" She blushed scarlet, took the rosebud from her bosom 
 and pinned it on his coat." 
 
 [Page 246] 
 
THE SINS OF 
 THE FATHER 
 
 A ROMANCE OF THE SOUTH 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS DIXON 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 THE LEOPARD S SPOTS, THE CLANSMAN, 
 COMRADES, THE ROOT OF EVIL, ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 JOHN CASSEL 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PUBLISHERS :: :: NEW YORK 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY 
 THOMAS DIXON 
 
 All rights reserved, including that of translation into 
 foreign languages, including the Scandinavian. 
 
 Published March, I M*. ;/ J V; ".*% I 
 
 Printed in th United States of America. 
 
TO 
 THE MEMORY OF 
 
 RANDOLPH SHOTWELL 
 
 OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 SOLDIER, EDITOR, CLANSMAN 
 
 PATRIOT 
 
 91S7S5 
 
TO THE READER 
 
 I wish it understood that I have not used in 
 this novel the private life of Captain Randolph 
 Shotwell, to whom this book is dedicated. I 
 have drawn the character of my central figure 
 from the authentic personal history of Major 
 Daniel Norton himself, a distinguished citizen 
 of the far South, with whom I was intimately 
 acquainted for many years. 
 
 THOMAS DIXON. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 MARCH 8. 1012 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 BOOK I SIN 
 
 CHAFTEB *AGK 
 
 I. THE WOMAN IN YELLOW . ., ., ,. 3 
 
 II. CLEO ENTERS . . . r 2G 
 
 III. A BEAST AWAKES .... . . . ... 39 
 
 IV. THE ARREST . . . . . . 46 
 V. THE RESCUE ..., . - 58 
 
 VI. A TRAITOR S RUSE . . * . . .. 71 
 
 VII. THE IRONY OF FATE . . . . 1 78 
 
 VIII. A NEW WEAPON . . . . . 85 
 
 IX. THE WORDS THAT COST , . *, , ; * 93 
 
 X. MAN TO MAN . . . . * .. 98 
 
 XI. THE UNBIDDEN GUEST ,, . , f . ^ 109 
 
 XII. THE JUDGMENT BAR . . , . . 116 
 
 XIII. AN OLD STORY . . . . r ; r [Tjj 13 
 
 XIV. THE FIGHT FOR LIFE f . ; T 139 
 
 XV. CLEO S SILENCE , ... , ,. 1^2 
 
 XVI. THE LARGER VISION . , .. . , n ,. ^ . 145 
 
 XVII. THE OPAL GATES t * . ^ * >- 158 
 
 XVIII. QUESTIONS . . ^, :i , I . ^ 163 
 
 XIX. CLEO S CRY . . . .^ ^ , T 171 
 
 XX. THE BLOW FALLS n . . . . 9 . .... , .. f ^ v ? !74 
 
 XXI. THE CALL OF THE BLOOD . . * .182 
 
 BOOK II ATONEMENT 
 
 I. THE NEW LIFE PURPOSE .... 195 
 
 II. A MODERN SCALAWAG . . , . 199 
 ix 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 III. His HOUSE IN ORDER 
 
 IV. THE MAN OF THE HOUR 
 V. A WOMAN SCORNED . 
 
 VI. AN OLD COMEDY 
 VII. TRAPPED . . 
 VIII. BEHIND THE BARS . 
 IX. ANDY S DILEMMA 
 X. THE BEST LAID PLANS 
 XI. A RECONNOITRE 
 XII. THE FIRST WHISPER . 
 XIII. ANDY S PROPOSAL 
 XIV. THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 XV. A DISCOVERY . 
 XVI. THE CHALLENGE 
 XVII. A SKIRMISH . 
 XVIII. LOVE LAUGHS . 
 XIX. "FIGHT IT OUT!" . 
 
 XX. ANDY FIGHTS . 
 XXI. THE SECOND BLOW . 
 XXII. THE TEST OF LOVE . 
 
 XXIII. THE PARTING . 
 
 XXIV. FATHER AND SON 
 XXV. THE ONE CHANCE . 
 
 XXVI. BETWEEN Two FIRES. 
 XXVII. A SURPRISE 
 XXVIII. VIA DOLOROSA . 
 
 XXIX. THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 XXX. THE MILLS OF GOD . 
 XXXI. SIN FULL GROWN . 
 XXXII. CONFESSION . . 
 XXXIII. HEALING . 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Book flDne %fn 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 THE young editor of The Daily Eagle and Phoenix 
 straightened his tall figure from the pile of papers that 
 smothered his desk, glanced at his foreman who stood 
 waiting, and spoke in the quiet drawl he always used 
 when excited: 
 
 "Just a moment til I read this over " 
 
 The foreman nodded. 
 
 He scanned the scrawled pencil manuscript twice and 
 handed it up without changing a letter : 
 
 "Set the title in heavy black-faced caps black the 
 blackest you ve got." 
 
 He read the title over again musingly, his strong 
 mouth closing with a snap at its finish: 
 
 THE BLACK LEAGUE AND THE KU KLUX KLAN 
 DOWN WITH ALL SECRET SOCIETIES 
 
 The foreman took the manuscript with a laugh : 
 
 "You ve certainly got em guessing, major " 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "Everybody. We ve all been thinking until these 
 editorials began that you were a leader of the Klan." 
 
 3 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 A smile played about the corners of the deep-set 
 brown eyes as he swung carelessly back to his desk 
 and waved the printer to his task with a friendly sweep 
 of his long arm: 
 
 "Let em think again!" 
 
 A shout in the Court House Square across the nar 
 row street caused him to lift his head with a frown : 
 
 "Salesday of course the first Monday doomsday 
 for the conquered South God, the horror of it all!" 
 
 He laid his pencil down, walked to the window and 
 looked out on the crowd of slouching loafers as they 
 gathered around the auctioneer s block. The negroes 
 outnumbered the whites two to one. 
 
 A greasy, loud-mouthed negro, as black as ink, was 
 the auctioneer. 
 
 "Well, gemmen an feller citizens," he began pomp 
 ously, "de fust piece er property I got ter sell hain t 
 no property tall hit s dese po folks fum de County 
 Po House. Fetch em up agin de wall so de bidders 
 can see em " 
 
 He paused and a black court attendant led out and 
 placed in line against the weatherbeaten walls fifty or 
 sixty inmates of the County Poor House all of them 
 white men and women. Most of them were over seventy 
 years old, and one with the quickest step and brightest 
 eye, a little man of eighty-four with snow-white hair 
 and beard, was the son of a hero of the American Revo 
 lution. *l?he women were bareheaded and the blazing 
 Southern sun of August beat down piteously on their 
 pinched faces. 
 
 The young editor s fists slowly clinched and his 
 breath came in a deep quivering draught. He watched 
 as in a trance. He had seen four years service in the 
 
 4 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 bloodiest war in history seen thousands swept into 
 eternity from a single battlefield without a tear. He 
 had witnessed the sufferings of the wounded and dying 
 until it became the routine of a day s work. Yet no 
 event of all that fierce and terrible struggle had stirred 
 his soul as the scene he was now witnessing not even 
 the tragic end of his father, the editor of the Daily 
 Eagle who had been burned to death in the building 
 when Sherman s army swept the land with fire and 
 sword. The younger man had never referred to this 
 except in a brief, hopeful editorial in the newly chris 
 tened Eagle and Phoenix, which he literally built on 
 the ashes of the old paper. He had no unkind word 
 for General Sherman or his army. It was war, and a 
 soldier knew what that meant. He would have done 
 the same thing under similar conditions. 
 
 Now he was brushing a tear from his cheek. A re 
 porter at work in the adjoining room watched him 
 curiously. He had never before thought him capable 
 of such an emotion. A brilliant and powerful editor, 
 he had made his paper the one authoritative organ of 
 the white race. In the midst of riot, revolution and 
 counter revolution his voice had the clear ring of a 
 bugle call to battle. There was never a note of hesita 
 tion, of uncertainty or of compromise. In the fierce 
 white heat of an unconquered spirit, he had fused the 
 souls of his people as one. At this moment he was the 
 one man hated and feared most by the negroid govern*- 
 ment in power, the one man most admired and trusted by 
 the white race. 
 
 And he was young very young yet he had lived 
 a life so packed with tragic events no one ever guessed 
 his real age, twenty-four. People took him to be more 
 
 5 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 than thirty and the few threads of gray about his 
 temples, added to the impression of age and dignity. 
 He was not handsome in the conventional sense. His 
 figure was too tall, his cheek bones too high, the nos 
 trils too large and his eyebrows too heavy. His great 
 height, six feet three, invariably made him appear 
 gaunt and serious. Though he had served the entire 
 four years in the Confederate army, entering a private 
 in the ranks at eighteen, emerging a major in com 
 mand of a shattered regiment at twenty-two, his figure 
 did not convey the impression of military training. He 
 walked easily, with the long, loose stride of the South- 
 ener, his shoulders slightly stooped from the habit of 
 incessant reading. 
 
 He was lifting his broad shoulders now in an ominous 
 way as he folded his clenched fists behind his back and 
 listened to the negro auctioneer. 
 
 "Come now, gemmens," he went on ; "what s de lowes 
 offer ye gwine ter start me fer dese folks? Member, 
 now, de lowes bid gets em, not de highes ! Fore de 
 war de black man wuz put on de block an sole ter de 
 highes* bidder ! Times is changed " 
 
 "Yas, Lawd !" shouted a negro woman. 
 
 "Times is changed, I tells ye! now I gwine ter sell 
 dese po white folks ter de lowes bidder. Whosomever ll 
 take de Po House and bode em fer de least money gits 
 de whole bunch. An you has de right ter make em 
 all work de Po farm. Dey kin work, too, an don ye 
 fergit it. Dese here ones I fotch out here ter show ye 
 is all soun in wind and limb. De bedridden ones ain t 
 here. Dey ain t but six er dem. What s de lowes b\l 
 now, gemmens, yer gwine ter gimme ter bode em by 
 de month? Look em all over, gemmens, I warrants 
 
 6 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 em ter be sound in wind an limb. Sound in wind an 
 limb." 
 
 The auctioneer s sonorous voice lingered on this 
 phrase and repeated it again and again. 
 
 The watcher at the window turned away in disgust, 
 walked back to his desk, sat down, fidgeted in his seat, 
 rose and returned to the window in time to hear the cry : 
 
 "An sold to Mister Abum Russ fer fo dollars a 
 month !" 
 
 Could it be possible that he heard aright ? Abe Russ 
 the keeper to the poor! a drunkard, wife beater, and 
 midnight prowler. His father before him, "Devil Tom 
 Russ," had been a notorious character, yet he had at 
 least one redeeming quality that saved him from con 
 tempt a keen sense of humor. He had made his liv 
 ing on a ten-acre red hill farm and never used a horse 
 or an ox. He hitched himself to the plow and made 
 Abe seize the handles. This strange team worked the 
 fields. No matter how hard the day s task the elder 
 Russ never quite lost his humorous view of life. When 
 the boy, tired and thirsty, would stop and go to the 
 spring for water, a favorite trick of his was to place 
 a piece of paper or a chunk of wood in the furrow a 
 few yards ahead. When the boy returned and they 
 approached this object, the old man would stop, lift 
 his head and snort, back and fill, frisk and caper, plunge 
 and kick, and finally break and run, tearing over the 
 fields like a maniac, dragging the plow after him with 
 the breathless boy clinging to the handles. He would 
 then quietly unhitch himself and thrash Abe within an 
 inch of his life for being so careless as to allow a horse 
 to run away with him. 
 
 But Abe grew up without a trace of his father s sense 
 
 7 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 of humor, picked out the strongest girl he could find 
 for a wife and hitched her to the plow! And he per 
 mitted no pranks to enliven the tedium of work except 
 the amusement he allowed himself of beating her at 
 mealtimes after she had cooked his food. 
 
 He had now turned politician, joined the Loyal 
 Black League and was the successful bidder for Keeper 
 of the Poor. It was in-credible! 
 
 The watcher was roused from his painful reverie 
 by a reporter s voice: 
 
 "I think there s a man waiting in the hall to see you, 
 sir." 
 
 "Who is it?" 
 
 The reporter smiled: 
 
 "Mr. Bob Peeler." 
 
 "What on earth can that old scoundrel want with me? 
 All right show him in." 
 
 The editor was busy writing when Mr. Peeler entered 
 the room furtively. He was coarse, heavy and fifty 
 years old. His red hair hung in tangled locks below 
 his ears and a bloated double chin lapped his collar. 
 His legs were slightly bowed from his favorite mode of 
 travel on horseback astride a huge stallion trapped with 
 tin and brass bespangled saddle. His supposed business 
 was farming and the raising of blooded horses. As a 
 matter of fact, the farm was in the hands of tenants 
 and gambling was his real work. 
 
 Of late he had been displaying a hankering for negro 
 politics. A few weeks before he had created a sensa 
 tion by applying to the clerk of the court for a license 
 to marry his mulatto housekeeper. It was common re 
 port that this woman was the mother of a beautiful 
 octoroon daughter with hair exactly the color of old 
 
 8 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 Peeler s. Few people had seen her. She had been 
 away at school since her tenth year. 
 
 The young editor suddenly wheeled in his chair and 
 spoke with quick emphasis: 
 
 "Mr. Peeler, I believe?" 
 
 The visitor s face lighted with a maudlin attempt at 
 politeness : 
 
 "Yes, sir ; yes, sir ! and I m shore glad to meet you., 
 Major Norton!" 
 
 He came forward briskly, extending his fat mottled 
 hand. 
 
 Norton quietly ignored the offer by placing a chair 
 beside his desk : 
 
 "Have a seat, Mr. Peeler." 
 
 The heavy figure flopped into the chair: 
 
 "I want to ask your advice, major, about a little 
 secret matter" he glanced toward the door leading 
 into the reporters room. 
 
 The editor rose, closed the door and resumed his seat: 
 
 "Well, sir; how can I serve you?" 
 
 The visitor fumbled in his coat pocket and drew out 
 a crumpled piece of paper which he fingered gingerly: 
 
 "I ve been readin your editorials agin secret socie 
 ties, major, and I like em that s why I made up my 
 mind to put my trust in you " 
 
 "Why, I thought you were a member of the Loyal 
 Black League, Mr. Peeler?" 
 
 "No, sir it s a mistake, sir," was the smooth lying 
 answer. "I hain t got nothin to do with no secret so 
 ciety. I hate em all just run your eye over that, 
 major." 
 
 He extended the crumpled piece of paper on which 
 was scrawled in boyish writing : 
 
 9 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "We hear you want to marry a nigger. Our advice is 
 to leave this country for the more congenial climate of 
 Africa. 
 
 "By order of the Grand Cyclops, KU KLUX KLAN." 
 
 The young editor studied the scrawl in surprise: 
 
 "A silly prank of schoolboys !" he said at length. 
 
 "You think that s all?" Peeler asked dubiously. 
 
 "Certainly. The Ku Klux Klan have more important 
 tasks on hand just now. No man in their authority 
 sent that to you. Their orders are sealed in red ink 
 with a crossbones and skull. I ve seen several of them. 
 Pay no attention to this it s a fake." 
 
 "I don t think so, major just wait a minute, I ll 
 show you something worse than a red-ink crossbones 
 and skull." 
 
 Old Peeler tipped to the door leading into the hall 
 way, opened it, peered out and waved his fat hand, 
 beckoning someone to enter. 
 
 The voice of a woman was heard outside protesting: 
 
 "No no I ll stay here 
 
 Peeler caught her by the arm and drew her within : 
 
 "This is Lucy, my housekeeper, major." 
 
 The editor looked in surprise at the slender, grace 
 ful figure of the mulatto. He had pictured her coarse 
 and heavy. He saw instead a face of the clean-cut 
 Aryan type with scarcely a trace of negroid character. 
 Only the thick curling hair, shining black eyes and deep 
 yellow skin betrayed the African mother. 
 
 Peeler s eyes were fixed in a tense stare on a small 
 bundle she carried. His voice was a queer muffled 
 tremor as he slowly said : 
 
 "Unwrap the thing and show it to him." 
 
 The woman looked at the editor and smiled con- 
 
 10 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 temptuously, showing two rows of perfect teeth, as 
 she slowly drew the brown wrapper from a strange ob 
 ject which she placed on the desk. 
 
 The editor picked the thing up, looked at it and 
 laughed. 
 
 It was a tiny pine coffin about six inches long and 
 two inches wide. A piece of glass was fitted into the 
 upper half of the lid and beneath the glass was placed 
 a single tube rose whose peculiar penetrating odor al 
 ready filled the room. 
 
 Peeler mopped the perspiration from his brow. 
 
 "Now, what do you think of that?" he asked in an 
 awed whisper. 
 
 In spite of an effort at self-control, Norton broke 
 into a peal of laughter: 
 
 "It does look serious, doesn t it?" 
 
 "Serious ain t no word for it, sir ! It not only looks 
 like death, but I m damned if it don t smell like it 
 smell it!" 
 
 "So it does," the editor agreed, lifting the box and 
 breathing the perfume of the pale little flower. 
 
 "And that ain t all," Peeler whispered, "look inside 
 of it." 
 
 He opened the lid and drew out a tightly folded 
 scrap of paper on which was written in pencil the 
 words : 
 
 "You lying, hypocritical, blaspheming old scoundrel 
 unless you leave the country within forty-eight hours, this 
 coffin will be large enough to hold all we ll leave of 
 you. K. K. K." 
 
 The editor frowned and then smiled. 
 "All a joke, Peeler," he said reassuringly. 
 
 11 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 But Peeler was not convinced. He leaned close and 
 his whiskey-laden breath seemed to fill the room as his 
 fat finger rested on the word "blaspheming:" 
 
 "I don t like that word, major; it sounds like a 
 preacher had something to do with the writin of it. 
 You know I ve been a tough customer in my day and 
 I used to cuss the preachers in this county somethin 
 frightful. Now, ye see, if they should be in this Ku 
 Klux Klan I ain t er skeered er their hell hereafter, 
 but they sho might give me a taste in this world of 
 what they think s comin to me in the next. I tell you 
 that thing makes the cold chills run down my back. 
 Now, major, I reckon you re about the level-headest 
 and the most influential man in the county the ques 
 tion is, what shall I do to be saved?" 
 
 Again Norton laughed: 
 
 "Nothing. It s a joke, I tell you " 
 
 "But the Ku Klux Klan ain t no joke!" persisted 
 Peeler. "More than a thousand of em some say five 
 thousand paraded the county two "weeks ago. A 
 hundred of em passed my house. I saw their white 
 shrouds glisten in the moonlight. I said my prayers 
 that night ! I says to myself, if it don t do no good, 
 at least it can t do no harm. I tell you, the Klan s no 
 joke. If you think so, take a walk through that crowd 
 in the Square to-day and see how quiet they are. Last 
 court day every nigger that could holler was makin a 
 speech yellin that old Thad Stevens was goin to hang 
 Andy Johnson, the President, from the White House 
 porch, take every foot of land from the rebels and give 
 it to the Loyal Black League. Now, by gum, there s a 
 strange peace in Israel! I felt it this mornin as I 
 walked through them crowds and comin back to this 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 coffin, major, the question is what shall I do to be 
 saved?" 
 
 "Go home and forget about it," was the smiling an 
 swer. "The Klan didn t send that thing to you or 
 write that message." 
 
 "You think not?" 
 
 "I know they didn t. It s a forgery. A trick of 
 some devilish boys." 
 
 Peeler scratched his red head: 
 
 "I m glad you think so, major. I m a thousand times 
 obliged to you, sir. I ll sleep better to-night after this 
 talk." 
 
 "Would you mind leaving this little gift with me, 
 Peeler?" Norton asked, examining the neat workman 
 ship of the coffin. 
 
 "Certainly certainly, major, keep it. Keep it and 
 more than welcome ! It s a gift I don t crave, sir. I ll 
 feel better to know you ve got it." 
 
 The yellow woman waited beside the door until Peeler 
 had passed out, bowed her thanks, turned and followed 
 her master at a respectful distance. 
 
 The editor watched them cross the street with a look 
 of loathing, muttering slowly beneath his breath: 
 
 "Oh, my country, what a problem what a prob 
 lem!" 
 
 He turned again to his desk and forgot his burden in 
 the joy of work. He loved this work. It called for 
 the best that s in the strongest man. It was a man s 
 work for men. When he struck a blow he saw the 
 dent of his hammer on the iron, and heard it ring to 
 the limits of the state. 
 
 Dimly aware that some one had entered his room un 
 announced, he looked up, sprang to his feet and ex- 
 
 13 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 tended his hand in hearty greeting to a stalwart farmer 
 who stood smiling into his face: 
 
 "Hello, MacArthur!" 
 
 "Hello, my captain! You know you weren t a major 
 long enough for me to get used to it and it sounds too 
 old for you anyhow " 
 
 "And how s the best sergeant that ever walloped a 
 recruit?" 
 
 "Bully," was the hearty answer. 
 
 The young editor drew his old comrade in arms down 
 into his chair and sat on the table facing him: 
 
 "And how s the wife and kids, Mac?" 
 
 "Bully," he repeated evenly and then looked up with 
 a puzzled expression. 
 
 "Look here, Bud," he began quietly, "you ve got me 
 up a tree. These editorials in The Eagle and Phoenix 
 cussin the Klan " 
 
 "You don t like them?" 
 
 "Not a little wee bit !" 
 
 The editor smiled: 
 
 "You ve got Scotch blood in you, Mac that s what s 
 the matter with you " 
 
 "Same to you, sir." 
 
 "But my great-great-grandmother was a Huguenot 
 and the French, you know, had a saving sense of humor. 
 The Scotch are thick, Mac !" 
 
 "Well, I m too thick to know what you mean by 
 lambastin our only salvation. The Ku Klux Klan have 
 had just one parade and there hasn t been a barn 
 burnt in this county or a white woman scared since, and 
 every nigger I ve met to-day has taken off his hat " 
 
 "Are you a member of the Klan, Mac?" The ques 
 tion was asked with his face turned away. 
 
 14 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 The farmer hesitated, looked up at the ceiling and 
 quietly answered: 
 
 "None of your business and that s neither here nor 
 there you know that every nigger is organized in that 
 secret Black League, grinning and whispering its signs 
 and passwords you know that they ve already begun 
 to grip the throats of our women. The Klan s the only 
 way to save this country from hell what do you mean 
 by jumpin on it?" 
 
 "The Black League s a bad thing, Mac, and th< 
 Klan s a bad thing " 
 
 "All right still you ve got to fight the devil with 
 fire " 
 
 "You don t say so?" the editor said, while a queef 
 smile played around his serious mouth. 
 
 "Yes, by golly, I do say so," the farmer went on with 
 increasing warmth, "and what I can t understand is how 
 you re against em. You re a leader. You re a soldier 
 the bravest that ever led his men into the jaws of 
 death I know, for I ve been with you and I just come 
 down here to-day to ask you the plain question, what 
 do you mean?" 
 
 "The Klan is a band of lawless night raiders, isn t 
 it?" 
 
 "Oh, you make me tired ! What are we to do without 
 em, that s the question ?" 
 
 "Scotch! That s the trouble with you" th<J 
 young editor answered carelessly. "Have you a 
 pin?" 
 
 The rugged figure suddenly straightened as though 
 a bolt of lightning had shot down his spine. 
 
 "What s what s that?" he gasped. 
 
 "I merely asked, have you a pin?" was the even an- 
 
 15 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 swer, as Norton touched the right lapel of his coat with 
 his right hand. 
 
 The farmer hesitated a moment, and then slowly ran 
 three trembling fingers of his left hand over the left 
 lapel of his coat, replying: 
 
 "I m afraid not." 
 
 He looked at Norton a moment and turned pale. He 
 had been given and had returned the signs of the Klan. 
 It might have been an accident. The rugged face was a 
 study of eager intensity as he put his friend to the test 
 that would tell. He slowly thrust the fingers of his 
 right hand into the right pocket of his trousers, the 
 thumb protruding. 
 
 Norton quietly answered in the sams way with his 
 left hand. 
 
 The farmer looked into the smiling brown eyes of 
 his commander for a moment and his own filled with 
 tears. He sprang forward and gi-asped the out 
 stretched hand: 
 
 "Dan Norton ! I said last night to my God that you 
 couldn t be against us! And so I came to ask oh, 
 why why ve you been foolin with me?" 
 
 The editor tenderly slipped his tirm around his old 
 comrade and whispered: 
 
 jp "The cunning of the fox and the courage of the lion 
 now, Mac ! It was easy for our boys to die in battle 
 while guns were thundering, fifes screaming, drums beat 
 ing and the banners waving. You and I have something 
 harder to do we ve got to live our watchword, The 
 cunning of the fox and the courage of the lion! I ve 
 some dangerous work to do pretty soon. The little 
 Scalawag Governor is getting ready for us " 
 
 "I want that job!" Mac Arthur cried eagerly. 
 
 16 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 "I ll let you know when the time comes." 
 
 The farmer smiled : 
 
 "I am a Scotchman ain t I?" 
 
 "And a good one, too!" 
 
 With his hand on the door, the rugged face aflame 
 with patriotic fire, he slowly repeated : 
 
 "The cunning of the fox and the courage of the lion ! 
 And by the living God, we ll win this time, boy !" 
 
 -Norton heard him laugh aloud as he hurried down 
 the stairs. Gazing again from his window at the black 
 clouds of negroes floating across the Square, he slowly 
 muttered : 
 
 "Yes, we ll win this time! but twenty years from 
 now I wonder!" 
 
 He took up the little black coffin and smiled at the 
 perfection of its workmanship: 
 
 "I think I know the young gentleman who made that 
 and he may give me trouble." 
 
 He thrust the thing into a drawer, seized his hat, 
 strolled down a side street and slowly passed the cabinet 
 shop of the workman whom he suspected. It was closed. 
 Evidently the master had business outside. It was 
 barely possible, of course, that he had gone to the gal 
 leries of the Capitol to hear the long-expected message 
 of the Governor against the Klan. The galleries had 
 been packed for the past two sessions in anticipation of 
 this threatened message. The Capital city was only a 
 town of five thousand white inhabitants and four thou 
 sand blacks. Rumors of impending political movements 
 flew from house to house with the swiftness of village 
 gossip. 
 
 He walked to the Capitol building by a quiet street. 
 As he passed through the echoing corridor the rotund 
 
 n, 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 figure of Schlitz, the Carpetbagger, leader of the House 
 of Representatives, emerged from the Governor s office. 
 
 The red face flushed a purple hue as his eye rested 
 on his arch-enemy of the Eagle and Phoenix. He tried 
 to smile and nodded to Norton. His smile was answered 
 by a cold stare and a quickened step. 
 
 Schlitz had been a teamster s scullion in the Union 
 Army. He was not even an army cook, but a servant of 
 servants. He was now the master of the Legislature of 
 a great Southern state and controlled its black, ignorant 
 members with a snap of his bloated fingers. There was 
 but one man Norton loathed with greater intensity and 
 that was the shrewd little Scalawag Governor, the native 
 traitor who had betrayed his people to win office. A 
 conference of these two cronies was always an ill omen 
 for the state. 
 
 He hurried up the winding stairs, pushed his way into 
 a corner of the crowded galleries from which he could 
 see every face and searched in vain for his young work 
 man. 
 
 He stood for a moment, looked down on the floor of 
 the House and watched a Black Parliament at work 
 making laws to govern the children of the men who 
 had created the Republic watched them through fetid 
 smoke, the vapors of stale whiskey and the deafening 
 roar of half-drunken brutes as they voted millions in 
 taxes, their leaders had already stolen. 
 
 The red blood rushed to his cheeks and the big veins 
 on his slender swarthy neck stood out for a moment 
 like drawn cords. 
 
 He hurried down to the Court House Square, walked 
 with long, leisurely stride through the thinning crowds, 
 and paused before a vacant lot on the opposite side of 
 
 18 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 the street. A dozen or more horses were still tied to 
 the racks provided for the accommodation of country 
 men. 
 
 "Funny," he muttered, "farmers start home before 
 sundown, and it s dusk I wonder if it s possible !" 
 
 He crossed the street, strolled carelessly among the 
 horses and noted that their saddles had not been re 
 moved and the still more significant fact that their sad 
 dle blankets were unusually thick. Only an eye trained 
 to observe this fact would have noticed it. He lifted 
 the edge of one of the blankets and saw the white and 
 scarlet edges of a Klan costume. It was true. The 
 young dare-devil who had sent that message to old Peeler 
 had planned an unauthorized raid. Only a crowd of 
 youngsters bent on a night s fun, he knew ; and yet the 
 act at this moment meant certain anarchy unless he 
 nipped it in the bud. The Klan was a dangerous insti 
 tution. Its only salvation lay in the absolute obedience 
 of its members to the orders of an intelligent and pa 
 triotic chief. Unless the word of that chief remained 
 the sole law of its life, a reign of terror by irresponsible 
 fools would follow at once. As commander of the Klan 
 in his county he must subdue this lawless element. It 
 must be done with an iron hand and done immediately 
 or it would be too late. His decision to act was instan 
 taneous. 
 
 He sent a message to his wife that he couldn t get 
 home for supper, locked his door and in three hours 
 finished his day s work. There was ample time to head 
 these boys off before they reached old Peeler s house. 
 They couldn t start before eleven, yet he would take no 
 chances. He determined to arrive an hour ahead of 
 them. 
 
 19 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The night was gloriously beautiful a clear star- 
 gemmed sky in the full tide of a Southern summer, the 
 first week in August. He paused inside the gate of his 
 home and drank for a moment the perfume of the roses 
 on the lawn. The light from the window of his wife s 
 room poured a mellow flood of welcome through the 
 shadows beside the white, fluted columns. This home 
 of his father s was all the wreck of war had left him 
 and his heart gave a throb of joy to-night that it was 
 his. 
 
 Behind the room where the delicate wife lay, a petted 
 invalid, was the nursery. His baby boy was there, nest 
 ling in the arms of the black mammy who had nursed 
 him twenty odd years ago. He could hear the soft 
 crooning of her dear old voice singing the child to 
 sleep. The heart of the young father swelled with 
 pride. He loved his frail little wife with a deep, tender 
 passion, but this big rosy-cheeked, laughing boy, 
 which she had given him six months ago, he fairly wor 
 shipped. 
 
 He stopped again under the nursery window and lis 
 tened to the music of the cradle. The old lullaby had 
 waked a mocking bird in a magnolia beside the porch 
 and he was answering her plaintive wail with a thrilling 
 love song. By the strange law of contrast, his memory 
 flashed over the fields of death he had trodden in the 
 long war. 
 
 "What does it matter after all, these wars and revolu 
 tions, if God only brings with each new generation a 
 nobler breed of men !" 
 
 He tipped softly past the window lest his footfall 
 disturb the loved ones above, hurried to the stable, sad 
 dled his horse and slowly rode through the quiet streets 
 
 20 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 of the town. On clearing the last clump of negro cabins 
 on the outskirts his pace quickened to a gallop. 
 
 He stopped in the edge of the woods at the gate 
 which opened from Peeler s farm on the main road. The 
 boys would have to enter here. He would stop them 
 at this spot. 
 
 The solemn beauty of the night stirred his soul to 
 visions of the future, and the coming battle which his 
 Klan must fight for the mastery of the state. The chirp 
 of crickets, the song of katydids and the flash of fire 
 flies became the martial music and the flaming torches 
 of triumphant hosts he saw marching to certain victory. 
 But the Klan he was leading was a wild horse that must 
 be broken to the bit or both horse and rider would 
 plunge to ruin. 
 
 There would be at least twenty or thirty of these 
 youn marauders to-night. If they should unite in 
 defying his authority it would be a serious and danger 
 ous situation. Somebody might be killed. And yet he 
 waited without a fear of the outcome. He had faced 
 odds before. He loved a battle when the enemy out 
 numbered him two to one. It stirred his blood. He 
 had ridden with Forrest one night at the head of four 
 hundred daring, ragged veterans, surrounded a crack 
 Union regiment at two o clock in the morning, and 
 forced their commander to surrender 1800 men before 
 he discovered the real strength of the attacking force. 
 It stirred his blood to-night to know that General For 
 rest was the Commander-in-Chief of his own daring 
 Clansmen. 
 
 Half an hour passed without a sign of the youngsters. 
 He grew uneasy. Could they have dared to ride so 
 early that they had reached the house before his arrival? 
 
 21 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He must know at once. He opened the gate and gal 
 loped down the narrow track at a furious pace. 
 
 A hundred yards from Peeler s front gate he drew 
 rein and listened. A horse neighed in the woods, and 
 the piercing shriek of a woman left nothing to doubt. 
 They were already in the midst of their dangerous 
 comedy. 
 
 He pressed cautiously toward the gate, riding in the 
 shadows of the overhanging trees. They were dragging 
 old Peeler across the yard toward the roadway, followed 
 by the pleading voice of a woman begging for his worth 
 less life. 
 
 Realizing that the raid was now an accomplished fact, 
 Norton waited to see what the young fools were going 
 to do. He was not long in doubt. They dragged their 
 panting, perspiring victim into the edge of the woods, 
 tied him to a sapling and bared his back. The leader 
 stepped forward holding a lighted torch whose flicker 
 ing flames made an unearthly picture of the distorted 
 features and bulging eyes. 
 
 "Mr. Peeler," began the solemn muffled voice behind 
 the cloth mask, "for your many sins and blasphemies 
 against God and man the preachers of this county have 
 assembled to-night to call you to repentance 
 
 The terror-stricken eyes bulged further and the fat 
 neck twisted in an effort to see how many ghastly fig 
 ures surrounded him, as he gasped: 
 
 "Oh, Lord oh, hell are you all preachers?" 
 
 "All!" was the solemn echo from each sepulchral 
 figure. 
 
 "Then I m a goner that coffin s too big " 
 
 "Yea, verily, there ll be nothing left when we get 
 through Selah!" solemnly cried the leader. 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 "But, say, look here, brethren," Peeler pleaded be 
 tween shattering teeth, "can t we compromise this 
 thing? I ll repent and join the church. And how ll a 
 contribution of fifty dollars each strike you? Now 
 what do you say to that?" 
 
 The coward s voice had melted into a pious whine. 
 
 The leader selected a switch from the bundle extended 
 by a shrouded figure and without a word began to lay 
 on. Peeler s screams could be heard a mile. 
 
 Norton allowed them to give him a dozen lashes and 
 spurred his horse into the crowd. There was a wild 
 scramble to cover and most of the boys leaped to their 
 saddles. Three white figures resolutely stood their 
 ground. 
 
 ... "What s the meaning of this, sir?" Norton sternly 
 -demanded of the man who still held the switch. 
 F-, "Just a little fun, major," was the sheepish answer. 
 
 "A dangerous piece of business." 
 
 "For God s sake, save me, Major Norton!" Peeler 
 cried, suddenly waking from the spell of fear. "They ve 
 got me, sir and it s just like I told you, they re all 
 preachers I m a goner !" 
 
 Norton sprang from his horse and faced the three 
 white figures. 
 
 "Who s in command of this crowd?" 
 
 "I am, sir!" came the quick answer from a stal 
 wart masquerader who suddenly stepped from the 
 shadows. 
 
 jrton recognized the young cabinet-maker s voice, 
 and spoke in low tense tones : 
 
 "By whose authority are you using these disguises 
 to-night?" 
 
 "It s none of your business !" 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The tall sinewy figure suddenly stiffened, stepped 
 close and peered into the eyes of the speaker s mask : 
 
 "Does my word go here to-night or must I call out 
 a division of the Klan?" 
 
 A moment s hesitation and the eyes behind the mask 
 fell: 
 
 "All right, sir nothing but a boyish frolic," mut 
 tered the leader apologetically. 
 
 "Let this be the end of such nonsense," Norton said 
 with a quiet drawl. "If I catch you fellows on a raid 
 like this again I ll hang your leader to the first limb 
 I find good night." 
 
 A whistle blew and the beat of horses hoofs along 
 the narrow road told their hurried retreat. 
 
 Norton loosed the cords and led old Peeler to his 
 house. As the fat, wobbling legs mounted the steps 
 the younger man paused at a sound from behind and be 
 fore he could turn a girl sprang from the shadows into 
 his arms, and slipped to her knees, sobbing hysterically : 
 
 "Save me! they re going to beat me they ll beat 
 me to death don t let them please please don t let 
 them!" 
 
 By the light from the window he saw that her hair 
 was a deep rich red with the slightest tendency to curl 
 and her wide dilated eyes a soft greenish grey. 
 
 He was too astonished to speak for a moment and 
 Peeler hastened to say: 
 
 "That s our little gal, Cleo that is I mean of 
 course it s Lucy s gal! She s just home from school 
 .and she s scared to death and I don t blame her !" 
 
 The girl clung to her rescuer with desperate grip, 
 pressing her trembling form close with each convulsive 
 sob. 
 
THE WOMAN IN YELLOW 
 
 The man drew the soft arms down, held them a mo 
 ment and looked into the dumb frightened face. He 
 was surprised at her unusual beauty. Her skin was a 
 delicate creamy yellow, almost white, and her cheeks 
 were tinged with the brownish red of ripe apple. As he 
 looked in to her eyes he fancied that he saw a young 
 leopardess from an African jungle looking at him 
 through the lithe, graceful form of a Southern woman. 
 
 And then something happened in the shadows that x //^ 
 stood out forever in his memory of that day as the 
 turning point of his life. 
 
 Laughing at her fears, he suddenly lifted his hand 
 and gently stroked the tangled red hair, smoothing it 
 back from her forehead with a movement instinctive 
 and irresistible as he would have smoothed the fur of 
 a yellow Persian kitten. 
 
 Surprised at his act, he turned without a word and 
 left the place. 
 
 And all the way home, through the solemn starlit 
 night, he brooded over the strange meeting with this 
 extraordinary girl. He forgot his fight. One thing 
 only stood out with increasing vividness the curious 
 and irresistible impulse that caused him to stroke her 
 hair. Personally he had always loathed the Southern 
 white man who stooped and crawled through the shad 
 ows to meet such women. She was a negress and he 
 knew it, and yet the act was instinctive and irresistible. 
 
 Why? 
 
 He asked himself the question a hundred times, and 
 the longer he faced it the angrier he became at his 
 stupid folly. For hours he lay awake, seeing in 
 darkness only the face of this girl. 
 
 25 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 CLEO ENTERS 
 
 THE conference of the carpetbagger with the little 
 Governor proved more ominous than even Norton had 
 feared. The blow struck was so daring, so swift and 
 unexpected it stunned for a moment the entire white race. 
 
 When the editor reached his office on the second 
 morning after the raid, his desk was piled with tele 
 grams from every quarter of the state. The Governor 
 had issued a proclamation disarming every white mili 
 tary company and by wire had demanded the immediate 
 surrender of their rifles to the negro Adjutant-General. 
 The same proclamation had created an equal number of 
 negro companies who were to receive these guns and 
 equipments. 
 
 The negroid state Government would thus command 
 an armed black guard of fifty thousand men and leave 
 the white race without protection. 
 
 Evidently His Excellency was a man of ambitions. 
 It was rumored that he aspired to the Vice-Presidency 
 and meant to win the honor by a campaign of such bril 
 liance that the solid negro-ruled South would back him 
 in the National Convention. 
 
 Beyond a doubt, this act was the first step in a dar 
 ing attempt inspired by the radical fanatics in Con 
 gress to destroy the structure of white civilization in 
 the South. 
 
CLEO ENTERS 
 
 And the Governor s resources were apparently bound 
 less. President Johnson, though a native Southerner, 
 was a puppet now in the hands of his powerful enemies 
 who dominated Congress. These men boldly proclaimed 
 their purpose to make the South negro territory by 
 confiscating the property of the whites and giving it 
 to the negroes. Their bill to do this, House Bill Num 
 ber Twenty-nine, introduced by the government leader, 
 Thaddeus Stevens, was already in the calendar and Mr. 
 Stevens was pressing for its passage with all the skill 
 of a trained politician inspired by the fiercest hate. 
 The army had been sent back into the prostrate South 
 to enforce the edicts of Congress and the negro state 
 government could command all the Federal troops 
 needed for any scheme concocted. 
 
 But the little Governor had a plan up his sleeve by 
 which he proposed to startle even the Black Radical 
 Administration at Washington. He was going to stamp 
 out "Rebellion" without the aid of Federal troops, re 
 serving his right to call them finally as a last resort. 
 That they were ready at his nod gave him the moral 
 support of their actual presence. 
 
 That any man born of a Southern mother and reared 
 in the South under the conditions of refinement and 
 culture, of the high ideals and the courage of the old 
 regime, could fall so low as to use this proclamation, 
 struck Norton at first as impossible. He refused to 
 believe it. There must be some misunderstanding. He 
 sent a messenger to the Capitol for a copy of the docu 
 ment before he was fully convinced. 
 
 And then he laughed in sheer desperation at the farce- 
 tragedy to which the life of a brave people had been 
 reduced. It was his business as an editor to record 
 
 27 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the daily history of the times. For a moment in im 
 agination he stood outside his office and looked at his 
 work. 
 
 "Future generations simply can t be made to believe 
 it!" he exclaimed. "It s too grotesque to be credible 
 even to-day." 
 
 It had never occurred to him that the war was un 
 reasonable. Its passions, its crushing cost, its blood 
 stained fields, its frightful cruelties were of the great 
 movements of the race from a lower to a higher order 
 of life. Progress could only come through struggle. 
 War was the struggle which had to be when two great 
 moral forces clashed. One must die, the other live. A 
 great issue had to be settled in the Civil War, an issue 
 raised by the creation of the Constitution itself, an issue 
 its creators had not dared to face. And each generation 
 of compromisers and interpreters had put it off and 
 put it off until at last the storm of thundering guns 
 broke from a hundred hills at once. 
 
 It had never been decided by the builders of the Re 
 public whether it should be a mighty unified nation or a 
 loose aggregation of smaller sovereignties. Slavery 
 made it necessary to decide this fundamental question 
 on which the progress of America and the future lead 
 ership of the world hung. 
 
 He could see all this clearly now. He had felt it 
 dimly true throughout every bloody scene of the war 
 itself. And so he had closed the eyes of the lonely 
 dying boy with a reverent smile. It was for his country. 
 He had died for what he believed to be right and it was 
 good. He had stood bareheaded in solemn court mar- 
 tials and sentenced deserters to death, led them out in 
 the gray morning to be shot and ordered them dumped 
 
 28 
 
CLEO ENTERS 
 
 into shallow trenches without a doubt or a moment s 
 Lcsitation. He had walked over battlefields at night 
 r.nd heard the groans of the wounded, the sighs of the 
 dying, the curses of the living, beneath the silent stars 
 and felt that in the end it must be good. It was war, 
 and war, however cruel, was inevitable the great 
 High Court of Life and Death for the nations of 
 earth. 
 
 But this base betrayal which had followed the hon 
 orable surrender of a brave, heroic army this wanton 
 humiliation of a ruined people by pot-house politicians 
 this war on the dead, the wounded, the dying, and 
 their defenseless w^omen this enthronement of Savag 
 ery, Superstition, Cowardice and Brutality in high 
 places where Courage and Honor and Chivalry had 
 :ruled these vandals and camp followers and vultures 
 provoking violence and exciting crime, set to rule a 
 brave people who had risked all for a principle and 
 lost this was a nightmare; it was the reduction of 
 human society to an absurdity! 
 
 For a moment he saw the world red. Anger, fierce 
 and cruel, possessed him. The desire to kill gripped and > ^ , v 
 strangled until he could scarcely breathe. 
 
 Nor did it occur to this man for a moment that he 
 could separate his individual life from the life of his 
 people. His paper was gaining in circulation daily. 
 It was paying a good dividend now and would give his 
 loved ones the luxuries he had dreamed for them. The 
 greater the turmoil the greater his profits would be. 
 And yet this idea never once flashed through his mind. 
 His people were of his heart s blood. He had no life 
 apart from them. Their joys were his, their sorrows* 
 his, their shame his. This proclamation of a traitor 
 
 29 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 to his race struck him in the face as a direct personal 
 insult. The hot shame of it found his soul. 
 
 When the first shock of surprise and indignation had 
 spent itself, he hurried to answer his telegrams. His 
 hand wrote now with the eager, sure touch of a master 
 who knew his business. To every one he sent in sub 
 stance the same message: 
 
 "Submit and await orders." 
 
 As he sat writing the* fierce denunciation of this act 
 of the Chief Executive of the state, he forgot his bit 
 terness in the thrill of life that meant each day a new 
 adventure. He was living in an age whose simple rec 
 ord must remain more incredible than the tales of the 
 Arabian Nights. And the spell of its stirring call 
 was now upon him. 
 
 The drama had its comedy moments, too. He could 
 but laugh at the sorry figures the little puppets cut 
 who were strutting for a day in pomp and splendor. 
 Their end w r as as sure as the sweep of eternal law. 
 Water could not be made to run up hill by the procla 
 mation of a Governor. 
 
 He had made up his mind within an hour to give 
 the Scalawag a return blow that would be more swift 
 and surprising than his own. On the little man s re 
 ception of that counter stroke would hang the destiny 
 of his administration and the history of the state for 
 the next generation. 
 
 On the day the white military companies surrendered 
 their arms to their negro successors something hap 
 pened that was not on the programme of the Gover 
 nor. 
 
 The Ku Klux Klan held its second grand parade. 
 It was not merely a dress affair. A swift and silent 
 
 30 
 
CLEO ENTERS 
 
 army of drilled, desperate men, armed and disguised, 
 moved with the precision of clockwork at the command 
 of one mind. At a given hour the armory of every 
 negro military company in the state was broken open 
 and its guns recovered by the white and scarlet cavalry 
 of the "Invisible Empire." 
 
 Within the next hour every individual negro in the 
 state known to be in possession of a gun or pistol was 
 disarmed. Resistance was futile. The attack was so 
 sudden and so unexpected, the attacking party so over 
 whelming at the moment, each black man surrendered 
 without a blow and a successful revolution was accom 
 plished in a night without a shot or the loss of a 
 life. 
 
 Next morning the Governor paced the floor of his 
 office in the Capitol with the rage of a maddened beast, 
 and Schlitz, the Carpetbagger, was summoned for a 
 second council of war. It proved to be a very impor 
 tant meeting in the history^of His Excellency. 
 
 The editor sat at his desk that day smiling in quiet 
 triumph as he read the facetious reports wired by his 
 faithful lieutenants from every district of the Klan. 
 An endless stream of callers had poured through his 
 modest little room and prevented any attempt at writ 
 ing. He had turned the columns over to his assistants 
 and the sun was just sinking in a smother of purple 
 glory when he turned from his window and began to 
 write his leader for the day. 
 
 It was an easy task. A note of defiant power ran 
 through a sarcastic warning to the Governor that found 
 the quick. The editorial flashed with wit and stung 
 with bitter epigram. And there was in his conscious 
 ness of power a touch of cruelty that should have 
 
 31 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 warned the Scalawag against his next act of supreme 
 folly. 
 
 But His Excellency had bad advisers, and the wheels 
 of Fate moved swiftly toward the appointed end. 
 
 Norton wrote this editorial with a joy that gave 
 its crisp sentences the ring of inspired leadership. He 
 knew that every paper in the state read by white men 
 and women would copy it and he already felt in his 
 heart the reflex thrill of its call to his people. 
 
 He had just finished his revision of the last paragraph 
 when a deep, laughing voice beside his chair slowly said : 
 
 "May I come in?" 
 
 He looked up with a start to find the tawny figure of 
 the girl whose red hair he had stroked that night bow 
 ing and smiling. Her white, perfect teeth gleamed in 
 the gathering twilight and her smile displayed two 
 pretty dimples in the brownish red cheeks. 
 
 "I say, may I come in ?" she repeated with a laugh. 
 
 "It strikes me you are pretty well in," Norton said 
 good-humoredly. 
 
 "Yes, I didn t have any cards. So I came right up. 
 ( It s getting dark and nobody saw me " 
 
 The editor frowned and moved uneasily 
 
 "You re alone, aren t you?" she asked. 
 
 "The others have all gone to supper, I believe." 
 
 "Yes, I waited til they left. I watched from the 
 Square til I saw them go." 
 
 "Why?" he asked sharply. 
 
 "I don t know. I reckon I was afraid of em." 
 
 "And you re not afraid of me?" he laughed. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Because I know you." 
 
CLEO ENTERS 
 
 Norton smiled: 
 
 "You wish to see me?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Is there anything wrong at Mr. Peeler s?" 
 
 "No, I just came to thank you for what you did and 
 see if you wouldn t let me work for you?" 
 
 "Work? Where here?" 
 
 "Yes. I can keep the place clean. My mother said 
 it was awful. And, honest, it s worse than I expected. 
 It doesn t look like it s been cleaned in a year." 
 
 "I don t believe it has," the editor admitted. 
 
 "Let me keep it decent for you." 
 
 "Thanks, no. It seems more home-like this 
 way." 
 
 "Must it be so dirty?" she asked, looking about the 
 room and picking up the scattered papers from the 
 floor. 
 
 Norton, watching her with indulgent amusement at 
 her impudence, saw that she moved her young form 
 with a rhythmic grace that was perfect. The simple 
 calico dress, with a dainty little check, fitted her per 
 fectly. It was cut low and square at the neck and 
 showed the fine lines of a beautiful throat. Her arms 
 were round and finely shaped and bare to an inch above 
 the elbows. The body above the waistline was slender, 
 and the sinuous free movement of her figure showed 
 that she wore no corset. Her step was as light as a 
 cat s and her voice full of good humor and the bubbling 
 spirits of a perfectly healthy female animal. 
 
 His first impulse was to send her about her business 
 with a word of dismissal. But when she laughed it was 
 with such pleasant assurance and such faith in his 
 friendliness it was impossible to be rude. 
 
 33 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 She picked up the last crumpled paper and laid it 
 on a table beside the wall, turned and said softly : 
 
 "Well, if you don t want me to clean up for you, 
 anyhow, I brought you some flowers for your room 
 they re outside." 
 
 She darted through the door and returned in a mo 
 ment with an armful of roses. 
 
 "My mother let me cut them from our yard, and she 
 told me to thank you for coming that night. They d 
 have killed us if you hadn t come." 
 
 "Nonsense, they wouldn t have touched either you or 
 your mother !" 
 
 "Yes, they would, too. Goodness haven t you any 
 thing to put the flowers in?" 
 
 She tipped softly about the room, holding the roses 
 up and arranging them gracefully. 
 
 Norton watched her with a lazy amused interest. He 
 couldn t shake off the impression that she was a sleek 
 young animal, playful and irresponsible, that had 
 strayed from home and wandered into his office. And 
 he loved animals. He never passed a stray dog or a 
 cat without a friendly word of greeting. He had often 
 laid on his lounge at home, when tired, and watched a 
 kitten play an hour with unflagging interest. Every 
 movement of this girl s lithe young body suggested such 
 a scene especially the velvet tread of her light foot, 
 and the delicate motions of her figure followed suddenly 
 by a sinuous quick turn and a childish laugh or cry. 
 The faint shadows of negro blood in her creamy skin 
 and the purring gentleness of her voice seemed part of 
 the gathering twilight. Her eyes were apparently twice 
 the size as when first he saw them, and the pupils, 
 dilated in the dusk, flashed with unusual brilliance. 
 
 84 
 
CLEG ENTERS 
 
 She had wandered into the empty reporters room 
 without permission looking for a vase, came back and 
 stood in the doorway laughing: 
 
 "This is the dirtiest place I ever got into in my life. 
 Gracious ! Isn t there a thing to put the flowers in ?" 
 
 The editor, roused from his reveries, smiled and an 
 swered : 
 
 "Put them in the pitcher." 
 
 "Why, yes, of course, the pitcher !" she cried, rush 
 ing to the little washstand. 
 
 "Why, there isn t a drop of water in it I ll go to 
 the well and get some." 
 
 She seized the pitcher, laid the flowers down in the 
 bowl, darted out the door and flew across the street to 
 the well in the Court House Square. 
 
 The young editor walked carelessly to the window 
 and watched her. She simply couldn t get into an un 
 graceful attitude. Every movement was instinct with 
 vitality. She was alive to her finger tips. Her body 
 swayed in perfect rhythmic unison with her round, bare 
 arms as she turned the old-fashioned rope windlass, 
 drew the bucket to the top and dropped it easily on 
 the wet wooden lids that flapped back in place. 
 
 She was singing now a crooning, half-savage melody 
 her mother had taught her. The low vibrant notes of 
 her voice, deep and tender and quivering with a strange 
 intensity, floated across the street through the gather 
 ing shadows. The voice had none of the light girlish 
 quality of her age of eighteen, but rather the full pas 
 sionate power of a woman of twenty-five. The dis 
 tance, the deepening shadows and the quiet of the 
 town s lazy life, added to the dreamy effectiveness of 
 the song. 
 
 35 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Beautiful!" the man exclaimed. "The negro race 
 will give the world a great singer some day " 
 
 And then for the first time in his life the paradox of 
 his personal attitude toward this girl and his attitude 
 in politics toward the black race struck him as curious. 
 He had just finished an editorial in which he had met 
 the aggressions of the negro and his allies with the fury, 
 the scorn, the defiance, the unyielding ferocity with 
 which the Anglo-Saxon conqueror has always treated his 
 inferiors. And yet he was listening to the soft tones of 
 this girl s voice with a smile as he watched with good- 
 natured indulgence the light gleam mischievously from 
 her impudent big eyes while she moved about his 
 room. 
 
 Yet this was not to be wondered at. The history of 
 the South and the history of slavery made such a para 
 dox inevitable. The long association with the individual 
 negro in the intimacy of home life had broken down 
 the barriers of personal race repugnance. He had 
 grown up with negro boys and girls as playmates. He 
 had romped and wrestled with them. Every servant in 
 every home he had ever known had been a negro. The 
 first human face he remembered bending over his cradle 
 was a negro woman s. He had fallen asleep in her arms 
 times without number. He had found refuge there againsc 
 his mother s stern commands and sobbed out on her 
 breast the story of his fancied wrongs and always found 
 consolation. "Mammy s darlin " was always right 
 the world cruel and wrong! He had loved this old 
 nurse since he could remember. She was now nursing 
 his own and he would defend her with his life with 
 out a moment s hesitation. 
 
 And so it came about inevitably that while he had 
 
 36 
 
CLEO ENTERS 
 
 swung his white and scarlet legions of disguised Clans 
 men in solid line against the Governor and smashed his 
 negro army without the loss of a single life, he was at 
 the same moment proving himself defenseless against 
 the silent and deadly purpose that had already shaped 
 itself in the soul of this sleek, sensuous young animal. 
 He was actually smiling with admiration at the beauti 
 ful picture he saw as she lifted the white pitcher, placed 
 it on the crown of red hair, and crossed the street. 
 
 She was still softly singing as she entered the room 
 and arranged the flowers in pretty confusion. 
 
 Norton had lighted his lamp and seated himself at 
 his desk again. She came close and looked over his 
 shoulder at the piles of papers. 
 
 "How on earth can you work in such a mess?" she 
 asked with a laugh. 
 
 "Used to it," he answered without looking up from 
 the final reading of his editorial. 
 
 "What s that you ve written?" 
 
 The impudent greenish gray eyes bent closer. 
 
 "Oh, a little talk to the Governor " 
 
 "I bet it s a hot one. Peeler says you don t like the 
 Governor read it to me!" 
 
 The editor looked up at the mischievous young face 
 and laughed aloud: 
 
 "I m afraid you wouldn t understand it." 
 
 The girl joined in the laugh and the dimples in the 
 reddish brown cheeks looked prettier than ever. 
 
 "Maybe I wouldn t," she agreed. 
 
 He resumed his reading and she leaned over his chair 
 until he felt the soft touch of her shoulder against his. 
 She was staring at his paste-pot, extended her tapering, 
 creamy finger and touched the paste. 
 
 37 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "What in the world s that?" she cried, giggling 
 again. 
 
 "Paste." 
 
 Another peal of silly laughter echoed through the 
 room. 
 
 "Lord, I thought it was mush and milk I thought it 
 was your supper! don t you eat no supper?" 
 
 "Sometimes." 
 
 The editor looked up with a slight frown and said : 
 
 "Run along now, child, I ve got to work. And tell 
 your mother I m obliged for the flowers." 
 
 "I m not going back home " 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "I m scared out there. I ve come in town to live with 
 my aunt." 
 
 "Well, tell her when you see her." 
 
 "Please let me clean this place up for you?" she 
 pleaded. 
 
 "Not to-night." 
 
 "To-morrow morning, then? I ll come early and 
 every morning please let me it s all I can do to 
 thank you. I ll do it a month just to show you how 
 pretty I can keep it and then you can pay me if you 
 want me. It s a bargain, isn t it?" 
 
 The editor smiled, hesitated, and said: 
 
 "All right every morning at seven." 
 
 "Thank you, major good night!" 
 
 She paused at the door and her white teeth gleamed 
 in the shadows. She turned and tripped down the 
 stairs, humming again the strangely appealing song she 
 had sung at the well. 
 
 38 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 A BEAST AWAKES 
 
 WITHIN a week Norton bitterly regretted the ar 
 rangement he had made with Cleo. Not because she had 
 failed to do her work properly, but precisely because 
 she was doing it so well. She had apparently made it the 
 sole object of her daily thought and the only task to 
 which she devoted her time. 
 
 He couldn t accustom his mind to the extraordinary 
 neatness with which she kept the office. The clean floor, 
 the careful arrangement of the chairs, the neat piles of 
 exchanges laid on a table she had placed beside his 
 desk, and the vase of fresh flowers he found each morn 
 ing, were constant reminders of her personality which 
 piqued his curiosity and disturbed his poise. 
 
 He had told her to come at seven every morning. It 
 was his habit to reach the office and begin reading the 
 exchanges by eight-thirty and he had not expected to 
 encounter her there. She had always managed, how 
 ever, to linger over her morning tasks until his arrival, 
 and never failed to greet him pleasantly and- ask if there 
 were anything else she could do. She also insisted on 
 coming at noon to fill his pitcher and again just before 
 supper to change the water in the vase of flowers. 
 
 At this last call she always tried to engage him in a 
 few words of small talk. At first this program made 
 no impression on his busy brain except that she was 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 trying to prove her value as a servant. Gradually, 
 however, he began to notice that her dresses were cut 
 with remarkable neatness for a girl of her position and 
 that she showed a rare talent in selecting materials be 
 coming to her creamy yellow skin and curling red 
 hair. 
 
 He observed, too, that she had acquired the habit 
 of hanging about his desk when finishing her tasks and 
 had a queer way of looking at him and laughing. 
 
 She began to make him decidedly uncomfortable and 
 he treated her with indifference. No matter how sullen 
 the scowl with which he greeted her, she was alwa} 7 s 
 smiling and humming snatches of strange songs. He 
 sought for an excuse to discharge her and could find 
 none. She had the instincts of a perfect servant in 
 telligent, careful and loyal. She never blundered over 
 the papers on his desk. She seemed to know instinc 
 tively what was worthless and what was valuable, and 
 never made a mistake in rearranging the chaotic piles 
 of stuff he left in his wake. 
 
 He thought once for just a moment of the possibility 
 of her loyalty to the negro race. She might in that case 
 prove a valuable spy to the Governor and his allies. 
 He dismissed the idea as preposterous. She never asso 
 ciated with negroes if she could help it and apparently 
 was as innocent as a babe of the nature of the terrific 
 struggle in which he was engaged with the negroid gov 
 ernment of the state. 
 
 And yet she disturbed him deeply and continuously, 
 as deeply sometimes when absent as when present. 
 
 Why? 
 
 He asked himself the question again and again. Why 
 should he dislike her? She did her work promptly and 
 
 40 
 
A BEAST AWAKES 
 
 efficiently, and for the first time within his memory the 
 building was really fit for human habitation. 
 
 At last he guessed the truth and it precipitated the 
 first battle of his life with the beast that slumbered 
 within. Feeling her physical nearness more acutely 
 than usual at dusk and noting that she had paused in 
 her task near his desk, he slowly lifted his eyes from the 
 paper he was reading and, before she realized it, caught 
 the look on her face when off guard. The girl was 
 in love with him. It was as clear as day now that he 
 had the key to her actions the past week. For this rea 
 son she had come and for this reason she was working 
 with such patience and skill. 
 
 His first impulse was one of rage. He had little of 
 the vanity of the male animal that struts before the 
 female. His pet aversion was the man of his class who 
 lowered himself to vulgar association with such girls. 
 The fact that, at this time in the history of the South, 
 such intrigues were common made his determination all 
 the more bitter as a leader of his race to stand for its 
 purity. 
 
 He suddenly swung in his chair, determined to dismiss 
 her at once with as few words as possible. 
 
 She leaped gracefully back with a girlish laugh, so 
 soft, low and full of innocent surprise, the harsh words 
 died on his lips. 
 
 "Lordy, major," she cried, "how you scared me! I 
 thought you had a fit. Did a pin stick you or maybe 
 a flea bit you ?" 
 
 She leaned against the mantel laughing, her white 
 teeth gleaming. 
 
 He hesitated a moment, his eyes lingered on the grace 
 ful pose of her young figure, his ear caught the soft 
 
 41 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 note of friendly tenderness in her voice and he was 
 silent. 
 
 "What s the matter?" she asked, stepping closer. 
 
 "Nothing." 
 
 "Well, you made an awful fuss about it !" 
 
 "Just thought of something suddenly " 
 
 "I thought you were going to bite my head off and 
 then that something bit you!" 
 
 Again she laughed and walked slowly to the door, her 
 greenish eyes watching him with studied carelessness, as 
 a cat a mouse. Every movement of her figure was 
 music, her smile contagious, and, by a subtle mental 
 telepathy, she knew that the man before her felt it, and 
 her heart was singing a savage song of triumph. She 
 could wait. She had everything to gain and nothing to 
 lose. She belonged to the pariah world of the Negro. 
 Her love was patient, joyous, insistent, unconquerable. 
 
 It was unusually joyous to-night because she felt 
 without words that the mad desires that burned a living 
 fire in every nerve of her young body had scorched 
 the man she had marked her own from the moment she 
 had first laid eyes on his serious, aristocratic face for 
 back of every hysterical cry that came from her lips 
 that night in the shadows beside old Peeler s house lay 
 the sinister purpose of a mad love that had leaped full 
 grown from the deeps of her powerful animal nature. 
 
 She paused in the doorway and softly said: 
 
 "Good night." 
 
 The tone of her voice was a caress and the bold eyes 
 laughed a daring challenge straight into his. 
 
 He stared at her a moment, flushed, turned pale and 
 answered in a strained voice: 
 
 "Good night, Cleo." 
 
A BEAST AWAKES 
 
 But it was not a good night for him. It was a night 
 never to be forgotten. Until after twelve he walked be 
 neath the stars and fought the Beast the Beast with a 
 thousand heads and a thousand legs ; the Beast that had 
 been bred in the bone and sinew of generations of ances 
 tors, wilful, cruel, courageous conquerors of the world. 
 Before its ravenous demands the words of mother, 
 teacher, priest and lawgiver were as chaff before the 
 whirlwind the Beast demanded his own! Peace came 
 at last with the vision of a baby s laughing face peeping 
 at him from the arms of a frail little mother. 
 
 He made up his mind and hurried home. He would 
 get rid of this girl to-morrow and never again permit 
 her shadow to cross his pathway. With other men of 
 more sluggish temperament, position, dignity, the re 
 sponsibility of leadership, the restraints of home and 
 religion might be the guarantee of safety under such 
 temptations. He didn t propose to risk it. He under 
 stood now why he was so nervous and distracted in her 
 presence. The mere physical proximity to such a crea 
 ture, vital, magnetic, unmoral, beautiful and daring, 
 could only mean one thing to a man of his age and in 
 heritance a temptation so fierce that yielding could 
 only be a question of time and opportunity. 
 
 And when he told her the next morning that she must 
 not come again she was not surprised, but accepted his 
 dismissal without a word of protest. 
 
 With a look of tenderness she merely said: 
 
 "I m sorry." 
 
 "Yes," he went on curtly, "you annoy me; I can t 
 write while you are puttering around, and I m always 
 afraid you ll disturb some of my papers." 
 
 She laughed in his face, a joyous, impudent, good- 
 43 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 natured, ridiculous laugh, that said more eloquently 
 than words : 
 
 "I understand your silly excuse. You re afraid of 
 me. You re a big coward. Don t worry, I can wait. 
 You ll come to me. And if not, I ll find you for I 
 shall be near and now that you know and fear, I shall 
 be very near!" 
 
 She moved shyly to the door and stood framed in its 
 white woodwork, an appealing picture of dumb regret. 
 
 She had anticipated this from the first. And from 
 the moment she threw the challenge into his eyes the 
 night before, saw him flush and pale beneath it, she 
 knew it must come at once, and was prepared. There 
 was no use to plead and beg or argue. It would be a 
 waste of breath with him in this mood. 
 
 Besides, she had already found a better plan. 
 
 So when he began to try to soften his harsh decision 
 with kindly words she only smiled in the friendliest pos 
 sible way, stepped back to his desk, extended her hand, 
 and said: 
 
 "Please let me know if you need me. I ll do anything 
 on earth for you, major. Good-by." 
 
 It was impossible to refuse the gracefully out 
 stretched hand. The Southern man had been bred from * 
 the cradle to the most intimate and friendly personal 
 relations with the black folks who were servants in the 
 house. Yet the moment he touched her hand, felt its 
 soft warm pressure and looked into the depths of her 
 shining eyes he wished that he had sent her away with 
 downright rudeness. 
 
 But it was impossible to be rude with this beautiful 
 young animal that purred at his side. He started to 
 say something harsh, she laughed and he laughed. 
 
 44 
 
A BEAST AWAKES 
 
 She held his hand clasped in hers for a moment and 
 slowly said: 
 
 "I haven t done anything wrong, have I, major?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "You are not mad at me for anything?" 
 
 "No, certainly not." 
 
 "I wonder why you won t let me work here?" 
 
 She looked about the room and back at him, speaking 
 slowly, musingly, with an impudence that left little 
 doubt in his mind that she suspected the real reason and 
 was deliberately trying to tease him. 
 
 He flushed, hurriedly withdrew his hand and replied 
 carelessly : 
 
 "You bother me can t work when you re fooling 
 around." 
 
 "All right, good-bye." 
 
 He turned to his work and she was gone. He was 
 glad she was out of his sight and out of his life for 
 ever. He had been a fool to allow her in the building 
 at all. 
 
 He could concentrate his mind now on his fight with 
 the Governor. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE ARREST 
 
 THE time had come in Norton s fight when he was 
 about to be put to a supreme test. 
 
 The Governor was preparing the most daring and 
 sensational movement of his never-to-be-forgotten ad 
 ministration. The audacity and thoroughness with 
 which the Klan had disarmed and made ridiculous his 
 army of fifty thousand negroes was at first a stunning 
 blow. In vain Schlitz stormed and pleaded for National 
 aid. 
 
 "You must ask for Federal troops without a mo 
 ment s delay," he urged desperately. 
 The Scalawag shook his head with quiet determination. 
 
 "Congress, under the iron rule of Stevens, will send 
 them, I grant you " 
 
 "Then why hesitate?" 
 
 "Because their coming would mean that I have been 
 defeated on my own soil, that my administration of the 
 state is a failure." 
 
 "Well, isn t it?" 
 
 "No ; I ll make good my promises to the men in 
 Washington who have backed me. They are preparing 
 to impeach the President, remove him from office and 
 appoint a dictator in his stead. I ll show them that I 
 can play my part in the big drama, too. I am going 
 to deliver this state bound hand and foot into their 
 
THE ARREST 
 
 hands, with a triumphant negro electorate in the sad 
 dle, or I ll go down in ignominious defeat." 
 
 "You ll go down, all right without those troops 
 mark my word," cried the Carpetbagger. 
 
 "All right, I ll go down flying my own flag." 
 
 "You re a fool!" Schlitz roared. "Union troops are 
 our only hope!" 
 
 His Excellency kept his temper. The little ferret 
 eyes beneath their bushy brows were drawn to narrow 
 lines as he slowly said: 
 
 "On the other hand, my dear Schlitz, I don t think I 
 could depend on Federal troops if they were here." 
 
 "No?" was the indignant sneer. 
 
 "Frankly I do not," was the even answer. "Federal 
 officers have not shown themselves very keen about ex 
 ecuting the orders of Reconstruction Governors. They 
 have often pretended to execute them and in reality 
 treated us with contempt. They hold, in brief, that they 
 fought to preserve the Union, not to make negroes rule 
 over white men ! The task before us is not to their 
 liking. I don t trust them for a moment. I have a bet 
 ter plan " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "I propose to raise immediately an army of fifty 
 thousand loyal white men, arm and drill them without 
 delay " 
 
 "Where ll you get them?" Schlitz cried incredulously. 
 
 "I ll find them if I have to drag the gutters for every 
 poor white scamp in the state. They ll be a tough lot, 
 maybe, but they ll make good soldiers. A soldier is a 
 man who obeys orders, draws his pay, and asks no ques 
 tions " 
 
 "And then what?" 
 
 47 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "And then, sir! " 
 
 The Governor s leathery little face flushed as he 
 sprang to his feet and paced the floor of his office in 
 intense excitement. 
 
 "I ll tell you what then !" Schlitz cried with scorn. 
 
 The pacing figure paused and eyed his tormentor, 
 lifting his shaggy brows : 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "And then," the Carpetbagger answered, "the Ku 
 Klux Klan will rise in a night, jump on your mob of 
 ragamuffins, take their guns and kick them back into 
 the gutter." 
 
 "Perhaps," the Governor said, musingly, "if I give 
 them a chance ! But I won t !" 
 
 "You won t? How can you prevent it?" 
 
 "Very simply. I ll issue a proclamation suspending 
 the writ of habeas corpus " 
 
 "But you have no right," Schlitz gasped. The ex- 
 scullion had been studying law the past two years and 
 aspired to the Supreme Court bench. 
 
 "My right is doubtful, but it will go in times of rev 
 olution. I ll suspend the writ, arrest the leaders of the 
 Klan without warrant, put them in jail and hold them 
 there without trial until the day after the election." 
 
 Schlitz s eyes danced as he sprang forward and ex 
 tended his fat hand to the Scalawag: 
 
 "Governor, you re a great man ! Only a great mind 
 would dare such a plan. But do you think your life 
 will be safe?" 
 
 The little figure was drawn erect and the ferret eyes 
 flashed : 
 
 "The Governor of a mighty commonwealth they 
 wouldn t dare lift their little finger against me." 
 
 48 
 
THE ARREST 
 
 Schlitz shook his head dubiously. 
 
 "A pretty big job in times of peace to suspend the 
 civil law, order wholesale arrests without warrants by 
 a ragged militia and hold your men without trial " 
 
 "I like the job!" was the quick answer. "I m going 
 to show the smart young man who edits the paper in 
 this town that he isn t running the universe." 
 
 Again the adventurer seized the hand of his chief : 
 
 "Governor, you re a great man! I take my hat off 
 to you, sir." 
 
 His Excellency smiled, lifted his sloping shoulders, 
 moistened his thin lips and whispered: 
 
 "Not a word now to a living soul until I strike " 
 
 "I understand, sir, not a word," the Carpetbagger 
 replied in low tones as he nervously fumbled his hat 
 and edged his way out of the room. 
 
 The editor received the Governor s first move in the 
 game with contempt. It was exactly what he had ex 
 pected this organization of white renegades, thieves, 
 loafers, cut-throats, and deserters. It was the last re 
 sort of desperation. Every day, while these dirty ig 
 norant recruits were being organized and drilled, he 
 1 taunted the Governor over the personnel of his "Loyal" 
 army. He began the publication of the history of its 
 officers and men. These biographical stories were writ 
 ten with a droll humor that kept the whole state in a 
 good-humored ripple of laughter and inspired the con 
 vention that nominated a complete white man s ticket 
 to renewed enthusiasm. 
 
 And then the bolt from the blue the Governor s act 
 of supreme madness ! 
 
 As the editor sat at his desk writing an editorial con 
 gratulating the state on the brilliant ticket that the 
 
 49 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 white race had nominated and predicting its triumphant 
 election, in spite of negroes, thieves, cut-throats, Scala 
 wags and Carpetbaggers, a sudden commotion on the 
 sidewalk in front of his office stopped his pencil in the 
 midst of an unfinished word. 
 
 He walked to the window and looked out. By the 
 flickering light of the street lamp he saw an excited 
 crowd gathering in the street. 
 
 A company of the Governor s new guard had halted 
 in front. An officer ripped off the palings from the 
 picket fence beside the building and sent a squad of his 
 men to the rear. 
 
 The tramp of heavy feet on the stairs was heard and 
 the dirty troopers crowded into the editor s room, mus 
 kets in hand, cocked, and their fingers on the triggers. 
 
 Norton quietly drew the pencil from his ear, smiled 
 at the mottled group of excited men, and spoke in his 
 slow drawl: 
 
 "And why this excitement, gentlemen?" 
 
 The captain stepped forward: 
 
 "Are you Major Daniel Norton?" 
 
 "I am, sir." 
 
 "You re my prisoner." 
 
 "Show your warrant!" was the quick challenge. 
 
 "I don t need one, sir." 
 
 "Indeed ! And since when is this state under martial 
 law?" 
 
 "Will you go peaceable?" the captain asked roughly. 
 
 "When I know by whose authority you make this 
 arrest." 
 
 The editor walked close to the officer, drew himself 
 erect, his hands clenched behind his back and held 
 the man s eye for a moment with a cold stare. 
 
 50 
 
THE ARREST 
 
 The captain hesitated and drew a document from his 
 pocket. 
 
 The editor scanned it hastily and suddenly turned 
 pale: 
 
 "A proclamation suspending the writ of habeas cor- 
 pus impossible !" 
 
 The captain lifted his dirty palms : 
 
 "I reckon you can read !" 
 
 "Oh, yes, I can read it, captain still it s impossible. 
 You can t suspend the law of gravitation by saying so 
 on a scrap of paper " 
 
 "You are ready to go?" 
 
 The editor laughed: 
 
 "Certainly, certainly with pleasure, I assure you." 
 
 The captain lifted his hand and his men lowered their 
 guns. The editor seized a number of blank writing 
 pads, a box of pencils, put on his hat and called to his 
 assistants : 
 
 "I m moving my office temporarily to the county jail, 
 boys. It s quieter over there. I can do better work. 
 Send word to my home that I m all right and tell my 
 wife not to worry for a minute. Every man to his post 
 now and the liveliest paper ever issued! And on time 
 to the minute." 
 
 The printers had crowded into the room and a ring 
 ing cheer suddenly startled the troopers. 
 
 The foreman held an ugly piece of steel in his hand 
 and every man seemed to have hold of something. 
 
 "Give the word, chief!" the foreman cried. 
 
 The editor smiled: 
 
 "Thanks, boys, I understand. Go back to your 
 work. You can help best that way." 
 
 The men dropped their weapons and crowded to the 
 
 51 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 door, jeering and howling in derision at the awkward 
 squad as they stumbled down the stairs after their 
 commander, who left the building holding tightly to the 
 editor s arm, as if at any moment he expected an 
 escape or a rescue. 
 
 The procession wended its way to the jail behind the 
 Court House through a crowd of silent men who merely 
 looked at the prisoner, smiled and nodded to him over 
 the heads of his guard. 
 
 An ominous quiet followed the day s work. The Gov 
 ernor was amazed at the way his sensational coup was 
 received. He had arrested and thrown into jail with 
 out warrant the leaders of the white party in every 
 county in the state. He was absolutely sure that these 
 men were the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan, the one 
 invisible but terrible foe he really feared. 
 
 He had expected bluster, protests, mass meetings and 
 fiery resolutions. Instead his act was received with a 
 silence that was uncanny. In vain his Carpetbagger 
 lieutenant congratulated him on the success of his Na 
 poleonic move. 
 
 His little ferret eyes snapped with suppressed excite 
 ment. 
 
 "But what the devil is the meaning of this silence, 
 Schlitz?" he asked with a tremor. 
 
 "They re stunned, I tell you. It was a master stroke. 
 They re a lot of cowards and sneaks, these night raiders, 
 anyhow. It only took a bold act of authority to throw 
 them into a panic." 
 
 The Scalawag shook his head thoughtfully: 
 
 "Doesn t look like a panic to me I m uneasy " 
 
 "The only possible mistake you ve made was the ar 
 rest of Norton." 
 
THE ARREST 
 
 "Yes, I know public sentiment in the North don t 
 like an attempt to suppress free speech, but I simply 
 had to do it. Damn him, I ve stood his abuse as long 
 as I m going to. Besides his dirty sheet is at the bot 
 tom of all our trouble." 
 
 When the Governor scanned his copy of the next 
 morning s Eagle and Phoenix his feeling of uneasiness 
 increased. 
 
 Instead of the personal abuse he had expected from 
 the young firebrand, he read a long, carefully written 
 editorial reviewing the history of the great writ of 
 habeas corpus in the evolution of human freedom. The 
 essay closed with the significant statement that no Gov 
 ernor in the records of the state or the colony had ever 
 dared to repeal or suspend this guarantee of Anglo- 
 Saxon liberty not even for a moment during the chaos 
 of the Civil War. 
 
 But the most disquieting feature of this editorial was 
 the suggestive fact that it was set between heavy mourn 
 ing lines and at the bottom of it stood a brief paragraph 
 enclosed in even heavier black bands: 
 
 "We regret to announce that the state is at present with 
 out a chief executive. Our late unlamented Governor 
 passed away in a fit of insanity at three o clock yesterday/ 
 
 When the little Scalawag read the sarcastic obituary 
 he paled for a moment and the hand which held the 
 paper trembled so violently he was compelled to lay it 
 on the table to prevent his secretary from noting his 
 excitement. 
 
 For the first time in the history of the state an armed 
 guard was stationed at the door of the Governor s man 
 sion that night. 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The strange calm continued. No move was made by 
 the negroid government to bring the imprisoned men 
 to trial and apparently no effort was being made by the 
 men inside the jails to regain their liberty. 
 
 Save that his editorials were dated from the county 
 jail, no change had occurred in the daily routine of 
 the editor s life. He continued his series of articles 
 on the history of the state each day, setting them in 
 heavy black mourning lines. Each of these editorials 
 ended with an appeal to the patriotism of the reader. 
 And the way in which he told the simple story of each 
 step achieved in the blood-marked struggle for liberty 
 had a punch in it that boded ill for the little man who 
 had set himself the task of dictatorship for a free peo 
 ple. 
 
 No reference was made in the Eagle and Phoenix to 
 the Governor. He was dead. The paper ignored his 
 existence. Each day of this ominous peace among his 
 enemies increased the terror which had gripped the lit 
 tle Scalawag from the morning he had read his first 
 obituary. The big black rules down the sides of those 
 editorials seemed a foot wide now when he read 
 them. 
 
 Twice he seated himself at his desk to order the edi 
 tor s release and each time cringed and paused at the 
 thought of the sneers with which his act would be 
 greeted. He was now between the devil and the deep 
 sea. He was afraid to retreat and dared not take the 
 next step forward. If he could hold his ground for 
 two weeks longer, and carry the election by the over 
 whelming majority he had planned, all would be well. 
 Such a victory, placing him in power for four years and 
 giving him an obedient negro Legislature once more to 
 
 54 
 
THE ARREST 
 
 do his bidding, would strike terror to his foes and silence 
 their assaults. The negro voters far outnumbered the 
 whites, and victory was a certainty. And so he held his 
 ground until something happened ! 
 
 It began in a semi-tropical rain storm that swept 
 the state. All day it poured in blinding torrents, the 
 wind steadily rising in velocity until at noon it was 
 scarcely possible to walk the streets. 
 
 At eight o clock the rain ceased to fall and by nine 
 glimpses of the moon could be seen as the fast flying 
 clouds parted for a moment. But for these occasional 
 flashes of moonlight the night was pitch dark. The 
 Governor s company of nondescript soldiers in camp 
 at the Capitol, drenched with rain, had abandoned their 
 water-soaked tents for the more congenial atmosphere 
 of the low dives and saloons of the negro quarters. 
 
 The minute the rain ceased to fall, Norton s wife sent 
 his supper but to-night by a new messenger. Cleo 
 smiled at him across the little table as she skillfully laid 
 the cloth, placed the dishes and set a tiny vase of 
 roses in the center. 
 
