Suddenly, unreasoning fear surged up in Plutina, brimmed over in a torrent of pleading words. She knew the uselessness of appeal to this callous wretch. But the instinct of terror in her horrible situation mastered the girl, so that she forgot pride, and besought his mercy. She was ghastly pale, and 217 the dilated eyes were almost black, with a stricken look in their clouded depths. Her voice was shaking.
“Lemme go Dan—lemme go. Ye’ve done got even with me now fer yistiddy. Lemme go—I ax it of ye, Dan. I done ye dirt yistiddy, ’cause I was scared o’ ye. An’ I’m scared o’ ye now, Dan. Lemme go home, an’ I won’t never tell nobody how ye kotched me.”
She had raised her eyes beseechingly. Now, as she saw the smug mockery on her captor’s face, she fell silent. The futility of any pleading was too plain. Her eyes shifted to the ground again. But the first wild fear was past, and she began to think with some clearness. At once, it occurred to her that she must guard her strength jealously. She had already wasted too much in vain physical struggling and in vainer emotional outbursts. She must save her energies henceforth both of body and of mind, that she might have wherewith to contrive, escape and wherewith to accomplish it, or wherewith to fight against a lustful brute to the very death.
Hodges spoke approval.
“Ye’re gittin’ sense. Better save yer breath to cool yer porrich, stid o’ wastin’ hit a-whinin’ to me. But I shore admire fer to hear ye squawk. Ye hain’t quite so damned uppitty as ye was yistiddy.” 218
“I ’low I must do what ye says,” Plutina agreed, listlessly. She felt very weary, now that the reaction was upon her. At whatever cost, she must have an interval in which to recover from this weakness.
“Thet’s the ticket!” Hodges exclaimed, with a jovialty meant to be winning. He went behind her, and loosened the knot he had last tied, so that her wrists, although still fast bound, had a little play. The length of the loop allowed him to move by her side with it over his arm. “You-all jest mosey acrost to thet-thar birch clump,” he directed, pointing. “I got a rifle-gun yender, what I kain’t noways do without.”
Plutina walked obediently at his side in the direction indicated, and stood passively while he picked up the weapon. Then, in response to his command, she set off with him through the tortuous forest paths to the southward.
For the time being, Plutina’s dominant emotion was a vast depression. It bore down on her like a physical burden, under which she had hardly the power to go forward with slouching steps. It was as if the end of the world were come, with the loss of everything good and clean and happy. The only reality was this foul creature to whom she was bound, from whom there was no escape, who had but to speak and she must obey, who had the authority 219 to compel obedience. She was sick with horror of the man’s nearness. She felt defilement from the avid eyes, which moved over her in wanton lingering from head to foot, and back again. But she had no resource against him. She could only endure for the present, awaiting the return of strength. She could see no glimmer of hope anywhere. Yet, she strove numbly against this enveloping despair. She told herself again and again that, somehow, relief would come before the dreaded crisis. The words were spiritless; they brought no conviction. Nevertheless, she kept repeating them mutely to herself, as she trudged drearily beside Hodges toward Stone Mountain.
“I’ll git clar o’ him somehow—I will, I will! Gran’pap’ll kill ’im! Zeke’ll come! He will!”