Blockchain Technology and Applications 1st Edition Ahmed Banafa
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- 2. River Publishers Series in Security and Digital Forensics BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS Ahmed Banafa River Publishers River Publishers River Blockchain is a disruptive technology that can radically improve security in transaction networks, it provides the basis for a dynamic distributed ledger that can be applied to save time when recording transactions between parties, remove costs associated with intermediaries, and reduce risks of fraud and tampering.ThisbookexploresthefundamentalsandapplicationsofBlockchain technology; the transparent, secure, immutable and distributed ledger used currently as the underlying technology for Cryptocurrency. Decentralized peer-to-peer network, distributed ledger and the trust model that defines Blockchain technology will be explained. Components of Blockchain, its operations, underlying algorithms, and essentials of trust will be defined. Types of Blockchain networks including private and public Blockchain networks will be introduced. Concepts of smart contracts, proof of work and proof of stack will be clarified. The relationship between Blockchain technology, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing, and Digital Transformation will be explored in this book. Myths about Blockchain will be exposed and a look at the future of Blockchain will be presented. Special section will discuss Blockchain and COVID-19. Topics will be covered in this book: Blockchain technology, Smart Contracts, Hashing, SHA-256 Hash, Verification, Validation, Consensus models, Digital Mining, Hard fork, Soft fork, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP), Myths about Blockchain, Decentralized peer-to-peer network, Types of Blockchain networks, Hot and Cold Wallets, Double Spend, Decentralized Applications (DApps), Transaction networks, Sidechains, 51% attack, Cryptocurrency, Digital transformation, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing, and the Future of Blockchain. BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY A ND APPLICATIONS Ahmed Banafa BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS Ahmed Banafa
- 4. RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN SECURITY AND DIGITAL FORENSICS Series Editors: WILLIAM J. BUCHANAN Edinburgh Napier University, UK ANAND R. PRASAD NEC, Japan Indexing: All books published in this series are submitted to the Web of Science Book Citation Index (BkCI), to SCOPUS, to CrossRef and to Google Scholar for evaluation and indexing. The “River Publishers Series in Security and Digital Forensics” is a series of comprehensive academic and professional books which focus on the theory and applications of Cyber Security, including Data Security, Mobile and Network Security, Cryptography and Digital Forensics. Topics in Prevention and Threat Management are also included in the scope of the book series, as are general business Standards in this domain. Books published in the series include research monographs, edited volumes, handbooks and textbooks. The books provide professionals, researchers, educators, and advanced students in the field with an invaluable insight into the latest research and developments. Topics covered in the series include, but are by no means restricted to the following: • Cyber Security • Digital Forensics • Cryptography • Blockchain • IoT Security • Network Security • Mobile Security • Data and App Security • Threat Management • Standardization • Privacy • Software Security • Hardware Security For a list of other books in this series, visit www.riverpublishers.com RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN SECURITY AND DIGITAL FORENSICS Series Editors: WILLIAM J. BUCHANAN Edinburgh Napier University, UK ANAND R. PRASAD NEC, Japan Indexing: All books published in this series are submitted to the Web of Science Book Citation Index (BkCI), to SCOPUS, to CrossRef and to Google Scholar for evaluation and indexing. The “River Publishers Series in Security and Digital Forensics” is a series of comprehensive academic and professional books which focus on the theory and applications of Cyber Security, including Data Security, Mobile and Network Security, Cryptography and Digital Forensics. Topics in Prevention and Threat Management are also included in the scope of the book series, as are general business Standards in this domain. Books published in the series include research monographs, edited volumes, handbooks and textbooks. The books provide professionals, researchers, educators, and advanced students in the field with an invaluable insight into the latest research and developments. Topics covered in the series include, but are by no means restricted to the following: • Cyber Security • Digital Forensics • Cryptography • Blockchain • IoT Security • Network Security • Mobile Security • Data and App Security • Threat Management • Standardization • Privacy • Software Security • Hardware Security For a list of other books in this series, visit www.riverpublishers.com RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN SECURITY AND DIGITAL FORENSICS Series Editors: WILLIAM J. BUCHANAN Edinburgh Napier University, UK ANAND R. PRASAD NEC, Japan Indexing: All books published in this series are submitted to the Web of Science Book Citation Index (BkCI), to SCOPUS, to CrossRef and to Google Scholar for evaluation and indexing. The “River Publishers Series in Security and Digital Forensics” is a series of comprehensive academic and professional books which focus on the theory and applications of Cyber Security, including Data Security, Mobile and Network Security, Cryptography and Digital Forensics. Topics in Prevention and Threat Management are also included in the scope of the book series, as are general business Standards in this domain. Books published in the series include research monographs, edited volumes, handbooks and textbooks. The books provide professionals, researchers, educators, and advanced students in the field with an invaluable insight into the latest research and developments. Topics covered in the series include, but are by no means restricted to the following: • Cyber Security • Digital Forensics • Cryptography • Blockchain • IoT Security • Network Security • Mobile Security • Data and App Security • Threat Management • Standardization • Privacy • Software Security • Hardware Security For a list of other books in this series, visit www.riverpublishers.com WILLIAM J. BUCHANAN Edinburgh Napier University, UK ANAND R. PRASAD wenovator, Japan R. CHANDRAMOULI Stevens Institute of Technology, USA ABDERRAHIM BENSLIMANE University of Avignon, France
- 5. Secure and Smart Internet of Things (IoT) Using Blockchain and AI Ahmed Banafa Professor of Engineering at San Jose State University USA and Instructor of Continuing Studies at Stanford University USA River Publishers Ahmed Banafa Professor of Engineering at San Jose State University (USA) and Instructor of Continuing Studies at Stanford University (USA) Blockchain Technology and Applications
- 6. Published, sold and distributed by: River Publishers Alsbjergvej 10 9260 Gistrup - Denmark www.riverpublishers.com ISBN: 9788770221061 e-ISBN: 9788770221054 Copyright © 2020 River Publischers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publishers.
