第34章

THE TRYST

He woke to the light of morning amazed and full of a strange wonder because he did not know what had amazed him.For a little while after his eyes opened, he lay quite motionless; then he lifted his head slightly and shook it with some caution.This had come to be custom.The operation assured him of the worst; the room swam round him, and, with a faint groan, he let his head fall back upon the pillow.But he could not sleep again; pain stung its way through his heart as memory began to come back to him, not of the preceding night--that was all blank,--but realization that the girl of whom he had dreamed so long was to be married.That his dreams had been quite hopeless was no balm to his hurt.

A chime of bells sounded from a church steeple across the Square, ringing out in assured righteousness, summoning the good people who maintained them to come and sit beneath them or be taken to task; and they fell so dismally upon Joe's ear that he bestirred himself and rose, to the delight of his mongrel, who leaped upon him joyfully.An hour later, or thereabout, the pair emerged from the narrow stairway and stood for a moment, blinking in the fair sunshine, apparently undecided which way to go.The church bells were silent; there was no breeze; the air trembled a little with the deep pipings of the organ across the Square, and, save for that, the town was very quiet.The paths which crossed the Court-house yard were flecked with steady shadow, the strong young foliage of the maples not moving, having the air of observing the Sabbath with propriety.There were benches here and there along the walks, and to one of these Joe crossed, and sat down.The mongrel, at his master's feet, rolled on his back in morning ecstasy, ceased abruptly to roll and began to scratch his ear with a hind foot intently.A tiny hand stretched to pat his head, and the dog licked it appreciatively.It belonged to a hard-washed young lady of six (in starchy, white frills and new, pink ribbons), who had run ahead of her mother, a belated church-goer;and the mongrel charmed her.

"Will you give me this dog?" she asked, without any tedious formalities.

Involuntarily, she departed before receiving a reply.The mother, a red-faced matron whom Joe recognized as a sister of Mrs.Louden's, consequently his step-aunt, swooped at the child with a rush and rustle of silk, and bore her on violently to her duty.When they had gone a little way the matron's voice was heard in sharp reproof; the child, held by one wrist and hurried along on tiptoe, staring back over one shoulder at Joe, her eyes wide, and her mouth the shape of the "O" she was ejaculating.

The dog looked up with wistful inquiry at his master, who cocked an eyebrow at him in return, wearing much the same expression.The mother and child disappeared within the church doors and left the Square to the two.Even the hotel showed no signs of life, for the wise men were not allowed to foregather on Sundays.The organ had ceased to stir the air and all was in quiet, yet a quiet which, for Louden, was not peace.He looked at his watch and, without intending it, spoke the hour aloud:

"A quarter past eleven." The sound of his own voice gave him a little shock; he rose without knowing why, and, as he did so, it seemed to him that he heard close to his ear another voice, a woman's, troubled and insistent, but clear and sweet, saying:

"REMEMBER! ACROSS MAIN STREET BRIDGE AT NOON!"It was so distinct that he started and looked round.Then he laughed."I'll be seeing circus parades next!" His laughter fled, for, louder than the ringing in his ears, unmistakably came the strains of a far-away brass band which had no existence on land or sea or in the waters under the earth.

"Here!" he said to the mongrel."We need a walk, I think.Let's you and me move on before the camels turn the corner!"The music followed him to the street, where he turned westward toward the river, and presently, as he walked on, fanning himself with his straw hat, it faded and was gone.But the voice he had heard returned.

"REMEMBER! ACROSS MAIN STREET BRIDGE AT NOON!"it said again, close to his ear.

This time he did not start."All right," he answered, wiping his forehead; "if you'll let me alone, I'll be there."At a dingy saloon corner, near the river, a shabby little man greeted him heartily and petted the mongrel."I'm mighty glad you didn't go, after all, Joe," he added, with a brightening face.

"Go where, Happy?"

Mr.Fear looked grave."Don't you rec'lect meetin' me last night?"Louden shook his head."No.Did I?"The other's jaw fell and his brow corrugated with self-reproach."Well, if that don't show what a thick-head I am! I thought ye was all right er I'd gone on with ye.Nobody c'd 'a' walked straighter ner talked straighter.Said ye was goin' to leave Canaan fer good and didn't want nobody to know it.

Said ye was goin' to take the 'leven-o'clock through train fer the West, and told me I couldn't come to the deepo with ye.Said ye'd had enough o'

Canaan, and of everything! I follered ye part way to the deepo, but ye turned and made a motion fer me to go back, and I done it, because ye seemed to be kind of in trouble, and I thought ye'd ruther be by yerself.Well, sir, it's one on me!""Not at all," said Joe."I was all right.""Was ye?" returned the other."DO remember, do ye?""Almost," Joe smiled, faintly.

"ALMOST," echoed Happy, shaking his head seriously.

"I tell ye, Joe, ef I was YOU--" he began slowly, then paused and shook his head again.He seemed on the point of delivering some advice, but evidently perceiving the snobbishness of such a proceeding, or else convinced by his own experience of the futility of it, he swerved to cheerfulness:

"I hear the boys is all goin' to work hard fer the primaries.Mike says ye got some chances ye don't know about; HE swears ye'll be the next Mayor of Canaan.""Nonsense! Folly and nonsense, Happy! That's the kind of thing I used to think when I was a boy.