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Asa turned on his heel and walked into the square, removing his coat as he went; Abner followed. They faced each other, crouching. Abner's face depicting wrath, Asa's depicting hatred.... Before a blow was struck, a girl, tall, slender, deep-bosomed, fit mate for a man of might, pushed through the circle of spectators. Her face was pale and distressed, but very lovely.
Abner's intense earnestness had left but little room for the graces; while he was bent upon being recognised as a "writer," yet to be a mere writer and nothing more would not have satisfied him at all. Here was the world with its many wrongs, with its numberless crying needs; and the thing for the strong young man to do was to help set matters right.
Abner's features were heavier than his brother's his speech and manner slower. He paused a second, even then; then he turned towards the house, and spoke, with his face away from them, with a curious directness and taciturnity. "Didn't go to the traps on West Mountain," he said, then; "went there myself. They hadn't been there no tracks; was home before father was to-night.
Uncle Daniel had had several letters from Ben inquiring about Abner's condition; and as each one contained money, some of which had been sent by the skeleton and his wife to "Toby Tyler's friend," the sick boy had wanted for nothing.
Now there were slain of Abner's soldiers about three hundred and sixty; but of those of David nineteen, and Asahel, whose body Joab and Abishai carried to Bethlehem; and when they had buried him in the sepulcher of their fathers, they came to David to Hebron.
Matthew Pole," she announced severely, and closed the door behind him. Ann was standing by the window and came to meet him. It was in front of Abner's empty chair that they shook hands. "So you have come back to the old house," said Matthew. "Yes," she answered. "It never let well. The last people who had it gave it up at Christmas.
He paused, and asked, suddenly, "Why did you let Asa Levens come to court you?" "Because I hated him," said Mary. "Um!... Abner say anythin' to you?" "He said God had taken hold of matters and we'd better let him finish them." "When God takes holt of human affairs he mostly uses human bein's to do the rough work," said Scattergood. "Abner's innocent," said Mary, stubbornly.
As the last words indicated, Perez, apparently decided by Abner's words, had thrown his arm about Desire's waist and drawing her to him and half lifting her from her feet had begun with gentle force to bear her away. She made no violent resistance which indeed would have been quite vain in his powerful clasp, but burst into tears, crying poignantly: "Oh, don't! Please! Please don't! Don't!
Wall, we licked the redcoats, and we got lib'ty, I s'pose; lib'ty ter starve, that is ef we don' happin to git sent tew jail fus," and Abner's voice fell, and his chin dropped on his breast, in a sudden reaction of dejection at the thought of the bitter disappointment of all the hopes which that day had made their hearts so strong, even in the hour of parting.
He refused to give his reasons for opposing Abner's suit; but he hinted darkly of nefarious schemes and dangerous, even treasonable, plots in which the young man was implicated. "I nevah hearn tell uv sich an outrageous thing in my borned days," exclaimed Rogers, "I thought too high uv you, Hiram, to believe you'd listen to whispers an' insinerations ag'in sich a man as Abner."
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