 "You see," she began, smiling, "your wife needed me 
 and I m working at your house now, major." 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 "Yes. Mammy isn t well and I help with the baby. 
 He s a darling. He loved me the minute I took him in 
 my arms and hugged him." 
 
 "No doubt." 
 
 "His little mother likes me, too. I can pick her up 
 in my arms and carry her across the room. You 
 wouldn t think I m so strong, would you?" 
 
 "Yes I would," he answered slowly, studying her 
 with a look of increasing wonder at her audacity. 
 
 55 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "You re not mad at me for being there, are you? 
 You can t be mammy wants me so" she paused 
 "Lordy, I forgot the letter !" 
 
 She drew from her bosom a note from his wife. He 
 looked curiously at a smudge where it was sealed and, 
 glancing at the girl who was busy with the tray, opened 
 and read: 
 
 "I have just received a message from MacArthur s 
 daughter that your life is to be imperilled to-night by a 
 dangerous raid. Remember your helpless wife and baby. 
 Surely there are trusted men who can do such work. You 
 have often told me that no wise general ever risks his 
 precious life on the firing line. You are a soldier, and 
 know this. Please, dearest, do not go. Baby and little 
 mother both beg of you!" 
 
 Norton looked at Cleo again curiously. He was sure 
 that the seal of this note had been broken and its mes 
 sage read by her. 
 
 "Do you know what s in this note, Cleo?" he asked 
 sharply. 
 
 "No, sir!" was the quick answer. 
 
 He studied her again closely. She was on guard 
 now. Every nerve alert, every faculty under perfect 
 control. He was morally sure she was lying and yet it 
 could only be idle curiosity or jealous interest in his 
 affairs that prompted the act. That she should be an 
 emissary of the Governor was absurd. 
 
 "It s not bad news, I hope?" she asked with an eager 
 ness that was just a little too eager. The man caught 
 the false note and frowned. 
 
 "No," he answered carelessly. "It s of no impor 
 tance." He picked up a pad and wrote a hurried answer: 
 
 56 
 
THE ARREST 
 
 "Don t worry a moment, dear. I am not in the slight 
 est clanger. I know a soldier s duty and I ll not forget it. 
 Sleep soundly, little mother and baby mine!" 
 
 He folded the sheet of paper and handed it to her 
 without sealing it. She was watching him keenly. His 
 deep, serious eyes no longer saw her. His body was 
 there, but the soul was gone. The girl had never seen 
 him in this mood. She was frightened. His life was 
 in danger. She knew it now by an unerring instinct. 
 She would watch the jail and see what happened. She 
 might do something to win his friendship, and then 
 the rest would be easy. Her hand trembled as she took 
 the note. 
 
 "Give this to Mrs. Norton at once," he said, "and 
 tell her you found me well and happy in my work." 
 
 "Yes, sir," the soft voice answered mechanically as 
 she picked up the tray and left the room watching him 
 furtively. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE RESCUE 
 
 CLEO hurried to the house, delivered the message, 
 rocked the baby to sleep and quietly slipped through 
 the lawn into the street and back to the jail. 
 
 A single guard kept watch at the door. She saw him 
 by a flash of moonlight and then passed so close she 
 could have touched the long old-fashioned musket he 
 carried loosely across his shoulder. 
 
 The cat-like tread left no echo and she took her 
 stand in the underbrush that had pushed its way closer 
 and closer until its branches touched the rear walls of 
 the jail. For two hours she stood amid the shadows, 
 her keen young ears listening and her piercing eyes 
 watching. Again and again she counted the steps the 
 sentinel made as he walked back and forth in front of 
 the entrance to the jail. 
 
 She knew from the sound that he passed the corner 
 of the building for three steps in full view from her 
 position, could she but see him through the darkness. 
 Twice she had caught a glimpse of his stupid face as 
 the moon flashed a moment of light through a rift of 
 clouds. 
 
 "The Lord help that idiot," she muttered, "if the 
 major s men want to pass him to-night!" 
 
 She turned with a sharp start. The bushes softly 
 parted behind her and a stealthy step drew near. Her 
 
 58 
 
THE RESCUE 
 
 heart stood still. She was afraid to breathe. They 
 wouldn t hurt her if they only knew she was the major s 
 friend. But if they found and recognized her as old 
 Peeler s half-breed daughter, they might kill her on the 
 spot as a spy. 
 
 She hadn t thought of this terrible possibility before. 
 It was too late now to think. To run meant almost 
 certain death. She flattened her figure against the wall 
 of the jail and drew the underbrush close completely 
 covering her form. 
 
 She stood motionless and as near breathless as possi 
 ble until the two men who were approaching a step at 
 a time had passed. At the corner of the jail they 
 stopped within three feet of her. She could hear every 
 word of their conference. 
 
 "Now, Mac, do as I tell you," a voice whispered. 
 "Jump on him from behind as he passes the corner and 
 get him in the gills." 
 
 "I understand." 
 
 "Choke him stiff until I get something in his mouth." 
 
 "Ah, it s too easy. I d like a little excitement." 
 
 "We ll get it before morning " 
 
 "Sh! what s that?" 
 
 "I didn t hear anything!" 
 
 "Something moved." 
 
 A bush had slipped from Cleo s hand. She gripped 
 the others with desperation. Ten minutes passed amid 
 a death-like silence. A hundred times she imagined the 
 hand of one of these men feeling for her throat. At 
 last she drew a deep breath. 
 
 The men began to move step by step toward the 
 doomed sentinel. They were standing beside the front 
 corner of the jail now waiting panther-like for their 
 
 59 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 prey. They allowed him to pass twice. He stopped 
 at the end of his beat, blew his nose and spoke to himself: 
 
 "God, what a lonely night !" 
 
 The girl heard him turn, his feet measure three steps 
 on his return and stop with a dull thud. She couldn t 
 see, but she could feel through the darkness the grip of 
 those terrible fingers on his throat. The only sound 
 made was the dull thud of his body on the wet ground. 
 
 In two minutes they had carried him into the shadows 
 of a big china tree in the rear and tied him to the trunk. 
 She could hear their sharp order: 
 
 "Break those cords now or dare to open your mouth 
 and, no matter what happens, we ll kill you first just 
 for luck." 
 
 In ten minutes they had reported the success of their 
 work to their comrades w r ho were waiting and the men 
 who had been picked for their dangerous task sur 
 rounded the jail and slowly took up their appointed 
 places in the shadows. 
 
 The attacking group stopped for their final instruc 
 tions not five feet from the girl s position. A flash of 
 moonlight and she saw them six grim white and scarlet 
 figures wearing spiked helmets from which fell a cloth 
 mask to their shoulders. Their big revolvers were 
 buckled on the outside of their disguises and each man s 
 hand rested on the handle. 
 
 One of them quietly slipped his robe from his shoul 
 ders, removed his helmet, put on the sentinel s coat and 
 cap, seized his musket and walked to the door of the 
 jail. 
 
 She heard him drop the butt of the gun on the flag 
 stone at the steps and call: 
 
 "Hello, jailer!" 
 
 60 
 
THE RESCUE 
 
 Some one stirred inside. It was not yet one o clock 
 emd the jailer who had been to a drinking bout with 
 the soldiers had not gone to bed. In his shirt sleeves 
 he thrust his head out the door: 
 
 "Who is it?" 
 
 "The guard, sir." 
 
 "Well, what the devil do you want?" 
 
 "Can t ye gimme a drink of somethin ? I m soaked 
 through and I ve caught cold " 
 
 "All right, in a minute," was the gruff reply. 
 
 The girl could hear the soft tread of the shrouded 
 figures closing in on the front door. A moment more 
 and it opened. The voice inside said: 
 
 "Here you are!" 
 
 The words had scarcely passed his lips, and there 
 was another dull crash. A dozen masked Clansmen 
 hurled themselves into the doorway and rushed over 
 the prostrate form of the half -drunken jailer. He was 
 too frightened to call for help. He lay with his face 
 downward, begging for his life. 
 
 It was the work of a minute to take the keys from 
 his trembling fingers, bind and gag him, and release 
 Norton. The whole thing had been done so quietly not 
 even a dog had barked at the disturbance. 
 
 Again they stopped within a few feet of the trembling 
 figure against the wall. The editor had now put on his 
 disguise and stood in the centre of the group giving his 
 orders as quietly as though he were talking to his print 
 ers about the form of his paper. 
 
 "Quick now, Mac," she heard him say, "we ve not a 
 moment to lose. I want two pieces of scantling strong 
 enough for a hangman s beam. Push one of them out 
 of the center window of the north end of the Capitol 
 
 61 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 building, the other from the south end. We ll hang the 
 little Scalawag on the south side and the Carpetbagger 
 on the north. We ll give them this grim touch of 
 poetry at the end. Your ropes have ready swinging 
 from these beams. Keep your men on guard there until 
 I come." 
 
 "All right, sir !" came the quick response. 
 
 "My hundred picked men are waiting?" 
 
 "On the turnpike at the first branch " 
 
 "Good! The Governor is spending the night at 
 Schlitz s place, three miles out. He has been afraid to 
 sleep at home of late, I hear. We ll give the little man 
 and his pal a royal escort for once as they approach 
 the Capitol expect us within an hour." 
 
 A moment and they were gone. The girl staggered 
 from her cramped position and flew to the house. She 
 couldn t understand it all, but she realized that if the 
 Governor were killed it meant possible ruin for the man 
 she had marked her own. 
 
 A light was still burning in the mother s room. She 
 had been nervous and restless and couldn t sleep. She 
 heard the girl s swift, excited step on the stairway and 
 rushed to the door: 
 
 "What is it? What has happened?" 
 
 Cleo paused for breath and gasped : 
 
 "They ve broken the jail open and he s gone with 
 the Ku Klux to kill the Governor !" 
 
 "To kill the Governor?" 
 
 "Yessum. He s got a hundred men waiting out on 
 the turnpike and they re going to hang the Governor 
 from one of the Capitol windows !" 
 
 The wife caught the girl by the shoulders and cried: 
 
 " L Who told you this?" 
 
 62 
 
THE RESCUE 
 
 "Nobody. I saw them. I was passing the jail, 
 heard a noise and went close in the dark. I heard the 
 major give the orders to the men." 
 
 "Oh, my God!" the little mother groaned. "And 
 they are going straight to the Governor s mansion?" 
 
 "No no he said the Governor s out at Schlitz s 
 place, spending the night. They re going to kill him, 
 too " 
 
 "Then there s time to stop them quick can you 
 hitch a horse?" 
 
 "Yessum !" 
 
 "Run to the stable, hitch my horse to the buggy and 
 take a note I ll write to my grandfather, old Governor 
 Carteret you know where his place is the big red 
 brick house at the edge of town?" 
 
 "Yessum " 
 
 "His street leads into the turnpike quick now the 
 horse and buggy !" 
 
 The strong young body sprang down the steps three 
 and four rounds at a leap and in five minutes the 
 crunch of swift wheels on the gravel walk was heard. 
 
 She sprang up the stairs, took the note from the 
 frail, trembling little hand and bounded out of the house 
 again. 
 
 The clouds had passed and the moon was shining now 
 in silent splendor on the sparkling refreshed trees and 
 shrubbery. The girl was an expert in handling a horse. 
 Old Peeler had at least taught her that. In five more 
 minutes from the time she had left the house she was 
 knocking furiously at the old Governor s door. He was 
 eighty-four, but a man of extraordinary vigor for his 
 age. 
 
 He came to the door alone in his night-dress, candle 
 68 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 in hand, scowling at the unseemly interruption of his 
 rest. 
 
 "What is it?" he cried with impatience. 
 
 "A note from Mrs. Norton." 
 
 At the mention of her name the fine old face softened 
 and then his eyes flashed: 
 
 "She is ill?" 
 
 "No, sir but she wants you to help her." 
 
 He took the note, placed the candle on the old- 
 fashioned mahogany table in his hall, returned to his 
 room for his glasses, adjusted them with deliberation 
 and read its startling message. 
 
 He spoke without looking up : 
 
 "You know the road to Schlitz s house?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, every foot of it." 
 
 "I ll be ready in ten minutes." 
 
 "We ve no time to lose you d better hurry," the 
 girl said nervously. 
 
 The old man lifted his eyebrows : 
 
 "I will. But an ex-Governor of the state can t rush 
 to meet the present Governor in his shirt-tail now, can 
 he?" 
 
 Cleo laughed : 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 The thin, sprightly figure moved quickly in spite of 
 the eighty-four years and in less than ten minutes he 
 was seated beside the girl and they were flying over 
 the turnpike toward the Schlitz place. 
 
 "How long since those men left the jail?" the old 
 Governor asked roughly. 
 
 "About a half-hour, sir." 
 
 "Give your horse the rein we ll be too late, I m 
 afraid." * 
 
 64 
 
THE RESCUE 
 
 The lines slacked over the spirited animal s back and 
 he sprang forward as though lashed by the insult to 
 his high breeding. 
 
 The sky was studded now with stars sparkling in the 
 air cleared by the rain, and the moon flooded the white 
 roadway with light. The buggy flew over the beaten 
 track for a mile, and as they suddenly plunged down a 
 hill the old man seized both sides of the canopy top 
 to steady his body as the light rig swayed first one way 
 and then the other. 
 
 "You re going pretty fast," he grumbled. 
 
 "Yes, you said to give him the reins." 
 
 "But I didn t say to throw them on the horse s head, 
 did I?" 
 
 "No, sir," the girl giggled. 
 
 "Pull him in!" he ordered sharply. 
 
 The strong young arms drew the horse suddenly 
 down on his haunches and the old man lurched forward. 
 
 "I didn t say pull him into the buggy," he growled. 
 
 The girl suppressed another laugh. He was cer 
 tainly a funny old man for all his eighty odd winters. 
 She thought that he must have been a young devil at 
 eighteen. 
 
 "Stop a minute !" he cried sharply. "What s that 
 roaring?" 
 
 Cleo listened : 
 
 "The wind in the trees, I think." 
 
 "Nothing of the sort isn t this Buffalo creek?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "That s water we hear. The creek s out of banks. 
 The storm has made the ford impassable. They haven t 
 crossed this place yet. We re in time." 
 
 The horse lifted his head and neighed. Another 
 
 65 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 answered from the woods and in a moment a white- 
 masked figure galloped up to the buggy and spoke 
 sharply : 
 
 "You can t cross this ford turn back." 
 
 "Are you one of Norton s men?" the old man asked 
 angrily. 
 
 "None of your damned business !" was the quick an 
 swer. 
 
 "I think it is, sir ! I m Governor Carteret. My age 
 and services to this state entitle me to a hearing to 
 night. Tell Major Norton I must speak to him im 
 mediately immediately, sir!" His voice rose to a 
 high note of imperious command. 
 
 The horseman hesitated and galloped into the shad 
 ows. A moment later a tall shrouded figure on horse 
 back slowly aproached. 
 
 "Cut your wheel," the old Governor said to the girl. 
 He stepped from the buggy without assistance. "Now 
 turn round and wait for me." Cleo obeyed, and the 
 venerable statesman with head erect, his white hair and 
 beard shining in the moonlight calmly awaited the ap 
 proach of the younger man. 
 
 Norton dismounted and led his horse, the rein hang 
 ing loosely over his arm. 
 
 "Well, Governor Carteret" the drawling voice was 
 low and quietly determined. 
 
 The white-haired figure suddenly stiffened: 
 
 "Don t insult me, sir, by talking through a mask 
 take that thing off your head." 
 
 The major bowed and removed his mask. 
 
 When the old man spoke again, his voice trembled 
 with emotion, he stepped close and seized Norton s arm : 
 
 "My boy, have you gone mad?" 
 
 66 
 
THE RESCUE 
 
 "I think not," was the even answer. The deep brown 
 eyes were holding the older man s gaze with a cold, 
 deadly look. "Were you ever arrested, Governor, by 
 the henchmen of a peanut politician and thrown into 
 a filthy jail without warrant and held without trial at 
 the pleasure of a master?" 
 
 "No by the living God !" 
 
 "And if you had been, sir?" 
 
 "I d have killed him as I would a dog I d have shot 
 him on sight but you you can t do this now, my boy 
 i you carry the life of the people in your hands to 
 night! You are their chosen leader. The peace and 
 dignity of a great commonwealth are in your care " 
 
 "I am asserting its outraged dignity against a wretch 
 who has basely betrayed it." 
 
 "Even so, this is not the way. Think of the conse 
 quences to-morrow morning. The President will be 
 forced against his wishes to declare the state in insur 
 rection. The army will be marched back into our bor 
 ders and martial law proclaimed." 
 
 "The state is under martial law the writ has been 
 suspended." 
 
 "But not legally, my boy. I know your provocation 
 has been great yes, greater than I could have borne 
 in my day. I ll be honest with you, but you ve had bet 
 ter discipline, my son. I belong to the old regime and 
 an iron will has been my only law. You must live in 
 the new age under new conditions. You must adjust 
 yourself to these conditions." 
 
 "The man who calls himself Governor has betrayed 
 his high trust," Norton broke in with solemn emphasis. 
 "He has forfeited his life. The people whom he has 
 basely sold into bondage will applaud his execution. 
 
 67 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The Klan to-night is the high court of a sovereign state 
 and his death has been ordered." 
 
 "I insist there s a better way. Your Klan is a resist 
 less weapon if properly used. You are a maniac to 
 night. You are pulling your own house down over your 
 head. The election is but a few weeks off. Use your 
 men as an army to force this election. The ballot is 
 force physical force. Apply that force. Your men" 
 can master that rabble of negroes on election day. 
 Drive them from the polls. They ll run like frightened 
 sheep. Their enfranchisement is a crime against civili 
 zation. Every sane man in the North knows this. No 
 matter how violent your methods, an election that re 
 turns the intelligent and decent manhood of a state to 
 power against a corrupt, ignorant and vicious mob will 
 be backed at last by the moral sentiment of the world. 
 There s a fiercer vengeance to be meted out to your 
 Scalawag Governor " 
 
 "What do you mean?" the younger man asked. 
 
 "Swing the power of your Klan in solid line against 
 the ballot-box at this election, carry the state, elect 
 your Legislature, impeach the Governor, remove him 
 from office, deprive him of citizenship and send him 
 to the grave with the brand of shame on his fore 
 head !" 
 
 The leader lifted his somber face, and the older man 
 saw that he was hesitating: 
 
 "That s possible yes " 
 
 The white head moved closer: 
 
 "The only rational thing to do, my boy come, I love 
 you and I love my granddaughter. You ve a great ca 
 reer before you. Don t throw your life away to-night 
 in a single act of madness. Listen to an old man whose 
 
 68 
 
THE RESCUE 
 
 sands are nearly run" a trembling arm slipped around 
 his waist. 
 
 "I appreciate your coming here to-night, Governor, 
 of course." 
 
 "But if I came in vain, why at all?" there were tears 
 in his voice now. "You must do as I say, my son 
 send those men home ! I ll see the Governor to-morrow 
 mornMg and I pledge you my word of honor that I ll 
 make him revoke that proclamation within an hour and 
 restore the civil rights of the people. None of those 
 arrests are legal and every man must be released." 
 
 "He won t do it." 
 
 "When he learns from my lips that I saved his dog s 
 life to-night, he ll do it and lick my feet in gratitude. 
 Won t you trust me, boy?" 
 
 The pressure of the old man s arm tightened and 
 his keen eyes searched Norton s face. The strong fea 
 tures were convulsed with passion, he turned away and 
 the firm mouth closed with decision : 
 
 "All right. I ll take your advice." 
 
 The old Governor was very still for a moment and 
 his voice quivered with tenderness as he touched Nor 
 ton s arm affectionately: 
 
 "You re a good boy, Dan ! I knew you d hear me. 
 God! how I envy you the youth and strength that s 
 yours to fight this battle!" 
 
 The leader blew a whistle and his orderly galloped 
 up: 
 
 "Tell my men to go home and meet me to-morrow at 
 one o clock in the Court House Square, in their every 
 day clothes, armed and ready for orders. I ll dismiss 
 the guard I left at the Capitol." 
 
 The white horseman wheeled and galloped away. 
 
 69 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Norton quietly removed his disguise, folded it neatly, 
 took off his saddle, placed the robe between the folds 
 of the blanket and mounted his horse. 
 
 The old Governor waved to him : 
 
 "My love to the little mother and that boy, Tom, that 
 you ve named for me !" 
 
 "Yes, Governor good night." 
 
 The tall figure on horseback melted into the shadows 
 and in a moment the buggy was spinning over the glis 
 tening, moonlit track of the turnpike. 
 
 When they reached the first street lamps on the edge 
 of town, the old man peered curiously at the girl by 
 his side. 
 
 "You drive well, young woman," he said slowly. 
 "Who taught you?" 
 
 "Old Peeler." 
 
 "You lived on his place?" he asked quickly. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "What s your mother s name?" 
 
 "Lucy." 
 
 "Hm ! I thought so." 
 
 "Why, sir?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing," was the gruff answer. 
 
 "Did you did you know any of my people, sir?" 
 she asked. 
 
 He looked her squarely in the face, smiled and pursed 
 his withered lips : 
 
 "Yes. I happen to be personally acquainted with 
 your grandfather and he was something of a man in his 
 day." 
 
 70 
 
You are a maniac to-night. 
 

CHAPTER VI 
 
 A TRAITOR S RUSE 
 
 THE old Governor had made a correct guess on the 
 line of action his little Scalawag successor in high office 
 would take when confronted by the crisis of the morning. 
 
 The Clansmen had left the two beams projecting 
 through the windows of the north and south wings of 
 the Capitol. A hangman s noose swung from each 
 beam s end. 
 
 When His Excellency drove into town next morning 
 and received the news of the startling events of the 
 night, he ordered a double guard of troops for his of 
 fice and another for his house. 
 
 Old Governor Carteret called at ten o clock and was 
 ushered immediately into the executive office. No more 
 striking contrast could be imagined between two men of 
 equal stature. Their weight and height were almost 
 the same, yet they seemed to belong to different races 
 of men. The Scalawag official hurried to meet his dis 
 tinguished caller a man whose administration thirty 
 years ago was famous in the annals of the state. 
 
 The acting Governor seemed a pigmy beside his ven 
 erable predecessor. The only prominent feature of the 
 Scalawag s face was his nose, Its size should have 
 symbolized strength, yet it didn t. It seemed to pro 
 ject straight in front in a way that looked ridiculous 
 as if some one had caught it with a pair of tongs, 
 
 71 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 tweaked and pulled it out to an unusual length. It 
 was elongated but not impressive. His mouth was 
 weak, his chin small and retreating and his watery fer 
 ret eyes never looked any one straight in the face. The 
 front of his head was bald and sloped backward at an 
 angle. His hair was worn in long, thin, straight locks 
 which he combed often in a vain effort to look the typi 
 cal long-haired Southern gentleman of the old school. 
 
 His black broadcloth suit with a velvet collar and 
 cuffs fitted his slight figure to perfection and yet failed 
 to be impressive. The failure was doubtless due to his 
 curious way of walking about a room. Sometimes side 
 ways like a crab or a crawfish, and when he sought to 
 be impressive, straight forward with an obvious jerk 
 and an effort to appear dignified. 
 
 He was the kind of a man an old-fashioned negro, 
 born and bred in the homes of the aristocratic regime of 
 slavery, would always laugh at. His attempt to be a 
 gentleman was so obvious a fraud it could deceive no 
 one. 
 
 "I am honored, Governor Carteret, by your call this 
 morning," he cried with forced politeness. "I need the 
 advice of our wisest men. I appreciate your coming." 
 
 The old Governor studied the Scalawag for a mo 
 ment calmly and said : 
 
 "Thank you." 
 
 When shown to his seat the older man walked with 
 the unconscious dignity of a man born to rule, the 
 lines of his patrician face seemed cut from a cameo in 
 contrast with the rambling nondescript features of the 
 person who walked with a shuffle beside him. It required 
 no second glance at the clean ruffled shirt with its tiny 
 gold studs, the black string tie, the polished boots and 
 
 72 
 
A TRAITOR S RUSE 
 
 gold-headed cane to recognize the real gentleman of 
 the old school. And no man ever looked a second time 
 at his Roman nose and massive chin and doubted for 
 a moment that he saw a man of power, of iron will and 
 fierce passions. 
 
 "I have called this morning, Governor," the older 
 man began with sharp emphasis, "to advise you to re 
 voke at once your proclamation suspending the writ of 
 habeas corpus. Your act was a blunder a colossal 
 blunder! We are not living in the Dark Ages, sir 
 even if you were elected by a negro constituency ! Your 
 act is four hundred years out of date in the English- 
 speaking world." 
 
 The Scalawag began his answer by wringing his slip 
 pery hands : 
 
 "I realize, Governor Carteret, the gravity of my act. 
 Yet grave dangers call for grave remedies. You see 
 from the news this morning the condition of turmoil 
 into which reckless men have plunged the state." 
 
 The old man rose, crossed the room and confronted 
 the Scalawag, his eyes blazing, his uplifted hand trem 
 bling with passion: 
 
 "The breed of men with whom you are fooling have 
 not submitted to such an act of tyranny from their 
 rulers for the past three hundred years. Your effort to 
 set the negro up as the ruler of the white race is the 
 act of a madman. Revoke your order to-day or the 
 men who opened that jail last night will hang you " 
 
 The Governor laughed lamely : 
 
 "A cheap bluff, sir, a schoolboy s threat !" 
 
 The older man drew closer : 
 
 "A cheap bluff, eh? Well, when you say your 
 prayers to-night, don t forget to thank your Maker for 
 
 73 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 two things that He sent a storm yesterday that made 
 Buffalo creek impassable and that I reached its banks 
 in time!" 
 
 The little Scalawag paled and his voice was scarcely 
 a whisper: 
 
 "Why why, what do you mean?" 
 
 "That I reached the ford in time to stop a hundred 
 desperate men who were standing there in the dark wait 
 ing for its waters to fall that they might cross and hang 
 you from that beam s end you call a cheap bluff ! That 
 I stood there in the moonlight with my arm around their 
 leader for nearly an hour begging, praying, pleading 
 for your damned worthless life! They gave it to me 
 at last because I asked it. No other man could have 
 saved you. Your life is mine to-day! But for my 
 solemn promise to those men that you would revoke that 
 order your body would be swinging at this moment from 
 the Capitol window will you make good my promise?" 
 
 "I ll I ll consider it," was the waning answer. 
 
 "Yes or no?" 
 
 "I ll think it over, Governor Carteret I ll think it 
 over," the trembling voice repeated. "I must consult 
 my friends " 
 
 "I won t take that answer!" the old man thundered 
 in his face. "Revoke that proclamation here and now, 
 or, by the Lord God, I ll send a message to those men 
 that ll swing you from the gallows before the sun rises 
 to-morrow morning!" 
 
 "I ve got my troops " 
 
 "A hell of a lot of troops they are ! Where were they 
 last night the loafing, drunken cowards? You can t 
 get enough troops in this town to save you. Revoke 
 that proclamation or take your chances !" 
 
 74 
 
A TRAITOR S RUSE 
 
 The old Governor seized his hat and walked calmly 
 toward the door. The Scalawag trembled, and finally 
 said: 
 
 "I ll take your advice, sir wait a moment until I 
 write the order." 
 
 The room was still for five minutes, save for the 
 scratch of the Governor s pen, as he wrote his second 
 famous proclamation, restoring the civil rights of the 
 people. He signed and sealed the document and handed 
 it to his waiting guest : 
 
 "Is that satisfactory?" 
 
 The old man adjusted his glasses, read each word 
 carefully, and replied with dignity: 
 
 "Perfectly good morning !" 
 
 The white head erect, the visitor left the execu 
 tive chamber without a glance at the man he de 
 spised. 
 
 The Governor had given his word, signed and sealed 
 his solemn proclamation, but he proved himself a traitor 
 to the last. 
 
 With the advice of his confederates he made a last 
 desperate effort to gain his end of holding the leaders of 
 the opposition party in jail by a quick shift of method. 
 He wired orders to every jailer to hold the men until 
 warrants were issued for their arrest by one of his negro 
 magistrates in each county and wired instructions to the 
 clerk of the court to admit none of them to bail no mat 
 ter what amount offered. 
 
 The charges on which these warrants were issued 
 were, in the main, preposterous perjuries by the hire 
 lings of the Governor. There was no expectation that 
 they would be proven in court. But if they could hold 
 these prisoners until the election was over the little Seal- 
 
 75 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 awag believed the Klan could be thus intimidated in each 
 district and the negro ticket triumphantly elected. 
 
 The Governor was explicit in his instructions to the 
 clerk of the court in the Capital county that under 
 no conceivable circumstances should he accept bail for 
 the editor of the Eagle and Phoenix. 
 
 The Governor s proclamation was issued at noon and 
 within an hour a deputy sheriff appeared at Norton s 
 office and served his warrant charging the preposterous 
 crime of "Treason and Conspiracy" against the state 
 government. 
 
 Norton s hundred picked men were already lounging 
 in the Court House Square. When the deputy appeared 
 with his prisoner they quietly closed in around him and 
 entered the clerk s room in a body. The clerk was 
 dumfounded at the sudden packing of his place with 
 quiet, sullen looking, armed men. Their revolvers were 
 in front and the men were nervously fingering the 
 handles. 
 
 The clerk had been ordered by the Governor under 
 no circumstances to accept bail, and he had promised 
 with alacrity to obey. But he changed his mind at the 
 sight of those revolvers. Not a word was spoken by 
 the men and the silence was oppressive. The frightened 
 official mopped his brow and tried to leave for a moment 
 to communicate with the Capitol. He found it impossi 
 ble to move from his desk. The men were jammed 
 around him in an impenetrable mass. He looked over 
 the crowd in vain for a friendly face. Even the deputy 
 who had made the arrest had been jostled out of the 
 room and couldn t get back. 
 
 The editor looked at the clerk steadily for a moment 
 and quietly asked : 
 
 76 
 
A TRAITOR S RUSE 
 
 "What amount of bail do you require?" 
 
 The officer smiled wanly: 
 
 "Oh, major, it s just a formality with you, sir; a 
 mere nominal sum of $500 will be all right." 
 
 "Make out your bond," the editor curtly ordered. 
 "My friends here will sign it." 
 
 "Certainly, certainly, major," was the quick answer. 
 "Have a seat, sir, while I fill in the blank." 
 
 "I ll stand, thank you," was the quick reply. 
 
 The clerk s pen flew while he made out the forbidden 
 bail which set at liberty the arch enemy of the Gover 
 nor. When it was signed and the daring young leader 
 quietly walked out the door, a cheer from a hundred 
 men rent the air. 
 
 The shivering clerk cowered in his seat over his desk 
 and pretended to be very busy. In reality he was 
 breathing a prayer of thanks to God for sparing his 
 life and registering a solemn vow to quit politics and 
 go back to farming. 
 
 The editor hurried to his office and sent a message to 
 each district leader of the Klan to secure bail for the 
 accused men in the same quiet manner. 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE IRONY OF FATE 
 
 His political battle won, Norton turned his face 
 homeward for a struggle in which victory would not 
 come so easily. He had made up his mind that Cleo 
 should not remain under his roof another day. How 
 much she really knew or understood of the events of the 
 night he could only guess. He was sure she had heard 
 enough of the plans of his men to make a dangerous 
 witness against him if she should see fit to betray the 
 facts to his enemies. 
 
 Yet he was morally certain that he could trust her 
 with this secret. What he could not and would not do 
 was to imperil his own life and character by a daily 
 intimate association with this willful, impudent, smiling 
 young animal. 
 
 His one fear was the wish of his wife to keep her. 
 In her illness she had developed a tyranny of love that 
 brooked no interference with her whims. He had petted 
 and spoiled her until it was well-nigh impossible to 
 change the situation. The fear of her death was the 
 sword that forever hung over his head. 
 
 He hoped that the girl was lying when she said his 
 wife liked her. Yet it was not improbable. Her mind 
 was still a child s. She could not think evil of any one. 
 She loved the young and she loved grace and beauty 
 wherever she saw it. She loved a beautiful cat, a beau- 
 
 78 
 
" Sitting astride her back, lauefhing his loudest. 
 
THE IRONY OF FATE 
 
 tiful dog, and always had taken pride in a handsome 
 servant. It would be just like her to take a fancy to 
 Cleo that no argument could shake. He dreaded to put 
 the thing to an issue but it had to be done. It was out 
 of the question to tell her the real truth. 
 
 His heart sank within him as he entered his wife s 
 room. Mammy had gone to bed suffering with a chill. 
 The doctors had hinted that she was suffering from an 
 incurable ailment and that her days were numbered. 
 Her death might occur at any time. 
 
 Cleo was lying flat on a rug, the baby was sitting 
 astride of her back, laughing his loudest at the funny 
 contortions of her lithe figure. She would stop every 
 now and then, turn her own laughing eyes on him and 
 he would scream with joy. 
 
 The little mother was sitting on the floor like a child 
 and laughing at the scene. In a flash he realized that 
 Cleo had made herself, in the first few days she had been 
 in his house, its dominant spirit. 
 
 He paused in the doorway sobered by the realization. 
 
 The supple young form on the floor slowly writhed 
 on her back without disturbing the baby s sturdy hold, 
 his little legs clasping her body tight. She drew his 
 laughing face to her shoulder, smothering his laughter 
 with kisses, and suddenly sprang to her feet, the baby 
 astride her neck, and began galloping around the 
 room. 
 
 "W oa! January, w oa, sir!" she cried, galloping 
 slowly at first and then prancing like a playful horse. 
 
 Her cheeks were flushed, eyes sparkling and red hair 
 flying in waves of fiery beauty over her exquisite shoul 
 ders, every change of attitude a new picture of graceful 
 abandon, every movement of her body a throb of sav- 
 
 79 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 age music from some strange seductive orchestra hidden 
 in the deep woods ! 
 
 Its notes slowly stole over the senses of the man with 
 such alluring power, that in spite of his annoyance he 
 began to smile. 
 
 The girl stopped, placed the child on the floor, ran 
 to the corner of the room, dropped on all fours and 
 started slowly toward him, her voice imitating the deep 
 growl of a bear. 
 
 "Now the bears are going to get him ! Boo-oo-oo." 
 
 The baby screamed with delight. The graceful young 
 she-bear capered around her victim from side to side, 
 smelling his hands and jumping back, approaching and 
 retreating, growling and pawing the floor, while with 
 each movement the child shouted a new note of joy. 
 
 The man, watching, wondered if this marvelous 
 creamy yellow animal could get into an ungraceful po 
 sition. 
 
 The keen eyes of the young she-bear saw the boy had 
 worn himself out with laughter and slowly approached 
 her victim, tumbled his happy flushed little form over 
 on the rug and devoured him with kisses. 
 
 "Don t, Cleo that s enough now!" the little mother 
 cried, through her tears of laughter. 
 
 "Yessum yessum I m just eatin him up now 
 I m done and he ll be asleep in two minutes." 
 
 She sprang to her feet, crushing the little form ten 
 derly against her warm, young bosom, and walked past 
 the man smiling into his face a look of triumph. The 
 sombre eyes answered with a smile in spite of him 
 self. 
 
 Could any man with red blood in his veins fight suc 
 cessfully a force like that? He heard the growl of the 
 
 80 
 
THE IRONY OF FATE 
 
 Beast within as he stood watching the scene. The sight 
 of the frail little face of his invalid wife brought him 
 up against the ugly fact with a sharp pain. 
 
 Yet the moment he tried to broach the subject of dis 
 charging Cleo, he hesitated, stammered and was silent. 
 At last he braced himself with determination for the 
 task. It was disagreable, but it had to be done. The 
 sooner the better. 
 
 "You like this girl, my dear?" he said softly. 
 
 "She s the most wonderful nurse I ever saw the 
 baby s simply crazy about her!" 
 
 "Yes, I see," he said soberly. 
 
 "It s a perfectly marvellous piece of luck that she 
 came the day she did. Mammy was ready to drop. 
 She s been like a fairy in the nursery from the moment 
 she entered. The kiddy has done nothing but laugh 
 and shriek with delight." 
 
 "And you like her personally?" 
 
 "I ve just fallen in love with her! She s so strong 
 and young and beautiful. She picks me up, laughing 
 like a child, and carries me into the bathroom, carries 
 me back and tucks me in bed as easily as she does the 
 baby." 
 
 "I m sorry, my dear," he interrupted with a firm, 
 hard note in his voice. 
 
 "Sorry for what?" the blue eyes opened with as 
 tonishment. 
 
 "Because I don t like her, and her presence here may 
 be very dangerous just now " 
 
 "Dangerous what on earth can you mean?" 
 
 "To begin with that she s a negress " 
 
 "So s mammy so s the cook the man every serv 
 ant we ve ever had or will have " 
 
 81 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I m not so sure of the last," the husband broke in 
 with a frown. 
 
 "What s dangerous about the girl, I d like to know?" 
 his wife demanded. 
 
 "I said, to begin with, she s a negress. That s per 
 haps the least objectionable thing about her as a servant. 
 But she has bad blood in her on her father s side. Old 
 Peeler s as contemptible a scoundrel as I know in the 
 county " 
 
 "The girl don t like him that s why she left home." 
 
 "Did she tell you that?" he asked quizzically. 
 
 "Yes, and I m sorry for her. She wants a good home 
 among decent white people and I m not going to give 
 her up. I don t care what you say." 
 
 The husband ignored the finality of this decision and 
 went on with his argument as though she had not spoken. 
 
 "Old Peeler is not only a low white scoundrel who 
 would marry this girl s mulatto mother if he dared, but 
 he is trying to break into politics as a negro champion. 
 He denies it, but he is a henchman of the Governor. 
 I m in a fight with this man to the death. There s not 
 room for us both in the state " 
 
 "And you think this laughing child cares anything 
 about the Governor or his dirty politics ? Such a thing 
 has never entered her head." 
 
 "I m not sure of that." 
 
 "You re crazy, Dan." 
 
 "But I m not so crazy, my dear, that I can t see that 
 this girl s presence in our house is dangerous. She al 
 ready knows too much about my affairs enough, in 
 fact, to endanger my life if she should turn traitor." 
 
 "But she won t tell, I tell you she s loyal I d trust 
 her with my life, or yours, or the baby s, without hesita- 
 
 82 
 
THE IRONY OF FATE 
 
 tion. She proved her loyalty to me and to you last 
 night." 
 
 "Yes, and that s just why she s so dangerous." He 
 spoke slowly, as if talking to himself. "You can t un 
 derstand, dear, I am entering now the last phase of a 
 desperate struggle with the little Scalawag who sits in 
 the Governor s chair for the mastery of this state and 
 its life. The next two weeks and this election will de 
 cide whether white civilization shall live or a permanent 
 negroid mongrel government, after the pattern of Haiti 
 and San Domingo, shall be established. If we submit, 
 we are not worth saving. We ought to die and our 
 civilization with us ! We are not going to submit, we 
 are not going to die, we are going to win. I want you 
 to help me now by getting rid of this girl." 
 
 "I won t give her up. There s no sense in it. A man 
 who fought four years in the war is not afraid of a 
 laughing girl who loves his baby and his wife ! I can t 
 risk a green, incompetent girl in the nursery now. I 
 can t think of breaking in a new one. I like Cleo. She s 
 a breath of fresh air when she comes into my room; 
 she s clean and neat; she sings beautifully; her voice is 
 soft and low and deep ; I love her touch when she dresses 
 me; the baby worships her is all this nothing to you?" 
 
 "Is my work nothing to you?" he answered soberly. 
 
 "Bah! It s a joke! Your work has nothing to do 
 with this girl. She knows nothing, cares nothing for 
 politics it s absurd !" 
 
 "My dear, you must listen to me now " 
 
 "I won t listen. I ll have my way about my servants. 
 It s none of your business. Look after your politics 
 and let the nursery alone !" 
 
 "Please be reasonable, my love. I assure you I m in 
 
 83 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 dead earnest. The danger is a real one, or I wouldn t 
 ask this of you please " 
 
 "No no no no!" she fairly shrieked. 
 
 His voice was very quiet when he spoke at last: 
 
 "I m sorry to cross you in this, but the girl must 
 leave to-night." 
 
 The tones of his voice and the firm snap of his strong 
 jaw left further argument out of the question and the 
 little woman played her trump card. 
 
 She sprang to her feet, pale with rage, and gave way 
 to a fit of hysteria. He attempted to soothe her, in 
 grave alarm over the possible effects on her health of 
 such a temper. 
 
 With a piercing scream she threw herself across the 
 bed and he bent over her tenderly: 
 
 "Please, don t act this way !" 
 
 Her only answer was another scream, her little fists 
 opening and closing like a bird s talons gripping the 
 white counterpane in her trembling fingers. 
 
 The man stood in helpless misery and sickening fear, 
 bent low and whispered: 
 
 "Please, please, darling it s all right she can stay. 
 I won t say another word. Don t make yourself ill. 
 Please don t!" 
 
 The sobbing ceased for a moment, and he added: 
 
 "I ll go into the nursery and send her here to put 
 you to bed." 
 
 He turned to the door and met Cleo entering. 
 
 "Miss Jean called me?" she asked with a curious 
 smile playing about her greenish eyes. 
 
 "Yes. She wishes you to put her to bed." 
 
 The girl threw him a look of triumphant tenderness 
 and he knew that she had heard and understood. 
 
 84 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A NEW WEAPON 
 
 FROM the moment the jail doors opened the Governor 
 felt the chill of defeat. With his armed guard of fifty 
 thousand "Loyal" white men he hoped to stem the rising 
 tide of Anglo-Saxon fury. But the hope was faint. 
 There was no assurance in its warmth. Every leader 
 he had arrested without warrant and held without bail 
 was now a firebrand in a powder magazine. Mass meet 
 ings, barbecues and parades were scheduled for every 
 day by his enemies in every county. 
 
 The state was ablaze with wrath from the mountains 
 to the sea. The orators of the white race spoke with 
 tongues of flame. 
 
 The record of negro misrule under an African Legis 
 lature was told with brutal detail and maddening effects. 
 The state treasury was empty, the school funds had 
 been squandered, millions in bonds had been voted and 
 stolen and the thieves had fled the state in terror. 
 
 All this the Governor knew from the first, but he also 
 knew that an ignorant negro majority would ask no 
 questions and believe no evil of their allies. 
 
 The adventurers from the North had done their work 
 of alienating the races with a thoroughness that was 
 nothing short of a miracle. The one man on earth who 
 had always been his best friend, every negro now held 
 his bitterest foe. He would consult his old master about 
 
 85 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 any subject under the sun and take his advice against 
 the world except in politics. He would come to the 
 back door, beg him for a suit of clothes, take it with 
 joyous thanks, put it on and march straight to the polls 
 and vote against the hand that gave it. 
 
 He asked no questions as to his own ticket. It was 
 all right if it was against the white man of the South. 
 The few Scalawags who trained with negroes to get 
 office didn t count. 
 
 The negro had always despised such trash. The Gov 
 ernor knew his solid black constituency would vote like 
 sheep, exactly as they were told by their new teachers. 
 
 But the nightmare that disturbed him now, waking or 
 dreaming, was the fear that this full negro vote could 
 not be polled. The daring speeches by the enraged 
 leaders of the white race were inflaming the minds of 
 the people beyond the bounds of all reason. These 
 leaders had sworn to carry the election and dared the 
 Governor to show one of his scurvy guards near a poll 
 ing place on the day they should cast their ballots. 
 
 The Ku Klux Klan openly defied all authority. Their 
 men paraded the county roads nightly and ended their 
 parades by lining their horsemen in cavalry formation, 
 galloping through the towns and striking terror to 
 every denizen of the crowded negro quarters. 
 
 In vain the Governor issued frantic appeals for the 
 preservation of the sanctity of the ballot. His speeches 
 in which he made this appeal were openly hissed. 
 
 The ballot was no longer a sacred thing. The time 
 was in American history when it was the badge of citi 
 zen kingship. At this moment the best men in the state 
 were disfranchised and hundreds of thousands of ne 
 groes, with the instincts of the savage and the intelli- 
 
 86 
 
A NEW WEAPON 
 
 gence of the child, had been given the ballot. Never 
 in the history of civilization had the ballot fallen so 
 low in any republic. The very atmosphere of a polling 
 place was a stench in the nostrils of decent men. 
 
 The determination of the leaders of the Klan to clear 
 the polls by force if need be was openly proclaimed 
 before the day of election. The philosophy by which 
 they justified this stand was simple, and unanswerable, 
 for it was founded in the eternal verities. Men are not 
 made free by writing a constitution on a piece of 
 paper. Freedom is inside. A ballot is only a symbol. 
 That symbol stands for physical force directed by the 
 highest intelligence. The ballot, therefore, is force 
 physical force. Back of every ballot is a bayonet and 
 the red blood of the man who holds it. Therefore, a 
 minority submits to the verdict of a majority at the 
 polls. If there is not an intelligent, powerful fighting 
 unit back of the scrap of paper that falls into a box, 
 there s nothing there and that man s ballot has no more 
 meaning than if it had been deposited by a trained pig 1 
 or a dog. 
 
 On the day of this fated election the little Scalawag 
 Governor sat in the Capitol, the picture of nervous 
 despair. Since sunrise his office had been flooded with 
 messages from every quarter of the state begging too 
 late for troops. Everywhere his henchmen were in a 
 panic. From every quarter the stories were the 
 same. 
 
 Hundreds of determined, silent white men had 
 crowded the polls, taken their own time to vote and 
 refused to give an inch of room to the long line of 
 panic-stricken negroes who looked on helplessly. At 
 five o clock in the afternoon less than a hundred blacks 
 
 87 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 had voted in the entire township in which the Capital 
 was located. 
 
 Norton was a candidate for the Legislature on the 
 white ticket, and the Governor had bent every effort to 
 bring about his defeat. The candidate against him was 
 a young negro who had been a slave of his father, and 
 now called himself Andy Norton. Andy had been a 
 house-servant, was exactly the major s age and they 
 had been playmates before the war. He was endowed 
 with a stentorian voice and a passion for oratory. He 
 had acquired a reputation for smartness, was good- 
 natured, loud-mouthed, could tell a story, play the 
 banjo and amuse a crow r d. He had been Norton s body- 
 servant the first year of the war. 
 
 The Governor relied on Andy to swing a resistless 
 tide of negro votes for the ticket and sweep the county. 
 Under ordinary conditions, he would have done it. But 
 before the hurricane of fury that swept the white race on 
 the day of the election, the voice of Andy was as one 
 crying in the wilderness. 
 
 He had made three speeches to his crowd of helpless 
 black voters who hadn t been able to vote. The Gov 
 ernor sent him an urgent message to mass his men and 
 force their way to the ballot box. 
 
 The polling place was under a great oak that grew 
 in the Square beside the Court House. A space had 
 been roped off to guard the approach to the boxes. 
 Since sunrise this space had been packed solid with a 
 living wall of white men. Occasionally a well-known old 
 negro of good character was allowed to pass through 
 and vote and then the lines closed up in solid ranks. 
 
 One by one a new white man was allowed to take his 
 place in this wall and gradually he was moved up to 
 
 88 
 
A NEW WEAPON 
 
 the tables on which the boxes rested, voted, and slowly, 
 like the movement of a glacier, the line crowded on in 
 its endless circle. 
 
 The outer part of this wall of defense which the white 
 race had erected around the polling place was held 
 throughout the day by the same men twenty or thirty 
 big, stolid, dogged countrymen, who said nothing, but 
 every now and then winked at each other. 
 
 When Andy received the Governor s message he de 
 cided to distinguish himself. It was late in the day, but 
 not too late perhaps to win by a successful assault. He 
 picked out twenty of his strongest buck negroes, moved 
 them quietly to a good position near the polls, formed 
 them into a flying wedge, and, leading the assault in 
 person with a loud good-natured laugh, he hurled them 
 against the outer line of whites. 
 
 To Andy s surprise the double line opened and 
 yielded to his onset. He had forced a dozen negroes 
 into the ranks when to his surprise the white walls sud 
 denly closed on the blacks and held them as in a steel 
 trap. 
 
 And then, quick as a flash, something happened. It 
 was a month before the negroes found out exactly what 
 it was. They didn t see it, they couldn t hear it, but 
 they knew it happened. They felt it. 
 
 And the silent swiftness with which it happened was 
 appalling. Every negro who had penetrated the white 
 wall suddenly leaped into the air with a yell of terror. 
 The white line opened quickly and to a man the negro 
 wedge broke and ran for life, each black hand clasped 
 in agony on the same spot. 
 
 Andy s voice rang full and clear above his men s: 
 
 "Goddermighty, what s dat!" 
 
 89 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Dey shot us, man !" screamed a negro. 
 
 The thing was simple, almost childlike in its silliness, 
 but it was tremendously effective. The white guard in 
 the outer line had each been armed with a little piece 
 of shining steel three inches long, fixed in a handle a 
 plain shoemaker s pegging awl. At a given signal they 
 had wheeled and thrust these awls into the thick flesh 
 of every negro s thigh. 
 
 The attack was so sudden, so unexpected, and the 
 pain so sharp, so terrible, for the moment every negro s 
 soul was possessed with a single idea, how to save his 
 particular skin and do it quickest. All esprit de corps 
 was gone. It was each for himself and the devil take 
 the hindmost! Some of them never stopped running 
 until they cleared Buffalo creek, three miles out of town. 
 
 Andy s ambitions were given a violent turn in a new 
 direction. Before the polls closed at sundown he ap 
 peared at the office of the Eagle and Phoenix with a 
 broad grin on his face and asked to see the major. 
 
 He entered the editor s room bowing and scraping, 
 his white teeth gleaming. 
 
 Norton laughed and quietly said: 
 
 "Well, Andy?" 
 
 "Yassah, major, I des drap roun ter kinder facilitate 
 ye, sah, on de lection, sah." 
 
 "It does look like the tide is turning, Andy." 
 
 "Yassah, hit sho is turnin , but hit s gotter be a 
 purty quick tide dat kin turn afore I does, sah." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "Yassah! And I drap in, major, ter splain ter you 
 dat I se gwine ter gently draw outen politics, yassah. 
 I makes up my min ter hitch up wid de white folks 
 agin. Brought up by de Nortons, sah, I se always bin 
 
 90 
 
A NEW WEAPON 
 
 a gemman, an I can t afford to smut my hands wid de 
 crowd dat I been sociating wid. I se glad you winnin 
 dis lection, sah, an I se glad you gwine ter de Legisla 
 ture anyhow de office gwine ter stay in de Norton 
 fambly an I se satisfied, sah. I know you gwine ter 
 treat us far an squar " 
 
 "If I m elected I ll try to represent all the people, 
 Andy," the major said gravely. 
 
 "If you se lected?" Andy laughed. "Lawd, man, 
 you se dar right now! I kin des see you settin in one 
 dem big chairs ! I knowed it quick as I feel dat thing 
 pop fro my backbone des now! Yassah, I done re 
 signed, an I thought, major, maybe you got a job 
 bout de office or bout de house fer er young likely 
 nigger bout my size?" 
 
 The editor smiled: 
 
 "Nothing just now, Andy, but possibly I can find 
 a place for you in a few days." 
 
 "Thankee, sah. I ll hold off den till you wants me. 
 I ll des pick up er few odd jobs till you say de word 
 you won t fergit me?" 
 
 "No. I ll remember." 
 
 "An , major, ef you kin des advance me bout er dol 
 lar on my wages now, I kin cheer myself up ter-night 
 wid er good dinner. Dese here loafers done bust me. 
 I hain t got er nickel lef !" 
 
 The major laughed heartily and "advanced" his rival 
 for Legislative honors a dollar. 
 
 Andy bowed to the floor: 
 
 "Any time you se ready, major, des lemme know, sah. 
 You ll fin me a handy man bout de house, sah." 
 
 "All right, Andy, I may need you soon." 
 
 "Yassah, de sooner de better, sah," he paused in the 
 
 91 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 door. "Dey gotter get up soon in de mornin , sah, ter 
 get erhead er us Nortons yassah, dat dey is " 
 
 A message, the first news of the election, cut Andy s 
 gabble short. It spelled Victory! One after another 
 ,they came from every direction north, south, east and 
 west each bringing the same magic word victory! 
 victory ! A state redeemed from negroid corruption ! A 
 great state once more in the hands of the children of the 
 men who created it! 
 
 It had only been necessary to use force to hold the 
 polls from hordes of ignorant negroes in the densest 
 of the black counties. The white majorities would be 
 unprecedented. The enthusiasm had reached the pitch 
 of mania in these counties. They would all break rec 
 ords. 
 
 A few daring men in the black centres of population, 
 where negro rule was at its worst, had guarded the 
 polls under his direction armed with the simple device 
 of a shoemaker s awl, and in every case where it had 
 been used the resulting terror had cleared the place 
 of every negro. In not a single case where this novel 
 weapon had been suddenly and mysteriously thrust into 
 a black skin was there an attempt to return to the polls. 
 A long-suffering people, driven at last to desperation, 
 had met force with force and wrested a commonwealth 
 from the clutches of the vandals who were looting and 
 disgracing it. 
 
 Now he would call the little Scalawag to the bar of 
 justice. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE WORDS THAT COST 
 
 IT was after midnight when Norton closed his desk 
 and left for home. Bonfires were burning in the 
 squares, bands were playing and hundreds of sober, 
 gray-haired men were marching through the streets, 
 hand in hand with shouting boys, cheering, cheering, 
 forever cheering! He had made three speeches from 
 the steps of the Eagle and Phoenix building and the 
 crowds still stood there yelling his name and cheering. 
 Broad-shouldered, bronzed men had rushed into his 
 office one by one that night, hugged him and wrung 
 his hands until they ached. He must have rest. The 
 strain had been terrific and in the reaction he was 
 pitifully tired. 
 
 The lights were still burning in his wife s room. She 
 was waiting with Cleo for his return. He had sent her 
 the bulletins as they had come and she knew the result 
 of the election almost as soon as he. It was something 
 very unusual that she should remain up so late. The 
 doctor had positively forbidden it since her last attack. 
 
 "Cleo and I were watching the procession," she ex 
 claimed. "I never saw so many crazy people since I 
 was born." 
 
 "They ve had enough to drive them mad the past 
 two years, God knows," he answered, as his eye rested 
 on Cleo, who was dressed in an old silk kimono belong- 
 
 93 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 ing to his wife, which a friend of her grandfather had 
 sent her from Japan. 
 
 She saw his look of surprise and said casually : 
 
 "I gave it to Cleo. I never liked the color. Cleo s 
 to stay in the house hereafter. I ve moved her things 
 from the servants quarters to the little room in the 
 hall. I want her near me at night. You stay so late 
 sometimes." 
 
 He made no answer, but the keen eyes of the girl 
 saw the silent rage flashing from his eyes and caught 
 the look of fierce determination as he squared his shoul 
 ders and gazed at her for a moment. She knew that he 
 would put her out unless she could win his consent. 
 She had made up her mind to fight and never for a 
 moment did she accept the possibility of defeat. 
 
 He muttered an incoherent answer to his wife, kissed 
 her good night, and went to his room. He sat down 
 in the moonlight beside the open window, lighted a cigar 
 and gazed out on the beautiful lawn. 
 
 His soul raged in fury over the blind folly of his 
 wife. If the devil himself had ruled the world he could 
 not have contrived more skillfully to throw this danger 
 ous, sensuous young animal in his way. It was horrible ! 
 He felt himself suffocating with the thought of its possi 
 bilities ! He rose and paced the floor and sat down 
 again in helpless rage. 
 
 The door softly opened and closed and the girl stood 
 before him in the white moonlight, her rounded figure 
 plainly showing against the shimmering kimono as the 
 breeze through the window pressed the delicate silk 
 against her flesh. 
 
 He turned on her angrily: 
 
 "How dare you?" 
 
 94 
 
How dare you? 
 
THE WORDS THAT COST 
 
 "Why, I haven t done anything, major!" she an 
 swered softly. "I just came in to pick up that basket 
 of trash I forgot this morning" she spoke in low, 
 lingering tones. 
 
 He rose, walked in front of her, looked her in the eye 
 and quietly said: 
 
 "You re lying." 
 
 "Why, major " 
 
 "You know that you are lying. Now get out of this 
 room and stay out of it, do you hear?" 
 
 "Yes, I hear," came the answer that was half a sob. 
 
 "And make up your mind to leave this place to-mor 
 row, or I ll put you out, if I have to throw you head 
 foremost into the street." 
 
 She took a step backward, shook her head and the 
 mass of tangled red hair fell from its coil and dropped 
 on her shoulders. Her eyes were watching him now 
 with dumb passionate yearning. 
 
 "Get out!" he ordered brutally. 
 
 A moment s silence and a low laugh was her answer. 
 
 "Why do you hate me ?" she asked the question with a 
 note of triumph. 
 
 "I don t," he replied with a sneer. 
 
 "Then you re afraid of me!" 
 
 "Afraid of you?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 He took another step and towered above her, his 
 fists clenched and his whole being trembled with 
 anger : 
 
 "I d like to strangle you !" 
 
 She flung back her rounded throat, shook the long 
 waves of hair down her back and lifted her eyes to 
 his: 
 
 95 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Do it! There s my throat! I want you to. I 
 wouldn t mind dying that way!" 
 
 He drew a deep breath and turned away. 
 
 With a sob the straight figure suddenly crumpled on 
 the floor, a scarlet heap in the moonlight. She buried 
 her face in her hands, choked back the cries, fought for 
 self-control, and then looked up at him through her 
 eyes half blinded by tears : 
 
 "Oh, what s the use ! I won t lie any more. I didn t 
 come in here for the basket. I came to see you. I came 
 to beg you to let me stay. I watched you to-night 
 when she told you that I was to sleep in that room there, 
 and I knew you were going to send me away. Please 
 don t! Please let me stay! I can do you no harm, 
 major! I ll be wise, humble, obedient. I ll live only 
 to please you. I haven t a single friend in the world. 
 I hate negroes. I loathe poor white trash. This is 
 my place, here in your home, among the birds and 
 flowers, with your baby in my arms. You know that 
 I love him and that he loves me. I ll work for you 
 as no one else on earth would. My hands will be 
 quick and my feet swift. I ll be your slave, your dog 
 you can kick me, beat me, strangle me, kill me 
 if you like, but don t send me away I I can t 
 help loving you! Please please don t drive me 
 away." 
 
 The passionate, throbbing voice broke into a sob and 
 she touched his foot with her hand. He could feel the 
 warmth of the soft, young flesh. He stooped and 
 drew her to her feet. 
 
 "Come, child," he said with a queer hitch in his 
 voice, "you you mustn t stay here another moment. 
 
 I m sorry " 
 
 96 
 
THE WORDS THAT COST 
 
 She clung to his hand with desperate pleading and 
 pressed close to him : 
 
 "But you won t send me away?" 
 
 She could feel him trembling. 
 
 He hesitated, and then against the warning of con 
 science, reason, judgment and every instinct of law and 
 self-preservation, he spoke the words that cost so much : 
 
 "No I I won t send you away !" 
 
 With a sob of gratitude her head sank, the hot lips 
 touched his hand, a rustle of silk and she was gone. 
 
 And through every hour of the long night, maddened 
 by the consciousness of her physical nearness he im 
 agined at times he could hear her breathing in the next 
 room he lay awake and fought the Beast for the 
 mastery of life. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 MAN TO MAN 
 
 CLEO made good her vow of perfect service. In the 
 weeks which followed she made herself practically in 
 dispensable. Her energy was exhaustless, her strength 
 tireless. She not only kept the baby and the little 
 mother happy, she watched the lawn and the flowers. 
 The men did no more loafing. The grass was cut, the 
 hedges trimmed, every dead limb from shrub and tree 
 removed and the old place began to smile with new life. 
 
 Her work of housekeeper and maid-of-all-work was 
 a marvel of efficiency. No orders were ever given to 
 her. They were unnecessary. She knew by an unerring 
 instinct what was needed and anticipated the need. 
 
 And then a thing happened that fixed her place in 
 the house on the firmest basis. 
 
 The baby had taken a violent cold which quickly de 
 veloped into pneumonia. The doctor looked at the lit 
 tle red fever-scorched face and parched lips with grave 
 silence. He spoke at last with positive conviction: 
 
 "His life depends on a nurse, Norton. All I can do 
 is to give orders. The nurse must save him." 
 
 With a sob in her voice, Cleo said: 
 
 "Let me I ll save him. He can t die if it depends 
 on that." 
 
 The doctor turned to the mother. 
 
 "Can you trust her?" 
 
 98 
 
MAN TO MAN 
 
 "Absolutely. She s quick, strong, faithful, careful, 
 and she loves him." 
 
 "You agree, major?" 
 
 "Yes, we couldn t do better," he answered gravely, 
 turning away. 
 
 And so the precious life was given into her hands. 
 Norton spent the mornings in the nursery executing the 
 doctor s orders with clock-like regularity, while Cleo 
 slept. At noon she quietly entered and took his place. 
 Her meals were served in the room and she never left it 
 until he relieved her the next day. The tireless, green 
 ish eyes watched the cradle with death-like stillness and 
 her keen young ears bent low to catch every change 
 in the rising and falling of the little breast. Through 
 the long watches of the night, the quick alert figure 
 with the velvet tread hurried about the room filling 
 every order with skill and patience. 
 
 At the end of two weeks, the doctor smiled, patted 
 her on the shoulder and said: 
 
 "You re a great nurse, little girl. You ve saved his 
 life." 
 
 Her head was bending low over the cradle, the baby 
 reached up his hand, caught one of her red curls and 
 lisped faintly: 
 
 "C-l-e-o !" 
 
 Her eyes were shining with tears as she rushed from 
 the room and out on the lawn to have her cry alone. 
 There could be no question after this of her position. 
 
 When the new Legislature met in the old Capitol 
 building four months later, it was in the atmosphere of 
 the crisp clearness that follows the storm. The thieves 
 and vultures had winged their way to more congenial 
 climes. They dared not face the investigation of their 
 
 99 v 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 saturnalia which the restored white race would make. 
 The wisest among them fled northward on the night of 
 the election. 
 
 The Governor couldn t run. His term of office had 
 two years more to be filled. And shivering in his room 
 alone, shunned as a pariah, he awaited the assault of 
 his triumphant foes. 
 
 And nothing succeeds like success. The brilliant 
 young editor of the Eagle and Phoenix was the man of 
 the hour. When he entered the hall of the House of 
 Representatives on the day the Assembly met, pande 
 monium broke loose. A shout rose from the floor that 
 fairly shook the old granite pile. Cheer after cheer rent 
 the air, echoed and re-echoed through the vaulted arches 
 of the hall. Men overturned their desks and chairs as 
 they rushed pellmell to seize his hand. They lifted 
 him on their shoulders and carried him in procession 
 around the Assembly Chamber, through the corridors 
 and around the circle of the Rotunda, cheering like 
 madmen, and on through the Senate Chamber where 
 every white Senator joined the procession and returned 
 to the other end of the Capitol singing "Dixie" and 
 shouting themselves hoarse. 
 
 He was elected Speaker of the House by his party 
 without a dissenting voice, and the first words that fell 
 from his lips as he ascended the dais, gazed over the 
 cheering House, and rapped sharply for order, sounded 
 the death knell to the hopes of the Governor for a com 
 promise with his enemies. His voice rang clear and cold 
 as the notes of a bugle: 
 
 "The first business before this House, gentlemen, is 
 the impeachment and removal from office of the alleged 
 Governor of this state!" 
 
 100 
 
MAN TO MAN- 
 
 Again the long pent feeling s . o/ an outraged people 
 passed all bounds. In vain the tall figure in the chair 
 rapped for order. He had as well tried to call a cyclone 
 to order by hammering at it with a gavel. Shout after 
 shout, cheer after cheer, shout and cheer in apparently 
 unending succession! 
 
 They had not only won a great victory and redeemed 
 a state s honor, but they had found a leader who dared 
 to lead in the work of cleansing and rebuilding the old 
 commonwealth. It was ten minutes before order could 
 be restored. And then with merciless precision the 
 Speaker put in motion the legal machine that was to 
 crush the life out of the little Scalawag who sat in his 
 room below and listened to the roar of the storm over 
 his head. 
 
 On the day the historic trial opened before the high 
 tribunal of the Senate, sitting as judges, with the Chief 
 Justice of the state as presiding officer, the Governor 
 looked in vain for a friendly face among his accusers. 
 Now that he was down, even the dogs in his own party 
 whom he had reared and fed, men who had waxed fat on 
 the spoils he had thrown them, were barking at his 
 heels. They accused him of being the cause of the 
 party s downfall. 
 
 The Governor had quickly made up his mind to ask no 
 favors of these wretches. If the blow should fall, he 
 knew to whom he would appeal that it might be 
 tempered with mercy. The men of his discredited party 
 were of his own type. His only chance lay in the gen 
 erosity of a great foe. 
 
 It would be a bitter thing to beg a favor at the hands 
 of the editor who had hounded him with his merciless 
 pen from the day he had entered office, but it would be 
 
 101 
 
THE SIN S OF THE FATHER 
 
 easier than/ aft appeal to-, the ungrateful hounds of his 
 own "kennel who had deserted him in his hour of need. 
 
 The Bill of Impeachment which charged him with 
 high crimes and misdemeanors against the people whose 
 f rights he had sworn to defend was drawn by the Speaker 
 of the House, and it was a terrible document. It would 
 not only deprive him of his great office, but strip him of 
 citizenship, and send him from the Capitol a branded 
 man for life. 
 
 The defense proved weak and the terrific assaults of 
 the Impeachment managers under Norton s leadership 
 resistless. Step by step the remorseless prosecutors 
 closed in on the doomed culprit. Each day he sat in 
 his place beside his counsel in the thronged Senate 
 Chamber and heard his judges vote with practical 
 unanimity "Guilty" on a new count in the Bill of Im 
 peachment. The Chief Executive of a million people 
 cowered in his seat while his accusers told and re-told 
 the story of his crimes and the packed galleries cheered. 
 
 But one clause of the bill remained to be adjudged 
 the brand his accusers proposed to put upon his fore 
 head. His final penalty should be the loss of citizenship. 
 It was more than the Governor could bear. He begged 
 an adjournment of the High Court for a conference 
 with his attorneys and it was granted. 
 
 He immediately sought the Speaker, who made no 
 effort to conceal the contempt in which he held the 
 trembling petitioner. 
 
 "I ve come to you, Major Norton," he began falter- 
 ingly, "in the darkest hour of my life. I ve come be 
 cause I know that you are a brave and generous man. 
 I appeal to your generosity. I ve made mistakes in 
 my administration. But I ask you to remember that 
 
MAN TO MAN 
 
 few men in my place could have done better. I was 
 set to make bricks without straw. I was told to make 
 water run up hill and set at naught the law of gravita 
 tion. 
 
 "I struck at you personally yes but remember my 
 provocation. You made me the target of your merci 
 less ridicule, wit and invective for two years. It was 
 more than flesh and blood could bear without a return 
 blow. Put yourself in my place " 
 
 "I ve tried, Governor," Norton interrupted in kindly 
 tones. "And it s inconceivable to me that any man 
 born and bred as you have been, among the best people 
 of the South, a man whose fiery speeches in the Seces 
 sion Convention helped to plunge this state into civil 
 war how you could basely betray your own flesh and 
 blood in the hour of their sorest need it s beyond me ! 
 I can t understand it. I ve tried to put myself in your 
 place and I can t." 
 
 The little ferret eyes were dim as he edged toward 
 the tall figure of his accuser: 
 
 "I m not asking of you mercy, Major Norton, on the 
 main issue. I understand the bitterness in the hearts 
 of these men who sit as my judges to-day. I make no 
 fight to retain the office of Governor, but major" his 
 thin voice broke "it s too hard to brand me a criminal 
 by depriving me of my citizenship and the right to vote, 
 and hurl me from the highest office within the gift of a 
 great people a nameless thing, a man without a coun 
 try! Come, sir, even if all you say is true, justice may 
 be tempered with mercy. Great minds can understand 
 this. You are the representative to-day of a brave 
 and generous race of men. My life is in ruins I am at 
 
 jour feet. I have pride. I had high ambitions " 
 
 103 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 His voice broke, he paused, and then continued in 
 strained tones : 
 
 "I have loved ones to whom this shame will come as a 
 bolt from the clear sky. They know nothing of poli 
 tics. They simply love me. This final ignominy you 
 would heap on my head may be just from your point of 
 view. But is it necessary? Can it serve any good pur 
 pose? Is it not mere wanton cruelty? 
 
 "Come now, man to man our masks are off my 
 day is done. You are young. The world is yours. 
 This last blow with which you would crush my spirit is 
 too cruel! Can you afford an act of such wanton 
 cruelty in the hour of your triumph? A small man 
 could, yes but you? I appeal to the best that s in 
 you, to the spark of God that s in every human 
 soul -" 
 
 Norton was deeply touched, far more than he 
 dreamed &i*y word from the man he hated could ever stir 
 him. The governor saw his hesitation and pressed his 
 cause: 
 
 "I might -say many things honestly in justification 
 of my course in politics ; but the time has not come. 
 When passions have cooled and we can look the stirring 
 events of these years squarely in the face there ll be 
 two sides to this question, major, as there are two sides 
 to all questions. I might say to you that when I saw 
 the frightful blunder I had made in helping to plunge 
 our country into a fatal war, I tried to make good my 
 mistake and went to the other extreme. I was ambi 
 tious, yes, but we are confronted with millions of igno 
 rant negroes. What can we do with them? Slavery 
 had an answer. Democracy now must give the true 
 
 answer or perish " 
 
 104 
 
MAN TO MAN 
 
 "That answer will never be to set these negroes up 
 as rulers over white men !" 
 
 Norton raised his hand and spoke with bitter em 
 phasis. 
 
 "Even so, in a Democracy with equality as the one 
 fundamental law of life, what are you going to do with 
 them? I could plead with you that in every act of my 
 ill-fated administration I was honestly, in the fear of 
 God, trying to meet and solve this apparently insoluble 
 problem. You are now in power. What are you going 
 to do with these negroes?" 
 
 "Send them back to the plow first," was the quick 
 answer. 
 
 "All right; when they have bought those farms and 
 their sons and daughters are rich and cultured what 
 then?" 
 
 "We ll answer that question, Governor, when the time 
 comes." 
 
 "Remember, major, that you have no answer to it 
 now, and in the pride of your heart to-day let me sug^ 
 gest that you deal charitably with one who honestly 
 tried to find the answer when called to rule over both 
 races. 
 
 "I have failed, I grant you. I have made mistakes, 
 I grant you. Won t you accept my humility in this 
 hour in part atonement for my mistakes ? I stand alone 
 before you, my bitterest and most powerful enemy, be 
 cause I believe in the strength and nobility of your 
 character. You are my only hope. I am before you, 
 broken, crushed, humiliated, deserted, friendless at 
 your mercy !" 
 
 The last appeal stirred the soul of the young editor 
 to its depths. He was surprised and shocked to find 
 
 105 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the man he had so long ridiculed and hated so thor 
 oughly, human and appealing in his hour of need. 
 
 He spoke with a kindly deliberation he had never 
 dreamed it possible to use with this man. 
 
 "I m sorry for you, Governor. Your appeal is to 
 me a very eloquent one. It has opened a new view of 
 your character. I can never again say bitter, merciless 
 things about you in my paper. You have disarmed me. 
 But as the leader of my race, in the crisis through 
 which we are passing, I feel that a great responsibility 
 has been placed on me. Now that we have met, with 
 bared souls in this solemn hour, let me say that I have 
 learned to like you better than I ever thought it possi 
 ble. But I am to-day a judge who must make his de 
 cision, remembering that the lives and liberties of all 
 the people are in his keeping when he pronounces the 
 sentence of law. A judge has no right to spare a man 
 who has taken human life because he is sorry for the 
 prisoner. I have no right, as a leader, to suspend this 
 penalty on you. Your act in destroying the civil law, 
 arresting men without warrant and holding them by 
 military force without bail or date of trial, was, in 
 my judgment, a crime of the highest rank, not merely 
 against me one individual whom you happened to hate 
 but against every man, woman and child in the state. 
 Unless that crime is punished another man, as daring 
 in high office, may repeat it in the future. I hold in 
 my hands to-day not only the lives and liberties of the 
 people you have wronged, but of generations yet un 
 born. Now that I have heard you, personally I am 
 sorry for you, but the law must take its course." 
 
 "You will deprive me of my citizenship?" he asked 
 pathetically. 
 
 106 
 
MAN TO MAN 
 
 "It is my solemn duty. And when it is done no Gov 
 ernor will ever again dare to repeat your crime." 
 
 Norton turned away and the Governor laid his trem 
 bling hand on his arm : 
 
 "Your decision is absolutely final, Major Nor 
 ton?" 
 
 "Absolutely," was the firm reply. 
 
 The Governor s shoulders drooped lower as he shuf 
 fled from the room and his eyes were fixed on space as 
 he pushed his way through the hostile crowds that filled 
 the corridors of the Capitol. 
 
 The Court immediately reassembled and the Speaker 
 rose to make his motion for a vote on the last count 
 in the bill depriving the Chief Executive of the state of 
 his citizenship. 
 
 The silence was intense. The crowds that packed the 
 lobby, the galleries, and every inch of the floor of the 
 Senate Chamber expected a fierce speech of impassioned 
 eloquence from their idolized leader. Every neck was 
 craned and breath held for his first ringing words. 
 
 To their surprise he began speaking in a low voice 
 choking with emotion and merely demanded a vote of 
 the Senate on the final clause of the bill, and the brown 
 eyes of the tall orator had a suspicious look of moisture 
 in their depths as they rested on the forlorn figure of 
 the little Scalawag. The crowd caught the spirit of 
 solemnity and of pathos from the speaker s voice and 
 the vote was taken amid a silence that was painful. 
 
 When the Clerk announced the result and the Chief 
 Justice of the state declared the office of Governor va 
 cant there was no demonstration. As the Lieutenant- 
 Governor ascended the dais and took the oath of office, 
 the Scalawag rose and staggered through the crowd 
 
 107 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 that opened with a look of awed pity as he passed 
 from the chamber. 
 
 Norton stepped to the window behind the President 
 of the Senate and watched the pathetic figure shuffle 
 down the steps of the Capitol and slowly walk from the/ 
 grounds. The sun was shining in the radiant splendor 
 of early spring. The first flowers were blooming in the 
 hedges by the walk and birds were chirping, chattering 
 and singing from every tree and shrub. A squirrel 
 started across the path in front of the drooping figure, 
 stopped, cocked his little head to one side, looked up 
 and ran to cover. But the man with drooping shoulders 
 saw nothing. His dim eyes were peering into the 
 shrouded future. 
 
 Norton was deeply moved. 
 
 "The judgment of posterity may deal kindlier with 
 his life !" he exclaimed. "Who knows ? A politician, a 
 trimmer and a time-server yes, so we all are down in 
 our cowardly hearts I m sorry that it had to be !" 
 
 He was thinking of a skeleton in his own closet 
 that grinned at him sometimes now when he least ex 
 pected it. 
 
 &0 
 
 w^ 
 
 108 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE UNBIDDEN GUEST 
 
 THE night was a memorable one in Norton s life. 
 The members of the Legislature and the leaders of his 
 party from every quarter of the state gave a banquet 
 in his honor in the Hall of the House of Representa 
 tives. Eight hundred guests, the flower and chivalry 
 of the Commonwealth, sat down at the eighty tables 
 improvised for the occasion. 
 
 Fifty leading men were guests of honor and vied 
 with one another in acclaiming the brilliant young 
 Speaker the coming statesman of the Nation. His 
 name was linked with Hamilton, Jefferson, Webster, 
 Clay and Calhoun. He was the youngest man who had 
 ever been elected Speaker of a Legislative Assembly in 
 American history and a dazzling career was pre 
 dicted. 
 
 Even the newly installed Chief Executive, a hold-over 
 from the defeated party, asked to be given a seat and 
 in a glowing tribute to Norton hailed him as the next 
 Governor of the state. 
 
 He had scarcely uttered the words when all the guests 
 leaped to their feet by a common impulse, raised their 
 glasses and shouted: 
 
 "To our next Governor, Daniel Norton!" 
 
 The cheers which followed were not arranged, they 
 were the spontaneous outburst of genuine admiration 
 
 109 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 by men and women who knew the man and believed in 
 his power and his worth. 
 
 Norton flushed and his eyes dropped. His daring 
 mind had already leaped the years. The Governor s 
 chair meant the next step a seat in the Senate Cham 
 ber of the United States. A quarter of a century and 
 the South would once more come into her own. He 
 would then be but forty-nine years old. He would have 
 as good a chance for the Presidency as any other man. 
 His fathers had been of the stock that created the 
 Nation. His great-grandfather fought with Washing 
 ton and Lafayette. His head was swimming with its 
 visions, while the great Hall rang with his name. 
 
 While the tumult was still at its highest, he lifted 
 his eyes for a moment over the heads of the throng 
 at the tables below the platform on which the guests of 
 honor were seated, and his heart suddenly stood still. 
 
 Cleo was standing in the door of the Hall, a haunted 
 look in her dilated eyes, watching her chance to beckon 
 to him unseen by the crowd. 
 
 He stared at her a moment in blank amazement and 
 turned pale. Something had happened at his home, 
 and by the expression on her face the message she 
 bore was one he would never forget. 
 
 As he sat staring blankly, as at a sudden apparition, 
 she disappeared in the crowd at the door. He looked 
 in vain for her reappearance and was waiting an oppor 
 tune moment to leave, when a waiter slipped through 
 the mass of palms and flowers banked behind his chair 
 by his admirers and thrust a crumpled note into his hand. 
 
 "The girl said it was important, sir," he explained. 
 
 Norton opened the message and held it under the ban 
 quet table as he hurriedly read in Cleo s hand : 
 
 110 
 
THE UNBIDDEN GUEST 
 
 "It s found out she s raving. The doctor is there. I 
 must see you quick." 
 
 He whispered to the chairman that a message had just 
 been received announcing the illness of his wife, but he 
 hoped to be able to return in a few minutes. 
 
 It was known that his wife was an invalid and had 
 often been stricken with violent attacks of hysteria, 
 and so the banquet proceeded without interruption. 
 The band was asked to play a stirring piece and he 
 slipped out as the opening strains burst over the chat 
 tering, gay crowd. 
 
 As his tall figure rose from the seat of honor he 
 gazed for an instant over the sparkling scene, and for 
 the first time in his life knew the meaning of the word 
 fear. A sickening horror swept his soul and the fire 
 died from eyes that had a moment before blazed with 
 visions of ambition. He felt the earth crumbling be 
 neath his feet. He hoped for a way out, but from the 
 moment he saw Cleo beckoning him over the heads of his 
 guests he knew that Death had called him in the hour -, 
 of his triumph. 
 
 He felt his way blindly through the crowd and pushed 
 roughly past a hundred hands extended to congratulate 
 him. He walked by instinct. He couldn t see. The 
 mists of eternity seemed suddenly to have swept him 
 beyond the range of time and sense. 
 
 In the hall he stumbled against Cleo and looked a . 
 her in a dazed way. 
 
 "Get your hat," she whispered. 
 
 He returned to the cloakroom, got his hat and 
 hurried back in the same dull stupor. 
 
 "Come down stairs into the Square," she said quickly. 
 Ill 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He followed her without a word, and when they 
 reached the shadows of an oak below the windows of 
 the Hall, he suddenly roused himself v turned on her 
 fiercely and demanded: 
 
 "Well, what s happened?" 
 
 The girl was calm now, away from the crowd and 
 guarded by the friendly night. Her words were cool 
 and touched with the least suggestion of bravado. She 
 looked at him steadily: 
 
 "I reckon you know " 
 
 "You mean " He felt for the tree trunk as if 
 
 dizzy. 
 
 "Yes. She has found out " 
 
 "What how iWhen?" His words came in gasps of 
 fear. 
 
 "About us " 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "It was mammy. She was wild with jealousy that I 
 had taken her place and was allowed to sleep in the 
 house. She got to slipping to the nursery at night and 
 watching me. She must have seen me one night at your 
 room door and told her to get rid of me." 
 
 The man suddenly gripped the girl s shoulders, swung 
 her face toward him and gazed into her shifting eyes, 
 while his breath came in labored gasps : 
 
 "You little yellow devil! Mammy never told that to 
 my wife and you know it; she would have told me and 
 I would have sent you away. She knows that story 
 would kill my baby s mother and she d have cut the 
 tongue out of her own head sooner than betray me. 
 She has always loved me as her own child she d fight 
 for ine and die for me and stand for me against every 
 man, woman and child on earth!" 
 