- 7. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Albert Einstein
- 9. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Part 1: Blockchain Technology Chapter 1 Introduction to Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 2 Consensus Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Chapter 3 Key Blockchain Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter 4 Important Topics in Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Chapter 5 Decentralized Applications – DApps . . . . . . . . . . 43 Part 2: Blockchain Applications Chapter 6 Using Blockchain to Secure IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Chapter 7 IoT and Blockchain: Challenges and Risks . . . . . . . . 59 Chapter 8 IoT, AI and Blockchain: Catalysts for Digital Transformation . . 67 Chapter 9 Myths about Blockchain Technology . . . . . . . . . . 73 Chapter 10 Cybersecurity Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Chapter 11 Blockchain and AI: A Perfect Match? . . . . . . . . . . 89 Chapter 12 Quantum Computing and Blockchain: Facts and Myths . . . . 95 Chapter 13 Cryptocurrency: To Libra or not To Libra . . . . . . . . 103 Chapter 14 Future Trends of Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Contents
- 10. Special Topic in Blockchain Chapter 15 Blockchain Technology and COVID-19 . . . . . . . . . 137 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
- 11. ix Content is king. We are the product offering at Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Yelp, YouTube and so on. When serving-up our conversations, photos, memories, and perspectives we are each providing the reason to visit these platforms.Yet, very little time is taken to consider data ownership, privacy, or our individual economic incentives. Instead, our valuable data is taken, our attention heavily shifted to the screen and we’re targeted with adds ever so precisely. Blockchain provides alternative solutions to ap- proaching the world as we know it today. And, like most products and platforms, what its creators intended may not be what it becomes. It’s for the adopters to decide what to do with it. Whether its used for enterprise consortiums to im- prove communication in supply chains, decoupling currency from country, or finding a simpler way to transfer rewards and tokens amongst platforms – blockchain is still looking for its unicorn. We are getting closer, though.As PayPal now offers the ability to buy and sell crypto, Reddit is testing re- wards on Ethereum, or JP Morgan directly servicing crypto customers Coinbase and Gemini. As you dive into the world of blockchain and crypto currency, my friend and colleague Prof. Ahmed Banafa will be the most excellent tour guide – you’re going to enjoy the read! Elizabeth “Liz” Kukka Executive Director, Ethereum Classic Labs | Principal Investor, Digital Finance Group Advisor, Matrix Exchange
- 12. x AI Artificial Intelligence API Application Programming Interface ATTP Advanced Track and Trace for Pharmaceuticals BCH Bitcoin Cash BFT Byzantine Fault Tolerance BTC Bitcoin CDC Center of Disease Control COVID19 Corona Virus Disease 2019 CSS Cascading Style Sheets DAO Decentralized Autonomous Organization DApps Decentralized Applications DDoS Distributed Denial of Service DLT Distributed Ledger Technology DoS Denial of Service DPoS Delegated Proof of Stake DX Digital Transformation ECDSA Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm EM Electromagnetic ETC Ethereum Classic ETH Ethereum EU European Union FDA Food and Drug Administration HTML Hypertext Markup Language IBAC Internet of Things, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity IBM International Business Machines IDC International Data Corporation IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering IoT Internet of Things IPFS InterPlanetary File System IT Information Technology LPoS Leased Proof of Stake LTE Long-Term Evolution M2M Machine to Machine MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology NASDAQ National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations exchange P2P Peer-To-Peer PoA Proof of Authority PoA Proof of Assignment PoA Proof of Activity PoB Proof of Burn PoC Proof of Capacity or Proof- of Concept PoET Proof of Elapsed Time PoI Proof of Importance PoS Proof of Stake PoV Proof of View PoW Proof of Work Qubit Quantum Bit SSD Solid State Drive UI User Interface UX User Experience WHO World Health Organization ZKP Zero-Knowledge Proof or Protocol Abbreviations
- 13. xi Figure 1.2 Simplified form of IBAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Figure 1.1 Hot Trends of Technology in 2020 and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . 5 Figure 1.3 Best Definition of Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Figure 1.4 Five Components of a Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Figure 1.5 Example of a “block” programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Figure 1.6 Example of Blocks of Blockchain in one node . . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 1.7 Blockchain Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 1.8 Tracks of Blockchain Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Figure 1.9 Challenges Facing Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Figure 1.10 Types of Blockchain Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Figure 2.1 Example of Mathematical puzzle in Proof of Work (PoW) Protocol . . . 17 Figure 3.1: Blockchain and Crowdfunding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Figure 3.2: Blockchain and Supply Chain Management . . . . . . . . . . 31 Figure 4.1 Cave example of ZKP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Figure 4.2 Example of Smart Contract Code using Solidity (storage contract) . . . 42 Figure 5.1 Traditional Website Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Figure 5.2 DApp enabled website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Figure 6.1 Advantages of Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Figure 7.1 Challenges of Blockchain In IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Figure 7.2 Risks of Using Blockchain in IoT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Figure 8.1 Digital Transformation Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Figure 10.1 Advantages of Using Blockchain in Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . 84 Figure 10.2 Disadvantages of Using Blockchain in Cybersecurity . . . . . . . 87 Figure 11.1 Applications of AI and Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Figure 12.1 The principles of superposition and entanglement . . . . . . . . 98 Figure 13.1 Facebook’s Libra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Figure 13.2 How Libra works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Figure 13.3 Libra and Blockchain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 List of Figures and Tables
- 14. Blockchain Technology and Applications xii Figure 13.4 Libra Business Reach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Figure 14.1 IoT Security Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Figure 15.1 COVID-19 Naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Figure 15.2 Blockchain Applications in fighting COVID-19 . . . . . . . . . 140 Table 1.1 Blockchain vs. Traditional Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Table 4.1 Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
- 15. xiii Blockchain is an emerging technology that can radically improve transaction security at banking, supply chain, and other transaction networks. It’s estimated that Blockchain will generate $3.1 trillion in new business value by 2030. Essentially, it provides the basis for a dynamic distributed ledger that can be applied to save time when recording transactions between parties, remove costs associated with intermediaries and reduce risks of fraud and tampering. This book ex- plores the fundamentals and applications of Blockchain technology. Readers will learn about the decentralized peer-to-peer network, dis- tributed ledger, and the trust model that defines Blockchain technol- ogy. They will also be introduced to the basic components of Block- chain (transaction, block, block header, and the chain), its operations (hashing, verification, validation, and consensus model), underlying algorithms, and essentials of trust (hard fork and soft fork). Private and public Blockchain networks similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum will be introduced, as will concepts of Smart Contracts, Proof of Work and Proof of Stack, and cryptocurrency including Facebook’s Libra will be elucidated. Also, the book will address the relationship be- tween Blockchain technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Digital Transformation, and Quan- tum Computing. Readers will understand the inner workings and applications of this disruptive technology and its potential impact on all aspects of the business world and society. A look at the future trends of Blockchain Technology will be presented in the book. Preface
- 16. Blockchain Technology and Applications xiv The book can be divided into 3 parts: Blockchain Technology Chapter 1 Introduction to Blockchain Chapter 2 Consensus Protocols Chapter 3 Key Blockchain Use Cases Chapter 4 Important Topics in Blockchain Chapter 5 Decentralized Applications – DApps Blockchain Applications Chapter 6: Using Blockchain to Secure IoT Chapter 7: IoT and Blockchain: Challenges and Risks Chapter 8: IoT,AI and Blockchain: Catalysts for Digital Transformation Chapter 9: Myths about Blockchain Technology Chapter 10: Cybersecurity Blockchain Chapter 11: Blockchain and AI: A Perfect Match? Chapter 12: Quantum Computing and Blockchain: Facts and Myths Chapter 13: Cryptocurrency: To Libra or not To Libra Chapter 14: Future Trends of Blockchain Special Topic in Blockchain Chapter 15: Blockchain Technology and COVID-19 Audience This is book is for everyone who would like to have a good under- standing of Blockchain Technology and its applications and its re- lationship with business operations including C-Suite executives, IT managers, marketing salespeople, lawyers, product project managers, business specialists, students. It is not for programmers who are looking for codes or exercises on the different platforms of Blockchain.
