"Thank you, Portiphar; I will inform you when I need your services. Good-night," replied the young man, shutting the door upon him.
Portiphar had not proceeded half a dozen steps on his way before he felt himself seized by the shoulder, and he recognized as his assailant the strapping negro, young Joe, who, holding him tightly, said:
"See here, Daddy Fox! I thought what you was up to, so I stopped to give this 'vice! Ef Valley's took up, we shall all know who slipped the bloodhounds on him, an' then some dark night somethin' will happen to you so sudden you won't never know what hurt you! Tain't only me, but a great many more is a-watchin' of you!"
And with this brief and pithy exordium Joe released Portiphar, or rather spurned him forward, and went his own way. This threat put the old man in a cold sweat of terror. He knew the strong fellow-feeling among his own class; that, even in the dangerous number of twenty persons, it would keep Valentine's secret; that he himself was suspected as a traitor; that, if Valentine should now be arrested, his own life might not be safe with those of the meeting who were not professing Christians; and he resolved to guide himself accordingly.
Several weeks passed in safety to the wretched young man.
But, released from the awful solitude and silence of his own heavily-burdened soul, free to come among a few of his fellow-creatures, free to speak of the deep sorrow and remorse that consumed his heart, among those who pitied and shrank not from him, who prayed for and with him, Valentine's mind began to recover its healthy tone; he did not cease to mourn his crime, but he mourned no longer as one without hope; he was again received into the little brotherhood of the church, the simple ceremony being performed in the lone cabin; again he became the man of fervent prayer and eloquent exhortation; and powerful, far more powerful, was he now, through his terrible experiences and profound repentance, than ever he had been.
To his confidant brother, Elisha, he was accustomed to say:
"I know I shall not finally escape the earthly punishment of my crime. I know that sooner or later it must come; nor do I wish to avoid it; yet will I do nothing to hasten its arrival; but when it shall come, I will accept it."
To which Elisha would reply: "Our lives are in the hands of the Lord," or words to that purpose.
Weeks grew into months, spring ripened into summer, and summer waned into autumn, and still Valentine lived unmolested.