 IIS 
 
THE UNBIDDEN GUEST 
 
 "Well, she told her," the girl sullenly repeated. 
 
 "Told her what?" he asked. 
 
 "That I was hanging around your room." She 
 paused. 
 
 "Well, go on" 
 
 "Miss Jean asked me if it was true. I saw that we 
 were caught and I just confessed the whole thing " 
 
 The man sprang at her throat, paused, and his hands 
 fell limp by his side. He gazed at her a moment, and 
 grasped her wrists with cruel force: 
 
 "Yes, that s it, you little fiend you confessed! You 
 were so afraid you might not be forced to confess that 
 you went out of your way to tell it. Two months ago 
 I came to my senses and put you out of my life. You 
 deliberately tried to commit murder to bring me back. 
 You knew that confession would kill my wife as surely 
 as if you had plunged a knife into her heart. You know 
 that she has the mind of an innocent child that she 
 can think no evil of any one. You ve tried to kill her 
 on purpose, willfully, maliciously, deliberately and if 
 she dies " 
 
 Norton s voice choked into an inarticulate groan and 
 the girl smiled calmly. 
 
 The band in the Hall over their heads ended the music 
 in a triumphant crash and he listened mechanically to 
 the chairman while he announced the temporary absence 
 of the guest of honor: 
 
 "And while he is out of the Hall for a few minutes, 
 ladies and gentlemen," he added facetiously, "we can 
 say a lot of fine things behind his back we would have 
 blushed to tell him to his face " 
 
 Another burst of applause and the hum and chatter 
 and laughter came through the open window. 
 
 113 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 With a cry of anguish, the man turned again on the 
 girl: 
 
 "Why do you stand there grinning at me ? Why did 
 you do this fiendish thing? What have you to say?" 
 
 "Nothing" there was a ring of exultation in her 
 voice "I did it because I had to." 
 
 Norton leaned against the oak, placed his hands 
 on his temples and groaned: 
 
 "Oh, my God ! It s a nightmare " 
 
 Suddenly he asked: 
 
 "What did she do when you told her?" 
 
 The girl answered with indifference: 
 
 "Screamed, called me a liar, jumped on me like a wild 
 cat, dug her nails in my neck and went into hysterics." 
 
 "And you?" 
 
 "I picked her up, carried her to bed and sent for the 
 doctor. As quick as he came I ran here to tell you." 
 
 The speaker upstairs was again announcing his name 
 as the next Governor and Senator and the crowd were 
 cheering. He felt the waves of Death roll over and en 
 gulf him. His knees grew weak and in spite of all 
 effort he sank to a stone that lay against the gnarled 
 trunk of the tree. 
 
 "She may be dead now," he said to himself in a dazed 
 whisper. 
 
 "I don t think so!" the soft voice purred with the 
 slightest suggestion of a sneer. She bit her lips and 
 actually laughed. It was more than he could bear. 
 With a sudden leap his hands closed on her throat 
 and forced her trembling form back into the shadows. 
 
 "May God hurl you into everlasting hell 
 for this!" he cried in anguish and his grip suddenly 
 relaxed. 
 
THE UNBIDDEN GUEST 
 
 The girl had not struggled. Her own hand had 
 simply been raised instinctively and grasped his. 
 
 "What shall I do?" she asked. 
 
 "Get out of my sight before I kill you !" 
 
 "I m not afraid." 
 
 The calm accents maddened him to uncontrollable 
 fury: 
 
 "And if you ever put your foot into my house again 
 or cross my path, I ll not be responsible for what hap 
 pens !" 
 
 His face was livid and his fists closed with an uncon 
 scious strength that cut the blood from the palms of 
 his hands. 
 
 "I m not afraid!" she repeated, her voice rising with 
 clear assurance, a strange smile playing about her full 
 lips. 
 
 "Go !" he said fiercely. 
 
 The girl turned without a word and walked into the 
 bright light that streamed from the windows of the ban 
 quet hall, paused and looked at him, the white rows of 
 teeth shining with a smile: 
 
 "But I ll see you again !" 
 
 And then, with shouts of triumph mocking his soul, 
 his shoulders drooped, drunk with the stupor and pain 
 of shame, he walked blindly through the night to the 
 Judgment Bar of Life a home where a sobbing wife 
 waited for his coming. 
 
 115 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE JUDGMENT BAB 
 
 HE paused at the gate. His legs for the moment 
 simply refused to go any further. A light was burning 
 in his wife s room. Its radiance streaming against the 
 white fluted columns threw their shadows far out on 
 the lawn. 
 
 The fine old house seemed to slowly melt in the star 
 light into a solemn Court of Justice set on the highest 
 hill of the world. Its white boards were hewn slabs of 
 gleaming marble, its quaint old Colonial door the grand 
 entrance to the Judgment Hall of Life and Death. 
 And the judge who sat on the high dais was not the 
 blind figure of tradition, but a blushing little bride he 
 had led to God s altar four years ago. Her blue 
 eyes were burning into the depths of his trembling 
 soul. 
 
 His hand gripped the post and he tried to pull him 
 self together, and look the ugly situation in the face. 
 But it was too sudden. He had repented and was liv 
 ing a clean life, and the shock was so unexpected, its 
 coming so unforeseen, the stroke at a moment when his 
 spirits had climbed so high, the fall was too great. 
 He lay a mangled heap at the foot of a precipice and 
 could as yet only stretch out lame hands and feel in 
 the dark. He could see nothing clearly. 
 
 A curious thing flashed through his benumbed mind 
 116 
 
THE JUDGMENT BAR 
 
 as his gaze fascinated by the light in her room. She 
 had not yet sent for him. He might have passed a mes 
 senger on the other side of the street, or he may have 
 gone to the Capitol by another way, yet he was some 
 how morally sure that no word had as yet been sent. It 
 could mean but one thing that his wife had utterly re 
 fused to believe the girl s story. This would make the 
 only sane thing to do almost impossible. If he could 
 humbly confess the truth and beg for her forgiveness, 
 the cloud might be lifted and her life saved. 
 
 But if she blindly refused to admit the possibility of 
 such a sin, the crisis was one that sickened him. He 
 would either be compelled to risk her life with the shock 
 of confession, or lie to her with a shameless passion that 
 would convince her of his innocence. 
 
 Could he do this? It was doubtful. He had never 
 been a good liar. He had taken many a whipping as a 
 boy sooner than lie. He had always dared to tell the 
 truth and had felt a cruel free joy somehow in its con 
 sequence. He had been reserved and silent in his youth 
 when he had sowed his wild oats before his marriage. 
 He had never been forced to lie about that. No ques 
 tions had been asked. He had kept his own counsel and 
 that side of his life was a sealed book even to his most 
 intimate friends. 
 
 He had never been under the influence of liquor and 
 knew how to be a good fellow without being a fool. 
 The first big lie of his life he was forced to act rather 
 than speak when Cleo had entered his life. This lie 
 had not yet shaped itself into words. And he doubted 
 his ability to carry it off successfully. To speak the 
 truth simply and plainly had become an ingrained 
 habit. He trembled at the possibility of being com- 
 
 117 
 
THE SINS OF THE FAT PIER 
 
 pelled to deliberately and continuously lie to his wife. 
 If he could only tell her the truth tell her the hours 
 of anguish he had passed in struggling against the 
 Beast that at last had won the fight if he could only 
 make her feel to-night the pain, the shame, the loathing, 
 the rage that filled his soul, she must forgive. 
 
 But would she listen? Had the child-mind that had 
 never faced realities the power to adjust itself to such 
 a tragedy and see life in its wider relations of sin 
 and sorrow, of repentance and struggle to the achiere- 
 ment of character? There was but one answer: 
 
 "No. It would kill her. She can t understand " 
 
 And then despair gripped him, his eyes grew dim and 
 he couldn t think. He leaned heavily on the gate in a 
 sickening stupor from which his mind slowly emerged 
 and his fancy began to play pranks with an imagination 
 suddenly quickened by suffering into extraordinary 
 activity. 
 
 A katydid was crying somewhere over his head and 
 a whip-poor-will broke the stillness with his weird call 
 that seemed to rise from the ground under his feet. 
 He was a boy again roaming the fields where stalwart 
 slaves were working his father s plantation. It was 
 just such a day in early spring when he had persuaded 
 Andy to run away with him and go swimming in Buf 
 falo creek. He had caught cold and they both got a 
 whipping that night. He remembered how Andy had 
 yelled so loud his father had stopped. And how he had 
 set his little jaws together, refused to cry and received 
 the worst whipping of his life. He could hear Andy 
 now as he slipped up to him afterward, grinning and 
 chuckling and whispered : 
 
 "Lordy, man, why didn t ye holler? You don t know 
 118 
 
THE JUDGMENT BAR 
 
 how ter take er whippin nohow. He nebber hurt me 
 no mo dan a flea bitin !" 
 
 And then his mind leaped the years. Cleo was in his 
 arms that night at old Peeler s and he was stroking 
 her hair as he would have smoothed the fur of a fright 
 ened kitten. That strange impulse was the beginning 
 he could see it now and it had grown with daily con 
 tact, until the contagious animal magnetism of her near 
 ness became resistless. And now he stood a shivering 
 coward in the dark, afraid to enter his own house and 
 look his wife in the face. 
 
 Yes, he was a coward. He acknowledged it with a 
 grim smile a coward ! This boastful, high-strung, self- 
 poised leader of men ! He drew his tall figure erect and 
 a bitter laugh broke from his lips. He who had led 
 men to death on battlefields with a smile and a shout! 
 He who had cried in anguish the day Lee surrendered! 
 He who, in defeat, still indomitable and unconquered, 
 had fired the souls of his ruined people and led them 
 through riot and revolution again to victory ! He was 
 a coward now and he knew it, as he stood there alone 
 in the stillness of the Southern night and looked him 
 self squarely in the face. 
 
 His heart gave a throb of pity as he recalled the 
 scenes during the war, when deserters and cowards had 
 been led out in the gray dawn and shot to death for 
 something they couldn t help. 
 
 It must be a dream. He couldn t realize the truth 
 grim, hideous and unthinkable. He had won every fight 
 as the leader of his race against overwhelming odds. 
 He had subdued the desperate and lawless among his 
 own men until his word was law. He had rallied the 
 shattered forces of a defeated people and inspired them 
 
 119 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 with enthusiasm. He had overturned the negroid gov 
 ernment in the state though backed by a million bay 
 onets in the hands of veteran battle-tried soldiers. He 
 had crushed the man who led these forces, impeached 
 and removed him from office, and hurled him into 
 merited oblivion, a man without a country. He had 
 made himself the central figure of the commonwealth. 
 In the dawn of manhood he had lived already a man s 
 full life. A conquered world at his feet, and yet a little 
 yellow, red-haired girl of the race he despised, in the 
 supreme hour of triumph had laid his life in ruins. He 
 had conquered all save the Beast within and he must 
 die for it it was only a morbid fancy, yes yet he felt 
 the chill in his soul. 
 
 How long he had stood there doubting, fearing, 
 dreaming, he could form no idea. He was suddenly 
 roused to the consciousness of his position by the doctor 
 who was hurrying from the house. There was genuine 
 surprise in his voice as he spoke slowly and in a very 
 low tone. 
 
 Dr. Williams had the habit of slow, quiet speech. 
 He was a privileged character in the town and the state, 
 with the record of a half century of practice. A man 
 of wide reading and genuine culture, he concealed a big 
 heart beneath a brutal way of expressing his thoughts. 
 He said exactly what he meant with a distinctness that 
 was all the more startling because of his curious habit 
 of speaking harsh things in tones so softly modulated 
 that his hearers frequently asked him to repeat his words. 
 
 "I had just started to the banquet hall with a mes 
 sage for you," he said slowly. 
 
 Yes yes," Norton answered vaguely. 
 
 "But I see you ve come Cleo told you?" 
 120 
 
THE JUDGMENT BAR 
 
 "Yes she came to the hall " 
 
 The doctor s slender fingers touched his fine gray 
 beard. 
 
 "Really! She entered that hall to-night? Well, it s 
 a funny world, this. We spend our time and energy 
 fighting the negro race in front and leave our back 
 doors open for their women and children to enter and 
 master our life. I congratulate you as a politician on 
 your victory " 
 
 Norton lifted his hand as if to ward off a blow: 
 
 "Please ! not to-night !" 
 
 The doctor caught the look of agony in the haggard 
 face and suddenly extended his hand: 
 
 "I wasn t thinking of your personal history, my boy. 
 I was I was thinking for a moment of the folly of a 
 people forgive me I know you need help to-night. 
 You must pull yourself together before you go in 
 there " 
 
 "Yes, I know!" Norton faltered. "You have seen 
 my wife and talked with her you can see things clearer 
 than I tell me what to do !" 
 
 "There s but one thing you can do," was the gentle 
 answer. "Lie to her lie and stick to it. Lie skill 
 fully, carefully, deliberately, and with such sincerity 1 
 and conviction she s got to believe you. She wants to 
 believe you, of course. I know you are guilty " 
 
 "Let me tell you, doctor " 
 
 "No, you needn t. It s an old story. The more 
 powerful the man the easier his conquest when once 
 the female animal of Cleo s race has her chance. It s 
 enough to make the devil laugh to hear your politicians 
 howl against social and political equality while this can 
 cer is eating the heart out of our society. It makes me 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 sick ! And she went to your banquet hall to-night ! I ll 
 laugh over it when I m blue " 
 
 The doctor paused, laughed softly, and continued: 
 
 "Now listen, Norton. Your wife can t live unless 
 she wills to live. I ve told you this before. The mo 
 ment she gives up, she dies. It s the iron will inside her 
 frail body that holds the spirit. If she knows the truth, 
 she can t face it. She is narrow, conventional, and can t 
 readjust herself " 
 
 "But doctor, can t she be made to realize that this 
 thing is here a living fact which the white woman of 
 the South must face? These hundreds of thousands of 
 a mixed race are not accidents. She must know that 
 this racial degradation is not merely a thing of to-day, 
 but the heritage of two hundred years of sin and sor 
 row!" 
 
 "The older women know this yes but not our 
 younger generation, who have been reared in the fierce 
 defense of slavery we were forced to make before the 
 war. These things were not to be talked about. No 
 girl reared as your wife can conceive of the possibility 
 of a decent man falling so low. I warn you. You 
 can t let her know the truth and so the only thing 
 you can do is to lie and stick to it. It s queer advice 
 for a doctor to give an honorable man, perhaps. But 
 life is full of paradoxes. My advice is medicine. Our 
 best medicines are the most deadly poisons in nature. 
 I ve saved many a man s life by their use. This hap 
 pens to be one of the cases where I prescribe a poison. 
 Put the responsibility on me if you like. My shoulders 
 are broad. I live close to Nature and the prattle of 
 fools never disturbs me." 
 
 "Is she still hysterical?" Norton asked. 
 
THE JUDGMENT BAR 
 
 "No. That s the strange part of it the thing that 
 frightens me. That s why I haven t left her side since 
 I was called. Her outburst wasn t hysteria in the first 
 place. It was rage the blind unreasoning fury of the 
 woman who sees her possible rival and wishes to kill her. 
 You ll find her very quiet. There s a queer, still look in 
 her eyes I don t like. It s the calm before the storm 
 a storm that may leave death in its trail " 
 
 "Couldn t I deny it at first," Norton interrupted, 
 "and then make my plea to her in an appeal for mercy 
 on an imaginary case? God only knows what I ve gone 
 through the fight I made " 
 
 "Yes, I know, my boy, with that young animal play 
 ing at your feet in physical touch with your soul and 
 body in the intimacies of your home, you never had a 
 chance. But you can t make your wife see this. An 
 angel from heaven, with tongue of divine eloquence, 
 can make no impression on her if she once believes you 
 guilty. Don t tell her and may God have mercy on 
 your soul to-night !" 
 
 With a pressure on the younger man s arm, the 
 straight white figure of the old doctor passed through 
 the gate. 
 
 Norton walked quickly to the steps of the spacious, 
 pillared porch, stopped and turned again into the lawn. 
 He sat down on a rustic seat and tried desperately to 
 work out what he would say, and always the gray mist 
 of a fog of despair closed in. 
 
 For the first time in his life he was confronted 
 squarely with the fact that the whole structure of so 
 ciety is enfolded in a network of interminable lies. His 
 wife had been reared from the cradle in the atmosphere 
 of beauty and innocence. She believed in the innocence 
 
 123 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 of her father, her brothers, and every man who moved 
 in her circle. Above all, she believed in the innocence 
 of her husband. The fact that the negro race had for 
 two hundred years been stirring the baser passions of 
 ^her men that this degradation of the higher race had 
 ; been bred into the bone and sinew of succeeding gen 
 erations had never occurred to her child-like mind. 
 How hopeless the task to tell her now when the tragic 
 story must shatter her own ideals ! 
 
 The very thought brought a cry of agony to his 
 lips: 
 
 "God in heaven what can I do?" 
 
 He looked helplessly at the stream of light from her 
 window and turned again toward the cool, friendly 
 darkness. 
 
 The night was one of marvellous stillness. The band 
 was playing again in his banquet hall at the Capitol. 
 So still was the night he could hear distinctly the softer 
 strains of the stringed instruments, faint, sweet and 
 thrilling, as they floated over the sleepy old town. A 
 mocking-bird above him wakened by the call of melody 
 answered, tenderly at first, and then, with the crash of 
 cornet and drum, his voice swelled into a flood of won 
 derful song. 
 
 With a groan of pain, Norton rose and walked rap 
 idly into the house. His* bird-dog lay on the mat out 
 side the door and sprang forward with a joyous whine 
 to meet him. 
 
 He stooped and drew the shaggy setter s head against 
 his hot cheek. 
 
 "I need a friend, to-night, Don, old boy!" he said 
 tenderly. And Don answered with an eloquent wag of 
 his tail and a gentle nudge of his nose. 
 
THE JUDGMENT EAR 
 
 "If you were only my judge! Bah, what s the 
 use " 
 
 He drew his drooping shoulders erect and entered his 
 wife s room. Her eyes were shining with peculiar 
 brightness, but otherwise she seemed unusually calm. 
 She began speaking with quick nervous energy : 
 
 "Dr. Williams told you?" 
 
 "Yes, and I came at once." He answered with an 
 unusually firm and clear note of strength. His whole 
 being was keyed now to a high tension of alert decision. 
 He saw that the doctor s way was the only one. 
 
 "I don t ask you, Dan," she went on with increasing 
 excitement and a touch of scorn in her voice "I don t 
 ask you to deny this lie. What I want to know is the 
 motive the little devil had in saying such a thing to me. 
 Mammy, in her jealousy, merely told me she was hang 
 ing around your room too often. I asked her if it were 
 true. She looked at me a moment and burst into her 
 lying confession. I could have killed her. I did try 
 to tear her green eyes out. I knew that you hated her 
 and tried to put her out of the house, and I thought she 
 had taken this way to get even with you but it doesn t 
 seem possible. And then I thought the Governor might 
 have taken this way to strike you. He knows old Peeler, 
 the low miserable scoundrel, who is her father. Do you 
 think it possible?" 
 
 "I don t know," he stammered, moistening his lips 
 and turning away. 
 
 "Yet it s possible" she insisted. 
 
 He saw the chance to confirm this impression by a 
 cheap lie to invent a story of old Peeler s intimacy 
 with the Governor, of his attempt to marry Lucy, of 
 his hatred of the policy of the paper, his fear of the 
 
 125 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Klan and of his treacherous, cowardly nature yet the 
 lie seemed so cheap and contemptible his lips refused 
 to move. If he were going to carry out the doctor s 
 orders here was his chance. He struggled to speak and 
 couldn t. The habit of a life and the fibre of charac 
 ter were too strong. So he did the fatal thing at the 
 moment of crisis. 
 
 "I don t think that possible," he said. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Well, you see, since I rescued old Peeler that night 
 from those boys, he has been so abjectly grateful I ve 
 had to put him out of my office once or twice, and I m 
 sure he voted for me for the Legislature against his 
 own party." 
 
 "He voted for you?" she asked in surprise. 
 
 "He told me so. He may have lied, of course, but 
 I don t think he did." 
 
 "Then what could have been her motive?" 
 
 His teeth were chattering in spite of a desper 
 ate effort to think clearly and speak intelligently. 
 He stared at a picture on the wall and made no 
 reply. 
 
 "Say something answer my question!" his wife 
 cried excitedly. 
 
 "I have answered, my dear. I said I don t know. I m 
 stunned by the whole thing. * 
 
 "You are stunned? 9 
 
 "Yes " 
 
 "Stunned? You, a strong, innocent man, stunned by 
 a weak contemptible lie like this from the lips of such 
 a girl what do you mean?" 
 
 "Why, that I was naturally shocked to be called out 
 of a banquet at such a moment by such an accusation. 
 
 126 
 
THE JUDGMENT BAR 
 
 She actually beckoned to me from the door over the 
 heads of the guests " 
 
 The little blue eyes suddenly narrowed and the thin 
 lips grew hard: 
 
 "Cleo called you from the door?" she asked. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You left the hall to see her there?" 
 
 "No, I went down stairs." 
 
 "Into the Capitol Square?" 
 
 "Yes. I couldn t well talk to her before all those 
 guests " 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 The question came like the crack of a pistol. Her 
 voice was high, cold, metallic, ringing. He saw, when 
 too late, that he had made a fatal mistake. He stam 
 mered, reddened and then turned pale: 
 
 "Why why naturally " 
 
 "If you are innocent why not ?" 
 
 He made a desperate effort to find a place of safety : 
 
 "I thought it wise to go down stairs where I could 
 talk without interruption " 
 
 "You were afraid," she was speaking each word 
 now with cold, deadly deliberation, "to take-a-message- 
 from-your-servant-at-the-door-of-a-public banquet-hall 
 
 " her words quickened "then you suspected her 
 
 possible message ! There was something between 
 you " 
 
 "My deai, I beg of you " 
 
 He turned his head away with a weary gesture. 
 
 She sprang from the side of the bed, leaped to his 
 side, seized him by both arms and fairly screamed in 
 his face: 
 
 "Look at me, Dan !" 
 
 127 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He turned quickly, his haggard eyes stared into hers, 
 and she looked with slowly dawning horror. 
 
 "Oh, my God !" she shrieked. "It s true it s true- 
 it s true!" 
 
 She sprang back with a shiver of loathing, covered 
 her face with her hands and staggered to her bed, sob 
 bing hysterically: 
 
 "It s true it s true it s true! Have mercy, Lord! 
 it s true it s true!" She fell face downward, her 
 frail figure quivering like a leaf in a storm. 
 
 He rushed to her side, crying in terror : 
 
 "It s not true it s not true, my dear! Don t be 
 lieve it. I swear it s a lie it s a lie I tell you !" 
 
 She was crying in sobs of utter anguish. 
 
 He bent low : 
 
 "It s not true, dearest! It s not true, I tell you. 
 You mustn t believe it. You can t believe it when I 
 swear to you that it s a lie " 
 
 His head gently touched her slender shoulder. 
 
 She flinched as if scorched by a flame, sprang to her 
 feet, and faced him with blazing eyes : 
 
 "Don t you dare touch me " 
 
 "My dear," he pleaded. 
 
 "Don t speak to me again!" 
 
 "Please " 
 
 "Get out of this room !" 
 
 He stood rooted to the spot in helpless stupor and 
 she threw her little body against his with sudden fury, 
 pushing him toward the door. "Get out, I say !" 
 
 He staggered back helplessly and awkwardly amazed 
 at her strength as she pushed him into the hall. She 
 stood a moment towering in the white frame of the door, 
 the picture of an avenging angel to his tormented soul. 
 
 128 
 
THE JUDGMENT BAR 
 
 Through teeth chattering with hysterical emotion she 
 cried : 
 
 "Go, you leper! And don t you ever dare to cross 
 this door-sill again not even to look on my dead 
 face!" 
 
 "For God s sake, don t! he gasped, staggering 
 toward her. 
 
 But the door slammed in his face and the bolt sud 
 denly shot into its place. 
 
 He knocked gently and received no answer. An om 
 inous stillness reigned within. He called again and 
 again without response. He waited patiently for half 
 an hour and knocked once more. An agony of fear 
 chilled him. She might be dead. He knelt, pressed his 
 ear close to the keyhole and heard a long, low, pitiful 
 sob from her bed. 
 
 "Thank God " 
 
 He rose with sudden determination. She couldn t be 
 left like that. He would call the doctor back at once, 
 and, what was better still, he would bring her mother, 
 a wise gray-haired little saint, who rarely volunteered 
 advice in her daughter s affairs. The door would fly 
 open at her soft command. 
 
 129 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 AN OLD STORY 
 
 THE doctor s house lay beyond the Capitol and in 
 his haste Norton forgot that a banquet was being held 
 in his honor. He found himself suddenly face to face 
 with the first of the departing guests as they began to 
 pour through the gates of the Square. 
 
 He couldn t face these people, turned in his tracks, 
 walked back to the next block and hurried into an ob 
 scure side street by which he could avoid them. 
 
 The doctor had not retired. He was seated on his 
 porch quietly smoking, as if he were expecting the call. 
 
 "Well, you ve bungled it, I see," he said simply, as he 
 rose and seized his hat. 
 
 "Yes, she guessed the truth " 
 
 "Guessed? hardly." The white head with its shin 
 ing hair slowly wagged. "She read it in those haggard 
 eyes. Funny what poor liars your people have always 
 been ! If your father hadn t been fool enough to tell 
 the truth with such habitual persistence, that office of 
 his would never have been burned during the war. It s 
 a funny world. It s the fun of it that keeps us alive, 
 after all." 
 
 "Do the best you can for me, doctor," he interrupted. 
 "I m going for her mother." 
 
 "All right," was the cheery answer, "bring her at 
 once. She s a better doctor than I to-night." 
 
 130 
 
AN OLD STORY 
 
 Norton walked swiftly toward a vine-clad cottage 
 that stood beside Governor Carteret s place. It sat 
 far back on the lawn that was once a part of the orig 
 inal estate twenty odd years ago. The old Governor 
 during his last administration had built it for Robert 
 Carteret, a handsome, wayward son, whom pretty Jen 
 nie Pryor had married. It had been a runaway love 
 match. The old man had not opposed it because of 
 any objection to the charming girl the boy had fallen 
 in love with. He knew that Robert was a wild, head 
 strong, young scapegrace unfit to be the husband of 
 any woman. 
 
 But apparently marriage settled him. For two years 
 after Jean s birth he lived a decent life and then slipped 
 again into hopelessly dissolute habits. When Jean was 
 seven years old he was found dead one night under pe 
 culiar circumstances that were never made public. The 
 sweet little woman who had braved the world s wrath to 
 marry him had never complained, and she alone (with 
 one other) knew the true secret of his death. 
 
 She had always been supported by a generous al 
 lowance from the old Governor and in his last will 
 the vigorous octogenarian had taade her his sole 
 heir. 
 
 Norton had loved this quiet, patient little mother 
 with a great tenderness since the day of his marriage 
 to her daughter. He had never found her wanting in 
 sympathy or helpfulness. She rarely left her cottage, 
 but many a time he had gone to her with his troubles 
 and came away with a light heart and a clearer insight 
 into the duty that called. Her love and faith in him 
 was one of the big things in life. In every dream of 
 achievement that had fired his imagination during the 
 
 131 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 stirring days of the past months he had always seen 
 her face smiling with pride and love. 
 
 It was a bitter task to confess his shame to her this 
 .tender, gracious, uncomplaining saint, to whom he had 
 * always been a hero. He paused a moment with his hand 
 on the bell of the cottage, and finally rang. 
 
 Standing before her with bowed head he told in a 
 few stammering words the story of his sin and the sor 
 row that had overwhelmed him. 
 
 "I swear to you that for the past two months my life 
 has been clean and God alone knows the anguish of re 
 morse I have suffered. You ll help me, mother?" he 
 asked pathetically. 
 
 "Yes, my son," she answered simply. 
 
 "You don t hate me?" the question ended with a 
 catch in his voice that made it almost inaudible. 
 
 She lifted her white hands to his cheeks, drew the 
 tall form down gently and pressed his lips : 
 
 "No, my son, I ve lived too long. I leave judgment 
 now to God. The unshed tears I see in your eyes are 
 enough for me." 
 
 , "I must see her to-night, mother. Make her see me. 
 I can t endure this." 
 
 "She will see you when I have talked with her," was 
 the slow reply as if to herself. "I am going to tell her 
 something that I hoped to carry to the grave. But the 
 time has come and she must know." 
 
 The doctor was strolling on the lawn when they ar 
 rived. 
 
 "She didn t wish to see me, my boy," he said with a 
 look of sympathy. "And I thought it best to humor 
 her. Send for me again if you wish, but I think the 
 mother is best to-night." Without further words he 
 
AN OLD STORY 
 
 tipped his hat with a fine old-fashioned bow to Mrs. 
 Carteret and hurried home. 
 
 At the sound of the mother s voice the door was 
 opened, two frail arms slipped around her neck and a 
 baby was sobbing again on her breast. The white 
 slender hands tenderly stroked the blonde hair, lips 
 bent low and kissed the shining head and a cheek rested 
 there while sob after sob shook the little body. The 
 wise mother spoke no words save the sign language of 
 love and tenderness, the slow pressure to her heart of 
 the sobbing figure, kisses, kisses, kisses on her hair and 
 the soothing touch of her hand. 
 
 A long time without a word they thus clung to each 
 other. The sobs ceased at last. 
 
 "Now tell me, darling, how can I help you?" the gen 
 tle voice said. 
 
 "Oh, mamma, I just want to go home to you again, 
 and die that s all." 
 
 "You d be happier, you think, with me, dear?" 
 
 "Yes it s clean and pure there. I can t live in this 
 house the very air I breathe is foul !" 
 
 "But you can t leave Dan, my child. Your life and 
 his are one in your babe. God has made this so." 
 
 "He is nothing to me now. He doesn t exist. I don t 
 come of his breed of men. My father s handsome face 
 my grandfather s record as the greatest Governor of 
 the state are not merely memories to me. I ll return 
 to my own. And I ll take my child with me. I ll go 
 back where the air is clean, where men have always been 
 men, not beasts " 
 
 The mother rose quietly and took from the mantel 
 the dainty morocco-covered copy of the Bible she had 
 given her daughter the day she left home. She 
 
 133 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 turned its first, pages, put her finger on the sixteenth 
 chapter of the Book of Genesis, and turned down a 
 leaf: 
 
 "I want you to read this chapter of Genesis which 
 I have marked when you are yourself, and remember 
 ,that the sympathy of the world has always been with 
 the outcast Hagar, and not with the foolish wife who 
 brought a beautiful girl into her husband s house and 
 then repented of her folly." 
 
 "But a negress ! oh, my God, the horror, the shame, 
 the humiliation he has put on me! I ve asked myself 
 a hundred times why I lived a moment, why I didn t leap 
 from that window and dash my brain out on the ground 
 below the beast the beast!" 
 
 "Yes, dear, but when you are older you will know 
 that all men are beasts." 
 
 "Mother!" 
 
 "Yes, all men who are worth while " 
 
 "How can you say that," the daughter cried with 
 scorn, "and remember my father and grandfather? No 
 man passes the old Governor to-day without lifting his 
 hat, and I ve seen you sit for hours with my father s 
 picture in your lap crying over it " 
 
 "Yes, dear," was the sweet answer, "these hearts of 
 ours play strange pranks with us sometimes. You must 
 see Dan to-night and forgive. He will crawl on his 
 hands and knees to your feet and beg it." 
 
 "I ll never see him or speak to him again !" 
 
 "You must dear." 
 
 "Never!" 
 
 The mother sat down on the lounge and drew the 
 quivering figure close. Her face was hidden from the 
 daughter s view when she began to speak and so the 
 
AN OLD STORY 
 
 death-like pallor was not noticed. The voice was held 
 even by a firm will: 
 
 "I hoped God might let me go without my having to 
 tell you what I must say now, dearest" in spite of her 
 effort there was a break and silence. 
 
 The little hand sought the mother s : 
 
 "You know you can tell me anything, mamma, 
 dear." 
 
 "Your father, my child, was not a great man. He 
 died in what should have been the glory of young man 
 hood. He achieved nothing. He was just the spoiled 
 child of a greater man, a child who inherited his father s 
 brilliant mind, fiery temper and willful passions. I loved 
 him from the moment we met and in spite of all 
 I know that he loved me with the strongest, purest love 
 he was capable of giving to any woman. And yet, 
 dearest, I dare not tell you all I discovered of his wild, 
 reckless life. The vilest trait of his character was 
 transmitted straight from sire to son he would never 
 ask forgiveness of any human being for anything he had 
 done that is your grandfather s boast to-day. The 
 old Governor, my child, was the owner of more than 
 a thousand slaves on his two great plantations. Many 
 of them he didn t know personally unless they were 
 beautiful girls " 
 
 "Oh, mother, darling, have mercy on me !" the little 
 fingers tightened their grip. But the mother s even 
 voice went on remorselessly: 
 
 "Cleo s mother was one of his slaves. You may de 
 pend upon it, your grandfather knows her history. You 
 must remember what slavery meant, dear. It put into 
 the hands of a master an awful power. It was not 
 necessaiy for strong men to use this power. The 
 
 135 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 humble daughters of slaves vied with one another to 
 win his favor. Your grandfather was a man of great 
 intellect, of powerful physique, of fierce, ungovernable 
 passions " 
 
 "But my father" gasped the girl wife. 
 
 "Was a handsome, spoiled child, the kind of man 
 for whom women have always died but he never pos 
 sessed the strength to keep himself within the bounds 
 of decency as did the older man " 
 
 "What do you mean?" the daughter broke in des 
 perately. 
 
 "There has always been a secret about your father s 
 death" the mother paused and drew a deep breath. 
 "I made the secret. I told the story to save him from 
 shame in death. He died in the cabin of a mulatto girl 
 he had played with as a boy and the thing that s 
 hardest for me to tell you, dearest, is that I knew 
 exactly where to find him when he had not returned at 
 two o clock that morning " 
 
 The white head sank lower and rested on the shoulder 
 of the frail young wife, who slipped her arms about the 
 form of her mother, and neither spoke for a long 
 while. 
 
 At last the mother began in quiet tones : 
 
 "And this was one of the reasons, my child, why 
 slavery was doomed. The war was a wicked and awful 
 tragedy. The white motherhood of the South would 
 have crushed slavery. Before the war began we had six 
 hundred thousand mulattoes six hundred thousand 
 reasons why slavery had to die!" 
 
 The fire flashed in the gentle eyes for a moment while 
 she paused, and drew her soul back from the sorrowful 
 past to the tragedy of to-day : 
 
 136 
 
AN OLD STORY 
 
 "And so, my darling, you must see your husband and 
 forgive. He isn t bad. He carried in his blood the in 
 heritance of hundreds of years of lawless passion. The 
 noble thing about Dan is that he has the strength of 
 character to rise from this to a higher manhood. You 
 must help him, dearest, to do this." 
 
 The daughter bent and kissed the gentle lips : 
 
 "Ask him to come here, mother " 
 
 She found the restless husband pacing the floor of the 
 pillared porch. It was past two o clock and the waning 
 moon had risen. His face was ghastly as his feet 
 stopped their dreary beat at the rustle of her dress. 
 His heart stood still for a moment until he saw the 
 smiling face. 
 
 "It s all right, Dan," she called softly in the door 
 way. "She s waiting for you." 
 
 He sprang to the door, stooped and kissed the silken 
 gray hair and hurried up the stairs. 
 
 Tears were slowly stealing from the blue eyes as the 
 little wife extended her frail arms. The man knelt and 
 bowed his head in her lap, unable to speak at first. 
 With an effort he mastered his voice: 
 
 "Say that you forgive me .!" 
 
 The blonde head sank until it touched the brown : 
 
 "I forgive you but, oh, Dan, dear, I don t want to 
 live any more now " 
 
 "Don t say that!" he pleaded desperately. 
 
 "And I ve wanted to live so madly, so desperately 
 but now I m afraid I can t." 
 
 "You can you must! You have forgiven me. I ll 
 prove my love to you by a life of such devotion I ll make 
 you forget ! All I ask is the chance to atone and make 
 you happy. You must live because I ask it, dear ! It s 
 
 187 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the only way you can give me a chance. And the boy 
 dearest you must live to teach him." 
 
 She nodded her head and choked back a sob. 
 
 When the first faint light of the dawn of a glorious 
 spring morning began to tinge the eastern sky he was 
 still holding her hands and begging her to live. 
 
 138 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE FIGHT FOR LIFE 
 
 THE little wife made a brave fight. For a week there 
 was no sign of a breakdown save an unnatural bright 
 ness of the eyes that told the story of struggle within. 
 He gave himself to the effort to help her win. He spent 
 but an hour at the Capitol, left a Speaker pro tern in 
 the chair, hurried to his office, gave his orders and by 
 eleven o clock he was at home, talking, laughing, and 
 planning a day s work that would interest her and bring 
 back the flush to her pale cheeks. 
 
 She had responded to his increasing tenderness and 
 devotion with pathetic eagerness. At the beginning of 
 the second week Doctor Williams gave him hope : 
 
 "It looks to me, my boy," he said thoughtfully, 
 "that I m seeing a miracle. I think she s not only go 
 ing to survive the shock, but, what s more remarkable, 
 she s going to recover her health again. The mind s 
 the source of health and power. We give medicines, of 
 course, but the thought that heals the soul will reach 
 the body. Bah! the body is the soul anyhow, for all 
 our fine-spun theories, and the mind is only one of the 
 ways through which we reach it " 
 
 "You really think she may be well again?" Norton 
 asked with boyish eagerness. 
 
 "Yes, if you can reconcile her mind to this thing, 
 she ll not only live, she will be born again into a more 
 
 139 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 vigorous life. Why not? The preachers have often 
 called me a godless rationalist. But I go them one 
 better when they preach the miracle of a second, or 
 spiritual birth. I believe in the possibility of many 
 births for the human soul and the readjustment of 
 these bodies of ours to the new spirits thus born. If 
 you can tide her over the next three weeks without a 
 breakdown, she will get well." 
 
 The husband s eyes flashed: 
 
 "If it depends on her mental attitude, I ll make her 
 live and grow strong. I ll give her my body and soul." 
 
 "There are just two dangers " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "The first mental a sudden collapse of the will with 
 which she s making this fight under a reaction to the 
 memories of our system of educated ignorance, which 
 we call girlish innocence. This may come at a moment 
 when the consciousness of these ideals may overwhelm 
 her imagination and cause a collapse " 
 
 "Yes, I understand," he replied thoughtfully. "I ll 
 guard that." 
 
 "The other is the big physical enigma " 
 
 "You mean?" 
 
 "The possible reopening of that curious abscess in 
 her throat." 
 
 "But the specialist assured us it would never reap 
 pear " 
 
 "Yes, and he knows just as much about it as you or 
 I. It is one of the few cases of its kind so far re 
 corded in the science of medicine. When the baby was 
 born, the drawing of the mother s neck in pain pressed 
 a bone of the spinal column into the flesh beside the 
 jugular vein. Your specialist never dared to operate 
 
 140 
 
THE FIGHT FOR LIFE 
 
 for a thorough removal of the trouble for fear he would 
 sever the vein " 
 
 "And if the old wound reopens it will reach the jugu 
 lar vein?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well it won t happen !" he answered fiercely. "It 
 can t happen now " 
 
 "I don t think it will myself, if you can keep at its 
 highest tension the desire to live. That s the magic 
 thing that works the miracle of life in such cases. It 
 makes food digest, sends red blood to the tips of the 
 slenderest finger and builds up the weak places. Don t 
 forget this, my boy. Make her love life, desperately 
 and passionately, until the will to live dominates both 
 soul and body." 
 
 "I ll do it," was the firm answer, as he grasped the 
 doctor s outstretched hand in parting. 
 
 He withdrew completely from his political work. A 
 Speaker pro tern presided daily over the deliberations of 
 the House, and an assistant editor took charge of the 
 paper. 
 
 The wife gently urged him to give part of his time to 
 his work again. 
 
 "No," he responded firmly and gayly. "The doctor 
 says you have a chance to get well. I d rather see the 
 roses in your cheeks again than be the President of the 
 United States." 
 
 She drew his head down and clung to him with des 
 perate tenderness. 
 
 141 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 CLEG S SILENCE 
 
 FOR two weeks the wife held her own and the doctor 
 grew more confident each day. When Norton began 
 to feel sure the big danger was past his mind became 
 alert once more to the existence of Cleo. He began to 
 wonder why she had not made an effort to see or com 
 municate with him. 
 
 She had apparently vanished from the face of the 
 earth. In spite of his effort to minimize the importance 
 of this fact, her silence gradually grew in sinister sig 
 nificance. What did it mean? What was her active 
 brain and vital personality up to? That it boded no 
 good to his life and the life of those he loved he couldn t 
 doubt for a moment. He sent a reporter on a secret 
 mission to Peeler s house to find if she were there. 
 
 He returned in three hours and made his report. 
 
 "She s at Peeler s, sir," the young man said with a 
 smile. 
 
 "You allowed no one to learn the real reason of your 
 visit, as I told you?" 
 
 "They never dreamed it. I interviewed old Peeler on 
 the revolution in politics and its effects on the poor 
 whites of the state " 
 
 "You saw her?" 
 
 "She seemed to be all over the place at the same time, 
 singing, laughing and perfectly happy." 
 
CLEO S SILENCE 
 
 "Run your interview to-morrow, and keep this visit a 
 profound secret between us." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 The reporter tipped his hat and was gone. Why she 
 was apparently happy and contented in surroundings 
 she had grown to loathe was another puzzle. Through 
 every hour of the day, down in the subconscious part of 
 his mind, he was at work on this surprising fact. The 
 longer he thought of it the less he understood it. That 
 she would ever content herself with the dreary existence 
 of old Peeler s farm after her experiences in the town 
 and in his home was preposterous. 
 
 That she was smiling and happy under such condi 
 tions was uncanny, and the picture of her shining teeth 
 and the sound of her deep voice singing as she walked 
 through the cheap, sordid surroundings of that drab 
 farmhouse haunted his mind with strange fear. 
 
 She was getting ready to strike him in the dark. Just 
 how the blow would fall he couldn t guess. 
 
 The most obvious thing for her to do would be to 
 carry her story to his political enemies and end his 
 career at a stroke. Yet somehow, for the life of him 
 he couldn t picture her choosing that method of re 
 venge. She had not left him in a temper. The rage 
 and curses had all been his. She had never for a mo 
 ment lost her self-control. The last picture that burned 
 into his soul was the curious smile with which she had 
 spoken her parting words : 
 
 "But I ll see you again!" 
 
 Beyond a doubt some clean-cut plan of action was 
 in her mind when she uttered that sentence. The one 
 question now was "what did she mean?" 
 
 There was one thought that kept popping into his 
 143 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 head, but it was too hideous for a moment s belief. He 
 stamped on it as he would a snake and hurried on to 
 other possibilities. There was but one thing he could 
 do and that was to await with increasing dread her first 
 move. 
 
 144 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE LARGER VISION 
 
 His mind had just settled into this attitude of alert 
 watchfulness toward Cleo when the first danger the doc 
 tor dreaded for his wife began to take shape. 
 
 The feverish brightness in her eyes grew dimmer and 
 her movements less vigorous. The dreaded reaction had 
 come and the taut strings of weakened nerves could 
 bear the strain no longer. 
 
 With a cry of despair she threw herself into his 
 arms: 
 
 "Oh, Dan, dear, it s no use! I ve tried I ve tried 
 so hard but I can t do it I just don t want to live 
 any more !" 
 
 tHe put his hands over the trembling, thin lips : 
 "Hush, dearest, you mustn t say that it s just a 
 minute s reaction. You re blue this morning, that s all. 
 It s the weather a dreary foggy day. The sun will 
 be shining again to-morrow. It s shining now behind 
 the mists if we only remember it. The trees are bare, 
 but their buds are swelling and these days of cold and 
 fog and rain must come to make them burst in glory. 
 Come, let me put your shawl around you and I ll show 
 you how the flowers have pushed up in the sheltered 
 places the past week." 
 
 He drew the hands, limp and cold, from his neck, 
 picked up her shawl, tenderly placed it about her shoul- 
 
 145 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 ders, lifted her in his strong arms, and carried her to 
 the old rose garden behind the house. 
 
 Don sniffed his leg, and looked up into his face with 
 surprise at the unexpected frolic. He leaped into 
 the air, barked softly and ran in front to show the 
 way. 
 
 "You see, old Don knows the sun is shining behind 
 the clouds, dear!" 
 
 She made no answer. The blonde head drooped 
 limply against his breast. He found a seat on the south 
 side of the greenhouse on an old rustic bench his father 
 had built of cedar when he was a boy. 
 
 "There," he said cheerfully, as he smoothed her dress 
 and drew her close by his side. "You can feel the 
 warmth of the sun here reflected from the glass. The 
 violets are already blooming along the walks. The jon 
 quils are all gone, and the rose bushes have begun to 
 bud. You mustn t talk about giving up. We haven t 
 lived yet." 
 
 "But I m tired, Dan, tired " 
 
 "It s just for a moment, remember, my love. You ll 
 feel differently to-morrow. The world is always beauti 
 ful if we only have eyes to see and ears to hear. Watch 
 that smoke curling straight up from the chimney ! That 
 means the clouds are already lifting and the sun will 
 burst through them this afternoon. You mustn t brood, 
 dearest. You must forget the misery that has darkened 
 our world for a moment and remember that it s only the 
 dawn of a new life for us both. We are just boy and 
 girl yet. There s nothing impossible. I m going to 
 prove to you that my love is the deathless thing in me 
 the thing that links me to God." 
 
 "You really love me so ?" she asked softly. 
 
 146 
 
THE LARGER VISION 
 
 "Give me a chance to prove it. That s all I ask. 
 Men sometimes wait until they re past forty before they 
 begin to sow their wild oats. I am only twenty-five 
 now. This tragic sin and shame has redeemed life. It s 
 yours forever you must believe me when I say this, 
 dearest " 
 
 "I try," she broke in wearily. "I try, Dan, but it s 
 hard to believe anything now oh, so hard " 
 
 "But can t you understand, my love, how I have 
 been headstrong and selfish before the shock of my fall 
 brought me to my senses? And that the terror of los 
 ing you has taught me how deep and eternal the roots 
 of our love have struck and this knowledge led me into 
 the consciousness of a larger and more wonderful life 
 can t can t you understand this, dearest?" 
 
 His voice sank to the lowest reverent whisper as he 
 ceased to speak. She stroked his hand with a pathetic 
 little gesture of tenderness. 
 
 "Yes, I believe you," she said with a far-away look 
 in her eyes. "I know that I can trust you now im 
 plicitly, and what I can t understand is that feeling 
 this so clearly still I have no interest in life. Some 
 thing has snapped inside of me. Life doesn t seem 
 worth the struggle any longer " 
 
 "But it is, dear ! Life is always good, always beauti 
 ful, and always worth the struggle. We ve but to lift 
 our eyes and see. Sin is only our stumbling in the dark 
 as we grope toward the light. I m going to be a hum 
 bler and better man. I am no longer proud and vain. 
 I ve a larger and sweeter vision. I feel my kinship to 
 the weak and the erring. Alone in the night my soul 
 has entered into the fellowship of the great Brotherhood 
 through the gates of suffering. You must know this, 
 
 147 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Jean you know that it s true as I thus lay my heart s 
 last secret bare to you to-day. 
 
 "Yes, Dan," she sighed wearily, "but I m just tired. 
 I don t seem to recognize anything I used to know. I 
 look at the baby and he don t seem to be mine. I look 
 at you and feel that you re a stranger. I look at my 
 room, the lawn, the street, the garden no matter where, 
 and I m dazed. I feel that I ve lost my way. I don t 
 know how to live any more." 
 
 For an hour he held her hand and pleaded with all 
 the eloquence of his love that she would let him teach 
 her again, and all she could do was to come back for 
 ever in the narrow circle her mind had beaten. She 
 was tired and life no longer seemed worth while ! 
 
 He kissed the drooping eyelids at last and laughed 
 a willful, daring laugh as he gathered her in his arms 
 and walked slowly back into the house. 
 
 "You ve got to live, my own! I ll show you how! 
 I ll breathe my fierce desire into your soul and call you 
 back even from the dead !" 
 
 Yet in spite of all she drooped and weakened daily, 
 and at the end of a fortnight began to complain of a 
 feeling of uneasiness in her throat. 
 
 The old doctor said nothing when she made this an 
 nouncement. He drew his beetling eyebrows low and 
 walked out on the lawn. 
 
 Pale and haggard, Norton followed him. 
 
 "Well, doctor?" he asked queerly. 
 
 "There s only one thing to do. Get her away from 
 here at once, to the most beautiful spot you can find, 
 high altitude with pure, stimulating air. The change 
 may help her. That s all I can say" he paused, laid 
 his hand on the husband s arm and went on earnestly 
 
 148 
 
THE LARGER VISION 
 
 "and if you haven t discussed that affair with her, you d 
 better try it. Tear the old wound open, go to the bot 
 tom of it, find the thing that s festering there and root 
 it out if you can the thing that s caused this break." 
 
 The end of another week found them in Asheville, 
 North Carolina. 
 
 The wonderful views of purple hills and turquoise sky 
 stretching away into the infinite thrilled the heart of the 
 little invalid. 
 
 It was her first trip to the mountains. She never 
 tired the first two days of sitting in the big sun-parlor 
 beside the open fire logs and gazing over the valleys 
 and watching the fleet clouds with their marvelous col 
 oring. The air was too chill in these early days of 
 spring for her to feel comfortable outside. But a great 
 longing began to possess her to climb the mountains 
 and feel their beauty at closer range. 
 
 She sat by his side in her room and held his hand 
 while they watched the glory of the first cloud-flecked 
 mountain sunset. The river lay a crooked silver ribbon 
 in the deepening shadows of the valley, while the sky 
 stretched its dazzling scarlet canopy high in heaven 
 above it. The scarlet slowly turned to gold, and then 
 to deepening purple and with each change revealed new 
 beauty to the enraptured eye. 
 
 She caught her breath and cried at last : 
 
 "Oh, it is a beautiful world, Dan, dear and I wish 
 I could live !" 
 
 He laughed for joy: 
 
 "Then you shall, dearest! You shall, of course you 
 shall!" 
 
 "I want you to take me over every one of those won 
 derful purple hills!" 
 
 149 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Yes, dear, I will !" 
 
 "I dream as I sit and look at them that God lives 
 somewhere in one of those deep shadows behind a daz 
 zling cloud, and that if we only drive along those ragged 
 cliffs among them we d come face to face with Him some 
 day " 
 
 He looked at her keenly. There was again that un 
 natural brightness in her eyes which he didn t like and 
 yet he took courage. The day was a glorious one in 
 the calendar. Hope had dawned in her heart. 
 
 "The first warm da,y we ll go, dear," he cried with the 
 enthusiasm of a boy, "and take mammy and the kid 
 with us, too, if you say so " 
 
 "No, I want just you, Dan. The long ride might tire 
 the baby, and I might wish to stay up there all night. I 
 shall never grow tired of those hills." 
 
 "It s sweet to hear you talk like that," he cried with 
 a smile. 
 
 He selected a gentle horse for their use and five days 
 later, when the sun rose with unusual warmth, they 
 took their first mountain drive. 
 
 Along the banks of crystal brooks that dashed their 
 sparkling waters over the rocks, up and up winding, 
 narrow roads until the town became a mottled white 
 spot in the valley below, and higher still until the shin 
 ing clouds they had seen from the valley rolled silently 
 into their faces, melting into the gray mists of fog! 
 
 In the midst of one of these clouds, the little wife 
 leaned close and whispered: 
 
 "We re in heaven now, Dan we re passing through 
 the opal gates ! I shouldn t be a bit surprised to see 
 Him at any moment up here 
 
 A lump suddenly rose in his throat. Her voice 
 150 
 
THE LARGER VISION 
 
 sounded unreal. He bent close and saw the strange 
 bright light again in her eyes. And the awful thought 
 slowly shaped itself that the light he saw was the shin 
 ing image of the angel of Death reflected there. 
 
 He tried to laugh off his morbid fancy now that she 
 had begun to find the world so beautiful, but the idea 
 haunted him with increasing terror. He couldn t shake 
 off the impression. 
 
 An hour later he asked abruptly : 
 
 "You have felt no return of the pain in your throat, 
 dear?" 
 
 "Just a little last night, but not to-day I ve been 
 happy to-day." 
 
 He made up his mind to telegraph to New York at 
 once for the specialist to examine her throat. 
 
 The fine weather continued unbroken. Every day 
 for a week she sat by his side and drifted over sunlit 
 valleys, lingered beside beautiful waters and climbed a 
 new peak to bathe in sun-kissed clouds. On the top of 
 one of these peaks they found a farmhouse where 
 lodgers were allowed for the night. They stayed to see 
 the sunrise next morning. Mammy would not worry, 
 they had told her they might spend the night on these 
 mountain trips. 
 
 The farmer called them in time just as the first 
 birds were waking in the trees by their window. 
 
 It was a climb of only two hundred yards to reach 
 the top of a great boulder that gave an entrancing view 
 in four directions. To the west lay the still sleeping 
 town of Asheville half hidden among its hills and trees. 
 Eastward towered the giant peaks of the Blue Ridge, 
 over whose ragged crests the sun was climbing. 
 
 The young husband took the light form in his strong 
 151 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 arms and carried her to the summit. He placed his 
 coat on the rocky ledge, seated her on it, and slipped his 
 arm around the slim waist. There in silence they 
 watched the changing glory of the sky and saw the 
 shadows wake and flee from the valleys at the kiss of 
 the sun. 
 
 He felt the moment had come tnat he might say some 
 things he had waited with patience to speak : 
 
 "You are sure, dear, that you have utterly forgiven 
 the great wrong I did you?" 
 
 "Yes, Dan," she answered simply, "why do you ask?" 
 
 "I just want to be sure, my Jean," he said tenderly, 
 "that there s not a single dark corner of your heart 
 in which the old shadows lurk. I want to drive them 
 all out with my love just as we see the sun now light 
 ing with glory every nook and corner of the world. 
 You are sure?" 
 
 The thin lips quivered uncertainly and her blue eyes 
 wavered as he searched their depths. 
 
 "There s one thing, Dan, that I ll never quite face, I 
 think" she paused and turned away. 
 
 "What, dear?" 
 
 "How any man who had ever bent over a baby s 
 cradle with the tenderness and love I ve seen in your 
 face for Tom, could forget the mother who gave the life 
 at his command !" 
 
 "I didn t forget, dearest," he said sadly. "I fought 
 as a wounded man, alone and unarmed, fights a beast 
 in the jungle. With her sweet spiritual ideal of love a 
 sheltered, innocent woman can t remember that man is 
 still an animal, with tooth and claw and unbridled pas 
 sions, that when put to the test his religion and his 
 civilization often are only a thin veneer, that if he be- 
 
THE LARGER VISION 
 
 comes a civilized human being in his relations to women 
 it is not by inheritance, for he is yet in the zoological 
 period of development but that it is by the divine 
 achievement of character through struggle. Try, dear 
 est, if you can, to imagine such a struggle. This prime 
 val man, in the shadows with desires inflamed by hunger, 
 meets this free primeval woman who is unafraid, who 
 laughs at the laws of Society because she has nothing 
 to lose. Both are for the moment animals pure and 
 simple. The universal in him finds its counterpart in 
 the universal in her. And whether she be fair or dark, 
 her face, her form, her body, her desires are his and, 
 above all, she is near and in that moment with a near 
 ness that overwhelms by its enfolding animal magnetism 
 all powers of the mind to think or reflect. Two such 
 beings are atoms tossed by a storm of forces beyond 
 their control. A man of refinement wakes from such a 
 crash of elemental powers dazed and humiliated. Your 
 lips can speak no word as vile, no curse as bitter as I 
 have hurled against myself " 
 
 The voice broke and he was silent. A little hand 
 pressed his, and her words were the merest tender whis 
 per as she leaned close : 
 
 "I ve forgiven you, my love, and I m going to let you 
 teach me again to live. I ll be a very docile little 
 scholar in your school. But you know I can t forget 
 in a moment the greatest single hour that is given a 
 woman to know the hour she feels the breath of her 
 first born on her breast. It s the memory of that hour 
 that hurts. I won t try to deceive you. I ll get over it 
 in the years to come if God sends them " 
 
 "He will send them he will send them!" the man 
 broke in with desperate emotion. 
 
 153 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Both were silent for several minutes and a smile be 
 gan to play about the blue eyes when she spoke at last : 
 
 "You remember how angry you were that morning 
 when you found a doctor and a nurse in charge of your 
 home? And the great fear that gripped your heart at 
 the first mad cry of pain I gave? I laughed at myself 
 the next moment. And then how I found your hand 
 and wouldn t let you go. The doctor stormed and 
 ordered you out, and I just held on and shook my head, 
 and you stayed. And when the doctor turned his back I 
 whispered in your ear : 
 
 " You won t leave me, Dan, darling, for a single mo 
 ment promise me swear it! 
 
 "And you answered : 
 
 " Yes, I swear it, honey but you must be very 
 brave braver than I am, you know 
 
 "And you begged me to take an anesthetic and I 
 wouldn t, like a little fool. I wanted to know all and 
 feel all if it killed me. And the anguish of your face 
 became so terrible, dear I was sorrier for you than 
 for myself. And when I saw your lips murmuring in an 
 agony of prayer, I somehow didn t mind it then " 
 
 She paused, looked far out over the hills and con 
 tinued : 
 
 "What a funny cry he gave that first one not a 
 real baby cry just a funny little grunt like a good- 
 natured pig! And how awfully disappointed you were 
 at the shapeless bundle of red flesh that hardly looked 
 human ! But I could see the lines of your dear face in 
 his, I knew that he would be even handsomer than his 
 big, brave father and pressed him close and laughed for 
 
 joy " 
 
 She stopped and sighed: 
 
 154 
 
THE LARGER VISION 
 
 "You see, Dan, what I couldn t understand is how 
 any man who has felt the pain and the glory of this, 
 with his hand clasped in the hand of the woman he 
 loves, their two souls mirrored in that first pair of 
 mysterious little eyes God sent from eternity how 
 he could forget the tie that binds " 
 
 He made no effort to interrupt her until the last bit 
 ter thought that had been rankling in her heart was out. 
 He was looking thoughtfully over the valley. An eagle 
 poised above the field in the foreground, darted to the 
 stubble with lightning swiftness and rose with a flutter 
 ing brown quail in his talons. His shrill cry of triumph 
 rang pitilessly in the stillness of the heights. 
 
 The little figure gave an unconscious shiver and she 
 added in low tones: 
 
 "I m never going to speak of this nameless thing 
 again, Dan, but you asked me this morning and I ve told 
 you what was in my heart. I just couldn t understand 
 how you could forget " 
 
 "Only a beast could, dearest," he answered with a 
 curl of the lip. "I m something more than that now, 
 taught by the bitterness of experience. You re just a 
 sweet, innocent girl who has never looked the world as 
 it is in the face. Reared as you were, you can t under 
 stand that there s a difference as deep as the gulf be 
 tween heaven and hell, in the divine love that binds 
 my soul and body and life to you and the sudden pass 
 ing of a storm of passion. Won t you try to remember 
 this?" 
 
 "Yes, dear, I will " 
 
 She looked into his eyes with a smile of tenderness: 
 
 "A curious change is coming over you, Dan. I can 
 begin to see it. There used to be a line of cruelty 
 
 155 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 sometimes about your mouth and a flash of it in your 
 eyes. They re gone. There s something strong and 
 tender, wise and sweet, in their place. If I were an 
 artist I could paint it but I can t just tell you what 
 it is. I used to think the cruel thing I saw in you was 
 the memory of the war. Your eyes saw so much of 
 blood and death and pain and cruelty " 
 
 "Perhaps it was," he said slowly. "War does make 
 men cruel unconsciously cruel. We lose all sense of 
 the value of human life " 
 
 "No, it wasn t that," she protested, "it was the other 
 thing the the Beast you ve been talking about. It s 
 not there any more, Dan and I m going to be happy 
 now. I know it, dear " 
 
 He bent and kissed the slender fingers. 
 
 "If this old throat of mine just won t bother me 
 again," she added. 
 
 He looked at her and turned pale : 
 
 "It s bothering you this morning?" 
 
 She lifted the delicately shaped head and touched 
 her neck: 
 
 "Not much pain, but a sense of fullness. I feel as if 
 I m going to choke sometimes." 
 
 He rose abruptly, a great fear in his heart : 
 
 "We ll go back to town at once. The doctor should 
 arrive at three from New York." 
 
 "Let s not hurry," she cried smiling. "I m happy 
 now. You re my old sweetheart again and I m on a 
 new honeymoon " 
 
 He gazed at the white slender throat. She was look 
 ing unusually well. He wondered if this were a trick 
 of the enemy to throw him off his guard. He won 
 dered what was happening in those tiny cells behind 
 
 156 
 
THE LARGER VISION 
 
 the smooth round lines of the beautiful neck. It made 
 him sick and faint to think of the possibility of another 
 attack just when the fight was over just when she 
 had begun to smile and find life sweet again! His soul 
 rose in fierce rebellion. It was too horrible for belief. 
 He simply wouldn t believe it ! 
 
 "All right !" he exclaimed with decision. "We ll stay 
 here till two o clock, anyhow. We can drive back in 
 three hours. The train will be late it always is." 
 
 Through the long hours of a wonderful spring morn 
 ing they basked in the sun side by side on a bed of leaves 
 he piled in a sheltered spot on the mountain side. They 
 were boy and girl again. The shadows had lifted and 
 the world was radiant with new glory. They talked 
 of the future and the life of perfect mutual faith and 
 love that should be theirs. 
 
 And each moment closer came the soft footfall of an 
 unseen angel. 
 
 157 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE OPAL GATES 
 
 THE doctor was waiting at the hotel, his keen eyes 
 very serious. He had guessed the sinister meaning of 
 the summons. He was an unusually brusque man al 
 most rude in his words. He greeted Norton with 
 friendly sympathy and smiled at the radiant face of 
 the wife. 
 
 "Well, little mother," he said with grave humor, "we 
 have more trouble. But you re brave and patient. It s 
 a joy to work for you." 
 
 "And now," she responded gayly, "you ve got to fin 
 ish this thing, doctor. I don t want any more half-way 
 operations. I m going to get well this time. I m happy 
 and I m going to be strong again." 
 
 "Good, we ll get at it right away. I knw you d 
 feel that way and so I brought with me a great surgeon, 
 the most skillful man I know in New York. I ve told 
 him of your case, a very unusual one, and he is going 
 to help me." 
 
 The little mouth smiled bravely : 
 
 "I ll be ready for the examination in half an 
 hour " 
 
 When the doctors emerged from her room the sun 
 had set behind the dark blue hills and Norton was wait 
 ing on the balcony for their report. 
 
 The specialist walked slowly to where he was stand- 
 158 
 
THE OPAL GATES 
 
 ing. He couldn t move from his tracks. His throat 
 was dry and he had somehow lost the power of speech. 
 He looked into the face of the man of science, read the 
 story of tragedy and a mist closed his eyes. 
 
 The doctor took his arm gently: 
 
 "I ve bad news for you " 
 
 "Yes, I know," was the low answer. 
 
 "The truth is best " 
 
 "I want to know it." 
 
 "She can t live !" 
 
 The tall figure stiffened, there was a moment of 
 silence and when he spoke his words fell slowly with 
 measured intensity: 
 
 "There s not a single chance, doctor?" 
 
 "Not worth your cherishing. You d as well know 
 this now and be prepared. We opened and drained the 
 old wound, and both agreed that it is too late for an 
 operation. The flesh that guards the wall of the great 
 vein is a mere shred. She would die under the opera 
 tion. I can t undertake it." 
 
 "And it will not heal again?" 
 
 The doctor was silent for a long while and his eyes 
 wandered to the darkening sky where the stars were 
 coming out one by one: 
 
 "Who knows but God? And who am I to set bounds 
 to his power?" 
 
 "Then there may be a slender chance?" he asked 
 eagerly. 
 
 "To the eye of Science no yet while life lingers 
 we always hope. But I wouldn t advise you to leave her 
 side for the next ten days. The end, if it comes, will 
 be very sudden, and it will be too late for speech." 
 
 A groan interrupted his words and Norton leaned 
 159 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 heavily against the balcony rail. The doctor s voice 
 was full of feeling as he continued: 
 
 "If you have anything to say to her you d better say 
 it quickly to be sure that it does not remain unsaid." 
 
 "Thank you " 
 
 "I have told her nothing more can be done now until 
 the wound from this draining heals that when it does 
 she can come to New York for a final decision on the 
 operation." 
 
 "I understand." 
 
 "We leave to-night on the midnight express " 
 
 "You can do nothing more?" 
 
 "Nothing." 
 
 A warm pressure of the hand in the gathering twi 
 light and he was gone. The dazed man looked toward 
 the fading sky-line of the southwest at Mt. Pisgah s 
 towering black form pushing his way into the track of 
 the stars and a feeling of loneliness crushed his soul. 
 
 He turned abruptly, braced himself for the ordeal 
 and hurried to her room. She was unusually bright and 
 cheerful. 
 
 "Why, it didn t hurt a bit, dear!" she exclaimed joy 
 fully. "It was nothing. And when it heals you re to 
 /take me to New York for the operation " 
 
 He took her hot hand and kissed it through blinding 
 tears which he tried in vain to fight. back. 
 
 "They didn t even have to pack that nasty old gauze 
 in it again were you very much scared waiting out 
 there, Dan?" 
 
 "Very much." 
 
 She started at the queer note in his voice, caught her 
 hand in his brown locks and pressed his head back in 
 view: 
 
 160 
 
THE OPAL GATES 
 
 "Why, you re crying you big foolish boy! You 
 mustn t do that. I m all right now I feel much better 
 there s not a trace of pain or uneasiness. Don t be 
 silly it s all right, remember." 
 
 He stroked the little hand : 
 
 "Yes, I ll remember, dearest." 
 
 "It should all be healed in three weeks and then we ll 
 go to New York. It ll just be fun! I ve always been 
 crazy to go. I won t mind the operation you ll be 
 with me every minute now till I m well again." 
 
 "Yes, dear, every moment now until you are 
 well." 
 
 The last words came slowly, but by a supreme effort 
 of will the voice was held even. 
 
 He found mammy, told her the solemn truth, and sent 
 her to hire a nurse for the baby. 
 
 "Either you or I must be by her side every minute 
 now, mammy day and night." 
 
 "Yessir, I understand," the dear old voice answered. 
 
 Every morning early the nurse brought the baby in 
 for a romp as soon as he waked and mammy came to 
 relieve the tired watcher. 
 
 Ten days passed before the end came. Many long, 
 sweet hours he had with her hand in his as the great 
 shadow deepened, while he talked to her of life and 
 death, and immortality. 
 
 A strange peace had slowly stolen into his heart. He 
 had always hated and feared death before. Now his 
 fears had gone. And the face of the dim white mes 
 senger seemed to smile at him from the friendly shadows. 
 
 The change came quietly one night as they sat in 
 the moonlight of her window. 
 
 "Oh, what a beautiful world, Dan!" she said softly, 
 
 161 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 and then the little hand suddenly grasped her throat! 
 She turned a blanched face on him and couldn t speak. 
 
 He lifted her tenderly and laid her on the bed, rang 
 for the doctor and sent mammy for the baby. 
 
 She motioned for a piece of paper and slowly wrote 
 in a queer, trembling hand: 
 
 "I understand, dearest, I am going it s all right. I am 
 happy remember that I love you and have forgiven rear 
 our boy free from the curse you know what I mean. I 
 had rather a thousand times that he should die than this 
 my brooding spirit will watch and guard." 
 
 The baby kissed her sweetly and lisped : 
 
 "Good night, mamma !" 
 
 From the doorway he waved his chubby little arm 
 and cried again: 
 
 "Night, night, mamma!" 
 
 The sun was slowly climbing the eastern hills when 
 the end came. Its first rays streamed through the win 
 dow and fell on his haggard face as he bent and pressed 
 a kiss on the silent lips of the dead. 
 
 162 
 
CHAPTER XVHI 
 
 QUESTIONS 
 
 THE thing that crushed the spirit of the man was not 
 the shock of death with its thousand and one unanswer 
 able questions torturing the soul, but the possibility 
 that his acts had been the cause of the tragedy. Dr. 
 Williams had said to him over and over again : 
 
 "Make her will to live and she ll recover !" 
 
 He had fought this grim battle and won. She had 
 willed to live and was happy. The world had never 
 seemed so beautiful as the day she died. If the cause 
 of her death lay further back in the curious accident 
 which happened at the birth of the child, his soul was 
 clear of guilt. 
 
 He held none of the morbid fancies of the super- 
 sensitive mind that would make a father responsible for 
 a fatal outcome in the birth of a babe. God made 
 women to bear children. The only woman to be pitied 
 was the one who could not know the pain, the joy and 
 the danger of this divine hour. 
 
 But the one persistent question to which his mind 
 forever returned was whether the shock of his sin had 
 weakened her vitality and caused the return of this old 
 trouble. 
 
 The moment he left the grave on the day of her 
 burial, he turned to the old doctor with this grim ques 
 tion. He told him the whole story. He told him every 
 
 163 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 word she had spoken since they left home. He re 
 counted every hour of reaction and depression, the good 
 and the bad, just as the recording angel might have 
 written it. He ended his recital with the burning ques 
 tion: 
 
 "Tell me now, doctor, honestly before God, did I 
 kill her?" 
 
 "Certainly not!" was the quick response. 
 
 "Don t try to shield me. I can stand the truth. I 
 don t belong to a race of cowards. After this no pain 
 can ever come but that my soul shall laugh !" 
 
 "I m honest with you, my boy. I ve too much self- 
 respect not to treat you as a man in such an hour. 
 No, if she died as you say, you had nothing to do with 
 it. The seed of death was hiding there behind that 
 slender, graceful throat. I was always afraid of it. 
 And I ve always known that if the pain returned she d 
 die " 
 
 "You knew that before we left home?" 
 
 "Yes. I only hinted the truth. I thought the change 
 might prolong her life, that s all." 
 
 "You re not saying this to cheer me? This is not 
 one of your lies you give for medicine sometimes ?" 
 
 "No" the old doctor smiled gravely. "No, shake 
 off this nightmare and go back to your work. Your 
 people are calling you." 
 
 He made a desperate effort to readjust himself to 
 life, but somehow at the moment the task was hopeless. 
 He had preached, with all the eloquence of the en 
 thusiasm of youth, that life in itself is always beautiful 
 and always good. He found it was easier to preach 
 a thing than to live it. 
 
 164 
 
QUESTIONS 
 
 The old house seemed to be empty, and, strange to 
 say, the baby s voice didn t fill it. He had said to him 
 self that the patter of his little feet and the sound of 
 his laughter would fill its halls, make it possible to live, 
 and get used to the change. But it wasn t so. Some 
 how the child s laughter made him faint. The sound 
 of his voice made the memory of his mother an intoler 
 able pain. His voice in the morning was the first thing 
 he heard and it drove him from the house. At night 
 when he knelt to lisp his prayers her name was a stab, 
 and when he waved his little hands and said: "Good 
 night, Papa !" he could remember nothing save the last 
 picture that had burned itself into his soul. 
 
 He tried to feed and care for a canary she had kept 
 in her room, but when he cocked his little yellow head 
 and gave the loving plaintive cry with which he used 
 to greet her, the room became a blur and he staggered 
 out unable to return for a day. 
 
 The silent sympathy of his dog, as he thrust his 
 nose between his hands and wagged his shaggy tail, 
 was the only thing that seemed to count for anything. 
 
 "I understand, Don, old boy," he cried, lifting his 
 paw into his lap and slipping his arm around the woolly 
 neck, "you re telling me that you love me always, good 
 or bad, right or wrong. I understand, and it s very 
 sweet to know it. But I ve somehow lost the way on 
 life s field, old boy. The night is coming on and I 
 can t find the road home. You remember that feeling 
 when we were lost sometimes in strange countries hunt 
 ing together, you and I?" 
 
 Don licked his hand and wagged his tail again. 
 
 He rose and walked through the lawn, radiant now 
 with the glory of spring. But the flowers had become 
 
 165 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the emblems of Death not Life and their odor was 
 oppressive. 
 
 A little black boy, in a ragged shirt and torn trou 
 sers, barefooted and bareheaded, stopped at the gate, 
 climbed up and looked over with idle curiosity at his 
 aimless wandering. He giggled and asked : 
 
 "Ye don t need no boy fer nothin, do ye?" 
 
 The man s sombre eyes suddenly lighted with a look 
 of hate that faded in a moment and he made no reply. 
 What had this poor little ragamuffin, his face smeared 
 with dirt and his eyes rolling with childish mirth, to do 
 with tragic problems which his black skin symbolized! 
 He was there because a greedy race of empire builders 
 had need of his labor. He had remained to torment and 
 puzzle and set at naught the wisdom of statesmen for 
 the same reason. For the first time in his life he asked 
 himself a startling question: 
 
 "Do I really need him?" 
 
 Before the shock that threw his life into ruins he 
 would have answered as every Southerner always an 
 swered at that time : 
 
 "Certainly I need him. His labor is indispensable to 
 the South." 
 
 But to-day, back of the fire that flashed in his eyes, 
 there had been born a new thought. He was destined 
 to forget it in the stress of the life of the future, but 
 it was there growing from day to day. The thought 
 shaped itself into questions : 
 
 "Isn t the price we pay too great? Is his labor worth 
 more than the purity of our racial stock? Shall we 
 improve the breed of men or degrade it? Is any prog 
 ress that degrades the breed of men progress at all? 
 Is it not retrogression? Can we afford it?" 
 
 166 
 
QUESTIONS 
 
 He threw off his train of thought with a gesture of 
 weariness and a great desire suddenly possessed his 
 heart to get rid of such a burden by a complete break 
 with every tie of life save one. 
 
 "Why not take the boy and go?" he exclaimed. 
 
 The more he turned the idea over in his mind 
 the more clearly it seemed to be the sensible thing 
 to do. 
 
 But the fighting instinct within him was too strong for 
 immediate surrender. He went to his office determined 
 to work and lose himself in a return to its old habits. 
 
 He sat down at his desk, but his mind was a blank. 
 There wasn t a question on earth that seemed worth 
 writing an editorial about. Nothing mattered. 
 
 For two hours he sat hopelessly staring at his ex 
 changes. The same world, which he had left a few weeks 
 before when he had gone down into the valley of the 
 shadows to fight for his life, still rolled on with its end 
 less story of joy and sorrow, ambitions and struggle. 
 It seemed now the record of the buzzing of a lot of 
 insects. It was a waste of time to record such a strug 
 gle or to worry one way or another about it. And this 
 effort of a daily newspaper to write the day s history 
 of these insects ! It might be worth the while of a phi 
 losopher to pause a moment to record the blow that 
 would wipe them out of existence, but to get excited 
 again over their little squabbles it seemed funny now 
 that he had ever been such a fool! 
 
 He rose at last in disgust and seized his hat to go 
 home when the Chairman of the Executive Committee 
 of his party suddenly walked into his office unan 
 nounced. His face was wreathed in smiles and his deep 
 bass voice had a hearty, genuine ring: 
 
 167 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I ve big news for you, major!" 
 
 The editor placed a chair beside his desk, motioned 
 his visitor to be seated and quietly resumed his seat. 
 
 "It s been settled for some time," he went on enthu 
 siastically, "but we thought best not to make the an 
 nouncement so soon after your wife s death. I reckon 
 you can guess my secret?" 
 
 "I give it up," was the listless answer. 
 
 "The Committee has voted unanimously to make you 
 the next Governor. Your nomination with such back 
 ing is a mere formality. Your election is a cer 
 tainty " 
 
 The Chairman sprang to his feet and extended his 
 big hand: 
 
 "I salute the Governor of the Commonwealth the 
 youngest man in the history of the state to hold such 
 high office " 
 
 "You mean it?" Norton asked in a stupor. 
 
 "Mean it? Of course I mean it! Why don t you 
 give me your hand ? What s the matter ?" 
 
 "You see, I ve sort of lost my bearings in politics 
 lately." 
 
 The Chairman s voice was lowered: 
 
 "Of course, major, I understand. Well, this is the 
 medicine you need now to brace you up. For the first 
 time in my memory a name will go before our conven 
 tion without a rival. There ll be just one ballot 
 and that will be a single shout that ll raise the 
 roof " 
 
 Norton rose and walked to his window overlooking 
 the Square, as he was in the habit of doing often, turn 
 ing his back for a moment on the enthusiastic poli 
 tician. 
 
 168 
 
QUESTIONS 
 
 He was trying to think. The first big dream of his 
 life had come true and it didn t interest him. 
 
 He turned abruptly and faced his visitor: 
 
 "Tell your Committee for me," he said with slow em- 
 phatic voice, "that I appreciate the high honor they 
 would do me, but cannot accept " 
 
 "What!" 
 
 "I cannot accept the responsibility." 
 
 "You don t mean it?" 
 
 "I was never more in earnest." 
 
 The Chairman slipped his arm around the editor 
 with a movement of genuine sympathy: 
 
 "Come, my boy, this is nonsense. I m a veteran poli 
 tician. No man ever did such a thing as this in the 
 history of the state ! You can t decline such an honor. 
 You re only twenty-five years old." 
 
 "Time is not measured by the tick of a clock," Nor 
 ton interrupted, "but by what we ve lived." 
 
 "Yes, yes, we know you ve had a great shock in the 
 death of your wife, but you must remember that the 
 people a million people are calling you to lead them. 
 It s a solemn duty. Don t say no now. Take a little 
 time and you ll see that it s the work sent to you at the 
 moment you need it most. I won t take no for an 
 answer " 
 
 He put on his hat and started to the door : 
 
 "I ll just report to the Committee that I notified 
 you and that you have the matter under considera 
 tion." 
 
 Before Norton could enter a protest the politician 
 had gone. 
 
 His decision was instantly made. This startling 
 event revealed the hopelessness of life under its present 
 
 169 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 conditions. He would leave the South. He would put 
 a thousand miles between him and the scene of the events 
 of the past year. He would leave his home with its tor 
 turing memories. 
 
 Above all, he would leave the negroid conditions that 
 made his shame possible and rear his boy in clean air. t 
 
 170 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 CLEG S CRY 
 
 THE decision once made was carried out without de 
 lay. He placed an editor permanently in charge of his 
 paper, closed the tall green shutters of the stately old 
 house, sold his horses, and bought tickets for himself 
 and mammy for New York. 
 
 He paused at the gate and looked back at the white 
 pillars of which he had once been so proud. He hadn t 
 a single regret at leaving. 
 
 "A house doesn t make a home, after all!" he sighed 
 with a lingering look. 
 
 He took the boy to the cemetery for a last hour be 
 side the mother s grave before he should turn his back 
 on the scenes of his old life forever. 
 
 The cemetery was the most beautiful spot in the 
 county. At this period of the life of the South, it was 
 the one spot where every home had its little plot. The 
 war had killed the flower of Southern manhood. The 
 bravest and the noblest boys never surrendered. They 
 died with a shout and a smile on their lips and Southern 
 women came daily now to keep their love watches on 
 these solemn bivouacs of the dead. The girls got the 
 habit of going there to plant flowers and to tend them 
 and grew to love the shaded walks, the deep boxwood 
 hedges, the quiet, sweetly perfumed air. Sweethearts 
 were always strolling among the flowers and from every 
 
 171 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 nook and corner peeped a rustic seat that could tell its 
 story of the first stammering words from lovers lips. 
 
 Norton saw them everywhere this beautiful spring 
 afternoon, the girls in their white, clean dresses, the 
 boys bashful and self-conscious. A throb of pain 
 gripped his heart and he hurried through the wilder 
 ness of flowers to the spot beneath a great oak where 
 he had laid the tired body of the first and only woman 
 he had ever loved. 
 
 He placed the child on the grass and led him to the 
 newly-made mound, put into his tiny hand the roses 
 he had brought and guided him while he placed them 
 on her grave. 
 
 "This is where little mother sleeps, my boy," he said 
 softly. "Remember it now it will be a long, long time 
 before we shall see it again. You won t forget " 
 
 "No dad-ee," he lisped sweetly. "I ll not fordet, 
 the big tree " 
 
 The man rose and stood in silence seeing again the 
 last beautiful day of their life together and forgot the 
 swift moments. He stood as in a trance from which 
 he was suddenly awakened by the child s voice calling 
 him excitedly from another walkway into which he had 
 wandered : 
 
 "Dad-ee!" he called again. 
 