- 17. Another Random Scribd Document with Unrelated Content
- 18. “Gentlemen”—it was Garner's voice from his chair at the table —“there's one thing that must be regarded as sacred by us to-night, and that is the absolute secrecy of this thing.” “Good Lord, you don't think any of us would be fool enough to talk about it!” exclaimed Blackburn, in an almost startled tone over the bare suggestion. “If I thought there was a man here who would blab this to a living soul, I'd—” “Well, I only wanted to impress that on you all,” said Garner. “To all intents and purposes we are law-breakers, and I'm a member of the Georgia bar. Where are you going, Carson?” “Down to speak to Pete,” answered Dwight. “I want to try to pacify him.” When he came back a moment later he said: “I've promised to stay here till daylight. Nothing else will satisfy him; he's broken all to pieces, crying like a nervous woman. As soon as I agreed to stay he quieted down.” “Well, I'll keep you company,” said Keith. “I can sleep like a top on one of the counters.” “Hold on, there is something else,” Carson said, as they were moving to the rear door. “You know the news will go out in the morning that Pete was taken off somewhere and actually lynched. This will be a terrible blow to his parents, and I want permission from you all to let those two, at least, know that—” “No!” Garner cried, firmly, even fiercely, as he turned and struck the counter near him with his open hand. “There you go with your eternal sentiment! I tell you this is a grave happening tonight—grave for us and still graver for Pete. Once let that mob find out that they were tricked and they will hang our man or burn this town in the effort.” “I understand that well enough,” admitted Dwight, “but the Lord knows we could trust his own flesh and blood when they have so much at stake.” “I am not willing to risk it, if you are,” said Garner, crisply, glancing round at the others for their sanction. “It will be an awful thing for
- 19. them to hear the current report in the morning, but they'd better stand it for a few days than to spoil the whole thing. A negro is a negro, and if Lewis and Linda knew the truth they would be Shouting instead of weeping and the rest of the darkies would suspect the truth.” “That's a fact,” Blackburn put in, reluctantly. “Negroes are quick to get at the bottom of things, and with no dead body in sight to substantiate a lynching story they would smell a mouse and hunt for it till they found it. No, Carson, real weeping right now from the mammy and daddy will help us out more than anything else. Yes, they will have to bear it; they will be all the happier in the end.” “I suppose you are right,” Dwight gave in. “But it's certainly tough.”
- 20. CHAPTER XXVII. T was just at the break of day the following morning. Major Warren, who had not retired until late the night before in his perturbed state of mind over the calamity which hovered in the air, was sleeping lightly, when he was awakened by the almost noiseless presence of some one in his room. Sitting up in bed he stared through the half darkness at a form which towered straight and still between him and the open window through which the first touches of the new day were stealing. “Who's there?” he demanded, sharply. “It's me, Marse William—Lewis.” “Oh, you!” The Major put his feet down to the rug at the side of his bed, still not fully awake. “Well, is it time to get up? Anything— wrong? Oh, I remember now—Pete!” A groan from the great chest of the negro set the air to vibrating, but he said nothing, and the old gentleman saw the bald pate suddenly sink. “Oh, Lewis, I hope—” Major Warren paused, unable to continue, so vast and grewsome were the fears his servant's attitude had inspired. The old negro took a step or two forward and then said: “Oh, marster, dey done tuck 'im out las' night—dey tuck my po' boy —” A great sob rose in old Lewis's breast and burst on his lips. “Really, you don't mean it—you can't, after—” “Yasser, yasser; he daid, marster. Pete done gone! Dey killed 'im las' night, Marse William.” “But—but how do you know?”
- 21. “I des dis minute seed Jake Tobines; he slipped up ter my house en called me out. Jake lives back 'hind de jail, Marse William, en when de mob come him en his wife heard de racket en slipped out in de co'n-patch ter hide. He seed de gang, marster, wid his own eyes, en heard um ax fer de boy. At fus Marse Barrett refused ter give 'im up, but dey ordered fire on 'im en he let um have de keys. Jake seed um fetch Pete out, en heard 'im beggin' um ter spar' his life, but dey drug 'im off.” There was silence broken only by the old negro's sobs and the smothered effort he was making to restrain his emotion. “And mammy,” the Major began, presently; “has she heard?” “Not yit, marster, but she is awake—she been awake all night long —on her knees prayin' most er de time fer mercy—she was awake when Jake come en she knowed I went out ter speak ter 'im, en when I come back in de house, marster, she went in de kitchen. I know what she done dat fur—she didn't want ter know, suh, fer certain, ef I'd heard bad news or not. I wanted ter let 'er know, but I was afeared ter tell 'er, en come away. I loves my wife, marster—I—I loves her mo' now dat Pete's gone dan ever befo'. I loves 'er mo' since she been had ter suffer dis way, en, marster, dis gwine ter kill 'er. It gwine ter kill Lindy, Marse William.” “What's the matter, father?” It was Helen Warren's voice, and with a look of growing terror on her face she stood peering through the open doorway. The Major ejaculated a hurried and broken explanation, and with little, intermittent gasps of horror the young lady advanced to the old negro. “Does Mam' Linda know?” she asked, her face ghastly and set in sculptural rigidity. “Not yet, missy, not yet—it gwine ter kill yo' ol' mammy, child.” “Yes, it may,” Helen said, an odd, alien quality of resignation in her voice. “I suppose I'd better go and break it to her. Father, Pete was innocent, absolutely innocent. Carson Dwight assured me of it. He was innocent, and yet—oh!”
