Epoch the Fourth
CHAPTER IX
GOSSIP
I'VE BEEN over to the McCarthys today," cried Midred Merrill, greeting her mother, as she returned home the Sunday following the riling of the suit.
“And, oh, mama, they are certainly excited over there! "
“Mm ! Guess they'll understand that Jean Baptiste better now. Because he had wished to settle their difficulties if there were any like a man, they thought he was afraid of the Reverend."
“That was it positively!”
“What was the conversation?”
"Of course it was Ethel who was making the most of the noise."
“Naturally."
“And she made some noise!”
“I'd wager."
“To begin with, they didn't know Jean had sued the Reverend until they read it in the paper."
“Is that so!”
“Yes! You see, it was like this. Orlean sold her farm."
“Gave it away."
“Quite likely."
“It was so. Why I understand that Baptiste had paid over thirty-five hundred dollars into it, and that the place was supposed to be worth about forty dollars an acre, with one hundred sixty acres bringing the sum of sixty- four hundred dollars. That insurance companies would lend two thousand five hundred dollars on the place if she had proved up on the same as other people were doing and had done, and secured a patent."
“Isn't that a shame! "
"n***a's!"
“Negroes proper!”
"Well, what did they say?"
“Oh, yes! Orlean sold her farm some time ago."
“For three hundred dollars."
“Is that all she received?"
“Every cent."
“Well, what do you think of that! "
“It was the Reverend's work, of course."
“That dirty old rascal."
“Ignorant into the bargain."
“If I were Baptiste I'd k** him."
“That would do no good."
“No, I guess not."
“Would make him appear a martyr, also."
“Well, ever since Orlean sold her place, you see, they have been uneasy."
“I guess so."
“So they had been sort of looking to hear from him."
“And they have."
Mildred laughed.
“And they'll hear from him some more!"
Both laughed.
“Now, Orlean heard that Jean was in town before the rest of the family did, and told me so."
“She's waited a long time to tell other people things she hasn't told the folks first. . . ."
“Yes," thoughtfully. “Anyhow, Glavis met Baptiste on the streets downtown, and, of course, Glavis, not knowing Baptiste's mission, thought he was here after Orlean again."
“Just like him."
“The truth."
“He was by here awhile ago."
"He was?"
“Yes; but I'll tell you about that later. Go on."
“When he met Jean on the street rather, after, he goes around to where Orlean worked to warn her."
“Sneak!”
“But Orlean was out."
"Yes?"
“So when she returned, and was told that a colored man had called and inquired for her, she”
“Thought it had been Baptiste."
“Yes."
“I'll try to quit interrupting you."
“Well, Orlean told me that she was provoked. She wished that Jean would not be calling at where she worked to bother her."
“She got fooled excuse me!”
“But she didn't say anything to the folks about it, and they knew nothing of his presence in town Glavis didn't tell it seems, either until Sunday morning."
"Indeed!"
“No, none of them had gone out Saturday night, so they hadn't heard any of the talk that was going the rounds."
“Well, Glavis went outside Sunday morning and found the Defender in the mail box."
"So?"
“You see, they do not subscribe for it, but the people next door get it "
“And knowing they were not subscribers, they take the paper and place it where they could get it."
Mildred laughed.
“So," resumed Mildred, “when they saw the paper, all was excitement."
“Goody!”
“So Glavis (he is the Reverend's faithful lieutenant, you know), went out to look up Baptiste and have a talk with him."
"Ump!"
“He didn't find him."
“That was how he happened by here."
“But the funny part about it is, that they don't know what Baptiste is up to. They don't know that if he secures a judgment, he can remand the Elder to jail for six months."
"Now won't there be some excitement when they learn!”
Mildred laughed again, her mother joined her.
"But getting back to Ethel."
“Tell me about her."
“Oh, she was on the war path.' You see, she cried, standing over Orlean. ‘You see what you've done by your hard-headedness. I told you all the time not to marry that man!'
