CHAPTER XLI
The Young Master part2
At this moment,Legree sauntered up to the door of the shed, looked in, with a dogged air ofaffected carelessness, and turned away.
"The oldSatan!" said George, in his indignation. "It's a comfort to think thedevil will pay him for this, some of these days!"
"O, don't!—oh, ye mustn't!"said Tom, grasping his hand; "he's a poor mis'able critter! it's awful tothink on 't! Oh, if he only could repent, the Lord would forgive him now; butI'm 'feared he never will!"
"I hope hewon't!" said George; "I never want to see him inheaven!"
"Hush, Mas'rGeorge!—itworries me! Don't feel so! He an't done me no real harm,—only opened the gate of the kingdom for me; that's all!"
At this moment, thesudden flush of strength which the joy of meeting his young master had infusedinto the dying man gave way. A sudden sinking fell upon him; he closed hiseyes; and that mysterious and sublime change passed over his face, that toldthe approach of other worlds.
He began to drawhis breath with long, deep inspirations; and his broad chest rose and fell,heavily. The expression of his face was that of a conqueror.
"Who,—who,—who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" he said, in avoice that contended with mortal weakness; and, with a smile, he fell asleep.
George sat fixedwith solemn awe. It seemed to him that the place was holy; and, as he closedthe lifeless eyes, and rose up from the dead, only one thought possessed him,—that expressed by hissimple old friend,—"What a thing it is to be aChristian!"
He turned: Legreewas standing, sullenly, behind him.
Something in that dyingscene had checked the natural fierceness of youthful passion. The presence ofthe man was simply loathsome to George; and he felt only an impulse to get awayfrom him, with as few words as possible.
Fixing his keendark eyes on Legree, he simply said, pointing to the dead, "You have gotall you ever can of him. What shall I pay you for the body? I will take itaway, and bury it decently."
"I don't selldead niggers," said Legree, doggedly. "You are welcome to bury himwhere and when you like."
"Boys,"said George, in an authoritative tone, to two or three negroes, who werelooking at the body, "help me lift him up, and carry him to my wagon; andget me a spade."
One of them ran fora spade; the other two assisted George to carry the body to the wagon.
George neitherspoke to nor looked at Legree, who did not countermand his orders, but stood,whistling, with an air of forced unconcern. He sulkily followed them to wherethe wagon stood at the door.
George spread hiscloak in the wagon, and had the body carefully disposed of in it,—moving the seat, so asto give it room. Then he turned, fixed his eyes on Legree, and said, withforced composure,
"I have not,as yet, said to you what I think of this most atrocious affair;—this is not the timeand place. But, sir, this innocent blood shall have justice. I will proclaimthis murder. I will go to the very first magistrate, and expose you."
"Do!"said Legree, snapping his fingers, scornfully. "I'd like to see you doingit. Where you going to get witnesses?—how you going to prove it?—Come,now!"
George saw, atonce, the force of this defiance. There was not a white person on the place;and, in all southern courts, the testimony of colored blood is nothing. Hefelt, at that moment, as if he could have rent the heavens with his heart'sindignant cry for justice; but in vain.
"After all,what a fuss, for a dead nigger!" said Legree.
The word was as aspark to a powder magazine. Prudence was never a cardinal virtue of theKentucky boy. George turned, and, with one indignant blow, knocked Legree flatupon his face; and, as he stood over him, blazing with wrath and defiance, hewould have formed no bad personification of his great namesake triumphing overthe dragon.
Some men, however,are decidedly bettered by being knocked down. If a man lays them fairly flat inthe dust, they seem immediately to conceive a respect for him; and Legree wasone of this sort. As he rose, therefore, and brushed the dust from his clothes,he eyed the slowly-retreating wagon with some evident consideration; nor did heopen his mouth till it was out of sight.
Beyond theboundaries of the plantation, George had noticed a dry, sandy knoll, shaded bya few trees; there they made the grave.
"Shall we takeoff the cloak, Mas'r?" said the negroes, when the grave was ready.
"No, no,—bury it with him! It'sall I can give you, now, poor Tom, and you shall have it."
They laid him in;and the men shovelled away, silently. They banked it up, and laid green turfover it.
"You may go,boys," said George, slipping a quarter into the hand of each. Theylingered about, however.
"If youngMas'r would please buy us—"said one.
"We'd servehim so faithful!" said the other.
"Hard timeshere, Mas'r!" said the first. "Do, Mas'r, buy us, please!"
"I can't!—I can't!" said George,with difficulty, motioning them off; "it's impossible!"
The poor fellowslooked dejected, and walked off in silence.
"Witness,eternal God!" said George, kneeling on the grave of his poor friend;"oh, witness, that, from this hour, I will do what one man can todrive out this curse of slavery from my land!"
There is nomonument to mark the last resting-place of our friend. He needs none! His Lordknows where he lies, and will raise him up, immortal, to appear with him whenhe shall appear in his glory.
Pity him not! Sucha life and death is not for pity! Not in the riches of omnipotence is the chiefglory of God; but in self-denying, suffering love! And blessed are the men whomhe calls to fellowship with him, bearing their cross after him with patience.Of such it is written, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall becomforted."
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