CHAPTER XXVII
AN UNWELCOME CALLER
With rare wisdom Mike now gave an abrupt turn to the conversation.Lowering his voice to a confidential tone, he asked:
"Does Mrs. McCaffry know anything of this?"
"If so, she hasn't given me any reason to suspect it," replied Noxon,brightening up and seizing the straw held out to him. "I told her I hadmet with an accident, and neither she nor her husband asked a question.Their big hearts had no room for any feeling other than of pity for theone who is not deserving of a particle of it."
"She told me her husband works in Beartown. He wint there airly thismorning; he'll hear of the throuble at the post office and the beefeater,as ye call him, will let everybody know he winged the robber as he wasrunning off. Did ye spake any caution to the man before he lift thismorning?"
"By good luck I thought of that. I asked him to make no mention of mybeing at his house and he promised me he would not."
"Arrah, now, but that's good, as me dad says whin he tips up the jug. Allthat ye have to do is to sit here and let Mrs. McCaffry nurse that gameleg till ye're able to thravel."
"Ah, if that was _all_! But I have a father and mother whose hearts I ambreaking. I have two younger brothers and a sweet sister. What of_them_!" demanded Noxon almost fiercely.
"Ye have read the blissed story of the Prodigal Son, haven't ye?"
"I am a thousandfold worse than that poor devil, who was simply foolish."
"Do yer dad and mither know where ye are?"
"No; the one decent thing I did when I turned rascal was to change myname. Orestes Noxon is a _nom de plume_."
"I don't know the fellow, but that shows, me bye, ye ain't such a bigfool as ye look. I'm beginning to have hope for ye."
A strange impulse came to Mike. It was to sing in a low, inexpressiblysweet voice a single stanza of a familiar hymn, just loud enough for theone auditor to hear. But he restrained himself, fearing the effect uponhim. The "fountains of the deep" were already broken up, and the resultmight be regrettable. At that moment a heavy tread sounded on the littlesteps outside, the door was pushed inward, and the bulky form of thered-faced Mrs. McCaffry filled the whole space. She now stepped awkwardlyand ponderously within.
"I begs that ye'll oxcoose me for not coming in wid this blarney andinthrodoocing ye to aich ither. Have ye becoom acquainted?"
"It was an oversight which no Irish leddy should be guilty of," gravelyreplied Mike, "espicially whin the same is the fourth cousin of me ownmither. But ye have been away from the owld counthry so long that ye haveforgot a good deal, Aunt Maggie."
"I haven't furgot to resint the insult of being accused of relationshipwid the family of a spalpeen that is proud of the belaif. Whin Tam coomeshome to-night I'll explain the insult to him and lave ye two to sittlethe same."
"I'm thankful ye give me due notice, Aunt Maggie, so that I'll have timeto slip outside and climb a tree. Which reminds me to ask how fur it isto Beartown."
"It's a good half mile from our home, and nigh about the same distanceback. Ye can figger out the rist for yersilf. Now, me darlint," said she,coming to Noxon's chair and bending over with her broad face radiatingsympathy, "it's toime I had a look at that leg, which would be a bigornamint if bestowed on the spalpeen wid the freckles and rid hair."
"I don't think it can need any attention," said Noxon, pleased to listento the sparring of the two; "but you are the doctor."
Her hands were big and red, but no professional nurse could have handleda patient with more gentle deftness. The linen was unwound, and Mike forthe first time inspected the wound inflicted by Gerald Buxton with hisshotgun. Little as the lad knew of such things, he saw the hurt was notserious. With the removal of the leaden pellets went the cause ofirritation. The stumble in the woods had aggravated the woundtemporarily, but a rest for even a day would render it safe for the youngman to use the leg.
When the bandage had been repinned in place, Noxon felt that he was beingcoddled more than was necessary. Dropping his foot to the floor, he askedimpatiently:
"What's the sense of my playing baby? I can walk as well as ever. All Ineed is an ordinary cane. I think I'll stay with you till after dinner,Aunt Maggie--I suppose I may call you that--and then I'll vamose theranch."
The woman stared wonderingly at Mike.
"Do ye know what he maanes by thim words? His mind I fear is aftherwandering."
"He wishes to say that ye and Tam have used him so well that he will takedelight in spinding siveral days wid ye."
"Ah, now his mind isn't afther wandering when he do spake that way. Allroight, me cherub, ye'll stay where you be till I give you liberty tolave. Do ye mind that?"