"Wouldn't that disgust you!"
“‘But you would go ahead and marry him! You would go ahead and marry him, after all papa and I tried to persuade you not to! And now! You are going to k** your father; going to k** your poor old father.' Orlean just hung her head like a silly and took it. ‘Yes,' went on Ethel, turning her little slender body around and twisting her jaws as if to grind it out. ‘You got him all mixed up with that n***a', and here he comes in here and sues him. Think of it! Sues him! And now all the n***a's in Chicago have the laugh on us we daren't show our faces in the street!
“‘And what has he done it for?' ‘But, Ethel,' Orlean protested, ' Papa isn't worth anything. He can't do anything with papa if he gets a judgment.' ‘What do you know about judgments,' Ethel flew up. Well,' said Orlean, ' I recall hearing Jean say that if a man was worth nothing, then a judgment was of little or no good.' ‘You heard Jean say it! ‘screamed Ethel, looking at Orlean severely. And then she turned to me. ‘Do you know, Mildred, she rang out, ' This fool woman loves that man yet.
Yes. Y-e-s! Loves him yet and would go back to him tomorrow if it wasn't for us! ' '
“Doesn't it beat anything you ever saw! "
Mildred laughed again as she paused for breath.
“Well, Ethel went on: ' And don't you think that n***a' is a fool. No, no! Never! That's a scheming n***a'. He's the schemingest n***a' in the world! He knows what he's about. Believe me! He knows papa isn't worth anything. And, besides, he isn't after money, he's after papa. He don't want no money. A scheming n***a' like him can make all the money he wants. Oh, yes! He's up to something else.”
“Seems they are willing to admit very readily now that which they were not as long as he tried to deal with them like a man.”
"I should think so," returned Mildred. "Well, Ethel was so excited that she walked up and down the floor in a rage. Every little while she would stop before me, and glare into my face: ' But what can he do, what can he do! '‘I have nothing to do with it, Ethel,' I replied. ‘Yes, you have, yes, you have! You know! I know you and I know Jean Baptiste! He never comes to Chicago without coming to see you all. He's told you what he's up to, and I know it! Oh, that n***a'! '
“I looked at Orlean, and she sat by looking like the man who has murdered his wife and regrets it. When she met my eyes she sighed, and then said: ' Do you think he can hurt papa, Mildred? I'm worried. You see, I know Jean some. He's shrewd, Jean is very shrewd.' I confess that I was rather uncomfortable, knowing what I did. So hoping to find some way to get out of it, I suggested that they walk out. ‘No,' exclaimed Ethel. ' I'm afraid I'll run into that n***a'.' "
“When do they look for the Reverend in?"
“In the morning. They are afraid to go out until he comes."
“I'd like to be around there when they found out what Jean is up to."
Mildred laughed again, and then cried: “And oh, yes, I forgot to tell you that Orlean asked me whether Jean came direct from the farm here."
"What did you tell her?"
“Why, I said I thought he was visiting down in Kansas before coming here."
“Hump."
“She said : ' I guess he was calling on Miss Irene Grey.' "
Her mother giggled.
“I said I thought he remarked something about having visited there, whereupon Orlean said: ' lie ought to have married her.' "
“Jealousy."
“Yes, that was it."
"Look! There is Glavis," cried Mildred's mother, pointing to his figure crossing the street.
"Now for some fun," said Mildred, whereupon, both feigned sleepiness, and prepared for some good interesting gossip.
“Oh, Mr. Glavis," exclaimed Mildred, answering the rap on the door and admitting him.
“And how is everybody? " asked Glavis, coming in with his head bared, and smiling in his usual way.
“Fine, Mr. Glavis," replied Mildred's mother, arising to greet him for the second time that day.
“And where is my friend, Baptiste? “said Glavis. “I've just come from the Keystone, and while he stops there, I can never catch him in."
“He has not been here today, Glavis," replied Mildred.
