Then 
 he brought the hammer down on the anvil with a 
 savage ring, and shouted: 
 
 " Sold for four dollars to Deacon Howe ! 
 What s the next lot, Amos? " 
 
 In another half hour Dabney had cleaned up the 
 blacksmith shop, and begun on the articles sent in 
 by outside people. 
 
 A man with black eyes and beard, who had come 
 from Redburn, edged to the front as an old mahog 
 any table, every leg loose and the drawer falling 
 crazily out of place, was held up by Amos. He was 
 a furniture dealer, a Hebraic friend of the shyster 
 lawyer, " Jewfish " Rosenblatt, who had come out 
 to the sale to look for antiques. He shrugged his 
 shoulders contemptuously at the table, and would
 
 DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 293 
 
 have turned up his nose if it had been that kind of 
 nose. But he could not prevent his sharp eyes 
 gleaming covetously as they fell on the treasure 
 which, if he could only get his hands on it, would net 
 him a fine profit. 
 
 " Here s a table er in good condition, solid 
 mahogany," opened Dabney, looking the table over 
 doubtfully. " It s jest the thing to have by your 
 bed if you re sick an it would look well in the settin - 
 room if it was oiled up a little." 
 
 " The legs is crooked," commented Paul Cudde- 
 back. 
 
 " Well, so s yours, Paul. But you ain t no worse 
 on that account," retorted Dabney. " These here 
 legs can easy be fixed. I dunno bout your n. Jest 
 a pot o glue for the legs an a couple wire nails for 
 the drawer, an the table s as good as new. What 
 will you gimme for it? " 
 
 " Fifty cents ! " grunted Link Watkins. 
 
 " Fifty cents ! " repeated Dabney, stentoriously. 
 " Fifty cents for this here table. Make it seventy- 
 five! Do I hear seventy-five? Ah! Mr. Isaacs," 
 to the man with the black eyes and Yiddish nose. 
 " You bid seventy-five ! Seventy-five for the table. 
 Any more? " 
 
 There was silence, and a gratified grin crept over
 
 294 DABNEY TODD 
 
 the seamed face of the bidder, as he fumbled in his 
 pocket for the seventy-five cents, when another voice 
 arose : 
 
 "One dollar!" 
 
 Isaacs turned swiftly. He recognized the voice as 
 that of a rival dealer, who knew antiques as well as 
 himself. 
 
 " Two dollars! " bawled Isaacs. 
 "Three!" 
 "Four!" 
 "Five!" 
 "Ten!" 
 
 Dabney Todd was delighted, although he tried to 
 hide his satisfaction by shouting sternly : 
 
 " This table is wuth two hundred dollars, if it s 
 wuth a cent. They s people in New York would 
 give a thousand dollars for sech a rare antique as this. 
 An I m bid only ten dollars ! " 
 
 It was finally knocked down to Isaacs rival for 
 twenty-one dollars, and Dabney, with a hopeful smile, 
 ordered Amos to get somebody to help him bring out 
 " that there val able grandfather s clock." 
 
 But the clock was only an imitation antique, and 
 Isaacs bid it in for what Dabney protested was less 
 than the pendulum was worth. 
 
 The other things went at fair prices, according to
 
 DABNEY TODD, AUCTIONEER 295 
 
 Dabney s estimate, until he came to the last lot a 
 huddle of old books in a clothes-basket. 
 
 " Now, here s some books ! " announced Dabney, 
 picking up one of the volumes, which proved to be an 
 old annual report of the State Board of Health. 
 " They re all good books. I dunno jest what they re 
 all about, but they re mighty fine readin for winter 
 nights. They s twenty or more, and they must weigh 
 all of fifteen pounds. What am I bid for these here 
 books? They all gotta be sold, an they all go 
 together in one lot. Who wants these here books? 
 Fifteen or sixteen pounds of em, an some on em has 
 picters all through." 
 
 " Twenty-five cents ! " squeaked Tite Showell. 
 
 " Seventy-five! " bid Lije Conklin. 
 
 a One dollar ! " said Hazel Devine, who had just 
 arrived, after school. " But I should like to know 
 what they are. Are they works one could take 
 into the home ? In purchasing literature, one should 
 always be careful to acquire only that which is in 
 structive to the intellect and uplifting to the spirit." 
 