 "Yes, baby," he answered. 
 
 "Oh, come quick! Dad-ee here s C-l-e-o!" 
 
 Norton turned and with angry steps measured the 
 (distance between them. 
 
 He came upon them suddenly behind a boxwood 
 hedge. The girl was kneeling with the child s arms 
 around her neck, clinging to her with all the yearning 
 of his hungry little heart, and she was muttering half 
 
 172 
 
CLEO S CRY 
 
 articulate words of love and tenderness. She held him 
 from her a moment, looked into his eyes and cried : 
 
 "And you missed me, darling?" 
 
 "Oh C-l-e-o !" he cried, "I thought oo d nev-er 
 .turn!" 
 
 ; The angry words died in the man s lips as he watched 
 the scene in silence. 
 
 He stooped and drew the child away: 
 
 "Come, baby, we must go " 
 
 "Turn on, C-l-e-o, we do now," he cried. 
 
 The girl shook her head and turned away. 
 
 "Turn on, C-l-e-o!" he cried tenderly. 
 
 She waved him a kiss, and the child said excitedly : 
 
 "Oh, dad-ee, wait ! wait for C-l-e-o !" 
 
 "No, my baby, she can t come with us " 
 
 The little head sank to his shoulder, a sob rose from 
 his heart and he burst into weeping. And through the 
 storm of tears one word only came out clear and soft 
 and plaintive: 
 
 "C-l-e-o! C-l-e-o!" 
 
 The girl watched them until they reached the gate 
 and then, on a sudden impulse, ran swiftly up, caught 
 , the child s hand that hung limply down his father s 
 back, covered it with kisses and cried in cheerful, half- 
 laughing tones : 
 
 "Don t cry, darling! Cleo will come again!" 
 
 And in the long journey to the North the man 
 brooded over the strange tones of joyous assurance 
 with which the girl had spoken. 
 
 173 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE BLOW FALLS 
 
 FOE a time Norton lost himself in the stunning im 
 mensity of the life of New York. He made no effort to 
 adjust himself to it. He simply allowed its waves to 
 roll over and engulf him. 
 
 He stopped with mammy and the boy at a brown- 
 stone boarding house on Stuyvesant Square kept by a 
 Southern woman to whom he had a letter of introduction. 
 
 Mrs. Beam was not an ideal landlady, but her good- 
 natured helplessness appealed to him. She was a large 
 woman of ample hips and bust, and though very tall 
 seemed always in her own way. She moved slowly and 
 laughed with a final sort of surrender to fate when any 
 thing went wrong. And it was generally going wrong. 
 She was still comparatively young perhaps thirty-two 
 but was built on so large and unwieldy a pattern that 
 it was not easy to guess her age, especially as she had a 
 silly tendency to harmless kittenish ways at times. 
 
 The poor thing was pitifully at sea in her new world 
 and its work. She had been reared in a typically ex 
 travagant home of the old South where slaves had 
 waited her call from childhood. She had not learned 
 to sew, or cook or keep house in fact, she had never 
 learned to do anything useful or important. So nat 
 urally she took boarders. Her husband, on whose 
 shoulders she had placed every burden of life the day 
 
 174 
 
THE BLOW FALLS 
 
 of her marriage, lay somewhere in an unmarked trench 
 on a Virginia battlefield. 
 
 She couldn t conceive of any human being enduring 
 a servant that wasn t black and so had turned her house 
 over to a lazy and worthless crew of Northern negro 
 help. The house was never clean, the waste in her 
 kitchen was appalling, but so long as she could find 
 money to pay her rent and grocery bills, she was happy. 
 Her only child, a daughter of sixteen, never dreamed 
 of lifting her hand to work, and it hadn t yet occurred 
 to the mother to insult her with such a suggestion. 
 
 Norton was not comfortable but he was lonely, and 
 Mrs. Beam s easy ways, genial smile and Southern 
 weaknesses somehow gave him a sense of being at home 
 and he stayed. Mammy complained bitterly of the in 
 solence and low manners of the kitchen. But he only 
 laughed and told her she d get used to it. 
 
 He was astonished to find that so many Southern 
 people had drifted to New York exiles of all sorts, 
 with one universal trait, poverty and politeness. 
 
 And they quickly made friends. As he began to 
 realize it, his heart went out to the great city with 
 a throb of gratitude. 
 
 When the novelty of the new world had gradually 
 worn off a feeling of loneliness set in. He couldn t get 
 used to the crowds on every street, these roaring rivers 
 of strange faces rushing by like the waters of a swollen 
 stream after a freshet, hurrying and swirling out of 
 its banks. 
 
 At first he had found himself trying to bow to every 
 man he met and take off his hat to every woman. It 
 took a long time to break himself of this Southern in 
 stinct. The thing that cured him completely was when 
 
 175 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 he tipped his hat unconsciously to a lady on Fifth Ave 
 nue. She blushed furiously, hurried to the corner and 
 had him arrested. 
 
 His apology was so abject, so evidently sincere, his 
 grief so absurd over her mistake that when she caught 
 his Southern drawl, it was her turn to blush and ask 
 his pardon. 
 
 A feeling of utter depression and pitiful homesick 
 ness gradually crushed his spirit. His soul began to 
 cry for the sunlit fields and the perfumed nights of the 
 South. There didn t seem to be any moon or stars here, 
 and the only birds he ever saw were the chattering drab 
 little sparrows in the parks. 
 
 The first day of autumn, as he walked through Cen 
 tral Park, a magnificent Irish setter lifted his fine head 
 and spied him. Some subtle instinct told the dog that 
 the man was a hunter and a lover of his kind. The 
 setter wagged his tail and introduced himself. Norton 
 dropped to a seat, drew the shaggy face into his lap, 
 and stroked his head. 
 
 He was back home again. Don, with his fine nose 
 high in the air, was circling a field and Andy was 
 shouting: 
 
 "He s got em ! He s got em sho, Marse Dan !" 
 
 He could see Don s slim white and black figure step 
 ping slowly through the high grass on velvet feet, glanc 
 ing back to see if his master were coming the muscles 
 suddenly stiffened, his tail became rigid, and the whole 
 covey of quail were under his nose! 
 
 He was a boy again and felt the elemental thrill of 
 man s first work as hunter and fisherman. He looked 
 about him at the bald coldness of the artificial park 
 and a desperate longing surged through his heart to 
 
 176 
 
THE BLOW FALLS 
 
 be among his own people again, to live their life and 
 feel their joys and sorrows as his own. 
 
 And then the memory of the great tragedy slowly 
 surged back, he pushed the dog aside, rose and hurried 
 on in his search for a new world. 
 
 He tried the theatres saw Booth in his own house 
 on 23d Street play "Hamlet" and Lawrence Barrett 
 "Othello," listened with rapture to the new Italian Grand 
 Opera Company in the Academy of Music saw a bur 
 lesque in the Tammany Theatre on 14th Street, Lester 
 Wallack in "The School for Scandal" at Wallack s 
 Theatre on Broadway at 13th Street, and Tony Pas 
 tor in his variety show at his Opera House on the Bow 
 ery, and yet returned each night with a dull ache in his 
 heart. 
 
 Other men who loved home less perhaps could adjust 
 themselves to new surroundings, but somehow in him 
 this home instinct, this feeling of personal friendliness 
 for neighbor and people, this passion for house and 
 lawn, flowers and trees and shrubs, for fields and rivers 
 and hills, seemed of the very fibre of his inmost life. This 
 vast rushing, roaring, impersonal world, driven by in 
 visible titanic forces, somehow didn t appeal to him. 
 It merely stunned and appalled and confused his mind. 
 
 And then without warning the blow fell. 
 
 He told himself afterwards that he must have been 
 waiting for it, that some mysterious power of mental 
 telepathy had wired its message without words across 
 the thousand miles that separated him from the old life, 
 and yet the surprise was complete and overwhelming. 
 
 He had tried that morning to write. A story was 
 shaping itself in his mind and he felt the impulse to 
 express it. But he was too depressed. He threw his 
 
 177 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 pencil down in disgust and walked to his window facing 
 the little park. 
 
 It was a bleak, miserable day in November the first 
 freezing weather had come during the night and turned 
 a drizzling rain into sleet. The streets were covered 
 with a thin, hard, glistening coat of ice. A coal wagon 
 had stalled in front of the house, a magnificent draught 
 horse had fallen and a brutal driver began to beat him 
 unmercifully. 
 
 Henry Berg s Society had not yet been organized. 
 
 Norton rushed from the door and faced the aston 
 ished driver: 
 
 "Don t you dare to strike that horse again !" 
 
 The workman turned his half-drunken face on the 
 intruder with a vicious leer: 
 
 "Well, what fell " 
 
 "I mean it !" 
 
 With an oath the driver lunged at him: 
 
 "Get out of my way !" 
 
 The big fist shot at Norton s head. He parried the 
 attack and knocked the man down. The driver 
 scrambled to his feet and plunged forward again. A 
 second blow sent him flat on his back on the ice and 
 his body slipped three feet and struck the curb. 
 
 "Have you got enough?" Norton asked, towering 
 over the sprawling figure. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, get up now, and I ll help you with the 
 horse." 
 
 He helped the sullen fellow unhitch the fallen horse, 
 lift him to his feet and readjust the harness. He put 
 shoulder to the wheel and started the wagon again on 
 its way. 
 
 178 
 
THE BLOW FALLS 
 
 He returned to his room feeling better. It was the 
 first fight he had started for months and it stirred his 
 blood to healthy reaction. 
 
 He watched the bare limbs swaying in the bitter wind 
 in front of St. George s Church and his eye rested on 
 the steeples the architects said were unsafe and might 
 fall some day with a crash, and his depression slowly 
 returned. He had waked that morning with a vague 
 sense of dread. 
 
 "I guess it was that fight!" he muttered. "The 
 scoundrel will be back in an hour with a warrant for 
 my arrest and I ll spend a few days in jail " 
 
 The postman s whistle blew at the basement window. 
 He knew that fellow by the way he started the first 
 notes of his call always low, swelling into a peculiar 
 shrill crescendo and dying away in a weird cry of pain. 
 
 The call this morning was one of startling effects. 
 It was his high nerve tension, of course, that made the 
 difference perhaps, too, the bitter cold and swirling 
 gusts of wind outside. But the shock was none the less 
 vivid. The whistle began so low it seemed at first the 
 moaning of the wind, the high note rang higher and 
 higher, until it became the shout of a fiend, and died 
 away with a wail of agony wrung from a lost soul. 
 
 He shivered at the sound. He would not have been 
 surprised to receive a letter from the dead after that. 
 
 He heard some one coming slowly up stairs. It was 
 mammy and the boy. The lazy maid had handed his 
 mail to her, of course. 
 
 His door was pushed open and the child ran in hold 
 ing a letter in his red, chubby hand : 
 
 "A letter, daddy !" he cried. 
 
 He took it mechanically, staring at the inscription. 
 179 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He knew now the meaning of his horrible depression! 
 She was writing that letter when it began yesterday. 
 He recognized Cleo s handwriting at a glance, though 
 this was unusually blurred and crooked. The post 
 mark was Baltimore, another striking fact. 
 
 He laid the letter down on his table unopened and 
 turned to mammy: 
 
 "Take him to your room. I m trying to do some 
 writing." 
 
 The old woman took the child s hand grumbling: 
 
 "Come on, mammy s darlin , nobody wants us!" 
 
 He closed the door, locked it, glanced savagely at the 
 unopened letter, drew his chair before the open fire and 
 gazed into the glowing coals. 
 
 He feared to break the seal feared with a dull, 
 sickening dread. He glanced at it again as though 
 he were looking at a toad that had suddenly intruded 
 into his room. 
 
 Six months had passed without a sign, and he had 
 ceased to wonder at the strange calm with which she 
 received her dismissal and his flight from the scene after 
 his wife s death. He had begun to believe that her 
 shadow would never again fall across his life. 
 
 It had come at last. He picked the letter up, and 
 tried to guess its meaning. She was going to make de 
 mands on him, of course. He had expected this months 
 ago. But why should she be in Baltimore ? He thought 
 of a hundred foolish reasons without once the faintest 
 suspicion of the truth entering his mind. 
 
 He broke the seal and read its contents. A look of 
 vague incredulity overspread his face, followed by a 
 sudden pallor. The one frightful thing he had dreaded 
 and forgotten was true! 
 
 180 
 
THE BLOW FALLS 
 
 He crushed the letter in his powerful hand with a 
 savage groan: 
 
 "God in Heaven !" 
 
 He spread it out again and read and reread its mes- 
 ,sage, until each word burned its way into his soul : 
 
 "Our baby was born here yesterday. I was on my way 
 to New York to you, but was taken sick on the train 
 at Baltimore and had to stop. I m alone and have no 
 money, but I m proud and happy. I know that you will 
 help me. 
 
 "CLEO." 
 
 For hours he sat in a stupor of pain, holding this 
 crumpled letter in his hand, staring into the fire. 
 
 181 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE CALL OF THE BLOOD 
 
 IT was all clear now, the mystery of Cleo s assurance, 
 of her happiness, of her acceptance of his going with 
 out protest. 
 
 She had known the truth from the first and had reck 
 oned on his strength and manliness to draw him to her 
 in this hour. 
 
 "I ll show her !" he said in fierce rebellion. "I ll give 
 her the money she needs yes but her shadow shall 
 never again darken my life. I won t permit this shame 
 to smirch the soul of my boy I ll die first !" 
 
 He moved to the West side of town, permitted no 
 one to learn his new address, sent her money from the 
 general postoffice, and directed all his mail to a lock 
 box he had secured. 
 
 He destroyed thus every trace by which she might dis 
 cover his residence if she dared to venture into New York. 
 
 To his surprise it was more than three weeks before 
 he received a reply from her. And the second letter 
 made an appeal well-nigh resistless. The message was 
 brief, but she had instinctively chosen the words that 
 found him. How well she knew that side of his nature ! 
 He resented it with rage and tried to read all sorts of 
 sinister guile into the lines. But as he scanned them a 
 second time reason rejected all save the simplest and 
 most obvious meaning the words implied. 
 
 182 
 
THE CALL OF THE BLOOD 
 
 The letter was evidently written in a cramped posi 
 tion. She had missed the lines many times and some 
 words were so scrawled they were scarcely legible. But 
 he read them all at last: 
 
 "I have been very sick since your letter came with the 
 money. I tried to get up too soon. I have suffered 
 awfully. You see, I didn t know how much I had gone 
 through. Please don t be angry with me for what neither 
 you nor I can help now. I want to see you just once, 
 and then I won t trouble you any more. I am very weak 
 to-day, but I ll soon be strong again. 
 
 "CLEO." 
 
 It made him furious, this subtle appeal to his keen 
 sense of fatherhood. She knew how tenderly he loved 
 his boy. She knew that while such obligations rest 
 lightly on some men, the tie that bound him to his son 
 was the biggest thing in his life. She had been near him 
 long enough to learn the secret things of his inner life. 
 She was using them now to break down the barriers of 
 character and self-respect. He could see it plainly. He 
 hated her for it and yet the appeal went straight to 
 his heart. 
 
 Two things in this letter he couldn t get away from: 
 "You see, I didn t know how much I had gone 
 through." 
 
 He kept reading this over. And the next line : 
 "Please don t be angry with me for what neither you 
 nor I can help now." 
 
 The appeal was so human, so simple, so obviously 
 sincere, no man with a soul could ignore it. How could 
 she help it now ? She too had been swept into the tragic 
 situation by the blind forces of Nature. After all, had 
 
 183 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 it not been inevitable? Did not such a position of daily 
 intimate physical contact morning, noon and night 
 mean just this? Could she have helped it? Were they 
 not both the victims, in a sense, of the follies of cen 
 turies ? Had he the right to be angry with her ? 
 
 His reason answered, no. And again came the deeper 
 question can any man ever escape the consequences of 
 his deeds ? Deeds are of the infinite and eternal and the 
 smallest one disturbs the universe. It slowly began to 
 dawn on him that nothing he could ever do or say could 
 change one elemental fact. She was a mother a fact 
 bigger than all the forms and ceremonies of the ages. 
 It was just this thing in his history that made his sin 
 against the wife so poignant, both to her and to his im 
 agination. A child was a child, and he had no right to 
 sneak and play a coward in such an hour. 
 
 Step by step the woman s simple cry forced its way 
 into the soul and slowly but surely the rags were 
 stripped from pride, until he began to see himself naked 
 and without sham. 
 
 The one thing that finally cut deepest was the single 
 sentence: "You see, I didn t know how much I had 
 gone through " 
 
 He read it again with a feeling of awe. No matter 
 what the shade of her olive cheek or the length of her 
 curly hair, she was a mother with all that big word 
 means in the language of men. Say what he might of 
 her art in leading him on, of her final offering herself 
 in a hundred subtle ways in their daily life in his home 
 he was still responsible. He had accepted the challenge 
 at last. 
 
 And he knew what it meant to any woman under the 
 best conditions, with a mother s face hovering near and 
 
 184 
 
THE CALL OF THE BLOOD 
 
 the man she loved by her side. He saw again the scene 
 of his boy s birth. And then another picture a lonely 
 girl in a strange city without a friend a cot in the 
 whitewashed ward of a city s hospital a pair of 
 startled eyes looking in vain for a loved, familiar face | 
 as her trembling feet stepped falteringly down into the / 
 valley that lies between Life and Death ! 
 
 A pitiful thing, this hour of suffering and of waiting 
 for the unknown. 
 
 His heart went out to her in sympathy, and he an 
 swered her letter with a promise to come. But on the 
 day he was to start for Baltimore mammy was stricken 
 with a cold which developed into pneumonia. Unaccus 
 tomed to the rigors of a Northern climate, she had been 
 careless and the result from the first was doubtful. To 
 leave her was, of course, impossible. 
 
 He sent for a doctor and two nurses and no care or 
 expense was spared, but in spite of every effort she 
 died. It was four weeks before he returned from the 
 funeral in the South. 
 
 He reached Baltimore in a blinding snowstorm the 
 week preceding Christmas. Cleo had left the hospital^ 
 three weeks previous to his arrival, and for some un 
 explained reason had spent a week or ten days in Nor- * 
 folk and returned in time to meet him. 
 
 He failed to find her at the address she had given 
 him, but was directed to an obscure hotel in another 
 quarter of the city. 
 
 He was surprised and puzzled at the attitude assumed 
 at this meeting. She was nervous, irritable, insolent and 
 apparently anxious for a fight. 
 
 "Well, why do you stare at me like that?" she asked 
 angrily. 
 
 185 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Was I staring?" he said with an effort at self-con 
 trol. 
 
 "After all I ve been through the past weeks," she said 
 bitterly, "I didn t care whether I lived or died." 
 
 "I meant to have come at once as I wrote you. But 
 mammy s illness and death made it impossible to get 
 here sooner." 
 
 "One excuse is as good as another," she retorted 
 with a contemptuous toss of her head. 
 
 Norton looked at her in blank amazement. It was 
 inconceivable that this was the same woman who wrote 
 him the simple, sincere appeal a few weeks ago. It was 
 possible, of course, that suffering had embittered her 
 mind and reduced her temporarily to the nervous con 
 dition in which she appeared. 
 
 "Why do you keep staring at me?" she asked again, 
 with insolent ill-temper. 
 
 He was so enraged at her evident attempt to bully 
 him into an attitude of abject sympathy, he shot her 
 a look of rage, seized his hat and without a word started 
 for the door. 
 
 With a cry of despair she was by his side and grasped 
 his arm: 
 
 "Please please don t !" 
 
 "Change your tactics, then, if you have anything to 
 say to me." 
 
 She flushed, stammered, looked at him queerly and 
 then smiled: 
 
 "Yes, I will, major please don t be mad at me! 
 You see, I m just a little crazy. I ve been through so 
 much since I came here I didn t know what I was say 
 ing to you. I m awfully sorry let me take your 
 
 hat " 
 
 186 
 
THE CALL OF THE BLOOD 
 
 She took his hat, laid it on the table and led him to 
 a seat. 
 
 "Please sit down. I m so glad you ve come, and I 
 thank you for coming. I m just as humble and grate 
 ful as I can be. You must forget how foolish I ve acted. 
 I ve been so miserable and scared and lonely, it s a won 
 der I haven t jumped into the bay. And I just thought 
 at last that you were never coming." 
 
 Norton looked at her with new astonishment. Not 
 because there was anything strange in what she said 
 he had expected some such words on his arrival, but 
 because they didn t ring true. She seemed to be lying. 
 There was an expression of furtive cunning in her green 
 ish eyes that was uncanny. He couldn t make her out. 
 In spite of the effort to be friendly she was re 
 pulsive. 
 
 "Well, I m here," he said calmly. "You have some 
 thing to say what is it?" 
 
 "Of course," she answered smilingly. "I have a lot 
 to say. I want you to tell me what to do." 
 
 "Anything you like," he answered bluntly. 
 
 "It s nothing to you?" 
 
 "I ll give you an allowance." 
 
 "Is that all?" 
 
 "What else do you expect?" 
 
 "You don t want to see her?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "I thought you were coming for that?" 
 
 "I ve changed my mind. And the less we see of each 
 ether the better. I ll go with you to-morrow and verify 
 the records " 
 
 Cleo laughed : 
 
 "You don t think I m joking about her birth?" 
 187 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "No. But I m not going to take your word for it." 
 
 "All right, I ll go with you to-morrow." 
 
 He started again to the door. He felt that he must 
 leave that he was smothering. Something about the 
 girl s manner got on his nerves. Not only was there no 
 sort of sympathy or attraction between them but the 
 longer he stayed in her presence the more he felt the 
 desire to choke her. He began to look into her eyes 
 with growing suspicion and hate, and behind their smil 
 ing plausibility he felt the power of a secret deadly hos 
 tility. 
 
 "You don t want me to go back home with the child, 
 do you?" Cleo asked with a furtive glance. 
 
 "No, I do not," he replied, emphatically. 
 
 "I m going back but I ll give her up and let you 
 educate her in a convent on one condition 
 
 "What?" he asked sharply. 
 
 "That you let me nurse the boy again and give me 
 the protection and shelter of your home 
 
 "Never!" he cried. 
 
 "Please be reasonable. It will be best for you and 
 best for me and best for her that her life shall never 
 be blackened by the stain of my blood. I ve thought it 
 all out. It s the only way " 
 
 "No," he replied sternly. "I ll educate her in my 
 own way, if placed in my hands without condition. But 
 you shall never enter my house again 
 
 "Is it fair," she pleaded, "to take everything from 
 me and turn me out in the world alone? I ll give your 
 boy all the love of a hungry heart. He loves me." 
 
 "He has forgotten your existence " 
 
 "You know that he hasn t!" 
 
 "I know that he has," Norton persisted with rising 
 188 
 
THE CALL OF THE BLOOD 
 
 wrath. "It s a waste of breath for you to talk to me 
 about this thing" he turned on her fiercely: 
 
 "Why do you wish to go back there? To grin and 
 hint the truth to your friends?" 
 
 "You know that I d cut my tongue out sooner than 
 betray you. I d like to scream it from every housetop 
 yes. But I won t. I won t, because you smile or frown 
 means too much to me. I m asking this that I may live 
 and work for you and be your slave without money and 
 without price " 
 
 "I understand," he broke in bitterly, "because you 
 think that thus you can again drag me down well, you 
 can t do it! The power you once had is gone gone 
 forever never to return " 
 
 "Then why be afraid? No one there knows except 
 my mother. You hate me. All right. I can do you 
 no harm. I ll never hate you. I ll just be happy to 
 serve you, to love your boy and help you rear him to be 
 a fine man. Let me go back with you and open the old 
 house again " 
 
 He lifted his hand with a gesture of angry impa 
 tience : 
 
 "Enough of this now you go your way in life and 
 I go mine." 
 
 "I ll not give her up except on my conditions " 
 
 "Then you can keep her and go where you please. If 
 you return home you ll not find me. I ll put the ocean 
 between us if necessary " 
 
 He stepped quickly to the door and she knew it was 
 needless to argue further. 
 
 "Come to my hotel to-morrow morning at ten 
 o clock and I ll make you a settlement through a 
 lawyer." 
 
 189 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I ll be there," she answered in a low tone, "but 
 please, major, before you go let me ask you not to re 
 member the foolish things I said and the way I acted 
 when you came. I m so sorry forgive me. I made 
 you terribly mad. I don t know what was the matter 
 with me. Remember I m just a foolish girl here with 
 out a friend " 
 
 She stopped, her voice failing: 
 
 "Oh, my God, I m so lonely, I don t want to live! 
 You don t know what it means for me just to be near 
 you please let me go home with you !" 
 
 There was something genuine in this last cry. It 
 reached his heart in spite of anger. He hesitated and 
 spoke in kindly tones: 
 
 "Good night I ll see you in the morning." 
 
 This plea of loneliness and homesickness found the 
 weak spot in his armor. It was so clearly the echo of 
 his own feelings. The old home, with its beautiful and 
 sad memories, his people and his work had begun to 
 pull resistlessly. Her suggestion was a subtle and dan 
 gerous one, doubly seductive because it was so safe a 
 solution of difficulties. There was not the shadow of a 
 doubt that her deeper purpose was to ultimately domi 
 nate his personal life. He was sure of his strength, yet 
 he knew that the wise thing to do was to refuse to 
 listen. 
 
 At ten o clock next morning she came. He had called 
 a lawyer and drawn up a settlement that only waited 
 her signature. 
 
 She had not said she would sign she had not posi 
 tively refused. She was looking at him with dumb 
 pleading eyes. 
 
 Without a moment s warning the boy pushed his way 
 190 
 
He had heard the call of his people." 
 
THE CALL OF THE BLOOD 
 
 into the room. Norton sprang before Cleo and shouted 
 angrily to the nurse : 
 
 "I told you not to let him come into this room " 
 
 "But you see I des turn !" the boy answered with a 
 laugh as he darted to the corner. 
 
 The thing he dreaded had happened. In a moment 
 the child saw Cleo. There was just an instant s hesita 
 tion and the father smiled that he had forgotten her. 
 But the hesitation was only the moment of dazed sur 
 prise. With a scream of joy he crossed the room and 
 sprang into her arms : 
 
 "Oh, Cleo Cleo my Cleo ! You ve turn you ve 
 turn ! Look, Daddy ! She s turn my Cleo !" 
 
 He hugged her, he kissed her, he patted her flushed 
 cheeks, he ran his little fingers through her tangled 
 hair, drew himself up and kissed her again. 
 
 She snatched him to her heart and burst into un 
 controllable sobs, raised her eyes streaming with tears 
 to Norton and said softly : 
 
 "Let me go home with you !" 
 
 He looked at her, hesitated and then slowly tore the 
 legal document to pieces, threw it in the fire and nodded 
 his consent. 
 
 But this time his act was not surrender. He had 
 heard the call of his people and his country. It was 
 the first step toward the execution of a new life purpose 
 that had suddenly flamed in the depths of his darkened 
 soul as he watched the picture of the olive cheek of the 
 woman against the clear white of his child s. 
 
 191 
 
TSook Ctoo atonement 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE NEW LIFE PURPOSE 
 
 NORTON had been compelled to wait twenty years for 
 the hour when he could strike the first decisive blow in 
 the execution of his new life purpose. 
 
 But the aim he had set was so high, so utterly un 
 selfish, so visionary, so impossible by the standards of 
 modern materialism, he felt the thrill of the religious 
 fanatic as he daily girded himself to his task. 
 
 He was far from being a religious enthusiast, al 
 though he had grown a religion of his own, inherited in 
 part, dreamed in part from the depth of his own heart. 
 The first article of this faith was a firm belief in the 
 ever-brooding Divine Spirit and its guidance in the work 
 of man if he but opened his mind to its illumination. 
 
 He believed, as in his own existence, that God s Spirit 
 had revealed the vision he saw in the hour of his 
 agony, twenty years before when he had watched his 
 boy s tiny arms encircle the neck of Cleo, the tawny 
 young animal who had wrecked his life, but won the 
 heart of his child. He had tried to desert his people 
 of the South and awaked with a shock. His mind in 
 prophetic gaze had leaped the years and seen the grad 
 ual wearing down of every barrier between the white and 
 black races by the sheer force of daily contact under 
 the new conditions which Democracy had made inevi 
 table. 
 
 195 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Even under the iron laws of slavery it was impossible 
 for an inferior and superior race to live side by side 
 for centuries as master and slave without the breaking 
 down of some of these barriers. But the moment the 
 magic principle of equality in a Democracy became the 
 law of life they must all melt or Democracy itself yield 
 and die. He had squarely faced this big question and 
 given his life to its solution. 
 
 When he returned to his old home and installed Cleo 
 as his housekeeper and nurse she was the living incarna 
 tion before his eyes daily of the problem to be solved 
 the incarnation of its subtleties and its dangers. He 
 studied her with the cold intellectual passion of a scien 
 tist. Nor was there ever a moment s uncertainty or 
 halting in the grim purpose that fired his soul. 
 
 She had at first accepted his matter of fact treatment, 
 as the sign of ultimate surrender. And yet as the years 
 passed she saw with increasing wonder and rage the 
 gulf between them deepen and darken. She tried every 
 art her mind could conceive and her effective body sym 
 bolize in vain. His eyes looked at her, but never saw 
 the woman. They only saw the thing he hated the 
 mongrel breed of a degraded nation. 
 
 He had begun his work at the beginning. He had 
 tried to do the things that were possible. The minds 
 f the people were not yet ready to accept the idea 
 of a complete separation of the races. He planned for 
 the slow process of an epic movement. His paper, in 
 season and out of season, presented the daily life of the 
 black and white races in such a way that the dullest 
 miiad must be struck by the fact that their relations 
 presented an insoluble problem. Every road of escape 
 fed at last through a blind alley against a blank wall. 
 
 196 
 
THE NEW LIFE PURPOSE 
 
 In this policy he antagonized no one, but expressed 
 always the doubts and fears that lurked in the minds of 
 thoughtful men and women. His paper had steadily 
 grown in circulation and in solid power. He meant to 
 use this power at the right moment. He had waited 
 patiently and the hour at last had struck. 
 
 The thunder of a torpedo under an American war 
 ship lying in Havana harbor shook the Nation and 
 changed the alignment of political parties. 
 
 The war with Spain lasted but a few months, but it 
 gave the South her chance. Her sons leaped to the 
 front and proved their loyalty to the flag. The 
 "Bloody Shirt" could never again be waved. The negro 
 ceased to be a ward of the Nation and the Union of 
 States our fathers dreamed was at last an accomplished 
 fact. There could never again be a "North" or a 
 "South." 
 
 Norton s first brilliant editorial reviewing the results 
 of this war drew the fire of his enemies from exactly 
 the quarter he expected. 
 
 A little college professor, who aspired to the leader 
 ship of Southern thought under Northern patronage, 
 called at his office. 
 
 The editor s lips curled with contempt a? he read 
 the engraved card: 
 
 "Professor Alexander Magraw" 
 
 The man had long been one of his pet aversions. 
 He occupied a chair in one of the state s leading col 
 leges, and his effusions advocating peace at any price 
 on the negro problem had grown so disgusting of late 
 the Eagle and Phoenix had refused to print them. 
 
 Magraw was nothing daunted. He devoted his ener- 
 
 197 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 gies to writing a book in fulsome eulogy of a notorious 
 negro which had made him famous in the North. He 
 wrote it to curry favor with the millionaires who were 
 backing this African s work and succeeded in winning 
 their boundless admiration. They hailed him the com 
 ing leader of "advanced thought." As a Southern white 
 man the little professor had boldly declared that this 
 negro, who had never done anything except to demon 
 strate his skill as a beggar in raising a million dollars 
 from Northern sentimentalists, was the greatest hu 
 man being ever born in America! 
 
 Outraged public opinion in the South had demanded 
 his expulsion from the college for this idiotic effusion, 
 but he was so entrenched behind the power of money 
 he could not be disturbed. His loud protests for free 
 speech following his acquittal had greatly increased the 
 number of his henchmen. 
 
 Norton wondered at the meaning of his visit. It 
 could only be a sinister one. In view of his many con 
 temptuous references to the man, he was amazed at 
 his audacity in venturing to invade his office. 
 
 He scowled a long while at the card and finally said 
 to the boy : 
 
 "Show him in." 
 
 198 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A MODERN SCALAWAG 
 
 As the professor entered the office Norton was sur 
 prised at his height and weight. He had never met him 
 personally, but had unconsciously formed the idea that 
 he was a scrub physically. 
 
 He saw a man above the average height, weighing 
 nearly two hundred, with cheeks flabby but inclined to 
 fat. It was not until he spoke that he caught the un 
 mistakable note of effeminacy in his voice and saw it 
 clearly reflected in his features. 
 
 He was dressed with immaculate neatness and wore 
 a tie of an extraordinary shade of lavender which 
 matched the silk hose that showed above his stylish low- 
 cut shoes. 
 
 "Major Norton, I believe?" he said with a smile. 
 
 The editor bowed without rising: 
 
 "At your service, Professor Magraw. Have a seat, 
 sir." 
 
 "Thank you ! Thank you !" the dainty voice mur 
 mured with so marked a resemblance to a woman s tones 
 that Norton was torn between two impulses one to 
 lift his eyebrows and sigh, "Oh, splash !" and the other 
 to kick him down the stairs. He was in no mood for 
 the amenities of polite conversation, turned and asked 
 bluntly : 
 
 "May I inquire, professor, why you have honored 
 199 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 me with this unexpected call I confess I am very 
 curious ?" 
 
 "No doubt, no doubt," he replied glibly. "You have 
 certainly not minced matters in your personal refer 
 ences to me in the paper of late, Major Norton, but 
 I have simply taken it good-naturedly as a part of your 
 day s work. Apparently we represent two irreconcilable 
 ideals of Southern society " 
 
 "There can be no doubt about that," Norton inter 
 rupted grimly. 
 
 "Yet I have dared to hope that our differences are 
 only apparent and that we might come to a better un 
 derstanding." 
 
 He paused, simpered and smiled. 
 
 "About what?" the editor asked with a frown. 
 
 "About the best policy for the leaders of public 
 opinion to pursue to more rapidly advance the inter 
 ests of the South " 
 
 "And by interests of the South you mean ?" 
 
 "The best interest of all the people without regard 
 *to race or color!" 
 
 Norton smiled: 
 
 "You forgot part of the pass-word of your order, 
 professor! The whole clause used to read, race, color 
 or previous condition of servitude " 
 
 The sneer was lost on the professor. He was too 
 intent on his mission. 
 
 "I have called, Major Norton," he went on glibly, 
 "to inform you that my distinguished associates in the 
 great Educational Movement in the South view with 
 increasing alarm the tendency of your paper to con 
 tinue the agitation of the so-called negro problem." 
 
 "And may I ask by whose authority your distin- 
 200 
 
A MODERN SCALAWAG 
 
 guished associates have been set up as the arbiters of 
 the destiny of twenty millions of white citizens of the 
 South?" 
 
 The professor flushed with amazement at the audac 
 ity of such a question : 
 
 "They have given millions to the cause of education, 
 sir ! These great Funds represent to-day a power that 
 is becoming more and more resistless " 
 
 Norton sprang to his feet and faced Magraw with 
 eyes flashing: 
 
 "That s why I haven t minced matters in my refer 
 ences to you, professor. That s why I m getting ready 
 to strike a blow in the cause of racial purity for which 
 my paper stands." 
 
 "But why continue to rouse the bitterness of racial 
 feeling? The question will settle itself if let alone." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "By the process of evolution " 
 
 "Exactly!" Norton thundered. "And by that you 
 mean the gradual breaking down of racial barriers and 
 the degradation of our people to a mongrel negroid 
 level or you mean nothing ! No miracle of evolution can 
 gloss over the meaning of such a tragedy. The Negro 
 is the lowest of all human forms, four thousand years 
 below the standard of the pioneer white Aryan who dis 
 covered this continent and peopled it with a race of em 
 pire builders. The gradual mixture of our blood with 
 his can only result in the extinction of National char 
 acter a calamity so appalling the mind of every pa 
 triot refuses to accept for a moment its possibility." 
 
 "I am not advocating such a mixture !" the professor 
 mildly protested. 
 
 "In so many words, no," retorted Norton ; "yet you 
 201 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 are setting in motion forces that make it inevitable, as 
 certain as life, as remorseless as death. When you 
 demand that the patriot of the South let the Negro 
 alone to work out his own destiny, you know that the 
 mere physical contact of two such races is a constant 
 menace to white civilization " 
 
 The professor raised the delicate, tapering hands: 
 
 "The old nightmare of negro domination is only a 
 thing with which to frighten children, major, the danger 
 is a myth " 
 
 "Indeed!" Norton sneered. "When our people saw 
 the menace of an emancipated slave suddenly clothed 
 with the royal power of a ballot they met this threat 
 against the foundations of law and order by a counter 
 revolution and restored a government of the wealth, 
 virtue and intelligence of the community. What they 
 have not yet seen, is the more insidious danger that 
 threatens the inner home life of a Democratic nation 
 from the physical contact of two such races." 
 
 "And you propose to prevent that contact?" the 
 piping voice asked. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And may I ask how?" 
 
 "By an ultimate complete separation through a pro 
 cess covering perhaps two hundred years " 
 
 The professor laughed: 
 
 "Visionary impossible !" 
 
 "All right," Norton slowly replied. "I see the in 
 visible and set myself to do the impossible. Because 
 men have done such things the world moves forward 
 not backward !" 
 
 The lavender hose moved stealthily : 
 
 "You will advocate this?" the professor asked. 
 
A MODERN SCALAWAG 
 
 "In due time. The Southern white man and woman 
 still labor under the old delusion that the negro s lazy, 
 slipshod ways are necessary and that we could not get 
 along without him " 
 
 "And if you dare to antagonize that faith?" 
 
 "When your work is done, professor, and the glorious 
 results of Evolution are shown to mean the giving in 
 marriage of our sons and daughters, my task will be 
 easy. In the mean time I ll do the work at hand. The, 
 negro is still a voter. The devices by which he is pre 
 vented from using the power to which his numbers en 
 title him are but temporary. The first real work be 
 fore the statesmen of the South is the disfranchisement 
 of the African, the repeal of the Fifteenth Amendment 
 to our Constitution and the restoration of American 
 citizenship to its original dignity and meaning." 
 
 "A large undertaking," the professor glibly ob 
 served. "And you will dare such a program?" 
 
 "I ll at least strike a blow for it. The first great 
 crime against the purity of our racial stock was the 
 mixture of blood which the physical contact of slavery 
 made inevitable. 
 
 "But the second great crime, and by far the most 
 tragic and disastrous, was the insane Act of Congress 
 inspired by the passions of the Reconstruction period 
 by which a million ignorant black men, but yesterday 
 from the jungles of Africa, were clothed with the full 
 powers of citizenship under the flag of Democracy and 
 given the right by the ballot to rule a superior race. 
 
 "The Act of Emancipation was a war measure pure 
 and simple. By that act Lincoln sought to strike the 
 South as a political power a mortal blow. He did not 
 free four million negroes for sentimental reasons. He 
 
 203 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 destroyed four billion dollars worth of property in 
 vested in slaves as an act of war to save the Union. 
 Nothing was further from his mind or heart than the 
 mad idea that these. Africans could be assimilated into 
 our National life. ^ He intended to separate the races 
 and give the Negro a nation of his own. But the hand 
 of a madman struck the great leader down in the hour 
 of his supreme usefulness. < 
 
 "In the anarchy which followed the assassination of 
 the President and the attempt of a daring coterre of 
 fanatics in Washington to impeach his successor and 
 create a dictatorship, the great crime against Democ 
 racy was committed. Millions of black men, with the 
 intelligence of children and the instincts of savages, 
 were given full and equal citizenship with the breed of 
 men who created the Republic. 
 
 "Any plan to solve intelligently the problem of the 
 races must first correct this blunder from which a 
 stream of poison has been pouring into our life. 
 
 "The first step in the work of separating the races, 
 therefore, must be to deprive the negro of this enor 
 mous power over Democratic society. It is not a solu 
 tion of the problem, but as the great blunder was the 
 giving of this symbol of American kingship, our first 
 task is to take it from him and restore the ballot to 
 its original sanctity." 
 
 "Your movement will encounter difficulties, I fore 
 see !" observed the professor with a gracious smile. 
 
 He was finding his task with Norton easier than he 
 anticipated. The editor s madness was evidently so 
 hopeless he had only to deliver his ultimatum and close 
 the interview. 
 
 "The difficulties are great," Norton went on with 
 204 
 
A MODERN SCALAWAG 
 
 renewed emphasis, "but less than they have been for the 
 past twenty years. Until yesterday the negro was the 
 ward of the Nation. Any movement by a Southern 
 state to remove his menace was immediately met by a 
 call to arms to defend the Union by Northern dema 
 gogues who had never smelled powder when the Union 
 was in danger. 
 
 "A foolish preacher in Boston who enjoys a National 
 reputation has been in the habit of rousing his hearers 
 to a round of cheers by stamping his foot, lifting hands 
 above his head and yelling: 
 
 " The only way to save the Union now is for North 
 ern mothers to rear more children than Southern 
 mothers ! 
 
 "And the sad part of it is that thousands of other 
 wise sane people in New England and other sections 
 of the North and West believed this idiotic statement 
 to be literally true. It is no longer possible to fool 
 them with such chaff " 
 
 The professor rose and shook out his finely creased 
 trousers until the lavender hose scarcely showed: 
 
 "I am afraid, Major Norton, that it is useless for us 
 to continue this discussion. You are quite determined 
 to maintain the policy of your paper on this point?" 
 
 "Quite." 
 
 "I am sorry. The Eagle and Phoenix is a very pow 
 erful influence in this state. The distinguished asso 
 ciates whom I represent sent me in the vain hope that 
 I might persuade you to drop the agitation of this sub 
 ject and join with us in developing the material and 
 educational needs of the Soul 
 
 Norton laughed aloud: 
 
 "Really, professor?" 
 
 205 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The visitor flushed at the marked sneer in his tones, 
 and fumbled his lavender tie: 
 
 "I can only deliver to you our ultimatum, there 
 fore " 
 
 "You are clothed with sovereign powers, then?" the 
 editor asked sarcastically. 
 
 "If you choose to designate them so yes. Unless 
 you agree to drop this dangerous and useless agitation 
 of the negro question and give our people a hearing in 
 the columns of your paper, I am authorized to begin 
 at once the publication of a journal that will express 
 the best sentiment of the South " 
 
 "So?" 
 
 "And I have unlimited capital to back it." 
 
 Norton s eyes flashed as he squared himself before 
 the professor: 
 
 "I ve not a doubt of your backing. Start your paper 
 to-morrow if you like. You ll find that it takes more 
 than money to build a great organ of public opinion in 
 the South. I ve put my immortal soul into this plant. 
 I ll watch your experiment with interest." 
 
 "Thank you ! Thank you," the thin voice piped. 
 
 "And now that we understand each other," Norton 
 went on, "you ve given me the chance to say a few 
 things to you and your associates I ve been wanting to 
 express for a long time " 
 
 Norton paused and fixed his visitor with an angry 
 stare : 
 
 "Not only is the Negro gaining in numbers, in wealth 
 and in shallow culture, and tightening his grip on the 
 soil as the owner in fee simple of thousands of homes, 
 churches, schools and farms, but a Negroid party has 
 once more developed into a powerful and sinister influ- 
 
 206 
 
A MODERN SCALAWAG 
 
 ence on the life of this state ! You and your associates 
 are loud in your claims to represent a new South. In 
 reality you are the direct descendants of the Recon 
 struction Scalawag and Carpetbagger. 
 
 "The old Scalawag was the Judas Iscariot who sold 
 his people for thirty pieces of silver which he got by 
 licking the feet of his conqueror and fawning on his 
 negro allies. The Carpetbagger was a Northern ad 
 venturer who came South to prey on the misfortunes 
 of a ruined people. A new and far more dangerous 
 order of Scalawags has arisen the man who boldly 
 preaches the omnipotence of the dollar and weighs every 
 policy of state or society by one standard only, will it 
 pay in dollars and cents? And so you frown on any 
 discussion of the tragic problem the negro s continued 
 pressure on Southern society involves because it dis 
 turbs business. 
 
 "The unparalleled growth of wealth in the North has 
 created our enormous Poor Funds, organized by gen 
 erous well-meaning men for the purpose of education 
 in the South. As a matter of fact, this new educational 
 movement had its origin in the same soil that established 
 negro classical schools and attempted to turn the en 
 tire black race into preachers, lawyers, and doctors 
 just after the war. Your methods, however, are wiser, 
 although your policies are inspired, if not directed, by 
 the fertile brain of a notorious negro of doubtful moral 
 character. 
 
 "The directors of your Poor Funds profess to be 
 the only true friends of the true white man of the South. 
 By a true white man of the South you mean a man 
 who is willing to show his breadth of vision by fraterniz 
 ing occasionally with negroes. 
 
 207 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "An army of lickspittles have begun to hang on the 
 coat-tails of your dispensers of alms. Their methods 
 are always the same. They attempt to attract the no 
 tice of the Northern distributors by denouncing men 
 of my type who are earnestly, fearlessly and reverently 
 trying to face and solve the darkest problem the cen 
 turies have presented to America. These little beggars 
 have begun to vie with one another not only in denounc 
 ing the leaders of public opinion in the South, but in 
 fulsome and disgusting fawning at the feet of the in 
 dividual negro w r hose personal influence dominates these 
 Funds." 
 
 Again the lavender socks moved uneasily. 
 
 "In which category you place the author of a certain 
 book, I suppose?" inquired the professor. 
 
 "I paused in the hope that you might not miss my 
 meaning," Norton replied, smiling. "The astounding 
 power for the debasement of public opinion developing 
 through these vast corruption funds is one of the most 
 sinister influences which now threatens Southern so 
 ciety. It is the most difficult of all to meet because its 
 protestations are so plausible and philanthropic. 
 
 "The Carpetbagger has come back to the South. 
 This time he is not a low adventurer seeking coin and 
 public office. He is a philanthropist who carries hun 
 dreds of millions of dollars to be distributed to the 
 right men who will teach Southern boys and girls the 
 right ideas. So far as these right ideas touch the 
 negro, they mean the ultimate complete acceptance of 
 the black man as a social equal. 
 
 "Your chief spokesman of this New Order of Carpet 
 bag, for example, has declared on many occasions that 
 the one thing in his life of which he is most proud is 
 
 208 
 
A MODERN SCALAWAG 
 
 the fact that he is the personal friend of the negro 
 whose influence now dominates your dispensers of alms ! 
 This man positively grovels with joy when his distin 
 guished black friend honors him by becoming his guest 
 in New York. 
 
 "With growing rage and wonder I have watched the 
 development of this modern phenomenon. I have fought 
 you with sullen and unyielding fury from the first, and 
 you have proven the most dangerous and insidious force 
 I have encountered. You profess the loftiest motives 
 and the highest altruism while the effects of your work 
 can only be the degradation of the white race to an 
 ultimate negroid level, to say nothing of the appalling 
 results if you really succeed in pauperizing the educa 
 tional system of the South ! 
 
 "I expected to hear from your crowd when the move 
 ment for a white ballot was begun. Through you the 
 society of Affiliated Black League Almoners of the 
 South, under the direction of your inspired negro 
 leader, have sounded the alarm. And now all the little 
 pigs who are feeding on this swill, and all the hungry 
 ones yet outside the fence and squealing to get in, will 
 unite in a chorus that you hope can have but one re 
 sult the division of the white race on a vital issue 
 affecting its purity, its integrity, and its future. 
 
 "The possible division of my race in its attitude to 
 ward the Negro is the one big danger that has always 
 hung its ugly menace over the South. So long as her 
 people stand united, our civilization can be protected 
 against the pressure of the Negro s growing millions. 
 But the moment a serious division of these forces occurs ^^. 
 
 the black man s opportunity will be at hand. The ques- 
 
 i whi 
 
 209 
 
 tion is, can you divide the white race on this issue?" 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "We shall see, major, we shall see," piped the pro 
 fessor, fumbling his lavender tie and bowing himself 
 out. 
 
 The strong jaw closed with a snap as Norton watched 
 the silk hose disappear. 
 
 210 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 HIS HOUSE IN ORDER 
 
 NORTON knew from the first that there could be no 
 hope of success in such a campaign as he had planned 
 except in the single iron will of a leader who would 
 lead and whose voice lifted in impassioned appeal direct 
 to the white race in every county of the state could 
 rouse them to resistless enthusiasm. 
 
 The man who undertook this work must burn the 
 bridges behind him, ask nothing for himself and take his 
 life daily in his hands. He knew the state from the 
 sea to its farthest mountain peak and without the slight 
 est vanity felt that God had called him to this task. 
 There was no other man who could do it, no other man 
 fitted for it. He had the training, bitter experience, 
 and the confidence of the people. And he had no am 
 bitions save a deathless desire to serve his country in 
 the solution of its greatest and most insoluble prob 
 lem. He edited the most powerful organ of public 
 opinion in the South and he was an eloquent and force 
 ful speaker. His paper had earned a comfortable 
 fortune, he was independent, he had the training of a 
 veteran soldier and physical fear was something he 
 had long since ceased to know. 
 
 And his house was in order for the event. He could 
 leave for months in confidence that the work would run 
 with the smoothness of a clock. 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He had sent Tom to a Northern university which 
 had kept itself clean from the stain of negro associa 
 tions. The boy had just graduated with honor, re 
 turned home and was at work in the office. He was 
 a handsome, clean, manly, straight-limbed, wholesome 
 boy, the pride of his father s heart, and had shown de 
 cided talent for newspaper work. 
 
 Andy had long since become his faithful henchman, 
 butler and man of all work. Aunt Minerva, his fat, 
 honest cook, was the best servant he had ever known, 
 and Cleo kept his house. 
 
 The one point of doubt was Cleo. During the past 
 year she had given unmistakable signs of a determination 
 to fight. If she should see fit to strike in the midst 
 of this campaign, her blow would be a crushing one. 
 It would not only destroy him personally, it would 
 confuse and crush his party in hopeless defeat. He 
 weighed this probability from every point of view and 
 the longer he thought it over the less likely it appeared 
 that she would take such a step. She would destroy 
 herself and her child as well. She knew him too well 
 now to believe that he would ever yield in such a strug 
 gle. Helen was just graduating from a convent school 
 in the Northwest, a beautiful and accomplished girl, 
 and the last thing on earth she could suspect was that 
 a drop of negro blood flowed in her veins. He knew 
 Cleo too well, understood her hatred of negroes too 
 well, to believe that she would deliberately push this 
 child back into a negroid hell merely to wreak a useless 
 revenge that would crush her own life as well. She 
 was too wise, too cunning, too cautious. 
 
 And yet her steadily growing desperation caused 
 him to hesitate. The thing he dreaded most was the 
 
HIS HOUSE IN ORDER 
 
 loss of his boy s respect, which a last desperate fight 
 with this woman would involve. The one thing he had 
 taught Tom was racial cleanness. With a wisdom in 
 spired and guided by the brooding spirit of his mother 
 he had done this thoroughly. He had so instilled into 
 this proud, sensitive boy s soul a hatred for all low 
 association with women that it was inconceivable to him 
 that any decent white man would stoop to an intrigue 
 with a woman of negro blood. The withering scorn, 
 the unmeasured contempt with which he had recently 
 expressed himself to his father on this point had made 
 the red blood slowly mount to the older man s face. 
 
 He had rather die than look into this boy s clean, 
 manly eyes and confess the shame that would blacken 
 his life. The boy loved him with a deep, tender, rev 
 erent love. His keen eyes had long ago seen the big 
 traits in his father s character. The boy s genuine ad 
 miration was the sweetest thing in his lonely life. 
 
 He weighed every move with care and deliberately 
 made up his mind to strike the blow and take the 
 chances. No man had the right to weigh his personal 
 career against the life of a people certainly no man 
 who dared to assume the leadership of a race. He rose 
 from his desk, opened the door of the reporters room 
 and called Tom. 
 
 The manly young figure, in shirt sleeves, pad and 
 pencil in hand, entered with quick, firm step. 
 
 "You want me to interview you, Governor?" he said 
 with a laugh. "All right now what do you think of 
 that little scrimmage at the mouth of the harbor of 
 Santiago yesterday? How s that for a Fourth of 
 July celebration? I ask it of a veteran of the Con 
 federate army?" 
 
 213 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The father smiled proudly as the youngster pre 
 tended to be taking notes of his imaginary interview. 
 
 "You heard, sir," he went on eagerly, "that your 
 old General, Joe Wheeler, was there and in a moment 
 of excitement forgot himself and shouted to his aid : 
 
 " There go the damned Yankees ! charge and give 
 em hell! " 
 
 A dreamy look came into the father s eyes as he in 
 terrupted : 
 
 "I shouldn t be surprised if Wheeler said it any 
 how, it s too good a joke to doubt" he paused and 
 the smile on his serious face slowly faded. 
 
 "Shut the door, Tom," he said with a gesture toward 
 the reporters room. 
 
 The boy rose, closed the door, and sat down near 
 his father s chair: 
 
 "Well, Dad, why so serious? Am I to be fired with 
 out a chance? or is it just a cut in my wages? Don t 
 prolong the agony !" 
 
 "I am going to put you in my chair in this office, 
 my son," the father said in a slow drawl. The boy 
 flushed scarlet and then turned pale. 
 
 "You don t mean it now?" he gasped. 
 
 "To-morrow." 
 
 "You think I can make good?" The question came 
 through trembling lips and he was looking at his father 
 through a pair of dark blue eyes blurred by tears of 
 excitement. 
 
 "You ll do better than I did at your age. You re 
 better equipped." 
 
 "You think so?" Tom asked in quick boyish eager 
 ness. 
 
 "I know it." 
 
HIS HOUSE IN ORDER 
 
 The boy sprang to his feet and grasped his father s 
 hand : 
 
 "Your faith in me is glorious it makes me feel like 
 I can do anything " 
 
 "You can if you try." 
 
 "Well, if I can, it s because I ve got good blood in 
 me. I owe it all to you. You re the biggest man I ever 
 met, Dad. I ve wanted to say this to you for a long 
 time, but I never somehow got up my courage to tell 
 you what I thought of you." 
 
 The father slipped his arm tenderly about the boy 
 and looked out the window at the bright Southern sky 
 for a moment before he slowly answered: 
 
 "I d rather hear that from you, Tom, than the 
 shouts of the rest of the world." 
 
 "I m going to do my level best to prove myself worthy 
 of the big faith you ve shown in me but why have you 
 done it? What does it mean?" 
 
 "Simply this, my boy, that the time has come in the 
 history of the South for a leader to strike the first 
 blow in the battle for racial purity by establishing a 
 clean American citizenship. I am going to disfranchise 
 the Negro in this state as the first step toward the ulti 
 mate complete separation of the races." 
 
 The boy s eyes flashed: 
 
 "It s a big undertaking, sir." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Is it possible?" 
 
 "Many say not. That s why I m going to do it. The 
 real work must come after this first step. Just now 
 the campaign which I m going to inaugurate to-morrow 
 in a speech at the mass meeting celebrating our victory 
 at Santiago, is the thing in hand. This campaign will 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 take me away from home for several months. I must 
 have a man here whom I can trust implicitly." 
 
 "I ll do my best, sir," the boy broke in. 
 
 "In case anything happens to me before it ends " 
 
 Tom bent close : 
 
 "What do you mean ?" 
 
 "You never can tell what may happen in such a 
 revolution " 
 
 "It will be a revolution?" 
 
 "Yes. That s what my enemies as yet do not under 
 stand. They will not be prepared for the weapons I 
 shall use. And I ll win. I may lose my life, but I ll 
 start a fire that can t be put out until it has swept 
 the state the South" he paused "and then the 
 Nation!" 
 
 216 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE MAN OF THE HOUR 
 
 THE editor prepared to launch his campaign with 
 the utmost care. He invited the Executive Committee 
 of his party to meet in his office. The leaders were ex 
 cited. They knew Norton too well to doubt that he 
 had something big to suggest. Some of them came 
 from distant sections of the state, three hundred miles 
 away, to hear his plans. 
 
 He faced the distinguished group of leaders calmly, 
 but every man present felt the deep undercurrent of 
 excitement beneath his words. 
 
 "With your cooperation, gentlemen," he began, "we 
 are going to sweep the state this time by an overwhelm 
 ing majority " 
 
 "That s the way to talk !" the Chairman shouted. 
 
 "Four years ago," he went on, "we were defeated for 
 the first time since the overthrow of the negro govern 
 ment under the Reconstruction regime. This defeat 
 was brought about by a division of the whites under the 
 Socialistic program of the Farmers Alliance. Grad 
 ually the black man has forced himself into power under 
 the new regime. Our farmers only wished his votes 
 to accomplish their plans and have no use for him as 
 an officeholder. The rank and file of the white wing, 
 therefore, of the allied party in power, are ripe for 
 revolt if the Negro is made an issue. 
 
 217 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The Committee cheered. 
 
 "I propose to make the Negro the only issue of this 
 campaign. There will be no half-way measures, no 
 puling hesitation, no weakness, and it will be a fight 
 to the death in the open. The day for secret organiza 
 tions has gone in Southern history. There is no Black 
 League to justify a reorganization of the Klan. But 
 the new Black League has a far more powerful organi 
 zation. Its mask is now philanthropy, not patriotism. 
 Its weapon is the lure of gold, not the flash of Federal 
 bayonets. They will fight to divide the white race on this 
 vital issue. 
 
 "Here is our danger. It is real. It is serious. But 
 we must meet it. There is but one way, and that 
 is to conduct a campaign of such enthusiasm, of such 
 daring and revolutionary violence if need be, that the 
 little henchmen and sycophants of the Dispensers of 
 the National Poor Funds will be awed into silence. 
 
 "The leadership of such a campaign will be a dan 
 gerous one. I offer you my services without conditions. 
 I ask nothing for myself. I will accept no honors. I 
 offer you my time, my money, my paper, my life if 
 need be !" 
 
 The leaders rose as one man, grasped Norton s hand, 
 and placed him in command. 
 
 No inkling of even the outlines of his radical pro 
 gram was allowed to leak out until the hour of the meet 
 ing of the party convention. The delegates were wait 
 ing anxiously for the voice of a leader who would 
 sound the note of victory. 
 
 And when the platform was read to the convention 
 declaring in simple, bold words that the time had come 
 for the South to undo the crime of the Fifteenth Amend- 
 
 218 
 
THE MAN OF THE HOUR 
 
 ment, disfranchise the Negro and restore to the Nation 
 the basis of white civilization, a sudden cheer like a 
 peal of thunder swept the crowd, followed by the roar 
 of a storm. It died away at last in waves of excited 
 comment, rose again and swelled and rose higher and 
 higher until the old wooden building trembled. 
 
 Again and again such assemblies had declared in 
 vague terms for "White Supremacy." Campaign after 
 campaign which followed the blight of negro rule twenty 
 years before had been fought and won on this issue. But 
 no man or party had dared to whisper what "White 
 Supremacy" really meant. There was no fog about 
 this platform. For the first time in the history of the 
 party it said exactly what was meant in so many words. 
 
 Thoughtful men had long been weary of platitudes 
 on this subject. The Negro had grown enormously 
 in wealth, in numbers and in social power in the past 
 two decades. As a full-fledged citizen in a Democracy 
 he was a constant menace to society. Here, for the 
 first time, was the announcement of a definite program. 
 It was revolutionary. It meant the revision of the con 
 stitution of the Union and a challenge to the negro 
 race, and all his sentimental allies in the Republic for 
 a fight to a finish. 
 
 The effect of its bare reading was electric. The 
 moment the Chairman tried to lift his voice the cheers 
 were renewed. The hearts of the people had been sud 
 denly thrilled by a great ideal. No matter whether it 
 meant success or failure, no matter whether it meant 
 fame or oblivion for the man who proposed it, every in 
 telligent delegate in that hall knew instinctively that a 
 great mind had spoken a bold principle that must win 
 in the end if the Republic live. 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Norton rose at last to advocate its adoption as the 
 one issue of the campaign, and again pandemonium 
 broke loose now they knew that he had written it! 
 They suspected it from the first. Instantly his name 
 was on a thousand lips in a shout that rent the 
 air. 
 
 He stood with his tall figure drawn to its full height, 
 his face unearthly pale, wreathed in its heavy shock of 
 iron-gray hair and waited, without recognizing the tu 
 mult, until the last shout had died away. 
 
 His speech was one of passionate and fierce appeal 
 the voice of the revolutionist who had boldly thrown 
 off the mask and called his followers to battle. 
 
 Yet through it all, the big unspoken thing behind 
 his words was the magic that really swayed his hearers. 
 They felt that what he said was great, but that he could 
 say something greater if he would. As he had matured 
 in years he had developed this reserved power. All 
 who came in personal touch with the man felt it in 
 stinctively with his first word. An audience, with its 
 simpler collective intelligence, felt it overwhelmingly. 
 Yet if he had dared reveal to this crowd the ideas seeth 
 ing in his brain behind the simple but bold political 
 proposition, he could not have carried them with him. 
 They were not ready for it. He knew that to merely 
 take the ballot from the negro and allow him to remain 
 in physical touch with the white race was no solution of 
 the problem. But he was wise enough to know that 
 but one step could be taken at a time in a great move 
 ment to separate millions of blacks from the entangle 
 ments of the life of two hundred years. 
 
 His platform expressed what he believed could be 
 accomplished, and the convention at the conclusion of 
 
 220 
 
THE MAN OF THE HOUR 
 
 his eloquent speech adopted it by acclamation amid 
 a scene of wild enthusiasm. 
 
 He refused all office, except the position of Chairman 
 of the Executive Committee without pay, and left the 
 hall the complete master of the politics of his party. 
 
 Little did he dream in this hour of triumph the grim 
 tragedy the day s work had prepared in his own life. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 As the time drew near for Norton to take the field in 
 the campaign whose fierce passions would mark a new 
 era in the state s history, his uneasiness over the atti 
 tude of Cleo increased. 
 
 She had received the announcement of his approach 
 ing long absence with sullen anger. And as the pur 
 pose of the campaign gradually became clear she had 
 watched him with growing suspicion and hate. He felt 
 it in every glance she flashed from the depth of her 
 greenish eyes. 
 
 Though she had never said it in so many words, 
 he was sure that the last hope of a resumption of their 
 old relations was fast dying in her heart, and that the 
 moment she realized that he was lost to her would be 
 the signal for a desperate attack. What form the at 
 tack would take he could only guess. He was sure it 
 would be as deadly as her ingenuity could invent. Yet 
 in the wildest flight of his imagination he never dreamed 
 the daring thing she had really decided to do. 
 
 On the night before his departure he was working 
 late in his room at the house. The office he had placed 
 in Tom s hands before the meeting of the convention. 
 The boy s eager young face just in front of him when 
 he made his speech that day had been an inspiration. 
 It had beamed with pride and admiration, and when 
 
A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 his father s name rang from every lip in the great shout 
 that shook the building Tom s eyes had filled with tears. 
 Norton was seated at his typewriter, which he had 
 moved to his room, writing his final instructions. The 
 last lines he put in caps : 
 
 "UNDER NO CONCEIVABLE CIRCUMSTANCES ANNOY ME 
 WITH ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS AT HOME, UNLESS A 
 MATTER OF IMMEDIATE LIFE AND DEATH. ANYTHING 
 ELSE CAN WAIT UNTIL MY RETURN." 
 
 He had just finished this important sentence when 
 the sound of a footstep behind his chair caused him to 
 turn suddenly. 
 
 Cleo had entered the room and stood glaring at him 
 with a look of sullen defiance. 
 
 By a curious coincidence or by design, she was 
 dressed in a scarlet kimono of the same shade of filmy 
 Japanese stuff as the one she wore in his young man 
 hood. His quick eye caught this fact in a flash and 
 his mind took rapid note of the changes the years had 
 wrought. Their burdens had made slight impression 
 on her exhaustless vitality. Whatever might be her 
 personality or her real character, she was alive from 
 the crown of her red head to the tips of her slippered 
 toes. 
 
 Her attitude of tense silence sparkled with this vital 
 power more eloquently than when she spoke with quick 
 energy in the deep voice that was her most remarkable 
 possession. 
 
 Her figure was heavier by twenty pounds than when 
 she had first entered his home, but she never produced 
 the impression of stoutness. Her form was too sinu 
 ous, pliant and nervous to take on flesh. She was no 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 longer the graceful girl of eighteen whose beauty had 
 drugged his senses, but she was beyond all doubt a 
 woman of an extraordinary type, luxuriant, sensuous, 
 dominant. There was not a wrinkle on her smooth 
 creamy skin nor a trace of approaching age about the 
 brilliant greenish eyes that were gazing into his now 
 with such grim determination. 
 
 He wheeled from his machine and faced her, his eyes 
 taking in with a quick glance the evident care with 
 which she had arranged her hair and the startling man 
 ner in which she was dressed. 
 
 He spoke with sharp, incisive emphasis : 
 
 "It was a condition of your return that you should 
 never enter my room while I am in this house." 
 
 "I have not forgotten," she answered firmly, her eyes 
 holding his steadily. 
 
 "Why have you dared?" 
 
 "You are still afraid of me?" she asked with a light 
 laugh that was half a sneer. 
 
 "Have I given you any such evidence during the past 
 twenty years?" 
 
 There was no bitterness or taunt in the even, slow 
 drawl with which he spoke, but the woman knew that 
 he never used the slow tone with which he uttered those 
 words except he was deeply moved. 
 
 She flushed, was silent and then answered with a 
 frown : 
 
 "No, you haven t shown any fear for something more 
 than twenty years until a few days ago." 
 
 The last clause she spoke very quickly as she took a 
 step closer and paused. 
 
 "A few days ago?" he repeated slowly. 
 Yes. For the past week you have been afraid of me 
 
 " 
 
A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 not in the sense I asked you just now perhaps" 
 her white teeth showed in two even perfect rows "but 
 you have been watching me out of the corners of your 
 eyes haven t you?" 
 
 "Perhaps." 
 
 "I wonder why?" 
 
 "And you haven t guessed?" 
 
 "No, but I m going to find out." 
 
 "You haven t asked." 
 
 "I m going to." 
 
 "Be quick about it !" 
 
 "I m going to find out that s why I came in here 
 to-night in defiance of your orders." 
 
 "All right the quicker the better!" 
 
 "Thank you, I m not in a hurry." 
 
 "What do you want?" he demanded with anger. 
 
 She smiled tauntingly: 
 
 "It s no use to get mad about it! I m here now, 
 you see that I m not afraid of you and I m quite sure 
 that you will not put me out until I m ready to 
 go" 
 
 He sprang to his feet and advanced on her : 
 
 "I m not so sure of that !" 
 
 "Well, I am," she cried, holding his gaze steadily. 
 
 He threw up his hands with a gesture of disgust and 
 resumed his seat: 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 She crossed the room deliberately, carrying a chair 
 in front of her, sat down, leaned her elbow on his table 
 and studied him a moment, their eyes meeting in a gaze 
 of deadly hostility. 
 
 "What is the meaning of this long absence you have 
 planned ?" 
 
 225 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I have charge of this campaign. I am going to 
 speak in every county in the state." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because I ll win that way, by a direct appeal to the 
 people." 
 
 "Why do you want to win?" 
 
 "Because I generally do what I undertake." 
 
 "Why do you want to do this thing?" 
 
 He looked at her in amazement. Her eyes had nar 
 rowed to the tiniest lines as she asked these questions 
 with a steadily increasing intensity. 
 
 "What are you up to?" he asked her abruptly. 
 
 "I want to know why you began this campaign at 
 all?" 
 
 "I decline to discuss the question with you," he an 
 swered abruptly. 
 
 "I insist on it!" 
 
 "You wouldn t know what I was talking about," he 
 replied with contempt. 
 
 "I think I would." 
 
 "Bah!" 
 
 He turned from her with a wave of angry dismissal, 
 seized his papers and began to read again his instruc 
 tions to Tom. 
 
 "I m not such a fool as you think," she began men 
 acingly. "I ve read your platform with some care and 
 I ve been thinking it over at odd times since your 
 speech was reported." 
 
 "And you contemplate entering politics?" he inter 
 rupted with a smile. 
 
 "Who knows?" 
 
 She watched him keenly while she slowly uttered these 
 words and saw the flash of uneasiness cross his face, 
 
 226 
 
A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 "But don t worry," she laughed. 
 
 "I ll not!" 
 
 "You may for all that!" she sneered, "but I ll not 
 enter politics as you fear. That would be too cheap. 
 I don t care what you do to negroes. I ve a drop of 
 their blood in me " 
 
 "One in eight, to be exact." 
 
 "But I m not one of them, except by your laws, and 
 I hate the sight of a negro. You can herd them, 
 colonize them, send them back to Africa or to the devil 
 for all I care. Your program interests me for another 
 reason" she paused and watched him intently. 
 
 "Yes?" he said carelessly. 
 
 "It interests me for one reason only you wrote that 
 platform, you made that speech, you carried that con 
 vention. Your man Friday is running for Governor. 
 You are going to take the stump, carry this election 
 and take the ballot from the Negro !" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "I m excited about it merely because it shows the 
 inside of your mind." 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 "Yes. It shows either that you are afraid of me or 
 that you re not " 
 
 "It couldn t well show both," he interrupted with a 
 sneer. 
 
 "It might," she answered. "If you are afraid of me 
 and my presence is the cause of this outburst, all right. 
 I ll still play the game with you and win or lose. I ll 
 take my chances. But if you re not afraid of me, if 
 you ve really not been on your guard for twenty years, 
 it means another thing. It means that you ve learned 
 your lesson, that the book of the past is closed, and 
 
 227 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 that you have simply been waiting for the time to come 
 to do this thing and save your people from a danger 
 before which you once fell." 
 
 "And which horn of the dilemma do you take?" he 
 asked coldly. 
 
 "I haven t decided but I will to-night." 
 
 "How interesting!" 
 
 "Yes, isn t it?" she leaned close. "With a patience 
 that must have caused you wonder, with a waiting 
 through years as God waits, I have endured your in 
 difference, your coldness, your contempt. Each year 
 I have counted the last that you could resist the call of 
 my body and soul, and at the end of each year I have 
 seen you further and further away from me and the 
 gulf between us deeper and darker. This absence you 
 have planned in this campaign means the end one way 
 or the other. I m going to face life now as it is, not 
 as I ve hoped it might be." 
 
 "I told you when you made your bargain to return 
 to this house, that there could be nothing between us 
 except a hate that is eternal " 
 
 "And I didn t believe it! Now I m going to face it 
 if I must " 
 
 She paused, breathed deeply and her eyes were like 
 glowing coals as she slowly went on : 
 
 "I m not the kind to give up without a fight. I ve 
 lived and learned the wisdom of caution and cunning. 
 I m not old and I ve still a fool s confidence in my pow 
 ers. I m not quite thirty-nine, strong and sound in 
 body and spirit, alive to my finger tips with the full 
 blood of a grown woman and so I warn you " 
 
 "You warn me" he cried with a flush of anger. 
 
 "Yes. I warn you not to push me too far. I have 
 228 
 
A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 negro blood in me, but I m at least human, and I m go 
 ing to be treated as a human being." 
 
 "And may I ask what you mean by that?" he asked 
 sarcastically. 
 
 "That I m going to demand my rights." 
 
 "Demand?" 
 
 "Exactly." 
 
 "Your rightsf" 
 
 "The right to love " 
 
 Norton broke into a bitter, angry laugh : 
 
 "Are you demanding that I marry you?" 
 
 "I m not quite that big a fool. No. Your laws 
 forbid it. All right there are higher laws than yours. 
 The law that drew you to me in this room twenty years 
 ago, in spite of all your fears and your prejudices" 
 she paused and her eyes glowed in the shadows "I gave 
 you my soul and body then " 
 
 "Gifts I never sought " 
 
 "Yet you took them and I m here a part of your 
 life. What are you going to do with me? I m not the 
 negro race. I m just a woman who loves you and asks 
 that you treat her fairly." 
 
 "Treat you fairly ! Did I ever want you ? Or seek 
 you? You came to me, thrust yourself into my office, 
 and when I discharged you, pushed your way into my 
 home. You won my boy s love and made my wife think 
 you were indispensable to her comfort and happiness. 
 I tried to avoid you. It was useless. You forced your 
 self into my presence at all hours of the day and night. 
 What happened was your desire, not mine. And when 
 I reproached myself with bitter curses you laughed for 
 joy ! And you talk to me to-day of fairness ! You who 
 dragged me from that banquet hall the night of my 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 triumph to hurl me into despair! You who blighted 
 my career and sent me blinded with grief and shame 
 groping through life with the shadow of death on my 
 soul ! You who struck your bargain of a pound of flesh 
 next to my heart, and fought your way back into my 
 house again to hold me a prisoner for life, chained to 
 the dead body of my shame you talk to me about fair 
 ness great God!" 
 
 He stopped, strangled with passion, his tall figure 
 towering above her, his face livid, his hands clutched 
 in rage. 
 
 She laughed hysterically: 
 
 "Why don t you strike! I m not your equal in 
 strength I dare you to do it I dare you to do it ! I 
 dare you do you hear?" 
 
 With a sudden grip she tore the frail silk from its 
 fastenings at her throat, pressed close and thrust her 
 angry face into his in a desperate challenge to physical 
 violence. 
 
 His eyes held hers a moment and his hands relaxed : 
 
 "I d like to kill you. I could do it with joy!" 
 
 "Why don t you?" 
 
 "You re not worth the price of such a crime!" 
 
 "You d just as well do it, as to wish it. Don t be a 
 coward !" Her eyes burned with suppressed fire. 
 
 He looked at her with cold anger and his lip twitched 
 with a smile of contempt. 
 
 The strain was more than her nerves could bear. 
 With a sob she threw her arms around his neck. He 
 seized them angrily, her form collapsed and she clung 
 to him with blind hysterical strength. 
 
 He waited a moment and spoke in quiet determined 
 tones : 
 
 230 
 
I dare you do you hear? " 
 
A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 "Enough of- this now." 
 
 She raised her eyes to his, pleading with despera 
 tion: 
 
 "Please be kind to me just this last hour before you 
 go, and I ll be content if you give no more. I ll never 
 intrude again." 
 
 She relaxed her hold, dropped to a seat and covered 
 her face with her hands : 
 
 "Oh, my God! Are you made of stone have you 
 no pity? Through all these years I ve gone in and 
 out of this house looking into your face for a sign that 
 you thought me human, and you ve given none. I ve 
 lived on the memories of the few hours when you were 
 mine. I ve sometimes told myself it was just a dream, 
 that it never happened until I ve almost believed it. 
 You ve pretended that it wasn t true. You ve strangled 
 these memories and told yourself over and over again 
 that it never happened. I ve seen you doing this 
 seen it in your cold, deep eyes. Well, it s a lie! You 
 were mine! You shall not forget it you can t forget 
 it I won t let you, I tell you !" 
 
 The voice broke again into sobs. 
 
 He stood with arms folded, watching her in silence. 
 Her desperate appeal to his memories and his physical 
 passion had only stirred anger and contempt. He was 
 seeing now as he had never noticed before the growing 
 marks of her negroid character. The anger was for 
 her, the contempt for himself. He noticed the growth 
 of her lips with age, the heavy sensual thickness of the 
 negroid type! 
 
 It was inconceivable that in this room the sight of 
 her had once stirred the Beast in him to incontrollable 
 madness. There was at least some consolation in the 
 
 231 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 fact that he had made progress. He couldn t see this 
 if he hadn t moved to a higher plane. 
 
 He spoke at length in quiet tones : 
 
 "I am waiting for you to go. I have work to do to 
 night." 
 
 She rose with a quick, angry movement : 
 
 "It s all over, then. There s not a chance that you ll 
 change your mind?" 
 
 "Not if you were the last woman on earth and I 
 the last man." 
 
 He spoke without bitterness but with a firmness that 
 was final. 
 
 "All right. I know what to expect now and I ll plan 
 my own life." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "That there s going to be a change in my relations 
 to your servants for one thing." 
 
 "Your relations to my servants?" he repeated in 
 credulously. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "In what respect?" 
 
 "I m not going to take any more insolence from Min 
 erva " 
 
 "Keep out of the kitchen and let her alone. She s 
 the best cook I ever had." 
 
 "If I keep this house for you, I demand the full 
 authority of my position. I ll hire the servants and 
 discharge them when I choose." 
 
 "You ll do nothing of the kind," he answered firmly. 
 
 "Then I demand that you discharge Minerva and 
 Andy at once." 
 
 "What s the matter with Andy?" 
 
 "I loathe him." 
 
A WOMAN SCORNED 
 
 "Well, I like him, and he s going to stay. Anything 
 else?" 
 
 "You ll pay no attention to my wishes ?" 
 
 "I m master of this house." 
 
 "And in your absence?" 
 
 "My son will be here." 
 
 "All right, I understand now." 
 
 "If I haven t made it plain, I ll do so." 
 
 "Quite clear, thank you," she answered slowly. 
 
 Norton walked to the mantel, leaned his elbow on the 
 shelf for a moment, returned and confronted her with 
 his hands thrust into his pockets, his feet wide apart, his 
 whole attitude one of cool defiance. 
 
 "Now I want to know what you re up to ? These ab 
 surd demands are a blind. They haven t fooled me. 
 There s something else in the back of your devilish 
 mind. What is it? I want to know exactly what you 
 mean ?" 
 
 Cleo laughed a vicious little ripple of amusement: 
 
 "Yes, I know you do but you won t !" 
 
 "All right, as you please. A word from you and 
 Helen s life is blasted. A word from you and I with 
 draw from this campaign, and another will lead it. 
 Speak that word if you dare, and I ll throw you out of 
 this house and your last hold on my life is broken." 
 
 "I ve thought of that, too," she said with a smile. 
 
 "It will be worth the agony I ll endure," he cried, "to 
 know that I m free of you and breathe God s clean 
 air at last !" 
 
 He spoke the words with an earnestness, a deep and 
 bitter sincerity, that was not lost on her keen ears. 
 
 She started to reply, hesitated and was silent. 
 
 He saw his advantage and pressed it: 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I want you to understand fully that I know now 
 and I have always known that I am at your mercy when 
 you see fit to break the word you pledged. Yet there 
 has never been a moment during the past twenty years 
 that I ve been really afraid of you. When the hour 
 comes for my supreme humiliation, I ll meet it. Speak 
 as soon as you like." 
 
 She had walked calmly to the door, paused and 
 looked back: 
 
 "You needn t worry, major," she said smoothly, "I m 
 not quite such a fool as all that. I ve been silent too 
 many years. It s a habit I ll not easily break." Her 
 white teeth gleamed in a cold smile as she added: 
 
 "Good night." 
 
 A hundred times he told himself that she wouldn t 
 dare, but he left home next lay with a sickening fear 
 slowly stealing into his heart. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 AN OLD COMEDY 
 
 NORTON had scarcely passed his gate on the way to 
 catch the train when Cleo left the window, where her 
 keen eyes had been watching, and made her way rapidly 
 to the room he had just vacated. 
 
 Books and papers were scattered loosely over his 
 table beside the typewriter which he had, with his usual 
 carelessness, left open. 
 
 With a quick decision she seated herself beside the 
 machine and in two hours sufficiently mastered its use 
 to write a letter by using a single finger and carefully 
 touching the keys one by one. 
 
 The light of a cunning purpose burned in her eyes 
 as she held up the letter which she had written on a 
 sheet paper with the embossed heading of his home 
 address at the top. 
 
 She re-read it, smiling over the certainty of the suc- 
 fcess of her plan. The letter was carefully and simply 
 worded : 
 
 "My DEAR Miss HELEN: 
 
 "As your guardian is still in Europe, I feel it my duty, 
 and a pleasant one, to give you a glimpse of the South 
 before you go abroad. Please come at once to my home 
 for as long as you care to stay. If I am away in the cam- 
 
 235 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 paign when you arrive, my son and housekeeper, Cleo, will 
 make you at home and I trust happy. 
 
 "With kindest regards, and hoping to see you soon, 
 "Sincerely, 
 
 "DANIEL NORTON/ 
 
 The signature she practiced with a pen for half an 
 hour until her imitation was almost perfect and then 
 signed it. Satisfied with the message, she addressed an 
 envelope to "Miss Helen Winslow, Convent of the 
 Sacred Heart, Racine, Wisconsin," sealed and posted 
 it with her own hand. 
 