And she shook her stubby finger in his face.
"Ah, what a tyrant you are, Aunt Maggie!"
"Phwat's that?" she demanded, straightening up. "Are ye calling me out ofme name?"
"You are the sweetest, kindest, most motherly woman and best wife in theState of Maine."
She sprang to her feet and lumbered to the door.
"I haven't finished hanging me duds; whin I have I'll come back and wipeout the insoolt ye have put upon me."
Noxon looked at Mike, who for the first time heard him laugh with realjollity in his voice.
"What a big heart! How unutterably ashamed she makes me feel! What can Iweigh in the balance against her? She is pure gold and I am base dross."
"Don't forgit to include mesilf wid the dross, me bye. Ye won't be ableto get away from this here place for a few days, I guess."
"Glad should I be if I could believe it safe to stay here."
"And why not?"
"Her husband has already heard all about last night's business."
"He promised ye to say nothing."
"When he did that, he had no suspicion of who I am. He will know that Iwas one of the gang and his disposition will be far different when hecomes home to-night. In fact, he is likely to feel freed of any promisehe made me."
"Ye don't know a real Irishman. I can't say how he will be disposed, butI know he'll kaap that pledge. Have no fear of that."
Noxon sitting back in his chair and apparently without any thought of hisinjured leg, pondered earnestly over the situation.
"I am disposed to believe as you do, but that isn't my only danger."
"Phwat have ye in mind now?"
"There will be lots of people scouring the country for the three personswho were in this business. We are so near Beartown that some of them arelikely to call here before the day is over."
"This house stands well back from the road wid only a path betwaan thetwo. Why should anyone sarch here fur ye?"
"And why should they not? I shouldn't dare to stay here while this isgoing on. However, you have shown such goodwill toward me, I am willingto compromise. I'll stay till to-night and then must make a change ofbase."
"Whither will ye go?"
"I haven't thought of that. My aim will be simply to get out of the zoneof danger, and what follows must depend upon circumstances."
"Noxy, will ye answer me one question?"
"I will."
"GIVE ME YOUR HAND ON THAT."]
"When ye lave here will ye be going back to Kit Woodford and GraffMiller?"
The eyes of the young man flashed and, with an earnestness that seemeddeadly in its intensity, he said hoarsely:
"No! never! I'll die first!"
"Give me yer hand on that!"
It seemed as if the grip would crush the clasping fingers. The pressurecontinued for nearly a minute, while the two looked fixedly into eachother's eyes. The pledge had been made and into each heart stole thewarm, irradiating glow that God gives to all the children of men whenthey break loose from evil and cling to that which is good.
And then the young man gave Mike his confidence. Aunt Maggie, with a tactthat was creditable to her, left them together most of the forenoon andtheir talk was comparatively free from interruption.
As Noxon had hinted, he was the elde
st son of parents who were inprosperous circumstances. He did not give their name nor place ofresidence, for it was unnecessary, but he admitted he had been waywardfrom early boyhood. He longed for wild adventure, and caused his familygrief and anguish by his persistent wrongdoing. Finally, when he hadmatriculated at Yale, he ran away from home, taking what funds he couldsteal and fully resolved upon a life of sin.
"If there were pirates to-day, as there used to be, I should have strivento become the chief of a crew that flew the black flag, but I had to givethat up. Some humorist has said that when a man starts to go to the devilhe finds everything greased. So it proved with me. I fell in with GraffMiller, who, though he is about my age, has been a burglar for severalyears. I never suspected it until he found I was hunting for such acompanion, when he told me of his partnership with Kit Woodford. In myvanity, I had shown how easy it was for me to open one of theold-fashioned combination safes, by detecting the working of themechanism inside. This made me invaluable to them, and they proposed thatI should become the third member of the gang. I jumped at the chance.Since Miller told me they used aliases instead of their right names, Itook the one by which you know me.
"Their plan was to visit different points in the south of Maine, wherethere had been a number of post office robberies, and use me to open thesafes. I was delighted with the scheme, and we started in a few weeksago. The Beartown post office was the third visited----"
Just then a knock sounded on the door. Both were startled and Mikecalled:
"Come in!"
The door was pushed inward and Stockham Calvert entered the room.
"Holy smoke!" exclaimed Mike, "as Father Malone said when he saw hischurch burning."