 " I can t tell you that, Hazel, cause I don t know," 
 replied Dabney. " But some on em is gilt-edged, 
 an I think there s po try in one or two." 
 
 There was no more bidding, and the books became 
 the property of Hazel Devine for a dollar.
 
 296 DABNEY TODD 
 
 " One buys such trash at these auctions, you know 
 really," she remarked to Nona Haynes. " At all 
 events, I felt it my duty to purchase them, in the sa 
 cred name of literature."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE DOUBLE CROSS 
 
 A GREAT drama was being enacted in Nance 
 Pelot s little home that afternoon. Like the 
 third act of a gripping play, the stage was set 
 for a powerful climax. 
 
 Brewster was there, ready to sign a contract with 
 Nance that guaranteed all Dabney had demanded 
 for her. At last the girl was face to face with actual 
 wealth, and her manner showed the tension she was 
 under. After a life of grinding poverty, worry and 
 trouble, of labor, scrimping and petty calculations, 
 the sudden turn of fortune now at hand all but 
 stunned her. 
 
 Dabney, glowing with pride for his part in the busi 
 ness, and very proud of the girl by his side, saw her 
 at last sailing into quiet waters. 
 
 Brewster and Nance listened very gravely as he 
 read the agreement over. 
 
 Then, as he finished, and arose to call Neevey to 
 
 witness the signing of it, came an interruption, as 
 
 297
 
 298 DABNEY TODD 
 
 melodramatic as the entrance of the villain in a play. 
 It could not have been more inopportune. 
 
 Dabney slid back into his seat, stunned, his eyes 
 staring, at sight of Larry Shayne striding toward 
 him. 
 
 " Well! " cried he. " What do you want? " 
 
 The excitement shining in Shayne s face told that 
 he must have hurried; and the relief in his eyes, as he 
 saw the contract lying before Brewster, still unsigned, 
 was only too obvious. 
 
 For weeks past he had been brooding over the 
 fiasco Martin had made of his plans. 
 
 Larry had been close to murder the day Martin 
 had come back to him, with his furtive, bloodshot eyes 
 and battered face. 
 
 The money was gone and they had nothing to show 
 for it. 
 
 Mart had made up his mind that Larry should 
 never see it again. 
 
 Five hundred dollars was a gigantic sum for him, 
 and he knew that it would take him far from Red- 
 burn and New Canaan. Right then, distance was an 
 absorbing topic in Mart s mind. He was ready to 
 kill, if necessary, to keep that money, and his clumsy 
 brain had struggled for hours before it had hit upon 
 a story that would disarm Larry Shayne.
 
 THE DOUBLE CROSS 299 
 
 This determined on, he had trusted to his natural 
 stubbornness to stick to it, and all that Larry had 
 been able to get out of him was that Joe had taken 
 the money and signed the note. Then, so he assever 
 ated, before he had been able to get away, Chet Todd 
 had rushed in upon him. Afraid to be caught with 
 the evidence, and with a long term in jail staring him 
 in the face, Doover declared he had thrown the note 
 into the fire. 
 
 His appearance and the graphic way he had de 
 scribed the fight had made his story ring true and 
 what little cunning Martin possessed had led him to 
 dwell upon Nance, standing there in the doorway, as 
 he had picked himself up. 
 
 Once out of any great danger from Larry s ven 
 geance for having bungled the scheme, Doover had 
 dropped out of sight and had left town while the 
 leaving was good. The baffled anger of Larry 
 Shayne had constantly increased as the weeks had 
 passed, and he had turned over in his mind scheme 
 after scheme to get some return for his money. 
 
 Joe Pelot s death had gone a long way toward giv 
 ing him some definite mode of attack. Time enough 
 had passed for Chet and Nance to have acted, if 
 they had had anything on him, and now Joe s death 
 had left him free to do as he pleased.
 
 300 DABNEY TODD 
 
 He wondered what was to prevent him from pro 
 ducing a note with Joe s signature scrawled across 
 it. The manner of obtaining the original need not 
 be brought in now, and who was there to question, if 
 it were. 
 
 Sitting in his room, night after night, he copied the 
 name " Joseph Pelot " from an old I O U given for 
 drinks over the bar. 
 
