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To Neal the appearance of the man was not very interesting. He watched him in mere idleness while waiting for the girl to bring the supper Donald had ordered. If there had been anyone else in the room Neal would not have wasted a second glance on the unobtrusive stranger. Yet, as he watched the man he became aware of something about him which was attractive.
He came to a statement of the fact that one, James Finlay, had been enrolled as a United Irishman and admitted to the councils of the local committee. Neal knew James Finlay, and disliked him. Once he had caught him at night in the act of netting salmon in the river. Neal had threatened to hand him over to Lord Dunseveric. The poacher blustered, threatened, and even attempted an attack upon Neal.
He was an old man then, and she remembered the years when he tripped up gayly, and then she looked at her own gray hair in the mirror and saw that her life was spent too. As the colonel came in gasping asthmatically, he found his daughter waiting for him. "Is Adrian better?" he asked excitedly. "Neal said Adrian was sick." "Yes, father, he's upstairs packing.
"Oh, nothing," he smiled back at her bitterly, "except " and his jaw hardened as he snapped "except that Neal Ward is a damned informer and I've sent him about his business, and Jeanette's got to do the same." Mollie Brownwell looked at him with hard eyes for a moment, and then asked, "What did Neal do?"
Alder seemed inexpressibly dear to him as he stood there through a little space, and the vaguely discernible outlines of the shacks along the street were like the faces of friends. In that house behind him was Betty Neal, waiting, praying for him, and indeed, had it not been for shame, he would have weakened now and turned back. For he hardly knew which way to turn.
So at the end of the evening here stand Neal, and Jeanette, even as Adam and Eve stood in the garden, talking of nothing in particular as they slowly move toward the door. "Yes, I suppose so," she says, as Eve said and as Eve's daughters have said through all the centuries, looking intently at the floor.
"You would not bid me stay, mother, but rather urge me forward. I have no time to lose." "You will at least wait until I can put up some food." "Yes; it will be necessary to eat, I suppose. Bread and cheese will be enough, and even that must be got together quickly." Mrs. Neal made no attempt to dissuade her son from his purpose.
Like as not 'twill be a narrow squeak with us if we tackle him. If you're scared a little bit, Neal, let up, an' I'll finish him alone." "Scared!" Neal flung the word back with scorn, as if he was returning a blow. For the life of him he could not bring out another syllable, going at a faster rate than ever he had done in the most stubbornly contested handicap.
We must leave him to God, boys, and to changes larger than we know." "I've a letter for you, Neal," added the host presently in a lighter tone. "It was directed to my care. It is from Philadelphia, from Royal Sinclair, I think." Neal slit the envelope which was handed to him, and read the few lines it contained aloud, with a longing burst of laughter.
I am sending you Neal Ward's statement which was published by the government the day after the case was dismissed. I have not sent it to you before, because I wanted to ask your father if it was true. Jennie, he admits that Neal told the truth, and nothing but the truth and did not make it as bad as it was. You are entitled to the facts.
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