 The answer came six days later. Cleo recognized the 
 post mark at once, broke the seal and read it with 
 dancing eyes: 
 
 "My DEAR MAJOR NORTON: 
 
 "I am wild with joy over your kind invitation. As my 
 last examinations are over I will not wait for the Com 
 mencement exercises. I am so excited over this trip I 
 just can t wait. I am leaving day after to-morrow and 
 hope to arrive almost as soon as this letter. 
 "With a heart full of gratitude, 
 
 "Your lonely ward, 
 
 "HELEN/ 
 
 Two days later a hack rolled up the graveled walk 
 to the white porch, a girl leaped out and bounded up 
 the steps, her cheeks flushed, her wide open blue eyes 
 dancing with excitement. 
 
 She was evidently surprised to find that Cleo was an 
 octoroon, blushed and extended her hand with a timid 
 hesitating look : 
 
 "This this is Cleo the major s housekeeper?" 
 she asked. 
 
 The quick eye of the woman took in at a glance the 
 
AN OLD COMEDY 
 
 charm of the shy personality and the loneliness of the 
 young soul that looked out from her expressive eyes. 
 
 "Yes," she answered mechanically. 
 
 "I m so sorry that the major s away the driver 
 told me " 
 
 "Oh, it s all right," Cleo said with a smile, "he wrote 
 us to make you feel at home. Just walk right in, your 
 room is all ready." 
 
 "Thank you so much," Helen responded, drawing a 
 deep breath and looking over the lawn with its green 
 grass, its dense hedges and wonderful clusters of roses 
 in full bloom. "How beautiful the South is far more 
 beautiful than I had dreamed! And the perfume of 
 these roses why, the air is just drowsy with their 
 honey! We have gorgeous roses in the North, but I 
 never smelled them in the open before" she paused and 
 breathed deeply again and again "Oh, it s fairyland 
 I ll never want to go !" 
 
 "I hope you won t," Cleo said earnestly. 
 
 "The major asked me to stay as long as I wished. 
 I have his letter here" she drew the letter from her 
 bag and opened it "see what he says: Please come 
 at once to my home for as long as you can stay now 
 wasn t that sweet of him?" 
 
 "Very," was the strained reply. 
 
 The girl s sensitive ear caught the queer note in 
 Cleo s voice and looked at her with a start. 
 
 "Come, I must show you to your room," she added, 
 hurriedly opening the door for Helen to pass. 
 
 The keen eyes of the woman were scanning the girl 
 and estimating her character with increasing satisfac 
 tion. She walked with exquisite grace. Her figure was 
 almost the exact counterpart of her own at twenty 
 
 237 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Helen s a little fuller, the arms larger but more beauti 
 ful. The slender wrists and perfectly moulded hand 
 would have made a painter beg for a sitting. Her eyes 
 were deep blue and her hair the richest chestnut brown, 
 massive and slightly waving, her complexion the per 
 fect white and red of the Northern girl who had 
 breathed the pure air of the fields and hills. The sure, 
 swift, easy way in which she walked told of perfect 
 health and exhaustless vitality. Her voice was low and 
 sweet and full of shy tenderness. 
 
 A smile of triumph flashed from Cleo s greenish eyes 
 as she watched her swiftly cross the hall toward the 
 stairs. 
 
 "I ll win!" she exclaimed softly. 
 
 Helen turned sharply. 
 
 "Did you speak to me?" she asked blushing. 
 
 "No. I was just thinking aloud." 
 
 "Excuse me, I thought you said something to me " 
 
 "It would have been something very nice if I had," 
 Cleo said with a friendly smile. 
 
 "Thank you oh, I feel that I m going to be so- 
 happy here!" 
 
 "I hope so." 
 
 "When do you think the major will come?" 
 
 The woman s face clouded in spite of her effort at 
 self-control : 
 
 "It may be a month or more." 
 
 "Oh, I m so anxious to see him ! He has been acting 
 for my old guardian, who is somewhere abroad, ever 
 since I can remember. I ve begged and begged him 
 to come to see me, but he never came. It was so far 
 away, I suppose. He never even sent me his picture, 
 though I ve asked him often. What sort of a man is he?" 
 
 238 
 
AN OLD COMEDY 
 
 Cleo smiled and hesitated, and then spoke with ap 
 parent carelessness: 
 
 "A very striking looking man." 
 
 "With a kind face?" 
 
 "A very stern one, clean shaven, with deep set eyes, 
 a firm mouth, a strong jaw that can be cruel when he 
 wishes, a shock of thick iron gray hair, tall, very tall 
 and well built. He weighs two hundred and fifteen now 
 he was very thin when young." 
 
 "And his voice?" 
 
 "Gentle, but sometimes hard as steel when he wishes 
 it to be." 
 
 "Oh, I ll be scared to death when I see him! I had 
 pictured him just the opposite." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "Why, I hardly know but I thought his voice would 
 be always gentle like I imagine a Southern father s who 
 loved his children very much. And I thought his hair 
 would be blonde, with a kind face and friendly laugh 
 ing eyes blue, like mine. His eyes aren t blue?" 
 
 "Dark brown." 
 
 "I know I ll run when he comes." 
 
 "We ll make you feel at home and you ll not be afraid. 
 Mr. Tom will be here to lunch in a few minutes and 
 I ll introduce you." 
 
 "Then I must dress at once !" 
 
 "The first door at the head of the stairs your trunk 
 has already been taken up." 
 
 Cleo watched the swift, strong, young form mount 
 the stairs. 
 
 "It s absolutely certain !" she cried under her breath. 
 "I ll win I ll win!" 
 
 She broke into a low laugh and hurried to set the 
 239 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 table in a bower of the sweetest roses that were in 
 bloom. Their languorous odor filled the house. 
 
 Helen was waiting in the old-fashioned parlor when 
 Tom s step echoed on the stoop. Cleo hurried to meet 
 him on the porch. 
 
 His face clouded with a scowl: 
 
 "She s here?" 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Handsome Boy," Cleo answered cheerfully. 
 "And lunch is ready do rub that awful scowl off your 
 face and look like you re glad." 
 
 "Well, I m not so what s the use? It ll be a mess 
 to have a girl on my hands day and night and I ve 
 got no time for it. I wish Dad was here. I know I ll 
 hate the sight of her." 
 
 Cleo smiled: 
 
 "Better wait until you see her." 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 "In the parlor." 
 
 "All right the quicker a disagreeable job s over 
 the better." 
 
 "Shall I introduce you?" 
 
 "No, I ll do it myself," he growled, bracing himself 
 for the ordeal. 
 
 As he entered the door he stopped short at the vision 
 as Helen sprang to her feet and came to meet him. 
 She was dressed in the softest white filmy stuff, as light 
 as a feather, bare arms and neck, her blue eyes sparkling 
 with excitement, her smooth, fair cheeks scarlet with 
 blushes. 
 
 The boy s heart stopped beating in sheer surprise. 
 He expected a frowzy little waif from an orphanage, 
 blear-eyed, sad, soulful and tiresome. 
 
 This shining, blushing, wonderful creature took his 
 
 240 
 
AN OLD COMEDY 
 
 breath. He stared at first with open mouth, until Cleo s 
 laugh brought him to his senses just as he began to 
 hear Helen s low sweet voice : 
 
 "And this is Mr. Tom, I suppose? I am Helen Win- 
 slow, your father s ward, from the West at least he s 
 all the guardian I ve ever known." 
 
 Tom grasped the warm little hand extended in so 
 friendly greeting and held it in dazed surprise until 
 Cleo s low laughter again roused him. 
 
 "Yes I I am delighted to see you, Miss Helen, 
 and I m awfully sorry my father couldn t be here to 
 welcome you. I I ll do the best I can for you in his 
 absence." 
 
 "Oh, thank you," she murmured. 
 
 "You know you re not at all like I expected to find 
 you," he said hesitatingly. 
 
 "I hope I haven t disappointed you," she answered 
 demurely. 
 
 "No no" he protested "just the opposite." 
 
 He stopped and blushed for fear he d said too much. 
 
 "And you re just the opposite from what I d pictured 
 you since Cleo told me how your father looks." 
 
 "And what did you expect?" he asked eagerly. 
 
 "A stern face, dark hair, dark eyes and a firm mouth." 
 
 "And you find instead?" 
 
 Helen laughed: 
 
 "I m afraid you love flattery." 
 
 Tom hurried to protest: 
 
 "Really, I wasn t fishing for a compliment, but I m 
 so unlike my father, it s a joke. I get my blonde hair 
 and blue eyes from my mother and my great-grand 
 father." 
 
 Before he knew what was happening Tom was seated 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 by her side talking and laughing as if they had known 
 each other a lifetime. 
 
 Helen paused for breath, put her elbow on the old 
 mahogany table, rested her dimpled chin in the palm 
 of her pretty hand and looked at Tom with a mis 
 chievous twinkle in her blue eyes. 
 
 "What s the joke?" he asked. 
 
 "Do you know that you re the first boy I ever talked 
 to in my life?" 
 
 "No- really?" he answered incredulously. 
 
 "Don t you think I do pretty well?" 
 
 "Perfectly wonderful !" 
 
 "You see, I ve played this scene so many times in 
 my day dreams " 
 
 "And it s like your dream?" 
 
 "Remarkably!" 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "You re just the kind of boy I always thought I d 
 meet first " 
 
 "How funny!" 
 
 "Yes, exactly," she cried excitedly and with a serious 
 tone in her voice that was absolutely convincing. 
 "You re so jolly and friendly and easy to talk to, I 
 feel as if I ve known you all my life." 
 
 "And I feel the same isn t it funny?" 
 
 They both laughed immoderately. 
 
 "Come," the boy cried, "I want to show you my 
 mother s and my grandfather s portraits in the library. 
 You ll see where I get my silly blonde hair, my slightly 
 pug nose and my very friendly ways." 
 
 She rose with a laugh: 
 
 "Your nose isn t pug, it s just good-humored." 
 
 "Amount to the same thing." 
 
AN OLD COMEDY 
 
 "And your hair is very distinguished looking for a 
 boy. I d envy it, if it were a girl s." 
 
 Tom led the way into the big, square library which 
 opened on the pillared porch both on the rear and on 
 the side of the house. Before the fireplace he paused 
 and pointed to his mother s portrait done in oil by a 
 famous artist in New York. 
 
 It was life-size and the canvas filled the entire space 
 between the two fluted columns of the Colonial mantel 
 which reached to the ceiling. The woodwork of the 
 mantelpiece was of dark mahogany and the background 
 of the portrait the color of bright gold which seemed to 
 melt into the lines of the massive smooth gilded frame. 
 
 The effect was wonderfully vivid and life-like in the 
 sombre coloring of the book-lined walls. The picture 
 and frame seemed a living flame in its dark setting. 
 The portrait was an idealized study of the little mother. 
 The artist had put into his canvas the spirit of the ten- 
 derest brooding motherhood. The very curve of her 
 arms holding the child to her breast seemed to breathe 
 tenderness. The smile that played about her delicate lips 
 and blue eyes was ethereal in its fleeting spirit beauty. 
 
 The girl caught her breath in surprise : 
 
 "What a wonderful picture it s perfectly divine! 
 I feel like kneeling before it." 
 
 "It is an altar," the boy said reverently. "I ve seen 
 my father sit in that big chair brooding for hours while 
 he looked at it. And ever since he put those two old 
 gold candlesticks in front of it I can t get it out of 
 my head that he slips in here, kneels in the twilight and 
 prays before it." 
 
 "He must have loved your mother very tenderly," she 
 said softly. 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I think he worships her still," the boy answered 
 simply. 
 
 "Oh, I could die for a man like that !" she cried with 
 sudden passion. 
 
 Tom pointed to his grandfather s portrait: 
 
 "And there you see my distinguished features and 
 my pug nose " 
 
 Cleo appeared in the door smiling : 
 
 "I ve been waiting for you to come to lunch, Mr. 
 Boy, for nearly an hour." 
 
 "Well, for heaven s sake, why didn t you let us 
 know?" 
 
 "I told you it was ready when you came." 
 
 "Forgot all about it." 
 
 He was so serenely unconscious of anything unusual 
 in his actions that he failed to notice the smile that 
 continuously played about Cleo s mouth or to notice 
 Andy s evident enjoyment of the little drama as he 
 bowed and scraped and waited on the table with un 
 usual ceremony. 
 
 Aunt Minerva, hearing Andy s report of the sudden 
 affair that had developed in the major s absence, left 
 the kitchen and stood in the door a moment, her huge 
 figure completely filling the space while she watched 
 the unconscious boy and girl devouring each other with 
 sparkling eyes. 
 
 She waved her fat hand over their heads to Andy, 
 laughed softly and left without their noticing her pres 
 ence. 
 
 The luncheon was the longest one that had been 
 known within the memory of anyone present. Minerva 
 again wandered back to the door, fascinated by the pic 
 ture they made, and whispered to Andy as he passed: 
 
 44 
 
AN OLD COMEDY 
 
 "Well, fer de Lawd s sake, is dey gwine ter set dar all 
 day?" 
 
 "Nobum bout er nodder hour, an he ll go back ter 
 de office." 
 
 Tom suddenly looked at his watch: 
 
 "Heavens ! I m late. I ll run down to the office and 
 cut the work out for the day in honor of your com- 
 ing." 
 
 Helen rose blushing: 
 
 "Oh, I m afraid I ll make trouble for you." 
 
 "No trouble at all! I ll be back in ten minutes." 
 
 "I ll be on the lawn in that wilderness of roses. The 
 odor is maddening it s so sweet." 
 
 "All right and then I ll show you the old rose gar 
 den the other side of the house." 
 
 "It s awfully good of you, but I m afraid I m tak 
 ing your time from work." 
 
 "It s all right ! I ll make the other fellows do it to 
 day." 
 
 She blushed again and waved her bare arm high over 
 her dark brown hair from the porch as he swung 
 through the gate and disappeared. 
 
 In a few minutes he had returned. Through the long 
 hours of a beautiful summer afternoon they walked 
 through the enchanted paths of the old garden on vel 
 vet feet, the boy pouring out his dreams and high am 
 bitions, the girl s lonely heart for the first time in life 
 basking in the joyous light of a perfect day. 
 
 Andy made an excuse to go in the garden and putter 
 about some flowers just to watch them, laugh and 
 chuckle over the exhibition. He was just in time as he 
 softly approached behind a trellis of climbing roses to 
 hear Tom say: 
 
 245 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Please give me that bud you re wearing?" 
 
 "Why?" she asked demurely. 
 
 "Just because I ve taken a fancy to it." 
 
 She blushed scarlet, took the rosebud from her bosom 
 and pinned it on his coat: 
 
 "All right there !" 
 
 Andy suppressed a burst of laughter and hurried 
 back to report to Minerva. 
 
 For four enchanted weeks the old comedy of life was 
 thus played by the boy and girl in sweet and utter 
 unconsciousness of its meaning. He worked only in 
 the mornings and rushed home for lunch unusually 
 early. The afternoon usually found them seated side 
 by side slowly driving over the quiet country roads. 
 Two battlefields of the civil war, where his father had 
 led a regiment of troops in the last desperate engage 
 ment with Sherman s army two weeks after Lee had 
 surrendered at Appomattox, kept them busy each after 
 noon for a week. 
 
 At night they sat on the moonlit porch behind the 
 big pillars and he talked to her of the great things of 
 life with simple boyish enthusiasm. Sometimes they 
 walked side by side through the rose-scented lawn and 
 paused to hear the love song of a mocking-bird whose 
 mate was busy each morning teaching her babies to 
 
 fly- 
 
 The world had become a vast rose garden of light 
 and beauty, filled with the odors of flowers and spices 
 and dreamy strains of ravishing music. 
 
 And behind it all, nearer crept the swift shadow 
 whose tread was softer than the foot of a summer s 
 cloud. 
 
 246 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 TRAPPED 
 
 NORTON S campaign during its first months was a 
 continuous triumph. The opposition had been so com 
 pletely stunned by the epoch-making declaration of 
 principles on which he had chosen to conduct the fight 
 that they had as yet been unable to rally their forces. 
 Even the rival newspaper, founded to combat the ideas 
 for which the Eagle and Phoenix stood, was compelled 
 to support Norton s ticket to save itself from ruin. 
 The young editor found a source of endless amusement 
 in taunting the professor on this painful fact. 
 
 The leader had chosen to begin his tour of the state 
 in the farthest mountain counties that had always been 
 comparatively free from negro influence. These coun 
 ties were counted as safe for the opposition before the 
 startling program of the editor s party had been an 
 nounced. Yet from the first day s mass meeting which 
 he had addressed an enthusiasm had been developed 
 under the spell of Norton s eloquence that had swept the 
 crowds of mountaineers off their feet. They had never 
 been slave owners, and they had no use for a negro as 
 servant, laborer, voter, citizen, or in any other capacity. 
 The idea of freeing the state forever from their baleful 
 influence threw the entire white race into solid ranks 
 supporting his ticket. 
 
 The enthusiasm kindled in the mountains swept the 
 247 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 foothills, gaining resistless force as it reached the more 
 inflammable feelings of the people of the plains who 
 were living in daily touch with the negro. 
 
 Yet amid all the scenes of cheering and enthusiasm 
 through which he was passing daily the heart of the 
 leader was heavy with dread. His mind was brood 
 ing over the last scene with Cleo and its possible out 
 come. 
 
 He began to worry with increasing anguish over the 
 certainty that when she struck the blow would be a 
 deadly one. The higher the tide of his triumph rose, 
 the greater became the tension of his nerves. Each 
 day had its appointment to speak. Some days were 
 crowded with three or four engagements. These dates 
 were made two weeks ahead and great expense had been 
 incurred in each case to advertise them and secure rec 
 ord crowds. It was a point of honor with him to make 
 good these dates even to the smallest appointment at 
 a country crossroads. 
 
 It was impossible to leave for a trip home. It would 
 mean the loss of at least four days. Yet his anxiety 
 at last became so intense that he determined to rear 
 range his dates and swing his campaign into the terri 
 tory near the Capital at once. It was not a good pol 
 icy. He would risk the loss of the cumulative power 
 of his work now sweeping from county to county, a 
 resistless force. But it would enable him to return 
 home for a few hours between his appointments. 
 
 There had been nothing in Tom s reports to arouse 
 his fears. The boy had faithfully carried out his in 
 structions to give no information that might annoy 
 him. His brief letters were bright, cheerful, and always 
 closed with the statement: "Everything all right at 
 
 248 
 
TRAPPED 
 
 home, and I m still jollying the professor about sup 
 porting the cause he hates." 
 
 When he reached the county adjoining the Capital 
 his anxiety had reached a point beyond endurance. It 
 would be three days before he could connect with a 
 schedule of trains that would enable him to get home 
 between the time of his hours to speak. He simply 
 could not wait. 
 
 He telegraphed to Tom to send Andy to the meeting 
 next day with a bound volume of the paper for the 
 year 1866 which contained some facts he wished to use 
 in his speech in this district. 
 
 Andy s glib tongue would give him the information 
 he needed. 
 
 The train was late and the papers did not arrive in 
 time. He was compelled to leave his hotel and go to 
 the meeting without them. 
 
 An enormous crowd had gathered. And for the first 
 time on his tour he felt hostility in the glances that 
 occasionally shot from groups of men as he passed. The 
 county was noted for its gangs of toughs who lived on 
 the edge of a swamp that had been the rendezvous of 
 criminals for a century. 
 
 The opposition had determined to make a disturbance 
 at this meeting and if possible end it with a riot. They 
 counted on the editor s fiery temper when aroused to 
 make this a certainty. They had not figured on the 
 cool audacity with which he would meet such a situa 
 tion. 
 
 When he reached the speaker s stand, the county 
 Chairman whispered : 
 
 "They are going to make trouble here to-day." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 249 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "They ve got a speaker who s going to demand a 
 division of time." 
 
 The editor smiled: 
 
 "Really?" 
 
 "Yes," the Chairman said, nodding toward a tall, 
 ministerial-looking individual who was already working 
 his way through the crowd. "That s the fellow com 
 ing now." 
 
 Norton turned and confronted the chosen orator of 
 the opposition, a backwoods preacher of a rude native 
 eloquence whose name he had often heard. 
 
 He saw at a glance that he was a man of fo^^e. His 
 strong mouth w r as clean of mustache and the lower lip 
 was shaved to the chin. A long beard covered the mas 
 sive jaws and his hair reached the collar of his coat. 
 He had been a deserter during the war, and a drunken 
 member of the little Scalawag Governor s famous guard 
 that had attempted to rule the state without the civil 
 law. He had been converted in a Baptist revival at a 
 crossroads meeting place years before and became a 
 preacher. His religious conversion, however, had not 
 reached his politics or dimmed his memory of the events 
 of Reconstruction. 
 
 He had hated Norton with a deep and abiding fervor 
 from the day he had escaped from his battalion in the 
 Civil War down to the present moment. 
 
 Norton hadn t the remotest idea that he was the 
 young recruit who had taken to his heels on entering a 
 battle and never stopped running until he reached home. 
 
 "This is Major Norton?" the preacher asked. 
 
 "Yes," was the curt answer. 
 
 "I demand a division of time with you in a joint dis 
 cussion here, sir." 
 
 9.50 
 
TRAPPED 
 
 Norton s figure stiffened and he looked at the man 
 with a flush of anger : 
 
 "Did you say demand?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I did," the preacher answered, snapping 
 his hard mouth firmly. "We believe in free speech in 
 this county." 
 
 Norton placed his hands in his pockets, and looked 
 him over from head to foot : 
 
 "Well, you ve got the gall of the devil, I must say, 
 even if you do wear the livery of heaven. You demand 
 free speech at my expense ! I like your cheek. It cost 
 my conJiittee two hundred dollars to advertise this 
 meeting and make it a success, and you step up at the 
 last moment and demand that I turn it over to your 
 party. If you want free speech, hire your own hall 
 and make it to your heart s content. You can t address 
 this crowd from a speaker s stand built with my 
 money." 
 
 "You refuse?" 
 
 Norton looked at him steadily for a moment and 
 took a step closer: 
 
 "I am trying to convey that impression to your 
 mind. Must I use my foot to emphasize it?" 
 
 The long-haired one paled slightly, turned and 
 quickly pushed his way through the crowd to a group 
 awaiting him on the edge of the brush arbor that had 
 been built to shelter the people from the sun. The 
 Chairman whispered to Norton: 
 
 "There ll be trouble certain they re a tough lot. 
 More than half the men here are with him." 
 
 "They won t be when I ve finished," he answered with 
 a smile. 
 
 "You d better divide with them " 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I ll see him in hell first!" 
 
 Norton stepped quickly on the rude pine platform 
 that had been erected for the speaker and faced the 
 crowd. For the first time on his trip the cheering was 
 given with moderation. 
 
 He saw the preacher walk back under the arbor and 
 his men distribute themselves with apparent design in 
 different parts of the crowd. 
 
 He lifted his hand with a gesture to stop the ap 
 plause and a sudden hush fell over the eager, serious 
 faces. 
 
 His eye wandered carelessly over the throng and 
 singled out the men he had seen distribute themselves 
 among them. He suddenly slipped his hand behind him 
 and drew from beneath his long black frock coat a big 
 revolver and laid it beside the pitcher of lemonade the 
 Chairman had provided. 
 
 A slight stir swept the crowd and the stillness could 
 be felt. 
 
 The speaker lifted his broad shoulders and began his 
 speech in an intense voice that found its way to the last 
 man who hung on the edge of the crowd : 
 
 "Gentlemen," he began slowly, "if there s any one 
 present who doesn t wish to hear what I have to say, 
 now is the time to leave. This is my meeting, and I will 
 not be interrupted. If, in spite of this announcement, 
 there happens to be any one here who is looking for 
 trouble" he stopped and touched the shining thing 
 that lay before him "you ll find it here on the table 
 walk right up to the front." 
 
 A cheer rent the air. He stilled it with a quick ges 
 ture and plunged into his speech. 
 
 In the intense situation which had developed he had 
 
TRAPPED 
 
 forgotten the fear that had been gnawing at his heart 
 for the past weeks. 
 
 At the height of his power over his audience his eye 
 suddenly caught the black face of Andy grinning in 
 evident admiration of his master s eloquence. 
 
 Something in the symbolism of this negro grinning 
 at him over the heads of the people hanging breathless 
 on his words sent a wave of sickening fear to his heart. 
 In vain he struggled to throw the feeling off in the midst 
 of his impassioned appeal. It was impossible. For the 
 remaining half hour he spoke as if in a trance. Un 
 consciously his voice was lowered to a strange intense 
 monotone that sent the chills down the spines of his 
 hearers. 
 
 He closed his speech in a silence that was stran 
 gling. 
 
 The people were dazed and he was halfway down the 
 steps of the rude platform before they sufficiently re 
 covered to break into round after round of cheering. 
 
 He had unconsciously made the most powerful speech 
 of his life, and no man in all the crowd that he had 
 hypnotized could have dreamed the grim secret which 
 had been the source of his inspiration. 
 
 Without a moment s delay he found Andy, examined 
 the package he brought and hurried to his room. 
 
 "Everything all right at home, Andy?" he asked 
 with apparent carelessness. 
 
 The negro was still lost in admiration of Norton s 
 triumph over his hostile audience. 
 
 "Yassah, you sho did set em afire wid dat speech, 
 major!" he said with a laugh. 
 
 "And I asked you if everything was all right at 
 home?" 
 
 253 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Oh, yassah, yassah everything s all right. Of 
 cose, sah, dey s a few little things always happenin . 
 Dem pigs get in de garden las week an et everything 
 up, an dat ole cow er own got de hollow horn agin. 
 But everything else all right, sah." 
 
 "And how s aunt Minerva?" 
 
 "Des es big an fat ez ebber, sah, an er gittin mo* 
 unruly every day yassah she s gittin so sassy she 
 try ter run de whole place an me, too." 
 
 "AndCleo?" 
 
 This question he asked bustling over his papers with 
 an indifference so perfectly assumed that Andy never 
 guessed his interest to be more than casual, and yet 
 he ceased to breathe until he caught the laughing an 
 swer : 
 
 "Oh, she s right dar hoklin her own wid Miss Min 
 erva an I tells her las week she s lookin better dan 
 ebber yassah she s all right." 
 
 Norton felt a sense of grateful relief. His fears had 
 been groundless. They were preposterous to start 
 with. The idea that she might attempt to visit Helen in 
 his absence was, of course, absurd. 
 
 His next question was asked with a good-natured, 
 hearty tone: 
 
 "And Mr. Tom?" 
 
 Andy laughed immoderately and Norton watched 
 him with increasing wonder. 
 
 "Right dar s whar my tale begins!" 
 
 "Why, what s the matter with him ?" the father aske3 
 with a touch of anxiety in his voice. 
 
 "Lordy, dey ain t nuttin de matter wid him tall * 
 hit s a fresh cut!" 
 
 Again Andy laughed with unction. 
 
TRAPPED 
 
 "What is it?" Norton asked with impatience. 
 "What s the matter with Tom?" 
 
 "Nuttin tall, sah nuttin tall I nebber see im 
 looldn so well in my life. He gets up sooner den I 
 ebber knowed him before. He comes home quicker an 
 stays dar longer an he s de j oiliest young gentleman 
 I know anywhar in de state. Mo specially, sah, since 
 dat handsome young lady from de North come down 
 to see us " 
 
 The father s heart was in his throat as he stam 
 mered : 
 
 "A handsome young lady from the North I don t 
 understand !" 
 
 "Why, Miss Helen, sah, de young lady you invite ter 
 spen de summer wid us." 
 
 Norton s eyes suddenly grew dim, he leaned on the 
 table, stared at Andy, and repeated blankly: 
 
 "The young lady I asked to spend the summer with 
 us?" 
 
 "Yassah, Miss Helen, sah, is her name she cum 
 bout er week atter you lef " 
 
 "And she s been there ever since?" he asked. 
 
 "Yassah, an she sho is a powerful fine young lady, 
 sah. I don t blame Mister Tom fer bein crazy bout 
 her!" 
 
 There was a moment s dead silence. 
 
 "So Tom s crazy about her?" he said in a high, nerv 
 ous voice, which Andy took for a joke. 
 
 "Yassah, I se had some sperience myself, sah, but I 
 ain t nebber seen nuttin like dis ! He des trot long 
 atter her day an night like a fice. An de funny thing, 
 sah, is dat he doan seem ter know dat he s doin it. 
 Everybody bout de house laffin fit ter kill dersef an 
 
 255 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 he don t pay no tention. He des sticks to her like a 
 sick kitten to a hot brick ! Yassah, hit sho s funny ! I 
 des knowed you d bust er laughin when you sees 
 em." 
 
 Norton had sunk to a seat too weak to stand. His 
 face was pale and his breath came in short gasps as he 
 turned to the negro, stared at him hopelessly for a 
 moment and said: 
 
 "Andy, get me a good horse and buggy at the livery 
 stable we ll drive through the country to-night. I 
 want to get home right away." 
 
 Andy s mouth opened and his eyes stared in blank 
 amazement. 
 
 "De Lawd, major, hit s mos sundown now an hit s 
 a hundred miles from here home hit took me all day 
 ter come on de train." 
 
 "No, it s only forty miles straight across the country. 
 We can make it to-night with a good horse. Hurry, I ll 
 have my valise packed in a few minutes." 
 
 "Do you know de way, sah?" Andy asked, scratching 
 his head. 
 
 "Do as I tell you quick !" Norton thundered. 
 
 The negro darted from the room and returned in 
 half an hour with a horse and buggy. 
 
 Through the long hours of the night they drove with 
 but a single stop at midnight in a quiet street of a 
 sleeping village. They halted at the well beside a store 
 and watered the horse. 
 
 A graveyard was passed a mile beyond the village, 
 and Andy glanced timidly over his shoulder at the white 
 marble slabs glistening in the starlight. His master 
 had not spoken for two hours save the sharp order to 
 stop at the well. 
 
 256 
 
TRAPPED 
 
 "Dis sho is er lonesome lookin place!" Andy said 
 with a shiver. 
 
 But the man beside him gave no sign that he heard* 
 His eyes were set in a strange stare at the stars that 
 twinkled in the edge of the tree tops far ahead. 
 
 Andy grew so lonely and frightened finally at the 
 ominous silence that he pretended to be lost at each 
 crossroads to force Norton to speak. 
 
 "I wuz afraid you gone ter sleep, sah !" he said with 
 an apologetic laugh. "An I wuz erfered dat you d fall 
 out er de buggy gwine down er hill." 
 
 In vain he tried to break the silence. There was no 
 answer no sign that he was in the same world, save 
 the fact of his body s presence. 
 
 The first streak of dawn was widening on the eastern 
 horizon when Norton s cramped legs limped into the 
 gate of his home. He stopped to steady his nerves and 
 looked blankly up at the window of his boy s room. 
 He had given Tom his mother s old room when he had 
 reached the age of sixteen. 
 
 Somewhere behind those fluted pillars, white and 
 ghost-like in the dawn, lay the girl who had suddenly 
 risen from the dead to lead his faltering feet up life s 
 Calvary. He saw the cross slowly lifting its dark form 
 from the hilltop with arms outstretched to embrace 
 him, and the chill of death crept into his heart. 
 
 The chirp of stirring birds, the dim noises of waking 
 life, the whitening skyline behind the house recalled 
 another morning in his boyhood. He had waked at 
 daylight to go to his traps set at the branch in the 
 edge of the woods behind the barn. The plantation at 
 that time had extended into the town. A fox had been 
 killing his fancy chickens. He had vowed vengeance i 
 
 257 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 his boyish wrath, bought half a dozen powerful steel- 
 traps and set them in the fox s path. The prowler had 
 been interrupted the night before and had not gotten 
 his prey. He would return sure. 
 
 He recalled now every emotion that had thrilled his 
 young heart as he bounded along the dew-soaked path 
 to his traps. 
 
 Before he could see the place he heard the struggles 
 of his captive. 
 
 "I ve got him!" he shouted with a throb of savage 
 
 He leaped the fence and stood frozen to the spot. 
 The fox was a magnificent specimen of his breed, tall 
 and heavy as a setter dog, with beautiful appealing 
 eyes. His fine gray fur was spotched with blood, his 
 mouth torn and bleeding from the effort to break the 
 cruel bars that held his foreleg in their deathlike grip. 
 With each desperate pull the blood spurted afresh and 
 the steel cut deeper into bone and flesh. 
 
 The strange cries of pain and terror from the 
 trapped victim had struck him dumb. He had come 
 with murder in his heart to take revenge on his enemy, 
 but when he looked with blanched face on the blood and 
 heard the pitiful cries he rushed to the spot, tore the 
 steel arms apart, loosed the fox, pushed his quivering 
 form from him and gasped: 
 
 "Go go I m sorry I hurt you like that!" 
 
 Stirred by the memories of the dawn he lived this 
 scene again in vivid anguish, and as he slowly mounted 
 the steps of his home, felt the steel bars of an inexor 
 able fate close on his own throat. 
 
 258 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 BEHIND THE BARS 
 
 WHEN Norton reached his room he locked the door 
 and began to pace the floor, facing for the hundredth 
 time the stunning situation which the presence of Helen 
 had created. 
 
 To reveal to such a sensitive, cultured girl just as she 
 was budding into womanhood the fact that her blood 
 was tainted with a negro ancestor would be an act so 
 pitifully cruel that every instinct of his nature revolted 
 from the thought. 
 
 He began to realize that her life was at stake as well 
 as his boy s. That he loved this son with all the 
 strength of his being and that he only knew the girl 
 to fear her, made no difference in the fundamental facts. 
 He acknowledged that she was his. He had accepted 
 the fact and paid the penalty in the sacrifice of every 
 ambition of a brilliant mind. 
 
 He weighed carefully the things that were certain 
 and the things that were merely probable. The one 
 certainty that faced him from every angle was that 
 Cleo was in deadly earnest and that it meant a fight for 
 the supremacy of every decent instinct of his life and 
 character. 
 
 Apparently she had planned a tragic revenge by lur 
 ing the girl to his home, figuring on his absence for 
 three months, to precipitate a love affair before he 
 
 259 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 could know the truth or move to interfere. A strange 
 mental telepathy had warned him and he had broken 
 in on the scene two months before he was expected. 
 
 And yet he couldn t believe that Cleo in the wildest 
 flight of her insane rage could have deliberately meant 
 that such an affair should end in marriage. She knew 
 the character of both father and son too well to doubt 
 that such an act could only end in tragedy. She was 
 too cautious for such madness. 
 
 What was her game? 
 
 He asked himself that question again and again, al 
 ways to come back to one conclusion. She had cer 
 tainly brought the girl into the house to force from 
 his reluctant lips her recognition and thus fix her own 
 grip on his life. Beyond a doubt the surest way to 
 accomplish this, and the quickest, was by a love affair 
 between the boy and girl. She knew that personally 
 the father had rather die than lose the respect of his 
 son by a confession of his shame. But she knew with 
 deeper certainty that he must confess it if their wills 
 once clashed over the choice of a wife. The boy had 
 a mind of his own. His father knew it and respected 
 and loved him all the more because of it. 
 
 It was improbable as yet that Tom had spoken a 
 word of love or personally faced such an issue. Of the 
 girl he could only form the vaguest idea. It was clear 
 now that he had been stricken by a panic and that the 
 case was not so desperate as he had feared. 
 
 One thing he saw with increasing clearness. He must 
 move with the utmost caution. He must avoid Helen at 
 first and find the boy s attitude. He must at all haz 
 ards keep the use of every power of body, mind and soul 
 in the crisis with which he was confronted. 
 
 260 
 
BEHIND THE EARS 
 
 Two hours later when Andy cautiously approached 
 his door and listened at the keyhole he was still pac 
 ing the floor with the nervous tread of a wounded lion 
 suddenly torn from the forest and thrust behind the 
 bars of an iron cage* 
 
 261 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 ANDY left Norton s door and rapped softly at Tom s, 
 tried the lock, found it unfastened, pushed his way 
 quietly inside and called : 
 
 "Mister Tom!" 
 
 No answer came from the bed and Andy moved 
 closer: 
 
 "Mister Tom Mister Tom !" 
 
 "Ah what s the matter with you get out!" the 
 sleeper growled. 
 
 The negro touched the boy s shoulder with a friendly 
 shake, whispering: 
 
 "Yo Pa s here!" 
 
 Tom sat up in bed rubbing his eyes : 
 
 "What s that?" 
 
 "Yassah, I fotch him through the country and we 
 rid all night " 
 
 "What s the matter? 
 
 "Dat s what I wants ter see you bout, sah an ef 
 you ll des slip on dem clothes an meet me in de liberry, 
 we ll hab a little confab an er council er war " 
 
 The boy picked up a pillow and hurled it at Andy: 
 
 "Well, get out, you old rascal, and I ll be down in 
 a few minutes." 
 
 Andy dodged the pillow and at the door whis 
 pered : 
 
 262 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 "Yassah, an don t disturb de major! I hopes ter 
 God he sleep er month when he git started." 
 
 "All right, I won t disturb him." 
 
 Tom dressed, wondering vaguely what had brought 
 his father home at such an unearthly hour and by 
 such a trip across the country. 
 
 Andy, arrayed in a suit of broadcloth which he had 
 appropriated from Norton s wardrobe in his absence, 
 was waiting for Tom with evident impatience. 
 
 "Now, what I want to know is," the boy began, 
 "what the devil you mean by pulling me out of bed this 
 time of day?" 
 
 Andy chuckled: 
 
 "Well, yer see, sah, de major git home kinder sudden 
 like en I wuz jest er little oneasy bout dis here new 
 suit er close er mine " 
 
 "Well, that s not the first suit of his clothes you ve 
 swiped you needn t be scared." 
 
 "Scared who me? Man, I ain t er skeered er yo 
 Pa." 
 
 Minerva banged the dining-room door and Andy 
 jumped and started to run. Tom laughed and seized 
 his arm: 
 
 Oh, don t be a fool! There s no danger." 
 
 "Nasah I knows dey s no danger but" he glanced 
 over his shoulder to be sure that the master hadn t 
 come down stairs "but yer know de ole sayin is dat 
 indiscretion is de better part er value " 
 
 "I see!" Tom smiled in perfect agreement. 
 
 "An I des has er little indiscretion " 
 
 "Oh, you make me tired, how can I help a coward?" 
 
 Andy looked grieved: 
 
 "Lordy, Mister Tom don t say dat, sah. I ain t 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 no coward I se des cautious. Ye know I wuz in dat 
 f us battle er Bull s Run wid de ma j or. I git separated 
 from him in a close place an hatter move my head 
 quarters. Dey said I wuz er coward den cause I 
 run. But twan t so, sah ! Twan t cause I wuz er cow 
 ard. I knowed zactly what I wuz doin . I run cause 
 I didn t hab no wings ! I done de very bes I could wid 
 what I had. An fuddermo , sah, de fellers dat wuz 
 whar I wuz en didn t run dey s all dar yit at Bull s 
 Run ! Nasah, I ain t no coward. I des got de indiscre 
 tion " 
 
 Another door slammed and Andy dodged. 
 
 "What s the matter with you anyhow, you old fool, 
 are you having fits?" Tom cried. 
 
 Andy looked around the room cautiously and took 
 hold of the boy s coat: 
 
 "You listen to me, Mister Tom. I se gwine tell yer 
 somfin now " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "I ain t er skeered er de major but he s dan- 
 
 gous " 
 
 "Bosh!" 
 
 "Dey s sumfin de matter wid him !" 
 
 "Had a few mint juleps with a friend, no doubt." 
 
 "Mint juleps! Huh! He kin swim in em dive in 
 em an stay down er whole day an never come up ter 
 blow his bref licker don t faze him!" 
 
 "It s politics. He s leading this devilish campaign 
 and he s worried over politics." 
 
 "Nasah !" Andy protested with a laugh. "Dem fool 
 niggers des well give up dey ain t gwine ter vote no 
 mo . De odder feller s doin all de worryin . He ain t 
 
 264 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 "Yes, he is, too," the boy replied. "He put a revolver 
 in his pocket when he started on that trip." 
 
 "Yassah!" Andy laughed. "I know, but yer don t 
 understand Dat pistol s his flatform !" 
 
 "His platform?" 
 
 "You ain hear what he bin er doin wid dat pistol?" 
 
 "No what?" 
 
 "Man erlive, yer des oughter see im yistiddy when I 
 take im dem papers ter dat speakin , down in one er 
 dem po white counties full er Radicals dat vote wid 
 niggers. Er Kermittee comes up an say dat de Inter 
 nal Constertooshion er de Nunited States give em free 
 speech an he gwine ter hear from em. De Lordy, man, 
 but his bristles riz ! I lows ter myself, folks yer sho is 
 thumpin de wrong watermillion dis time !" 
 
 "And what did he say to the Committee?" 
 
 "I nebber hear nary word. He des turn roun an 
 step up on dat flatform, kinder peart like, an yer 
 oughter see im open dat meetin " Andy paused and 
 broke into a loud laugh. 
 
 "How did he open it?" Tom asked with indulgent 
 interest. 
 
 Andy scratched his woolly head: 
 
 "Well, sah, hit warn t opened wid prayer I kin 
 tell ye dat ! De fust thing he done, he reach back in 
 his britches, kinder kereless lak, an pull dat big pistol 
 an lay hit down afore him on de table beside his 
 pitcher er lemonade. Man, you oughter see de eyes er 
 dat crowd er dirty-lookin po whites! Dey fairly 
 popped outen der heads ! I hump myself an move out 
 towards de outskirts " 
 
 Tom smiled: 
 
 "I bet you did!" 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Oh, I didn t run !" Andy protested. 
 
 "Of course not far be it from you!" 
 
 "Nasah, I des tucken drawed out " 
 
 "I understand, just a little caution, so to speak!" 
 
 "Yassah dat s hit ! Des tucken drawed out, whar 
 I d have elbow room in de mergency " 
 
 "In other words," the boy interrupted, "just used a 
 little indiscretion !" 
 
 Andy chuckled: 
 
 "Yassah! Dat s hit! Well, sah, he pat dat pistol 
 kinder familious like an say: Ef dey s any er you 
 lowlife po white scoundrels here ter-day that don t 
 want ter hear my speech git ! But ef yer stay an yer 
 don t feel comfortable, I got six little lead pills here 
 in a box dat ll ease yer pain. Walk right up to de 
 prescription counter ! 
 
 "And they walked right up?" 
 
 "Well, sah, dey didn t crowd up! nasah!" Andy 
 paused and laughed immoderately. "An wid dat he 
 des folded his arms an look at dat crowd er minute an* 
 his eyes began to spit fire. When I see dat, I feels my 
 very shoes commin ontied. I sez ter myself, no*v folks 
 he s gwine ter magnify " 
 
 Tom laughed: 
 
 "Magnified, did he?" 
 
 The negro s eyes rolled and he lifted his hands in 
 a gesture of supreme admiration: 
 
 "De Lordy, man ef he didn t ! He lit inter dem po 
 white trash lak er thousand er brick " 
 
 "Give em what Paddy gave the drum, I suppose?" 
 
 "Now yer talkin , honey ! Ef he didn t give em par 
 ticular hell!" 
 
 "And what happened ?" 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 "Nuttin happened, chile dat s what I m tryin ter 
 tell ye. Nary one of em nebber cheeped. Dey des 
 stood dar an listened lak er passel er sheep-killin dogs. 
 Lemme tell ye, honey, politics ain t er worryin him. 
 De odder fellers doin all de worrin . Nasah, dey s sum- 
 fin else de matter wid de major " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 Andy looked around the room furtively and whis 
 pered : 
 
 "Dar s a quare look in his eye !" 
 
 "Ah, pooh !" 
 
 "Hit s des lak I tells ye, Mister Tom. I ain t seed dat 
 quare look in his eye before since de night I see yo 
 Ma s ghost come down.outen dat big picture frame an 
 walk cross dis hall " 
 
 The boy smiled and looked at the shining yellow 
 canvas that seemed a living thing gleaming in its dark 
 setting: 
 
 "I suppose, of course, Andy, you really saw her do 
 that?" 
 
 " Fore God, es sho s I m talkin ter you now, she 
 done dat thing yassah ! Hit wus de las year befo you 
 come back f rum college. De moon wuz shinin froo dem 
 big windows right on her face, an I seed her wid my 
 own eyes, all of a sudden, step right down outen dat 
 picture frame an walk across dis room, huggin her 
 baby close up in her arms an you se dat very baby, 
 sah!" 
 
 The boy was interested in the negro s weird recital 
 in spite of his amusement. He shook his head and said 
 laughingly : 
 
 "Andy, you ve got the heat " 
 
 "Hit s des lak I tells ye, sah," Andy solemnly re- 
 
 267 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 peated. "I stood right dar by dat table froze in my 
 tracks, till I seed her go froo dat do widout openin 
 
 "Bah !" Tom cried in disgust. 
 
 "Dat she did ! an Miss Minerva she see her do dat 
 same thing once before and tell me about it. But man 
 erlive, when / see it, I let off one er dem yells dat wuz 
 hark from de tomb - " 
 
 "I bet you did !" 
 
 "Yassah, I went froo dat big window dar an carry 
 de whole sash wid me. De major he take out attcr me 
 when he hears de commotion, an when he kotch me 
 down dar in de fiel I wuz still wearin dat sash fer a 
 necktie !" 
 
 The boy laughed again: 
 
 "And I suppose, of course, he believed all you told 
 him?" 
 
 The negro rolled his eyes solemnly to the ceiling and 
 nodded his head: 
 
 "Dat he did, sah. When I fust told im dat I seed 
 er ghost, he laft fit ter kill hissef - " 
 
 The boy nodded: 
 
 "I don t doubt it!" 
 
 "But mind ye," Andy solemnly continued, "when I 
 tells him what kin er ghost I seed, he nebber crack 
 anudder smile. He nebber open his mouf ergin fer er 
 whole day. An dis here s what I come ter tell ye, 
 honey - " 
 
 He paused and glanced over his shoulder as if mo 
 mentarily fearing the major s appearance. 
 
 "I thought you d been telling me?" 
 
 "Nasah, I ain t told ye nuttin yit. When I say 
 what kine er ghost I see dat quare look come in his 
 
 268 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 eye de same look dat come dar yistiddy when I tells 
 im dat Miss Helen wuz here." 
 
 The boy looked at Andy with a sudden start : 
 
 "Ah, how could that sweet little girl upset him? He s 
 her guardian s attorney and sent for her to come, of 
 course " 
 
 "I don t know bout dat, sah all I know is dat he 
 went wil es quick es I tells im, an he bin wil ever since, 
 Mister Tom, I ain t skeered er de major but he s dan- 
 gous !" 
 
 "Ah, Andy, you re the biggest fool in the county," 
 the boy answered laughing. "You know my father 
 wouldn t touch a hair of your kinky head." 
 
 Andy grinned. 
 
 " Cose not, Mister Tom," he said with unction. 
 <; I knows dat. But all de same I gotter keep outen 
 his way wid dis new suit er close till I see im 
 smilin " 
 
 "Always bearing in mind that indiscretion is the bet 
 ter part of value !" 
 
 "Yassah yassah dat s hit an I wants you ter 
 promise you ll stan by me, sah, till de major s in a 
 good humor." 
 
 "All right; if you need me, give a yell." 
 
 Tom turned with a smile to go, and Andy caught his 
 sleeve and laughed again: 
 
 "Wait wait er minute, Mister Tom hold yer 
 hosses. Dey s anodder little thing I wants ye ter help 
 me out erbout. I kin manage de major all right ef I 
 kin des keep outen his sight ter-day wid dis suit er 
 clothes. But de trouble is, I got ter wear em, sah 
 I got er pintment wid er lady !" 
 
 The boy turned good-naturedly, threw his leg over 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the corner of the table and raised his eyebrows with a 
 gleam of mischief: 
 
 "Oh, a lady ! Who is she? Aunt Minerva?" 
 
 Andy waved his hands in disgust. 
 
 "Dat s des de one hit ain t nasah ! I can t stan her 
 nohow, Mr. Tom. I des natchally can t stan er fat 
 oman ! An Miss Minerva weighs bout three hun 
 dred " 
 
 "Oh, not so bad as that, Andy !" 
 
 "Yassah, she s er whale! Man, ef we wuz walkin 
 along tergedder, en she wuz ter slip an fall she d sqush 
 de life outen me! I d nebber know what hit me. An 
 what makes bad matters wus, I se er strong suspicion 
 dat she got her eyes sot on me here lately I des feels 
 it in my bones she s atter me sho, sah." 
 
 Tom broke into a laugh: 
 
 "Well, she can t take you by force." 
 
 "I don t know bout dat, sah. When any oman 
 gits her min sot she s dangous. But when a oman big 
 an black es she make up her min !" 
 
 "Black!" Tom cried, squaring himself and looking 
 Andy over: "Aren t you just a little shady?" 
 
 "Who? Me? nasah! I ain t no black nigger!" 
 
 "No?" 
 
 "Nasah ! I se what dey calls er tantalizin brown !" 
 
 "Oh, I see!" 
 
 "Yassah, I se er chocolate-colored gemman an I 
 nebber could stan dese here coal-black niggers. Miss 
 Minerva s so black she kin spit ink !" 
 
 "And she s atter you?" 
 
 "Yassah, an Miss Minerva s a widder oman, an ye 
 know de Scripter says, Beware of widders " 
 
 "Of course!" Tom agreed. 
 270 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 "I se er gemman, yer know, Mister Tom. I can t 
 insult er lady, an dat s de particular reason dat I 
 wants ter percipitate mysef wid my true love before 
 dat big, black oman gits her hands on me. She s atter 
 me sho, an ef she gits me in er close place, what I 
 gwine do, sah?" 
 
 Tom assumed a judicial attitude, folded his arms and 
 asked : 
 
 "Well, who s the other one? who s your true love?" 
 
 Andy put his hand over his mouth to suppress a 
 snicker : 
 
 "Now dat s whar I kinder hesitates, sah. I bin er 
 beatin de debbil roun de stump fur de pas week tryin 
 ter screw up my courage ter ax ye ter help me. But 
 Mister Tom, you gettin so big an dignified I kinder 
 skeered. You got ter puttin on more airs dan de 
 major " 
 
 "Ah, who is she?" the boy asked brusquely. 
 
 Andy glanced at him out of the corners of his rolling 
 eyes: 
 
 "Yer ain t gwine laugh at me is yer?" 
 
 With an effort Tom kept his face straight: 
 
 "No, I may be just as big a fool some day myself 
 who is she?" 
 
 Andy stepped close and whispered: 
 
 "Miss Cleo!" 
 
 "Cleo " 
 
 "Yassah." 
 
 "Well, you are a fool!" the boy exclaimed indig 
 nantly. 
 
 "Yassah, I spec I is," Andy answered, crestfallen, 
 "but I des can t hep it, sah." 
 
 "Cleo, my nurse, my mammy why, she wouldn t wipe 
 271 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 her foot on you if you were a door-mat. She s almost 
 as white as I am." 
 
 "Yassah, I know, an dat s what make me want her 
 so. She s mine ef I kin git her! Hit des takes one 
 drap er black blood to make er nigger, sah." 
 
 "Bah she wouldn t look at you !" 
 
 "I know she holds er high head, sah. She s been 
 eddicated an all dat but you listen ter me, honey 
 she gwine look at me all de same, when I say de 
 word." 
 
 "Yes, long enough to laugh." 
 
 Andy disregarded the shot, and prinked himself be 
 fore the mirror: 
 
 "Don t yer think my complexion s gettin little bet 
 ter, sah?" 
 
 Tom picked up a book with a smile: 
 
 "You do look a little pale to-day, but I think that s 
 your liver!" 
 
 Andy broke into a laugh : 
 
 "Nasah. Dat ain t my liver!" 
 
 "Must be!" 
 
 "Nasah! I got er patent bleacher frum New York 
 dat s gwine ter make me white ef I kin des buy enough 
 of it." 
 
 "How much have you used?" 
 
 "Hain t used but six bottles yit. Hit costs three 
 dollars a bottle" he paused and rubbed his hands 
 smoothingly over his head. "Don t yer think my hair s 
 gittin straighter, sah?" 
 
 Tom turned another page of the book without look 
 ing up : 
 
 "Not so that you could notice it." 
 
 "Yassah, tis!" Andy laughed, eyeing it sideways in 
 
 272 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 the mirror and making a vain effort to see the back of 
 his head. "I se er usin er concoction called Not-a- 
 Kink. Hit costs five dollars a bottle but man, hit 
 sho is doin de work! I kin des feel dem kinks slippin 
 right out." 
 
 "There s nothing much the matter with your hair, 
 Andy," Tom said, looking up with a smile, "that s the 
 straightest thing about you. The trouble s inside." 
 
 "What de matter wid me inside?" 
 
 "You re crooked." 
 
 "Who me?" Andy cried. "Ah, go long, Mister 
 Tom, wid yer projectin yer des foolin wid me" he 
 came close and busied himself brushing the boy s coat 
 and continued with insinuating unction "now ef yer 
 des put in one little word fer me wid Miss Cleo " 
 
 "Take my advice, Andy," the boy said seriously, 
 "keep away from her she ll kill you." 
 
 "Not ef you help me out, sah," Andy urged eagerly. 
 "She ll do anything fer you, Mister Tom she lubs de 
 very ground you walks on des put in one little word 
 fer me, sah " 
 
 Tom shook his head emphatically: 
 
 "Can t do it, Andy !" 
 
 "Don t say dat, Mister Tom!" 
 
 "Can t do it." 
 
 Andy flicked imaginary lint from both sleeves of 
 Tom s coat: 
 
 "Now look here, Mister Tom " 
 
 The boy turned away protesting : 
 
 "No, I can t do it." 
 
 "Lordy, Mister Tom," Andy cried in grieved tones. 
 "You ain t gwine back on me like dat des cose yer went 
 ter college up dar in de Norf an git mixed up wid 
 
 273 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Yankee notions ! Why, you an me s always been good 
 friends an partners. What ye got agin me?" 
 
 A gleam of mischief slipped into the boy s eyes again 
 as he folded his arms with mock severity: 
 
 "To begin with, you re the biggest old liar in the 
 United States " 
 
 "Lordy, Mister Tom, I nebber tell a lie in my life, 
 sah!" 
 
 "Andy Andy!" 
 
 The negro held his face straight for a moment and 
 then broke into a laugh : 
 
 "Well, sah, I may has pre-var-i-cated some times, but 
 dat ain t lyin why, all gemmens do dat." 
 
 "And look at this suit of clothes," Tom said severely, 
 "that you ve just swiped from Dad. You d steal any 
 thing you can get your hands on !" 
 
 Andy turned away and spoke with deep grief 
 
 "Mister Tom, you sho do hurt my feelin s, sah I 
 nebber steal nuttin in my life." 
 
 "I ve known you to steal a palm-leaf fan in the dead 
 of winter with snow on the ground." 
 
 Andy laughed uproariously : 
 
 "Why, man, dat ain t stealin ! Who gwine ter want 
 er palm-leaf fan wid snow on de groun ? dat s des 
 findin things. You know dey calls me Hones Andy. 
 When dey ketch me wid de goods I nebber try ter lie 
 outen it lak some fool niggers. I des laugh, fess right 
 up, an hit s all right. Dat s what make em call me 
 Hones Andy, cose I always knows dat honesty s de bes 
 policy an here you comes callin me a thief Lordee, 
 Mister Tom, yer sho do hurt my feelin s !" 
 
 The boy shook his head again and frowned: 
 
 "You re a hopeless old sinner " 
 
 274 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 "Who, me, er sinner? Why, man erlive, I se er pillar 
 in de church !" 
 
 "God save the church!" 
 
 "I mebbe backslide a little, sah, in de winter time," 
 Andy hastened to admit. "But I se always de fus man 
 to de mourners bench in de spring. I mos generally 
 leads de mourners, sah, an when I comes froo an gits 
 religion over again, yer kin hear me shout er mile " 
 
 "And I bet when the chickens hear it they roost 
 higher the next night!" 
 
 Andy ignored the thrust and went on enthusiastically : 
 
 "Nasah, de church folks don t call me no sinner. 
 I always stands up fer religion. Don t yer min de 
 time dat big yaller nigger cum down here from de Norf 
 er castin circumflexions on our church? I wuz de man 
 dat stood right up in de meetin an defends de cause 
 er de Lawd. I haul off an biff im right in the 
 jaw " 
 
 "And you re going to ask Cleo to marry you?" 
 
 "I sho is, sah." 
 
 "Haven t you a wife living, Andy?" the boy asked 
 carelessly. 
 
 The whites of the negro s eyes suddenly shone as 
 he rolled them in the opposite direction. He scratched 
 his head and turned back to his friendly tormentor with 
 unction : 
 
 "Mr. Tom, I m gwine ter be hones cose honesty is 
 de bes policy. I did marry a lady, sah, but dat wuz er 
 long time ergo. She run away an lef me an git married 
 ergin an I divorced her, sah. She don t pester me no 
 mo an I don t pester her. Hit warn t my fault, sah, 
 an I des put her away ez de Bible sez. Ain t dat all 
 right, sah?" 
 
 275 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Well, it s hardly legal to-day, though it may have 
 been a Biblical custom." 
 
 "Yassah, but dat s nuttin ter do wid niggers. De 
 white folks make de laws an dey hatter go by em. 
 But niggers is niggers, yer know dat yosef, sah." 
 
 Tom broke into a laugh: 
 
 "Andy, you certainly are a bird!" 
 
 The negro joined in the laugh with a joyous chuckle 
 at its close: 
 
 "Yassah, yassah one er dese here great big brown 
 blackbirds ! But, Lordy, Mister Tom, yer des foolin 
 wid me yer ain t got nuttin gin yer ole partner, bar- 
 rin dem few little things?" 
 
 "No, barring the few things I ve mentioned, that 
 you re a lazy, lying, impudent old rascal barring these 
 few little things why otherwise you re all right, 
 Andy, you re all right!" 
 
 The negro chuckled joyfully: 
 
 "Yassah yassah ! I knowed yer warn t gwine back 
 on me, Mister Tom." He edged close and dropped 
 his voice to the oiliest whisper: "You ll say dat good 
 word now to Miss Cleo right away, sah?" 
 
 The boy shook his head: 
 
 "The only thing I ll agree to do, Andy, is to stand 
 by and see you commit suicide. If it s any comfort 
 to you, I ll tell you that she ll kill you." 
 
 "Nasah! Don t yer believe it. Ef I kin des escape 
 dat fat oman wid my life before she gits me now 
 dat you se on my side I kin read my titles clar " 
 
 "Oh, you can get rid of Minerva all right !" 
 
 "For de Lord sake, des tell me how!" 
 
 Tom bent toward him and spoke in low tones: 
 
 "All you ve got to do if Minerva gets you in a tight 
 276 
 
ANDY S DILEMMA 
 
 place is to confess your real love arid ask her to help 
 you out as a friend." 
 
 Andy looked puzzled a moment and then a light broke 
 over his dusky face: 
 
 "Dat s a fine plan, Mister Tom. You saved er nig 
 ger s life I ll do dat sho !" 
 
 "As for Cleo, I can t do anything for you, but I 
 won t do anything against you." 
 "Thankee, sah ! Thankee, sah ! 
 When Tom reached the door he paused and said : 
 "I might consent to consult with the undertaker 
 about the funeral and act as one of your pall-bearers." 
 Andy waved him away with a suppressed laugh: 
 "G way f rum here, Mister Tom ! G way f rum here !" 
 The negro returned to the mirror, adjusted his suit 
 and after much effort succeeded in fixing a new scarfpin 
 of a horseshoe design in the centre of the bow of one of 
 Norton s old-fashioned black string ties. He dusted his 
 shoes, smoothed as many of the kinks out of his hair as 
 a vigorous rubbing could accomplish, and put the last 
 touches on his elaborate preparations for a meeting 
 with Cleo that was destined to be a memorable one in 
 her life. 
 
 277 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE BEST LAID PLANS 
 
 ANDY S plans for a speedy conquest of Cleo were 
 destined to an interruption. Minerva had decided that 
 he was the best man in sight for a husband, and made 
 up her mind to claim her own. She had noticed of 
 late a disposition on his part to dally with Cleo, and 
 determined to act immediately. Breakfast was well 
 under way and she had heard Andy s unctous laugh in 
 the library with Tom. 
 
 She put on her sweeping apron, took up a broom 
 and entered under the pretense of cleaning the room. 
 
 Andy was still chuckling with joy over the brilliant 
 plan of escape suggested by Tom. He had just put 
 the finishing touches on his necktie, and was trying on an 
 old silk hat when Minerva s voice caused him to sud 
 denly collapse. 
 
 "Say, man, is dat a hat er a bee-gum?" she cried, 
 with a laugh so jolly it would have been contagious 
 but for Andy s terror. 
 
 He looked at her, dropped the hat, picked it up and 
 stammered : 
 
 "W-w-why Miss Minerva, is dat you?" 
 
 Minerva beamed on him tenderly, placed her 
 broom in the corner and advanced quickly to meet 
 him: 
 
 "I knowed ye wuz spectin me frum de way yer wuz 
 
 278 
 
THE BEST LAID PLANS 
 
 gettin ready." She laughed and chuckled with ob 
 vious coquetry, adding coyly: 
 
 "I knows how yer feel " 
 
 Andy looked for a way of escape. But Minerva was 
 too quick for him. She was a woman of enormous size, 
 fat, jolly and extremely agile for her weight. She 
 carried her two hundred and fifty pounds without ap 
 parent effort. She walked with a nervous, snappy 
 energy and could waltz with the grace of a girl of 
 sixteen. 
 
 She had reached Andy s side before his dull brain 
 could think of an excuse for going. Her shining coal- 
 black face was aglow with tenderness and the determina 
 tion to make things easy for him in the declaration of 
 love she had planned that he should make. 
 
 "I know how yer feels, Brer Andy," she repeated. 
 
 The victim mopped his perspiring brow and stam 
 mered : 
 
 "Yassam yassam." 
 
 "Yer needn t be so barrassed, Mr. Andy," Minerva 
 went on in the most insinuating tones. "Yer kin say 
 what s on yer mind." 
 
 "Yassam." 
 
 "Come right here and set down er minute." 
 
 She seized his hand and drew him with a kittenish 
 skip toward a settee, tripped on a bear rug and would 
 have fallen had not Andy grabbed her. 
 
 "De Lord save us !" he gasped. He was trying des 
 perately in his new suit to play the gentleman under 
 difficulties. 
 
 Minerva was in ecstasy over his gallantry: 
 
 "Yer sho wuz terrified less I git hurt, Mr. Andy, * 
 she laughed. "I thought dat bar had me sho." 
 
 279 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Andy mopped his brow again and glanced longingly 
 at the door: 
 
 "Yassam, I sho wuz terrified I m sorry m am, you ll 
 hatter scuse me. Mister Tom s out dar waitin fer 
 me, an I hatter go " 
 
 Minerva smilingly but firmly pulled him down on 
 the seat beside her: 
 
 "Set right down, Mr. Andy, an make yoself at home. 
 We got er whole half hour yet fore de odder folks 
 come down stairs. Man, don t be so barrassed! I 
 knows zactly how yer feels. I understand what s de 
 matter wid yer" she paused, glanced at him out f 
 the corners of her eye, touched him slyly with her el 
 bow, and whispered: 
 
 "Why don t yer say what s on yer mind?" 
 
 Andy cleared his throat and began to stammer. He 
 had the habit of stammering under excitement, aud 
 Tom s plan of escape had just popped into his be 
 numbed brain. He saw the way out: 
 
 "Y-y-yas m cose, m am. I got sumfin ter tell ye, 
 Miss M-m-Minerva." 
 
 Minerva moved a little closer. 
 
 "Yas, honey, I knows what tis, but I se jes waitin 
 ter hear it." 
 
 He cleared his throat and tried to begin his speech 
 in a friendly business-like way: 
 
 "Yassam, I gwine tell yer sho " 
 
 He turned to face her and to his horror found her 
 Hps so close she had evidently placed them in position 
 for the first kiss. 
 
 He stopped appalled, fidgeted, looked the other way 
 and stammered: 
 
 "H-hit sho is powful warm ter-day, m am!" 
 280 
 
THE BEST LAID PLANS 
 
 "Tain t so much de heat, Brer Andy," she responded 
 tenderly, "as tis de humility dat s in de air !" 
 
 lAndy turned, looked into her smiling face for a mo 
 ment and they both broke into a loud laugh while he 
 repeated : 
 
 cr Yassam, de humility dat s hit! De humility dat s 
 in de air!" 
 
 The expression had caught his fancy enormously. 
 
 "Yassir, de humility dat s hit !" Minerva murmured. 
 
 When the laughter had slowly died down she moved 
 a little closer and said reassuringly : 
 
 "And now, Brer Andy, ez dey s des you an me here 
 tergedder ef hits suits yo circumstantial convenience, 
 hab no reprehenshun, sah, des say what s on yo* 
 min ." 
 
 Andy glanced at her quickly, bowed grandiloquently 
 and catching the spirit of her high-flown language de 
 cided to spring his confession and ask her help to win 
 Cleo. 
 
 "Yassam, Miss Minerva, dat s so. An ez I allays 
 sez dat honesty is de bes policy, I se gwine ter re-cede 
 ter yo invitation!" 
 
 Minerva laughed with joyous admiration: 
 
 "Des listen at dat nigger now ! You sho is er talkin 
 man when yer gits started " 
 
 "Yassam, I bin er tryin ter tell ye fer de longest 
 kind er time an ax ye ter help me " 
 
 Minerva moved her massive figure close against him: 
 
 "Cose I help you." 
 
 Andy edged as far away as possible, but the arm of 
 the settee had caught him and he couldn t get far. 
 He smiled wanly and tried to assume a purely platonic 
 tone: 
 
 281 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Wuz yer ebber in love, Miss Minerva?" 
 
 Minerva nudged him slyly: 
 
 "Wuz I?" 
 
 Andy tried to ignore the hint, lifted his eyes to the 
 ceiling and in far-away tones put the hypothetical case 
 of the friend who needed help: 
 
 "Well, des spose m am dat a po man wuz ter fall 
 in love wid er beautiful lady, fur above him, wid eyes 
 dat shine lak de stars " 
 
 "Oh, g way frum here, man !" Minerva cried en 
 tranced as she broke into a peal of joyous laughter, 
 nudging him again. 
 
 The insinuating touch of her elbow brought Andy 
 to a sharp realization that his plan had not only failed 
 to work, but was about to compromise him beyond hope. 
 He hurried to correct her mistake. 
 
 "But listen, Miss Minerva yer don t understand. 
 Would yer be his friend an help him to win her?" 
 
 With a cry of joy she threw her huge arms around 
 his neck: 
 
 "Would I Lordy man !" 
 
 Andy tried to dodge her strangle hold, but was too 
 slow and she had him. 
 
 He struggled and grasped her arms, but she laughed 
 and held on. 
 
 "B-b-but yer yer," he stammered. 
 
 "Yer needn t say annudder word " 
 
 "Yassam, but wait des er minute," he pleaded, strug 
 gling to lower her arms. 
 
 "Hush, man," Minerva said good-naturedly. "Cose 
 I knows yer bin er bad nigger but ye needn t tell me 
 bout it now " 
 
 "For Gawd s sake!" Andy gasped, wrenching her 
 282 
 
THE BEST LAID PLANS 
 
 arms away at last, "will yer des lemme say one word?" 
 
 "Nasah!" she said generously. "I ain t gwine ter 
 let ye say no harsh words ergin yoself. I sho do ad 
 mire de indelicate way dat yer tells me of yo love!" 
 
 "B-but yer don t understand " 
 
 "Cose I does, chile!" Minerva exclaimed with a ten 
 der smile. 
 
 Andy made a gesture of despair: 
 
 "B-b-but I tries ter splain " 
 
 "Yer don t hatter splain nuttin ter me, man I 
 ain t no spring chicken I knowed what ye means befo 5 
 ye opens yer mouf. Yer tells me dat ye lubs me an 
 I done say dat I lubs you an dat s all dey is to 
 it." 
 
 Minerva enfolded him in her ample arms and he col 
 lapsed with feeble assent: 
 
 "Yassam yassam." 
 
 283 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 A RECONNOITRE 
 
 NORTON slept at last from sheer physical exhaustion 
 and waked at eleven o clock refreshed and alert, his 
 faculties again strung for action. 
 
 He wondered in the clear light of noon at the folly 
 of his panic the night before. The fighting instinct in 
 him had always been the dominant one. He smiled now 
 at his silly collapse and his quick brain began to plan 
 his line of defense. 
 
 The girl was in his house, yes. But she had been here 
 in spirit, a living, breathing threat over his life, every 
 moment the past twenty years. No scene of pain or 
 struggle could come but that he had already lived it a 
 thousand times. There was a kind of relief in facing 
 these phantoms for the first time in flesh and blood. 
 They couldn t be more formidable than the ghosts he 
 had fought. 
 
 He shaved and dressed with deliberation dressed 
 with unusual care his brain on fire now with the de 
 termination to fight and win. The instincts of the sol 
 dier were again in command. And the first thing a 
 true soldier did when driven to desperation and sur 
 rounded by an overwhelming foe was to reconnoitre, 
 find the strength of his enemy, and strike at their weak 
 est spot. 
 
 He must avoid Cleo and find the exact situation of 
 284 
 
A RECONNOITRE 
 
 Tom and Helen. His safest way was again to cultivate 
 Andy s knowledge of the house in his absence. 
 
 He rang for him and waited in vain for his appear 
 ance. He rang again and, getting no response, walked 
 down stairs to the door and searched the lawn. He 
 saw Cleo beside a flower bed talking to Helen. He 
 caught a glimpse of the lovely young face as she lifted 
 her eyes and saw him. He turned back quickly into 
 the house to avoid her, and hurried to the library. 
 
 Andy had been watching carefully until Norton went 
 through the front door. Sure that he had strolled out 
 on the lawn to see Helen, with a sigh of relief the negro 
 hurried back to the mirror to take another admiring 
 glance at his fine appearance in the new suit. 
 
 Norton s sudden entrance completely upset him. He 
 tried to laugh and the effort froze on his lips. He saw 
 that Norton had recognized the stolen suit, but was too 
 excited to see the amusement lurking behind his 
 frown : 
 
 "Where were you a while ago, when I was calling?" 
 
 "I been right here all mornin , sah," Andy answered 
 with forced surprise. 
 
 "You didn t hear that bell?" 
 
 "Nasah, nebber hear a thing, sah." 
 
 Norton looked at him severely: 
 
 "There s a bigger bell going {.</ ring for you one of 
 these days. You like to go to funerals^ don t you?" 
 
 Andy laughed: 
 
 "Yassah odder folk s funerals but dey s one I ain t 
 in no hurry to git to " 
 
 "That s the one where were you when I rang just 
 now?" 
 
 The negro looked at his master, hesitated, and a 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 broad grin overspread his black face. He bowed and 
 chuckled and walked straight up to Norton: 
 
 "Yassah, major, I gwine tell yer de honest truf now, 
 cose honesty is de bes policy. I wuz des embellishin 
 mysef wid dis here ole suit er close dat ye gimme, sah, 
 an I wants ter specify my preciation, sah, at de gener 
 osity wid which yer always treats me, sah. I had a mos 
 particular reason fer puttin dis suit on dis 
 
 Norton examined the lapel of the coat, his lips 
 twitching to suppress a smile : 
 
 "My suit of broadcloth " 
 
 Andy rubbed his hands over the coat in profound 
 amazement : 
 
 "Is dis de broadcloth? De Lawd er mussy!" 
 
 Norton shook his head: 
 
 "You old black hound " 
 
 Andy broke into a loud laugh: 
 
 "Yassah, yassah! Dat s me. But, major, I couldn t 
 find the vest!" 
 
 "Too bad shall I get it for you?" 
 
 "Nasah des tell me whar yer put it !" 
 
 Norton smiled: 
 
 "Did you look in my big cedar box?" 
 
 "Thankee, sah thankee, sah. Yer sho is good 
 ter me, major, an yer can always pend on me, 
 sah." 
 
 "Yes, I m going to send you to the penitentiary for 
 this " 
 
 Andy roared with laughter: 
 
 "Yassah yassah cose, sah ! I kin see myse f in dat 
 suit er stripes now, but I sho is gwine ter blossom out 
 in dat double-breasted vest fust !" 
 
 286 
 
A RECONNOITRE 
 
 When the laughter had died away Norton asked in 
 good-natured tones: 
 
 "You say I can depend on you, Andy?" 
 
 "Dat yer kin, sah every day in the year you se de 
 bes frien I ebber had in de world, sah." 
 
 "Then I want to ask you a question." 
 
 "Yassah, I tells yer anything I know, sah." 
 
 "I m just a little worried about Tom. He s too 
 young to get married. Do you think he s been really 
 making love to Miss Helen?" 
 
 Norton watched the negro keenly. He knew that a 
 boy would easily trust his secrets to such a servant, 
 and that his sense of loyalty to the young would be 
 strong. He was relieved at the quick reply which came 
 without guile: 
 
 "Lawdy, major, he ain t got dat far, sah. I bin er 
 watchin em putty close. He des kinder skimmin 
 round de edges." 
 
 "You think so?" 
 
 "Yassah!" was the confident reply. "He minds me 
 er one er dese here minnows when ye go fishin . He 
 ain t swallowed de hook yit he des nibblin ." 
 
 Norton smiled, lighted a cigar, and quietly said : 
 
 "Go down to the office and tell Mr. Tom that I m up 
 and wish to see him." 
 
 "Yassah yassah right away, sah." 
 
 Andy bowed and grinned and hurried from the house. 
 
 Norton seated himself in an armchair facing the por 
 trait of the little mother. His memory lingered ten 
 derly over the last beautiful days they had spent to 
 gether. He recalled every smile with which she had 
 looked her forgiveness and her love. He felt the pres 
 ence of her spirit and took courage. 
 
 287 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He lifted his eyes to the sweet, tender face bending 
 over her baby and breathed a prayer for guidance. He 
 wondered if she could see and know in the dim world 
 beyond. Without trying to reason about it, he had 
 grown to believe that she did, and that her soul was 
 near in this hour of his trial. 
 
 How like this mother the boy had grown the past 
 year just her age when he was born. The color of his 
 blonde hair was almost an exact reproduction of hers. 
 And this beautiful hair lent a peculiar distinction to 
 the boy s fine face. He had developed, too, a lot of 
 little ways strikingly like the mother s when a laughing 
 school girl. He smiled in the same flashing way, like a 
 sudden -burst of sunlight from behind a cloud. His 
 temper was quick like hers, and his voice more and more 
 seemed to develop the peculiar tones he had loved. 
 
 That this boy, around whose form every desire of 
 life had centered, should be in peril was a thought that 
 set his heart to beating with new energy. 
 
 He heard his quick step in the hall, rose and laid 
 down his cigar. With a rush Tom was in the room 
 grasping the outstretched hand : 
 
 "Glad to see you back, Dad !" he cried, "but we had 
 /no idea you were coming so soon." 
 
 "I got a little homesick," the father replied, "and 
 decided to come in for a day or two." 
 
 "I was awfully surprised at Miss Helen s popping in 
 on us so unexpectedly I suppose you forgot to tell 
 me about it in the rush of getting away." 
 
 "I really didn t expect her to come before my re 
 turn," was the vague answer. 
 
 "But you wrote her to come at once." 
 
 "Did I?" he replied carelessly. 
 288 
 
A RECONNOITRE 
 
 "Why, yes, she showed me your letter. I didn t write 
 you about her arrival because you told me under no 
 circumstances, except of life or death, to tell you of 
 anything here and I obeyed orders." 
 
 "I m glad you ve made that a principle of your life 
 stick to it." 
 
 "I m sorry you re away in this dangerous campaign 
 so much, Dad," the boy said with feeling. "It may 
 end your career." 
 
 The father smiled and a far-away look stole into his 
 eyes: 
 
 "I have no career, my boy! I gave that up years 
 ago and I had to lead this campaign." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 The look in the brown eyes deepened: 
 
 "Because I am the man to whom our danger has 
 been revealed. I am the man to whom God has given 
 a message I who have been tried in the fires of hell and 
 fought my way up and out of the pit only the man 
 who has no ambitions can tell the truth!" 
 
 The boy nodded and smiled: 
 
 "Yes, I know your hobby " 
 
 "The big tragic truth, that the physical contact of 
 the black race with the white is a menace to our life" 
 his voice had dropped to a passionate whisper as if he 
 were talking to himself. 
 
 A laugh from Tom roused him to the consciousness 
 of time and place: 
 
 "But that isn t a speech you meant for me, 
 Dad!" 
 
 The father caught his bantering tone with a light 
 reply: 
 
 "No." 
 
 289 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 And then his tall form confronted the boy with a 
 look of deep seriousness: 
 
 "To-morrow I enter on the last phase of this cam- 
 paign. At any moment a fool or a madman may blow 
 my brains out." 
 
 Tom gave a start: 
 
 "Dad " 
 
 "Over every mile of that long drive home last night, 
 I was brooding and thinking of you " 
 
 "Of me?" 
 
 "Wondering if I had done my level best to carry out 
 the dying commands of your mother " 
 
 He paused, drew a deep breath, looked up tenderly 
 and continued: 
 
 "I wish you were settled in life." 
 
 The boy turned slightly away and the father watched 
 him keenly and furtively for a moment, and took a step 
 toward him : 
 
 "You have never been in love?" 
 
 With a shrug and a laugh, Tom dropped carelessly 
 on the settee and crossed his legs : 
 
 "Love hardly!" 
 
 The father held his breath until the light answer 
 brought relief and then smiled: 
 
 "It will come some day, my boy, and when it hits 
 you, I think it s going to hit hard." 
 
 The handsome young head was poised on one side 
 with a serious judicial expression: 
 
 "Yes, I think it will but I guess my ideal s too high, 
 though." 
 
 The father spoke with deep emotion : 
 
 "A man s ideal can t be too high, my boy!" 
 
 Tom didn t hear. His mind was busy with his ideal. 
 
 290 
 
A RECONNOITRE 
 
 "But if I ever find her," he went on dreamily, "do 
 you know what I ll want?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "The strength of Samson!" 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 He shook his head with a smile: 
 
 "To reach over in California, tear one of those big 
 trees up by the roots, dip it in the crater of Vesuvius 
 and write her name in letters of fire across the 
 sky!" 
 
 He ended with a wide, sweeping gesture, showing just 
 how he would inscribe it. 
 
 "Really !" the father laughed. 
 
 "That s how I feel!" he cried, springing to his feet 
 with an emphatic gesture, a smile playing about his 
 firm mouth. 
 
 The father slipped his arm around him : 
 
 "Well, if you should happen to do it, be sure to 
 stand in the ocean, because otherwise, you know, if the 
 grass should be dry you might set the world on 
 fire." 
 
 The boy broke into a hearty laugh, crossed to the 
 table, and threw his leg carelessly over the corner, a 
 habit he had gotten from his father. When the laugh 
 had died away, he picked up a magazine and said care 
 lessly : 
 
 "I guess there s no danger, after all. I m afraid 
 that the big thing poets sing about is only a myth after 
 all" he paused, raised his eyes and they rested on his 
 mother s portrait, and his voice became a reverent 
 whisper "except your love for my mother, Dad 
 that was the real thing!" 
 
 He was looking the other way and couldn t see the 
 291 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 cloud of anguish that suddenly darkened his father s 
 face. 
 
 "You ll know its meaning some day, my son," was 
 the even reply that came after a pause, "and I only 
 demand of you one thing " 
 
 He laid his hand on the boy s shoulder : 
 
 "That the woman you ask to be your wife bear a 
 name without shadow. Good blood is the noblest in 
 heritance that any father or mother ever gave to a 
 child." 
 
 "I m proud of mine, sir!" the boy said, drawing his 
 form erect. 
 
 The father s arm stole around the young shoulders 
 and his voice was very low: 
 
 "Fools sometimes say, my son, that a man can sow 
 his wild oats and be all the better for it. It s a lie. 
 The smallest deed takes hold on eternity for it may 
 start a train of events that even God can t stop " 
 
 He paused and fought back a cry from the depths 
 of his soul. 
 