“That's funny. I'd certainly like to see him."
“Why would you want to see him?” inquired Mildred's mother.
“Oh, I want to see him, of course, about all this scandal that's in the air."
“Hump ! This appears to be the first time that you have wanted to see him since your father-in-law brought Orlean home."
“Well, of course," said Glavis, a little embarra**ed.
“It has always been a bad affair. A bad affair, and I certainly have wished Orlean would have kept us out of all the mess."
“Why not say you wished the Reverend had kept you out of all the mess," ventured Mildred's mother, who was out of patience with their conduct.
“Well, it's rather awkward. Baptiste is a little in fault himself."
"How's that?"
“Oh, he sorter had it in for father before he even married Orlean. He didn't come into the family like I did."
Mildred and her mother regarded each other as Glavis went on thoughtfully.
“Yes, Baptiste is a good fellow, and I have always rather liked him. But he has always had it in for father; has never treated him as I have. ... If he would have, I'm sure we would not be the bone of this scandal."
“It seems that this enmity between your ' father ' and Baptiste, begun way back in the southern part of this state, when Baptiste was a small boy. . . ."
“I've heard something concerning that, but of course he oughtn't hold such things against a man when he has grown up."
“You seem to hold Baptiste in fault for everything, when it's common knowledge, from 'what I can hear, Glavis," argued Mildred's mother, " that the Elder went up there and just broke Orlean and Baptiste up; made her sign his name to a check for a big sum of money and a whole lot of other things. How do you account for or explain that? "
“Well, Baptiste could have settled this without all that. If he'd come and seen me before starting this suit," Glavis was evasive,” I would have had him and Orlean meet and reason their differences out together."
“Why have you waited so long to take such action, Glavis? You had years almost to have gotten them together to have been at least fair to Baptiste. As it is, you have treated all of you Baptiste like a dog, like a dog. And because he tried to settle an affair like it ought to have been settled, you just ground him pride and all right into the ditch."
Glavis winced under the fusillade with which the elder lady of the house bombarded him.
“And now after you do him all the injury you can, you cry about him making a scandal! Just because he' didn't come around again a whining like the dog you have tried to make him, you profess to be shocked at his conduct. Moreover, you had Orlean to give away the farm he gave her, and from what I can hear, to the man that tried every way known to law to beat her out of it and failed. And at Baptiste's expense! "
Glavis was very uncomfortable. He shifted uneasily, while his handkerchief was kept busy mopping the perspiration from his brow.
“I heard that the Reverend just scored the man about trying to beat poor Orlean out of her place: Preached a great sermon on the evil and intriguing of the white race, and just gave that man, a banker, the devil. Then upon top of that he comes down here to Chicago and sends your ‘father ' the money to come here from Cairo to sell him the place that Baptiste was man enough to trust her with for nothing. I can't figure out where any of you have any cry coming."
“Well," said Glavis, rising,” I want to see Baptiste anyhow. If you see him, tell him to come over to the house."
“No, Glavis, I have nothing to do with it, and I oughtn't to be gossiping as I have been ; but I have known Baptiste since he was a little boy, and I just can't help protesting as I have always heretofore protested, about the way you people have treated him."
“Well, I guess Baptiste hates all of us enough to make up."
“Baptiste has nothing against any one in that house over there but your ' father. But there would be no use in my telling him to call over there. No use at all, for let me tell you," she said, following him to the door; “The day of Baptiste beholding unto you for his wife is past. I don't think he wants Orlean anymore, and don't blame him after what she has allowed to happen to him through her lack of womanhood. Nawsiree, Baptiste didn't come into Chicago this time crying, he came here like a man, and it's the man in him with which you'll have to fight now."
"Oh, well, I don't know," said Glavis, taking a little courage, “I don't think he is so wise after all. Any man that will sue a man like father for ten thousand dollars, wouldn't seem so wise."
“Well," returned the elder lady, “Perhaps you had better wait until you see a lawyer."