The Black Opal Katharine Susannah Prichard (best free novels txt) đ
- Author: Katharine Susannah Prichard
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George had said: âIt might make a lot of difference to Michael if youâd come along, Mr. Riley.â
But Snowshoes had marched off from him as if he had not heard anyone speak, his blue eyes fixed on that invisible goal he was always gazing at and going towards.
George had not seen him come into the hall; but when he was needed, his tall figure, white clad and straight as a dead tree, rose at the back of the hall.
âItâs true,â he said. âI wanted to be sure of Michael; I shadowed him. I saw him with the stones when he says. I did not see him with them any other time.â
He sat down again; his eyes, which had flashed, resumed their steady, distant stare; his features relapsed into their mask of impassivity.
MâGinnis sprang to his feet again.
âThatâs all very well,â he cried, sticking to his question. âBut itâs not my idea of evidence. It wouldnât stand in any law court in the country. Snowshoesâ ââ
âShut up!â
âSit down!â
Half a dozen voices growled.
Because of the respect and affection they had for him, and because of a certain aloof dignity he had with them, no man on the Ridge ever addressed Snowshoes as anything but Mr. Riley. They resented MâGinnis calling him âSnowshoesâ to his face, and guessed that he had been going to say something which would reflect on Snowshoesâ reliability as a witness. They admitted his eccentricity; but they would not admit that his mental peculiarities amounted to more than that. Above all, they were not going to have his feelings hurt by this outsider from the Punti rush.
Broad-shouldered, square and solid, Bill Grant towered above the men about him. âThis doesnât pretend to be a court of law, Mister MâGinnis,â he remarked, with an irony and emphasis which never failed of their mark when he used them, although he rarely did, and only once or twice had been heard to speak, at any gathering. âItâs an inquiry by men of the Ridge into the doings of one of their mates. What they want to know is the rights of this businessâ ââ ⊠and what you consider evidence doesnât matter. Itâs what the men in this hall consider evidence matters. And, whatâs more, I donât see why youâre butting into our affairs so much: youâre not one of usâ âyouâre a newcomer. Youâve only been a year or so in the placeâ ââ ⊠and this concerns only men of the Ridge, who stand by the Ridge ways of doing things.â ââ ⊠Michaelâs here to be judged by his matesâ ââ ⊠not by you and your sort.â ââ ⊠If youâd the brain of a louse, youâd understandâ âthis isnât a question of law, but of principleâ âhonour, if you like to call it that.â
âDoes the meeting consider the question answered?â George Woods inquired when Bill Grant sat down.
âYes!â
A chorus of voices intoned the answer.
âIf you believe Michaelâs story, thereâs nothing more to be said,â George continued. âDoes any man want to ask Michael a question?â
No one replied for a moment. Then MâGinnis exclaimed incoherently.
âShut up!â
âSit down!â
Men cried out all over the hall.
âThatâs all, I think, Michael,â George said, looking down to where Michael sat before the platform; and Michael, pulling his hat further over his eyes, went out of the hall.
It was the custom for men of the Ridge to talk over the subject of their inquiry together after the man or men with whom the meeting was concerned had left the hall, before giving their verdict.
When Michael had gone, George Woods said:
âThe boys would like to hear what youâve got to say, I think, Archie.â
He looked at Archie Cross. âYou and Michael havenât been seeinâ eye to eye lately, and if thereâs any other side in this business, itâs the side that lost confidence in Michael when we were fed-up with all that whispering. You know Michael, and youâre a good Ridge man, though you were ready to take on Armitageâs scheme. The boysâd like to hear what youâve got to say, Iâm sure.â
Archie Cross stood up; he rolled his hat in his hands. His face, hacked out of a piece of dull flesh, sun-reddened, moved convulsively; his hair was roughed-up from it; his small, sombre eyes went with straight lightnings to the men in the hall about him.
âItâs trueâ âwhat George says,â he said after a pause, as if it were difficult for him to express his thought. âI havenât been seeinâ eye to eye with Michael latelyâ ââ ⊠and I listened to all the dirty gossip that mobââ âhe glanced towards MâGinnis and the men with himâ ââput round about him. It was part thatâ ââ ⊠and part listening to their talk about money invested here making all the difference to Fallen Starâ ââ ⊠and the children growing upâ ââ ⊠and gettinâ scared and worried about seeinâ them throughâ ââ ⊠made me go agin you boys lately, and let that lot get hold of me.â ââ ⊠But this business about Michaelâs shown me where I am. Michaelâs stood for one thing all throughâ âthe Ridge and the hanging on to the mines for us.â ââ ⊠Heâs been a better Ridge man than I have.â ââ ⊠And I want to sayâ ââ ⊠as far as Iâm concerned, Michaelâs proved himself.â ââ ⊠I donât reckân hanging on to opals was anythingâ ââ ⊠no more does Ted. Itâs the sort of thing a chap like Michaelâd do absentmindedâ ââ ⊠not noticinâ what he was doinâ; but when he did noticeâ âand got scared thinkinâ where he was gettinâ to, and what it might look like, he couldnât get rid of âem quick, enough. Thatâs what I think, and thatâs what Ted thinks, too. He hasnât got the gift of the gab, Ted, or heâd say so himself.â ââ ⊠If thereâs goinâ to be opposition to Michael, itâs not cominâ from us.â ââ ⊠And weâve made up our minds we stand by the Ridge.â
âGood old Archie!â somebody shouted.
âWhat have you got to say, Roy?â George Woods faced his secretary who had been scratching diligently throughout the meeting. âYouâve been more with the
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