The Spectre In The Cart | Page 4

advanced, Absalom faltered and
stopped. He could not stand his calm eye.
"'It was jest like a dog givin' way before a man who ain't afraid of him,'
my man said. 'He breshed Absalom aside as if he had been a fly, and
began to talk to us, and I never heard such a speech.'
"I got there just after it happened; for some report of what Absalom

intended to do had reached me that night and I rode over hastily,
fearing that I might arrive too late. When, however, I arrived at the
place everything was quiet, Absalom had disappeared. Unable to face
his downfall, he had gone off, taking old Joel with him. The tide of
excitement had changed and the negroes, relieved at the relaxing of the
tension, were laughing among themselves at their champion's defeat
and disavowing any sympathy with his violence. They were all friendly
with Halloway.
"'Dat man wa' n' nothin' but a' outside nigger, nohow,' they said. 'And
he always was more mouth then anything else,' etc.
"'Good L--d! He say he want to drink blood!' declared one man to
another, evidently for us to hear, as we mounted our horses.
"'Drink whiskey!' replied the other, dryly, and there was a laugh of
derision.
"I rode home with Halloway.
"I shall never forget his serenity. As we passed along, the negroes were
lining the roads on their way homeward, and were shouting and
laughing among themselves; and the greetings they gave us as we
passed were as civil and good-humored as if no unpleasantness had
ever existed. A little after we set out, one man, who had been walking
very fast just ahead of us, and had been keeping in advance all the time,
came close to Halloway's stirrup and said something to him in an
undertone. All I caught was, layin' up something against him.'
"'That 's all right, Dick; let him lay it up, and keep it laid up,' Halloway
laughed.
"'Dat 's a bad feller!' the negro insisted, uneasily, his voice kept in an
undertone. 'You got to watch him. I'se knowed him from a boy.'
"He added something else in a whisper which I did not catch.
"'All right; certainly not! Much obliged to you, Dick. I 'll keep my eyes

open. Goodnight.'
"'Good-night, gent'men'; and the negro fell back and began to talk with
the nearest of his companions effusively.
"'Who is that?' I asked, for the man had kept his hat over his eyes.
"'That 's Dick Winchester. You remember that old fellow 't used to
belong to old Mr. Eaton--lived down in the pines back o' me, on the
creek 't runs near my place. His wife died the year of the big snow.'
"It was not necessary for him to explain further. I remembered the
negro for whom Hal-loway had ridden through the storm that night.
"I asked Halloway somewhat irrelevantly, if he carried a pistol. He said
no, he had never done so.
"'Fact is, I 'm afraid of killin' somebody. And I don't want to do that, I
know. Never could bear to shoot my gun even durin' o' the war, though
I shot her 'bout as often as any of 'em, I reckon--always used to shut my
eyes right tight whenever I pulled the trigger. I reckon I was a mighty
pore soldier,' he laughed. I had heard that he was one of the best in the
army.
"'Besides, I always feel sort o' cowardly if I 've got a pistol on. Looks
like I was afraid of somebody--an' I ain't. I 've noticed if two fellows
have pistols on and git to fightin', mighty apt to one git hurt, maybe
both. Sort o' like two dogs growling--long as don't but one of 'em growl
it's all right. If don't but one have a pistol, t' other feller always has the
advantage and sort o' comes out top, while the man with the pistol
looks mean.'
"I remember how he looked in the dim moonlight as he drawled his
quaint philosophy.
"'I 'm a man o' peace, Mr. Johnny, and I learnt that from your mother--I
learnt a heap o' things from her,' he added, presently, after a little period
of reflection. 'She was the lady as used always to have a kind word for

me when I was a boy. That 's a heap to a boy. I used to think she was an
angel. You think it 's you I'm a fightin' for in this canvass? 'T ain't. I
like you well enough, but I ain't never forgot your mother, and her
kindness to my old people durin' the war when I was away. She give
me this handkerchief for a weddin' present when I was married after the
war--said 't was all