Читать книгу Quilly Hall - Benjamin W. Farley - Страница 6

Quilly Hall consisted of four rooms in the main section, plus a large dining room and kitchen, which my great-grandfather Edmonds had added as time went by. A stairwell in the kitchen led up to two large bedrooms: one over the kitchen and one over the dining room. Both additions were constructed of a dull red brick, mixed and fired on the farm, with lattice interior walls, covered with plaster and left white. The rock stone part of the house had two large rooms downstairs, plus Quilly’s hall, and two sprawling bedrooms upstairs. These were separated by a wide landing, crowded with a massive armoire, as there were no closets in either bedroom. My mother and I slept in the room whose back window overlooked the springhouse, apple shed, and the tarred road that led into Abingdon. My grandmother was sole occupant of the finer of the two bedrooms. All four rooms—upstairs and down—in the rock section were heated by immense fireplaces. Large wooden mantles stretched across them, crowded with clocks, pictures, and vases, adorned with dried flowers in the winter and fresh ones in the summer to match the hue of the vases. In my grandmother’s bedroom, and in the living room downstairs, lacy, embroidered doilies ran the full length of the mantles.

My favorite haven in the house was the living room. Next, came Quilly’s hallway, and lastly the dining room. Deep recessed windowsills guarded the three muslin-curtained windows in the living room. The side window provided a view of the back driveway; the other two looked out over the front lawn. I could climb up and sit in either of the two front windows and gaze out across the porch and into the yard. On cold wintry days, great fires blazed in its hearth. One of Pearl’s many chores consisted in seeing that adequate kindling and logs were always provided in the wood boxes and that the cinders were raked out every morning and carried outside before my grandmother came down to take her coffee in front of the main fireplace. My mother prepared the coffee and would bring it in to my grandmother in a fine, china cup, half-buried in a deep saucer. Then my mother and grandmother would rock in front of the crackling logs and sip their coffee out of the saucers. They loved cream—rich, yellow, fresh cream—and plenty of it. Pearl made certain that their cups were refilled as long as they chatted there and that the cream pitcher never ran dry.

I generally had breakfast in the kitchen, in front of the cook stove, with Pearl. She’d fry me an egg and a sausage patty, or serve oatmeal, or, frequently, white milk gravy, amply ladled over a hot biscuit. After that, I would join my mother and grandmother in the living room. Sometimes my grandmother would turn her coffee cup over and place it in the saucer and wait for the grounds to dry. She’d have my mother do the same. After several moments had passed, she’d turn the cups back up and read their fortunes. For someone as sophisticated as my grandmother, I was enchanted by these “gypsy episodes,” as Uncle Everett referred to them. Although my grandmother had graduated from the Martha Washington Seminary for Girls, this facet of her Holston heritage remained with her till death.

“Ah, Shaula!” she’d say to my mother. “Here’s this tall handsome man again. See!” she would point in the cup. “And his beard. He has raised his hand to stroke it. And he’s looking right at you. And this door! He’s going to come to our very door.”

“Mom! One man in my life was enough. You’ve got to get a new line. I’m thirty-two years old now. Who would be interested in me?”

“Well, don’t laugh it off so quickly, my dear. You’re still young and beautiful. Hamilton’s dead. He’ll never return, God rest his soul,” she would stare remorsefully at me. “It’s time you thought about remarrying. Besides, Tommy needs a father, someone to look up to, not just a dead hero,” she’d glance at my father’s photograph on the mantle.

I would look up, too. There was my father, Captain Edmonds, in his uniform, but I scarcely knew him. He left for the war after Pearl Harbor, when I was barely four. His squad was blown to bits in August of 1942, somewhere in the jungles of Guadalcanal. A purple heart dangled from one corner of his picture frame. He was my grandmother’s oldest son. His loss deeply grieved her, but she rarely spoke of him. Sometimes at night, she would take his picture off the mantle, carry it upstairs to the landing, and place it on a mahogany stand between our two bedrooms. Nothing else was permitted to rest on that stand. Above it on the wall was a photograph of him in faded overalls, taken in front of the springhouse when he must have been a boy of my age. Sometimes my mother would leave our door open and slip out of bed at night and stare at his photo.

