第113章

"Another man," he repeated."And SOME folks--not many, of course, but some--might be crazy enough to say he was a better-lookin' man than I am.Now, bein' ragin' jealous,-- All right, Rachel, all right, I surrender.Don't hit me with all those soapsuds.I don't want to go back to the office foamin' at the mouth.The reason I'm here is that I had to go down street to see about the sheathin' for the Red Men's lodge room.Issy took the order, but he wasn't real sure whether 'twas sheathin' or scantlin' they wanted, so I told Cap'n Lote I'd run down myself and straighten it out.On the way back I saw you two through the window and I thought I'd drop in and worry you.So here I am."Mrs.Ellis nodded."Yes," she sniffed."And all that camel--camel-- Oh, DEAR, what DOES ail me? All that camel-- No use, I've forgot it again.""Never mind, Rachel," said Mr.Keeler consolingly."All the--er--menagerie was just that and nothin' more.Oh, by the way, Al," he added, "speakin' of camels--don't you think I've done pretty well to go so long without any--er--liquid nourishment? Not a drop since you and I enlisted together....Oh, she knows about it now," he added, with a jerk of his head in the housekeeper's direction."I felt 'twas fairly safe and settled, so I told her.

I told her.Yes, yes, yes.Um-hm, so I did."Albert turned to the lady.

"You should be very proud of him, Rachel," he said seriously."Ithink I realize a little something of the fight he has made, and it is bully.You should be proud of him."Rachel looked down at the little man.

"I am," she said quietly."I guess likely he knows it."Laban smiled."The folks in Washington are doin' their best to help me out," he said."They're goin' to take the stuff away from everybody so's to make sure _I_ don't get any more.They'll probably put up a monument to me for startin' the thing; don't you think they will, Al? Eh? Don't you, now?"Albert and he walked up the road together.Laban told a little more of his battle with John Barleycorn.

"I had half a dozen spells when I had to set my teeth, those I've got left, and hang on," he said."And the hangin'-on wa'n't as easy as stickin' to fly-paper, neither.Honest, though, I think the hardest was when the news came that you was alive, Al.I--Ijust wanted to start in and celebrate.Wanted to whoop her up, Idid." He paused a moment and then added, "I tried whoopin' on sass'parilla and vanilla sody, but 'twa'n't satisfactory.Couldn't seem to raise a real loud whisper, let alone a whoop.No, Icouldn't--no, no."

Albert laughed and laid a hand on his shoulder."You're all right, Labe," he declared."I know you, and I say so."Laban slowly shook his head.His smile, as he answered, was rather pathetic.

"I'm a long, long ways from bein' all right, Al," he said."A long ways from that, I am.If I'd made my fight thirty year ago, Imight have been nigher to amountin' to somethin'....Oh, well, for Rachel's sake I'm glad I've made it now.She's stuck to me when everybody would have praised her for chuckin' me to Tophet.Iwas readin' one of Thackeray's books t'other night--Henry Esmond, 'twas; you've read it, Al, of course; I was readin' it t'other night for the ninety-ninth time or thereabouts, and I run across the place where it says it's strange what a man can do and a woman still keep thinkin' he's an angel.That's true, too, Al.Not,"with the return of the slight smile, "that Rachel ever went so far as to call me an angel.No, no.There's limits where you can't stretch her common-sense any farther.Callin' me an angel would be just past the limit.Yes, yes, yes.I guess SO."They spoke of Captain Zelotes and Olive and of their grief and discouragement when the news of Albert's supposed death reached them.

"Do you know," said Labe, "I believe Helen Kendall's comin' there for a week did 'em more good than anything else.She got away from her soldier nursin' somehow--must have been able to pull the strings consider'ble harder'n the average to do it--and just came down to the Snow place and sort of took charge along with Rachel.

Course she didn't live there, her father thought she was visitin'