to persuade us to wring his neck
now
! Tryin' to persuade us to put the bait out of the trap so's Jim Silver can be kept out of it. And what might Jim Silver be to you, son?"
Why, when I heard that question, I wondered a little, myself. But when I glanced aside to Clonmel, I thought that I could understand. There was in the giant the sort of nobility that could feel all the majesty of a man like Silver; the sort of nobility that makes a few human beings willing to die for the right.
Yet, as I looked into the face of Clonmel and saw the tense expectancy and suffering in it, I felt that the old man was right. There was something very strange behind those last words of the giant.
"I think you're right," said Christian suddenly. "We'll keep them."
"Of course, I'm right," said the old man. "I'm always right. I'm too near dead to enjoy bein' wrong any more."
CHAPTER XIV
The Man of Action
I REMEMBER that it was a long time after we were stifled by the blackness before I could speak, and then Clonmel asked me: "What happened?"
I told him briefly, and asked him how it had gone with him. He said that the three of them had waited for a long time, and finally Taxi had declared that I must have gone home, or perhaps even that I had sold my information to the Cary outfit, because Taxi said that money sometimes is a pretty strong voice in the ears of poor men.
"But Silver," said Clonmel, "swore that you would never back out of the job. He was as sure of that as he was sure of anything in the world. He said, too, that it's the people who
have
money who will mostly sell themselves to get more of it. He's a wise fellow, that Jim Silver!"
Wise? I thought he was something more than wise. His faith in me made me strong. Another man's faith always multiplies one's own, I think. It seemed suddenly ridiculously easy to do the right thing without regret afterward.
I asked Clonmel what happened to him. He said:
"We'd waited a good while for you. It was after dark. Taxi and Silver talked over different things to do, and Silver suggested, finally, that you might have been caught up by the Carys. In that case, Taxi said, you were probably already dead, because the only law in this valley is what Old Man Cary pleases to give to everybody in the place."
"Silver said that you might have decided, after all, to go back and say good-by to your wife before you came over to the Cary Valley. He and Taxi went up to the head of the creek to see if they could spot you coming. They went off up the creek, and I stayed where I was, because it seemed to me a wild-goose chase. I walked up and down through a clearing at the side of the creek."
"That was where I was a fool. Silver had told me to keep my ears open and my eyes working. I should have done that, but I didn't. I walked around, and the rush of the creek was loud enough to drown out any quiet sounds, such as people on the prowl would make. The first thing I knew, a man told me to stick up my hands. There he was, standing beside a tree, as I turned around. I put up my hands, all right, but I put up a foot, too, and kicked him under the chin. The bone must have broken. I heard something snap, anyway."
"But as I turned to jump, three or four others piled onto me. We had a good brawl. They tapped me over the head enough times to make things hazy for me. Finally, they got me tied up, and they brought me on here."
I considered that talk, for a moment. That's the way a man of action expresses himself. There was no story in it. There was no dwelling on all the details. I wanted to know how he'd happened to break the leg of a man. I said:
"You smashed up one of them. How did that happen?"
"Well," said Clonmel, "in the middle of the brawl, they were all heaped up on me, and I managed to heave myself out of the pile. I caught a fellow by one leg and used him for a club. I swung him a couple of times and knocked them scattering. But the second time I used him, the club broke off short at the handle. I
now
! Tryin' to persuade us to put the bait out of the trap so's Jim Silver can be kept out of it. And what might Jim Silver be to you, son?"
Why, when I heard that question, I wondered a little, myself. But when I glanced aside to Clonmel, I thought that I could understand. There was in the giant the sort of nobility that could feel all the majesty of a man like Silver; the sort of nobility that makes a few human beings willing to die for the right.
Yet, as I looked into the face of Clonmel and saw the tense expectancy and suffering in it, I felt that the old man was right. There was something very strange behind those last words of the giant.
"I think you're right," said Christian suddenly. "We'll keep them."
"Of course, I'm right," said the old man. "I'm always right. I'm too near dead to enjoy bein' wrong any more."
CHAPTER XIV
The Man of Action
I REMEMBER that it was a long time after we were stifled by the blackness before I could speak, and then Clonmel asked me: "What happened?"
I told him briefly, and asked him how it had gone with him. He said that the three of them had waited for a long time, and finally Taxi had declared that I must have gone home, or perhaps even that I had sold my information to the Cary outfit, because Taxi said that money sometimes is a pretty strong voice in the ears of poor men.
"But Silver," said Clonmel, "swore that you would never back out of the job. He was as sure of that as he was sure of anything in the world. He said, too, that it's the people who
have
money who will mostly sell themselves to get more of it. He's a wise fellow, that Jim Silver!"
Wise? I thought he was something more than wise. His faith in me made me strong. Another man's faith always multiplies one's own, I think. It seemed suddenly ridiculously easy to do the right thing without regret afterward.
I asked Clonmel what happened to him. He said:
"We'd waited a good while for you. It was after dark. Taxi and Silver talked over different things to do, and Silver suggested, finally, that you might have been caught up by the Carys. In that case, Taxi said, you were probably already dead, because the only law in this valley is what Old Man Cary pleases to give to everybody in the place."
"Silver said that you might have decided, after all, to go back and say good-by to your wife before you came over to the Cary Valley. He and Taxi went up to the head of the creek to see if they could spot you coming. They went off up the creek, and I stayed where I was, because it seemed to me a wild-goose chase. I walked up and down through a clearing at the side of the creek."
"That was where I was a fool. Silver had told me to keep my ears open and my eyes working. I should have done that, but I didn't. I walked around, and the rush of the creek was loud enough to drown out any quiet sounds, such as people on the prowl would make. The first thing I knew, a man told me to stick up my hands. There he was, standing beside a tree, as I turned around. I put up my hands, all right, but I put up a foot, too, and kicked him under the chin. The bone must have broken. I heard something snap, anyway."
"But as I turned to jump, three or four others piled onto me. We had a good brawl. They tapped me over the head enough times to make things hazy for me. Finally, they got me tied up, and they brought me on here."
I considered that talk, for a moment. That's the way a man of action expresses himself. There was no story in it. There was no dwelling on all the details. I wanted to know how he'd happened to break the leg of a man. I said:
"You smashed up one of them. How did that happen?"
"Well," said Clonmel, "in the middle of the brawl, they were all heaped up on me, and I managed to heave myself out of the pile. I caught a fellow by one leg and used him for a club. I swung him a couple of times and knocked them scattering. But the second time I used him, the club broke off short at the handle. I
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