The trillium ceased its twirling in Avery’s fingers, and nodded at the pause as if saying daintily, “Nanette, Nanette.”
“I were drivin’ a team of big grays then. Feet on ’em as big as your hat and built accordin’ to their feet. They was as likely a team as they was in the woods. They used their heads workin’ as well as their feet. Long’s they was mine nobody never laid a hame or a britchin’ over ’em but me. I worked them hosses—Gray Billy and Gray Tom—by feelin’ ’em through the lines and lettin’ ’em feel what I wanted through the lines. You understand?”
David nodded.
“My cabin and stable was a few rods from Marbeau’s cabin, and sometimes Jules and Nanette would come over to see ‘Mo’sieur Averee’s beeg hosses.’ She would talk to ’em and pat ’em and she were special fond of Gray Billy and he were special fond of her. Thet hoss knowed her step and used to whinner afore he seed her comin’. She ’most allus had a piece of maple sugar for ’em. I reckon thet helped ’em remember, likewise. I used to go over their way some, too, in the evenin’s. Jules he never said much, but smoked. Me and Nanette done most of the talkin’, sech as we could, seein’ I warn’t no Frencher, but nex’ to a hoss a woman kin understand some things ’thout talkin’ ’most as good as a hoss kin.
“Wal, it was goin’ on three year I’d been comin’ in the evenin’s, sayin’ to myself I’d ast her nex’ time, but nex’ time I come I’d set and figure how to go at it, bein’ short on the French words, to make a good job of it, and one night—wal, anyhow—I ast her and she promised. Said she’d take me along with the hosses so ’st to keep us all t’gither. Said she liked Gray Billy more’n she done me,—jokin’, fur sure,—but she warn’t jokin’ when she put her hands out and said, quiet-like, jest as I was leavin’ her thar in the moonlight, ‘Bud, I know you good to Gray Billy and Gray Tom and I know you be good to me.’
“It warn’t jest what I calc’lated she’d say, if I done any calc’latin’ jest then, but it sounded like it was so. And it was.
“Wal, we went to keepin’ house, and was as happy as plain folks got any right to be. Then the baby come, my Swickey—and then we was as happy as God A’mighty calc’lates to let any kind of folks git, whatsoever. For two years we jest lived right clus to thet baby, and then—
“Wal, Gray Billy was a onlucky hoss. Settin’ aside bein’ a prime fav’rite with Nanette and seein’ as I’d never laid a gad to him in his life, Billy were onlucky—fur us.
“Nanette’s brother Jules were ’fraid of thet team,—bad sign, I take it, when a man’s sca’d of hosses,—and one day he come over at noon to talk about the foller we was goin’ to work t’gither in the spring. It was winter then and he were jest a-goin’ back to his work in the woods, when Billy, what was standin’ steamin’ in the cold from a big mornin’s haulin’, shook hisself, makin’ a sharp rattlin’ noise with the trace-hooks. Jules he had hair-trigger nerves and he throwed up one arm like as if some one was comin’ from behint, and stepped back a’most under Gray Billy’s nose. Thet hoss didn’t jerk up his head like I seen some. No, sir! He brung his head down slantin’ and quick, and he bit. He was a big hoss and pow’ful. Then I knowed Jules was bad clean through, howcome I kin sca’cely say how I knowed.
“Jules he screamed, and afore I could wink he had thet quick knife of his ’n into Gray Billy twict. You won’t think I’m jokin’ when I tell you I felt thet knife like as if it was in me. And I’d ruther it had of been.