CHAPTER XX.
THE LONE GRAVE IN THE MOUNTAINS
That same evening, Abner took Mr. and Mrs. Rogers into his confidenceconcerning his name, and the business which had called him to Virginia.The good couple were greatly excited, and they could not have been moredelighted had the inheritance fallen to one of their own children.
A few days later, Abner went to see James Drane.
"So old Colonel Hite is dead, and you are his heir," was Drane'sastonished exclamation when his client had explained his business, andhad shown a copy of the will. "I congratulate you most heartily uponyour good fortune. Of course, I know all about this Henderson Countytract; for my father was employed to survey it, and to record theclaim, and afterwards to transact all business pertaining to it, untilhis death, five years ago; then I was employed as agent. I have here inmy escritoire all papers relative to the business, and copies of allcorrespondence which passed between father and Colonel Hite. ColonelHite visited Kentucky in '80 or '81, when I was a small boy; but Iremember the circumstance. From what I can recall of him as he appearedthen, and from what I gather from his correspondence since, I judge himto have been a very eccentric man. For several years after the tractcame into Hite's possession, my father had considerable difficulty withrival claimants--squatters, you know, who claimed it by right of firstsettlement; but all such difficulties were adjusted long before theagency fell into my hands, and now I can foresee no trouble, nor anyvery great delay, in establishing you in your rights--to this part ofyour inheritance, at least. As to the Virginian estate, of course, youhave already placed your interests in the hands of some competentattorney in that State, and have complied with all the necessary legalformalities. Now, in regard to this land of which I have been acting asfactor," Drane continued, examining some papers which he had taken outof his desk. "Samuel Whitaker, whose claim adjoins the southeasternboundary of the Hite section, pays a yearly rental of forty-six dollarsfor 258 acres of the Hite land; and Daniel Pratt, who owns thehomestead adjoining the southwestern boundary, holds a ten years' lease(three of which are unexpired) to 285 more acres. The remainder of thesection--ninety-seven acres--lying on Buffalo Creek, is low and swampy,and has never been reclaimed."
A few more business details were explained, and then Abner told thelawyer, as he had already told the Rogerses, that for thepresent--until all business relative to the winding up of the Hiteestate was completed--he preferred to be known only as Abner Dudley. Hethen took his departure, leaving with Drane a copy of the will.
When his client had gone, the lawyer barred his door, and thencarefully examined the will. Although he had had the art to hide hisfeelings during the interview just closed, he was more astonished andpuzzled than he had ever been before. Several months before this, inlooking through some documents pertaining to the Gilcrest property, hehad made two startling discoveries: First, that Mrs. Gilcrest's maidenname was Sarah Jane Pepper, instead of Jane Temple, as even her ownchildren supposed it to be. Second, that she was a widow when HiramGilcrest married her, and that her first husband had been a John Loganwho was killed in the battle of Monmouth Court-house. At the time whenDrane had made these discoveries, Gilcrest had explained that Mrs.Gilcrest's first husband had been a worthless, bad fellow, and that forthat reason her desire was that her children should be kept inignorance of her ever having made this first marriage. On this account,and for another reason which Gilcrest did not confide to Drane, she hadled her children to believe that her maiden name was Jane Temple, hermaternal grandmother's maiden name.
Abner had stated that his father was John Logan, a soldier in theContinental army, who was killed in the battle of Monmouth Court-house."It may be a mere coincidence," thought Drane, "that two men named JohnLogan were killed in that battle; but, then, why should this fellowhave, until now, worn the name of Dudley? Then, there's the unusualwording of the will," and he seized the document and read the words,"'to her' (Mary Belle Hollis Page) 'legitimate offspring, if any.''There's something rotten in the state of Denmark'," was Drane'sconclusion; "but how to discover it? Let me see, I'd better not mentionthis to old Gilcrest yet awhile; and certainly I must let no inkling ofmy suspicions escape to this Abner Dudley, or Abner Logan, or Page, orwhatever his right name may be--why, good Lord! I don't believe he hasa legitimate right to any name whatsoever. And this is the finegentleman who dares lift his eyes to the peerless Betty! I needn't haverun the risk I did in forging that letter, it seems; this will, Isuspect, settle the schoolmaster's pretensions even more effectually,and with no danger to myself, either. But here, if his father andMadame Gilcrest's first husband were one and the same man, I must workvery cautiously until I ascertain the exact date of the John Loganalliance with Sarah Jane and that of his connection with Mary Belle. Itwould be a pretty kettle of fish if I should take old Hiram into myconfidence, and it should afterwards be revealed that Sarah Jane wasthe paramour and Mary Belle the true wife. Pshaw! that's not probable.Then, there's Hite's singular expression, 'to her legitimateoffspring.' What a fine thing it would be to discover that Mrs.Gilcrest is Hite's lawful legatee. To do the schoolmaster justice,though, I believe him entirely innocent of intentional deception inthis matter; but I'd stake my reputation for acuteness that this oldRichard Dudley knows--only, of course, he bases his nephew's claim uponthe fact that Mary Hollis Page was still living at the time Hite madethis insane will. Abner Dudley, or Abner Logan, as the case may be,stated that she died in August, 1782. My first step must be toascertain if this be correct. Let me see, Tom Gaines used to live inLawsonville, and is still living in Culpeper County. I'll write him forinformation. On account of his connection with our Spanish schemes hecan be trusted to mention my letter to no one. I'll write himimmediately, and, while waiting his reply, I'll hover about Oaklands asmuch as possible, and try to ascertain the date of the Logan-Pepperalliance; and at the same time make another effort to recoverpossession of Sebastian's letter and that dangerous little specimen offorgery."
