"What?" I asked.
"Oh, I don't rightly know. But he's turnt loose all holts on life; something to grapple him to it again is needed."
Knowing their love for each other, my first thought of course was to bring Nucky; but the terrible story could have only disastrous effects upon him at present, so that is not to be considered.
Thursday.
The mail-carrier stopped at the gate yesterday to say, "I hear tell that Blant haint toch a morsel of vittles sence he shot Rich. Neither has the babe, sence he left it, to speak of,—the pore little creetur just whimps and pines for him continual, and won't scacely tech the food its pap gives it. Minervy Saxby's been over trying to peaceify it,—but in vain. It was allus purely silly about Blant, allowing he's its maw. When a babe gits its mind sot thataway on a proposition, there haint no help for it but to give it what it craves. It's likely to pine away if you don't."
I did not tell Blant of this when I stopped by the jail this afternoon,—I hope it will not reach him, as it could only add to his misery. I was thankful when I arrived to find him out in the common room, where all the prisoners stay during the day, even though he sat in a corner and did not seem to see the others.
The keeper followed me out again, and talked a while on the steps, "I got Blant started on a few vittles to-day, after nine days of starving," he said. "The way I done it was to make out I thought he was trying to cheat the gallows. Then he called for meat and bread. 'Pears like the gallows is the onliest prospect he is able to take any comfort in, and I hold it before him constant, to sort of keep his sperrits up. Though God knows I'm a-acting the black hypocrite when I do it, when there haint the least grain of a show for him to get a death sentence. There's a strong prejudyce again' hanging in this country,—not a jury ever set in this court-house that pronounced a death sentence,—Blant would a-knowed it if he had stopped to think. But even if the prejudyce didn't exist, why Blant haint done nothing to earn the gallows,—you might say he haint done anything for the law to take hold of. Of course everybody knows his shooting of Rich was the worst kind of accident; and as for the Cheevers he has killed and maimed, why, that war is really a family affair, which the law haint got no business to meddle with. Public sentiment is again' the law mixing up in affairs like that, and that's the reason why no great effort haint been made to arrest Blant before now. Folks has knowed he meant well, and was hard placed, and let it go at that. Now he's throwed hisself into the very jaws of the law, however, it may feel compelled to do something; but of course it won't be nothing like no death sentence. But I haven't got the heart to tell him so,—no, I really have not,—I believe he would dash his brains out again' the wall if I did."
Nucky was more insistent this afternoon when I read to him (he is sitting up now and begins to look like himself). "I know pine-blank something is wrong on Trigger, or Blant would have been here," he said, anxiously.
"Nothing is wrong there, except that the babe is ailing," I said, "the mail-carrier told me yesterday she was far from well."