- 22. With a shudder she turned back to her room across the hall. In the stillness the sound of the match she struck to light her lamp was raspingly audible. Without another word, and wringing the extended hand of his wordless master, Lewis crept down the stairs and out into the pale light of early morning. Like an old tree fiercely beaten by a storm, he leaned towards the earth. He looked about him absently for a moment, and then sat down on the edge of the veranda floor and lowered his head to his brown, sinewy hands. A negro woman with a milk-pail on her arm came up the walk from the gate and started round the house to the kitchen door, but seeing him she stopped and leaned over him. “Is what Jake done say de trufe?” she asked. “Yassum, yassum, it done over, Mary Lou—done over,” Lewis said, looking up at her from his blearing eyes; “but ef you see Lindy don't let on ter her yit. Young miss gwine ter tell 'er fust.” “Oh, my Lawd, it done over, den!” the woman said, shudderingly; “it gwine ter go hard with Mam' Lindy, Unc' Lewis.” “It gwine ter kill 'er, Mary Lou; she won't live dis week out. I know 'er. She had ernough dis life wid all she been thoo fur 'erself en her white folks, in bondage en out, en' dis gwine ter settle 'er. I don't blame 'er. I'm done thoo myse'f. Ef de Lawd had spar' my child, I wouldn't er ax mo', but, Mary Lou, I hope I ain't gwine ter stay long. I'll hear dat po' boy beggin' fer mercy every minute while I live, en what I want mo' of it fur? Shucks! no, I'm raidy—en, 'fo' God, I wish dey had er tuck us all three at once. Dat ud 'a' been some comfort, but fer Pete ter be by hisse'f beggin' um ter spar' 'im—all by hisse'f, en me 'n his mammy—” The old man's head went down and his body shook with sobs. The woman looked at him a moment, and then, wiping her eyes on her apron, she went on her way. A few minutes later, just as the red sun was rising in a clear sky and turning the night's moisture into dazzling gems on the grass and leaves of trees and shrubbery, like the beneficent smile of God upon a pleasing world, Helen descended the stairs. She had the sweet,
- 23. pale face of a suffering nun as she paused, looked down on the old servant, and caught his piteous and yet grateful, upturned glance. “I'm going to her now, Uncle Lewis,” she said. “I want to be the first to tell her.” “Yes, you mus' be de one,” Lewis sighed, as he rose stiffly; “you de onliest one.” He shambled along in her wake, his old hat, out of respect for her presence, grasped in his tense hand. As they drew near the little sagging gate at the cottage there was a sound of moving feet within, and Linda stood in the doorway shading her eyes from the rays of the sun with her fat hand. To the end of her life Helen had the memory of the old woman's face stamped on her brain. It was a yellow mask, which might have belonged to a dead as well as a living creature, behind which the lights of hope and shadows of despair were vying with each other for supremacy. In no thing pertaining to the situation did the pathos so piteously lie as in the fact that Linda was deliberately playing a part—fiercely acting a rôle that would fit itself to that for which the agony of her soul was pleading. She was trying to smile away the shadows her inward fears, her racial intuition were casting on her face. “Mighty early fer you ter come, honey,” she said; “but I reckon you is worried 'bout yo' ol' mammy.” “Yes, it's early for me to be up,” Helen said, avoiding the wavering glance that seemed in reality to be avoiding the revelation of hers. “But I saw Uncle Lewis and thought I'd come back with him.” “You hain't had yo' breakfast yit, honey, I know,” said Linda, reaching for a chair half-heartedly and placing it for her young mistress, and then her eyes fell on her husband's bareheaded, bowed attitude as he stood at the gate, and something in it, through her sense of sight, gave her a deadening blow. For an instant she almost reeled; she drew a deep breath, a breath that swelled out her great, motherly bosom, then with her hands hanging limply at her side, she stood in front of Helen. For a moment she did not speak, and then, with her face on fire, her great, somnolent eyes
- 24. ablaze, she suddenly bent down and put her hands on Helen's knees and said: “Looky here, honey, I've been afraid of it all night long, an' I've fit it off an' fit it off, an' I got up dis mawnin' fightin' it off, but ef you come here so early 'ca'se—ef you come here ter tell me dat my child—ef you come here—ef you come here—gre't God on high, it ain't so! it cayn't be dat way! Look me in de eyes, honey, I'm raidy en waitin' fer you ter give it de lie.” For one moment she glared at Helen as the girl sat white and quivering, her glance on the floor, and then she uttered a piercing scream like that of a frightened beast, and grasping the hand of her husband, who was now by her side, she pointed a finger of stone at Helen. “Look! Look, Lewis; my Gawd, she ain't lookin' at me! Look at me, honey chile; look at me! D' you hear me say—” She stood firmly for an instant and then she reeled into her husband's arms. “She daid; whut I tol you? Missy, yo' ol' mammy daid,” and lifting his wife in his arms he bore her to the bed in the corner of the room. “Yes, she done daid,” he groaned, as he straightened up. “No, she's only fainted,” said Helen; “bring me the camphor, quick!”
- 25. CHAPTER XXVIII. HAT morning at the usual hour the store-keepers opened their dingy houses in the main street and placed along the narrow brick sidewalks the dusty, stock-worn samples of their wares. The clerks and porters as they swept the floors would pause to discuss the happening of the night just gone. Old Uncle Lewis and Mammy Linda Warren's boy had been summarily dealt with, that was all. The longer word just used had of late years become a part of the narrowest vocabulary, suggesting to crude minds many meanings not thought of by lexicographers, not the least of which was something pertaining to justice far-reaching, grim, and unfailing in these days of bribery and graft. Only a few of the more analytical and philosophical ventured to ask themselves if, after all, the boy might have been innocent. If they put the question to the average citizen it was tossed off with a shrug and a “Well, what's the difference? It's such talk as he was guilty of that is at the bottom of all the black crimes throughout the South.” Such venom as Pete's was the very muscle of the black claws that were everywhere reaching out for helpless white throats. Dead? Yes, he was dead. What of it? How else was the black, constantly increasing torrent to be dammed? And yet by ten o'clock that morning even these tongues were silenced, for news strange and startling began to steal in from the mountains. The party who had been in pursuit of the desperado Sam Dudlow had overtaken him—found him hiding in a bam, covered with hay. He was unarmed and made no resistance, laughing as if the whole thing were a joke. He frankly told them that he would have given himself up earlier, but he had hoped to live long enough to get even with the other leader of the mob that had whipped him
- 26. at Darley, a certain Dan Willis. He confessed in detail exactly how he had murdered the Johnsons and that he had done it alone. Pete Warren was in no way implicated in it. The lynchers, to get the whole truth, threatened him; they tortured him; they tied him to a tree and piled pine fagots about him, but he still stuck to his statement, and when they had mercifully riddled him with bullets, just as his clothing was igniting, they left him hanging by the road- side, a grewsome scarecrow as a warning to his kind, and, led by Jabe Parsons, they made all haste to reach the faction on Pete Warren's track to tell them that the boy was innocent. Jabe Parsons, carrying a load on his mind, remembering his wife's valiant stand in behalf of the younger accused, rode faster than his tired fellows, and near his own farm met the lynchers returning from Darley. “Too late,” they told him, in response to his news, the Hillbend boys had done away with the Darley jailbird and mysteriously hidden the body to inspire fear among the negroes. At Darley consternation swept the place as story after story of Aunt Linda's prostration passed from house to house. “Poor, faithful old woman! Poor old Uncle Lewis!” was heard on every side. About half-past ten o'clock Helen, accompanied by Sanders, came down-town. At the door of Carson's office they parted and Helen came in. Carson happened to be alone. He rose suddenly from his seat and came towards her, shocked by the sight of her wan face and dejected mien. “Why, Helen!” he cried, “surely you don't think—” and then he checked himself as he hastened to get a chair for her. “I've just left mammy,” she began, in a voice that was husky with emotion. “Oh, Carson, you can't imagine it! It is simply heart- rending, awful! She is lying there at death's door staring up at the ceiling, simply benumbed.” Carson sat down at his desk and leaned his head on his hand. Could he keep back the truth under such pressure? It was at this juncture that Garner came in. Casting a hurried glance at the two, and seeing Helen's grief-stricken attitude, he simply bowed.