 His indecision would never have carried him any 
 where had not the news that Nance Pelot was going 
 to receive her money that afternoon, come to him 
 fresh on the heels of another bitter tilt with his 
 father. 
 
 In a fit of anger he took the plunge, and, getting 
 into his car, burned up the miles between Redburn 
 and New Canaan, wondering if he could get there in 
 time to block the deal. 
 
 He knew Brewster well enough to understand that 
 he would not close the business with a claim of any 
 kind hanging over the farm, which might mean years 
 of litigation afterward. If the money had been 
 turned over to Nance, and the contract consummated, 
 it would be an easy matter for her to return his five 
 hundred. But he wanted more than that. To hurt 
 Nance, and square his account with Chet Todd, were 
 the principal motives that now led him on.
 
 THE DOUBLE CROSS 
 
 The amazement his advent caused was a sop to his 
 vanity. 
 
 He nodded knowingly to Brewster. 
 
 " Got here just in time, I guess," he said, ex 
 citedly. " I reckon when I get through with my lit 
 tle speech, you won t be half so keen about signing 
 your name to that bit of paper." 
 
 " Where do you come in on this? " Brewster asked, 
 defiantly. 
 
 " That s what we all would like to know, Mr. 
 Brewster," said Nance. 
 
 " This creature has been hounding me, about my 
 farm, for almost a year. And now he has the ef 
 frontery to come here ! " 
 
 " You want to go easy with your names," Shayne 
 blurted out. " I ve got a little document that s go 
 ing to surprise you." 
 
 And he held the forged note up to view. 
 
 " Here, Brewster ! You know a bona fide note 
 when you see it. Listen to this ! " 
 
 And he read it aloud. 
 
 " It s dated, too September twentieth," he 
 pointed. " And it s legally witnessed. Now before 
 this farm is sold, I want my money. The note s 
 overdue, and if I can t get the money, I m going to 
 sit down on this lease until I get a look in. Now,
 
 302 DABNEY TODD 
 
 what are you going to do about it? " And with an 
 ugly grin he peered at Nance. 
 
 Dabney and Brewster turned, to her inquiringly. 
 
 " Why, my father never had five hundred dol 
 lars! " cried she. " There hasn t been a single time 
 in the last two years when he s had that amount of 
 money. It would have been a fortune, for him. If 
 he d had it, I most certainly would have known about 
 it, and he never said a single word to me, in the mat 
 ter." 
 
 Happiness had seemed so near; and now this man, 
 who had done so much to make her miserable, was 
 snatching it out of her very hands ! Her good for 
 tune had been too great. She knew she should not 
 have counted on it so certainly. Its loss would now 
 be more than she could bear. 
 
 She turned to Dabney; but that sage philosopher, 
 for once, was silent. 
 
 You know your father s signature when you see 
 it. Does this look like it? " cried Shayne, triumph 
 antly. 
 
 He thrust the note before her eyes. All Nance 
 could do was to answer : " Yes." 
 
 Why, Brewster," Shayne continued, " I loaned 
 Joe Pelot this money, because I liked his girl, and be 
 cause I wanted to stay close to this farm for you. I
 
 THE DOUBLE CROSS 303 
 
 ain t forgetting that you kidded me into believing 
 you wanted it for a country club. Country club, 
 hell ! But you got to see me, now." 
 
 Brewster turned despairingly to Nance. 
 
 " I guess he s right, Miss Pelot. I don t feel like 
 going ahead, with the likelihood of a lot of litigation 
 staring us in the face." 
 
 " You mean," she cried, " that you are going to 
 take back your offer? " 
 
 " I m afraid I ll have to at least, until this note 
 is taken care of. I don t want you to feel badly 
 about this man s statement that we tried to buy the 
 farm in as a site for a country club. That s busi 
 ness." 
 
 Nance saw her world falling in on her. Were 
 there no such things as honesty and truth and 
 righteousness in it? 
 
 Chet had been engaged to drive Brewster over to 
 Redburn, as soon as the business relative to the farm 
 had been put through; and now he arrived in his big 
 gest car. When Larry Shayne saw him coming, it 
 was the happiest moment of his life. At last they 
 two were going to be face to face. Larry wanted 
 to see him help the girl now, if he could. 
 
 Chet realized in a glance that something had gone 
 wrong. Nance s pale and worried look, Dabney s
 
 3 o 4 DABNEY TODD 
 
 glumness, and the presence of Larry Shayne, all spoke 
 eloquently of trouble. 
 