 "I did something that hurt your mother once" his 
 voice dropped "and for twenty years my soul in an 
 guish has begged for forgiveness " 
 
 The boy looked at him in startled sympathy and 
 his own arm instinctively slipped around his father s 
 form as he lifted his face to the shining figure over the 
 mantel : 
 
 "But you believe that she sees and understands now?" 
 
 Norton turned his head away to hide the mists that 
 clouded his eyes. His answer was uttered with the rev 
 erence of a prayer: 
 
 "Yes! I ve seen her in dreams sometimes so vividly 
 and heard her voice so plainly, I couldn t believe that 
 
 292 
 
A RECONNOITRE 
 
 I was asleep" his voice stopped before it broke, his 
 arm tightening its hold "and I know that her spirit 
 broods and watches over you " 
 
 And then he suddenly decided to do the most cruel 
 thing to which his mind had ever given assent. But 
 he believed it necessary and did not hesitate. Only 
 the vague intensity of his eyes showed his deep feeling 
 as he said evenly: 
 
 "Ask Miss Helen to come here. You ll find her on 
 the lawn with Cleo." 
 
 The boy left the room to summon Helen, and Norton 
 seated himself with grim determination. 
 
 293 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE FIRST WHISPER 
 
 WHEN Tom reached the lawn Helen was nowhere to 
 be seen. He searched every nook and corner which 
 they had been accustomed to haunt, looked through 
 the rose garden and finally knocked timidly on the door 
 of her room. He was sure at first that he heard a 
 sound within. He dared not open her door and so 
 hurried down town to see if he could find her in one of 
 the stores. 
 
 Helen shivering inside had held her breath until his 
 his footsteps died away on the stairs. 
 
 With heavy heart but swift hands she was packing 
 her trunk. In spite of Cleo s assurances she had been 
 startled and frightened beyond measure by the cer 
 tainty that Norton had purposely avoided her. She 
 had expected the moot hearty welcome. Her keen intui 
 tion had scented his hostility though not a word had 
 been spoken. 
 
 Cleo, who had avoided Tom, again rapped on her 
 door: 
 
 "Just a minute, Miss Helen !" 
 
 There was no answer and the woman strained her 
 ear to hear what was happening inside. It couldn t 
 be possible that the girl was really going to leave! 
 Such an act of madness would upset her plans just as 
 they were coming out exactly as she had hoped. 
 
 294 
 
THE FIRST WHISPER 
 
 "She can t mean it !" Cleo muttered under her breath. 
 "It s only a fit of petulance !" She didn t dare to give 
 Helen a hint of her clouded birth. That might send 
 her flying. Yet if necessary she must excite her curios 
 ity by a whisper about her parentage. She had already 
 guessed from hints the girl had dropped that her one 
 passionate desire was to know the names of her father 
 and mother. She would be careful, but it was necessary 
 to hold her at all hazards. 
 
 She rapped again: 
 
 "Please, Miss Helen, may I come in just a minute?" 
 
 Her voice was full of pleading. A step was heard, 
 a pause and the door opened. Cleo quickly entered, 
 turned the key and in earnest tones, her eyes dancing 
 excitedly, asked: 
 
 "You are really packing your trunk?" 
 
 "It s already packed," was the firm answer. 
 
 "But you can t mean this " 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "I tell you, child, the major didn t see you " 
 
 "He did see me. I caught his eye in a straight, clear 
 look. And he turned quickly to avoid me." 
 
 "You have his letter of invitation. You can t think 
 it a forgery?" she asked with impatience. 
 
 The girl s color deepened: 
 
 "He has evidently changed his mind for some rea- 
 
 "Nonsense!" 
 
 "I was just ready to rush to meet him and thank 
 him with the deepest gratitude for his invitation. The 
 look on his face when he turned was like a blow." 
 
 "It s only your imagination!" Cleo urged eagerly. 
 "He s worried over politics." 
 
 295 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I m not in politics. No, it s something else I must 
 
 go." 
 
 Cleo put her hand appealingly on Helen s arm: 
 
 "Don t be foolish, child !" 
 
 The girl drew away suddenly with instinctive aver 
 sion. The act was slight and quick, but not too slight 
 or quick for the woman s sharp eye. She threw Helen 
 a look of resentment: 
 
 "Why do you draw away from me like that?" 
 
 The girl flushed with embarrassment and stam 
 mered : 
 
 "Why you see, I ve lived up North all my life, shut 
 up in a convent most of the time and I m not used to 
 colored people " 
 
 "Well, I m not a negro, please remember that. I m 
 a nurse and housekeeper, if you please, and there hap 
 pens to be a trace of negro blood in my veins, but a 
 white soul throbs beneath this yellow skin. I d strip it 
 off inch by inch if I could change its color" her voice 
 broke with assumed emotion it was a pose for the 
 moment, but its apparent genuineness deceived the girl 
 and roused her sympathy. 
 
 "I m sorry if I hurt you," she said contritely. 
 
 "Oh, it s no matter." 
 
 Helen snapped the lid of her trunk: 
 
 "I m leaving on the first train." 
 
 "Oh, come now," Cleo urged impatiently. "You ll 
 do nothing of the kind the major will be himself to 
 morrow." 
 
 "I am going at once " 
 
 "You re not going!" the woman declared firmly, lay 
 ing her hand again on the girl s arm. 
 
 With a shudder Helen drew quickly away. 
 
 296 
 
THE FIRST WHISPER 
 
 "Please please don t touch me again !" she cried 
 with anger. "I m sorry, but I can t help it." 
 
 With an effort Cleo suppressed her rage: 
 
 "Well, I won t. I understand but you can t go like 
 this. The major will be furious." 
 
 "I m going," the girl replied, picking up the odds and 
 ends she had left and placing them in her travelling 
 bag. 
 
 Cleo watched her furtively: 
 
 "I I ought to tell you something that I know 
 about your life " 
 
 Helen dropped a brush from her hand and quickly 
 crossed the room, a bright color rushing to her 
 cheeks : 
 
 "About my birth?" 
 
 "You believe," Cleo began cautiously, "that the major 
 is the agent of your guardian who lives abroad. Well, 
 he s not the agent he is your guardian." 
 
 "Why should he deceive me?" 
 
 "He had reasons, no doubt," Cleo replied with a 
 smile. 
 
 "You mean that he knows the truth ? That he knows 
 the full history of my birth and the names of my father 
 and mother?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "He has assured me again and again that he does 
 not " 
 
 "I know that he has deceived you." 
 
 Helen looked at her with a queer expression of angry 
 repulsion that she should possess this secret of her 
 unhappy life. 
 
 "You know?" she asked faintly. 
 
 "No," was the quick reply, "not about your birth; 
 297 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 but I assure you the major does. Demand that he 
 teU you." 
 
 "He ll refuse " 
 
 "Ask him again, and stay until he does." 
 
 "But I m intruding!" Helen cried, brushing a tear 
 from her eyes. 
 
 "No matter, you re here, you re of age, you have the 
 right to know the truth stay until you learn it. If he 
 slights you, pay no attention to it stay until you 
 know." 
 
 The girl s form suddenly stiffened and her eyes 
 flashed : 
 
 "Yes, I will I ll know at any cost." 
 
 With a soft laugh which Helen couldn t hear Clco 
 hurried from the room. 
 
 298 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 ANDY had been waiting patiently for Cleo to leave 
 Helen s door. He had tried in vain during the entire 
 morning to get an opportunity to see her alone, but 
 since Helen s appearance at breakfast she had scarcely 
 left the girl s side for five minutes. 
 
 He had slipped to the head of the back stairs, 
 lifted the long flaps of the tail of his new coat and care 
 fully seated himself on the last step to wait her appear 
 ance. He smiled with assurance. She couldn t get 
 down without a word at least. 
 
 "I m gwine ter bring things to er head dis day, sho s 
 yer born !" he muttered, wagging his head. 
 
 He had been to Norfolk the week before on an ex 
 cursion to attend the annual convention of his African 
 mutual insurance society, "The Children of the King." 
 While there he had met the old woman who had given 
 him a startling piece of information about Cleo which 
 had set his brain in a whirl. He had long been des 
 perately in love with her, but she had treated him with 
 such scorn he had never summoned the courage to de 
 clare his affection. 
 
 The advent of Helen at first had made no impression 
 on his slowly working mind, but when he returned from 
 Norfolk with the new clew to Cleo s life he watched the 
 
 299 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 girl with increasing suspicion. And when he saw the 
 collapse of Norton over the announcement of her pres 
 ence he leaped to an important conclusion. No mat 
 ter whether his guess was correct or not, he knew 
 enough to give him a power over the proud house 
 keeper he proposed to exercise without a moment s 
 delay. 
 
 "We see now whether she turns up her nose at me 
 ergin," he chuckled, as he heard the door open. 
 
 He rose with a broad grin as he saw that at last 
 she was alone. He adjusted his suit with a touch of 
 pride and pulled down his vest with a little jerk he 
 had seen his master use in dressing. He had found the 
 heavy, black, double-breasted vest in the cedar box, but 
 thought it rather sombre when contrasted with a red 
 English hunting jacket the major had affected once 
 in a fashionable fox hunt before the war. The rich 
 scarlet took his fancy and he selected that one instead. 
 He carried his ancient silk hat jauntily balanced in one 
 hand, in the other hand a magnolia in full bloom. The 
 petals of the flower were at least a half-foot long and 
 the leaves longer. 
 
 He bowed with an attempt at the easy manners of 
 a gentleman in a gallant effort to attract her attention. 
 She was about to pass him on the stairs without notic 
 ing his existence when Andy cleared his throat: 
 
 "Ahem !" 
 
 Cleo paused with a frown: 
 
 "What s the matter? Have you caught cold!" 
 
 Andy generously ignored her tone, bowed and handed 
 her the magnolia: 
 
 "Would you embellish yousef wid dig little posie, 
 m am?" 
 
 800 
 
ANDY S PROPOSAL 
 
 The woman turned on him, drew her figure to its full 
 height, her eyes blazing with wrath, snatched the flower 
 from his hand and threw it in his face. 
 
 Andy dodged in time to save his nose and his offer 
 ing went tumbling down the stairs. He shook his head 
 threateningly when he caught his breath : 
 
 "Look a here, m am, is dat de way yer gwine spessify 
 my welcome?" 
 
 "Why, no, I was only thanking you for the compli 
 ment!" she answered with a sneer. "How dare you 
 insult me?" 
 
 "Insult you, is I?" Andy chuckled. "Huh, if dat s 
 de way ye talk I m gwine ter say sumfin quick " 
 
 "You can t be too quick!" 
 
 Andy held her eye a moment and pointed his index 
 finger in her face: 
 
 "Yassam! As de ole sayin is I m gwine take my 
 tex from dat potion er de Scripter whar de Postle Paul 
 pint his pistle at de Fenians ! I se er comin straight 
 ter de pint." 
 
 "Well, come to it, you flat-nosed baboon !" she cried 
 in rage. "What makes your nose so flat, anyhow?" 
 
 Andy grinned at her tantalizingly, and spoke with a 
 note of deliberate insult: 
 
 "I don t know, m am, but I spec hit wuz made dat 
 way ter keep hit outen odder folks business !" 
 
 "You impudent scoundrel, how dare you speak to me 
 like this?" Cleo hissed. 
 
 A triumphant chuckle was his answer. He flicked 
 a piece of imaginary dust from the rim of his hat, 
 his eyes rolled to the ceiling and he slowly said with a 
 smile : 
 
 "Well, yer see, m am, circumstances alters cases an 
 301 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 dat always makes de altercations ! I git holt er a little 
 secret o yourn dat gimme courage " 
 
 "A secret of mine?" Cleo interrupted with the first 
 flash of surprise. 
 
 "Yassam !" was the unctuous answer, as Andy looked 
 over his shoulder and bent to survey the hall below for 
 any one who might possibly be passing. 
 
 "Yassam," he went on smoothly, "down ter Norfork 
 las week, m am " 
 
 "Wait a minute !" Cleo interrupted. "Some one might 
 be below. Come to my room." 
 
 "Yassam, ob course, I wuz gwine ter say dat in de 
 fust place, but ye didn t gimme time" he bowed 
 "cose, m am, de pleasure s all mine, as de sayin is." 
 
 He placed his silk hat jauntily on his head as they 
 reached the door, and gallantly took hold of Cleo s arm 
 to assist her down the steps. 
 
 She stopped abruptly: 
 
 "Wait here, I ll go ahead and you can come in a few 
 minutes." 
 
 "Sholy, sholy, m am, I understan dat er lady allus 
 likes ter make er little preparations ter meet er gem- 
 man. I understands. I des stroll out on de lawn er 
 minute." 
 
 "The backyard s better," she replied, quietly throw 
 ing him a look of scorn. 
 
 "Yassam, all right. I des take a little cursory view 
 er de chickens." 
 
 "As soon as I m out of sight, you can come right 
 up." 
 
 Andy nodded and Cleo quickly crossed the fifty yards 
 that separated the house from the neat square brick 
 building that was still used as the servants quarters. 
 
 302 
 
ANDY S PROPOSAL 
 
 In a few minutes, with his silk hat set on the side of 
 his head, Andy tipped up the stairs and knocked on 
 her door. 
 
 He entered with a grandiloquent bow and surveyed 
 the place curiously. Her room was a sacred spot he 
 had never been allowed to enter before. 
 
 "Have a seat," Cleo said, placing a chair. 
 
 Andy bowed, placed his hat pompously on the table, 
 pulled down his red vest with a jerk and seated himself 
 deliberately. 
 
 Cleo glanced at him: 
 
 "You were about to tell me something that you heard 
 in Norfolk?" 
 
 Andy looked at the door as an extra precaution and 
 smiled blandly: 
 
 "Yassam, I happen ter hear down dar dat a long 
 time ergo, mo rn twenty years, afore I cum ter live 
 here dat is when I wuz er politicioner dey wuz ru 
 mors bout you an de major when you wuz Mister 
 Tom s putty young nurse." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "De major s wife fin it out an die. De major wuz 
 heart-broke, drap everything an go Norf, an while 
 he wuz up dar, you claims ter be de mudder of a putty 
 little gal. Now min ye, I ain t nebber seed her, but 
 dat s what I hears you claims " 
 
 Andy paused impressively and Cleo held his eye in a 
 steady, searching stare. She was trying to guess how 
 much he really knew. She began to suspect that his 
 story was more than half a bluff and made up her mind 
 to fight. 
 
 "Claim? No, you foolP she said with indifferent 
 contempt, "I didn t claim it I proved it. I proved 
 
 803 
 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 it to his satisfaction. You may worry some one else 
 with your secret. It doesn t interest me. But I d ad 
 vise you to have your life insured before you mention 
 it to the major" she paused, broke into a light laugh 
 and added: "So that s your wonderful discovery?" 
 
 Andy looked at her with a puzzled expression and 
 scratched his head: 
 
 "Yassam." 
 
 "Then I ll excuse you from wasting any more of your 
 valuable time," Cleo said, rising. 
 
 Andy rose and smiled : 
 
 "Yassam, but dat ain t all, m am!" 
 
 "No?" 
 
 "Nobum. I ain t sputin dat de little gal wuz born 
 des lak you say, or des lak, mebbe, de major believes ter 
 dis day" he paused and leaned over until he could 
 whisper in her ear "but sposen she die?" 
 
 The woman never moved a muscle for an instant. 
 She spoke at last in a half-laughing, incredulous way: 
 
 "Suppose she died? Why, what do you mean?" 
 
 "Now, mind ye," Andy said, lifting his hands in a 
 persuasive gesture, "I ain t sayin dat she raly did die 
 I des say sposen she die " 
 
 Cleo lost her temper and turned on her tormentor in 
 sudden fury: 
 
 "But she didn t! Who dares to tell such a lie? 
 She s living to-day a beautiful, accomplished girl." 
 
 Andy solemnly raised his hand again: 
 
 "Mind ye, I don t say dat she ain t, I des say sposen 
 sposen she die, an you git a little orphan baby ter 
 put in her place, twenty years ergo, jis ter keep yer 
 grip on de major " 
 
 Cleo peered steadily into his face : 
 304 
 
Yassanx, but dat ain t all, m am. 
 
ANDY S PROPOSAL 
 
 "Did you guess that lie?" 
 
 He cocked his head to one side and grinned: 
 
 "I don t say dat I did, an I don t say dat I didn t. 
 I des say dat I mought, an den ergin I moughn t !" 
 
 "Well, it s a lie !" she cried fiercely "I tell you it s 
 an infamous lie !" 
 
 "Yassam, dat may be so, but hit s a putty dangous 
 lie fer you, m am, ef " 
 
 He looked around the room in a friendly, cautious 
 way and continued in a whisper: 
 
 "Especially ef de major wuz ter ever git pizened 
 widit!" 
 
 Cleo s voice dropped suddenly to pleading tones: 
 
 "You re not going to suggest such an idea to him?" 
 
 Andy looked away coyly and glanced back at her 
 with a smile: 
 
 "Not ef yer ax me " 
 
 "Well, I do ask you," she said in tender tones. "A 
 more infamous lie couldn t be told. But if such a sus 
 picion were once roused it would be hard to protect 
 myself against it." 
 
 "Oh, I des wants ter help ye, m am," Andy pro 
 tested earnestly. 
 
 "Then I m sure you ll never suggest such a thing to 
 the major? I m sorry I ve treated you so rudely, and 
 spoke to you as I did just ,iow." 
 
 Andy waved the apology aside with a generous ges- 
 iure and spoke with large good nature: 
 
 "Oh, dat s all right, m am! Dat s all right! I m 
 gwine ter show you now dat I se yer best friend " 
 
 "I may need one soon," she answered slowly. "Things 
 can t go on in this house much longer as they are." 
 
 "Yas&am!" Andy said reassuringly as he laid his 
 305 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 hand on Cleo s arm and bent low. "You kin pend on 
 me. I se always called Hones Andy." 
 
 She shuddered unconsciously at his touch, looked sud 
 denly toward the house and said: 
 
 "Go quick ! Mr. Tom has come. I don t want him 
 to see us together." 
 
 Andy bowed grandly, took up his hat and tipped 
 down the stairs chuckling over his conquest, and Cleo 
 watched him cross the yard to the kitchen. 
 
 "I ll manage him!* she murmured with a smile of 
 contempt. 
 
 306 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 NORTON sat in the library for more than an hour try 
 ing to nerve himself for the interview while waiting for 
 Helen. He had lighted and smoked two cigars in rapid 
 succession and grown restless at her delay. He rose, 
 strolled through the house and seeing nothing of either 
 Tom or Helen, returned to the library and began pacing 
 the floor with measured tread. 
 
 He had made up his mind to do a cruel thing and 
 told himself over and over again that cruel things are 
 often best. The cruelty of surgery is the highest form 
 of pity, pity expressed in terms of the highest intelli 
 gence. 
 
 He was sure the boy had not made love to the girl. 
 Helen was no doubt equally innocent in her attitude 
 toward him. 
 
 It would only be necessary to tell her a part of the 
 bitter truth and her desire to leave would be a resist 
 less one. 
 
 And yet, the longer he delayed and the longer he 
 faced such an act, the more pitiless it seemed and the 
 harder its execution became. At heart a deep tender 
 ness was the big trait of his character. 
 
 Above all, he dreaded the first interview with Helen. 
 The idea of the responsibility of fatherhood had always 
 been a solemn one. His love for Tom was of the very 
 
 307 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 beat of his heart. The day he first looked into his face 
 was the most wonderful in all the calendar of life. 
 
 He had simply refused to let this girl come into his 
 heart. He had closed the door with a firm will. He 
 had only seen her once when a little tot of two and 
 he was laboring under such deep excitement and such 
 abject fear lest a suspicion of the truth, or any part 
 of the truth, reach the sisters to whom he was intrust 
 ing the child, that her personality had made no impres 
 sion on him. 
 
 He vaguely hoped that she might not be attractive. 
 The idea of a girl of his own had always appealed to 
 him with peculiar tenderness, and, unlike most fathers, 
 he had desired that his first-born should be a girl. If 
 Helen were commonplace and unattractive his task 
 would be comparatively easy. It was a mental im 
 possibility for him as yet to accept the fact that she 
 was his he had seen so little of her, her birth was so 
 unwelcome, her coming into his life fraught with such 
 tragic consequences. 
 
 The vague hope that she might prove weak and un 
 interesting had not been strengthened by the momen 
 tary sight of her face. The flash of joy that lighted 
 her sensitive features, though it came across the lawn, 
 had reached him with a very distinct impression of 
 charm. He dreaded the effect at close range. 
 
 However, there was no other way. He had to see 
 her and he had to make her stay impossible. It would 
 be a staggering blow for a girl to be told in the dawn 
 of young womanhood that her birth was shadowed by 
 disgrace. It would be a doubly cruel one to tell 
 her that her blood was mixed with a race of black 
 slaves. 
 
 308 
 
THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 And yet a life built on a lie was set on shifting sand. 
 It would not endure. It was best to build it squarely on 
 the truth, and the sooner the true foundation was laid 
 the better. There could be no place in our civilization 
 for a woman of culture and refinement with negro blood 
 in her veins. More and more the life of such people 
 must become impossible. That she should remain in 
 the South was unthinkable. That the conditions in the 
 North were at bottom no better he knew from the expe 
 rience of his stay in New York. 
 
 He would tell her the simple, hideous truth, depend 
 on her terror to keep the secret, and send her abroad. 
 It was the only thing to do. 
 
 He rose with a start at the sound of Tom s voice 
 calling her from the stairway. 
 
 The answer came in low tones so charged with the 
 quality of emotion that belongs to a sincere nature that 
 his heart sank at the thought of his task. 
 
 She had only said the most commonplace thing "All 
 right, I ll be down in a moment." Yet the tones of her 
 voice were so vibrant with feeling that its force reached 
 him instantly, and he knew that his interview was 
 going to be one of the most painful hours of his 
 life. 
 
 And still he was not prepared for the shock her ap 
 pearance in the shadows of the tall doorway gave. He 
 had formed no conception of the gracious and appeal 
 ing personality. In spite of the anguish her presence 
 had brought, in spite of preconceived ideas of the in 
 heritance of the vicious nature of her mother, in spite 
 of his ingrained repugnance to the negroid type, in 
 spite of his horror of the ghost of his young manhood 
 suddenly risen from the dead to call him to judgment, 
 
 309 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 in spite of his determination to be cruel as the surgeon 
 to the last in spite of all, his heart suddenly went out 
 to her in a wave of sympathy and tenderness ! 
 
 She was evidently so pitifully embarrassed and the 
 suffering in her large, expressive eyes so keen and gen 
 uine, his first impulse was to rush to her side with 
 words of comfort and assurance. 
 
 The simple white dress, with tiny pink ribbons drawn 
 through its edges, which she wore accentuated the im 
 pression of timidity and suffering. 
 
 He was surprised to find not the slightest trace of 
 negroid blood apparent, though he knew that a mixture 
 of the sixteenth degree often left no trace until its sud 
 den reversion to a black child. 
 
 Her hair was the deep brown of his own in young 
 manhood, the eyes large and tender in their rich blue 
 depths the eyes of innocence, intelligence, sincerity. 
 The lips were full and fluted, and the chin marked with 
 an exquisite dimple that gave a childlike wistfulness to 
 a face that without it might have suggested too much 
 strength. 
 
 Her neck was slightly curved and set on full, strong 
 shoulders with an unconscious grace. The bust was 
 slight and girlish, the arms and figure rounded and 
 beautiful in their graceful fullness. 
 
 Her walk, when she took the first few steps into the 
 room and paused, he saw was the incarnation of rhyth 
 mic strength and perfect health. 
 
 But her voice was the climax of her appeal low, vi 
 brant, quivering with feeling and full of a subtle quality 
 that convinced the hearer from the first moment of the 
 truth and purity of its owner. 
 
 She smiled with evident embarrassment at his silence. 
 310 
 
THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 He was stunned for the moment and simply couldn t 
 speak. 
 
 "So, I see you at last, Major Norton I" she said as 
 the color slowly stole over her face. 
 
 He recovered himself, walked quickly to meet her 
 and extended his hand: 
 
 "I must apologize for not seeing you earlier this 
 morning," he said gravely. "I was up all night travel 
 ling through the country and slept very late." 
 
 As her hand rested in his the girl forgot her re 
 straint and wounded pride at the cold and doubtful 
 reception he had given earlier. Her heart suddenly beat 
 with a desire to win this grave, strong man s love and 
 respect. 
 
 With a look of girlish tenderness she hastened to 
 say: 
 
 "I want to thank you with the deepest gratitude, 
 major, for your kindness in inviting me here this sum 
 mer " 
 
 "Don t mention it, child," he interrupted frown 
 ing. 
 
 "Oh, if you only knew," she went on hurriedly, "how 
 I love the South, how my soul glows under its skies, 
 how I love its people, their old-fashioned ways, their 
 kindness, their hospitality, their high ideals " 
 
 He lifted his hand and the gesture stopped her in 
 the midst of a sentence. He was evidently struggling 
 with an embarrassment that was painful and had de 
 termined to end it. 
 
 "The time has come, Helen," he began firmly 
 "you re of age that I should tell you the important 
 facts about your birth." 
 
 "Yes yes " the girl answered in an excited 
 
 311 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 whisper as she sank into a chair and gazed at him fas 
 cinated with the terror of his possible revelation. 
 
 "I wish I could tell you all," he said, pausing pain 
 fully. 
 
 "You know all?" 
 
 "Yes, I know." 
 
 "My father my mother they are living?" 
 
 In spite of his effort at self-control Norton was pale 
 and his voice strained. His answers to her pointed 
 questions were given with his face turned from her 
 searching gaze. 
 
 "Your mother is living," was the slow reply. 
 
 "And my father?" 
 
 His eyes were set in a fixed stare waiting for this 
 question, as a prisoner in the dock for the sentence of 
 a judge. His lips gave no answer for the moment and 
 the girl went on eagerly: 
 
 "Through all the years that I ve been alone, the one 
 desperate yearning of my heart has been to know my 
 father" the lines of the full lips quivered "I ve al 
 ways felt somehow that a mother who could give up her 
 babe was hardly worth knowing. And so I ve brooded 
 over the idea of a father. I ve hoped and dreamed and 
 prayed that he might be living that I might see and 
 know him, win his love, and in its warmth and joy, its 
 shelter and strength never be lonely or afraid 
 again " 
 
 Her voice sank to a sob, and Norton, struggling to 
 master his feelings, said: 
 
 "You have been lonely and afraid?" 
 
 "Utterly lonely! When other girls at school 
 shouted for joy at the approach of vacation, the thought 
 of home and loved ones, it brought to me only tears 
 
 312 
 
THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 and heartache. Many a night I ve laid awake for 
 hours and sobbed because a girl had asked me about my 
 father and mother. Lonely ! oh, dear Lord ! And al 
 ways I ve dried my eyes with the thought that some day 
 I might know my father and sob out on his breast all 
 I ve felt and suffered" she paused, and looked at Nor 
 ton through a mist of tears "my father is not dead?" 
 
 The stillness was painful. The man could hear the 
 tick of the little French clock on the mantel. How 
 tired his soul was of lies! He couldn t lie to her in 
 answer to this question. And so without lifting his 
 head he said very softly: 
 
 "He is also alive." 
 
 "Thank God ! the girl breathed reverently. "Oh, if 
 I could only touch his hand and look into his face! I 
 don t care who he is, how poor and humble his home, if 
 it s a log cabin on a mountain side, or a poor white 
 man s hovel in town, I ll love him and cling to him and 
 make him love me!" 
 
 The man winced. There was one depth her mind had 
 not fathomed! 
 
 How could he push this timid, lonely, haunted crea 
 ture over such a precipice! He glanced at her fur 
 tively and saw that she was dreaming as in a trance. v 
 
 "But suppose," he said quietly, "you should hate this 
 man when you had met?" 
 
 "It s unthinkable," was the quick response. "My 
 father is my father. I d love him if he were a mur 
 derer !" 
 
 Again her mind had failed to sound the black depths 
 into which he was about to hurl her. She might love 
 a murderer, but there was one thing beyond all ques 
 tion, this beautiful, sensitive, cultured girl could not 
 
 313 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 love the man who had thrust her into the hell of a 
 negroid life in America ! She might conceive of the 
 love of a father who could take human life, but her 
 mind could not conceive the possibility of facing the 
 truth with which he must now crush the soul out of her 
 body. Why had he lied and deceived her at all? The 
 instinctive desire to shield his own blood from a life 
 of ignominy yes. But was it worth the risk? No 
 he knew it when it was too late. The steel jaws with 
 their cold teeth were tearing the flesh now at every 
 turn and there was no way of escape. 
 
 When he failed to respond, she rose, pressed close 
 and pleaded eagerly : 
 
 "Tell me his name ! Oh, it s wonderful that you 
 have seen him, heard his voice and held his hand! He 
 may not be far away tell me " 
 
 Norton shook his head: 
 
 "The one thing, child, I can never do." 
 
 "You are a father a father who loves his own 
 I ve seen and know that. A nameless waif starving 
 for a word of love begs it just one word of deep, real 
 love think of it! My heart has never known it in 
 all the years I ve lived!" 
 
 Norton lifted his hand brusquely: 
 
 "You ask the impossible. The conditions under 
 which I am acting as your guardian seal my lips." 
 
 The girl looked at him steadily : 
 
 "Then, you are my real guardian?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And why have you not told me before?" 
 
 The question was asked with a firm emphasis that 
 startled him into a sense of renewed danger. 
 
 "Why?" she repeated. 
 
 314 
 
THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 "To avoid questions I couldn t answer." 
 "You will answer them now?" 
 "With reservations." 
 
 The girl drew herself up with a movement of quiet 
 determination and spoke in even tones: 
 "My parents are Southern?" 
 
 "My father and mother were were" her voice 
 failed, her head dropped and in an effort at self-con 
 trol she walked to the table, took a book in her hand 
 and tried to turn its leaves. The hideous question over 
 which she had long brooded was too horrible to put 
 into words. The answer he might give was too big 
 with tragic possibilities. She tried to speak again and 
 couldn t. He looked at her with a great pity in 
 his heart and when at last she spoke her voice was 
 scarcely a whisper: 
 
 "My father and mother were married?" 
 
 He knew it was coming and that he must answer, 
 and yet hesitated. His reply was low, but it rang 
 through her soul like the stroke of a great bell tolling 
 for the dead: 
 
 "No!" 
 
 The book she held slipped from the trembling fin 
 gers and fell to the floor. Norton walked to the win 
 dow that he might not see the agony in her sensitive 
 face. 
 
 She stood very still and the tears began slowly to 
 steal down her cheeks. 
 
 "God pity me !" she sobbed, lifting her face and look 
 ing pathetically at Norton. "Why did you let them 
 send me to school? Why teach me to think and feel 
 and know this?" 
 
 315 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The low, sweet tones of her wonderful voice found 
 the inmost heart of the man. The misery and loneli 
 ness of the orphan years of which she had spoken were 
 nothing to the anguish with which her being now 
 shook. 
 
 He crossed the room quickly and extended his hand 
 in a movement of instinctive sympathy and tender 
 ness: 
 
 "Come, come, child you re young and life is all be 
 fore you." 
 
 "Yes, a life of shame and humiliation !" 
 
 "The world is wide to-day! A hundred careers are 
 open to you. Marriage is impossible yes " 
 
 "And if I only wish for marriage?" the girl cried 
 with passionate intensity. "If my ideal is simple and 
 old-fashioned if all I ask of God is the love of one 
 man a home a baby " 
 
 A shadow of pain clouded Norton s face and he lifted 
 a hand in tender warning: 
 
 "Put marriage out of your mind once and for all< 
 time! It can only bring to you and your loved ones 
 hopeless misery." 
 
 Helen turned with a start : 
 
 "Even if the man I love should know all?" 
 
 "Yes," was the firm answer. 
 
 She gazed steadily into his eyes and asked with sharp 
 rising emphasis : 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 The question brought him squarely to the last blow 
 he must give if he accomplish the thing he had begun. 
 He must tell her that her mother is a negress. He 
 looked at the quivering figure, the white, sensitive, 
 young face with the deep, serious eyes, and his lips re- 
 
 316 
 
THE FOLLY OF PITY 
 
 fused to move. He tried to speak and his throat was 
 dry. It was too cruel. There must be an easier way. 
 He couldn t strike the sweet uplifted head. 
 
 He hesitated, stammered and said : 
 
 "I I m sorry I can t answer that question fully 
 and frankly. It may be best, but " 
 
 "Yes, yes it s best!" she urged. 
 
 "It may be best," he repeated, "but I simply can t 
 do it" he paused, turned away and suddenly wheeled 
 confronting her: 
 
 "I ll tell you all that you need to know to-day 
 you were born under the shadow of a hopeless dis 
 grace " 
 
 The girl lifted her hand as if to ward a blow while 
 she slowly repeated: 
 
 "A hopeless disgrace " 
 
 "Beneath a shadow so deep, no lover s vow can ever 
 lift it from your life. I should have told you this be 
 fore, perhaps well, somehow I couldn t" he paused 
 and his voice trembled "I wanted you to grow in 
 strength and character first " 
 
 The girl clenched her hands and sprang in front of 
 him: 
 
 "That my agony might be beyond endurance? Now 
 you must tell me the whole truth!" 
 
 Again the appealing uplifted face had invited the 
 blow, and again his heart failed. It was impossible to 
 crush her. It was too horrible. He spoke with firm 
 decision : 
 
 "Not another word !" 
 
 He turned and walked rapidly to the door. The girl 
 clung desperately to his arm: 
 
 "I beg of you ! I implore you !" 
 317 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 He paused in the doorway, and gently took her 
 hands: 
 
 "Forgive me, child, if I seem cruel. In reality I am 
 merciful. I must leave it just there!" 
 
 He passed quickly out. 
 
 The girl caught the heavy curtains for support, 
 turned with an effort, staggered back into the room, 
 fell prostrate on the lounge with a cry of despair, and 
 burst into uncontrollable sobs. 
 
 318 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 A DISCOVERY 
 
 TOM had grown restless waiting for Helen to emerge 
 from the interminable interview with his father. A half 
 dozen times he had walked past the library door 
 only to hear the low hum of their voices still talk 
 ing. 
 
 "What on earth is it all about, I wonder?" he mut 
 tered. "Must be telling her the story of his whole 
 life!" 
 
 He had asked her to meet him in the old rose garden 
 when she came out. For the dozenth time he strolled 
 in and sat down on their favorite rustic. He 
 could neither sit still nor content himself with wander 
 ing. 
 
 "What the devil s the matter with me anyhow?" he 
 said aloud. "The next thing I ll be thinking I m in 
 love good j oke bah !" 
 
 Helen was not the ideal he had dreamed. She had 
 simply brought a sweet companionship into his life 
 that was all. She was a good fellow. She could walk, 
 ride, run and hold her own at any game he liked to play. 
 He had walked with her over miles of hills and valleys 
 stretching in every direction about town. He had 
 never grown tired of these walks. He didn t have to 
 entertain her. They were silent often for a long time. 
 They sat down beside the roadway, laughed and talked 
 
 319 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 like chums with never a thought of entertaining each 
 other. 
 
 In the long rides they had taken in the afternoons 
 and sometimes late in the starlight or moonlight, s]ie 
 had never grown silly, sentimental or tiresome. A re&t- 
 ful and homelike feeling always filled him when she w&is 
 by his side. He hadn t thought her very beautiful at 
 first, but the longer he knew her the more charming and 
 irresistible her companionship became. 
 
 "Her figure s a little too full for the finest type of 
 beauty!" he was saying to himself now. "Her arms 
 are splendid, but the least bit too big, and her face 
 sometimes looks too strong for a girl s ! It s a pity. 
 Still, by geeminy, when she smiles she is beautiful! Her 
 face seems to fairly blossom with funny little dimples 
 and that one on the chin is awfully pretty! She 
 just misses by a hair being a stunningly beauUful 
 girl!" 
 
 He flicked a fly from his boot with a switch he was 
 carrying and glanced anxiously toward the horse. 
 "And I must say," he acknowledged judicially, "that 
 she has a bright mind, her tastes are fine, her ideals 
 high. She isn t all the time worrying over balls and 
 dresses and beaux like a lot of silly girls I know. She s 
 got too much sense for that. The fact is, she has * 
 brilliant mind." 
 
 Now that he came to think of it, she had a mind of 
 rare brilliance. Everything she said seemed to sparkle- 
 He didn t stop to ask the reason why, he simply knew 
 that it was so. If she spoke about the weather, he7 
 words never seemed trivial. 
 
 He rose scowling and walked back to the house. 
 
 "What on earth can they be talking about all this 
 320 
 
A DISCOVEET 
 
 time?" he cried angrily. Just then his father s tall 
 figure stepped out on the porch, walked its length and 
 entered the sitting-room by one of the French win 
 dows. 
 
 He sprang up the steps, thrust his head into the hall, 
 and softly whistled. He waited a moment, there was 
 no response, and he repeated the call. Still receiving 
 no answer, he entered cautiously: 
 
 "Miss Helen!" 
 
 He tipped to the library door and called again: 
 
 "Miss Helen!" 
 
 Surprised that she could have gone so quickly he 
 rushed into the room, glanced hastily around, crossed 
 to the window, looked out on the porch, heard the rustle 
 of a skirt and turned in time to see her flying to escape. 
 
 With a quick dash he headed her off. 
 
 Hiding her face she turned and ran the other way 
 for the door through which he had entered. 
 
 With a laugh and a swift leap Tom caught her 
 arms. 
 
 Lord, you re a sprinter!" he cried breathlessly. 
 But I ve got you now!" he laughed, holding her 
 pinioned arms tightly. 
 
 Helen lifted her tear-stained face: 
 
 "Please" 
 
 Tom drew her gently around and looked into her 
 eyes: 
 
 "Why what on earth you re crying!" 
 
 She tried to draw away but he held her hand firmly: 
 
 "What is it? What s happened? What s the mat 
 ter?" 
 
 His questions were fired at her with lightning rapid- 
 
 ity. 
 
 321 
 
 (C 
 f< 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The girl dropped forlornly on the lounge and turned 
 her face away: 
 
 "Please go!" 
 
 "I won t go I won t !" he answered firmly as he bent 
 closer. 
 
 "Please please !" 
 
 "Tell me what it is?" 
 
 Helen held her face resolutely from him. 
 
 "Tell me," he urged tenderly. 
 
 "I can t!" 
 
 She threw herself prostrate and broke into sobs. 
 
 The boy wrung his hands helplessly, started to put 
 his arm around her, caught himself in time and drew 
 back with a start. At last he burst out passionately : 
 
 "Don t don t! For heaven s sake don t! It hurts 
 me more than it does you I don t know what it is but 
 it hurts it hurts inside and it hurts deep please !" 
 
 Without lifting her head Helen cried: 
 
 "I don t want to live any more !" 
 
 "Oh, is that all?" Tom laughed. "I see, you ve 
 stubbed your toe and don t want to live any more !" 
 
 "I mean it! she broke in desperately. 
 
 "Good joke!" he cried again, laughing. "You don t 
 want to live any more! Twenty years old and every 
 line of your graceful, young form quivering with the 
 joy of life you you don t want to live! That s 
 great !" 
 
 The girl lifted her dimmed eyes, looked at him a mo 
 ment, and spoke the thought that had poisoned her 
 soul spoke it in hard, bitter accents with a touch of 
 self-loathing : 
 
 "I ve just learned that my birth is shadowed by 
 disgrace !" 
 
A DISCOVERY 
 
 "Well, what have you to do with that?" he asked 
 quickly. "Your whole being shines with truth and 
 purity. What s an accident of birth? You couldn t 
 choose your parents, could you? You re a nameless 
 orphan and my father is the attorney of an old fool 
 guardian who lives somewhere in Europe. All right! 
 The worst thing your worst enemy could say is that 
 you re a child of love a great love that leaped all 
 bounds and defied the law a love that was madness and 
 staked all life on the issue ! That means you re a child 
 of the gods. Some of the greatest men and women of 
 the world were born like that. Your own eyes are 
 clear. There s no cloud on your beautiful soul " 
 
 Tom paused and Helen lifted her face in rapt atten 
 tion. The boy suddenly leaped to his feet, turned away 
 and spoke in ecstatic whispers: 
 
 "Good Lord listen at me why I m making love 
 great Scott I m in love! The big thing has hap 
 pened to me to me! I feel the thrill of it the 
 thing that transforms the world why it s like getting 
 religion !" 
 
 He strode back and forth in a frenzy of absurd hap 
 piness. 
 
 Helen, smiling through her tears, asked : 
 
 "What are you saying? What are you talking 
 about?" 
 
 With a cry of joy he was at her side, her hand tight 
 gripped in his : 
 
 "Why, that I m in love, my own that I love you, 
 my glorious little girl! I didn t realize it until I saw 
 just now the tears in your eyes and felt the pain of it. 
 Every day these past weeks you ve been stealing into 
 my heart until now you re my very life! What hurts 
 
 323 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 you hurts me your joys are mine your sorrows are 
 mine !" 
 
 Laughing in spite of herself, Helen cried : 
 
 "You don t realize what you re saying!" 
 
 "No but I m beginning to !" he answered with a boy 
 ish smile. "And it goes to my head like wine I m mad 
 with its joy! I tell you I love you I love you! and 
 you love me you do love me?" 
 
 The girl struggled, set her lips grimly and said 
 fiercely : 
 
 "No and I never shall!" 
 
 "You don t mean it?" 
 
 "I do !" 
 
 "You you don t love another?" 
 
 No no !" 
 
 "Then you do love me!" he cried triumphantly. 
 "You ve just got to love me! I won t take any other 
 answer ! Look into my eyes !" 
 
 She turned resolutely away and he took both hands 
 drawing her back until their eyes met. 
 
 "Your lips say no," he went on, "but your tears, 
 your voice, the tremor of your hand and the tenderness 
 of your eyes say yes !" 
 
 Helen shook her head: 
 
 "No no no !" 
 
 But the last "no" grew feebler than the first and he 
 pressed her hand with cruel pleading: 
 
 Yes yes yes say it, dear please just once." 
 
 Helen looked at him and then with a cry of joy that 
 was resistless said: 
 
 "God forgive me! I can t help it yes, yes, yes, I 
 love you I love you!" 
 
 Tom snatched her to his heart and held her in per- 
 324 
 
A DISCOVERY 
 
 feet surrender. She suddenly drew her arms from 
 his neck, crying in dismay : 
 
 "No no I don t love you!" 
 
 The boy looked at her with a start and she went on 
 quickly : 
 
 "I didn t mean to say it I meant to say I hate 
 you!" 
 
 With a cry of pain she threw herself into his arms, 
 clasping his neck and held him close. 
 
 His hand gently stroked the brown hair while he 
 laughed : 
 
 "Well, if that s the way you hate keep it up !" 
 
 With an effort she drew back: 
 
 "But I mustn t " 
 
 "There !" he said, tenderly drawing her close again. 
 "It s all right. It s no use to struggle. You re mine 
 mine, I tell you !" 
 
 With a determined effort she freed herself : 
 
 "It s no use, dear, our love is impossible." 
 
 "Nonsense!" 
 
 "But you don t realize that my birth is shadowed 
 by disgrace!" 
 
 "I don t believe it I wouldn t believe it if an angel 
 said it. Who dares to say such a thing?" 
 
 "Your father!" 
 
 "My father?" he repeated in a whisper. 
 
 "He has always known the truth and now that I am 
 of age he has told me " 
 
 "Told you what?" 
 
 Just what I said, and warned me that marriage 
 could only bring pain and sorrow to those I love." 
 
 "He gave you no facts only these vague warnings ?" 
 
 "Yes, more he told me " 
 
 325 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 She paused and moved behind the table : 
 
 "That my father and mother were never mar 
 ried." 
 
 "Nothing more?" the boy asked eagerly. 
 
 "That s enough." 
 
 "Not for me!" 
 
 "Suppose my father were a criminal?" 
 
 "No matter your soul s as white as snow!" 
 
 "Suppose my mother " 
 
 "I don t care who she was you re an angel!" 
 
 Helen faced him with strained eagerness : 
 
 "You swear that no stain on my father or mother 
 can ever make the least difference between us?" 
 
 "I swear it !" he cried grasping her hand. "Come, 
 you re mine !" 
 
 Helen drew back: 
 
 "Oh, if I could only believe it " 
 
 "You do believe it come !" 
 
 He opened his arms and she smiled* 
 
 "What shall I do!" 
 
 "Come!" 
 
 Slowly at first, and then with quick, passionate ten 
 derness she threw herself into his arms : 
 
 "I can t help it, dearest. It s too sweet and won 
 derful God help me if I m doing wrong !" 
 
 "Wrong!" he exclaimed indignantly. "How can it 
 be wrong, this solemn pledge of life and love, of body and 
 soul?" 
 
 She lifted her face to his in wonder: 
 
 "And you will dare to tell your father?" 
 
 "In good time, yes. But it s our secret now. Keep 
 it until I say the time has come for him to know. I ll 
 manage him promise !" 
 
 326 
 
A DISCOVERY 
 
 "Yes ! How sweet it is to hear you tell me what to 
 do ! I shall never be lonely or afraid again." 
 
 The father s footstep on the porch warned of his 
 approach. 
 
 "Go quickly!" the boy whispered. "I don t want 
 him to see us together yet it means too much now it 
 means life itself !" 
 
 Helen moved toward the door, looked back, laughed, 
 flew again into his arms and quickly ran into the hall 
 as Norton entered from the porch. 
 
 The boy caught the look of surprise on his father s 
 face, realized that he must have heard the rustle of 
 Helen s dress, and decided instantly to accept the fact. 
 
 He boldly walked to the door and gazed after her 
 retreating figure, his back squarely on his father. 
 
 Norton paused and looked sharply at Tom: 
 
 "Was that Helen?" 
 
 The boy turned, smiling, and nodded with slight em 
 barrassment in spite of his determined effort at self- 
 control : 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The father s keen eyes pierced the boy s : 
 
 "Why should she run?" 
 
 Tom s face sobered: 
 
 "I don t think she wished to see you just now, 
 sir." 
 
 "Evidently !" 
 
 "She had been crying." 
 
 "And told you why?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The father frowned: 
 
 "She has been in the habit of making you her con 
 fidant?" 
 
 327 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "No. But I found her in tears and asked her the 
 reason for them." 
 
 Norton was watching closely: 
 
 "She told you what I had just said to her?" 
 
 "Vaguely," Tom answered, and turning squarely 
 on his father asked: "Would you mind telling me the 
 whole truth about it?" 
 
 "Why do you ask?" 
 
 The question came from the father s lips with a sud 
 den snap, so suddenly, so sharply the boy lost his com 
 posure, hung his head, and stammered with an attempt 
 at a smile: 
 
 "Oh naturally curious I suppose it s a secret?" 
 
 "Yes I wish I could tell you, but I can t" he 
 paused and spoke with sudden decision : 
 
 "Ask Cleo to come here." 
 
 328 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE CHALLENGE 
 
 NORTON was morally certain now that the boy was 
 interested in Helen. How far this interest had gone 
 he could only guess. 
 
 What stunned him was that Tom had already taken 
 sides with the girl. He had not said so in words. But 
 his embarrassment and uneasiness could mean but one 
 thing. He must move with caution, yet he must act at 
 once and end the dangerous situation. A clandestine 
 love affair was a hideous possibility. Up to a moment 
 ago he had held such a thing out of the question with 
 the boy s high-strung sense of honor and his lack of 
 experience with girls. 
 
 He was afraid now of both the boy and girl. She 
 had convinced him of her purity when the first words 
 had fallen from her lips. Yet wiser men had been de 
 ceived before. The thought of her sleek, tawny mother 
 came with a shudder. No daughter could escape such 
 an inheritance. 
 
 There was but one thing to do and it must be done 
 quickly. He would send Helen abroad and if necessary 
 tell her the whole hideous truth. 
 
 He lifted his head at the sound of Cleo s footsteps, 
 rose and confronted her. As his deep-set eyes surveyed 
 her he realized that the hour had come for a fight to 
 the finish. 
 
 329 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 She gazed at him steadily with a look of undisguised 
 hate: 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 He took a step closer, planted his long legs apart and 
 met her greenish eyes with an answering flash of 
 rage: 
 
 "When I think of your damned impudence, using my 
 typewriter and letterheads to send an invitation to 
 that girl to spend the summer here with Tom at home, 
 and signing my name " 
 
 "I have the right to use your name with her," she 
 broke in with a sneer. 
 
 "It will be the last time I ll give you the chance." 
 
 "We ll see," was the cool reply. 
 
 Norton slowly drew a chair to the table, seated him 
 self and said: 
 
 "I want the truth from you now." 
 
 "You ll get it. I ve never had to lie to you, at 
 least " 
 
 "I ve no time to bandy words will you tell me ex 
 actly what s been going on between Tom and Helen 
 during my absence in this campaign?" 
 
 "I haven t seen anything!" was the light answer. 
 
 His lips moved to say that she lied, but he smiled 
 instead. What was the use? He dropped his voice to 
 a careless, friendly tone: 
 
 "They have seen each other every day?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 "How many hours have they usually spent to 
 gether?" 
 
 "I didn t count them." 
 
 Norton bit his lips to keep back an oath : 
 
 "How often have they been riding?" 
 330 
 
THE CHALLENGE 
 
 "Perhaps a dozen times." 
 
 "They returned late occasionally?" 
 
 "Twice." 
 
 "How late?" 
 
 "It was quite dark " 
 
 "What time? eight, nine, ten or eleven o clock?" 
 
 "As late as nine one night, half-past nine another 
 the moon was shining." She said it with a taunting 
 smile. 
 
 "Were they alone?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You took pains to leave them alone, I suppose?" 
 
 "Sometimes" she paused and looked at him with a 
 smile that was a sneer. "What are you afraid 
 of?" 
 
 He returned her gaze steadily : 
 
 "Anything is possible of your daughter the thought 
 of it strangles me!" 
 
 Cleo laughed lightly: 
 
 "Then all you ve got to do is to speak tell Tom 
 the truth." 
 
 "I ll die first!" he fiercely replied. "At least I ve 
 taught him racial purity. I ve been true to my promise 
 to the dead in this. He shall never know the depths to 
 which I once fell! You have robbed me of everything 
 else in life, this boy s love and respect is all that you ve 
 left me" he stopped, his breast heaving with sup 
 pressed passion. "Why why did you bring that girl 
 into this house?" 
 
 "I wished to see her that s enough. For twenty 
 years. I ve lived here as a slave, always waiting 
 and hoping for a sign from you that you were hu 
 man " 
 
 331 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "For a sign that I d sink again to your level ! Well, 
 I found out twenty years ago that beneath the skin of 
 every man sleeps an ape and a tiger I fought that 
 battle and won " 
 
 "And I have lost?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Perhaps I haven t begun to fight yet." 
 
 "I shouldn t advise you to try it. I know now that 
 I made a tragic blunder when I brought you back into 
 this house. I ve cursed myself a thousand times that 
 I didn t put the ocean between us. If my boy hadn t 
 loved you, if he hadn t slipped his little arms around 
 your neck and clung to you sobbing out the loneliness 
 of his hungry heart if I hadn t seen the tears in your 
 own eyes and known that you had saved his life once 
 I wouldn t have made the mistake that I did. But I 
 gave you my word, and I ve lived up to it. I ve reared 
 and educated your child and given you the protection 
 of my home " 
 
 "Yes," she broke in, "that you might watch and 
 guard me and know that your secret was safely kept 
 while you ve grown to hate me each day with deeper 
 and fiercer hatred God! I ve wondered sometimes 
 that you haven t killed me !" 
 
 Norton s voice sank to a whisper : 
 
 "I ve wondered sometimes, too" a look of anguish 
 swept his face "but I gave you my word, and I ve 
 kept it." 
 
 "Because you had to keep it!" 
 
 He sprang to his feet: 
 
 "Had to keep it you say that to me?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "This house is still mine " 
 
 332 
 
THE CHALLENGE 
 
 "But your past is mine!" she cried with a look of 
 triumph. 
 
 "Indeed! We ll see. Helen leaves this house im 
 mediately." 
 
 "She shall not!" 
 
 "You refuse to obey my orders?" 
 
 "And what s more," she cried with angry menace, "I 
 refuse to allow you to put her out !" 
 
 "To allow?" 
 
 "I said it!" 
 
 "So I am your servant? I must ask your permis 
 sion? God! " he sprang angrily toward the bell 
 
 and Cleo stepped defiantly before him: 
 
 "Don t you touch that bell " 
 
 Norton thrust her aside: 
 
 "Get out of my way !" 
 
 "Ring that bell if you dare !" she hissed. 
 
 "Dare?" 
 
 The woman drew her form erect : 
 
 "If you dare! And in five minutes I ll be in that 
 newspaper office across the way from yours ! The edi 
 tor doesn t love you. To-morrow morning the story of 
 your life and mine will blaze on that first page !" 
 
 Norton caught a chair for support, his face paled 
 and he sank slowly to a seat. 
 
 Cleo leaned toward him, trembling with passion : 
 
 "I ll give you fair warning. There are plenty of 
 negroes to-day your equal in wealth and culture. Do 
 you think they have been listening to their great leader s 
 call to battle for nothing building fine houses, buying 
 land, piling up money, sending their sons and daugh 
 ters to college, to come at your beck and call? You re 
 a fool if you do. They are only waiting their chance 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 to demand social equality and get it. Wealth and cul- 
 ture will give it in the end, ballot or no ballot. Once 
 rich, white men and women will come at their com- 
 mand. I ve got my chance now to demand my rights 
 of you and do a turn for the negro race. You ve got to 
 recognize Helen before your son. I ve brought her 
 here for that purpose. With her by my side, I ll be 
 the mistress of this house. Now resign your leadership 
 and get out of this campaign!" 
 
 With a stamp of her foot she ended her mad speech in 
 sharp, high tones, turned quickly and started to the door. 
 
 Between set teeth Norton growled: 
 
 "And you think that I ll submit?" 
 
 The woman wheeled suddenly and rushed back to 
 his side, her eyes flaming: 
 
 "You ve got to submit you ve got to submit or 
 begin with me a fight that can only end in your ruin ! 
 I ve nothing to lose, and I tell you now that I ll fight to 
 win, I ll fight to kill! I ll ask no quarter of you and 
 I ll give none. I ll fight with every ounce of strength 
 I ve got, body and soul and if I lose I ll still have 
 strength enough left to pull you into hell with me !" 
 
 Her voice broke in a sob, she pulled herself together, 
 straightened her figure and cried: 
 
 "Now what are you going to do ? What are you go 
 ing to do? Accept my terms or fight?" 
 
 Norton s face was livid, his whole being convulsed 
 as he leaped to his feet and confronted her: 
 
 "I ll fight!" 
 
 "All right ! All right !" she said with hysterical pas 
 sion, backing toward the door. "I ve warned you now 
 I didn t want to fight but I ll show you I ll show 
 you !" 
 
 334 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 A SKIRMISH 
 
 NORTON S fighting blood was up, but he was too good 
 a soldier and too good a commander to rush into bat 
 tle without preparation. Cleo s mask was off at last, 
 and he knew her too well to doubt that she would try to 
 make good her threat. The fire of hate that had flamed 
 in her greenish eyes was not a sudden burst of anger, 
 it had been smoldering there for years, eating its way 
 into the fiber of her being. 
 
 There were three courses open. 
 
 He could accept her demand, acknowledge Helen to 
 his son, establish her in his home, throw his self-respect 
 to the winds and sink to the woman s level. It was 
 unthinkable ! Besides, the girl would never recover 
 from the shock. She would disappear or take her own 
 life. He felt it with instinctive certainty. But the 
 thing which made such a course impossible was the fact 
 that it meant his daily degradation before the boy. 
 He would face death without a tremor sooner than 
 this. 
 
 He could defy Cleo and pack Helen off to Europe 
 on the next steamer, and risk a scandal that would 
 shake the state, overwhelm the party he was leading, 
 disgrace him not only before his son but before the 
 world, and set back the cause he had at heart for a 
 generation. 
 
 335 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 It was true she might weaken when confronted with 
 the crisis that would mean the death of her own hopes. 
 Yet the risk was too great to act on such a possibility. 
 Her defiance had in it all the elements of finality, and 
 he had accepted it as final. 
 
 The simpler alternative was a temporary solution 
 which would give him time to think and get his bear 
 ings. He could return to the campaign immediately, 
 take Tom with him, keep him in the field every day 
 until the election, ask Helen to stay until his return, 
 and after his victory had been achieved settle with the 
 woman. 
 
 It was the wisest course for many reasons, and 
 among them not the least that it would completely puz 
 zle Cleo as to his ultimate decision. 
 
 He rang for Andy : 
 
 "Ask Mr. Tom to come here." 
 
 Andy bowed and Norton resumed his seat. 
 
 When Tom entered, the father spoke with quick de 
 cision : 
 
 "The situation in this campaign, my boy, is tense 
 and dangerous. I want you to go with me to-morrow 
 and stay to the finish." 
 
 Tom flushed and there was a moment s pause: 
 
 "Certainly, Dad, if you wish it." 
 
 "We ll start at eight o clock in the morning and 
 drive through the country to the next appointment. 
 Fix your business at the office this afternoon, place your 
 men in charge and be ready to leave promptly at eight. 
 I ve some important writing to do. I m going to lock 
 myself in my room until it s done. See that I m not 
 disturbed except to send Andy up with my supper. I ll 
 not finish before midnight." 
 
A SKIRMISH 
 
 "I ll see to it, sir," Tom replied, turned and was 
 gone. 
 
 The father had watched the boy with keen scrutiny 
 every moment and failed to catch the slightest trace 
 of resentment or of hesitation. The pause he had 
 made on receiving the request was only an instant of 
 natural surprise. 
 
 Before leaving next morning he sent for Helen who 
 had not appeared at breakfast. 
 
 She hastened to answer his summons and he found 
 no trace of anger, resentment or rebellion in her gentle 
 face. Every vestige of the shadow he had thrown over 
 her life seem to have lifted. A tender smile played 
 about her lips as she entered the room. 
 
 "You sent for me, major?" she asked with the slight 
 est tremor of timidity in her voice. 
 
 "Yes," he answered gravely. "I wish you to remain 
 here until Tom and I return. We ll have a conference 
 then about your future." 
 
 "Thank you," she responded simply. 
 
 "I trust you will not find yourself unhappy or embar 
 rassed in remaining here alone until we return?" 
 
 "Certainly not, major, if it is your wish," was the 
 prompt response. 
 
 He bowed and murmured: 
 
 "I ll see you soon." 
 
 Tom waved his hand from the buggy when his father s 
 back was turned and threw her an audacious kiss over 
 his head as the tall figure bent to climb into the seat. 
 The girl answered with another from her finger tips 
 which he caught with a smile. 
 
 Norton s fears of Tom were soon at rest at the sight 
 of his overflowing boyish spirits. He had entered into 
 
 337 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the adventure of the campaign from the moment he 
 found himself alone with his father, and apparently 
 without reservation. 
 
 Through every one of his exciting speeches, when 
 surrounded by hostile crowds, the father had watched 
 Tom s face with a subconscious smile. At the slightest 
 noise, the shuffle of a foot, the mutter of a drunken 
 word, or the movement of a careless listener, the keen 
 eyes of the boy had flashed and his right arm instinc 
 tively moved toward his hip pocket. 
 
 When the bitter struggle had ended, father and son 
 had drawn closer than ever before in life. They had 
 become chums and comrades. 
 
 Norton had planned his tour to keep him out of town 
 until after the polls closed on the day of election. They 
 had spent several nights within fifteen or twenty miles 
 of the Capital, but had avoided home. 
 
 He had planned to arrive at the speaker s stand in 
 the Capitol Square in time to get the first returns of 
 the election. 
 
 Five thousand people were packed around the bulletin 
 board when they arrived on a delayed train. 
 
 The first returns indicated that the leader s daring 
 platform had swept the state by a large maj ority . The 
 negro race had been disfranchised and the ballot re 
 stored to its original dignity. And much more had 
 been done. The act was purely political, but its effects 
 on the relations, mental and moral and physical, of the 
 two races, so evenly divided in the South, would be 
 tremendous. 
 
 The crowds of cheering men and women felt this 
 instinctively, though it had not as yet found expression 
 in words. 
 
A SKIRMISH 
 
 A half-dozen stalwart men with a rush and a shout 
 seized Norton and lifted him, blushing and protesting, 
 carried him on their shoulders through the yelling crowd 
 and placed him on the platform. 
 
 He had scarcely begun his speech when Tom, watch 
 ing his chance, slipped hurriedly through the throng 
 and flew to the girl who was waiting with beating heart 
 for the sound of his footstep. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 LOVE LAUGHS 
 
 WHEN Helen had received a brief note from Tom the 
 night before the election that he would surely reach 
 home the next day, she snatched his picture from the 
 library table with a cry of joy and rushed to her 
 room. 
 
 She placed the little gold frame on her bureau, sat 
 down before it and poured out her heart in silly speeches 
 of love, pausing to laugh and kiss the glass that saved 
 the miniature from ruin. The portrait was an ex 
 quisite work of art on ivory which the father had com- 
 misioned a painter in New York to do in celebration 
 of Tom s coming of age. The artist had caught the 
 boy s spirit in the tender smile that played about his 
 lips and lingered in the corners of his blue eyes, the 
 same eyes and lips in line and color in the dainty little 
 mother s portrait over the mantel. 
 
 "Oh, you big, handsome, brave, glorious boy!" she 
 cried in ecstasy. "My sweetheart so generous, so 
 clean, so strong, so free in soul ! I love you I love you 
 I love you !" 
 
 She fell asleep at last with the oval frame clasped 
 tight in one hand thrust under her pillow. A sound 
 sleep was impossible, the busy brain was too active. 
 Again and again she waked with a start, thinking she 
 had heard his swift footfall on the stoop. 
 
LOVE LAUGHS 
 
 At daybreak she leaped to her feet and found her 
 self in the middle of the room laughing when she came 
 to herself, the precious picture still clasped in her 
 hand. 
 
 Oh, foolish heart, wake up !" she cried with another 
 : viigh. "It s dawn, and my lover is coming! It s his 
 <lc.y! No more sleep it s too wonderful! I m going 
 to count every hour until I hear his step every minute 
 of every hour, foolish heart !" 
 
 She looked out the window and it was raining. The 
 overhanging boughs of the oaks were dripping on the 
 tin roof of the bay window in which she was standing. 
 She had dreamed of a wonderful sunrise this morning. 
 But it didn t matter the rain didn t matter. The slow, 
 familiar dropping on the roof suggested the nearness 
 of her lover. They would sit in some shadowy corner 
 hand in hand and love all the more tenderly. The 
 raindrops were the drum beat of a band playing the 
 march that was bringing him nearer with each throb. 
 The mocking-bird that had often waked her with his 
 song was silent, hovering somewhere in a tree be 
 neath the thick leaves. She had expected him to 
 call her to-day with the sweetest lyric he had ever 
 sung. Somehow it didn t matter. Her soul 
 was singing the song that makes all other music 
 dumb. 
 
 "My love is coming!" she murmured joyfully. "My 
 love is coming!" 
 
 And then she stood for an hour in brooding, happy 
 silence and watched the ghostlike trees come slowly out 
 of the mists. To her shining eyes there were no mists. 
 The gray film that hung over the waking world was 
 a bridal veil hiding the blushing face of the earth from 
 
 341 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the sun-god lover who was on his way over the hills to 
 clasp her in his burning arms ! 
 
 For the first time in her memory she was supremely 
 happy. 
 
 Every throb of pain that belonged to the past was 
 lost in the sea of joy on which her soul had set sail. 
 In the glory of his love pain was only another name 
 for joy. All she had suffered was but the preparation 
 for this supreme good. It was all the more wonderful, 
 this fairy world into which she had entered, because the 
 shadows had been so deep in her lonely childhood. 
 
 There really hadn t been any past! She couldn t 
 remember the time she had not known and loved Tom. 
 Love filled the universe, past, present and future. 
 There was no task too hard for her hands, no danger 
 she was not ready to meet. The hungry heart had 
 found its own. 
 
 Through the long hours of the day she waited with 
 out impatience. Each tick of the tiny clock on the 
 mantel brought him nearer. The hands couldn t turn 
 back ! She watched them with a smile as she sat in the 
 gathering twilight. 
 
 She had placed the miniature back in its place and 
 sat where her eye caught the smile from his lips when 
 she lifted her head from the embroidery on her lap. 
 
 The band was playing a stirring strain in the Square. 
 She could hear the tumult and the shouts of the crowds 
 about the speaker s stand as they read the bulletins of 
 the election. The darkness couldn t hold him many 
 more minutes. 
 
 She rose with a soft laugh and turned on the lights, 
 walked to the window, looked out and listened to the 
 roar of the cheering when Norton made his appear- 
 
LOVE LAUGHS 
 
 ance. The band struck up another stirring piece. Yes, 
 it was "Hail to the Chief !" He had come. 
 
 She counted the minutes it would take for him to 
 elude his father and reach the house. She pictured the 
 smile on his face as he threaded his way through the 
 throng and started to her on swift feet. She could see 
 him coming with the long, quick stride he had inherited 
 from his father. 
 
 She turned back into the room exclaiming: 
 
 "Oh, foolish heart, be still!" 
 
 She seated herself again and waited patiently, a 
 smile about the corners of her lips and another play 
 ing hide and seek in the depths of her expressive eyes. 
 
 Tom had entered the house unobserved by any one and 
 softly tipped into the library from the door directly 
 behind her. He paused, removed his hat, dropped it 
 silently into a chair and stood looking at the graceful, 
 beautiful form bending over her work. The picture of 
 this waiting figure he had seen in his day-dreams a 
 thousand times and yet it was so sweet and wonderful 
 he had to stop and drink in the glory of it for a mo 
 ment. 
 
 A joyous laugh was bubbling in his heart as he 
 tipped softly over the thick yielding rug and slipped his 
 hands over her eyes. His voice was the gentlest whisper : 
 
 "Guess?" 
 
 The white figure slowly rose and her words came in 
 little ripples of gasping laughter as she turned and 
 lifted her arms : 
 
 "It s it s Tom !" 
 
 With a smothered cry she was on his breast. He 
 held her long and close without a word. His voice 
 had a queer hitch in it as he murmured : 
 
 343 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Helen my darling!" 
 
 "Oh, I thought you d never come!" she sighed, look 
 ing up through her tears. 
 
 Tom held her off and gazed into her eyes : 
 
 "It s been a century since I ve seen you! I did 
 my level best when we got into these nearby counties 
 again, but I couldn t shake Dad once this week. He 
 watched me like a hawk and insisted on staying out of 
 town till the very last hour of the election to-day. Did 
 old Andy find out I slipped in last week?" 
 
 "No!" she laughed. 
 
 "Did Cleo find it out?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "You re sure Cleo didn t find out?" 
 
 "Sure but Aunt Minerva did." 
 
 "Oh, I m not afraid of her kiss me !" 
 
 With a glad cry their lips met. 
 
 He held her off. 
 
 "I m not afraid of anything!" 
 
 With an answering laugh, she kissed him again. 
 
 "I m not afraid of Dad!" he said in tones of mock 
 tragedy. "Once more!" 
 
 She gently disengaged herself, asking: 
 
 "How did you get away from him so quickly?" 
 
 "Oh, he s making a speech to the crowd in the Square 
 proclaiming victory and so" his voice fell to a whis 
 per "I flew to celebrate mine!" 
 
 "Won t he miss you?" 
 
 "Not while he s talking. Dad enjoys an eloquent 
 speech especially one of his own " 
 
 He stopped abruptly, took a step toward her and 
 cried : 
 
 "Say! Do you know what the Governor of North 
 
 344 
 
LOVE LAUGHS 
 
 Carolina said once upon a time to the Governor of 
 South Carolina?" 
 
 Helen laughed: 
 
 "What?" 
 
 He opened his arms: 
 
 " It strikes me, said he, that it s a long time be 
 tween drinks ! 
 
 Again her arms flashed around his neck. 
 
 "Did you miss me?" 
 
 "Dreadfully!" she sighed. "But I ve been happy 
 happy in your love oh, so happy, dearest !" 
 
 "Well, if Dad wins this election to-night," he said 
 with a boyish smile, "I m going to tell him. Now s the 
 time no more slipping and sliding!" he paused, 
 rushed to the window and looked out "come, the clouds 
 have lifted and the moon is rising. Our old seat among 
 the roses is waiting." 
 
 With a look of utter happiness she slipped her arm 
 in his and they strolled across the lawn. 
 
 345 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 "FIGHT IT OUT!" 
 
 CLEO had heard the shouts in the square with in 
 creasing dread. The hour was rapidly approaching 
 when she must face Norton. 
 
 She had deeply regretted the last scene with him 
 when she had completely lost her head. For the first 
 time in her life she had dared to say things that could 
 not be forgiven. They had lived an armed truce for 
 twenty years. She had endured it in the hope of a 
 change in his attitude, but she had driven him to un 
 controllable fury now by her angry outburst and spoken 
 words that could not be unsaid. 
 
 She realized when too late that he would never 
 forgive these insults. And she began to wonder nerv 
 ously what form his revenge would take. That he 
 had matured a definite plan of hostile action which he 
 would put into force on his arrival, she did not 
 doubt. 
 
 Why had she been so foolish? She asked herself the 
 question a hundred times. And yet the clash was in 
 evitable. She could not see Helen packed off to Europe 
 and her hopes destroyed at a blow. She might have 
 stopped him with something milder than a threat of 
 exposure in his rival s paper. That was the mad thing 
 she had done. 
 
 What effect this threat had produced on his mind 
 
 34(5 
 
"FIGHT IT OUT!" 
 
 she could only guess. But she constantly came back to 
 it with increasing fear. If he should accept her chal 
 lenge, dare her to speak, and, weary of the constant 
 strain of her presence in his house, put her out, it 
 meant the end of the world. She had lived so long 
 in dependence on his will, the thought of beginning life 
 again under new conditions of humiliating service was 
 unthinkable. 
 
 She could only wait now until the blow fell, and ad 
 just herself to the situation as best she could. That 
 she had the power to lay his life in ruins and break 
 Tom s heart she had never doubted. Yet this was the 
 one thing she did not wish to do. It meant too much 
 to her. 
 
 She walked on the porch and listened again to the 
 tumult in the Square. She had seen Tom enter the 
 house on tip-toe and knew that the lovers were together 
 and smiled in grim triumph. That much of her scheme 
 had not failed ! It only remained to be seen whether, 
 with their love an accomplished fact, she could wring 
 from Norton s lips the confession she had demanded and 
 save her own skin in the crash. 
 
 Andy had entered the gate and she heard him bustling 
 in the pantry as Tom and Helen strolled on the lawn. 
 The band in the Square was playing their star piece of 
 rag-time music, "A Georgia Campmeeting." 
 
 The stirring refrain echoed over the sleepy old town 
 with a weird appeal to-night. It had the ring of martial 
 music of hosts shouting their victory as they marched. 
 They were playing it with unusual swinging power. 
 
 She turned with a gesture of impatience into the 
 house to find Andy. He was carrying a tray of mint 
 juleps into the library. 
 
 347 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Cleo looked at him in amazement, suppressed an 
 angry exclamation and asked: 
 
 "What s that band playing for?" 
 
 "White folks celebratin de victory!" he replied en 
 thusiastically, placing the tray on the table. 
 
 "It s only seven o clock. The election returns can t 
 be in yet?" 
 
 "Yassam ! Hit s all over but de shoutin !" 
 
 Cleo moved a step closer: 
 
 "The major has won?" 
 
 "Yassam! Yassam!" Andy answered with loud good 
 humor, as he began to polish a glass with a napkin. 
 "Yassam, I des come frum dar. De news done come 
 in. Dey hain t gwine ter low de niggers ter vote no 
 mo , ceptin they kin read an write an den dey won t 
 let em!" 
 
 He held one of the shining glasses up to the light, ex 
 amined it with judicial care and continued in tones of 
 resignation : 
 
 "Don t make no diffrunce ter me, dough! I hain t 
 nebber got nuttin fer my vote nohow, ceptin once 
 when er politicioner shoved er box er cigars at me" 
 he chuckled "an den, by golly, I had ter be a gem- 
 man, I couldn t grab er whole handful I des tuck 
 four!" 
 
 Cleo moved impatiently and glared at the tray: 
 
 "What on earth did you bring all that stuff for? 
 The whole mob are not coming here, are they?" 
 
 "Nobum nobum! Nobody but de major, but I low 
 dat he gwine ter consume some ! He s on er high hoss. 
 Dey s bout ten thousand folks up dar in de Square. 
 De boys carry de major on dere back to de flatform 
 an he make em a big speech. Dey sho is er-raisin er 
 
 348 
 
FIGHT IT OUT! 
 
 mighty humbug. Dey gwine ter celebrate all night out 
 dar, an gwine ter serenade everybody in town. But 
 de major comin right home. Dey try ter git him ter 
 stay wid em, but he low dat he got some portant busi 
 ness here at de house." 
 
 "Important business here?" she asked anxiously. 
 
 "Yassam, I spec him any minute." 
 
 Cleo turned quickly toward the door and Andy called : 
 
 "Miss Cleo !" 
 
 She continued to go without paying any attention 
 and he repeated his call: 
 
 "Miss Cleo!" 
 
 She paused indifferently, while Andy touched his lips 
 smiling : 
 
 "I got my mouf shet!" 
 
 "Does it pain you?" 
 
 "Nobum !" he laughed. 
 
 "Keep it shut!" she replied contemptuously as she 
 again moved toward the door. 
 
 "Yassam yassam but ain t yer got nuttin mo* 
 dan dat ter say ter me?" 
 
 He asked this question with a rising inflection that 
 might mean a threat. 
 
 The woman walked back to him : 
 
 "Prove your love by a year s silence " 
 
 "De Lawd er mussy!" Andy gasped. "A whole 
 year?" 
 
 "Am I not worth waiting for?" she asked with a 
 smile. 
 
 "Yassam yassam," he replied slowly, "Jacob he wait 
 seben years an den, by golly, de ole man cheat him 
 outen his gal! But ef yer say so, I se er-waitin , 
 
 honey " 
 
 349 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Andy placated, her mind returned in a fl^sh to the 
 fear that haunted her: 
 
 "He said important business here at once?" 
 
 The gate closed with a vigorous slam and the echo 
 of Norton s step was heard on the gravel walk. 
 
 "Yassam, dar he is now." 
 
 Cleo trembled and hurried to the opposite door: 
 
 "If the major asks for me, tell him I ve gone to 
 the meeting in the Square." 
 
 She passed quickly from the room in a panic of fear. 
 She couldn t meet him in this condition. She must 
 wait a better moment. 
 
 Andy, arranging his tray, began to mix three mint 
 juleps, humming a favorite song: 
 
 "Dis time er-nudder year. 
 Oh, Lawd, how long! 
 In some lonesome graveyard 
 Woh, Lawd, how long!" 
 
 Norton paused on the threshold with a smile and 
 listened to the foolish melody. His whole being was 
 quivering with the power that thrilled from a great 
 act of will. He had just made a momentous decision. 
 His work in hand was done. He had lived for years in 
 an atmosphere poisoned by a yellow venomous presence. 
 He had resolved to be free ! no matter what the cost. 
 
 His mind flew to the boy he had grown to love with 
 deeper tenderness the past weeks. The only thing he 
 really dreaded was his humiliation before those blue 
 eyes. But, if the worst came to worst, he must speak. 
 There were things darker than death the consciousness 
 to a proud and sensitive man that he was the slave 
 to an inferior was one of them. He had to be free 
 
 350 
 
FIGHT IT OUT! 1 
 
 free at any cost. The thought was an inspiration. 
 
 With brisk step he entered the library and glanced 
 with surprise at the empty room. 
 
 "Tom not come?" he asked briskly. 
 
 "Nasah, I ain t seed im," Andy replied. 
 
 Norton threw his linen coat on a chair, and a dreamy 
 look came into his deep-set eyes : 
 
 "Well, Andy, we ve made a clean sweep to-day the 
 old state s white again!" 
 
 The negro, bustling over his tray, replied with unc 
 tion: 
 
 "Yassah, dat s what I done tole em, sah !" 
 
 "All government rests on force, Andy ! The ballot is 
 force physical force. Back of every ballot is a 
 gun " 
 
 He paused, drew the revolver slowly from his pocket 
 and held it in his hand. 
 
 Andy glanced up from his tray and jumped in 
 alarm : 
 
 "Yassah, dat s so, sah in dese parts sho, sah!" he 
 ended his speech by a good-natured laugh at the ex 
 pense of the country that allowed itself to be thus in 
 timidated. 
 
 Norton lifted the gleaming piece of steel and looked 
 at it thoughtfully : 
 
 "Back of every ballot a gun and the red blood of the 
 man who holds it! No freeman ever yet voted away 
 his right to a revolution " 
 
 "Yassah dat s what I tells dem niggers you gwine 
 ter giv em er dose er de revolution " 
 
 "Well, it s done now and I ve no more use for this 
 thing thank God !" 
 
 He crossed to the writing desk, laid the revolver on 
 351 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 its top and walked to the lounge his face set with a 
 look of brooding intensity: 
 
 "Bah! The big battles are all fought inside, Andy! 
 There s where the brave die and cowards run in 
 side " 
 
 "Yassah! I got de stuff right here fer de inside, 
 sah !" he held up the decanter with a grin. 
 
 "From to-night my work outside is done," Norton 
 went on moodily. "And I m going to be free free! 
 I m no longer afraid of one of my servants " 
 
 He dropped into a seat and closed his fists with a 
 gesture of intense emotion. 
 
 Andy looked at him in astonishment and asked in 
 credulously : 
 
 "Who de debbil say you se er scared of any nigger? 
 Show dat man ter me who say dat?" 
 
 "I say it !" was the bitter answer. He had been think 
 ing aloud, but now that the negro had heard he didn t 
 care. His soul was sick of subterfuge and lies. 
 
 Andy laughed apologetically : 
 
 "Yassah! Cose, sah, ef you say dat hit s so, why I 
 say hit s so but all de same, twixt you an me, I knows 
 tain t so!" 
 
 "But from to-night!" Norton cried, ignoring Andy 
 as he sprang to his feet and looked sharply about the 
 room : 
 
 "Tell Cleo I wish to see her at once !" 
 
 "She gone out in de Squar ter hear de news, sah." 
 
 "The moment she comes let me know !" he said with 
 sharp emphasis and turned quickly to the door. 
 
 "Yassah," Andy answered watching him go with 
 amazement. "De Lawdy, major, you ain t gwine off an 
 leave dese mint juleps lak dat, is ye?" 
 
 352 
 
"FIGHT IT OUT! 
 
 Norton retraced a step: 
 
 "Yes, from to-night I m the master of my house and 
 myself!" 
 
 Andy looked at the tray and then at Norton: 
 
 "Well, sah, yer ain t got no objections to me pizinin 
 mysef, is ye?" 
 
 The master surveyed the grinning servant, glanced 
 at the tray, smiled and said: 
 
 "No you ll do it anyhow, so go as far as you like !" 
 
 "Yassah!" the negro laughed as Norton turned 
 again. "An please, sah, won t yer gimme jes a little 
 advice befo you go?" 
 
 Norton turned a puzzled face on the grinning black 
 one: 
 
 "Advice?" 
 
 "Yassah. What I wants ter know, major, is dis. 
 Sposen, sah, dat a gemman got ter take his choice 
 twixt marryin er lady dat s forcin herself on im, 
 er kill hissef ?" 
 
 "Kill her!" 
 
 Andy broke into a loud laugh : 
 
 "Yassah! but she s er dangous oman, sah! She s a 
 fighter from Fightersville an fuddermo , sah, I se en 
 gaged to annudder lady at the same time an I se in 
 lub wid dat one an skeered er de fust one." 
 
 "Face it, then. Confess your love and fight it out! 
 Fight it out and let them fight it out. You like to see 
 a fight, don t you?" 
 
 "Yassah! Oh, yassah," Andy declared bravely. "I 
 likes ter see a fight I likes ter see de fur fly but I 
 don t care bout furnishin none er de fur !" 
 
 Norton had reached the door when he suddenly 
 turned, the momentary humor of his play with the 
 
 353 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 negro gone from his sombre face, the tragedy of a life 
 speaking in every tone as he slowly said: 
 
 "Fight it out! It s the only thing to do fight it 
 out !" 
 