An uncomfortable maroon loveseat, a large, green silk-covered couch, stacked with green felt pillows with streaming gold braids, a deep black leather armchair, and a tall cherry chest of drawers (pushed against the wall opposite the front windows), constituted the living room’s main furniture. Small tables of walnut and oak, and end tables with inlaid silver filigree bands, completed the furnishings, except for the semi-circle of rockers that faced the hearth. A painting of my grandmother dominated the wall between the front windows. She is sitting in the loveseat. Her neck and back are very erect. A large diamond pendant glitters on her chest, just above a strikingly low-cut, silver gown. Her black hair is gently fluffed. The exquisite lines of her thin face, nose, and lips catch your eyes immediately. A genteel air commands her entire presence. Her hands rest on one another in her lap. Beneath her portrait for many years hung a deteriorating pink photograph of my grandfather Holman. Long strands of gray hair encircled his face and ears. A high white collar, wide cravat, and stylish unbuttoned black coat complemented his attire. His eyes were deep set, almost coal black, and stared out in defiance. Several links of a gold chain and watch poked visibly from a pocket. Someone stole his picture, but we never knew who the culprit was. My grandmother’s portrait still hangs in the living room, along with my father’s photo on the mantle. I have added a photograph of my mother, as well.

Other family members’ portraits and pictures were relegated to the hallway. After entering from the porch through the large, glass-paneled front door, one passed a dusty painting of my great-great grandfather on the left. It hung just passed a huge portmanteau. He sports a powdered wig, a lacy tie, and a black, smoking jacket. He holds, what appears to be, a deed in his clenched left fist. A brass nameplate heralds his title: Col. James Holman Edmonds. His chest is Atlas in size, his gaze: regal. Beside where the Colonel’s picture used to hang, still looms a life-size painting of my great-grandfather, Capt. Nathan Edmonds. He is decked out in a gray Confederate long coat, with a gold sash about his waist, and a polished sword at his side. A long white beard rests curled on his chest. In spite of his military bearing, there is a roguish gentleness about his face, a soft sophistication of aristocratic noblesse. Opposite their paintings were small portraits of their wives. The women wear white bonnets drawn about their chins, their faces pale and smileless. Except for the Captain’s portrait, the others hang today in my great-aunt’s house in town, which became a museum after her death. As I child, I would stare at these awesome and austere people, almost afraid of them, yet captivated by their determined countenances. Plus, there was Quilly, on her marble-top pedestal, to humble and charm them into submission. Beside her, stretched a crimson Napoleon couch that provided an enchanting anomaly to the petrifying demeanor of the old women. How I loved sitting on that couch, infatuated by Quilly’s beauty, while I swung my legs back-and-forth and made faces at those ponderous ancestors of old. I did have to admit, though, that my Uncle Everett had that identical look in his eye that Capt. Edmonds’ portrait made transparent. I wanted to be like both of them, especially like my Uncle Everett.

One entered the parlor through French doors, opposite the living room, at the base of the stairwell. The doors were constructed of heavy oak, stained a dark mahogany and sticky from years of sweaty fingerprints. One could roll up a finish of grimy goo with practically no difficulty. Once inside the room, its spacious depth and stacked rock fireplace, which was fitted with an iron stove, appealed immensely to visitors’ curiosities. The room contained wall-to-wall shelves of rare and coveted books, some reaching to the ceiling. A rickety ladder on metal rails offered access to the higher shelves, but anyone could reach the lower treasure of crumbly, leather-covered books. A magnificent new set of The Encyclopedia of Knowledge, consisting of forty volumes published in 1935, was wonderfully within my reach. How I enjoyed perusing each book on rainy days and soggy nights! The set was replete with pictures and photos of such far away places as India, China, Africa, the Eiffel Tower, walled German villages, and the mountains of Italy. I first learned to read from its pages, even before the first grade, thanks to the pictures and to my mother and grandmother’s patience—along with the captions beneath the glossy photographs. There was even a chapter on farming and a section on Abingdon, its Knobs, the Barter Theatre, tobacco auction barns, and Daniel Boone. The chapter opened with our own Col. James Holman Edmonds’ portrait and his exploits as one of the town’s founding giants.

Many tomes of jurisprudence, geology, state history, the Lost Cause, horticulture, plant diseases, medicine, and literature stared down at me. I would pull out books and run my hands over them and pretend I was reading these myriad works. No daydreamer had a better backdrop for flights of chrestomathic adventure.

It was on one of those rainy mornings that I heard a knock at the front door and ran to see who it was. We were expecting Uncle Everett, and I wanted him to tell me about the various cannons that were pictured in one of the military books. But as I looked through the glass, it wasn’t Uncle Everett at all, but a tall, ruddy-faced, elegant man, with a goatee and a gentleman’s bearing. “Mama!” I shouted. “Grandmother! It’s that man in the coffee cup! Hurry! Come quick!”

I could hear the swish of their skirts behind me, along with Pearl’s. My mother arrived first. “Oh, my goodness!” she clutched her throat. “It’s Marion Chappels.” She opened the door with excitement. “Mr. Chappels! What a pleasant surprise! Please, come in!”

