a dire
need of safeguardin' ther peace of our folks--aye, an' thar lives, too,
like es not."

He paused, leaving room for an answer that would make easier his
approach to an understanding, but no answer came, and he continued:

"Ye hain't got no handy way of knowin' like me an' some of these other
men thet's always lived hyarabouts, what a ticklish balance things rests
on in this section. A feller mout reasonably surmise thet a peace what
hes stood fer twenty y'ar an' more would go on standin'--but mebby in
yore time ye've done seed a circus-show--hev ye?"

Maggard nodded, wondering what moral was to be drawn from tan-bark ring
and canvas top, and his interviewer continued:

"Then like es not ye've seed one of them fellers in tights an' tin
spangles balancin' a ladder on his chest with a see-saw atop hit--an' a
human bein' settin' on each eend of thet see-saw. Hit looks like he does
hit plum easy--but ef he boggles or stumbles, them folks up thar falls
down, sure as hell's hot."

"I reckon thet's right."

"Wa'al, thar's trouble-makin' sperits amongst both ther Doanes an' ther
Harpers--an' they seeks ter start all thet hell up a-bilin' ergin like
ther devil's own cauldron.... Ef we've done maintained peace 'stid of
war fer upwards of twenty y'ars hit's because old Caleb an' a few more
like him hes been balancin' thet ladder till th'ar hearts was nigh ter
bustin' with ther weight of hit. Peace hain't nuver stood upright
amongst us by hits own self--an' hit won't do hit now. Ef ye stands in
old Caleb's shoes, Mr. Thornton, ye've got ter stand balancin' thet
ladder, too."

"We hain't hed no disagreement es ter thet, Mr. Doane. I craves
law-abidin' life an' friendly neighbours as master strong es _you_
does."

"An' yit," continued the cripple, earnestly, "ef thet old-time war ever
busts loose afresh hit'll make these hyar numerous small streams, in a
manner of speakin', run red with men's blood an' salty with women's
tears, too, I fears me. I've done dream't of a time when all thet pizen
blight would be swep' away from ther hills like a fog--an' I sought ter
gain yore aid in hastenin' thet day. A man kain't skeercely plead with
his enemy but he kin with his friend--an' that's how I hoped I'd be
met."

"Yore friend is what I'd love ter be." Maggard stood with his hand
resting on the bark of the tree, as though out of it he might hope to
draw some virtue from the far past which it commemorated or from the
dust of