 Cock-sure as Shayne was, he weakened under the 
 glint in Chet s eyes. For, though Chet addressed 
 himself to all of them, it was at Larry Shayne he 
 stared. 
 
 Quickly Nance told him Shayne s mission, clinging 
 to the arm that tightened like steel springs as she 
 went on. 
 
 Dabney saw the red creeping into Chet s eyes, and 
 made as though to hold him in check. 
 
 "For my sake, Chet!" Nance begged. "Not 
 here ! He isn t worth it ! " 
 
 In spite of them, Chet, because of his great 
 strength, put them aside and confronted Shayne. 
 
 " Let s see that note ! " he demanded. 
 
 Shayne held back. He was not going to risk hav 
 ing it in any one s hands but his own. 
 
 These people have seen it," he retorted. 
 " Nance admits it s her father s signature. You 
 can t bully me into passing it over for your inspec 
 tion." 
 
 " I give you fair warning you d better let me see 
 it," came the menacing answer. 
 
 Shayne felt Chet s hand on his arm; his tortured 
 flesh cringed under the grip of those mighty fingers.
 
 THE DOUBLE CROSS 305 
 
 Slowly they closed, until the pain made Larry 
 wince. 
 
 " I won t ask you again," Chet growled. Larry 
 knew the bones of his arm were breaking. Then, 
 and not until then, did he reach for the note. 
 
 Once Chet had it, he carefully folded it away in 
 his wallet with rage-distorted face. Shayne watched 
 him. 
 
 " Now, you hound, listen to me ! " 
 
 Chet s voice was that of a man not to be trifled 
 with. 
 
 " You ve overplayed the game for once. When 
 thieves fall out, some one gets burned, and you re in 
 for the singeing of your life. I m going to put that 
 note in a safe deposit box, and laugh at you every 
 time I see you. You get me, I guess? " 
 
 Larry grimaced with rage and hate, but found no 
 answer. 
 
 Then Chet spoke to them all. 
 
 " Folks," said he, " I m going to tell you some 
 thing that s caused my mother a lot of worry, and if 
 it gets out it will make Link Watkins hate himself." 
 
 Carefully he recounted the events of that night in 
 Nance s kitchen. 
 
 " And when it was all over," he concluded, " I 
 took the paper I d seen Joe signing, out of Mart s
 
 3 o6 DABNEY TODD 
 
 pocket. It was a twin to the one you saw just now. 
 Nance had troubles enough of her own, and I didn t 
 want her to know. I must have stood there ten min 
 utes before I decided what to do. Then I stuffed 
 the bills back in Martin s clothes, and, while he still 
 lay on the floor, I tore up that note piece by piece, 
 and dropped the pieces in the fire." 
 
 Larry Shayne s white-livered face burned crimson. 
 A half-wit like Mart Doover had beaten him at his 
 own game ! The thought was gall and wormwood 
 to his nature which, easily tolerating any form of 
 corruption, could not for one instant bear defeat. 
 
 " Am I telling the truth, Nance, as far as you 
 know?" Chet asked. She confirmed him. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Brewster," cried Chet, passionately, 
 " this man s got no more claim on that farm than I 
 have!" 
 
 This is forgery! " Brewster ejaculated. " He s 
 liable, under the law, for a ten-year sentence. Do 
 you realize that? " Brewster was mad all the way 
 through. " We can t let him leave here without an 
 officer. I don t care who he is, or what he is. He s 
 broken the law, and has got to pay for it." 
 
 " Say, Mr. Brewster," put in Chet, " you let me 
 take the law into my own hands, this once. He s 
 muzzled himself better than I could have done, if I d
 
 THE DOUBLE CROSS 307 
 
 tried all my life. In about two minutes he s going to 
 be beating it back to Redburn and the old he-wolf 
 who begot him. They ain t a bite left in his whole 
 system." 
 
 Chet had his way, and Larry Shayne passed out. 
 New Canaan had become too warm for him. 
 
 Chet being present, there was no need of calling 
 his mother, and the contracts were quickly signed. 
 