 Andy stared at the retreating figure dazed by the 
 violence of passion with which his master had answered, 
 wondering vaguely what could be the meaning of the 
 threat behind his last words. 
 
 354 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 ANDY FIGHTS 
 
 WHEN Andy had recovered from his surprise 
 at the violence of Norton s parting advice his eye 
 suddenly rested on the tray of untouched mint 
 juleps. 
 
 A broad smile broke over his black countenance: 
 
 "Fight it out! Fight it out!" he exclaimed with a 
 quick movement toward the table. "Yassah, I m gwine 
 do it, too, I is !" 
 
 He paused before the array of filled glasses of the 
 iced beverage, saluted silently, and raised one high 
 over his head to all imaginary friends who might be 
 present. His eye rested on the portrait of General Lee. 
 He bowed and saluted again. Further on hung Stone 
 wall Jackson. He lifted his glass to him, and last to 
 Norton s grandfather in his blue and yellow colonial 
 regimentals. He pressed the glass to his thirsty lips 
 and waved the julep a jovial farewell with the palm of 
 his left hand as he poured it gently but firmly down 
 to the last drop. 
 
 He smacked his lips, drew a long breath and 
 sighed : 
 
 "Put ernuff er dat stuff inside er me, I kin fight er 
 wil cat ! Yassah, an I gwine do it. I gwine ter be 
 rough wid her, too ! Rough wid her, I is !" 
 
 He seized another glass and drained half of it, drew 
 355 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 himself up with determination, walked to the door lead 
 ing to the hall toward the kitchen and called : 
 
 "Miss Minerva!" 
 
 Receiving no answer, he returned quickly to the tray 
 and took another drink: 
 
 "Rough wid her dat s de way rough wid her!" 
 
 He pulled his vest down with a vicious jerk, bravely 
 took one step, paused, reached back, picked up his glass 
 again, drained it, and walked to the door. 
 
 "Miss Minerva!" he called loudly and fiercely. 
 
 From the kitchen came the answer in tender tones : 
 
 "Yas honey!" 
 
 Andy retreated hastily to the table and took another 
 drink before the huge but smiling figure appeared in 
 the doorway. 
 
 "Did my true love call?" she asked softly. 
 
 Andy groaned, grasped a glass and quickly poured 
 another drink of Dutch courage down. "Yassam, Miss 
 Minerva, I thought I hear yer out dar " 
 
 Minerva giggled as lightly as she could- considering 
 her two hundred and fifty pounds : 
 
 "Yas, honey, Hit s little me !" 
 
 Andy had begun to feel the bracing effects of the 
 two full glasses of mint juleps. He put his hands in 
 his pockets, walked with springing strides to the other 
 end of the room, returned and squared himself impres 
 sively before Minerva. Before he could speak his cour 
 age began to fail and he stuttered : 
 
 "M-M-M-Miss Minerva!" 
 
 The good-humored, shining black face was raised in 
 sharp surprise: 
 
 "What de matter wid you, man, er hoppin roun over 
 de flo lak er flea in er hot skillet?" 
 
 356 
 
ANDY FIGHTS 
 
 Andy saw that the time had come when he must 
 speak unless he meant to again ignominiously surrender. 
 He began boldly: 
 
 "Miss Minerva! I got somethin scandalous ter say 
 ter you !" 
 
 She glared at him, the whites of her eyes shining 
 ominously, crossed the room quickly and confronted 
 Andy: 
 
 "Don t yer dar say nuttin scandalizin ter me, sah !" 
 
 His eyes fell and he moved as if to retreat. She 
 nudged him gently: 
 
 "G long, man, what is it?" 
 
 He took courage: 
 
 "I got ter fess ter you, m am, dat I se tangled up 
 wid annuder oman!" 
 
 The black face suddenly flashed with wrath, and her 
 figure was electric with battle. The very pores of her 
 dusky skin seemed to radiate war. 
 
 "Who bin tryin ter steal you ?" she cried. "Des sho 
 her ter me, an we see who s who !" 
 
 Andy waved his hands in a conciliatory self-accusing 
 gesture : 
 
 "Yassam yassam ! But I make er fool outen myse f 
 about her hit s Miss Cleo !" 
 
 "Cleo!" Minerva gasped, staggering back until her 
 form collided with the table and rattled the glasses 
 on the tray. At the sound of the tinkling glass, she 
 turned, grasped a mint julep, and drank the whole of it 
 at a single effort. 
 
 Andy, who had been working on a figure in the rug 
 with the toe of his shoe during his confession, looked up, 
 saw that she had captured his inspiration, and sprang 
 back in alarm. 
 
 357 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Minerva paused but a moment for breath and rushed 
 for him: 
 
 "Dat jailer Jezebel! tryin ter fling er spell over 
 you but I gwine ter save ye, honey !" 
 1 Andy retreated behind the lounge, his ample protec 
 tor hot on his heels: 
 
 "Yassam !" he cried, "but I don t want ter be saved !" 
 
 Before he had finished the plea, she had pinned him 
 in a corner and cut off retreat. 
 
 "Of course yer don t !" she answered generously. "No 
 po sinner ever does. But don t yer fret, honey, I se 
 gwine ter save ye in spite er yosef ! Yer needn t ter 
 kick, yer needn t ter scramble, now s de time ye needs 
 me, an I se gwine ter stan by ye. Nuttin kin shake 
 me loose now !" 
 
 She took a step toward him and he vainly tried to 
 dodge. It was useless. She hurled her ample form 
 straight on him and lifted her arms for a generous 
 embrace : 
 
 "Lordy, man, dat make me lub yer er hundred times 
 mo!" 
 
 Andy made up his mind in a sudden burst of courage 
 to fight for his life. If she once got those arms about 
 him he was gone. He grasped them roughb 7 and stayed 
 the onset: 
 
 "Yassam!" he answered warningly. "But I got ter 
 fess up ter you now de whole truf. I bin er deceivin 
 you bout myself. I se er bad nigger, Miss Minerva, 
 an I hain t worthy ter be you husban !" 
 
 "G long, chile, I done know dat all de time!" she 
 laughed. 
 
 Andy walled his eyes at her uneasily, and she con 
 tinued : 
 
 358 
 
ANDY FIGHTS 
 
 "But I likes ter hear ye talk humble dat a way- hit s 
 a good sign." 
 
 He shook his head impatiently: 
 
 "But ye don t know what I means !" 
 
 "Why, of cose, I does !" she replied genially. "I 
 always knowed dat I wuz high above ye. I se black, but 
 I se pure ez de drivellin snow. I always knowed, honey, 
 dat ye wern t my equal. But ye can t help dat. I se 
 er born ristocrat. My mudder was er African prin 
 cess. My grandmudder wuz er queen an* I se er ^ook !" 
 
 Andy stamped his foot with angry impatience ; 
 
 "Yassam but ye git dat all wrong!" 
 
 "Cose, you Minerva understand when ye comes along 
 side er yo true love dat ye feels humble " 
 
 "Nobum! Nobum!" he broke in emphatically "ye 
 got dat all wrong all wrong!" He paused, drew a 
 chair to the table and motioned her to a seat opposite. 
 
 "Des lemme tell ye now," he continued with de 
 termined kindness. "Ye see I got ter fess de whole 
 truf ter you. Tain t right ter fool ye." 
 
 Minerva seated herself, complacently murmuring: 
 
 "Yassah, dat s so, Brer Andy." 
 
 He leaned over the table and looked at her a mo 
 ment solemnly: 
 
 "I gotter fess ter you now, Miss Minerva, dat I se 
 always bin a bad nigger what dey calls er pizen bad 
 nigger I se er wife beater !" 
 
 Minerva s eyes walled in amazement: 
 
 "No?" 
 
 "Yassam," he went on seriously. "When I wuz mar 
 ried afore I got de habit er beatin my wife!" 
 
 "Beat her?" 
 
 Andy shook his head dolefully: 
 359 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Yassam. Hit s des lak I tell ye. I hates ter fess 
 hit ter you, m am, but I formed de habit, same ez 
 drinkin licker I beat her! I des couldn t keep my 
 hands offen her. I beat her scandalous ! I pay no ten- 
 shun to her hollerin! huh! de louder she holler, 
 pears lak de harder I beat her !" 
 
 "My, my, ain t dat terrible!" she gasped. 
 
 "Yassam " 
 
 "Scandalous !" 
 
 "Dat it is " 
 
 "Sinful!" 
 
 "Jes so!" he agreed sorrowfully. 
 
 "But man !" she cried ecstatically, "dat s what I calls 
 er husband !" 
 
 "Hey?" 
 
 "Dat s de man fer me!" 
 
 He looked at her in dismay, snatched the decanter, 
 poured himself a straight drink of whiskey, gulped it 
 down, leaned over the table and returned to his task 
 with renewed vigor: 
 
 "But I kin see, m am, dat yer don t know what I 
 means ! I didn t des switch er wid er cowhide er de 
 buggy whip ! I got in er regular habit er lammin her 
 wid anything I git hold of wid er axe handle or wid 
 er fire shovel " 
 
 "Well, dat s all right," Minerva interrupted ad 
 miringly. "She had de same chance ez you ! I takes 
 my chances. What I wants is er husban a husban 
 dat s got de sand in his gizzard ! Dat fust husban er 
 mine weren t no good tall nebber hit me in his life 
 but once slap me in de face one day, lak dat!" 
 
 She gave a contemptuous imitation of the trivial blow 
 with the palms of her hands. 
 
 360 
 
ANDY FIGHTS 
 
 "An what d you do, m am?" Andy asked with sud 
 den suspicion. 
 
 "Nuttin tall!" she said with a smile. "I des laf, haul 
 off, kinder playful lak, an knock im down wid de flat- 
 iron " 
 
 Andy leaped to his feet and walked around the table 
 toward the door: 
 
 "Wid de flatiron !" he repeated incredulously. 
 
 "Didn t hit im hard!" Minerva laughed. "But he 
 tumble on de flo lak er ten-pin in er bowlin alley. I 
 stan dar waitin fer im ter git up an come ergin, an 
 what ye reckon he done?" 
 
 "I dunno, m am," Andy sighed, wiping the perspira 
 tion from his forehead. 
 
 Minerva laughed joyously at the memory of the scene : 
 
 "He jump up an run des lak er turkey! He run 
 all de way down town, an bless God ef he didn t buy 
 me a new calico dress an fotch hit home ter me. He 
 warn t no man at all ! I wuz dat sorry fer im an dat 
 ershamed er him I couldn t look im in de face ergin. 
 I gits er divorce frum him " 
 
 She paused, rose, and looked at Andy with tender 
 admiration : 
 
 "But, Lordy, honey, you an me s gwine ter have 
 joyful times!" 
 
 Andy made a break for the door but she was too 
 quick for him. With a swift swinging movement, as 
 tonishing in its rapidity for her size, she threw herself 
 on him and her arms encircled his neck : 
 
 "I se yo woman an you se my man!" she cried with 
 a finality that left her victim without a ray of hope. 
 He was muttering incoherent protests when Helen s 
 laughing voice came to his rescue : 
 
 361 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Oho!" she cried, with finger uplifted in a teasing 
 gesture. 
 
 Minerva loosed her grip on Andy overwhelmed with 
 embarrassment, while he crouched behind her figure cry 
 ing: 
 
 " Twa n t me, Miss Helen twa n t me!" 
 
 Helen continued to laugh while Andy grasped the 
 tray and beat a hasty retreat. 
 
 Helen approached Minerva teasingly: 
 
 "Why, Aunt Minerva!" 
 
 The big, jovial black woman glanced at her: 
 
 "G way, chile g way f rum here !" 
 
 "Aunt Minerva, I wouldn t have thought such a thing 
 of you !" Helen said demurely. 
 
 Minerva broke into a jolly laugh and faced her tor 
 mentor : 
 
 "Yassum, honey, I spec hit wuz all my fault. Love s 
 such foolishness yer knows how dat is yosef !" 
 
 A look of rapture overspread Helen s face : 
 
 "Such a sweet, wonderful foolishness, Aunt Minerva !" 
 she paused and her voice was trembling when she 
 added "It makes us all akin, doesn t it ?" 
 
 "Yassam, an I sho is glad ter see you so happy !" 
 
 "Oh, I m too happy, Aunt Minerva, it frightens 
 me" she stopped, glanced at the door, drew nearer 
 and continued in low tones: "I ve just left Tom out 
 there on the lawn, to ask you to do something for 
 me." 
 
 "Yassam." 
 
 "I want you to tell the major our secret to-night. 
 He ll be proud and happy in his victory and I want 
 him to know at once." 
 
 The black woman shook her head dubiously: 
 
 362 
 
ANDY FIGHTS 
 
 "Tell him yosef , honey !" 
 
 "But I m afraid. The major frightens me. When 
 I look into his deep eyes I feel that he has the power to 
 crush the soul out of my body and that he will do it 
 if I make him very angry." 
 
 "Dat s cause yer deceives him, child." 
 
 "Please tell him for us, Aunt Minerva! Oh, you ve 
 been so good to me! For the past weeks I ve been in 
 heaven. It seems only a day instead of a month since 
 he told me his love and then it seems I ve lived through 
 all eternity since I first felt his arms about me. Sitting 
 out there in the moonlight by his side I forget that I m 
 on earth, forget that there s a pain or a secret in it. 
 I m just in heaven. I have to pinch myself to see if 
 it s real" she smiled and pinched her arm "I m afraid 
 I ll wake up and find it only a dream !" 
 
 "Well, yer better wake up just er minute an tell 
 de major Mister Tom got ter have it out wid him." 
 
 "Yes, I know, and that s what scares me. Won t you 
 tell him for us right away? Get him in a good humor, 
 make him laugh, say a good word for us and then tell 
 him. Tell him how useless it will be to oppose us. He 
 can t hold out long against Tom, he loves him so." 
 
 "Mr. Tom want me ter tell de major ter-night? He 
 ax yer ter see me?" 
 
 "No. He doesn t know what I came for. I just 
 decided all of a sudden to come. I want to surprise 
 him. He is going to tell his father himself to-night. 
 But somehow I m afraid, Aunt Minerva. I want you 
 to help us. You will, won t you ?" 
 
 The black woman shook her head emphatically : 
 
 <<J Nasah, I ain t gwine ter git mixed up in djs 
 thing!" 
 
 363 
 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Aunt Minerva!" 
 
 "Nasah I se skeered !" 
 
 "Ah, please?" 
 
 "Nasah!" 
 
 "Please " 
 
 "Na, na, na !" 
 
 "Aunt Minerva " 
 
 "Na " 
 
 The girl s pleading eyes were resistless and the black 
 lips smiled: 
 
 "Cose I will, chile! Cose I will I ll see im right 
 away. I ll tell him de minute I lays my eyes on im." 
 
 She turned to go and ran squarely into Norton as 
 he strode into the room. She stopped and stam 
 mered : 
 
 "Why why wuz yer lookin fer me, major?" 
 
 Norton gazed at her a moment and couldn t call his 
 mind from its painful train of thought. He spoke 
 finally with sharp accent: 
 
 "No. I want to see Cleo." 
 
 Helen slipped behind Minerva: 
 
 "Stay and tell him now. I ll go." 
 
 "No, better wait," was her low reply, as she watched 
 Norton furtively. "I don t like de way his eyes er 
 spittin fire." 
 
 Norton turned to Minerva sharply: 
 
 "Find Cleo and tell her I wish to see her immedi 
 ately!" 
 
 "Yassah yassah!" Minerva answered, nervously, 
 whispering to Helen: "Come on, honey git outen 
 here come on !" 
 
 Helen followed mechanically, glancing timidly back 
 over her shoulder at Norton s drawn face. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE SECOND BLOW 
 
 NORTON could scarcely control his eagerness to face 
 the woman he loathed. Every nerve of his body tingled 
 with the agony of his desire to be free. 
 
 He was ready for the end, no matter what she might 
 do. The time had come in the strong man s life when 
 compromise, conciliation, and delay were alike impossi 
 ble. He cursed himself and his folly to-night that he 
 had delayed so long. He had tried to be fair to the 
 woman he hated. His sense of justice, personal honor, 
 and loyalty to his pledged word, had given her the 
 opportunity to strike him the blow she had delivered 
 through the girl. He had been more than fair and 
 he would settle it now for all time. 
 
 That she was afraid to meet him was only too evi 
 dent from her leaving the house on his return. He 
 smiled grimly when he recalled the effrontery with 
 which she had defied him at their last meeting. 
 
 Her voice, sharp and angry, rang out to Andy at the 
 back door. 
 
 Norton s strong jaw closed with a snap, and he felt 
 his whole being quiver at the rasping sound of her 
 familiar tones. She had evidently recovered her com 
 posure and was ready with her usual insolence. 
 
 She walked quickly into the room, and threw her 
 head up with defiance : 
 
 365 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Why have you avoided me to-night?" 
 
 "Have I?" * 
 
 "I think so." 
 
 Cleo laughed sneeringly: 
 
 "You ll think again before I m done with you!" 
 
 She shook her head with the old bravado, but the 
 keen eyes of the man watching saw that she was not 
 sure of her ground. 
 
 He folded his arms and quietly began : 
 
 "For twenty years I have breathed the air poisoned 
 by your presence. I have seen your insolence grow 
 until you have announced yourself the mistress of my 
 house. You knew that I was afraid of your tongue, 
 and thought that a coward would submit in the end. 
 Well, it s over. I ve held my hand for the past four 
 weeks until my duty to the people was done. I ve been 
 a coward when I saw the tangled web of lies and shame 
 in which I floundered. But the past is past. I face life 
 to-night as it is" his voice dropped " and I m going 
 to take what comes. Your rule in my house is at an 
 end " 
 
 "Indeed !" 
 
 "Helen leaves here to-morrow morning and you go." 
 
 "Really?" 
 
 "I ve made a decent provision for your future 
 which is more than you deserve. Pack your things !" 
 
 The woman threw him a look of hate and her lips 
 curved with scorn : 
 
 "So you have kindly allowed me to stay until your 
 campaign was ended. Well, I ve understood you. I 
 knew that you were getting ready for me. I m ready 
 for you." 
 
 366 
 
THE SECOND BLOW 
 
 "And you think that I will allow you to remain in 
 my house after what has passed between us?" 
 
 "Yes, you will," she answered smiling. "I m not go 
 ing to leave. You ll have to throw me into the street. 
 And if you do, God may pity you, I ll not. There s one 
 thing you fear more than a public scandal!" 
 
 Norton advanced and glared at her: 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "The hatred of the boy you idolize. I dare you to 
 lay your hands on me to put me out of this house ! 
 And if you do, Tom will hear from my lips tho story 
 of the affair that ended in the death of his mother. 
 I ll tell him the truth, the whole truth, and then a great 
 deal more than the truth " 
 
 "No doubt !" he interrupted. 
 
 "But there ll be enough truth in all I say to convince 
 him beyond a doubt. I promise you now" she dropped 
 her voice to a whisper "to lie to him with a skill so 
 sure, so cunning, so perfect, no denial you can ever 
 make will shake his faith in my words. He loves me and 
 I ll make him believe me. When I finish my story he 
 ought to kill you. There s one thing you can depend 
 on with his high-strung and sensitive nature and the 
 training you have given him in racial purity when 
 he hears my story, he ll curse you to your face and turn 
 from you as if you were a leper. I ll see that he does 
 this if it s the last and only thing I do on this earth!" 
 
 "And if you do " 
 
 "Oh, I m not afraid!" she sneered, holding his eye 
 with the calm assurance of power. "I ve thought it all 
 over and I know exactly what to say." 
 
 He leaned close : 
 
 "Now listen ! I don t want to hurt you but you re 
 367 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 going out of my life. Every day while I ve sheltered 
 you in this house you have schemed and planned to 
 drag me down again to your level. You have failed. I 
 am not going to risk that girl s presence here another 
 day and you go !" 
 
 As he spoke the last words he turned from her with 
 a gesture of final dismissal. She tossed her head in a 
 light laugh and calmly said: 
 
 "You re too late!" 
 
 He stopped in his tracks, his heart chilled by the 
 queer note of triumph in her voice. Without turning 
 or moving a muscle he asked: 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "Tom is already in love with Helen!" 
 
 He wheeled and hurled himself at her: 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "And she is desperately in love with him" she 
 stopped and deliberately laughed again in his face 
 "and I have known it for weeks !" 
 
 Another step brought his trembling figure towering 
 over her: 
 
 "I don t believe you!" he hissed. 
 
 Cleo walked leisurely to the door and smiled : 
 
 "Ask the servants if you doubt my word." She 
 finished with a sneer. "I begged you not to fight, 
 major!" 
 
 He stood rooted to the spot and watched her slowly 
 walk backward into the hall. It was a lie, of course. 
 And yet the calm certainty with which she spoke chilled 
 his soul as he recalled his own suspicions. He must 
 know now without a moment s delay and he must know 
 the whole truth without reservation. 
 
 Before he approached either Tom or Helen there 
 368 
 
THE SECOND BLOW 
 
 was one on whom he had always relied to tell the truth. 
 Her honest black face had been the one comfort of 
 his life through the years of shadow and deceit. If 
 Minerva knew she would tell him. 
 
 He rushed to the door that led to the kitchen and 
 called : 
 
 "Minerva!" 
 
 The answer came feebly: 
 
 "Yassah." 
 
 "Come here!" 
 
 He had controlled his emotions sufficiently to speak 
 his last command with some degree of dignity. 
 
 He walked back to the table and waited for her com 
 ing. His brain was in a whirl of conflicting, stunning 
 emotion. He simply couldn t face at once the appalling 
 possibilities such a statement involved. His mind re 
 fused to accept it. As yet it was a lie of Cleo s fertile 
 invention, and still his reason told him that such a lie 
 could serve no sane purpose in such a crisis. He felt 
 that he was choking. His hand involuntarily went to 
 his neck and fumbled at his collar. 
 
 Minerva s heavy footstep was heard and he turned 
 sharply : 
 
 "Minerva !" 
 
 "Yassah" she answered, glancing at him timidly. 
 Never had she seen his face so ghastly or the look in 
 his eye so desperate. She saw that he was making an 
 effort at self-control and knew instinctively that the 
 happiness of the lovers was at stake. It was too solemn 
 a moment for anything save the naked truth and her 
 heart sank in pity and sympathy for the girl she had 
 promised to help. 
 
 "Minerva," he began evenly, "you are the only serv- 
 369 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 ant in this house who has never lied to me" he took a 
 step closer. "Are Tom and Miss Helen lovers?" 
 
 Minerva fumbled her apron, glanced at his drawn 
 face, looked down on the floor and stammered: 
 
 "De Lordy, major " 
 
 "Yes or no !" he thundered. 
 
 The black woman moistened her lips, hesitated, turned 
 her honest face on his and said tremblingly : 
 
 "Yassah, dey is!" 
 
 His eyes burned into hers : 
 
 "And you, too, have known this for weeks?" 
 
 "Yassah. Mister Tom ax me not ter tell ye " 
 
 Norton staggered to a seat and sank with a groan 
 of despair, repeating over and over again in low gasps 
 the exclamation that was a sob and a prayer : 
 
 "Great God! Great God!" 
 
 Minerva drew near with tender sympathy. Her 
 voice was full of simple, earnest pleading: 
 
 "De Lordy, major, what s de use? Young folks is 
 young folks, an love s love. What ye want ter break 
 em up fer dey s so happy ! Yer know, sah, ye can t 
 mend er butterfly s wing er put er egg back in de shell. 
 Miss Helen s young, beautiful, sweet and good won t 
 ye let me plead fer em, sah?" 
 
 With a groan of anguish Norton sprang to his feet: 
 
 "Silence silence !" 
 
 "Yassah !" 
 
 "Go find Miss Helen send her to me quickly. I 
 don t want to see Mr. Tom. I want to see her alone 
 first." 
 
 Minerva had backed out of his way and answered 
 plaintively : 
 
 "Yassah." 
 
 370 
 
THE SECOND BLOW 
 
 She paused and extended her hand pleadingly : 
 
 "You ll be easy wid em, sah?" 
 
 He hadn t heard. The tall figure slowly sank into 
 the chair and his shoulders drooped in mortal weariness. 
 
 Minerva shook her head sadly and turned to do his 
 bidding. 
 
 Norton s eyes were set in agony, his face white, his 
 breast scarcely moving to breathe, as he waited Helen s 
 coming. The nerves suddenly snapped he bowed his 
 face in his hands and sobbed aloud : 
 
 "Oh, dear God, give me strength! I can t I can t 
 confess to my boy!" 
 
 371 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 NORTON made a desperate effort to pull himself to 
 gether for his appeal to Helen. On its outcome hung 
 the possibility of saving himself from the terror that 
 haunted him. If he could tell the girl the truth and 
 make her see that a marriage with Tom was utterly 
 out of the question because her blood was stained with 
 that of a negro, it might be possible to save himself the 
 humiliation of the full confession of their relationship 
 and of his bitter shame. 
 
 He had made a fearful mistake in not telling her this 
 at their first interview, and a still more frightful mistake 
 in rearing her in ignorance of the truth. No life built 
 on a lie could endure. He was still trying desperately 
 to hold his own on its shifting sands, but in his soul 
 of souls he had begun to despair of the end. He was 
 clutching at straws. In moments of sanity he realized 
 it, but there was nothing else to do. The act was in 
 stinctive. 
 
 The girl s sensitive mind was the key to a possible 
 solution. He had felt instinctively on the day he told 
 her the first fact about the disgrace of her birth, vague 
 and shadowy as he had left it, that she could never 
 adjust herself to the certainty that negro blood flowed 
 in her veins. He had observed that her aversion to 
 negroes was peculiarly acute. If her love for the boy 
 
 372 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 were genuine, if it belonged to the big things of the 
 soul, and were not the mere animal impulse she had 
 inherited from her mother, he would have a ground 
 of most powerful appeal. Love seeks not its own. 
 If she really loved she would sink her own life to save 
 his. 
 
 It was a big divine thing to demand of her and his 
 heart sank at the thought of her possible inheritance 
 from Cleo. Yet he knew by an instinct deeper and 
 truer than reason, that the ruling power in this sensitive, 
 lonely creature was in the spirit, not the flesh. He re 
 called in vivid flashes the moments he had felt this so 
 keenly in their first pitiful meeting. If he could win 
 her consent to an immediate flight and the sacrifice of 
 her own desires to save the boy ! It was only a hope 
 it was a desperate one but he clung to it with painful 
 eagerness. 
 
 Why didn t she come? The minutes seemed hours 
 and there were minutes in which he lived a life. 
 
 He rose nervously and walked toward the mantel, 
 lifted his eyes and they rested on the portrait of his 
 wife. 
 
 " My brooding spirit will watch and guard ! 
 
 He repeated the promise of her last scrawled mes 
 sage. He leaned heavily against the mantel, his eyes 
 burning with an unusual brightness. 
 
 "Oh, Jean, darling," he groaned, "if you see and 
 hear and know, let me feel your presence ! Your dear 
 eyes are softer and kinder than the world s to-night. 
 Help me, I m alone, heartsick and broken!" 
 
 He choked down a sob, walked back to the chair and 
 sank in silence. His eyes were staring into space, his 
 imagination on fire, passing in stern review the events 
 
 373 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 of his life. How futile, childish and absurd it all 
 seemed! What a vain and foolish thing its hope and 
 struggles, its dreams and ambitions ! What a failure 
 for all its surface brilliance ! He was standing again 
 at the window behind the dais of the President of the 
 Senate, watching the little drooping figure of the Gov 
 ernor staggering away into oblivion, and his heart went 
 out to him in a great tenderness and pity. He longed 
 to roll back the years that he might follow the impulse 
 he had felt to hurry down the steps of the Capitol, draw 
 the broken man into a sheltered spot, slip his arms 
 about him and say: 
 
 "Who am I to judge? You re my brother I m 
 sorry ! Come, we ll try it again and help one another 1" 
 
 The dream ended in a sudden start. He had heard 
 the rustle of a dress at the door and knew without lift 
 ing his head that she was in the room. 
 
 Only the slightest sound had come from her dry 
 throat, a little muffled attempt to clear it of the tight 
 ening bands. It was scarcely audible, yet his keen ear 
 had caught it instantly, not only caught the excitement 
 under which she was struggling, but in it the painful 
 consciousness of his hostility and her pathetic desire 
 to be friends. 
 
 He rose trembling and turned his dark eyes on her 
 white uplifted face. 
 
 A feeling of terror suddenly weakened her knees. 
 He was evidently not angry as she had feared. There 
 was something bigger and more terrible than anger 
 behind the mask he was struggling to draw over his 
 mobile features. 
 
 "What has happened, major?" she asked in a subdued 
 voice. 
 
 374 
 
"Only the slightest sound came from her dry throat. 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 "That is what I must know of you, child," he replied, 
 Batching her intently. 
 
 She pressed closer with sudden desperate courage, 
 her voice full of wistful friendliness : 
 
 "Oh, major, what have I done to offend you? I ve 
 tried so hard to win your love and respect. All my 
 life I ve been alone in a world of strangers, friendless 
 and homesick " 
 
 He lifted his hand with a firm gesture: 
 
 "Come, child, to the point! I must know the truth 
 now. Tom has made love to you?" 
 
 She blushed: 
 
 "I I wish to see Tom before I answer " 
 
 Norton dropped his uplifted arm with a groan: 
 
 "Thank you," he murmured in tones scarcely audi 
 ble. "I have your answer !" he paused and looked at 
 her curiously "And you love him?" 
 
 The girl hesitated for just an instant, her blue eyes 
 flashed and she drew her strong, young figure erect: 
 
 "Yes ! And I m proud of it. His love has lifted 
 me into the sunlight and made the world glorious 
 made me love everything in it every tree and every 
 flower and every living thing that moves and feels " 
 
 She stopped abruptly and lifted her flushed face to 
 his : 
 
 "I ve learned to love you, in spite of your harshness 
 to me I love you because you are his father!" 
 
 He turned from her and then wheeled suddenly, his 
 face drawn with pain : 
 
 "Now, I must be frank, I must be brutal. I must 
 know the truth without reservation how far has this 
 thing gone?" 
 
 "I I don t understand you !" 
 375 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Marriage is impossible! I told you that and you 
 must have realized it." 
 
 Her head drooped: 
 
 "You said so " 
 
 "Impossible utterly impossible ! And you know 
 it" he drew a deep breath. "What what are your real 
 relations ?" 
 
 "My real relations ?" she gasped. 
 
 "Answer me now, before God! I ll hold your secret 
 sacred your life and his may depend on it" his voice 
 dropped to a tense whisper. "Your love is pure and 
 unsullied?" 
 
 The girl s eyes flashed with rage: 
 i "As pure and unsullied as his dead mother s for 
 
 you!" 
 
 "Thank God!" he breathed. "I believe you but 
 I had to know, child! I had to know there are big, 
 terrible reasons why I had to know." 
 
 A tear slowly stole down Helen s flushed cheeks as 
 she quietly asked: 
 
 "Why why should you insult and shame me by 
 asking that question?" 
 
 "My knowledge of your birth." 
 
 The girl smiled sadly: 
 
 "Yet you might have guessed that I had learned to 
 cherish honor and purity before I knew I might not 
 claim them as my birthright!" 
 
 "Forgive me, child," he said contritely, "if in my 
 eagerness, my fear, my anguish, I hurt you. But I 
 had to ask that question! I had to know. Your an 
 swer gives me courage" he paused and his voice quiv 
 ered with deep intensity "you really love Tom?" 
 
 "With a love beyond words !" 
 376 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 "The big, wonderful love that comes to the human 
 soul but once?" 
 
 "Yes !" 
 
 His eyes were piercing to the depths now: 
 
 "With the deep, unselfish yearning that asks noth 
 ing for itself and seeks only the highest good of its 
 beloved?" 
 
 "Yes yes," she answered mechanically and, pausing, 
 looked again into his burning eyes ; "but you frighten 
 me " she grasped a chair for support, recovered her 
 self and went on rapidly "you mustn t ask me to give 
 him up I won t give him up ! Poor and friendless, with 
 a shadow over my life and everything against me, I 
 have won him and he s mine ! I have the right to his 
 love I didn t ask to be born. I must live my own life. 
 I have as much right to happiness as you. Why must I 
 bear the sins of my father and mother? Have I broken 
 the law? Haven t I a heart that can ache and break 
 and cry for joy?" 
 
 He allowed the first paroxysm of her emotion to 
 spend itself before he replied, and then in quiet tones 
 said: 
 
 "You must give him up !" 
 
 "I won t ! I won t, I tell you !" she said through her 
 set teeth as she suddenly swung her strong, young form 
 before him. "I won t give him up ! His love has made 
 life worth living and I m going to live it ! I don t care 
 what you say he s mine and you shall not take him 
 from me!" 
 
 Norton was stunned by the fiery intensity with which 
 her answer had been given. There was no mistaking 
 the strength of her character. Every vibrant note of 
 her voice had rung with sincerity, purity, the justice 
 
 377 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 of her cause, and the consciousness of power. He was 
 dealing with no trembling schoolgirl s mind, filled with 
 sentimental dreams. A woman, in the tragic strength 
 of a great nature, stood before him. He felt this great 
 ness instinctively and met it with reverence. It could 
 only be met thus, and as he realized its strength, his 
 heart took fresh courage. His own voice became ten 
 der, eager, persuasive: 
 
 "But suppose, my dear, I show you that you will 
 destroy the happiness and wreck the life of the man 
 you love?" 
 
 "Impossible! He knows that I m nameless and his 
 love is all the deeper, truer and more manly because 
 he realizes that I am defenseless." 
 
 "But suppose I convince you?" 
 
 "You can t!" 
 
 "Suppose," he said in a queer tone, "I tell you that 
 the barrier between you is so real, so loathsome " 
 
 "Loathsome?" she repeated with a start. 
 
 "So loathsome," he went on evenly, "that when he 
 knows the truth, whether he wishes it or not, he will 
 instinctively turn from you with a shudder." 
 
 "I won t believe it !" 
 
 "Suppose I prove to you that marriage would wreck 
 both your life and his" he gazed at her with trembling 
 intensity "would you give him up to save him?" 
 
 She held his eye steadily : 
 
 "Yes I d die to save him !" 
 
 A pitiful stillness followed. The man scarcely moved. 
 His lips quivered and his eyes grew dim. He looked at 
 her pathetically and motioned her to a seat. 
 
 "And if I convince you," he went on tenderly, "you 
 will submit yourself to my advice and leave America?" 
 
 378 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 The blue eyes never flinched as she firmly replied : 
 
 "Yes. But I warn you that no such barrier can 
 exist." 
 
 "Then I must prove to you that it does." He drew 
 a deep breath and watched her. "You realize the fact 
 that a man who marries a nameless girl bars himself 
 from all careers of honor?" 
 
 "The honor of fools, yes of the noble and wise, 
 no!" 
 
 "You refuse to see that the shame which shadows a 
 mother s life will smirch her children, and like a deadly 
 gangrene at last eat the heart out of her husband s 
 love?" 
 
 "My faith in him is too big " 
 
 "You can conceive of no such barrier?" 
 
 "No!" 
 
 "In the first rush of love," he replied kindly, "you 
 feel this. Emotion obscures reason. But there are such 
 barriers between men and women." 
 
 "Name one!" 
 
 His brow clouded, his lips moved to speak and 
 stopped. It was more difficult to frame in speech than 
 he had thought. His jaw closed with firm decision at 
 last and he began calmly: 
 
 "I take an extreme case. Suppose, for example, your 
 father, a proud Southern white man, of culture, refine 
 ment and high breeding, forgot for a moment that he 
 was white and heard the call of the Beast, and your 
 mother were an octoroon what then?" 
 
 The girl flushed with anger: 
 
 "Such a barrier, yes ! Nothing could be more loath 
 some. But why ask me so disgusting a question? No 
 such barrier could possibly exist between us !" 
 
 379 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Norton s eyes were again burning into her soul as 
 he asked in a low voice: 
 
 "Suppose it does?" 
 
 The girl smiled with a puzzled look : 
 
 "Suppose it does? Of course, you re only trying 
 |to prove that such an impossible barrier might exist! 
 And for the sake of argument I agree that it would be 
 real" she paused and her breath came in a quick 
 gasp. She sprang to her feet clutching at her throat, 
 trembling from head to foot "What do you mean by 
 looking at me like that?" 
 
 Norton lowered his head and barely breathed the 
 words : 
 
 "That is the barrier between you !" 
 
 Helen looked at him dazed. The meaning was too 
 big and stupefying to be grasped at once. 
 
 "Why, of course, major," she faltered, "you just 
 say that to crush me in the argument. But I ve given 
 up the point. I ve granted that such a barrier may 
 exist and would be real. But you haven t told me the 
 one between us." 
 
 The man steeled his heart, turned his face away and 
 spoke in gentle tones : 
 
 "I am telling you the ipitiful, tragic truth your 
 mother is a negress " 
 
 With a smothered cry of horror the girl threw her 
 self on him and covered his mouth with her hand, half 
 gasping, half screaming her desperate appeal: 
 
 "Stop! don t don t say it! take it back! Tell me 
 that it s not true tell me that you only said it to con 
 vince me and I ll believe you. If the hideous thing is 
 true for the love of God deny it now! If it s true 
 lie to me" her voice broke and she clung to Norton s 
 
 380 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 arms with cruel grip "lie to me! Tell me that you 
 didn t mean it, and I ll believe you truth or lie, I ll 
 never question it ! I ll never cross your purpose again 
 I ll do anything you tell me, major" she lifted her 
 streaming eyes and began slowly to sink to her knees 
 "see how humble how obedient I am ! You don t hate 
 me, do you? I m just a poor, lonely girl, helpless and 
 friendless now at your feet" her head sank into her 
 hands until the beautiful brown hair touched the floor 
 "have mercy! have mercy on me!" 
 
 Norton bent low and fumbled for the trembling hand. 
 He couldn t see and for a moment words were impos 
 sible. 
 
 He found her hand and pressed it gently : 
 
 "I m sorry, little girl! I d lie to you if I could 
 but you know a lie don t last long in this world. I ve 
 lied about you before I d lie now to save you this 
 anguish, but it s no use we all have to face things in 
 the end !" 
 
 With a mad cry of pain, the girl sprang to her feet 
 and staggered to the table: 
 
 "Oh, God, how could any man with a soul any liv 
 ing creature, even a beast of the field bring me into 
 the world teach me to think and feel, to laugh and 
 cry, and thrust me into such a hell alone! My proud 
 f aiher I could kill him !" 
 
 Norton extended his hands to her in a gesture of in 
 stinctive sympathy: 
 
 "Come, you ll see things in a calm light to-morrow, 
 you are young and life is all before you !" 
 
 "Yes !" she cried fiercely, "a life of shame a life of 
 insult, of taunts, of humiliation, of horror ! The one 
 
 thing I ve always loathed was the touch of a negro " 
 
 381 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 She stopped suddenly and lifted her hand, staring 
 with wildly dilated eyes at the nails of her finely 
 shaped fingers to find if the telltale marks of negro 
 blood were there which she had seen on Cleo s. 
 Finding none, the horror in her eyes slowly sof 
 tened into a look of despairing tenderness as she went 
 on: 
 
 "The one passionate yearning of my soul has been 
 to be a mother to feel the breath of a babe on my 
 heart, to hear it lisp my name and know a mother s 
 love the love I ve starved for and now, it can never 
 be!" 
 
 She had moved beyond the table in her last desperate 
 cry and Norton followed with a look of tenderness: 
 
 "Nonsense," he cried persuasively, "you re but a 
 child yourself. You can go abroad where no such prob 
 lem of white and black race exists. You can marry 
 there and be happy in your home and little ones, if God 
 shall give them!" 
 
 She turned on him savagely: 
 
 "Well, God shall not give them! I ll see to that! 
 I m young, but I m not a fool. I know something of 
 the laws of life. I know that Tom is not like you" 
 she turned and pointed to the portrait on the wall 
 "he is like his great-grandfather! Mine may have 
 been " 
 
 Her voice choked with passion. She grasped a chair 
 with one hand and tore at the collar of her dress with 
 the other. She had started to say "mine may have 
 been a black cannibal!" and the sheer horror of its 
 possibility had strangled her. When she had sufficiently 
 mastered her feelings to speak she said in a strange 
 muffled tone: 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 "I ask nothing of God now if I could see Him, I d 
 curse Him to His face !" 
 
 "Come, come !" Norton exclaimed, "this is but a pass 
 ing ugly fancy such things rarely happen " 
 
 "But they do happen!" she retorted slowly. "I ve 
 known one such tragedy, of a white mother s child com 
 ing into the world with the thick lips, kinky hair, flat 
 nose and black skin of a cannibal ancestor ! She killed 
 herself when she was strong enough to leap out the 
 window" her voice dropped to a dreamy chant "yes, 
 blood will tell there s but one thing for me to do! 
 I wonder, with the yellow in me, if I ll have the cour 
 age." 
 
 Norton spoke with persuasive tenderness : 
 
 "You mustn t think of such madness ! I ll send 
 you abroad at once and you can begin life over 
 again " 
 
 Helen suddenly snatched the chair to which she had 
 been holding out of her way and faced Norton with 
 flaming eyes : 
 
 "I don t want to be an exile ! I ve been alone all my 
 miserable orphan life ! I don t want to go abroad and 
 die among strangers ! I ve just begun to live since I 
 came here! I love the South it s mine I feel it I 
 know it! I love its blue skies and its fields I love its 
 people they are mine! I think as you think, feel as 
 you feel " 
 
 She paused and looked at him queerly: 
 
 "I ve learned to honor, respect and love you because 
 I ve grown to feel that you stand for what I hold high 
 est, noblest and best in life" the voice died in a sob and 
 she was silent. 
 
 The man turned away, crying in his soul: 
 383 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "O God, I m paying the price now!" 
 
 "What can I do!" she went on at last. "What is 
 life worth since I know this leper s shame? There are 
 millions like me, yes. If I could bend my back and be 
 a slave there are men and women who need my services. 
 And there are men I might know yes but I can t I 
 can t! I m not a slave. I m not bad. I can t stoop. 
 There s but one thing!" 
 
 Norton s face was white with emotion : 
 
 "I can t tell you, little girl, how sorry I am" his 
 voice broke. He turned, suddenly extended his hand 
 and cried hoarsely: "Tell me what I can do to help 
 you I ll do anything on this earth that s within rea 
 son!" 
 
 The girl looked up surprised at his anguish, wonder 
 ing vaguely if he could mean what he had said, and then 
 threw herself at him in a burst of sudden, fierce rebel 
 lion, her voice, low and quivering at first, rising to the 
 tragic power of a defiant soul in combat with over 
 whelming odds: 
 
 "Then give me back the man I love he s mine ! He s 
 mine, I tell you, body and soul ! God gave him to 
 me ! He s your son, but I love him ! He s my mate ! 
 He s of age he s no longer yours ! His time has come 
 to build his own home he s mine not yours ! He s 
 my life and you re tearing the very heart out of my 
 body !" 
 
 The white, trembling figure slowly crumpled at his 
 feet. 
 
 He took both of her hands, and lifted her gently : 
 
 "Pull yourself together, child. It s hard, I know, but 
 you begin to realize that you must bear it. You must 
 look things calmly in the face now." 
 
 384 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 The girl s mouth hardened and she answered with 
 bitterness : 
 
 "Yes, of course I m nobody ! We must consider 
 you" she staggered to a chair and dropped limply into 
 it, her voice a whisper "we must consider Tom yes 
 yes we must, too I know that " 
 
 Norton pressed eagerly to her side and leaned over 
 the drooping figure: 
 
 "You can begin to see now that I was right," he 
 pleaded. "You love Tom he s worth saving you ll do 
 as I ask and give him up?" 
 
 The sensitive young face was convulsed with an agony 
 words could not express and the silence was pitiful. The 
 man bending over her could hear the throb of his own 
 heart. A quartet of serenaders celebrating the victory 
 of the election stopped at the gate and the soft strains 
 of the music came through the open window. Norton 
 felt that he must scream in a moment if she did not 
 answer. He bent low and softly repeated : 
 
 "You ll do as I ask now, and give him up ?" 
 
 The tangled mass of brown hair sank lower and her 
 answer was a sigh of despair: 
 
 "Yes !" 
 
 The man couldn t speak at once. His eyes filled. 
 When he had mastered his voice he said eagerly : 
 
 "There s but one way, you know. You must leave 
 at once without seeing him." 
 
 She lifted her face with a pleading look: 
 
 "Just a moment without letting him know what has 
 passed between us just one last look into his dear 
 face?" 
 
 He shook his head kindly: 
 
 "It isn t wise " 
 
 385 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Yes, I know," she sighed. "I ll go at once." 
 
 He drew his watch and looked at it hurriedly: 
 
 "The first train leaves in thirty minutes. Get your 
 hat, a coat and travelling bag and go just as you are. 
 I ll send your things " 
 
 "Yes yes" she murmured. 
 
 "I ll join you in a few days in New York and arrange 
 your future. Leave the house immediately. Tom 
 mustn t see you. Avoid him as you cross the lawn. 
 I ll have a carriage at the gate in a few minutes." 
 
 The little head sank again : 
 
 "I understand." 
 
 He looked uncertainly at the white drooping figure. 
 The serenaders were repeating the chorus of the old 
 song in low, sweet strains that floated over the lawn 
 and stole through the house in weird ghost-like echoes. 
 He returned to her chair and bent over her; 
 
 "You won t stop to change your dress, you ll get 
 your hat and coat and go just as you are at 
 once?" 
 
 The brown head nodded slowly and he gazed at her 
 tenderly : 
 
 "You ve been a brave little girl to-night" he lifted 
 his hand to place it on her shoulder in the first expres 
 sion of love he had ever given. The hand paused, held 
 by the struggle of the feelings of centuries of racial 
 pride and the memories of his own bitter tragedy. But 
 the pathos of her suffering and the heroism of her beau 
 tiful spirit won. The hand was gently lowered and 
 pressed the soft, round shoulder. 
 
 A sob broke from the lonely heart, and her head 
 drooped until it lay prostrate on the table, the beauti 
 ful arms outstretched in helpless surrender. 
 
 386 
 
THE TEST OF LOVE 
 
 Norton staggered blindly to the door, looked back, 
 lifted his hand and in a quivering voice, said: 
 
 "I can never forget this !" 
 
 His long stride quickly measured the distance to 
 the gate, and a loud cheer from the serenaders roused 
 the girl from her stupor of pain. 
 
 In a moment they began singing again, a love song, 
 that tore her heart with cruel power. 
 
 "Oh, God, will they never stop?" she cried, closing 
 her ears with her hands in sheer desperation. 
 
 She rose, crossed slowly to the window and looked out 
 on the beautiful moonlit lawn at the old rustic seat 
 where her lover was waiting. She pressed her hand on 
 her throbbing forehead, walked to the center of the 
 room, looked about her in a helpless way and her eye 
 rested on the miniature portrait of Tom. She picked 
 it up and gazed at it tenderly, pressed it to her heart, 
 and with a low sob felt her way through the door and 
 up the stairs to her room. 
 
 Sff! 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE PARTING 
 
 TOM had grown impatient, waiting in their shel 
 tered seat on the lawn for Helen to return. She had 
 gone on a mysterious mission to see Minerva, laugh 
 ingly refused to tell him its purpose, but prom 
 ised to return in a few minutes. When half an 
 hour had passed without a sign he reconnoitered to 
 find Minerva, and to his surprise she, too, had dis 
 appeared. 
 
 He returned to his trysting place and listened while 
 the serenaders sang their first song. Unable to 
 endure the delay longer he started to the house just 
 as his father hastily left by the front door, and 
 quickly passing the men at the gate, hurried down 
 town. 
 
 The coast was clear and he moved cautiously to 
 fathom, if possible, the mystery of Helen s disappear 
 ance. Finding no trace of her in Minerva s room, he 
 entered the house and, seeing nothing of her in the 
 halls, thrust his head in the library and found it empty. 
 He walked in, peeping around with a boyish smile ex 
 pecting her to leap out and surprise him. He opened 
 the French window and looked for her on the porch. 
 He hurried back into the room with a look of surprised 
 disappointment and started to the door opening on the 
 hall of the stairway. He heard distinctly the rustle of 
 
 388 
 
THE PARTING 
 
 a dress and the echo on the stairs of the footstep he 
 knew so well. 
 
 He gave a boyish laugh, tiptoed quickly to the old- 
 fashioned settee, dropped behind its high back and 
 waited her coming. 
 
 Helen had hastily packed a travelling bag and thrown 
 a coat over her arm. She slowly entered the library to 
 replace the portrait she had taken, kissed it and started 
 with feet of lead and set, staring eyes to slip through 
 the lawn and avoid Tom as she had promised. 
 
 As she approached the corner of the settee the boy 
 leaped up with a laugh: 
 
 "Where have you been?" 
 
 With a quick movement of surprise she threw the 
 bag and coat behind her back. Luckily he had leaped 
 so close he could not see. 
 
 "Where ve you been?" he repeated. 
 
 "Why, I ve just come from my room," she replied 
 with an attempt at composure. 
 
 "What have you got your hat for?" 
 
 She flushed the slightest bit: 
 
 "Why, I was going for a walk." 
 
 "With a veil at night what have you got that 
 veil for?" 
 
 The boyish banter in his tones began to yield to a 
 touch of wonder. 
 
 Helen hesitated: 
 
 "Why, the crowds of singing and shouting men on 
 the streets. I didn t wish to be recognized, and I 
 wanted to hear what the speakers said." 
 
 "You were going to leave me and go alone to the 
 speaker s stand ?" 
 
 "Yes. Your father is going to see you and I was 
 389 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 nervous and frightened and wanted to pass the time 
 until you were free again" she paused, looked at him 
 intently and spoke in a queer monotone "the negroes 
 who can t read and write have been disfranchised, 
 haven t they?" 
 
 "Yes," he answered mechanically, "the ballot should 
 Clever have been given them." 
 
 "Yet there s something pitiful about it after all, isn t 
 there, Tom?" She asked the question with a strained 
 wistfulness that startled the boy. 
 
 He answered automatically, but his keen, young 
 eyes were studying with growing anxiety every move 
 ment of her face and form and every tone of her 
 voice : 
 
 "I don t see it," he said carelessly. 
 
 She laid her left hand on his arm, the right hand 
 still holding her bag and coat out of sight. 
 
 "Suppose," she whispered, "that you should wake 
 up to-morrow morning and suddenly discover that a 
 strain of negro blood poisoned your veins what would 
 you do?" 
 
 Tom frowneu and watched her with a puzzled look: 
 
 "Never thought of such a thing!" 
 
 She pressed his arm eagerly: 
 
 "Think what would you do?" 
 
 "What would I do?" he repeated in blank amaze 
 ment. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 His eyes were holding hers now with a steady stare 
 of alarm. The questions she asked didn t interest him. 
 Her glittering eyes and trembling hand did. Studying 
 her intently he said lightly : 
 
 "To be perfectly honest, I d blow my brains out." 
 390 
 
THE PARTING 
 
 With a cry she staggered back and threw her hand 
 instinctively up as if to ward a blow: 
 
 "Yes yes, you would wouldn t you?" 
 
 He was staring at her now with blanched face and 
 she was vainly trying to hide her bag and coat. 
 
 He seized her arms : 
 
 "Why are you so excited? Why ao you tremble 
 so?" he drew the arm around that she was holding 
 back "What is it? What s the matter?" 
 
 His eye rested on the bag, he turned deadly T)ale and 
 she dropped it with a sigh. 
 
 "What what does this mean?" he gashed "You 
 are trying to leave me without a word?" 
 
 She staggered and fell limp into a seat : 
 
 "Oh, Tom, the end has come, and I must go !" 
 
 "Go !" he cried indignantly, "then I go, too !" 
 
 "But you can t, dear !" 
 
 "And why not?" 
 
 "Your father has just told me the whole hideous 
 secret of my birth and it s hopeless !" 
 
 "What sort of man do you think I am? What sort 
 of love do you think I ve given you? Separate us after 
 the solemn vows we ve given to each other! Neither 
 man nor the devil can come between us now !" 
 
 She looked at him wistfully: 
 
 "It s sweet to hear such words though I know you 
 can t make them good." 
 
 "I ll make them good," he broke in, "with every drop 
 of blood in my veins and no coward has ever borne 
 my father s name it s good blood !" 
 
 "That s just it and blood will tell. It s the law of 
 life and I ve given up." 
 
 "Well, I haven t given up," he protested, "remember 
 391 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 that ! Try me with your secret I laugh before I hear 
 it!" 
 
 With a gleam of hope in her deep blue eyes she rose 
 trembling : 
 
 "You really mean that? If I go an outcast you 
 would go with me?" 
 
 "Yes yes." 
 
 "And if a curse is branded on my forehead you ll take 
 its shame as yours ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 She laid her hand on his arm, looked long and yearn 
 ingly into his eyes, and said : 
 
 "Your father has just told me that I am a negress 
 my mother is an octoroon!" 
 
 The boy flinched involuntarily, stared in silence an 
 instant, and his form suddenly stiffened : 
 
 "I don t believe a word of it! My father has been 
 deceived. It s preposterous!" 
 
 Helen drew closer as if for shelter and clung to his 
 hand wistfully : 
 
 "It does seem a horrible joke, doesn t it? I can t 
 realize it. But it s true. The major gave me his sol 
 emn word in tears of sympathy. He knew both my 
 father and mother. I am a negress !" 
 
 The boy s arm unconsciously shrank the slightest 
 bit from her touch while he stared at her with wildly 
 dilated eyes and spoke in a hoarse whisper : 
 
 "It s impossible ! It s impossible I tell you !" 
 
 He attempted to lift his hand to place it on his 
 throbbing forehead. Helen clung to him in frantic 
 grief and terror: 
 
 "Please, please don t shrink from me! Have pity 
 on me ! If you feel that way, for God s sake don t let 
 
 392 
 
THE PARTING 
 
 me see it don t let me know it I I can t endure 
 it! I can t " 
 
 The tense figure collapsed in his arms and the brown 
 head sank on his breast with a sob of despair. The 
 boy pressed her to his heart and held her close. He 
 felt her body shiver as he pushed the tangled ringlets 
 back from her high, fair forehead and felt the cold 
 beads of perspiration. The serenaders at the gate were 
 singing again a negro folk-song. The absurd childish 
 words which he knew so well rang through the house, 
 a chanting mockery. 
 
 "There, there," he whispered tenderly, "I didn t 
 shrink from you, dear. I couldn t shrink from you 
 you only imagined it. I was just stunned for a mo 
 ment. The blow blinded me. But it s all right now, I 
 see things clearly. I love you that s all and love 
 is from God, or it s not love, it s a sham " 
 
 A low sob and she clung to him with desperate ten 
 derness. 
 
 He bent his head close until the blonde hair mingled 
 with the rich brown: 
 
 "Hush, my own ! If a single nerve of my body shrank 
 from your little hand, find it and I ll tear it out !" 
 
 She withdrew herself slowly from his embrace, and 
 brushed the tears from her eyes with a little movement 
 of quiet resignation: 
 
 "It s all right. I m calm again and it s all over. 
 I won t mind now if you shrink a little. I m really glad 
 that you did. It needed just that to convince me that 
 your father was right. Our love would end in the ruin 
 of your life. I see it clearly now. It would become 
 to you at last a conscious degradation. That I couldn t 
 endure." 
 
 393 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I have your solemn vow," he interrupted impa 
 tiently, "you re mine! I ll not give you up!" 
 
 She looked at him sadly: 
 
 "But I m going, dear, in a few minutes. You can t 
 hold me now that I know it s for the best." 
 
 "You can t mean this?" 
 
 She clung to his hand and pressed it with cruel force : 
 
 "Don t think it isn t hard. All my life I ve been a 
 wistful beggar, eager and hungry for love. In your 
 arms I had forgotten the long days of misery. I ve 
 been happy perfectly, divinely happy ! It will be 
 hard, the darkness and the loneliness again. But I 
 can t drag you down, my sweetheart, my hero! Your 
 life must be big and brilliant. I ve dreamed it thus. 
 You shall be a man among men, the world s great men 
 and so I am going out of your life!" 
 
 "You shall not !" the boy cried fiercely. "I tell you 
 I don t believe this hideous thing it s a lie, I tell you 
 it s a lie, and I don t care who says iti Nothing 
 shall separate us now. I ll go with you to the ends of 
 the earth and if you sink into hell, I ll follow you there, 
 lift you in my arms and fight my way back through 
 its flames !" 
 
 She smiled at him tenderly: 
 
 "It s beautiful to hear you say that, dearest, but 
 our dream has ended!" 
 
 She stooped, took up the bag and coat, paused and 
 looked into his face with the hunger and longing of a 
 life burning in her eyes: 
 
 "But I shall keep the memory of every sweet and 
 foolish word you have spoken, every tone of your voice, 
 every line of your face, every smile and trick of your 
 lips and eyes ! I know them all. The old darkness will 
 
 394 
 
THE PARTING 
 
 not be the same. I have loved and I have lived. A 
 divine fire has been kindled in my soul. I can go into 
 no world so far I shall not feel the warmth of your 
 love, your kisses on my lips, your strong arms pressing 
 me to your heart the one true, manly heart that has 
 loved me. I shall see your face forever though I see it 
 through a mist of tears good-by !" 
 
 The last word was the merest whisper. 
 
 The boy sprang toward her: 
 
 "I won t say it I won t I won t!" 
 
 "But you must!" 
 
 He opened his arms and called in tones of compelling 
 anguish : 
 
 "Helen !" 
 
 The girl s lips trembled, her eyes grew dim, her fin 
 gers were locked in a cruel grip trying to hold the bag 
 which slipped to the floor. And then with a cry she 
 threw herself madly into his arms : 
 
 "Oh, I can t give you up, dearest! I can t I ve 
 tried but I can t!" 
 
 He held her clasped without a word, stroking her 
 hair, kissing it tenderly and murmuring little inarticu 
 late cries of love. 
 
 Norton suddenly appeared in the door, his face 
 blanched with horror. With a rush of his tall figure 
 he was by their side and hurled them apart: 
 
 "My God ! Do you know what you re doing?" 
 
 He turned on Tom, his face white with pain : 
 
 "I forbid you to ever see or speak to this girl again !" 
 
 Tom sprang back and confronted his father : 
 
 "Forbid!" 
 
 Helen lifted her head: 
 
 "He s right, Tom." 
 
 395 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Yes," the father said with bated breath, "in the 
 name of the law by all that s pure and holy, by the 
 memory of the mother w r ho bore you and the angels 
 who guard the sanctity of every home, I forbid 
 you!" 
 
 The boy squared himself and drew his figure to its 
 full height: 
 
 "You re my father! But I want you to remember 
 that I m of age. I m twenty-two years old and I m a 
 man ! Forbid ? How dare you use such words to me in 
 the presence of the woman I love?" 
 
 Norton s voice dropped to pitiful tenderness: 
 
 "You you don t understand, my boy. Helen 
 knows that I m right. We have talked it over. She 
 has agreed to go at once. The carriage will be at the 
 door in a moment. She can never see you again" he 
 paused and lifted his hand solemnly above Tom s head 
 "and in the name of Almighty God I warn you not 
 to attempt to follow her " 
 
 He turned quickly, picked UD the fallen bag and 
 coat and added: 
 
 "I ll explain all to you at last if I must." 
 
 "Well, I won t hear it !" Tom cried in rage. "I m a 
 free agent ! I won t take such orders from you or any 
 other man !" 
 
 The sound of the carriage wheels were heard on the 
 graveled drive at the door. 
 
 Norton turned to Helen and took her arm : 
 
 "Come, Helen, the carriage is waiting." 
 
 With a sudden leap Tom was by his side, tore the 
 bag and coat from his hand, hurled them to the floor 
 and turned on his father with blazing eyes : 
 
 "Now, look here, Dad, this thing s going too far! 
 
 396 
 
THE PARTING 
 
 You can t bulldoze me. There s one right no American 
 man ever yields without the loss of his self-respect the 
 right to choose the woman he loves. When Helen 
 leaves this house, I go with her! I m running this 
 thing now your carriage needn t wait." 
 
 With sudden decision he rushed to the porch and 
 and called: 
 
 "Driver !" 
 
 "Yassah." 
 
 "Go back to your stable you re not wanted." 
 
 "Yassah." 
 
 "I ll send for you if I want you wait a minute till 
 I tell you." 
 
 Norton s head drooued and he blindly grasped a 
 chair. 
 
 Helen watched him with growing pity, drew near and 
 said softly: 
 
 "I m sorry, major, to have brought you this 
 pain " 
 
 "You promised to go without seeing him !" he ex 
 claimed bitterly. 
 
 "I tried. I only gave up for a moment. I fought 
 bravely. Remember now in all you say to Tom that I 
 am going that I know I must go " 
 
 "Yes, I understand, child," he replied brokenly, "and 
 my heart goes out to you. Mine is heavy to-night with 
 a burden greater than I can bear. You re a brave lit 
 tle girl. The fault isn t yours it s mine. I ve got 
 to face it now" he paused and looked at her tenderly. 
 "You say that you ve been lonely well, remember that 
 in all your orphan life you never saw an hour as lonely 
 as the one my soul is passing through now ! The lone 
 liest road across this earth is the way of sin." 
 
 397 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Helen watched him in amazement : 
 
 "The way of sin why " 
 
 Tom s brusque entrance interrupted her. With 
 quick, firm decision he took her arm and led her to 
 the door opening on the hall: 
 
 "Wait for me in your room, dear," he said quietly. 
 "I have something to say to my father." 
 
 She looked at him timidly : 
 
 "You won t forget that he is your father, and loves 
 you better than his own life?" 
 
 "I ll not forget." 
 
 She started with sudden alarm and whispered: 
 
 "You haven t got the pistol that you brought home 
 to-day from the campaign, have you?" 
 
 "Surely, dear " 
 
 "Give it to me!" she demanded. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Why?" she asked pleadingly. 
 
 "I ve too much self-respect." 
 
 She looked into his clear eyes: 
 
 "Forgive me, dear, but I was so frightened just now. 
 You were so violent. I never saw you like that before. 
 I was afraid something might happen in a moment of 
 blind passion, and I could never lift my head again " 
 
 "I ll not forget," he broke in, "if my father does. 
 Run now, dear, I ll join you in a few minutes." 
 
 A pressure of the hand, a look of love, and she was 
 gone. The boy closed the door, quickly turned and 
 faced his father. 
 
 398 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 FATHER AND SON 
 
 NORTON had ignored the scene between Helen and 
 Tom and his stunned mind was making a desperate 
 fight to prepare for the struggle that was inevitable. 
 
 The thing that gave him fresh courage was the 
 promise the girl had repeated that she would go. Some 
 how he had grown to trust her implicitly. He hadn t 
 time as yet to realize the pity and pathos of such a 
 trust in such an hour. He simply believed that she 
 would keep her word. He had to win his fight now 
 with the boy without the surrender of his secret. Could 
 he do it? It was doubtful, but he was going to try. 
 His back was to the wall. 
 
 Tom took another step into the room and the father 
 turned, drew his tall figure erect in an instinctive move 
 ment of sorrowful dignity and reserve and walked to 
 the table. 
 
 All traces of anger had passed from the boy s hand 
 some young face and a look of regret had taken its 
 place. He began speaking very quietly and rever 
 ently : 
 
 "Now, Dad, we must face this thing. It s a tragedy 
 for you perhaps " 
 
 The father interrupted: 
 
 "How big a tragedy, my son, I hope that you may 
 
 never know " 
 
 399 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Anyhow," Tom went on frankly, "I am ashamed of 
 the way I acted. But you re a manly man and you can 
 understand." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I know that all you ve done is because you love 
 me " 
 
 "How deeply, you can never know." 
 
 "I m sorry if I forgot for a moment the respect I 
 owe you, the reverence and love I hold for you I ve al 
 ways been proud of you, Dad of your stainless name, 
 of the birthright you have given me you know 
 this " 
 
 "Yet it s good to hear you say it !" 
 
 "And now that I ve said this, you d as well know 
 first as last that any argument about Helen is idle 
 between us. I m not going to give up the woman 
 Hove!" 
 
 "Ah, my boy " 
 
 Tom lifted his hand emphatically : 
 
 "It s no use! You needn t tell me that her blood is 
 tainted I don t believe it !" 
 
 The father came closer: 
 
 "You do believe it! In the first mad riot of passion 
 you re only trying to fool yourself." 
 
 "It s unthinkable, I tell you! and I ve made my de 
 cision" he paused a moment and then demanded: 
 "How do you know her blood is tainted?" 
 
 The father answered firmly: 
 
 "I have the word both of her mother and father." 
 
 "Well, I won t take their word. Some natures are 
 their own defense. On them no stain can rest, and I 
 stake my life on Helen s !" 
 
 "My boy " 
 
 400 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 "Oh, I know what you re going to say as a theory 
 it s quite correct. But it s one thing to accept a theory, 
 another to meet the thing in your own heart before 
 God alone with your life in your hands." 
 
 "What do you mean by that?" the father asked 
 savagely. 
 
 "That for the past hour I ve been doing some think 
 ing on my own account." 
 
 "That s just what you haven t been doing. You 
 haven t thought at all. If you had, you d know that 
 you can t marry this girl. Come, come, my boy, re 
 member that you have reason and because you have 
 this power that s bigger than all passion, all desire, all 
 impulse, you re a man, not a brute " 
 
 "All right," the boy broke in excitedly, "submit it to 
 reason! I ll stand the test it s more than you can 
 do. I love this girl she s my mate. She loves me and 
 I am hers. Haven t I taken my stand squarely on Na 
 ture and her highest law ?" 
 
 "No !" 
 
 "What s higher? Social fictions prejudices?" 
 
 The father lifted his head : 
 
 "Prejudices! You know as well as I that the white 
 man s instinct of racial purity is not prejudice, but 
 God s first law of life the instinct of self-preservation ! 
 The lion does not mate with the jackal!" 
 
 The boy flushed angrily: 
 
 "The girl I love is as fair as you or I." 
 
 "Even so," was the quick reply, "we inherit ninety 
 per cent, of character from our dead ancestors ! Born 
 of a single black progenitor, she is still a negress. 
 Change every black skin in America to-morrow to the 
 white of a lily and we d yet have ten million negroes ten 
 
 401 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 million negroes whose blood relatives are living in 
 Africa the life of a savage." 
 
 "Granted that what you say it true and I refuse 
 to believe it I still have the right to live my own life 
 in my own way." 
 
 "No man has the right to live life in his own way if 
 h f that way he imperil millions." 
 
 "And whom would I imperil?" 
 
 "The future American. No white man ever lived who 
 uesired to be a negro. Every negro longs to be a white 
 man. No black man has ever added an iota to the 
 knowledge of the world of any value to humanity. In 
 Helen s body flows sixteen million tiny drops of blood 
 one million black poisoned by the inheritance of thou 
 sands of years of savage cruelty, ignorance, slavery 
 and superstition. The life of generations are bound 
 up in you. In you are wrapt the onward years. Man s 
 place in nature is no longer a myth. You are bound 
 by the laws of heredity laws that demand a nobler not 
 a baser race of men ! Shall we improve the breed of 
 horses and degrade our men? You have no right to 
 damn a child with such a legacy !" 
 
 "But I tell you I m not trying to I refuse to see 
 in her this stain!" 
 
 The father strode angrily to the other side of the 
 room in an effort to control his feelings : 
 
 "Because you refuse to think, my boy !" he cried in 
 agony. "I tell you, you can t defy these laws ! The y 
 are eternal never new, never old true a thousand 
 years ago, to-day, to-morrow and on a million years, 
 when this earth is thrown, a burnt cinder, into God s 
 dust heap. I can t teli you what I feel it strangles 
 me!" 
 
 402 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 "No, and I can t understand it. I feel one thing, 
 the touch of the hand of the woman I love; hear one 
 thing, the music of her voice " 
 
 "And in that voice, my boy, I hear the crooning of 
 a savage mother! But yesterday our negroes were 
 brought here from the West Soudan, black, chattering 
 savages, nearer the anthropoid ape than any other living 
 creature. And you would dare give to a child such a 
 mother? Who is this dusky figure of the forest with 
 whom you would cross your blood? In old Andy there 
 you see him to-day, a creature half child, half animal. 
 For thousands of years beyond the seas he stole his 
 food, worked his wife, sold his child, and ate his brother 
 great God, could any tragedy be more hideous than 
 our degradation at last to his racial level!" 
 
 "It can t happen ! It s a myth !" 
 
 "It s the most dangerous thing that threatens the 
 future !" the father cried with desperate earnestness. 
 "A pint of ink can make black gallons of water. The 
 barriers once down, ten million negroes can poison 
 the source of life and character for a hundred million 
 whites. This nation is great for one reason only 
 because of the breed of men who created the Republic ! 
 Oh, my boy, when you look on these walls at your 
 fathers, don t you see this, don t you feel this, don t 
 you know this?" 
 
 Tom shook his head : 
 
 "To-night I feel and know one thing. I love her! 
 We don t choose whom we love " 
 
 "Ah, but if we are more than animals, if we reason, 
 we do choose whom we marry ! Marriage is not merely 
 a question of personal whim, impulse or passion. It s 
 the one divine law on which human society rests. There 
 
 403 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 are always men who hear the call of the Beast and fall 
 below their ideals, who trail the divine standards of 
 life in the dust as they slink under the cover of 
 night " 
 
 "At least, I m not trying to do that !" 
 
 "No, worse ! You would trample them under your 
 feet at noon in defiance of the laws of man and God ! 
 You re insane for the moment. You re mad with pas 
 sion. You re not really listening to me at all I feel 
 it!" 
 
 "Perhaps I m not " 
 
 "Yet you don t question the truth of what I ve said. 
 You can t question it. You just stand here blind and 
 maddened by desire, while I beg and plead, saying in 
 your heart : I want this woman and I m going to have 
 her. You ve never faced the question that she s a 
 negress you can t face it, and yet I tell you that I 
 know it s true !" 
 
 The boy turned on his father and studied him angrily 
 for a moment, his blue eyes burning into his, his face 
 flushed and his lips curled with the slightest touch of in 
 credulity : 
 
 "And do you really believe all you ve been saying to 
 me?" 
 
 "As I believe in God!" 
 
 With a quick, angry gesture he faced his father: 
 
 "Well, you ve had a mighty poor way of showing it ! 
 If you really believed all you ve been saying to me, you 
 wouldn t stop to eat or sleep until every negro is re 
 moved from physical contact with the white race. And 
 yet on the day that I was born you placed me in the 
 arms of a negress ! The first human face on which I 
 looked was hers. I grew at her breast. You let her 
 
 404 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 love me and teach me to love her. You keep only 
 negro servants. I grow up with them, fall into their 
 lazy ways, laugh at their antics and see life through 
 their eyes, and now that my life touches theirs at a 
 thousand points of contact, you tell me that we must 
 live together and yet a gulf separates us ! Why haven t ( / 
 you realized this before? If what you say about Helen 
 is true, in God s name I ask it out of a heart 
 quivering with anguish why haven t you realized it 
 before? I demand an answer! I have the right to 
 know !" 
 
 Norton s head was lowered while the boy poured out 
 his passionate protest and he lifted it at the end with 
 a look of despair: 
 
 "You have the right to know, my boy. But the South 
 has not a valid answer to your cry. The Negro is not 
 here by my act or will, and their continued presence 
 is a constant threat against our civilization. Equality 
 is the law of life and we dare not grant it to the negro 
 unless we are willing to descend to his racial level. 
 We cannot lift him to ours. This truth forced me into 
 a new life purpose twenty years ago. The campaign 
 I have just fought and won is the first step in a 
 larger movement to find an answer to your question in 
 the complete separation of the races and nothing is 
 surer than that the South will maintain the purity of 
 her home ! It s as fixed as her faith in God !" 
 
 The boy was quiet a moment and looked at the tall 
 figure with a queer expression: 
 
 "Has she maintained it?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Is her home life clean?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 405 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "And these millions of children born in the shadows 
 these mulattoes?" 
 
 The older man s lips trembled and his brow clouded : 
 
 "The lawless have always defied the law, my son, 
 North, South, East and West, but they have never 
 defended their crimes. Dare to do this thing that s in 
 your heart and you make of crime a virtue and ask 
 God s blessing on it. The difference between the two 
 things is as deep and wide as the gulf between heaven 
 and hell." 
 
 "My marriage to Helen will be the purest and most 
 solemn act of my life " 
 
 "Silence, sir !" the father thundered in a burst of un 
 controllable passion, as he turned suddenly on him, his 
 face blanched and his whole body trembling. "I tell 
 you once for all that your marriage to this girl is a 
 physical and moral impossibility ! And I refuse 
 to argue with you a question that s beyond all argu 
 ment !" 
 
 The two men glared at each other in a duel of wills 
 in which steel cut steel without a tremor of yielding. 
 And then with a sudden flash of anger, Tom turned on 
 his heel crying: 
 
 "All right, then!" 
 
 With swift, determined step he moved toward the 
 door. The father grasped the corner of the table for 
 support : 
 
 "Tom !" 
 
 His hands were extended in pitiful appeal when the 
 boy stopped as if in deep study, turned, looked at him, 
 and walked deliberately back : 
 
 "I m going to ask you some personal questions !" 
 
 In spite of his attempt at self-control, Norton s face 
 406 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 paled. He drew himself up with an attempt at dignified 
 adjustment to the new situation, but his hands were 
 trembling as he nervously repeated: 
 
 "Personal questions ?" 
 
 "Yes. There s something very queer about your 
 position. Your creed forbids you to receive a negro as 
 a social equal?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The boy suddenly lifted his head: 
 
 "Why did you bring Helen into this house?" 
 
 "I didn t bring her." 
 
 "You didn t invite her?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "She says that you did." 
 
 "She thought so." 
 
 "She got an invitation?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Signed with your name?" 
 
 "Yes, yes." 
 
 "Who dared to write such a letter without your 
 knowledge ?" 
 
 "I can t tell you that." 
 
 "I demand it!" 
 
 Norton struggled between anger and fear and finally 
 answered in measured tones : 
 
 "It was forged by an enemy who wished to embarrass 
 me in this campaign." 
 
 "You know who wrote it?" 
 
 "I suspect." 
 
 "You don t know?" 
 
 "I said, I suspect," was the angry retort. 
 
 "And you didn t kill him?" 
 
 "In this campaign my hands were tied." 
 
 407 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The boy, watching furtively his father s increasing 
 nervousness and anger, continued his questions in a 
 slower, cooler tone : 
 
 "When you returned and found her here, you could 
 have put her out?" 
 
 "Yes," Norton answered tremblingly, "and I ought 
 to have done it!" 
 
 "But you didn t?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 The father fumbled his watch chain, mo ~ed uneasily 
 and finally said with firmness : 
 
 "I am Helen s guardian!" 
 
 The boy lifted his brows : 
 
 "You are supposed to be his attorney only. Why 
 did you, of all men on earth, accept such a position?" 
 
 "I felt that I had to." 
 
 "And the possibility of my meeting this girl never 
 occurred to you? You, who have dinned into my ears 
 from childhood that I should keep myself clean from 
 the touch of such pollution why did you take the 
 risk?" 
 
 "A sense of duty to one to whom I felt bound." 
 
 "Duty?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "It must have been deep what duty?" 
 
 Norton lifted his hand in a movement of wounded 
 pride : 
 
 "My boy !" 
 
 "Come, come, Dad, don t shuffle; this thing s a mat 
 ter of life and death with me and you must be fair " 
 
 "I m trying " 
 
 "I want to know why you are Helen s guardian, ex- 
 
 408 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 actly why. We must face each other to-day with souls 
 bare why are you her guardian?" 
 
 "I I can t tell you." 
 
 "You ve got to tell me !" 
 
 "You must trust me in this, my son !" 
 
 "I won t do it !" the boy cried, trembling with passion 
 that brought the tears blinding to his eyes. "We re 
 not father and son now. We face each other man to 
 man with two lives at stake hers and mine! You 
 can t ask me to trust you! I won t do it I ve got 
 to know!" 
 
 The father turned away: 
 
 "I can t betray this secret even to you, my boy." 
 
 "Does any one else share it?" 
 
 "Why do you use that queer tone? What do 
 you mean?" The father s last question was barely 
 breathed. 
 
 "Nothing," the boy answered with a toss of his 
 head. "Does any one in this house suspect it?" 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 Again Tom paused, watching keenly: 
 
 "On the day you returned and found Helen here, 
 you quarrelled with Cleo?" 
 
 Norton wheeled with sudden violence: 
 
 "We won t discuss this question further, sir !" 
 
 "Yes, we will," was the steady answer through set 
 teeth. "Haven t you been afraid of Cleo?" 
 
 The father s eyes were looking into his now with a 
 steady stare: 
 
 "I refuse to be cross-examined, sir!" 
 
 Tom ignored his answer: 
 
 "Hasn t Cleo been blackmailing you?" 
 
 "No no." 
 
 409 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The boy held his father s gaze until it wavered, and 
 then in cold tones said: 
 
 "You are not telling me the truth !" 
 
 Norton flinched as if struck: 
 
 "Do you know what you are saying. Have you lost 
 your senses?" 
 
 Tom held his ground with dogged coolness : 
 
 "Have you told me the truth?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "It s a lie !" 
 
 The words were scarcely spoken when Norton s 
 clenched fist struck him a blow full in the face. 
 
 A wild cry of surprise, inarticulate in fury, came 
 from the boy s lips as he staggered against the table. 
 He glared at his father, drew back a step, his lips 
 twitching, his breath coming in gasps, and suddenly felt 
 for the revolver in his pocket. 
 
 With a start of horror the father cried : 
 
 "My boy!" 
 
 The hand dropped limp, he leaned against the table 
 for support and sobbed: 
 
 "O God ! Let me die !" 
 
 Norton rushed to his side, his voice choking with 
 grief : 
 
 "Tom, listen !" 
 
 "I won t listen!" he hissed. "I never want to hear 
 the sound of your voice again !" 
 
 "Don t say that you don t mean it!" the father 
 pleaded. 
 
 "I do mean it !" 
 
 Norton touched his arm tenderly: 
 
 "You can t mean it, Tom. You re all I ve got in the 
 world. You mustn t say that. Forgive me I was 
 
 410 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 mad. I didn t know what I was doing. I didn t mean 
 to strike you. I forgot for a moment that you re a 
 man, proud and sensitive as I am " 
 
 The boy tore himself free from his touch and crossed 
 the room with quick, angry stride and turned: 
 
 "Well, you d better not forget it again" he paused 
 and drew himself erect. "You re my father, but I tell 
 you to your face that I hate and loathe you " 
 
 The silver-gray head drooped : 
 
 "That I should have lived to hear it !" 
 
 "And I want you to understand one thing," Tom went 
 on fiercely, "if an angel from heaven told me that 
 Helen s blood was tainted, I d demand proofs! You 
 have shown none, and I m not going to give up the 
 woman I love !" 
 
 Norton supported himself by the table and felt 
 his way along its edges as if blinded. His eyes 
 were set with a half-mad stare as he gripped Tom s 
 shoulders : 
 
 "I love you, my boy, with a love beyond your ken, i 
 a love that can be fierce and cruel when God calls, and i 
 sooner than see you marry this girl, I ll kill you with i 
 my own hands if I must!" 
 
 The answer came slowly: 
 
 "And you can t guess what s happened?" 
 
 "Guess what s happened!" the father repeated in 
 a whisper. "What do you mean?" 
 
 "That I m married already !" 
 
 With hands uplifted, his features convulsed, the 
 father fell back, his voice a low piteous shriek: 
 
 "Merciful God ! No !" 
 
 "Married an hour before you dragged me away in 
 that campaign !" he shouted in triumph. "I knew you d 
 
 411 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 never consent and so I took matters into my own 
 hands !" 
 
 With a leap Norton grasped the boy again and shook 
 him madly: 
 
 "Married already? It s not true, I tell you! It s 
 not true. You re lying to me lying to gain time 
 it s not true !" 
 
 "You wish me to swear it?" 
 
 "Silence, sir!" the father cried in solemn tones. 
 "You are my son this is my house I order you to 
 be silent !" 
 
 "Before God, I swear it s true ! Helen is my law 
 ful " 
 
 "Don t say it! It s false you lie, I tell you!" 
 Again the father shook him with cruel violence, his 
 eyes staring with the glitter of a maniac. 
 
 Tom seized the trembling hands and threw them from 
 his shoulders with a quick movement of anger: 
 
 "If that s all you ve got to say, sir, excuse me, I ll 
 go to my wife !" 
 
