“Yes, I know. But I’m not lonely and I’m on a tangent too. But maybe not the same one.”
“You don’t think I imagine it then?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I’ll tell you for your reassurance that I’ve a sense of strangeness.”
“I guess that’s all it is with me too,” said Lee. He smiled. “I’ll tell you how far it got with me though. Since I’ve come here I find myself thinking of Chinese fairy tales my father told me. We Chinese have a well-developed demonology.”
“You think she is a demon?”
“Of course not,” said Lee. “I hope I’m a little beyond such silliness. I don’t know what it is. You know, Mr. Hamilton, a servant develops an ability to taste the wind and judge the climate of the house he works in. And there’s a strangeness here. Maybe that’s what makes me remember my father’s demons.”
“Did your father believe in them?”
“Oh, no. He thought I should know the background. You Occidentals perpetuate a good many myths too.”
Samuel said, “Tell me what happened to set you off. This morning, I mean.”
“If you weren’t coming I would try,” said Lee. “But I would rather not. You can see for yourself. I may be crazy. Of course Mr. Adam is strung so tight he may snap like a banjo string.”
“Give me a little hint. It might save time. What did she do?”
“Nothing. That’s just it. Mr. Hamilton, I’ve been at births before, a good many of them, but this is something new to me.”
“How?”
“It’s—well—I’ll tell you the one thing I can think of. This is much more like a bitter, deadly combat than a birth.”
As they rode into the draw and under the oak trees Samuel said, “I hope you haven’t got me in a state, Lee. It’s a strange day, and I don’t know why.”
“No wind,” said Lee. “It’s the first day in a month when there hasn’t been wind in the afternoon.”
“That’s so. You know I’ve been so close to the details I’ve paid no attention to the clothing of the day. First we find a buried star and now we go to dig up a mint-new human.” He looked up through the oak branches at the yellow-lit hills. “What a beautiful day to be born in!” he said. “If signs have their fingers on a life, it’s a sweet life coming. And, Lee, if Adam plays true, he’ll be in the way. Stay close, will you? In case I need something. Look, the men, the carpenters, are sitting under that tree.”
“Mr. Adam stopped the work. He thought the hammering might disturb his wife.”
Samuel said, “You stay close. That sounds like Adam playing true. He doesn’t know his wife probably couldn’t hear God Himself beating a tattoo on the sky.”
The workmen sitting under the tree waved to him. “How do, Mr. Hamilton. How’s your family?”
“Fine, fine. Say, isn’t that Rabbit Holman? Where’ve you been, Rabbit?”
“Went prospecting, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Find anything, Rabbit?”
“Hell, Mr. Hamilton, I couldn’t even find the mule I went out with.”
They rode on toward the house. Lee said quickly, “If you ever get a minute, I’d like to show you something.”
“What is it, Lee?”
“Well, I’ve been trying to translate some old Chinese poetry into English. I’m not sure it can be done. Will you take a look?”
“I’d like to, Lee. Why, that would be a treat for me.”
3
Bordoni’s white frame house was very quiet, almost broodingly quiet, and the shades were pulled down. Samuel dismounted at the stoop, untied his bulging saddlebags, and gave his horse to Lee. He knocked and got no answer and went in. It was dusky in the living room after the outside light. He looked in the kitchen, scrubbed to the wood grain by Lee. A gray stoneware pilon coffeepot grunted on the back of the stove. Samuel tapped lightly on the bedroom door and went in.
It was almost pitch-black inside, for not only were the shades down but blankets were tacked over the windows. Cathy was lying in the big four-poster bed, and Adam sat beside her, his face buried in the coverlet. He raised his head and looked blindly out.
Samuel said pleasantly, “Why are you sitting in the dark?”
Adam’s voice was hoarse. “She doesn’t want the light. It hurts her eyes.”
Samuel walked into the room and authority grew in him with each step. “There will have to be lieht,” he said. “She can close her eyes. I’ll tie a black cloth over them if she wants.” He moved to the window and grasped the blanket to pull it down, but Adam was upon him before he could yank.
“Leave it. The light hurts her,” he said fiercely.
Samuel turned on him. “Now, Adam, I know what you feel. I promised you I’d take care of things, and I will. I only hope one of those things isn’t you.” He pulled the blanket down and rolled up the shade to let the golden afternoon light in.
Cathy made a little mewing sound from the bed, and Adam went to her. “Close your eyes, dear. I’ll put a cloth over your eyes.”
Samuel dropped his saddlebags in a chair and stood beside the bed. “Adam,” he said firmly, “I’m going to ask you to go out of the room and to stay out.”
“No, I can’t. Why?”
“Because I don’t want you in the way. It’s considered a sweet practice for you to get drunk.”
“I couldn’t.”
Samuel said, “Anger’s a slow thing in me and disgust is slower, but I can taste the beginnings of both of them. You’ll get out of the room and give me no trouble or I’ll go away and you’ll have a basket of trouble.”
Adam went finally, and from the doorway Samuel called, “And I don’t want you bursting in if you hear anything. You wait for me to come out.” He closed the door, noticed there was a key in the lock, and turned it. “He’s an upset, vehement man,” he said. “He loves you.”
He had not looked at her closely until now. And he saw true hatred in her eyes, unforgiving, murderous hatred.
“It’ll be over before long, dearie. Now tell me, has the water broke?”
Her hostile eyes glared at him and her lips raised snarling from her little teeth. She did not answer him.
He stared at her. “I did not come by choice except as a friend,” he said. “It’s not a pleasure to me, young woman. I don’t know your trouble and minute by minute I don’t care. Maybe I can save you some pain—who knows? I’m going to ask you one more question. If you don’t answer, if you put that snarling look on me, I’m going out and leave you to welter.”
The words struck into her understanding like lead shot dropping in water. She made a great effort. And it gave him a shivering to see her face change, the steel leave her eyes, the lips thicken from line to bow, and the corners turn up. He noticed a movement of her hands, the fists unclench and the fingers turn pinkly upward. Her face became young and innocent and bravely hurt. It was like one magic-lantern slide taking the place of another.
She said softly, “The water broke at dawn.”
“That’s better. Have you had hard labor?”
“Yes.”
“How far apart?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I’ve been in this room fifteen minutes.”
“I’ve had two little ones—no big ones since you came.”
“Fine. Now where’s your linen?”
“In that hamper over there.”
“You’ll be all right, dearie,” he said gently.
He opened his saddlebags and took out a thick rope covered with blue velvet and looped at either end. On the velvet hundreds of little pink flowers were embroidered. “Liza sent you her pulling rope to use,” he said. “She made it when our first-born was preparing. What with our children and friends’, this rope has pulled a great number of people into the world.” He slipped one of the loops over each of the footposts of the bed.
Suddenly her eyes glazed and her back arched like a spring and the blood started to her cheeks. He waited for her cry or scream and looked apprehensively at the closed door. But there was no scream—only a series of grunting squeals. After a few seconds her body relaxed and the hatefulness was back in her face.
The labor struck again. “There’s a dear,” he said soothingly. “Was it one or two? I don’t know. The more you see, the more you learn no two are alike. I’d better get my hands washed.”
Her head threshed from side to side. “Good, good, my darling,” he said. “I think it won’t be long till your baby’s here.” He put his hand on her forehead where her scar showed dark and angry. “How did you get the hurt on your head?” he asked.