- 27. “Excuse me, Miss Helen, just a moment,” he said. “Carson, I left a paper in your pigeon-hole,” and as he bent and extracted a blank envelope from the desk he whispered, warningly: “Remember, not one word of this! Don't forget the agreement! Not a soul is to know!” And putting the envelope into his pocket he went out of the room, casting back from the threshold a warning, almost threatening glance. “I've been with her since sunup,” Helen went on. “She fainted at first, and when she came to—oh, Carson, you love her as I do, and it would have broken your heart to have heard her! Oh, such pitiful wailing and begging God to put her out of pain!” “Awful, awful!” Dwight said; “but, Helen—” Again he checked himself. Before his mind's eye rose the faces of the faithful group who had stood by him the night before. He had pledged himself to them to keep the thing secret, and no matter what his own faith in Helen's discretion was he had no right, even under stress of her grief, to betray what had occurred. No, he couldn't enlighten her— not just then, at all events. “I was there when Uncle Lewis came in to tell her that proof had come of Pete's absolute innocence,” Helen went on, “but instead of comforting her it seemed to drive her the more frantic. She—but I simply can't describe it, and I won't try. You will be glad to know, Carson, that the only thing in the shape of comfort she has had was your brave efforts in her behalf. Over and over she called your name. Carson, she used to pray to God; she never mentions Him now. You, and you alone, represent all that is good and self-sacrificing to her. She sent me to you. That's why I am here.” “She sent you?” Carson was avoiding her eyes, fearful that she might read in his own a hint of the burning thing he was trying to withhold. “Yes, you see the report has reached her about what the lynchers said in regard to hiding Pete's body. You know how superstitious the negroes are, and she is simply crazy to recover the—the remains. She wants to bury her boy, Carson, and she refuses to believe that
- 28. some one can't find him and bring him home. She seems to think you can.” “She wants me to—” He went no further. “If it is possible, Carson. The whole thing is so awful that it has driven me nearly wild. You will know, perhaps, if anything can be done, but, of course, if it is wholly out of the question—” “Helen”—in his desperation he had formulated a plan—“there is something that you ought to know. You have every right to know it, and yet I'm bound in honor not to let it out to any one. Last night,” he went on, modestly, “in the hope of formulating some plan to avert the coming trouble, I asked Keith to get a number of my best friends together. We met at Blackburn's store. No positive, sworn vows were made. It was only the sacred understanding between men that the matter was to be held inviolate, owing to the personal interests of every man who had committed himself. You see, they came at my suggestion, as friends of mine true and loyal, and it seems to me that I'd have a moral right, even now, to take another into the body—another whom I trust as thoroughly and wholly as any one of them. Do you understand, Helen?” “No, I'm in the dark, Carson,” she said, with a feeble smile. “You see, I want to speak freely to you,” he continued. “I want to tell you some things you ought to know, and yet I am not free to do so unless—unless you will tacitly join us. Helen, do you understand? Are you willing to become one of us so far as absolute secrecy is concerned?” “I am willing to do anything you'd advise, Carson,” the girl replied, groping for his possible meaning through the cloud of mystery his queer words had thrown around him. “If something took place that I ought to know, and you are willing to confide it to me, I assure you I can be trusted. I'd die rather than betray it.” “Then, as one of us, I'll tell you,” Carson said, impressively. “Helen, Pete, is not dead.” “Not dead?” She stared at him incredulously from her great, beautiful eyes. Slowly her white hand went out till it rested on his,
- 29. and remained there, quivering. “No, he's alive and so far in safe keeping, free from harm at present, anyway.” Her fingers tightened on his hand, her sweet, appealing face drew nearer to his; she took a deep breath. “Oh, Carson, don't say that unless you are quite sure.” “I am absolutely sure,” he said; and then, as they sat, her hand still lingering unconsciously on his, he explained it all, leaving the part he had taken out of the recital as much as possible, and giving the chief credit to his supporters. She sat spellbound, her sympathetic soul melting and flowing into the warm current of his own while he talked as it seemed to her no human being had ever talked before. When he had concluded she drew away her hand and sat erect, her bosom heaving, her eyes glistening. “Oh, Carson,” she cried; “I never was so happy in my life! It actually pains me.” She pressed her hand to her breast. “Mammy will be so—but you say she must not—must not yet—” “That's the trouble,” Dwight said, regretfully. “I'm sure I could put her and Lewis on their guard so that they would act with discretion, but Blackburn and Garner—in fact, all the rest—are afraid to risk them, just now anyway. You see, they think Linda and Lewis might betray it in their emotions—their very happiness—and so undo everything we have accomplished.” “Surely, now that the report of Sam Dudlow's confession has gone out, they would let Pete alone,” Helen said. “I wouldn't like to risk it quite yet,” said Dwight. “Right now, while they are under the impression that an innocent negro has been lynched, they seem inclined to quiet down, but once let the news go out that a few town men, through trickery, had freed the prisoner, and they would rise more furious than ever. No, we must be careful. And, Helen, you must remember your promise. Don't let even your sympathy for Linda draw it out of you.”
- 30. “I can keep it, and I really shall,” Helen said. “But you must release me as soon as you possibly can.” “I'll do that,” he promised, as she rose to go. “I'll keep it,” she repeated, when she had reached the door; “but to do so I'll have to stay away from mammy. The sight of her agony would wring it from me.” “Then don't go near her till I see you,” Dwight cautioned her. “I'll meet all the others to-day and put the matter before them. Perhaps they may give in on that point.”