 He wheeled, slammed the door and was gone. 
 
 The father stared a moment, stunned, looked around 
 blankly, placed his hands over his ears and held them, 
 crying : 
 
 "God have mercy!" 
 
 He rushed to a window and threw it open. 
 The band was playing "For He s a Jolly Good Fel 
 low!" The mocking strains rolled over his prostrate 
 soul. He leaned heavily against the casement and 
 groaned : 
 
 "My God!" 
 
 He slammed the sash, staggered back into the room, 
 lifted his eyes in a leaden stare at the portrait over 
 
 412 
 
FATHER AND SON 
 
 the mantel, and then rushed toward it with uplifted 
 arms and streaming eyes: 
 
 "It s not true., dearest! Don t believe it it s not 
 true, I tell you ! It s not true !" 
 
 The voice sank into inarticulate sobs, he reeled and 
 fell, a limp, black heap on the floor. 
 
 418 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE ONE CHANCE 
 
 THE dim light began to creep into the darkened 
 brain at last. Norton s eyes opened wider and the long 
 arms felt their way on the floor until they touched a 
 rug and then a chair. He tried to think what had 
 happened and why he was lying there. It seemed a 
 dream, half feverish, half restful. His head was aching 
 and he was very tired. 
 
 "What s the matter?" he murmured, unable to lift 
 his head. 
 
 He was whirling through space again and the room 
 faded. Once before in his life had he been knocked in 
 sensible. From the trenches before Petersburg in the 
 last days of the war he had led his little band of less 
 than five hundred ragged, half-starved, tatterdemalions 
 in a mad charge against the line in front. A bomb from 
 a battery on a hilltop exploded directly before them. 
 He had been thrown into the air and landed on a heap 
 of dead bodies, bruised and stunned into insensibility. 
 He had waked feeling the dead limbs and wondering if 
 they were his own. 
 
 He rubbed his hands now, first over his head, and 
 then over each limb, to find if all were there. He 
 felt his body to see if a bomb had torn part of it 
 away. 
 
 And then the light of memory suddenly flashed into 
 414 
 
THE ONE CHANCE 
 
 the darkened mind and he drew himself to his knees and 
 fumbled his way to a chair. 
 
 "Married? Married already!" he gasped. "O, God, 
 it can t be true ! And he said, married an hour before 
 you dragged me away in that campaign " it was too 
 hideous ! He laughed in sheer desperation and again 
 his brain refused to work. He pressed his hands to 
 his forehead and looked about the room, rose, staggered 
 to the bell and rang for Andy. 
 
 When his black face appeared, he lifted his blood 
 shot eyes and said feebly: 
 
 "Whiskey " 
 
 The negro bowed: 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 He pulled himself together and tried to walk. He 
 could only reel from one piece of furniture to the next. 
 His head was on fire. He leaned again against the 
 mantel for support and dropped his head on his arm 
 in utter weariness : 
 
 "I must think! I must think!" 
 
 Slowly the power to reason returned. 
 
 "What can I do? What can I do?" he kept repeat 
 ing mechanically, until the only chance of escape 
 crept slowly into his mind. He grasped it with feverish 
 hope. 
 
 If Tom had married but an hour before leaving on 
 that campaign, he hadn t returned until to-day. But 
 had he? It was, of course, a physical possibility. From 
 the nearby counties, he could have ridden a swift horse 
 through the night, reached home and returned the next 
 day without his knowing it. It was possible, but not 
 probable. He wouldn t believe it until he had to. 
 
 If he had married in haste the morning he had left 
 415 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 town and had only rejoined Helen to-night, it was no 
 marriage. It was a ceremony that had no meaning. In 
 law it was void and could be annulled immediately. But 
 if he were really married in all that word means his 
 mind stopped short and refused to go on. 
 
 He would cross that bridge when he came to it. But 
 he must find out at once and he must know before he 
 saw Tom again. 
 
 His brain responded with its old vigor under the 
 pressure of the new crisis. One by one his powers re 
 turned and his mind was deep in its tragic problem 
 when Andy entered the room with a tray on which 
 stood a decanter of whiskey, a glass of water and two 
 small empty glasses. 
 
 The negro extended the tray. Norton was staring 
 into space and paid no attention. 
 
 Andy took one of the empty glasses and clicked it 
 against the other. There was still no sign of recogni 
 tion until he pushed the tray against Norton s arm and 
 cleared his throat: 
 
 "Ahem! Ahem!" 
 
 The dazed man turned slowly and looked at the tray 
 and then at the grinning negro : 
 
 "What s this?" 
 
 Andy s face kindled with enthusiasm: 
 
 "Dat is moonshine, sah de purest mountain dew 
 yassah !" 
 
 "Whiskey?" 
 
 "Yassah," was the astonished reply, "de whiskey you 
 jis ring fer, sah!" 
 
 "Take it back !" 
 
 Andy could not believe his ears. The major was 
 certainly in a queer mood. Was he losing his mind? 
 
 416 
 
THE ONE CHANCE 
 
 There was nothing to do but obey. He bowed and 
 turned away: 
 
 "Yassah." 
 
 Norton watched him with a dazed look and cried 
 suddenly : 
 
 "Where are you going?" 
 
 "Back!" 
 
 "Stop!" 
 
 Andy stopped with a sudden jerk: 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 "Put that tray down on the table !" 
 
 The negro obeyed but watched his master out of 
 the corners of his eye: 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 Again Norton forgot Andy s existence, his eyes fixed 
 in space, his mind in a whirl of speculation in which he 
 felt his soul and body sinking deeper. The negro was 
 watching him with increasing suspicion and fear as he 
 turned his head in the direction of the table. 
 
 "What are you standing there for?" he asked sharply. 
 
 "You say stop, sah." 
 
 "Well, get away get out!" Norton cried with sud 
 den anger. 
 
 Andy backed rapidly: 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 As he reached the doorway Norton s command 
 rang so sharply that the negro spun around on one 
 foot: 
 
 "Wait!" 
 
 Y yas sah!" 
 
 The master took a step toward the trembling figure 
 with an imperious gesture: 
 
 "Come here!" 
 
 417 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Andy approached gingerly, glancing from side to 
 side for the best way of retreat in case of emer 
 gency : 
 
 "What s the matter with you?" Norton demanded. 
 
 Andy laughed feebly: 
 
 "I I I dunno, sah; I wuz des wonderin what s de 
 matter wid you, sah!" 
 
 "Tell me!" 
 
 The negro s teeth were chattering as he glanced 
 up: 
 
 "Yassah! I tell all I know, sah!" 
 
 Norton fixed him with a stern look: 
 
 "Has Tom been back here during the past four 
 weeks?" 
 
 "Nasah!" was the surprised answer, "he bin wid you, 
 sah!" 
 
 The voice softened to persuasive tones: 
 
 "He hasn t slipped back here even for an hour since 
 I ve been gone?" 
 
 "I nebber seed him !" 
 
 "I didn t ask you," Norton said threateningly, 
 "whether you d seed him" he paused and dropped 
 each word with deliberate emphasis "I asked you if 
 you knew whether he d been here?" 
 
 Andy mopped his brow and glanced at his inquisitor 
 with terror: 
 
 "Nasah, I don t know nuttin , sah!" 
 
 "Haven t you lied to me?" 
 
 "Yassah ! yassah," the negro replied in friendly con 
 ciliation. "I has per-var-i-cated sometimes but I sho 
 is tellin you de truf dis time, sah !" 
 
 The master glared at him a moment and suddenly 
 sprang at his throat, both hands clasping his neck with 
 
 418 
 
THE ONE CHANCE 
 
 a strangling grip. Andy dropped spluttering to his 
 knees. 
 
 "You re lying to me!" Norton growled. "Out with 
 the truth now" his grip tightened "out with it, or 
 I ll choke it out of you !" 
 
 Andy grasped the tightening fingers and drew them 
 down: 
 
 "Fer Gawd s sake, major, doan do dat!" 
 
 "Has Tom been back here during the past weeks to 
 see Miss Helen?" 
 
 Andy struggled with the desperate fingers: 
 
 "Doan do dat, major doan do dat! I ain t holdin 
 nuttin back I let it all out, sah !" 
 
 The grip slackened: 
 
 "Then out with the whole truth !" 
 
 "Yassah. Des tell me what ye wants me ter say, 
 sah, an I sho say hit !" 
 
 "Bah! You miserable liar!" Norton cried in dis 
 gust, hurling him to the floor, and striding angrily 
 from the room. "You re all in this thing, all of you! 
 You re all in it all in it !" 
 
 Andy scrambled to his feet and rushed to the window 
 in time to see him hurry down the steps and disappear 
 in the shadows of the lawn. He stood watching with 
 open mouth and staring eyes : 
 
 "Well, fore de Lawd, ef he ain t done gone plum 
 
 crazy !" 
 
 419 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 
 
 So intent was Andy s watch on the lawn, so rapt his 
 wonder and terror at the sudden assault, he failed to 
 hear Cleo s step as she entered the room, walked to 
 his side and laid her hand on his shoulder: 
 
 "Andy " 
 
 With a loud groan he dropped to his knees : 
 
 "De Lawd save me !" 
 
 Cleo drew back with amazement at the prostrate fig 
 ure: 
 
 "What on earth s the matter?" 
 
 "Oh oh, Lawd," he shivered, scrambling to his feet 
 and mopping his brow. "Lordy, I thought de major 
 got me dat time sho !" 
 
 "You thought the major had you?" Cleo cried in 
 credulously. 
 
 Andy ran back to the window and looked out 
 again : 
 
 "Yassam yassam! De major try ter kill me he s 
 er regular maniacker gone wild " 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 The black hands went to his throat: 
 
 "Bout my windpipes, pears like !" 
 
 "What did he do?" 
 
 "Got me in de gills!" 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 420 
 
BETWEEN TWO FIEES 
 
 "Dunno," was the whispered answer as he peered out 
 the window. "He asked me if Mr. Tom been back here 
 in de past fo weeks " 
 
 "Asked if Tom had been back here?" 
 
 "Yassam!" 
 
 "What a fool question, when he s had the boy with 
 him every day ! He must have gone crazy." 
 
 "Yassam!" Andy agreed with unction as he turned 
 back into the room and threw both hands high 
 above his head in wild gestures. "He say we wuz 
 all in it ! Dat what he say we wuz all in it ! All in 
 it!" 
 
 "In what?" 
 
 "Gawd knows !" he cried, as his hands again went to 
 his neck to feel if anything were broken, "Gawd knows, 
 but he sho wuz gittin inside er me !" 
 
 Cleo spoke with stern appeal: 
 
 "Well, you re a man; you ll know how to defend 
 yourself next time, won t you?" 
 
 "Yassam ! yas, m am !" Andy answered boldly. "Oh, 
 I fit im ! Don t you think I didn t fight him ! I fit des 
 lak er wild-cat yassam!" 
 
 The woman s eyes narrowed and her voice purred : 
 
 "You re going to stand by me now?" 
 
 "Dat I is !" was the brave response. 
 
 "You ll do anything for me?" 
 
 "Yassam!" 
 
 "Defend me with your life if the major attacks me 
 to-night?" 
 
 "Dat I will!" 
 
 Cleo leaned close: 
 
 "You ll die for me?" 
 
 "Yassam! yassam I ll die fer you I ll die fer ye; 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 of cose I ll die for ye! B-b-but fer Gawd s sake 
 what ye want wid er dead nigger?" 
 
 Andy leaped back in terror as Norton s tall figure 
 suddenly appeared in the door, his rumpled iron-gray 
 hair gleaming in the shadows, his eyes flashing with an 
 unnatural light. He quickly crossed the room and 
 lifted his index finger toward Cleo : 
 
 "Just a word with you " 
 
 The woman s hands met nervously, and she glanced 
 at Andy: 
 
 "Very well, but I want a witness. Andy can stay." 
 
 Norton merely glanced at the negro: 
 
 "Get out!" 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 "Stay where you are !" Cleo commanded. 
 
 "Y yassam" Andy stammered, halting. 
 
 "Get out !" Norton growled. 
 
 Andy jumped into the doorway at a single bound: 
 
 "Done out, sah!" 
 
 The major lifted his hand and the negro stopped: 
 
 "Tell Minerva I want to see her." 
 
 Andy hastened toward the hall, the whites of his eyes 
 shining: 
 
 "Yassah, but she ain t in de kitchen, sah !" 
 
 "Find her and bring her here!" Norton thundered. 
 His words rang like the sudden peal of a gun at close 
 quarters : 
 
 Andy jumped: 
 
 "Yassah, yassah, I fetch her! I fetch her!" As he 
 flew through the door he repeated humbly : 
 
 "I fetch her, right away, sah right away, sah!" 
 
 Cleo watched his cowardly desertion with lips curled 
 in scorn. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 A SURPRISE 
 
 FOR a while Norton stood with folded arms gazing 
 at Cleo, his eyes smouldering fires of wonder and loath 
 ing. The woman was trembling beneath his fierce scru 
 tiny, but he evidently had not noted the fact. His mind 
 was busy with a bigger problem of character and the 
 possible depths to which a human being might fall 
 and still retain the human form. He was wondering 
 how a man of his birth and breeding, the heir to cen 
 turies of culture and refinement, of high thinking and 
 noble aspirations, could ever have sunk to the level 
 of this yellow animal this bundle of rags and coarse 
 flesh! It was incredible! His loathing for her 
 was surpassed by one thing only his hatred of him 
 self. 
 
 He was free in this moment as never before. In the 
 fearlessness of death soul and body stood erect and 
 gazed calmly out on time and eternity. 
 
 There was one thing about the woman he couldn t 
 understand. That she was without moral scruple 
 that she was absolutely unmoral in her fundamental 
 being he could easily believe. In fact, he could be 
 lieve nothing else. That she would not hesitate to defy 
 every law of God or man to gain her end, he never 
 doubted for a moment. But that a creature of her 
 cunning and trained intelligence could deliberately de- 
 
 423 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 stroy herself by such an act of mad revenge was un 
 reasonable. He began dimly to suspect that her plans 
 had gone awry. How completely she had been crushed 
 by her own trap he could not yet guess. 
 
 She was struggling frantically now to regain her 
 composure but his sullen silence and his piercing eyes 
 were telling on her nerves. She was on the verge of 
 screaming in his face when he said in low, intense tones : 
 
 "You did get even with me didn t you?" 
 
 "Yes !" 
 
 "I didn t think you quite capable of this !" 
 
 His words were easier to bear than silence. She felt 
 an instant relief and pulled herself together with a 
 touch of bravado : 
 
 "And now that you see I am, what are you going to 
 do about it?" 
 
 "That s my secret," was the quiet reply. "There s 
 just one thing that puzzles me!" 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 "How you could willfully and deliberately do this 
 beastly thing?" 
 
 "For one reason only, I threw them together and 
 brought about their love affair " 
 
 "Revenge yes," Norton interrupted, "but the boy 
 you don t hate him you can t. You ve always loved 
 him as if he were your own " 
 
 "Well, what of it?" 
 
 "I m wondering " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 His voice was low, vibrant but quiet: 
 
 "Why, if your mother instincts have always been so 
 powerful and you ve loved my boy with such devotion" 
 the tones quickened to sudden menace "why you 
 
A SURPRISE 
 
 were so willing to give up your own child that day 
 twenty years ago?" 
 
 He held her gaze until her own fell: 
 
 "I I don t understand you," she said falteringly. 
 
 He seized her with violence and drew her squarely 
 before him: 
 
 "Look at me !" he cried fiercely. "Look me in the 
 face !" He paused until she slowly lifted her eyes to his 
 and finally glared at him with hate. "I want to see your 
 soul now if you ve got one. There s just one chance 
 and I m clutching at that as a drowning man a 
 straw." 
 
 "Well?" she asked defiantly. 
 
 Norton s words were hurled at her, each one a solid 
 shot: 
 
 "Would you have given up that child without a strug 
 gle if she had really been your own?" 
 
 "Why what do you mean ?" Cleo asked, her eyes 
 shifting. 
 
 "You know what I mean. If Helen is really your 
 child, why did you give her up so easily that day?" 
 
 "Why?" she repeated blankly. 
 
 "Answer my question !" 
 
 With an effort she recovered her composure: 
 
 "You know why! I was mad. I was a miserable 
 fool. I did it because you asked it. I did it to please 
 you, and I ve cursed myself for it ever since." 
 
 Norton s grip slowly relaxed, and he turned thought 
 fully away. The woman s hand went instinctively to 
 the bruises he had left on her arms as she stepped back 
 nearer the door and watched him furtively. 
 
 "It s possible, yes !" he cried turning again to face 
 her suddenly. "And yet if you are human how could 
 
 425 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 you dare defy the laws of man and God to bring about 
 this marriage?" 
 
 "It s not a question of marriage yet," she sneered. 
 "You ve simply got to acknowledge her, that s all. 
 That s why I brought her here. That s why I ve helped 
 their love affair. You re in my power now. You ve got 
 to tell Tom that Helen is my daughter, and yours his 
 half sister ! Now that they re in love with one another 
 you ve got to do it!" 
 
 Norton drew back in amazement : 
 
 "You mean to tell me that you don t know that they 
 are married?" 
 
 With a cry of surprise and terror, the woman leaped 
 to his side, her voice a whisper: 
 
 "Married? Who says they are married? " 
 
 "Tom has just said so." 
 
 "But they are not married!" she cried hysterically. 
 "They can t marry !" 
 
 Norton fixed her with a keen look: 
 
 "They are married!" 
 
 The woman wrung her hands nervously: 
 
 "But you can separate them if you tell them the 
 truth. That s all you ve got to do. Tell them now 
 tell them at once!" 
 
 Never losing the gaze with which he was piercing her 
 BOU! Norton said in slow menacing tones : 
 
 "There s another way!" 
 
 He turned from her suddenly and walked toward 
 the desk. She followed a step, trembling. 
 
 "Another way" she repeated. 
 
 Norton turned: 
 
 "An old way brave men have always known I ll take 
 it if I must!" 
 
 426 
 
SURPRISE 
 
 Chilled with fear Cleo glanced in a panic about the 
 room and spoke feebly: 
 
 "You you don t mean " 
 
 Minerva and Andy entered cautiously as Norton 
 answered : 
 
 "No matter what I mean, it s enough for you to 
 know that I m free free from you I breathe clean 
 air at last!" 
 
 Minerva shot Cleo a look : 
 
 "Praise God!" 
 
 Cleo extended a hand in pleading : 
 
 "Major " 
 
 "That will do now!" he said sternly. "Go!" 
 
 Cleo turned hurriedly to the door leading toward the 
 stairs. 
 
 "Not that way !" Norton called sharply. "Tom has 
 no further need of your advice. Go to the servants 
 quarters and stay there. I am the master of this house 
 to-night!" 
 
 Cleo slowly crossed the room and left through the 
 door leading to the kitchen, watching Norton with ter 
 ror. Minerva broke into a loud laugh and Andy took 
 refuge behind her ample form. 
 
 427 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 VIA DOLOBOSA 
 
 MINERVA was still laughing at the collapse of her 
 enemy and Andy sheltering himself behind her when 
 a sharp call cut her laughter short : 
 
 "Minerva!" 
 
 "Yassah" she answered soberly. 
 
 "You have been a faithful servant to me," Norton 
 began, "you have never lied " 
 
 "An I ain t gwine ter begin now, sah." 
 
 He searched her black face keenly: 
 
 "Did Tom slip back here to see Miss Helen while 
 I was away on this last trip?" 
 
 Minerva looked at Andy, fumbled with her apron, 
 started to speak, hesitated and finally admitted feebly: 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 Andy s eyes fairly bulged : 
 
 "De Lordy, major, I didn t know dat, sah!" 
 
 Norton glanced at him: 
 
 "Shut up!" 
 
 "You ain t gwine ter be hard on em, major?" Min 
 erva pleaded. 
 
 He ignored her interruption and went on evenly: 
 
 "How many times did he come?" 
 
 "Twice, sah." 
 
 "He sho come in de night time den!" Andy broke 
 in. "I nebber seed im once!" 
 
 428 
 
VIA DOLOROSA 
 
 Norton bent close: 
 
 "How long did he stay?" 
 
 Minerva fidgeted, hesitated again and finally said: 
 
 "Once he stay about er hour " 
 
 "And the other time?" 
 
 She looked in vain for a way of escape, the perspira 
 tion standing in beads on her shining black face: 
 
 "He stay all night, sah." 
 
 A moment of stillness followed. Norton s eyes closed, 
 and his face became a white mask. He breathed deeply 
 and then spoke quietly: 
 
 "You you knew they were married?" 
 
 "Yassah !" was the quick reply. "I seed em married. 
 Miss Helen axed me, sah." 
 
 Andy lifted his hands in solemn surprise and walled 
 his eyes at Minerva: 
 
 "Well, fore Gawd!" 
 
 Another moment of silence and Andy s mouth was still 
 open with wonder when a call like the crack of a revolver 
 suddenly rang through the room: 
 
 "Andy !" 
 
 The negro dropped to his knees and lifted his 
 hands : 
 
 "Don t do nuttin ter me, sah ! Fore de Lawd, major, 
 I clare I nebber knowed it! Dey fool me, sah I d a 
 tole you sho!" 
 
 Norton frowned: 
 
 "Shut your mouth and get up." 
 
 "Yassah!" Andy cried. "Hit s shet an I se 
 up!" 
 
 He scrambled to his feet and watched his mas 
 ter. 
 
 "You and Minerva go down that back stairway into 
 
 429 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the basement, fasten the windows and lock the 
 doors." 
 
 Andy s eyes were two white moons in the shadows 
 as he cried through chattering teeth: 
 
 "G g odder mighty what what s de matter, 
 major?" 
 
 "Do as I tell you, quick !" 
 
 Andy dodged and leaped toward the door: 
 
 "R right away, sah!" 
 
 "Pay no attention to anything Mr. Tom may say to 
 you " 
 
 "Nasah," Andy gasped. "I pay no tension ter 
 nobody, sah!" 
 
 "When you ve fastened everything below, do the same 
 on this floor and come back here I want you." 
 
 "Y-y-yas sah ! R-r-r-right a-way, sah !" 
 
 Andy backed out, beckoning frantically to Minerva. 
 She ignored him and watched Norton as he turned to 
 ward a window and looked vaguely out. As Andy con 
 tinued his frantic calls she slipped to the doorway and 
 whispered : 
 
 "G long! I be dar in er minute. You po fool, you 
 can t talk nohow. You re skeered er de major. I m 
 gwine do my duty now, I m gwine ter tell him sumfin 
 quick " 
 
 Norton wheeled on her with sudden fury: 
 
 "Do as I tell you ! Do as I tell you !" 
 
 Minerva dodged at each explosion, backing away. 
 She paused and extended her hand pleadingly: 
 
 "Can t I put in des one little word, sah ?" 
 
 "Not another word!" he thundered, advancing on 
 her "Go !" 
 
 "Yassah !" 
 
 430 
 
VIA DOLOEOSA 
 
 "Go! I tell you!" 
 
 Dodging again, she hurried below to join Andy. Nor 
 ton turned back into the room and stood staring at 
 something that gleamed with sinister brightness from 
 the top of the little writing desk. An electric lamp 
 with crimson shade seemed to focus every ray of light 
 on the shining steel and a devil in the shadows pointed 
 a single finger and laughed: 
 
 "It s ready just where you laid it!" 
 
 He took a step toward the desk, stopped and gripped 
 the back of the settee, steadied himself, and glared at 
 the thing with fascination. He walked unsteadily to 
 the chair in front of the desk and stared again. His 
 hand moved to grasp the revolver and hesitated. And 
 then, the last thought of pity strangled, he gripped 
 the handle, lifted it with quick familiar touch, grasped 
 the top clasp, loosed the barrel, threw the cylinder open 
 and examined the shells, dropped them into his hand 
 and saw that there were no blanks. One by one he 
 slowly replaced them, snapped the cylinder in place 
 and put the weapon in his pocket. 
 
 He glanced about the room furtively, walked to each 
 of the tall French windows, closed the shutters and 
 carefully drew the heavy draperies. He turned the 
 switch of the electric lights, extinguishing all in the 
 room save the small red one burning on the desk. He 
 would need that in a moment. 
 
 He walked softly to the foot of the stairs and called : 
 
 "Tom !" 
 
 Waiting and receiving no answer he called again: 
 
 "Tom! Tom!" 
 
 A door opened above and the boy answered: 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 431 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "Just a word, my son," the gentle voice called. 
 
 "I ve nothing to say, sir ! We re packing our trunks 
 to leave at once." 
 
 "Yes, yes, I understand," the father answered ten 
 derly. "You re going, of course, and it can t be helped 
 but just a minute, my son; we must say good-by in 
 a decent way, you know and I ve something to show 
 you before you go" the voice broke "you won t try 
 to leave without seeing me?" 
 
 There was a short silence and the answer came in 
 friendly tones : 
 
 "I ll see you. I ll be down in a few minutes." 
 
 The father murmured: 
 
 "Thank God!" 
 
 He hurried back to the library, unlocked a tiny 
 drawer in the desk, drew out a plain envelope from 
 which he took the piece of paper on which was scrawled 
 the last message from the boy s mother. His hand 
 trembled as he read and slowly placed it in a small 
 pigeon-hole. 
 
 He took his pen and began to write rapidly on a pad 
 of legal cap paper. 
 
 While he was still busy with his writing, in obedience 
 to his orders, Andy and Minerva returned. They 
 stopped at the doorway and peeped in cautiously before 
 entering. Astonished and terrified to find the room so 
 dimly lighted they held a whispered conference in the 
 hall: 
 
 "Better not go in dar, chile !" Andy warned. 
 
 : Ah, come on, you fool!" Minerva insisted. "He 
 ain t gwine ter hurt us !" 
 
 "I tell ye he s wild he s gone crazy, sho s yer born ! 
 I kin feel dem fingers playin on my windpipe now I" 
 
VIA DOLOROSA 
 
 "What s he doin dar at dat desk?" Minerva asked. 
 
 "He s writin good-by ter dis world, I m tellin ye, 
 an hit s time me an you wuz makin tracks !" 
 
 "Ah, come on!" the woman urged. 
 
 Andy hung back and shook his head: 
 
 "Nasah I done bin in dar an got my dose !" 
 
 "You slip up behin him an see what he s writin ," 
 Minerva suggested. 
 
 "Na, you slip up !" 
 
 "You re de littlest an makes less fuss," she argued. 
 
 "Yes, but you se de biggest an you las de longest 
 in er scrimmage " 
 
 "Ah, go on !" she commanded, getting behind Andy 
 and suddenly pushing him into the room. 
 
 He rushed back into her arms, but she pushed him 
 firmly on : 
 
 "G long, I tell ye, fool, an see what he s doin . I 
 back ye up." 
 
 Andy balked and she pressed him another step : 
 
 "G long !" 
 
 He motioned her to come closer, whispering: 
 
 "Ef yer gwine ter stan by me, for de Lawd s sake 
 stan by me don t stan by de do !" 
 
 Seeing that retreat was cut off and he was in for it, 
 the negro picked his way cautiously on tip-toe until 
 he leaned over the chair and tried to read what his 
 master was writing. 
 
 Norton looked up suddenly: 
 
 "Andy !" 
 
 He jumped in terror: 
 
 "I I didn t see nuttin , major! Nasah! I nebber 
 seed a thing, sah!" 
 
 Norton calmly lifted his head and looked into the 
 433 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 black face that had been his companion so many years : 
 
 "I want you to see it!" 
 
 "Oh !" Andy cried with surprised relief, "you wants 
 me to see hit" he glanced at Minerva and motioned her 
 to come nearer. "Well, dat s different, sah. Yer know 
 I wouldn t er tried ter steal er glimpse of it ef I d 
 knowed ye wuz gwine ter show it ter me. I allers is er 
 gemman, sah !" 
 
 Norton handed him the paper: 
 
 "I taught you to read and write, Andy. You can do 
 me a little service to-night read that!" 
 
 "Yassah yassah," he answered, pompously, adjust 
 ing his coat and vest. He held the paper up before 
 him, struck it lightly with the back of his hand and 
 cleared his throat: 
 
 "Me an you has bin writin fer de newspapers now 
 bout fifteen years yassah" he paused and hurriedly 
 read the document. "Dis yo will, sah? An de Lawd 
 er mussy, tain t more n ten lines. An dey hain t nary 
 one er dem whereases an haremditaments aforesaids, 
 like de lawyers puts in dem in de Cote House hit s des 
 plain writin" he paused again "ye gives de house, 
 an ten thousand dollars ter Miss Helen an all yer got 
 ter de Columnerzation Society ter move de niggers ter 
 er place er dey own !" he paused again and walled his 
 eyes at Minerva. "What gwine come er Mr. Tom?" 
 
 Norton s head sank: 
 
 "He ll be rich without this ! Sign your name here as 
 a witness," he said shortly, picking up the pen. 
 
 Andy took the pen, rolled up his sleeve carefully, bent 
 over the desk, paused and scratched his head : 
 
 "Don t yer think, major, dat s er terrible pile er 
 money ter fling loose mongst er lot er niggers?" 
 
 434 
 
VIA DOLOROSA 
 
 Norton s eyes were dreaming again and Andy went 
 on insinuatingly: "Now, wouldn t hit be better, sah, 
 des ter pick out one good reliable nigger dat yer knows 
 pussonally an move him?" 
 
 Norton looked up impatiently: 
 
 "Sign it!" 
 
 "Yassah ! Cose, sah, you knows bes , sah, but pears 
 ter me lak er powerful waste er good money des flingin 
 it broadcast!" 
 
 Norton lifted his finger warningly and Andy hastened 
 to sign his name with a flourish of the pen. He looked 
 at it admiringly: 
 
 "Dar now! Dey sho know dat s me! I practise on 
 dat quereque two whole mont s " 
 
 Norton folded the will, placed it in an envelope, ad 
 dressed it and lifted his drawn face: 
 
 "Tell the Clerk of the Court that I executed this will 
 to-night and placed it in this desk" his voice became 
 inaudible a moment and went on "Ask him to call for 
 it to-morrow and record it for me." 
 
 Minerva, who had been listening and watching with 
 the keenest interest, pressed forward and asked in a 
 whisper : 
 
 "Yassah, but whar s you gwine ter be? You sho 
 ain t gwine ter die ter-night ?" 
 
 Norton quietly recovered himself and replied angrily : 
 
 "Do I look as if I were dying?" 
 
 "Nasah! But ain t dey no way dat I kin help ye, 
 major? De young folks is gwine ter leave, sah " 
 
 "They are not going until I m ready !" was the grim 
 answer. 
 
 "Nasah, but dey s gwine," the black woman replied 
 tenderly. "Ye can t stop em long. Lemme plead fur 
 
 435 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 em, sah! You wuz young an wild once, major" the 
 silvery gray head sank low and the white lips quivered 
 "you take all yer money frum Mister Tom what he 
 care fer dat now wid love singin in his heart? Young 
 folks is young folks " 
 
 Norton lifted his head and stared as in a dream. 
 
 "Won t ye hear me, sah? Can t I go upstairs an 
 speak de good word ter Mister Tom now an tell him 
 hit s all right?" 
 
 A sudden idea flashed into Norton s mind. 
 
 The ruse would be the surest and quickest way to 
 get Tom into the room alone. 
 
 "Yes, yes," he answered, glancing at her. "You can 
 say that to him now " 
 
 Minerva laughed: 
 
 "I kin go right up dar to his room now an tell im 
 dat you re er waitin here wid yer arms open an yer 
 heart full er love an f ergiveness ?" 
 
 "Yes, go at once" he paused "and keep Miss 
 Helen there a few minutes. I want to see him first 
 you understand " 
 
 "Yassah ! yassah !" Minerva cried, hastening to the 
 door followed by Andy. "I understands, I understands" 
 she turned on Andy. "Ye hear dat, you fool nigger? , 
 Ain t I done tole you dat hit would all come out right 
 ef I could des say de good word? Gloree ! We gwine 
 ter hab dat weddin all over agin! You des wait till 
 yer seen dat cake I gwine ter bake " 
 
 With a quick turn she was about to pass through 
 the door when Andy caught her sleeve : 
 
 "Miss Minerva!" 
 
 "Yas, honey !" 
 
 "Miss Minerva," he repeated, nervously glancing at 
 
 436 
 
VIA DOLOROSA 
 
 Norton, "fer Gawd s sake don t you leave me now! 
 You se de only restful pusson in dis house ! 
 
 With a triumphant laugh Minerva whispered: 
 
 "I ll be right back in a minute, honey !" 
 
 Norton had watched with apparent carelessness until 
 Minerva had gone. He sprang quickly to his feet, 
 crossed the room and spoke in an excited whisper : 
 
 "Andy!" 
 
 "Yassah!" 
 
 "Go down to that front gate and stay there. Turn 
 back anybody who tries to come in. Don t you allow 
 a soul to enter the lawn." 
 
 "I ll do de best I kin, sah," he replied hastening to 
 ward the door. 
 
 Norton took an angry step toward him: 
 
 "You do exactly as I tell you, sir!" 
 
 Andy jumped and replied quickly: 
 
 "Yassah, but ef dem serenaders come back here you 
 know dey ain t gwine pay no tensun ter no nigger 
 talkin to em dat s what dey er celebratin 
 erbout " 
 
 Norton frowned and was silent a moment: 
 
 "Say that I ask them not to come in." 
 
 "I ll tell em, sah, but I spec I ll hatter climb er tree 
 fore I explains hit to em but I tell em, sah yas- 
 sah." 
 
 As Andy slowly backed out, Norton said sternly : 
 
 "I ll call you when I want you. Stay until I do !" 
 
 "Yassah," Andy breathed softly as he disappeared 
 trembling and wondering. 
 
 437 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 NORTON walked quickly to the window^ drew back 
 the draperies, opened the casement and looked out to 
 
 see if Andy were eavesdropping. He watched the 
 figure cross the lawn, glancing back at the house. The; 
 .full moon, at its zenith, was shining in a quiet glory,! 
 ^uncanny in its dazzling brilliance. 
 
 He stood drinking in for the last time the perfumed 
 sweetness and languor of the Southern night. His 
 senses seemed supernaturally acute. He could dis 
 tinctly note the odors of the different flowers that were 
 in bloom on the lawn. A gentle breeze was blowing 
 from the path across the old rose garden. The faint, 
 sweet odor of the little white carnations his mother had 
 planted along the walks stole over his aching soul and 
 he was a child again watching her delicate hands 
 plant them, while grumbling slaves protested at the 
 soiling of her fingers. She was looking up with a smile 
 saying: 
 
 "I love to plant them. I feel that they are my chil 
 dren then, and I m making the world sweet and beautiful 
 through them!" 
 
 Had he made the world sweeter and more beautiful ? t 
 
 He asked himself the question sternly. 
 
 "God knows I ve tried for twenty years and it has 
 come to this !" 
 
 438 
 
THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 The breeze softened, the odor of the pinks grew] 
 fainter and the strange penetrating smell of the hedge 
 of tuberoses swept in from the other direction with 
 the chill of Death in its breath. 
 
 His heart rose in rebellion. It was too horrible, sucK 
 an end of life ! He was scarcely forty-nine years old. 
 Never had the blood pulsed through his veins with 
 stronger throb and never had his vision of life seemed 
 clearer and stronger than to-day when he had faced 
 those thousands of cheering men and hinted for the 
 first time his greater plans for uplifting the Nation s 
 life. 
 
 The sense of utter loneliness overwhelmed his soul. 
 The nearest being in the universe whose presence he 
 could feel was the dead wife and mother. 
 
 His eye rested on the portrait tenderly: 
 
 "We re coming, dearest, to-night!" 
 
 For the first time his spirit faced the mystery of 
 eternity at close range. He had long speculated in 
 theories of immortality and brooded over the problem 
 of the world that lies but a moment beyond the senses. 
 
 He had clasped hands with Death now and stood face 
 to face, calm and unafraid. His mind quickened with 
 the thought of the strange world into which he would 
 be ushered within an hour. Would he know and under 
 stand? Or would the waves of oblivion roll over the 
 prostrate body without a sign? It couldn t be! The 
 hunger of immortality was too keen for doubt. He 
 would see and know ! The cry rose triumphant within. 
 He refused to perish with the moth and worm. The 
 baser parts of his being might die the nobler must 
 live. There could be no other meaning to this sub 
 limely cruel and mad decision to kill the body rather 
 
 439 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 than see it dishonored. His eye caught the twinkle of 
 a star through the branches of a tree-top. His feet 
 would find the pathway among those shining worlds! 
 There could be no other meaning to the big thing that 
 throbbed and ached within and refused to be content 
 to whelp and stable here as a beast of the field. Pride, 
 Honor, Aspiration, Prayer, meant this or nothing! 
 
 "I ve made blunders here," he cried, "but I m search 
 ing for the light and I ll find the face of God !" 
 
 The distant shouts of cheering hosts still celebrating 
 in the Square brought his mind to earth with a sicken 
 ing shock. He closed the windows, and drew the cur 
 tains. His hands clutched the velvet hangings in a 
 moment of physical weakness and he steadied himself 
 before turning to call Tom. 
 
 Recovering his composure in a measure, his hand 
 touched the revolver in his pocket, the tall figure in 
 stinctively straightened and he walked rapidly toward 
 the hall. He had barely passed the centre of the room 
 when the boy s voice distinctly echoed from the head 
 of the stairs: 
 
 "I ll be back in a minute, dear !" 
 
 He heard the door of Helen s room close softly and 
 the firm step descend the stairs. The library door 
 opened and closed quickly, and Tom stood before him, 
 his proud young head lifted and his shoulders squared. 
 The dignity and reserve of conscious manhood shone 
 in every line of his stalwart body and spoke in every 
 movement of face and form. 
 
 "Well, sir," he said quietly. "It s done now and 
 it can t be helped, you know." 
 
 Norton was stunned by the sudden appearance of 
 the dear familiar form. His eyes were dim with unshed 
 
 440 
 
THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 tears. It was too hideous, this awful thing he had to 
 do! He stared at him piteously and with an effort 
 walked to his side, speaking in faltering tones that 
 choked between the words: 
 
 "Yes, it s done now and it can t be helped" he 
 strangled and couldn t go on^-"I I have realized 
 that, my son but I I have an old letter from your 
 mother that I wanted to show you before you go 
 you ll find it on the desk there." 
 
 He pointed to the desk on which burned the only 
 light in the room. 
 
 The boy hesitated, pained by the signs of deep an 
 guish in his father s face, turned and rapidly crossed 
 the room. 
 
 The moment his back was turned, Norton swiftly and 
 silently locked the door, and with studied carelessness 
 followed. 
 
 The boy began to search for the letter: 
 
 "I don t see it, sir." 
 
 The father, watching him with feverish eyes, started 
 at his voice, raised his hand to his forehead and walked 
 quickly to his side: 
 
 "Yes, I I forgot I put it away!" 
 
 He dropped limply into the chair before the desk, 
 fumbled among the papers and drew the letter from 
 the pigeon-hole in which he had placed it. 
 
 He held it in his hand, shaking now like a leaf, and 
 read again the scrawl that he had blurred with tears 
 and kisses. He placed his hand on the top of the desk, 
 rose with difficulty and looked for Tom. The boy had 
 moved quietly toward the table. The act was painfully 
 significant of their new relations. The sense of aliena 
 tion cut the broken man to the quick. He could scarcely 
 
 441 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 see as he felt his way to the boy s side and extended the 
 open sheet of paper without a word. 
 
 Tom took the letter, turned his back on his father 
 and read it in silence. 
 
 "How queer her handwriting!" he said at length. 
 
 Norton spoke in strained muffled tones: 
 
 "Yes she she was dying when she scrawled that. 
 The mists of the other world were gathering about her. 
 I don t think she could see the paper" the voice 
 broke, he fought for self-control and then went on 
 "but every tiny slip of her pencil, each little weak hesi 
 tating mark etched itself in fire on my heart" the 
 Toice stopped and then went on "you can read them?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The father s long trembling finger traced slowly each 
 word: 
 
 " Remember that I love you and have forgiven " 
 
 "Forgiven what?" Tom interrupted. 
 
 Norton turned deadly pale, recovered himself and 
 began in a low voice : 
 
 "You see, boy, I grew up under the old regime. Like 
 a lot of other fellows with whom I ran, I drank, gambled 
 and played the devil you know what that meant in 
 those days " 
 
 "No, I don t," the boy interrupted. "That s just 
 what I don t know. I belong to a new generation. And 
 you ve made a sort of exception of me even among the 
 men of to-day. You taught me to keep away from 
 women. I learned the lesson. I formed clean habits, ^ 
 and so I don t know just what you mean by that. Tell J 
 me plainly." 
 
 "It s hard to say it to you, my boy !" the older man 
 faltered. 
 
 442 
 
THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 "I want to know it." 
 
 "I I mean that twenty years ago it was more 
 mon than now for youngsters to get mixed up with] 
 girls of negroid blood " 
 
 The boy shrank back: 
 
 "You! great God!" 
 
 "Yes, she came into my life at last a sensuous young 
 animal with wide, bold eyes that knew everything 
 and was not afraid. That sentence means the shame 
 from which I ve guarded you with such infinite 
 car e " 
 
 He paused and pointed again to the letter, tracing 
 its words: 
 
 " Rear our boy free from the curse ! you you 
 see why I have been so desperately in earnest?" Nor 
 ton bent close with pleading eagerness: "And that 
 next sentence, there, you can read it? I had rather a. 
 thousand times that he should die than this My brood 
 ing spirit will watch and guard he paused and re 
 peated " that he should die you you see 
 that?" 
 
 The boy looked at his father s trembling hand and 
 into his glittering eyes with a start: 
 
 "Yes, yes, but, of course, that was only a moment s 
 (despair no mother could mean such a thing." 
 
 Norton s eyes fell, he moved uneasily, tried to speak 
 again and was silent. When he began his words were 
 scarcely audible: 
 
 " L We must part now in tenderness, my boy, as father 
 and son we we must do that you know. You you 
 forgive me for striking you to-night?" 
 
 Tom turned away, struggled and finally answered: 
 
 "No." 
 
 443 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 The father followed eagerly : 
 
 "Tell me that it s all right!" 
 
 The boy s hand nervously fumbled at the cloth on the 
 table: 
 
 "I I am glad I didn t do something worse !" 
 
 "Say that you forgive me! Why is it so hard?" 
 
 Tom turned his back: 
 
 "I don t know, Dad, I try, but I just can t!" 
 
 The father s hand touched the boy s arm timidly: 
 
 "You can never understand, my son, how my whole 
 life has been bound up in you! For years I ve lived, 
 worked, and dreamed and planned for you alone. In 
 your young manhood I ve seen all I once hoped to be 
 and have never been. In your love I ve found the 
 healing of a broken heart. Many a night I ve gone 
 out there alone in that old cemetery, knelt be 
 side your mother s grave and prayed her spirit to 
 guide me that I might at least lead your little feet 
 aright " 
 
 The boy moved slightly and the father s hand slipped 
 limply from his, he staggered back with a cry of de 
 spair, and fell prostrate on the lounge : 
 
 "I can endure anything on this earth but your hate, 
 my boy! I can t endure that I can t even for a 
 moment !" 
 
 His form shook with incontrollable grief as he lay 
 with his face buried in his outstretched arms. 
 
 The boy struggled with conflicting pride and love, 
 looked at the scrawled, tear-stained letter he still 
 held in his hand and then at the bowed figure, 
 hesitated a moment, and rushed to his father s side, 
 knelt and slipped his arm around the trembling fig 
 ure: 
 
 444 
 
THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 "It s all right, Dad! I ll not remember a single 
 tear from your eyes blots it all out !" 
 
 The father s hand felt blindly for the boy s and 
 grasped it desperately: 
 
 "You won t remember a single harsh word that I ve 
 said?" 
 
 "No no it s all right," was the soothing answer, 
 as he returned the pressure. 
 
 Norton looked at him long and tenderly : 
 
 "How you remind me of her to-night! The deep 
 blue of your eyes, the trembling of your lips when 
 moved, your little tricks of speech, the tear that 
 quivers on your lash and never falls and the soul 
 that s mirrored there" he paused and stroked the boy s 
 head "and her hair, the beaten gold of honey 
 comb!" 
 
 His head sank and he was silent. 
 
 The boy again pressed his hand tenderly and rose, 
 drawing his father to his feet : 
 
 "I m sorry to have hurt you, Dad. I m sorry that 
 we have to go good-by !" 
 
 He turned and slowly moved toward the door. Nor 
 ton slipped his right hand quickly to the revolver, hesi 
 tated, his fingers relaxed and the deadly thing dropped 
 back into his pocket as he sank to his seat with a 
 groan : 
 
 "Wait! Wait, Tom!" 
 
 The boy stopped. 
 
 "I I ve got to tell it to you now!" he went on 
 hoarsely. "I I tried to save you this horror but I 
 couldn t the way was too hard and cruel." 
 
 Tom took a step and looked up in surprise: 
 
 "The way what way?" 
 
 445 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I couldn t do it," the father cried. "I just couldn t 
 and so I have to tell you." 
 
 The boy spoke with sharp eagerness : 
 
 "Tell me what?" 
 
 "Now that I know you are married in all that word 
 means and I have failed to save you from it I must 
 give you the proofs that you demand. I must prove 
 to you that Helen is a negress " 
 
 A sudden terror crept into the young eyes : 
 
 "You you have the proofs?" 
 
 "Yes !" the father nodded, placing his hand on his 
 throat and fighting for breath. He took a step toward 
 the boy, and whispered: 
 
 "Cleo is her mother !" 
 
 Tom flinched as if struck a blow. The red blood 
 rushed to his head and he blanched with a death-like 
 pallor : 
 
 "And you have been afraid of Cleo?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 The father s head was slowly lowered and his hands 
 moved in the slightest gesture of dumb confession. 
 
 A half-articulate, maniac cry and the boy grasped 
 him with trembling hands, screaming in his face : 
 
 "God in Heaven, let me keep my reason for just a 
 moment ! So you are Helen s " 
 
 The bowed head sank lower. 
 
 "Father !" 
 
 Tom reeled, and fell into a chair with a groan: 
 
 "Lord have mercy on my lost soul!" 
 
 Norton solemnly lifted his eyes : 
 
 "God s full vengeance has fallen at, last! You have 
 
 married your own " 
 
 446 
 
THE DREGS IN THE CUP 
 
 The boy sprang to his feet covering his face: 
 
 "Don t ! Don t ! Helen doesn t know?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "She mustn t!" he shivered, looking wildly at his 
 father. "But why, why oh, dear God, why didn t you 
 kill me before I knew !" 
 
 He sank back into the chair, his arms outstretched 
 across the table, his face hidden in voiceless shame. 
 
 The father slowly approached the prostrate figure, 
 bent low and tenderly placed his cheek against the 
 blonde head, soothing it with trembling touch. For 
 a long while he remained thus, with no sound breaking 
 the stillness save the sobs that came from the limp 
 form. 
 
 And then Norton said brokenly : 
 
 "I tried, my boy, to end it for us both without your 
 knowing just now when your back was turned, but I 
 couldn t. It seemed too cowardly and cruel! I just 
 couldn t" he paused, slowly drew the revolver from 
 his pocket and laid it on the table. 
 
 The boy felt the dull weight of the steel strike the 
 velvet cover and knew what had been done without lift 
 ing his head. 
 
 "Now you know," the father added, "what we both 
 must do." 
 
 Tom rose staring at the thing on the dark red cloth, 
 and lifted his eyes to his fathers : 
 
 "Yes, and hurry! Helen may come at any mo 
 ment." 
 
 He had barely spoken when the knob of the door 
 turned. A quick knock was heard at the same instant 
 and Helen s voice rang through the hall: 
 
 "Tom! Tom!" 
 
 447 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 Norton grasped the pistol, thrust it under the table- 
 cover and pressed the boy toward the door: 
 
 "Quick! Open it, at once!" 
 
 Tom stared in a stupor, unable to move until his 
 father shook his arm: 
 
 "Quick open it let her in a moment it s best." 
 
 He opened the door and Helen sprang in breathlessly. 
 
 448 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE MILLS OF GOD . 
 
 NORTON had dropped into a seat with apparent care 
 lessness, while Tom stood immovable, his face a mask. 
 
 The girl looked quickly from one to the other, her 
 breath coming in quick gasps. 
 
 She turned to Tom: 
 
 "Why did you lock the door what does it mean? 5 * 
 
 Norton hastened to answer, his tones reassuringly 
 simple : 
 
 "Why, only that we wished to be alone for a few 
 moments " 
 
 "Yes, we understand each other now," Tom added. 
 
 Helen s eyes flashed cautiously from one to the other : 
 
 "I heard a strange noise" she turned to the boy 
 "and, oh, Tom, darling, I was so frightened ! I thought 
 I heard a struggle and then everything became so still. 
 I was wild I couldn t wait any longer !" 
 
 "Why, it was really nothing," Tom answered her 
 bravely smiling. "We we did have a little scene, and 
 lost our temper for a moment, but you can see for 
 yourself it s all right now. We ve thrashed the whole 
 thing out and have come to a perfect under 
 standing !" 
 
 His words were convincing but not his manner. He 
 hadn t dared to look her in the face. His eyes were 
 on the rug and his foot moved nervously. 
 
 449 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "You are not deceiving me?" she asked trembling. 
 
 The boy appealed to his father : 
 
 "Haven t we come to a perfect understanding, Dad?" 
 
 Norton rose: 
 
 "Perfect, my son. It s all right, now, Helen." 
 
 "Just wait for me five minutes, dear," Tom pleaded. 
 
 "Can t I hear what you have to say?" 
 
 "We prefer to be alone," the father said gravely. 
 
 Again her eyes flashed from one to the other and 
 rested on Tom. She rushed to him and laid her hand 
 appealingly on his arm: 
 
 "Oh, Tom, dear, am I not your wife?" the boy s 
 head drooped "must you have a secret from me 
 now?" 
 
 "Just a few minutes," Norton pleaded, "that s a good 
 girl !" 
 
 "Only a few minutes, Helen," Tom urged. 
 
 "Please let me stay. Why were you both so pale 
 when I came in?" 
 
 Father and son glanced at each other over her head. 
 Norton hesitated and said: 
 
 "You see we are perfectly calm now. All bitterness 
 is gone from our hearts. We are father and son 
 again." 
 
 "Why do you look so queerly at me? Why do you 
 look so strangely at each other?" 
 
 "It s only your imagination, dear," Tom said. 
 
 "No, there s something wrong," Helen declared des 
 perately. "I feel it in the air of this room in the 
 strange silence between you. For God s sake tell me 
 what it means! Surely, I have the right to know" 
 she turned suddenly to Norton "You don t hate me 
 now, do you, major?" 
 
 450 
 
THE MILLS OF GOD 
 
 The somber brown eyes rested on her in a moment of 
 intense silence and he slowly said: 
 
 "I have never hated you, my child !" 
 
 "Then what is it?" she cried in anguish, turning 
 again to Tom. "Tell me what I can do to help you! 
 I ll obey you, dearest, even if it s to lay my life down. 
 Don t send me away. Don t keep this secret from me. 
 I feel its chill in my heart. My place is by your side 
 tell me how I can help you !" 
 
 Tom looked at her intently: 
 
 "You say that you will obey me?" 
 
 "Yes you are my lord and master!" 
 
 He seized her hand and led her to the door 
 
 "Then wait for me just five minutes." 
 
 She lifted her head pleadingly: 
 
 "You will let me come to you then?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You won t lock the door again?" 
 
 "Not now." 
 
 While Tom stood immovable, with a lingering look 
 of tenderness she turned and passed quickly from the 
 room. 
 
 He closed the door softly, steadied himself before 
 loosing the knob and turned to his father in a burst 
 of sudden rebellion: 
 
 "Oh, Dad! It can t be true! It can t be true! 
 I can t believe it. Did you look at her closely 
 again ?" 
 
 Norton drew himself wearily to his feet and spoke 
 with despairing certainty: 
 
 "Yes, yes, as I ve looked at her a hundred times with 
 growing wonder." 
 
 "She s not like you " 
 
 451 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "No more than you, my boy, and yet you re bone of 
 my bone and flesh of my flesh it can t be helped " 
 
 He paused and pointed to the revolver: 
 
 "Give it to me !" 
 
 The boy started to lift the cloth and the father 
 caught his arm: 
 
 "But first before you do," he faltered. "I want 
 you to tell me now with your own lips that you forgive 
 me for what I must do and then I think, perhaps, I 
 can say it!" 
 
 Their eyes met in a long, tender, searching gaze : 
 
 "I forgive you," he softly murmured. 
 
 "Now give it to me !" the father firmly said, stepping 
 back and lifting his form erect. 
 
 The boy felt for the table, fumbled at the cloth, 
 caught the weapon and slowly lifted it toward his fa 
 ther s extended hand. He opened his eyes, caught the 
 expression of agony in the drawn face, the fingers re 
 laxed and the pistol fell to the floor. He threw him 
 self blindly on his father, his arms about his neck : 
 
 "Oh, Dad, it s too hard! Wait wait just a mo 
 ment !" 
 
 The father held him close for a long while. His voice 
 was very low when he spoke at last: 
 
 "There s no appeal, my boy ! The sin of your father 
 is full grown and has brought forth death. Yet I was 
 not all to blame. We are caught to-night in the grip 
 of the sins of centuries. I tried to give my life to the 
 people to save the children of the future. My shame 
 showed me the way as few men could have seen it, and 
 I have set in motion forces that can never be stopped. 
 Others will complete the work that I have begun. But 
 
 our time has come " 
 
 452 
 
THE MILLS OF GOD 
 
 "Yes, yes, I understand !" 
 
 The father s arms pressed the son in a last long em 
 brace : 
 
 "What an end to all my hopes ! Oh, my boy, heart 
 of my heart !" 
 
 Tom s hand slowly slipped down and caught his 
 father s : 
 
 "Good-by, Dad!" 
 
 Norton held the clasp with lingering tenderness as 
 the boy slowly drew away, measured four steps and 
 calmly folded his arms, his head erect, his broad young 
 shoulders squared and thrown far back. 
 
 Cleo, who had crept into the hall, stood behind the 
 curtains of the inner door watching the scene with 
 blanched face. 
 
 The father walked quickly to the revolver, picked it 
 up, turned and lifted it above his head. 
 
 jWith a smothered cry Cleo sprang into the room * 
 but she was too late. Norton had quickly dropped the 
 pistol to the level of the eye and fired. 
 
 A tiny red spot flamed on the white skin of the boy s 
 forehead, the straight figure swayed, and pitched for 
 ward face down on the rug. 
 
 The woman staggered back, cowering in the shadows. 
 
 The father knelt beside the quivering form, clasped 
 his left hand in Tom s, placed the revolver to his temple 
 and fired. The silver-gray head sank slowly against 
 the breast of the boy as a piercing scream from Helen s 
 lips rang through the silent hall. 
 
 453 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 SIN FULL, GROWN 
 
 THE sensitive soul of the girl had seen the tragedy 
 before she rushed into the library. At the first shot 
 she sprang to her feet, her heart in her throat. The 
 report had sounded queerly through the closed doors 
 and she was not sure. She had entered the hall, holding 
 her breath, when the second shot rang out its message 
 of death. 
 
 She was not the woman who faints in an emergency. 
 She paused just a moment in the door, saw the ghastly 
 heap on the floor and rushed to the spot. 
 
 She tore Tom s collar open and placed her ear over 
 his heart : 
 
 "O God ! He s alive he s alive !" 
 
 She turned and saw Cleo leaning against the table 
 with blanched face and chattering teeth. 
 
 "Call Andy and Aunt Minerva and go for the doc 
 tor ! his heart s beating quick the doctor he s 
 alive we may save him !" 
 
 She knelt again on the floor, took Tom s head in her 
 lap, wiped the blood from the clean, white forehead, 
 pressed her lips to his and sobbed: 
 
 "Come back, my own it s I Helen, your little wife 
 I m calling you you can t die you re too young 
 and life s too dear. We ve only begun to live, my sweet 
 heart ! You shall not die !" 
 
 454 
 
SIN FULL GROWN 
 
 The tears were raining on his pale face and her cries 
 had become little wordless prayers when Andy and 
 Minerva entered the room. 
 
 She nodded her head toward Norton s motionless 
 body: 
 
 "Lift him on the lounge!" 
 
 They moved him tenderly: 
 
 "See if his heart s still beating," she commanded. 
 
 Andy reverently lowered his dusky face against the 
 white bosom of his master. When he lifted it the tears 
 had blinded his eyes: 
 
 "Nobum," he said slowly, "he s done dead!" 
 
 The tick of the little French clock on the mantel be 
 neath the mother s portrait rang with painful clear 
 ness. 
 
 Helen raised her hand to Minerva: 
 
 "Open the windows and let the smoke out. I ll hold 
 him in my arms until the doctor comes." 
 
 "Yassum " 
 
 Minerva drew the heavy curtains back from the tall 
 windows, opened the casements and the perfumed air of 
 the beautiful Southern night swept into the room. 
 
 A cannon boomed its final cry of victory from the 
 Square and a rocket, bursting above the tree-tops, 
 flashed a ray of red light on the white face of the dead. 
 
 455 
 
CHAPTER XXXIT 
 
 CONFESSION 
 
 WHEN Dr. Williams entered the room Helen was still 
 holding Tom s head in her lap. 
 
 He had stirred once with a low groan. 
 
 "The major is dead, but Tom s alive, doctor!" she 
 cried through her tears. "He s going to live, too I 
 feel it I know it tell me that it s so !" 
 
 The lips trembled pitifully with the last words. 
 
 The doctor felt the pulse and was silent. 
 
 "It s all right? He s going to live isn t he?" she 
 asked pathetically. 
 
 "I can t tell yet, my child," was the calm 
 answer. 
 
 He examined the wound and ran his hand over the 
 blonde hair. His fingers stopped suddenly and he felt 
 the head carefully. He bent low, parted the hair and 
 found a damp blood mark three inches above the line 
 of the forehead. 
 
 "See !" he cried, "the ball came out here. His head 
 was thrown far back, the bullet struck the inner skull 
 bone at an angle and glanced." 
 
 "What does it mean?" she asked breathlessly. 
 
 The doctor smiled: 
 
 "That the brain is untouched. He is only stunned 
 and in a swoon. He ll be well in two weeks." 
 
 Helen lifted her eyes and sobbed: 
 456 
 
CONFESSION 
 
 "OGod!" 
 
 She tried to bend and kiss Tom s lips, her body 
 swayed and she fell backward in a dead faint. 
 
 Andy and Minerva carried her to her room, left Cleo 
 to minister to her and returned to help the doctor. 
 
 He examined Norton s body to make sure that life 
 was extinct and placed the body on an improvised bed 
 on the floor until he should regain his senses. 
 
 In half an hour Tom looked into the doctor s face: 
 
 "Why, it s Doctor Williams?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What what s happened?" 
 
 "It s only a scratch for you, my boy. You ll be well 
 in a few days " 
 
 "Well in a few days" he repeated blankly. "I can t 
 get well! I ve got to die" his head dropped and he 
 caught his breath. 
 
 The doctor waited for him to recover himself to ask 
 the question that was on his lips. He had gotten as yet 
 no explanation of the tragedy save Cleo s statement 
 that the major had shot Tom and killed himself. He 
 had guessed that the ugly secret in Norton s life was 
 in some way responsible. 
 
 "Why must you die, my boy ?" he asked kindly. 
 
 Tom opened his eyes in a wild stare: 
 
 "Helen s my wife we married secretly without my 
 father knowing it. He has just told me that Cleo is 
 her mother and I have married my own " 
 
 His voice broke and his head sank. 
 
 The doctor seized the boy s hand and spoke eagerly : 
 
 "It s a lie, boy! It s a lie! Take my word for 
 it " 
 
 Tom shook his head. 
 
 457 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 "I ll stake my life on it that it s a lie" the old man 
 repeated "and I ll prove it I ll prove it from Cleo s 
 lips !" 
 
 "You you can do it!" the boy said hopelessly, 
 though his eyes flashed with a new light. 
 
 "Keep still until I return !" the doctor cried, "and 
 I ll bring Cleo with me." 
 
 He placed the revolver in his pocket and hastily left 
 the room, the boy s eyes following him with feverish 
 excitement. 
 
 He called Cleo into the hall and closed Helen s door. 
 
 The old man seized her hand with a cruel grip : 
 
 "Do you dare tell me that this girl is your daugh 
 ter?" 
 
 She trembled and faltered : 
 
 "Yes !" 
 
 "You re a liar!" he hissed. "You may have fooled 
 Norton for twenty years, but you can t fool me. I ve 
 seen too much of this sort of thing. I ll stake my im 
 mortal soul on it that no girl with Helen s pure white 
 skin and scarlet cheeks, clean-cut features and deep blue 
 eyes can have in her body a drop of negro blood!" 
 
 "She s mine all the same, and you know when she 
 was born," the woman persisted. 
 
 He could feel her body trembling, looked at her curi 
 ously and said: 
 
 "Come down stairs with me a minute." 
 
 Cleo drew back: 
 
 "I don t want to go in that room again!" 
 
 "You ve got to come !" 
 
 He seized her roughly and drew her down the stairs 
 into the library. 
 
 She gripped the door, panting in terror. He loosed 
 
 458 
 
CONFESSION 
 
 her hands and pushed her inside before the lounge on 
 which the body of Norton lay, the cold wide-open eyes 
 staring straight into her face. 
 
 She looked a moment in abject horror, shivered and 
 covered her eyes : 
 
 "Oh, my God, let me go !" 
 
 The doctor tore her hands from her face and con 
 fronted her. His snow-white beard and hair, his tense 
 figure and flaming anger seemed to the trembling woman 
 the image of an avenging fate as he solemnly cried : 
 
 "Here, in the presence of Death, with the all-seeing 
 eye of God as your witness, and the life of the boy you 
 once held in your arms hanging on your words, I ask if 
 that girl is your daughter?" 
 
 The greenish eyes wavered, but the answer came clear 
 at last : 
 
 "No " 
 
 "I knew it !" the doctor cried. "Now the whole 
 truth !" 
 
 The color mounted Tom s cheeks as he listened. 
 
 "My own baby died," she began falteringly, "I Was 
 wild with grief and hunted for another. I found Helen 
 in Norfolk at the house of an old woman whom I knew, 
 and she gave her to me " 
 
 "Or you stole her no matter" the doctor inter 
 rupted "Go on." 
 
 Helen had slipped down stairs, crept into the room 
 unobserved and stood listening. 
 
 "Who was the child s mother?" the doctor demanded. 
 
 Cleo was gasping for breath: 
 
 "The daughter of an old fool who had disowned her 
 because she ran away and married a poor white boy 
 the husband died the father never forgave her. When 
 
 459 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 the baby was born the mother died, too, and I got the 
 child from the old nurse she s pure white there s not 
 a stain of any kind on her birth !" 
 
 With a cry of joy Helen knelt and drew Tom into 
 her arms: 
 
 "Oh, darling, did you hear it oh, my sweetheart, did 
 you hear it?" 
 
 The boy s head sank on her breast and he breathed 
 softly: 
 
 "Thank God!" 
 
 460 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 HEALING 
 
 THE years brought their healing to wounded hearts. 
 Tom Norton refused to leave his old home. He came 
 of a breed of men who had never known how to quit. 
 He faced the world and with grim determination took 
 up the work for the Republic which his father had 
 begun. 
 
 With tireless voice his paper pleads for the purity of 
 the race. Its circulation steadily increases and its in 
 fluence deepens and widens. 
 
 The patter of a baby s feet again echoes through 
 the wide hall behind the white fluted columns. The 
 young father and mother have taught his little hands 
 to place flowers on the two green mounds beneath the 
 oak in the cemetery. He is not old enough yet to 
 understand, and so the last time they were there he 
 opened his eyes wide at his mother s tears and lisped : 
 
 "Are oo hurt, mama?" 
 
 "No, my dear, I m happy now." 
 
 "Why do oo cry?" 
 
 "For a great man I knew a little while, loved and 
 lost, dearest your grandfather for whom we named 
 you." 
 
 Little Dan s eyes grew very serious as he looked again 
 at the flower-strewn graves and wondered what it all 
 meant. 
 
 461 
 
THE SINS OF THE FATHER 
 
 But the thing which marks the Norton home with 
 peculiar distinction is that since the night of his father s 
 death, Tom has never allowed a negro to cross the 
 threshold or enter its gates. 
 
 THE END 
 
NOVELS OF SOUTHERN LIFE 
 
 By THOMAS DIXON,JR. 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list 
 
 THE LEOPARD S SPOTS: A Story of the White Man s 
 Burden, 1865-1900. With illustrations by C. D. Williams. 
 
 A tale of the South about the dramatic events of Destruction. 
 Reconstruction and Upbuilding. The work is able and eloquent and 
 the verifiable events of history are followed closely in the develop 
 ment of a story full of struggle. 
 
 THE CLANSMAN. With illustrations by Arthur I. Keller. 
 
 While not connected with it in any way, this is a companion vol 
 ume to the author s "epoch-making" story The Leopard s Spots. It 
 is a novel with a great deal to it, and which very properly is going to 
 interest many thousands of readers. * * * It is, first of all, a forceful, 
 dramatic, absorbing love story, with a sequence of events so surprising 
 that one is prepared for the fact that much of it is fouuded on actual 
 happenings; but Mr. Dixon has, as before, a deeper purpose he has 
 aimed to show that the original formers of the Ku Klux Klan were 
 modern knights errant taking the only means at hand to right 
 intolerable wrongs. 
 
 THE TRAITOR. A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire. 
 Illustrations by C. D. Williams. 
 
 The third and last book in this remarkable trilogy of novels relat 
 ing to Southern Reconstruction. It is a thrilling story of love, ad 
 venture, treason, and the United States Secret Service dealing with 
 the decline and fall of the Ku Klux Klan. 
 
 COMRADES. Illustrations by C. D. Williams. 
 
 A novel dealing with the establishment of a Socialistic Colony 
 upon a deserted island off the coast of California. The way of dis 
 illusionment is the course over which Mr. Dixon conducts the reader. 
 
 THE ONE WOMAN. A Story of Modern Utopia. 
 
 A love story and character study of three strong men and two fas 
 cinating women. In swift, unified, and dramatic action, we see So 
 cialism a deadly torce, in the hour of the eclipse of Faith, destroying 
 the home life and weakening the fiber of Anglo Saxon manhood. 
 
 Ask for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
STORIES OF WESTERN LIFE 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list 
 
 RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE, By Zane Grey. 
 Illustrated by Douglas Duer. 
 
 In this picturesque romance of Utah of some forty years ago, we 
 are permitted to see the unscrupulous methods employed by the in 
 visible hand of the Mormon Church to break the will of those refus 
 ing to conform to its rule. 
 
 FRIAR TUCK, By Robert Alexander Wason. 
 Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood. 
 
 Happy Hawkins tells us, in his humorous way, how Friar Tuck 
 lived among the Cowboys, how he adjusted their quarrels and love 
 affairs and how he fought with them and for them when occasion 
 required. 
 
 THE SKY PILOT, By Ralph Connor. 
 Illustrated by Louis Rhead. 
 
 There is no novel, dealing with the rough existence of cowboys, 
 so charming in the telling, abounding as it does with the freshest and 
 the truest pathos. 
 
 THE EMIGRANT TRAIL, By Geraldine Bonner. 
 Colored frontispiece by John Rae. 
 
 The book relates the adventures of a party on its overland pil 
 grimage, and the birth and growth of the absorbing love of two strong 
 men for a charming heroine. 
 
 THE BOSS OF WIND RIVER, By A. M. Chisholm. 
 Illustrated by Frank Tenney Johnson. 
 
 This is a strong, virile novel with the lumber industry for its cen 
 tral theme and a love story full of interest as a sort of subplot. 
 
 A PRAIRIE COURTSHIP, By Harold Bindloss. 
 
 A story of Canadian prairies in which the hero is stirred, through 
 the influence of his love for a woman, to settle down to the heroic 
 business of pioneer farming. 
 
 JOYCE OF THE NORTH WOODS, By Harriet T. Comstock, 
 
 Illustrated by John Cassel. 
 
 A story of the deep woods that shows the power of love at work 
 among its primitive dwellers. It is a tensely moving study of the 
 human heart and its aspirations that unfolds itself through thrilling 
 skuations and dramatic developments. 
 
 Aslt for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
JOHN FOX, JR S. 
 
 STORIES OF THE KENTUCKY MOUNTAINS 
 
 May be had wherever books are scld. Ask for Grosses and Dunlap s list. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE. 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 The "lonesome pine" from which the 
 story takes its name was a tall tree that 
 stood in solitary splendor on a mountain 
 top. The fame of the pine lured a young 
 engineer through Kentucky to catch the 
 trail, and when he finally climbed to its 
 shelter he found not only the pine but the 
 footprints of a girl. And the girl proved 
 to be lovely, piquant, and the trail of 
 these girlish foot-prints led the young 
 engineer a madder chase than "the trail 
 of the lonesome pine." 
 
 SHEPHERD OF KINGDOM COME 
 
 THE LITTLE 
 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 This is a story of Kentucky, in a settlement known as "King- 
 dom Come." It is a life rude, semi-barbarous; but natural 
 and honest, from which often springs the flower of civilization. 
 
 " Chad." the "little shepherd" did not know who he was nor 
 whence he came he had just wandered from door to door since 
 early childhood, seeking shelter with kindly mountaineers who 
 gladly fathered and mothered this waif about whom there was 
 such a mystery a charming waif, by the way, who could play 
 the banjo better that anyone else in the mountains. 
 
 A KNIGHT OF THE CUMBERLAND. 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 The scenes are laid along the waters of the Cumberland 
 the lair of moonshiner and feudsman. The knigtu is a moon 
 shiner s son, and the heroine a beautiful girl perversely chris 
 tened "The Blight." Two impetuous young Southerners fall 
 under the spell of "The Blight s " charms and she learns what 
 a large part jealousy and pistols have in the love making of the 
 mountaineers. 
 
 Included in this volume is " Hell fer-Sartain" and other 
 stories, some of Mr. Fox s most entertaining Cumberland valley 
 narratives. 
 
 Ask for complete fret list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
MYRTLE REED S NOVELS 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grcsset & Dunlap s list 
 
 LAVENDER AND OLD LACE. 
 
 A charming story of a quaint corner of 
 New England where bygone romance finds a 
 modern parallel. The story centers round 
 the coming of love to the young people on 
 the staff of a newspaper and it is one of the 
 prettiest, sweetest and quaintest of old fash 
 ioned love stories, * * * a rare book, ex 
 quisite in spirit and conception, full of 
 delicate fancy, of tenderness, of delightful 
 humor and spontaniety. 
 
 A SPINNER IN THE SUN. 
 
 Miss Myrtle Reed may always be depended upon to write a story 
 in which poetry, charm, tenderness and humor are combined into a 
 clever and entertaining book. Her characters are delightful and she 
 always displays a quaint humor of expression and a quiet feeling of 
 pathos which give a touch of active realism to all her writings. In 
 "A Spinner in the Sun" she tells an old-fashioned love story, of a 
 veiled lady who lives in solitude and whose features her neighbors 
 have never seen. There is a mystery at the heart of the book that 
 throws over it the glamour of romance. 
 
 THE MASTER S VIOLIN, 
 
 A love story in a musical atmosphere. A picturesque, old Ger 
 man virtuoso is the reverent possessor of a genuine "Cremona." He 
 consents to take for his pupil a handsome youth who proves to have 
 an aptitude for technique, but not the soul of an artist. The youth 
 has led the happy, careless life of a modern, well-to-do young Amer 
 ican and he cannot, with his meagre past, express the love, the passion 
 and the tragedies of life and all its happy phases as can the master 
 wno has lived life in all its fulness. But a girl comes into his life a 
 beautiful bit of human driftwood that his aunt had taken into her 
 heart and home, and through his passionate love for her, he learns 
 the lessons that life has to give and his soul awakes. 
 
 Founded on a fact that all artists realize. 
 
 AsJt for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
LOUIS TRACY S 
 
 CAPTIVATING AND EXHILARATING ROMANCES 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list 
 
 CYNTHIA S CHAUFFEUR. Illustrated by Howard Chandlei 
 Christy. 
 
 A pretty American girl in London is touring in a car with 
 a chauffeur whose identity puzzles her. An amusing mystery. 
 
 THE STOWAWAY GIRL. Illustrated by Nesbitt Benson. 
 
 A shipwreck, a lovely girl stowaway, a rascally captain, a 
 fascinating officer, and thrilling adventures in South Seas. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE KANSAS. 
 
 Love and the salt sea, helpless ship whirled into the hands 
 of cannibals, desperate fighting and a tender romance. 
 
 THE MESSAGE. Illustrated by Joseph Cumminrs Chase. 
 
 A bit of parchment found in the figurehead of an old ves 
 sel tells of a buried treasure. A thrilling mystery develops. 
 
 THE PILLAR OF LIGHT. 
 
 The pillar thus designated TVS a lighthouse, and the author 
 tells with exciting detail the terriol* 4Uemma o/ its cut off in 
 habitants. 
 
 THE WHEEL O FORTUNE. With illustrations by J*JPS 
 Montgomery Flagg. 
 
 The story deals with the finding of a papyrus containing 
 th^ particulars of some of the treasures of vhe Queen of Sheba. 
 
 A SON OF THE IMMORTALS. Illustrated by Howard 
 Chandler Christy. 
 
 A young American is proclaimed king of a little Balkan 
 Kingdom, and a pretty Parisian art student is the power behind 
 
 the throne. 
 
 THE WINGS OF THE MORNING. 
 
 A sort of Robinson Crusoe redivivus with modem settings 
 and a very pretty love story added. The hero and heroine, are 
 the only survivors of a wreck, and have many thrilling adventures 
 on their desert island. 
 
 Aak for compete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
THE NOVELS OF 
 
 STEWART EDWARD WHITE 
 
 THE RULES OF THE GAME. Illustrated by Lajaren A. Hilier 
 
 The romance of the son of "The Riverman." The young college 
 hero goes into the lumber camp, is antagonized by "gran" and comes 
 into the romance of his life. 
 ARIZONA NIGHTS. Illus. and cover inlay by N. C. Wyeth. 
 
 A series of spirited tales emphasizing some phases of the life 
 of the ranch, plains and desert. A masterpiece. 
 THE BLAZED TRAIL. With illustiations by Thomas Fogarty. 
 
 A wholesome story with gleams of humor, telling of a young 
 man who blazed his way to fortune through the heart of the Mich 
 igan pines. 
 THE CLAIM JUMPERS. A Romance. 
 
 The tenderfoot manager of a mine in a lonesome gulch of the 
 Black Hills has a hard time of it, but "wins out" in more ways than 
 one. 
 CONJUROR S HOUSE. Illustrated Theatrical Edition. 
 
 Dramatized under the title of "The Call of the North." 
 
 "Conjuror s House is a Hudson Bay trading post where the 
 head factor is the absolute lord. A young fellow risked his life and 
 won a bride on this forbidden land. 
 THE MAGIC FOREST. A Modern Fairy Tale. Illustrated. 
 
 The sympathetic way in which the children of the wild and 
 their life is treated could only belong to one who is in love with the 
 forest and open air. Based on fact. 
 THE RIVERMAN. Illus. by N. C. Wyeth and C. Underwood. 
 
 The story of a man s tight against a river and of a struggle 
 between honesty and grit on the one side, and dishonesty and 
 shrewdness on the other. 
 THE SILENT PLACES. Illustrations by Philip R. Goodwin. 
 
 The wonders of the northern forests, the heights of feminine 
 devotion, and masculine power, the intelligence of the Caucasian 
 and the instinct of the Indian, are all finely drawn in this story. 
 THE WESTERNERS. 
 
 A story of the Black Hills that is justly placed among the 
 best American novels. It portrays the life of the new West as no 
 other book has done in recent years. 
 
 THE MYSTERY. In collaboration with Samuel Hopkins Adams 
 With illustrations by Will Crawford. 
 
 The disappearance of three successive crews from the stout 
 ship * Laughing Lass" in mid-Pacific, is a mystery weird and inscrut 
 able. In the solution, there is a story of the most exciting voyage 
 that man ever undertook. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORF 
 
TITLES SELECTED FROM 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAPS LIST 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list 
 
 THE SIEGE OF THE SEVEN SUITORS. By Meredith Nicb- 
 olson. Illustrated by C. Coles Phillips and Reginald Birch. 
 
 Seven suitors vie with each other for the love of a beautift j 
 jirl, and she subjects them to a test that is fnll of mystery, magic 
 and sheer amusement. 
 
 THE MAGNET. By Henry C. Rowland. Illustrated by Clarence 
 F. Underwood. 
 
 The story of a remarkable courtship involving three pretty 
 girls on a yacht, a poet-lover in pursuit, and a mix-up in the names 
 of the girls. 
 
 THE TURN OF THE ROAD. By Eugenia Brooks Frothingham. 
 A beautiful young opera singer chooses professional success 
 instead of love, but comes to a place in life where the call of the 
 heart is stronger than worldly success. 
 
 SCOTTIE AND HIS LADY. By Margaret Morse. Illustrated 
 by Harold M. Brett. 
 
 A young girl whose affections have been blighted is presented 
 with a Scotch Collie to divert her mind, and the roving adventures 
 of her pet lead the young mistress into another romance. 
 
 SHEILA VEDDER. By Amelia E. Barr. Frontispiece by Harri 
 son Fisher. 
 
 A very beautiful romance of the Shetland Islands, with a 
 handsome, strong willed hero and a lovely girl of Gaelic blood as 
 heroine. A sequel to "Jan Vedder s Wife." 
 
 JOHN WARD. PREACHER. By Margaret Deland. 
 
 The first big success of this much loved American novelist. 
 It is a powerful portrayal of a young clergyman s attempt to win hi* 
 beautiful wife to his own narrow creed. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF NINETY-EIGHT. By Robert W. Service 
 Illustrated by Maynard D-ixon. 
 
 One of the best stories of "Vap-p xmdia " ever written, and 
 one of the most accurate and picturesque of the stampede of gold 
 seekers to the Yukon. The love story embedded in the narrative 
 & strikingly original, 
 
 AsJt /or compete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
TITLES SELECTED FROM 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAFS LIST 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap s list 
 
 THE SECOND WIFE. By Thompson Buchanan. Illustrated 
 by W. W. Fawcett. Harrison Fisher wrapper printed in foui 
 Colors and gold. 
 
 An intensely interesting story of a marital complication in 
 a wealthy New York family involving the happiness of a 
 beautiful young girl. 
 
 TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY. By Grace Miller White. 
 Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy. 
 
 An amazingly vivid picture of low class life in a New 
 York college town, with a heroine beautiful and noble, who makes 
 1 great sacrifice for love. 
 
 ^ROM THE VALLEY OF THE MISSING. By Grace Miller 
 White. 
 Frontispiece and wrapper in colors by Penrhyn Stanlaws. 
 
 Another story of "the storm country." Two beautiful chil 
 dren are kidnapped from a wealthy home and appear many years 
 after showing the effects of a deep, malicious scheme behind 
 their disappearance. 
 
 THE LIGHTED MATCH. By Charles Neville Buck. Illus 
 trated by R. F. Schabelitz. 
 
 A lovely princess travels incognito through the States and 
 falls in love with an American man. There are ties that bind her 
 to someone in her own home, and the great plot revolves round 
 aer efforts to work her way out. 
 
 MAUD BAXTER. By C. C. Hotchkiss. Illustrated by Will 
 Grefe. 
 
 A romance both daring and delightful, involving an Amer 
 ican girl and a young man who had been impressed into English 
 service during the Revolution. 
 
 THE HIGHWAYMAN. By Guy Rawience. Illustrated by 
 Will Grefe. 
 
 A French beauty of mysterious antecedents wins the love 
 I of an Englishman of title. Deyolopments of a startling charactei > 
 .and a clever untangling of affairs hold the reader s iuterest. 
 
 THE PURPLE STOCKINGS. By Edward Salisbury Field. 
 IHustrated in colors; marginal illustrations. 
 
 A young New York business man, his pretty sweetheart, 
 his sentimental stenographer, and his fashionable sister are all 
 mixed up in a misunderstanding that surpasses anything in the 
 way of comedy in years. A story with a laugh on every page. 
 
 Ask for compete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted. Fiction 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 
 BERKELEY CA 94720 
 
Y8 66815 
 
 GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELEY