when richard burton left the office of aaron wolverton, he did not return home immediately. he had a business call to make in the next township, and drove over there. finding that he was likely to be detained, he went to the hotel to dine, and, the day being warm, sat on the piazza and smoked a cigar afterwards. it was not until four o'clock that he turned his horse's head in the direction of carver.
the horse he drove was young and untrained. it would have been dangerous for an unskillful driver to undertake to manage him. robert burton, however, thoroughly understood horses, and was not afraid of any, however fractious. but he had been persuaded to drink a couple of glasses of whisky by acquaintances at the hotel, and he was easily affected by drink of any kind. so his hand[pg 34] was not as strong or steady as usual when he started on his homeward journey.
the horse seemed instinctively to know that there was something the matter with his driver, and, as he turned back his head knowingly, he prepared to take advantage of it. so he made himself more troublesome than usual, and burton became at first annoyed and then angry.
"what ails you, you vicious brute?" he exclaimed, frowning. "you need a lesson, it seems."
he gave a violent twitch to the reins, more violent than he intended, and the animal swerved aside suddenly, bringing one wheel of the wagon into forcible collision with a tree by the roadside. this, coming unexpectedly, threw richard burton violently from his seat, and he was pitched out of the carriage, his head being thrown with force against the tree which had been the occasion of the shock.
there was a dull, sickening thud, and the poor man lay insensible, his eyes closed and his breast heaving.
the horse detached himself from the wagon[pg 35] and ran home—they were within half a mile of the village now—leaving his driver without sense or motion beside the wrecked wagon.
he had lain there not over twenty minutes, when a pedestrian appeared upon the scene.
it was aaron wolverton, who was on his way to the house of a tenant to collect rent. he had been walking with his eyes fixed upon the ground, thinking intently, when all at once, raising his eyes, he started in amazement at the sight of the wrecked carriage and the prostrate man.
"who can it be?" he asked himself in excitement.
his eyes were failing, and he could not distinguish, till close at hand, the person of the stricken man.
"robert burton!" he exclaimed in excitement, when at last he had discovered who it was. "how on earth did this accident happen?"
he bent over the prostrate man and placed his hand upon his heart. alas! it had already ceased to beat. the features wore a startled[pg 36] and troubled look, the reflection of the feelings excited by the collision.
"well, well!" ejaculated wolverton, awed in spite of himself by the sight, "who would have dreamed of this? and only this morning he called on me to pay his interest."
there was a sudden suggestion, begotten of his greed, that entered that instant into wolverton's mind.
"he can't have gone home since," he bethought himself. "he must have the receipt with him."
even if he had, what did it concern wolverton? the money had been paid, but there was no evidence of it except the receipt which he had given him.
with trembling fingers, wolverton, bending over, searched the clothes of the dead man, half turning his eyes away, as if he feared to meet robert burton's look.
at last he found it. burton had thrust it carelessly into his vest pocket.
with a furtive look, to see if he were observed, aaron wolverton put the receipt into his own pocket. then he rose to his feet, and[pg 37] turned to go away. he had no desire to remain any longer by the side of the dead.
meanwhile the horse had dashed into the village at wild speed. now it happened that clip, sent on an errand to the store by mrs. burton, was in the village. his eyes opened wide when he saw the horse dash by him.
"what's dat mean?" clip asked himself, staring with all his eyes at the runaway horse. "what's come of massa burton? must have been an accident. wagon must have upset, and—golly! i hope massa burton isn't killed nor noting."
clip was all alive with excitement. he had the sense not to attempt to follow the horse, but ran as fast as he could in the direction from which the horse had come. there, he argued, must be the wagon and its rider.
it was a straight road, and he was not long in reaching the scene of the casualty. he came in sight of it at the moment when aaron wolverton was bending over the prostrate man, and searching his pockets.
here was another surprise for clip. "what is massa wolverton doing," he asked himself.[pg 38] he was sure he was not up to any good, for, as we have already seen, he had no love for the real estate agent, and thought him a very bad man. clip had no small share of curiosity, and, intent on finding out what wolverton was doing, he slid behind a tree about a foot in diameter, which happened to be conveniently situated. grief struggled with curiosity, for clip had already seen the wrecked team and the prostrate figure of the kind master, to whom he felt warmly attached.
"poor massa burton! i hope he isn't dead," thought clip. "jes' as soon as old wolverton goes away i'll go up and look. won't mrs. burton feel bad?"
all the while clip was watching the movements of the real estate agent.
"what's he searchin' massa burton's pockets for?" he asked himself. "spec's he's going to rob him. didn't think the old man was so mean before. i'd jes' like to jump out and scare him."
meanwhile wolverton finished his discreditable business, happily unconscious that any one was witness of his mean act. then, as [pg 39]already stated, he got up and walked swiftly away, not venturing to look back. had he done so he would have seen clip stealing from behind the tree which had served to screen him from observation, and running towards the wreck.
clip had never before seen death, but there was something in the mute look of richard burton that awed the soul of the colored boy.
clip had an affectionate heart. he felt that richard burton must be dead, and the thought overpowered him.
"poor massa burton!" he cried, bursting into tears. "he's done dead, sure 'nough. oh, what will we do?"
a minute later clip bounded off like a deer, to carry the sad news to the village.
he met the village doctor driving along in his top buggy, and he quickly called out to him: "go quick, massa doctor, for de love of god. poor massa burton's upset himself, and i 'spec's he's dead."
"whereabouts, clip?" demanded the doctor, startled.
"up the road a piece."[pg 40]
"jump in with me and show me."
so clip, seated beside the doctor, guided him to the fatal spot.
the doctor lost no time in jumping out of his buggy and approaching the fallen man. he didn't need to feel his pulse, or place his hand over his heart. to his practiced eye there were other indications that disclosed the terrible truth.
"is he dead?" asked clip, in an awed voice.
"yes, clip; your poor master is dead," answered the doctor, sadly.
he had known richard burton well, and, like all the rest of his neighbors, had a warm esteem for him.
"how did this happen, clip?" he asked.
"i don't know, massa doctor; 'deed i don't," answered clip. "i was walkin' along, when i saw the colt runnin' like mad, wid his harness on, and i 'spected something had happened. so i came up, and dat's what i saw."
"we can't do anything, clip, except to see that he is carried home. i dread to break the news to his poor wife."
meanwhile aaron wolverton had locked[pg 41] himself in his office. he drew the receipt from his pocket, read it through carefully, and chuckled:
"i'll get the money out of the widder. she can't prove that the interest has been paid! but i don't care so much for that as i do to get even with that impudent rascal bob. he'll rue this day, as sure as my name is aaron wolverton."