The postal system of our country was a slow business in that day andtime; but, in due course, Drane had Gaines' reply. From this he learnedthat a certain old tombstone in the Lawsonville graveyard bore thisinscription:
MARY BELLE HOLLIS PAGE born Feb'y 16th, 1758 died Aug. 21st, 1782.
Other information contained in Gaines' letter was this, Mrs. Page hadnot died at Lawsonville, notwithstanding the tablet erected there toher memory. She had married Marshall Page in October, 1781, and she andher husband and the little Abner had migrated to Kentucky. Late in thenext year, a brother of Marshall Page, who had accompanied them toKentucky, returned to Lawsonville with the little boy, Abner Logan, andthe intelligence that Marshall Page had been killed by Indians, andthat Mary Page had died at Bryan's Station. The child had beencommitted to the care of Mrs. Page's relations in Lawsonville, theDudleys, who had adopted him. Drane's informant also wrote that it hadalways been the impression with the people of Lawsonville that MaryHollis had not been legally married to Abner's father, but that she hadbeen entrapped into a form of marriage with John Logan at a time whenhe had a wife still living.
"By the heavens above, this is the strangest affair that ever camewithin my ken!" said James Drane after reading Gaines' letter. "Why, Iverily believe that the dainty schoolmaster is a bastard; and, what ismore, that he has no claim to the Hite fortune. He certainly has not,if my surmises concerning that half-forgotten episode of that hamlet inthe Cumberland Mountains be correct."
The episode to which he referred was this. He, when a boy of ten, hadonce accompanied his father on a visit into southwestern Virginia. Onthe third day of their journey night had overtaken them near Centerton,a little settlement of five or six cabins in the Cumberland Mountains.They had stopped for shelter at one of these cabins, owned by a familynamed Wheeler. The next morning there was a terrible rain storm whichhad detained the travelers in the village until the following day.While there James had seen a neglected grave marked by a wooden slab,on the mountain-side, just back of the Wheelers' cab
in. He was filledwith boyish curiosity concerning this lonely grave, and had asked itshistory.
Several years before, so Mrs. Wheeler had told him, some emigrants ontheir way into Kentucky had stopped at the Wheeler cabin. The wife ofone of these emigrants had been bitten or stung on the cheek by somepoisonous reptile while the party was camping in the mountains thenight before. The poor woman was suffering horribly when they reachedthe Wheelers', and she died there the next day from the effects of thevenomous wound in her face. They buried her under the trees back of thecabin, and her husband cut her name, age and the date of her death uponthat oak slab, and placed it as a headstone to mark the lastresting-place of his wife. He and the other emigrants then continued ontheir journey.
This sad story and the lonely grave on the mountainside had made a deepimpression upon the lad, James Drane. He now recalled the story, and hewas sure that the name upon that slab was Mary Page. Moreover, hebelieved that the date recorded on the wooden slab was that of a day ofthe spring of 1782. After much reflection, Drane decided to tell MajorGilcrest of these discoveries and surmises.
To say that Hiram Gilcrest was amazed at the story which the lawyerrelated would but feebly express his state of mind. "If our suspicionsare correct," he said when he had thought over Drane's story, "as tothe date of this woman's death, and if this son of hers isillegitimate, he has no rights at all, under the provisions of thiswill, to the Hite estates. My wife, in that case, is the heir; and, byheaven, she shall have her rights! It is not that I care so much forthe monetary value of what this Andrew Hite left. I am not prompted bymercenary motives; for I have plenty to keep my wife and children incomfort, nor would I covet aught that lawfully or justly belonged toanother; but I do not mean to be cheated, or to allow my wife to becheated, out of her just rights by the crafty schemes of this Dr.Richard Dudley in behalf of his base-born nephew. I must say, though,that I have considerable commiseration for this young fellow, who is, Ibelieve, not a party--that is, an intentional party--to this fraudulentscheme, notwithstanding his undoubted entanglement in those politicalplots of Sebastian, Wilkinson and Powers. I protest, I was never in allmy life so deceived in a man as I have been in Abner Dudley, or Logan,if he pleases; and I flatter myself, too, upon being a pretty goodjudge of character. I was much taken with him when he first came tothis community. I liked his face, his conversation, and his generalbearing, and would have taken oath that he was one to be trusted in allthings."
"We must move warily in this matter, James," was the Major's caution,after musing awhile, "until the affair is in shape to be proven incourt. I would spare my wife all agitation, if it were possible. She isin an extremely weak, nervous condition, and until it is absolutelynecessary to do so, I wish her to know nothing of this matter; and evenwhen it must be brought up in court, I want to spare her all thedetails of the affair--if that can be done; for any mention of thematter will cost her much excitement and will bring before her againall her old troubles."
After further consultation and many admonitions from Gilcrest as tocaution and secrecy, it was agreed that the lawyer should go at once toCenterton.
He started the next morning. Reaching there three days later, he couldfind no trace of the Wheelers. Their cabin was now occupied by anotherfamily who knew nothing of the former occupants except that they hadmoved away eight years since, and that their present habitation wassupposed to be somewhere in the mountains of northern Georgia. No onenow living at Centerton could give any information about the grave onthe mountain-side. Drane visited it. It was now but a sunken spotcovered with a tangle of vines and weeds. The slab was still there, butit was prone on the ground, face downwards, and was much worn anddefaced. Drane copied in his note-book all of the inscription that waslegible:
Ma-y Be--e
wif- -f
Mar---- Page
di-d h--e
o- w-y -o
K--t--k-
Ma-ch 9 1-82
-ged 22