 " Better hurry up, Mr. Brewster," Chet laughed, 
 as Nance smiled through misty eyes. " We haven t 
 got much time, and there s a long, cold road ahead of 
 us. Come on! "
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 SANCTUARY 
 
 SEVERAL days after Larry Shayne had said 
 his farewell to New Canaan, Blake, watching 
 Nance and Chet walking home from church, 
 felt a great vacancy in his own heart because he had 
 been denied the happiness he knew was so surely in 
 store for them. 
 
 Nance Pelot was rich now, but there was little dan 
 ger it would make any great difference in her. The 
 Rev. Mr. Blake remembered the day, so long past, 
 when he had sat in her cozy little parlor and won 
 dered what life would bring her. The world was un 
 folding now, and the silent man watching her was 
 strangely happy in her good fortune. 
 
 It was a time of fulfillment for Nance and Chet. 
 The evening before, Chet had come upon her staad- 
 ing alone before the fire. Words had grown need 
 less now. Silently Chet had taken her in his arms, 
 crushed her to him and kissed her willing lips, even as 
 
 308
 
 TOGETHER THEY SAT DOWN, HAND IN HAND BEFORE THE 
 FIREPLACE, WATCHING THE SPTTTERING FLAME. SYMBOL < >F 
 THE HOME-LIFE AND THE RACE-LIFE FROM ALL THE ACES 
 PAST AND TO ALL THE AGES STILL TO COME.
 
 SANCTUARY 309 
 
 she had dreamed he would. It was the beginning of 
 the world for them. And Nance found it almost im 
 possible to open her eyes, so wonderful was the land 
 of enchantment spread out before her. 
 
 And he big, loving boy that he was caressed 
 her hair and eyes, and felt her warm young body 
 close to his. 
 
 Together they sat down, hand in hand, before the 
 fireplace, watching the sputtering flame, symbol of the 
 home-life and the race-life from all the ages past and 
 to all the ages still to come. 
 
 Presently she spoke to him, her voice strangely 
 tremulous. 
 
 " Chet! " she whispered, " you ll always love me, 
 won t you? Always? Always?" 
 
 Chet s strong arm, round her, and his cheek 
 against hers, gave her all the answer she needed. 
 Not eloquent in words was Chet; his was the larger 
 eloquence of deeds. 
 
 " We ve got the long straight road ahead of us, 
 dear, and we ll be home soon; but not here! " said 
 Nance, at last. " I want to start all over again 
 somewhere. There would be too many memories in 
 this little place and that would not be our memories. 
 Where it will be doesn t matter, but we ll make it a 
 little home of real happiness, won t we, Chet? "
 
 3 io DABNEY TODD 
 
 " Yes," he replied, " and we ll build our own lit 
 tle home. When the snow goes I ll take you up on 
 Storm King, where I used to lie in the grass and 
 dream of you. You can see the smoke curlin out of 
 the chimneys from there, and when the sun goes 
 down, you can see it long after it s said good-night to 
 folks down here. There s birds and wild flowers, 
 too. Somehow everythin seems glad to be alive up 
 there!" 
 
 And so it was decided, and early spring found the 
 little home taking shape. The robins and bluebirds 
 watched, with startled eyes, the strangers who had 
 come to their abode. 
 
 By this time Brewster was already making prog 
 ress at the farm, and gangs of men were breaking 
 ground for the railroad that now came curling up 
 from the south. 
 
 Dabney and Neevy found a great solace in each 
 other, these days. The little romance that was un 
 folding robbed them only to enrich them; and, for 
 the first time in years, the old man found no work to 
 take him away in the evening. 
 
 It was good to have brought up a son and a daugh 
 ter like Nance and Chet. The trials and hardships 
 seemed so worth while now !
 
 SANCTUARY 311 
 
 " Saw Cash Bailey to-day, mother," Dabney con 
 fided to Neevey, one day. 
 
 "No!" 
 
 " Yes ! Cash says he furnishes homes as easy as 
 he does advice, an he s on hand to git the order of his 
 life." 
 
 " Well, rememberin some things, I guess he s sure 
 goin to git it," answered his mother, her eyes glisten 
 ing with tears of happiness behind her gold-bowed 
 spectacles, as she took her big boy in her arms and 
 gave him a kiss that was a benediction and a prayer. 
 
 THE END
 
 THE 
 
 AOTflTE HOUSE 
 Sfl< FFANCISCC 
 
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