- 31. CHAPTER XXIX T the corner of the street Helen encountered Sanders, who was waiting for her. At the sight of him standing on the edge of the sidewalk, impatiently tapping the toe of his neatly shod foot with the ferrule of his tightly rolled silk umbrella, she experienced a shock which would have eluded analysis. He had been so completely out of her thoughts, and her present mood was of such an entrancing nature that she felt a desire to indulge it undisturbed. The bare thought of the platitudes she would have to exchange with any one ignorant of her dazzling discovery was unpleasant. After all, what was it about Sanders that vaguely incited her growing disapproval? This morning could it possibly be his very faultlessness of attire, his spick-and- span air of ownership in her body and soul because of their undefined understanding as to his suit, or was it because—because he had, although through no fault of his own, taken no part in the thing which today, for Helen, somehow, held more weight than all other earthly happenings? Indeed, fate was not using the Darley visitor kindly. He was unwittingly like a healthy soldier on a furlough making himself useful in the drawing-room while news of victory was pouring in from his comrades at the front. “You see I waited for you,” he said, gracefully raising his hat; “but, Helen, what has happened? Why, what is the matter?” “Nothing,” she said; “nothing at all.” “But,” he went on, frowning in perplexity as he suited his step to hers, “I never saw any one in my life change so suddenly. Why, when you went into that office you were simply a picture of despair,
- 32. but now you look as if you were bursting with happiness. Your face is flushed, your eyes are fairly dancing. Helen, if I thought—” He paused, his own color rising, a deeper frown darkening his brow. “If you thought what?” she asked, with a little irritation. “Oh”—he knocked a stone out of his way with his umbrella —“what's the use denying it! I'm simply jealous. I'm only a natural human being, and I suppose I'm jealous.” “You have no cause to be,” she said, and then she bit her lip with vexation at the slip of the tongue. Why should she defend herself to him? She had never said she loved him. She had not yet consented to marry him. Besides, she was in no mood to gratify his vanity. She wanted simply to be alone with the boundless delight she was allowed to share with no one but—Carson—Carson!—the one who had, for her sake, made the sharing of it possible. “Well, I am uneasy, and I can't help it,” Sanders went on, gloomily. “How can I help it? You left me so sad and depressed that you had hardly a word for me, and after seeing this Mr. Dwight you come out looking—do you know,” he broke off, “that you were there alone with that fellow nearly an hour?” “Oh no, it couldn't have been so long,” she said, further irritated by his open defence of what he erroneously considered his rights. “But it was, for I timed you,” Sanders affirmed. “Heaven knows I counted the actual minutes. There is a lot about this whole thing I don't like, but I hardly know what it is.” “You are not only jealous but suspicious,” Helen said, sharply. “Those are things I don't like in any man.” “I've offended you, but I didn't mean to,” Sanders said, with a sudden turn towards precaution. “You'll forgive me, won't you, Helen?” “Oh yes, it's all right.” She had suddenly softened. “Really, I am sorry you feel hurt. Don't think any more about it. I have a reason which I can't explain for feeling rather cheerful just now.” They had
- 33. reached the next street corner and she patised. “I want to go by Cousin Ida's. She lives down this way.” “And you'd rather I didn't go along?” “I have something particular to say to her.” “Oh, I see. Then may I come as usual this afternoon?” Her wavering, half-repentant glance fell. “Not this afternoon,” she said. “I ought to be with mammy. Couldn't you call this evening?” “It will seem a long time to wait in this dreary place, with nothing to occupy me,” he said; “but I shall be well repaid. So I may come this evening?” “Oh yes, I shall expect you then,” and Helen turned and left him. In the front garden of the Tarpley house she found her cousin watering the flowers. Observing Helen at the gate, Miss Tarpley hastily put down the tin sprinkling-pot and hurried to her. “I was just going up to see mammy,” Ida said. “I know I can be of no use and yet I wanted to try. Oh, the poor thing must be suffering terribly! She had enough to bear as it was, but that last night—oh!” “Yes—yes,” Helen said. “It is hard on her.” Ida Tarpley rested her two hands on the tops of the white palings of the fence and stared inquiringly into Helen's face. “Why do you say it in that tone?” she asked; “and with that queer, almost smiling look in your eyes? Why, I expected to see you prostrated, and—well, I don't think—I actually don't think I ever saw you looking better in my life. What's happened, Helen?” “Oh, nothing.” Helen was now making a strong effort to disguise her feelings, and she succeeded to some extent, for Miss Tarpley's thoughts took another trend. “And poor, dear Carson,” she said, sympathetically. “The news must have nearly killed him. He came by here last night making all haste to get down-town, as he said, to see if something couldn't be done. He was terribly wrought up, and I never saw such a look of determination on a human face. 'Something has to be done,' he said; 'something must be done! The boy is innocent and shall not die
- 34. like a dog. It would kill his mother, and she is a good, faithful old woman. No, he shall not die!' And with those words he hurried on. Oh, Helen, that is sad, too. It is sad to see as noble a young spirit as he has fail in such a laudable undertaking. Think of how he stood up before that surging mob and let them shoot at him while he shouted defiance in their teeth, till they cowered down and slunk away! Think of a triumph like that, and then, after all, to meet with such galling defeat as overtook him last night! When I heard of the lynching I actually cried. I think I felt for him as much as I did for Mam' Linda. Poor, dear boy! You know why he wanted to do it so much—you know that as well as I do.” “Why he wanted to do it!” Helen echoed, almost hungry for the sweet confirmation of Dwight's fidelity to her cause. “Yes, you know—you know that his whole young soul was set on it because it was your wish, because you were so troubled over it. I've seen that in his eyes ever since the matter came up. I saw it there last night, and it seemed to me that his very heart was burning up within him. Oh, I get mad at you—to think you'd let that Augusta man, even if you do intend some day to marry him—that you'd let him be here at such a time, as if Carson hadn't enough to bear without that. Ah, Helen, no other human being will ever love you as Carson Dwight does—never, never while the sun shines.” With a misleading smile of denial on her face Helen turned homeward. He loved her—Carson Dwight—that man of all men—still loved her. Her body felt imponderable as she strode blithely on her way. In her hands she carried a human life—the life of the poor boy Carson had so wonderfully struggled for and intrusted to her keeping. To his mother and father Pete was dead, but to her and Carson, her first sweetheart, he still lived. The secret was theirs to hold between their throbbing hearts. Old Linda's grief was but a dream. Helen and Carson could draw aside the black curtain and tell her to look and see the truth. Standing with bowed head at the front gate when she arrived home, she saw old Uncle Lewis, his bald pate bared to the sunshine.
