The Leatherwood God | Page 3

all my born
days."
"You don't make out anything very strange, Abel Reverdy," Braile said,
putting his pipe back into his mouth and beginning to smoke it again
into a lost activity.
"Well, I hain't come to it yit," Reverdy apologized. "I reckon there
never was a bigger meetun' in Leatherwood Bottom, anywhere. Folks
there from twenty mile round, just slathers; I reckon there was a
thousand if there was one."

"Hoonch!" Braile would not trouble to take out his pipe in making the
sound now; the smoke got into his lungs, and he coughed.
Reverdy gained courage to go on, but he went on in the same strain,
whether in spite of himself or not. "There was as many as four
exhorters keepun' her up at once to diff'rent tunes, and prayun' and
singun' everywhere, so you couldn't hear yourself think. Every exhorter
had a mourners' bench in front of him, and I counted as many as eighty
mourners on 'em at one time. The most of 'em was settun' under Elder
Grove, and he was poundun' the kingdom into 'em good and strong.
When the Spirit took him he roared so that he had the Hounds just
flaxed out; you couldn't ketch a yelp from 'em."
"Many Hounds?" Braile asked, in a sort of cold sympathy with the
riotous outlaws known to the religious by that name.
"Mought been 'fore I got there. But by that time I reckon they was most
of 'em on the mourners' benches. They ought to tar and feather some of
them fellers, or ride 'em on a rail anyway, comun' round, and makun'
trouble on the edge of camp-meetun's. I didn't hear but one toot from
their horns, last night, and either because the elder had shamed 'em
back into the shadder of the woods, or brought 'em forwards into the
light, there wasn't a Hound, not to call a Hound, anywheres. I tell you it
was a sight, Squire; you ought to 'a' been there yourself." Reverdy
grinned at his notion. "They had eight camp-fires goun' instead o' four,
on top of the highest stageun's yit, so the whole place was lit up as
bright as day; and when the elder stopped short and sudden, and the
other exhorters held back their tommyhawks, and all the saints and
sinners left off their groanun' and jerkun' to see what was comun', now
it was a great sight, I tell you, Squire. The elder he put up his hand and
says he, 'Let us pray!' and the blaze from all them stageun's seemed to
turn itself right onto him, and the smoke and the leaves hung like a big
red cloud over him, and everybody had their eyes fastened tight on his
face, like they couldn't turn 'em anywhere else if they tried. But he
didn't begin prayun' straight off. He seemed to stop, and then says he,
'What shall we pray for?' and just then there came a kind of a snort, and
a big voice shouted out, 'Salvation!' and then there come another snort,
--'Hooff!'--like there was a scared horse got loose right in there among
the people; and some of 'em jumped up from their seats, and tumbled
over the benches, and some of 'em bounced off, and fell into fits, and

the women screeched and fainted, thick as flies. It give me about the
worst feelun' I ever had in my life: went through me like a ax, and
others said the same; some of 'em said it was like beun' scared in the
dark, or more like when you think you're just goun' to die."
Abel Reverdy stopped for the effect on Braile, who had been smoking
tranquilly throughout, and who now asked quietly, "And what was it?"
"What was it? A man! A stranger that nobody seen before, and nobody
suspicioned was there till they hearn him give that kind of snort, and
they seen him standun' right in front of the mourners' bench under Elder
Grove's pulpit. He was in his bare head, and he had a suit of long,
glossy, jet-black hair hengun down back of his ears clean to his
shoulders. He was kind of pale like, and sad-lookun', and he had a
Roman nose some like yourn, and eyes like two coals, just black fire,
kind of. He was putty thickset, round the shoulders, but he slimmed
down towards his legs, and he stood about six feet high. But the thing
of it," Reverdy urged, seeing that Braile remained outwardly unmoved,
"was the way he was dressed. I s'pose the rest beun' all in brown jeans,
and linsey woolsey, made us notice it more. He was dressed in the
slickest kind of black broadcloth, with a long frock-coat, and a white
cravat. He had on