“Thank you, Shaula, if I may, I shall,” he removed his hat before stepping in.

“Heavens!” exclaimed Grandmother. “I hope it’s good news.”

“I’m afraid it’s not. Is Everett about? I need his help.”

“No, but we expect him soon. At least, come on in by the fire, and have a glass of sherry, and tell us what’s happened.”

“That I’ll do,” he smiled, as Pearl took his hat and hung it on the portmanteau.

We hurried in the living room behind him, while grandmother poured him a glass of sherry.

“Well, what is it?” she asked as we sat crowded around him.

“It’s Olan Crawford. He’s ordered a foreclosure on your brother’s place and has gone there himself to deliver it. Today!”

“Is that legal?”

“Yes ma’am and no. When Preston, Crawford, and I took over the Highlands County Bank, we agreed it’d take all three of us to issue a foreclosure. Your brother’s had to borrow a lot of funds, Miz. Edmonds, especially the past five years, and he’s yet to pay a penny back.”

“Oh, I begged him not to do that,” Grandmother lamented. “Jim’s so poor. Have you ever seen where they live?”

“Yes, I have. My father and I used to hunt back there when I was a boy. Preston agreed with him and signed the documents, pending my approval. But Olan has wanted that land for years. It’s got potential that Mr. Lorran’s been unable to develop. What’s worse, Olan obtained an eviction warrant and plans to threaten them with it. He’s armed, too. The warrant he obtained falsely, since I haven’t given my consent. Nor will.” He looked solemnly at my mother and grandmother and gulped his sherry down with a single swallow. Slowly, he let out a long sigh.

He had no more than released his anxiety, when Uncle Everett came in.

“Well, well! What a pleasure! What’s the honor, Marion?”

“Bad news. Crawford’s on his way to your Uncle Jim’s place, with eviction papers and a foreclosure order in hand. Can you go with me to stall him?”

“Go with you? Hell! I’ll lead the way.”

“Everett! Oh, Everett!” my grandmother implored. “There’ll be violence. You’ve been spoiling for a fight with that man for years. Can’t you leave it to the sheriff’s office? That’s his duty. Not yours!”

“Mama, Crawford is a deputy. He’s been deputized since I don’t know when. And that’s your brother up there! His land and our land, too! I’ll be damned if we need to give it to him. No sir. Come on, Marion. We’ll take Mama’s horses. How’s Olan traveling?”

“By car. He’ll never make it up the lane, will he?”

“Not this time of year.”

Everett leaned down and kissed Grandmother on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Mama. Marion and I know what to do. Do you have a pistol?” he asked the banker.

“I’d rather not answer. We just need to talk to him.”

“Not without a pistol,” Uncle Everett replied. “I’ve got one in the truck. Let’s head on.”

We followed them to the front door and watched them walk toward the barn. While my mother and grandmother returned to the living room, I waited in the hallway. I was afraid and excited, both at the same time. Just then I happened to glance up at the old Captain. He seemed to be staring at me with disapprobation and profound disgust. At that, I slipped on my coat and cap, scooted out the door and down the front steps, and hurried toward the barn. Any fear had dissipated, totally.

Uncle Everett and Mr. Chappels had already saddled the horses and were about to mount.

“Please, Uncle Everett. Let me go!”

The men swung into the saddles and goaded the horses forward.

“Close the barn door, Tommy,” Uncle Everett directed. “Run on back in the house. Your mama will skin you alive, if she catches you out here. Now run on.”

The horses trotted past the door and down the road. They were headed toward the lane that led back to the Knobs. I closed the big door and began running behind them. I climbed the gate that fenced off a stubble-littered cornfield and raced across it. They could see me running and trying to catch up with them. At the end of the field, another gate would open almost where they would turn. Suddenly, Uncle Everett stopped his horse and waited for me.

“Hell, boy! Get on!” he grinned, as I climbed that last gate and hopped down. He rode toward me, put his arm out for me to grab, and swung me up behind his saddle. “Hang on!” Then, off we galloped.

A light drizzle fell about us, but my uncle and Mr. Chappels paid it no attention and spurred their horses on at a quick trot. Soon we were climbing the muddy road toward my great-uncle’s farm. We had scarcely begun the ascent when we passed Crawford’s Packard. It had slid into a ditch. Thick brush and undergrowth were all that had prevented it from toppling down the slope. The men paused their horses; then pressed on. We could see Crawford’s footprints in the clay.

“Damn, but he’s determined,” grunted Mr. Chappels. “He’ll reach there before we do.”