- 35. “Mam' Lindy axin' 'bout you, missy,” he said, pitifully. “She say you went down-town ter see Marse Carson, en she seem mighty nigh crazy ter know ef you found whar de—de body er de po' boy is at. Dat all she's beggin' en pleadin' fer now, missy, en ef dem white mens refuse it, de Lawd only know what she gwine ter do.” Helen gazed at him helplessly. Her whole young being was wrung with the desire to let him know the truth, and yet how could she tell him what had been revealed to her in such strict confidence? “I'll go see mammy now,” she said. “I've no news yet, Uncle Lewis —no news that I can give you. I'm looking for Carson to come up soon.” As she neared the cottage the motley group of negroes, serious- faced men and women, bland-eyed persons in their teens, and half- clad children, around the door intuitively and respectfully drew aside and she entered the cottage unaccompanied and unannounced. Linda was not in the sitting-room, where she expected to find her, and so, wonderingly, Helen turned into the kitchen adjoining. Here the general aspect of things added to her growing surprise, for the old woman had drawn close the curtains of the little, small-paned windows, and before a small fire in the chimney she sat prone on the ash-covered hearth. That alone might not have been so surprising, but Linda had covered her body with several old tow sacks upon which she had plentifully sprinkled ashes. The grayish powder was in her short hair, on her face and bare arms, and filled her lap. There was one thing in the world that the old woman prized above all else—a big, leather-bound family Bible which she had owned since she first learned to read under the instruction of Helen's mother, and this, also ash-covered, lay open by her side. “Is I gwine ter bury my chile?” she demanded, as she glared up at her mistress. “What young marster say? Is I, or is I never ter lay eyes on 'im ergin? Is I de only nigger mother dat ever lived on dis yeth, bound er free, dat cayn't have dat much? Tell me. Ef dey gwine ter le' me see 'im Marse Carson ud know it. What he say?”
- 36. Rendered fairly speechless by the predicament she was in, Helen could only stand staring helplessly. Presently, however, she bent, and lifting the Bible from the floor she laid it on the table. With her massive elbows on her knees, her fat hands over her face and almost touching the flames, Linda rocked back and forth. “Dey ain't no God!” she cried; “ef dey is one He's es black es de back er dat chimbley. Dat book is er lie. Dey ain't no love en mercy anywhars dis side de blinkin', grinnin' stars. Don't tell me er nigger's prayers is answered. Didn't I pray las' night till my tongue was swelled in my mouf fer um ter spare my boy? En what in de name er all created was de answer? When de day broke wid de same sun shinin' dat was shinin' when he laid de fus time on my breas', de news was fetch me dat my baby chile was dragged out wid er rope rounst his neck, prayin' ter men whilst I was prayin' ter God. Look lak dat enough, hein? But no, nex' come de news dat ef he'd er lived one short hour longer dey might er let 'im go 'ca'se dey foun' de right one. Look lak dat enough, too, hein? But nex' come de word, en de las' message: innocent or no, right one or wrong one, my chile wasn't goin' ter have a common bury in'-place—not even in de Potter's Fiel' dis book tell erbout so big. Don't talk ter me! Ef prayers fum niggers is answered mine was heard in hell, en old Scratch en all his imps er darkness was managin' it. Don't come near me! I might lay han's on you. I ain't myself. I heard er low trash white man say once dat niggers was des baboons. I may be one, en er wild one fer all I know—oh, honey, don't pay no 'tention ter me. Yo' ol' mammy is bein' burnt at de stake en she ain't 'sponsible. She love you, honey—she love you even in 'er gre't trouble.” “I understand, mammy,” and Helen put her arms around the old woman's neck. An almost overpowering impulse had risen in her to tell the old sufferer the truth, but thinking that some of the negroes might be listening, and remembering her promise, she restrained herself. “I'm going to write a note to Carson to come up at once,” she said. “He'll have something to tell you, mammy.”
- 37. And passing the negroes about the door she went to the house, and hastening into the library she wrote and forwarded by a servant the following note: “Dear Carson,—Come at once, and come prepared to tell her. I can't stand it any longer. Do, do come. “Helen.”
- 39. CHAPTER XXX ALF an hour later Helen, waiting at the front gate, saw a horse and buggy turn the corner down the street. She recognized it as belonging to Keith Gordon. Indeed, Keith was driving, and with him was Carson Dwight. Helen's heart bounded, a vast weight of incalculable responsibility seemed to lift itself from her. She unlatched the gate and swung it open. “Oh, I thought you'd never come!” she smiled, as he sprang out and advanced to her. “I would have broken my oath of allegiance to the clan if you had waited a moment longer.” “I might have known you couldn't keep it,” Dwight laughed. “Mam' Linda would have drawn it out of you just as you did out of me.” “But are you going to tell her?” Helen asked, just as Keith, who had stepped aside to fasten his horse, came up. “Yes,” Carson answered. “Keith and I made a lightning trip around and finally persuaded all the others. Invariably they would shake their heads, and then we'd simply tell them you wished it, and that settled it. They all seem flattered by the idea that you are a member.” “But say, Miss Helen,” Keith put in, gravely, “we really must guard against Lewis and Linda's giving it away. It is a most serious business, and, our own interests aside, the boy's life depends on it.” “Well, we must get them away from the cottage,” said Helen. “They are now literally surrounded by curious negroes.” “Can't we have them up here in the parlor?” Carson asked. “Your father is down-town; we saw him as we came up.”
- 40. “Yes, that's a good idea,” Helen responded, eagerly. “The servants are all at the cottage; we'll make them stay there and have Uncle Lewis and Mam' Linda here.” “Suppose I run down and give the message,” proposed Keith, and he was off with the speed of a ball-player on a home-run. “Do you think there is any real danger to Mam' Linda's health in letting her know it suddenly?” Carson asked, thoughtfully. “We must try to reveal it gradually,” Helen said, after reflecting for a moment. “There's no telling. They say great joy often kills as quickly as great sorrow. Oh, Carson, isn't it glorious to be able to do this? Don't you feel happy in the consciousness that it was your great, sympathetic heart that inspired this miracle, your wonderful brain and energy and courage that actually put it through?” “Not through yet,” he laughed, depreciatingly, as his blood flowed hotly into his cheeks. “It would be just my luck right now to have this thing turn smack dab against us. We are not out of the woods yet, Helen, by long odds. The rage of that mob is only sleeping, and I have enemies, political and otherwise, who would stir it to white heat at a moment's notice if they once got an inkling of the truth.” He snapped his fingers. “I wouldn't give that for Pete's life if they discover our trick. Pole Baker had just come in town when Keith and I left. He said the Hillbend people were earnestly denying all knowledge of any lynching or of the whereabouts of Pete's body, and that some people were already asking queer questions. So, you see, if on top of that growing suspicion, old Lewis and Linda begin to dance a hoe-down of joy instead of weeping and wailing—well, you see, that's the way it stands.” “Oh, then, perhaps we'd better not tell them, after all,” Helen said, crestfallen. “They are suffering awfully, but they would rather bear it for awhile than to be the cause of Pete's death.” “No,” Carson smiled; “from the way you wrote, I know you have had about as much as you can stand, and we simply must try to make them comprehend the full gravity of the matter.”
