He entered the office, bidding Cato follow, and lit the lamp above his desk.The negro remained standing gloomily but respectfully by the window.
"Cato, do you know anything of Mr.Dumont--Miss Dows' cousin?"The negro's white teeth suddenly flashed in the lamplight."Ya!
ha! I reckon, sah."
"Then he's a great friend of your people?""I don't know about dat, sah.But he's a pow'ful enemy of de Reeds and de Higbees!""On account of his views, of course?"
"'Deed no!" said Cato with an astounded air."Jess on account of de vendetta!""The vendetta?"
"Yes, sah.De old blood quo'll of de families.It's been goin' on over fifty years, sah.De granfader, fader, and brudder of de Higbees was killed by de granfader, fader, and brudder of de Doomonts.De Reeds chipped in when all de Higbees was played out, fo' dey was relations, but dey was chawed up by some of de Dowses, first cousins to de Doomonts.""What? Are the Dows in this vendetta?"
"No, sah.No mo'.Dey's bin no man in de family since Miss Sally's fader died--dat's let de Dows out fo' ever.De las'
shootin' was done by Marse Jack Doomont, who crippled Marse Tom Higbee's brudder Jo, and den skipped to Europe.Dey say he's come back, and is lying low over at Atlanty.Dar'll be lively times of he comes here to see Miss Sally.""But he may have changed his ideas while living abroad, where this sort of thing is ****** murder."The negro shook his head grimly."Den he wouldn't come, sah.No, sah.He knows dat Tom Higbee's bound to go fo' him or leave de place, and Marse Jack wouldn't mind settlin' HIM too as well as his brudder, for de scores is agin' de Doomonts yet.And Marse Jack ain't no slouch wid a scatter gun."At any other time the imminence of this survival of a lawless barbarism of which he had heard so much would have impressed Courtland; now he was only interested in it on account of the inconceivable position in which it left Miss Sally.Had she anything to do with this baleful cousin's return, or was she only to be a helpless victim of it?
A white, dazzling, and bewildering flash of lightning suddenly lit up the room, the porch, the dripping ailantus, and the flooded street beyond.It was followed presently by a crash of thunder, with what seemed to be a second fainter flash of lightning, or rather as if the first flash had suddenly ignited some inflammable substance.With the long reverberation of the thunder still shaking the house, Courtland slipped quickly out of the window and passed down to the gate.
"Did it strike anything, sah?" said the startled negro, as Courtland returned.
"Not that I can see," said his employer shortly."Go inside, and call Zoe and her daughter from the cabin and bring them in the hall.Stay till I come.Go!--I'll shut the windows myself.""It must have struck somewhere, sah, shuah! Deh's a pow'ful smell of sulphur right here," said the negro as he left the room.
Courtland thought so too, but it was a kind of sulphur that he had smelled before--on the battlefield! For when the door was closed behind his overseer he took the lamp to the opposite wall and examined it carefully.There was the distinct hole made by a bullet which had missed Cato's head at the open window by an inch.