Uncle Everett remained silent, as he leaned forward in the saddle. “It won’t matter, ’cause he’ll not get out of here without facing us. Hold tight, boy!” he glanced back at me, “It’s going to be slippery climbing for a while. OK?”

“Yes, sir!”

It took well over an hour to reach the hilltop that looked down across the Holston’s Middle Fork and Uncle Jim and Aunt Viola’s place. We could see the couple sitting on their porch, bundled in coats and shawls. They were in their rockers and stood up as we approached. Uncle Jim clutched a sheath of papers in his hands. His fingers shook badly. His eyes—almost obscured by his long white hair and day-old beard—glowed pale blue. Aunt Viola was crying.

“This ain’t right,” the old man whimpered. His hands were trembling and his lips quivered as he spoke. “Just one more tobacco crop. That’s all I needed, Everett,” he coughed, unable to suppress his disparagement, as he held the papers aloft.

“Nothin’s gonna happen to you!” assured Uncle Everett. “Where’s Crawford? Where’s the son-of-a-bitch hiding?”

Mr. Chappels inhaled a deep breath and drew his horse closer to ours. “Don’t’ be hasty, Everett. We’re not authorized to cause trouble.”

“Where is he?” my uncle repeated, as he fidgeted in the saddle, turning the horse this way and that.

Uncle Jim nodded toward the cabin. “Inside,” he motioned with his head.

“Marion, watch the boy,” Uncle Everett stated in a low but calm voice. He swung quietly out of the saddle and walked toward the steps.

Just then a large man in a dark suit, with red clay splattered on his trouser bottoms, appeared at the door. He pointed a rifle barrel at my uncle’s chest. “One step, Everett Edmonds, and you’ll regret it the rest of your life.” His voice was thin and quavering. The barrel waved unsteadily in his hands. “I’m warning you. This is legal and proper. Just back off and get on out of here. You aren’t the big important man you think you are.”

“Olan! Cut the rot!” Mr. Chappels interrupted. “Deputized or not, there’s nothing binding about that foreclosure. You’re nothing but a greedy ass. I denounce you. Once we’re back in town, I’ll have you arrested.”

“Well, well, Mr. High and Mighty, aren’t you one to talk! And just how did you accumulate your wealth?” Crawford sneered.

“Not your way. That’s for sure.”

Uncle Everett lunged for the gun barrel and yanked the rifle forcefully out of Crawford’s hands. He pulled Crawford out of the cabin and hit him hard with his right fist. Blood oozed from the man’s nose, as he reeled backward against the cabin.

Suddenly Crawford sprang for my uncle and, butting him with his head, knocked the wind out of his chest. He retrieved his rifle and aimed it, this time, in Uncle Everett’s face.

All the while, Mr. Chappels had been reaching quietly across Uncle Everett’s horse. He glanced secretly at me and secured its reins. Then, as stealthily as possible, he produced a small pistol from his coat pocket, and, without flinching an eyelash, shot the big man, squarely in the chest. Crawford sank to the floor, looked up in shock, collapsed, rolled to one side and stared off into space. A rattling sound escaped from his throat. Blood poured out of his mouth. He groaned and stretched out his legs; then grew silent. He was dead.

My lips parted in surprise. How wide my eyes were, I can only imagine. I began trembling. Suddenly I stopped and broke out in a nervous laughter.

“Quiet, Tommy,” Uncle Everett said. He rose to his feet and wiped the mud off his pants. He slipped the papers out of Uncle Jim’s hand, hugged the old man, and tore up the eviction. He kissed Aunt Viola on her neck and hugged her, too.

“Uncle Jim, find me a rope,” said Uncle Everett.

The old man shuffled around the side of his house to his barn. He soon returned with a heavy length of hemp twine and ten feet or so of rope. Uncle Everett tied the twine about Crawford’s body and secured him to a tobacco pallet, which we dragged behind Mr. Chappels’ horse, all the way down the road and back to the barn.

Upon our arrival at the house, my mother vented her frustration on all three of us. You could see the exasperation on her face. “You simpleton!” she wagged her head in disbelief at Uncle Everett. “You could have gotten the boy killed! As well as yourself and Marion!”

He turned away with rebuffed sadness, but not before rubbing my head with his hand.

“Your son’s a fine lad, a man,” he said to my mother. “My God, woman! Time will bear me out.”

She began to cry. He glanced toward Mr. Chappels, shrugged his shoulders; then he bent forward and kissed her.

Neither man was ever charged with a crime. Crawford’s death was ruled: “an accidental firing of a gun in self-defense.” My grandmother, mother, Mr. Chappels, Uncle Everett, and I attended his funeral, along with many of Abingdon’s leading citizens. Nothing else was ever said, except by way of gossip.