- 41. At this juncture Keith came up panting from his run and joined them. “Great Heavens!” he cried, lifting his hands, the palms outward. “I never saw such a sight. I can stand some things, but I'm not equal to torture of that kind.” “Are they coming?” Carson asked. “Yes, there's Lewis now. Of course, I couldn't give them a hint of the truth down there in that swarm of negroes, and so my message that you wanted to see them here only seemed to key them up higher.” Carson turned to Lewis, who, hat in hand, his black face set in stony rigidity, had paused near by and stood waiting respectfully to be spoken to. “Uncle Lewis,” he said, “we've got good news for you and Linda, but a great deal depends on its being kept secret. I must exact a sacred promise of you not to betray to a living soul by word of mouth or act what I am going to tell you. Will you promise, Lewis?” The old man leaned totteringly forward till his gaunt fingers closed upon one of the palings of the fence; his eyes blinked in their deep cavities. He made an effort to speak, but his voice hung in his mouth. Then he coughed, cleared his throat, and slid one of his ill- shod feet backward, as he always did in bowing, and said, falteringly: “God on high know, young marster, dat I'd keep my word wid you. Old Unc' Lewis would keep his word wid you ef dey was burnin' 'im at de stake. You been de bes' friend me 'n Mam' Lindy ever had, young marster. You been de kind er friend dat is er friend. When you tried so hard t'other night ter save my boy fum dem men even when dey was shootin' at you en tryin' ter drag you down—oh, young marster, I wish you'd try me. I want ter show you how I feel down here in my heart. Dem folks is done had deir way; my boy is daid, but God know it makes it easier ter give 'im up ter have er young, high-minded white man lak you—” “Stop, here's Mam' Linda,” Carson said. “Don't tell her now, Lewis; wait till we are inside the house; but Pete is alive and safe.”
- 42. The old man's eyes opened wide in an almost deathlike stare, and he leaned heavily against the fence. “Oh, young marster,” he gasped, “you don't mean—you sholy can't mean—” “Hush! not a word.” Carson cautioned him with uplifted hand, and they all looked at old Linda as she came slowly across the grass. A shudder of horror passed over Dwight at the change in her. The distorted, swollen face was that of a dead person, only faintly vitalized by some mechanical force. The great, always mysterious depths of her eyes were glowing with bestial fires. For a moment she paused near them and stood glaring with incongruous defiance as if nothing in mortal shape could mean aught but ill towards her. “Carson has something—something very important to tell you, dear mammy,” Helen said, “but we must go inside.” “He ain't got nothin' ter tell me dat I don't know,” Linda muttered, “lessen it is whar dey done put my chile's body. Ef you know dat, young marster—ef—” But old Lewis had moved to her side, his face ablaze. He laid his hand forcibly on her shoulder. “Hush, 'oman!” he cried. “In de name er God, shet yo' mouf en listen ter young marster—listen ter 'im Linda, honey—hurry up—hurry up in de house!” “Yes, bring her in here,” Carson said, with a cautious glance around, and he and Helen and Keith moved along the walk while Linda suffered herself, more like an automaton than a human being, to be half dragged, half led up the steps and into the parlor. Keith, who had vaguely put her in the category of the physically ill, placed an easy-chair for her, but from force of habit, while in the presence of her superiors, the old woman refused to sit. She and Lewis stood side by side while Carson carefully closed the door and came back. “We've got some very, very good news for you, Mam' Linda,” said he; “but you must not speak of it to a soul. Linda, the men who took Pete from jail did not kill him. He is still alive and safe, so far, from harm.”
- 43. To the surprise of them all, Linda only stared blankly at the tremulous speaker. It was her husband who, full of fire and new- found happiness, now leaned over her. “Didn't you hear young marster?” he gulped; “didn't you hear 'im say we-all's boy was erlive?—erlive, honey?” With an arm of iron Linda pushed him back and stood before Carson. “You come tell me dat?” she cried, her great breast tumultuously heaving. “Young marster, 'fo' God I done had enough. Don't tell me dat now, en den come say it's er big mistake after you find out de trufe.” “Pete's all right, Linda,” Carson said, reassuringly. “Keith and Helen will tell you about it.” With an appealing look in her eyes Linda extended a detaining hand towards him, but he had gone to the door and was cautiously looking out, his attention being drawn to the sound of footsteps in the hall. It was two negro maids just entering the house, having left half a dozen other negroes on the walk in front. Going out into the hall, Carson commanded the maids and the loiterers to go away, and the astonished blacks, with many a curious, backward glance, made haste to do his bidding. A heavy frown was on his face and he shrugged his broad shoulders as he took his place on the veranda to guard the parlor door. “It's a ticklish business,” he mused; “if we are not very careful these negroes will drop on to the truth in no time.” He had dismissed the idlers in the nick of time, for there was a sudden, joyous scream from Linda, a chorus of warning voices. The full import of the good news was only just breaking upon the stunned consciousness of the old sufferer. Screams and sobs, mingled with hysterical laughter, fell upon Carson's ears, through all of which rang the persistent drone of Keith Gordon's manly voice in gentle admonition. The door of the parlor opened and old Lewis came forth, his black face streaming with tears. Going to Carson he attempted to speak, but, unable to utter a word, he grasped the young man's hand, and pressing it to his lips he staggered away. A
- 44. few minutes later Keith came out doggedly trying to divest his boyish features of a certain glorified expression that had settled on them. “Good God!” he smiled grimly, as he fished a cigar from the pocket of his waistcoat, “I'm glad that's over. It struck her like a tornado. I'm glad I'm not in your shoes. She'll literally fall on your neck. Good Lord! I've heard people say negroes haven't any gratitude—Linda's burning up with it. You are her God, old man. She knows what you did, and she knows, too, that we opposed you to the last minute.” “You told her, of course,” Carson said, reprovingly. “I had to. She was trying to dump it all on me as the only member of the gang present. I told her, the whole thing was born in your brain and braced up by your backbone. Oh yes, I told her how we fought your plan and with what determination you stuck to it in the face of all opposition. No, the rest of us don't deserve any credit. We'd have squelched you if we could. Well, I simply wasn't cut out for heroic things. The easy road has always been mine to any destination, but I reckon nothing worth much was ever picked up by chance.” The two friends had gone down to the gate and Keith was unhitching his horse, when Helen came out on the veranda, and seeing Carson she hastened to him. “She's up in my room,” she explained. “I'm going to keep her there for the rest of the day anyway. I'm glad now that we took so much precaution. She admits that we were right about that. She says if she had known Pete was safe she might have failed to keep it from the others. But she is going to help us guard the secret now. But oh, Carson, she is already begging to be allowed to see Pete. It's pitiful. There are moments even now when she even seems to doubt his safety, and it is all I can do to convince her. She is begging to see you, too. Oh, Carson, when you told me about it why did you leave out the part you took? Keith told us all about your fight against such odds, and how you sat up all night at the store to keep the poor boy company.”