tells ye death was ther only Lord thet folks
bowed down ter in them days ... and ther woman thet saw her man go forth
from ther door didn't hev no confident assurance she'd ever see him come
back home alive. My son Caleb--Dorothy's daddy--went out with a lantern
one night when ther dogs barked ... and we fotched him in dead."

He paused, and seemed to be looking through the walls and hills to
things that lay buried.

"Them few men thet cried out fer peace an' law-abidin' war scoffed at
an' belittled.... Them of us that preached erginst bloodshed was cussed
an' damned. Then come ther battle at Claytown ter cap hit off with more
blood-lettin'.

"One of ther vi'lent leaders war shot ter death--an' t'other one agreed
ter go away an' give ther country a chanst ter draw a free breath in
peace onc't more."

Again he fell silent, and when after a long pause he had not begun again
Dorothy restively inquired: "What's thet got ter do with me an Bas
Rowlett, Gran'pap?"

"I'm a-comin' ter thet ... atter thet pitch-battle folks began turnin'
ter them they'd been laughin' ter scorn ... they come an' begged me ter
head ther Thorntons an' ther Harpers. They went similar ter Jim Rowlett
an' besaught him ter do ther like fer ther Rowletts an' ther Doanes.
They knowed that despite all ther bad blood an' hatefulness me an' Jim
was friends an' thet more then we loved our own kin an' our own blood,
we loved peace fer every man ... us two!"

Cal Maggard was watching the fine old face--the face out of which life's
hardship and crudity had not quenched the majesty of unassuming
steadfastness.

"An' since we ondertook ter make ther truce and ter hold it unbroke,
hit's done stood unbroke!" The old man's voice rang suddenly through the
room.

"An' thet's been nigh on ter twenty ya'rs ... but Jim's old an' I'm
old ... an' afore long we'll both be gone ... an' nuther one ner t'other
of us hain't sich fools es not ter know what we've been holdin' down....
Nuther one ner t'other of us don't beguile hisself with ther notion thet
all them old hates air dead ... or thet ef wild-talkin', loose-mouthed
men gains a hearin' ... they won't flare up afresh."

He went over to the place where his pipe had fallen and picked it up
and refilled it, and when he fell silent it seemed as though there had
come a sudden stillness after thunder.

Then in a quieter tone he went on once more:

"Old Jim hain't got no boy ter foller him, but he confidences Bas.