The Story of a Country TownHowe, E. W. (Edgar Watson)
General
The Story of a Country Town
Howe, E. W. (Edgar Watson)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Kansas -- Fiction
Getting up from my bed, I joined him in the walk, putting my arm through
his, and as we paced up and down, encountering a cruel stone wall at
every turn, I bitterly accused myself that I had not been with him more
during his trouble, but when I mentioned it I knew that he believed I
had done all I could, though he did not speak a word, and I could not
see his face; I knew it, though I did not know why. Up and down, from
the right to the left; I thought half the night had passed before he
returned to his bed, and even then I was convinced that he ceased
walking more out of consideration for me than because he was tired. When
the first rays of morning light came straggling into the dismal place I
wakened again, but Jo was not in bed; he had climbed up to the grated
window, and was looking out in the direction of Fairview, motionless as
a statue. What was in his mind will never be known, but I have always
believed that it was a longing to see his wife and the house at the
mill. I fell into a light sleep again, and when it was broad daylight,
he was still looking longingly toward Fairview, the little world in
which his simple life had been passed; where he had created and
destroyed, and where he hoped to find rest at last in the shadow of the
old church.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
REAPING THE WHIRLWIND.
Afraid to trust my own judgment with reference to Jo, whom I always
thought of now as standing in the shadow of a scaffold, about four weeks
after he went to jail, I resolved to visit the mill on Bull River and
solicit Damon Barker’s advice, which I knew would be friendly and
sensible. He was a man of excellent judgment, and though he had been to
Twin Mounds but once since the trouble, I knew he was ready at any time
to aid Jo, as he had said, no difference what necessity might require,
and that he was only waiting a summons, trusting to me to bring it. I
felt sure that Jo’s intention was to admit his guilt when called upon,
and suffer the penalty, and I was not satisfied that I had done enough
to dissuade him from the intention. Barker had great influence with him,
and for this reason I sought his counsel and advice.
I intended to start in the middle of the afternoon, hoping to reach the
mill by nightfall, and return early the next day, and an hour before my
departure I went into the jail to announce to Jo that I would be away
during the night. It was the first night I had been out of his company
since his confinement in the prison, and I was therefore surprised that
he seemed rather pleased with the prospect, though he apologized for it
by saying that I had been there so long that I would enjoy a night out.
He seemed to know that I was going to Barker’s to talk about him, for
he asked me to thank him and Agnes for any good they might find it in
their hearts to say of him; and he said over and over again how kind we
all were, and how much trouble we had been to on his account.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account