Short Fiction Kate Chopin (best e reader for android .txt) đ
- Author: Kate Chopin
Book online «Short Fiction Kate Chopin (best e reader for android .txt) đ». Author Kate Chopin
âIâm mighty glad to see you, âTite Reine,â he said from his heart. She had for some reason been unable to speak; now she panted somewhat hysterically:â â
âYou musâ escuse me, Mista GrĂ©goire. Itâs the truth I did nâ know you firsâ, stanâinâ up there.â A deep flush had supplanted the former pallor of her face, and her eyes shone with tears and ill-concealed excitement.
âI thought you all lived yonda in Grant,â remarked GrĂ©goire carelessly, making talk for the purpose of diverting Aikenâs attention away from his wifeâs evident embarrassment, which he himself was at a loss to understand.
âWhy, we did live a right smart while in Grant; but Grant ainât no parish to make a livinâ in. Then I tried Winn and Caddo a spell; they wasnât no better. But I tell you, suh, Sabineâs a damnâ sight worse than any of âem. Why, a man canât git a drink oâ whiskey here without going out of the parish fer it, or across into Texas. Iâm fixinâ to sell out anâ try Vernon.â
Bud Aikenâs household belongings surely would not count for much in the contemplated âselling out.â The one room that constituted his home was extremely bare of furnishingâ âa cheap bed, a pine table, and a few chairs, that was all. On a rough shelf were some paper parcels representing the larder. The mud daubing had fallen out here and there from between the logs of the cabin; and into the largest of these apertures had been thrust pieces of ragged bagging and wisps of cotton. A tin basin outside on the gallery offered the only bathing facilities to be seen. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, GrĂ©goire announced his intention of passing the night with Aiken.
âIâm jusâ goinâ to ask the privilege oâ layinâ down yere on yoâ gallâry tonight, Mr. Aiken. My hoss ainât in firsâ-class trim; anâ a nightâs resâ ainât goinâ to hurt him oâ me either.â He had begun by declaring his intention of pushing on across the Sabine, but an imploring look from âTite Reineâs eyes had stayed the words upon his lips. Never had he seen in a womanâs eyes a look of such heartbroken entreaty. He resolved on the instant to know the meaning of it before setting foot on Texas soil. GrĂ©goire had never learned to steel his heart against a womanâs eyes, no matter what language they spoke.
An old patchwork quilt folded double and a moss pillow which âTite Reine gave him out on the gallery made a bed that was, after all, not too uncomfortable for a young fellow of rugged habits.
GrĂ©goire slept quite soundly after he laid down upon his improvised bed at nine oâclock. He was awakened toward the middle of the night by someone gently shaking him. It was âTite Reine stooping over him; he could see her plainly, for the moon was shining. She had not removed the clothing she had worn during the day; but her feet were bare and looked wonderfully small and white. He arose on his elbow, wide awake at once. âWây, âTite Reine! wâat the devil you mean? wâereâs yoâ husbanâ?â
âThe house kin fall on âim, ât en goinâ wake up Bud wâen heâs sleepinâ; he drinkâ too much.â Now that she had aroused GrĂ©goire, she stood up, and sinking her face in her bended arm like a child, began to cry softly. In an instant he was on his feet.
âMy God, âTite Reine! wâatâs the matta? you got to tell me wâatâs the matta.â He could no longer recognize the imperious âTite Reine, whose will had been the law in her fatherâs household. He led her to the edge of the low gallery and there they sat down.
GrĂ©goire loved women. He liked their nearness, their atmosphere; the tones of their voices and the things they said; their ways of moving and turning about; the brushing of their garments when they passed him by pleased him. He was fleeing now from the pain that a woman had inflicted upon him. When any overpowering sorrow came to GrĂ©goire he felt a singular longing to cross the Sabine River and lose himself in Texas. He had done this once before when his home, the old Santien place, had gone into the hands of creditors. The sight of âTite Reineâs distress now moved him painfully.
âWâat is it, âTite Reine? tell me wâat it is,â he kept asking her. She was attempting to dry her eyes on her coarse sleeve. He drew a handkerchief from his back pocket and dried them for her.
âThey all well, yonda?â she asked, haltingly, âmy popa? my moma? the chilâen?â GrĂ©goire knew no more of the Baptiste Choupic family than the post beside him. Nevertheless he answered: âThey all right well, âTite Reine, but they mighty lonesome of you.â
âMy popa, he got a putty good crop this yeaâ?â
âHe made right smart oâ cotton foâ Bayou Pierre.â
âHe done haul it to the relroad?â
âNo, he ainât quite finish pickinâ.â
âI hope they all ent sole âPutty Girlâ?â she inquired solicitously.
âWell, I should say not! Yoâ pa says they ainât anotha piece oâ hossflesh in the paâish heâd want to swap foâ âPutty Girl.âââ She turned to him with vague but fleeting amazementâ ââPutty Girlâ was a cow!
The autumn night was heavy about them. The black forest seemed to have drawn nearer; its shadowy depths were filled with the gruesome noises that inhabit a southern forest at night time.
âAinât you âfraid sometimes yere, âTite Reine?â GrĂ©goire asked, as he felt a light shiver run through him at the weirdness of the scene.
âNo,â she answered promptly, âI ent âfred oâ nothinâ âcepâ Bud.â
âThen he treats you mean? I thought so!â
âMista GrĂ©goire,â drawing close to him and whispering in his face, âBudâs killinâ me.â He clasped her arm, holding her near him, while an expression of profound pity
Comments (0)