G\u00f6lgeler yine \u00e7amlar\u0131n \u00fczerinden uzuyordu ve yine iki adam New England plakal\u0131 bir arabada eski yol boyunca t\u00fcmseklere bata \u00e7\u0131ka ilerliyordu. Arabay\u0131 Buckner kullan\u0131yordu. Griswell’in sinirleri, direksiyonda kendine g\u00fcvenemeyecek kadar parampar\u00e7a haldeydi. Bitkin ve yorgun g\u00f6r\u00fcn\u00fcyordu, y\u00fcz\u00fc de hala soluktu. \u0130l\u00e7e merkezinde ge\u00e7en g\u00fcn\u00fcn gerginli\u011fi, ruhunda bir ifritin g\u00f6lgesi gibi dolanan deh\u015fete de eklenmi\u015fti. Ne yedi\u011finden anlam\u0131\u015ft\u0131 ne de uyuyabilmi\u015fti.<\/p>\n
Buckner, “Sana Blassenvill’lerden bahsedece\u011fimi s\u00f6ylemi\u015ftim.” dedi. “Gururlu insanlard\u0131, kibirli ve kendi bildiklerini yaparken de olduk\u00e7a ac\u0131mas\u0131zlard\u0131. K\u00f6lelerine di\u011fer s\u00f6m\u00fcrgeciler gibi davranmad\u0131lar, Bat\u0131 Hint Adalar\u0131’nda ki zihniyetle hareket ettiler diye san\u0131yorum. \u0130\u00e7lerine i\u015flemi\u015f bir zul\u00fcm vard\u0131, \u00f6zellikle bu zamana kadar gelen ailenin son \u00fcyesi Bayan Celia’da. Bu k\u00f6lelerin \u00f6zg\u00fcr b\u0131rak\u0131lmas\u0131ndan \u00e7ok sonrayd\u0131, fakat ya\u015fl\u0131lar melez hizmet\u00e7iyi sanki bir k\u00f6leymi\u015f gibi k\u0131rba\u00e7lad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6yler. Zenciler, bir Blassenville \u00f6ld\u00fc\u011f\u00fcnde iblisin karanl\u0131k \u00e7amlar\u0131n ard\u0131na onu bekledi\u011fini s\u00f6yler.<\/p>\n
\u0130\u00e7 sava\u015ftan sonra h\u0131zl\u0131 bir bi\u00e7imde \u00f6ld\u00fcler, harap olmaya m\u00fcsade edilen \u00e7iftlikte yoksulluk i\u00e7inde ya\u015fad\u0131lar. Sonunda sadece d\u00f6rt k\u0131z kald\u0131, eski evde, k\u00f6le barakalar\u0131nda ya\u015fayan ve tarlalarda \u00e7al\u0131\u015fan birka\u00e7 zenciyle birlikte k\u0131t kanat ge\u00e7iniyorlard\u0131. Fazlas\u0131yla ma\u011frurdular ve yoksulluklar\u0131ndan dolay\u0131 utan\u00e7 i\u00e7indeydiler. \u0130nsanlar onlar\u0131 aylarca g\u00f6remezdi. Erzak ihtiya\u00e7lar\u0131 oldu\u011funda pe\u015flerinden bir zenci g\u00f6nderirlerdi.<\/p>\n
Ama Bayan Celia onlarla ya\u015famaya ba\u015flad\u0131\u011f\u0131nda fark\u0131na vard\u0131lar. Bat\u0131 Hint Adalar\u0131n\u0131n bir yerinden gelmi\u015fti, b\u00fct\u00fcn ailenin soyu oraya dayan\u0131yor, g\u00fczel, etkileyici bir kad\u0131n, otuzlar\u0131n\u0131n ba\u015flar\u0131nda diyorlar. Ama k\u0131zlar gibi halk\u0131n aras\u0131na pek kar\u0131\u015fmad\u0131. Yan\u0131nda bir melez hizmet\u00e7i getirdi ve Blassenville zulm\u00fc bu hizmet\u00e7iye yapt\u0131\u011f\u0131 muameleyle ortaya \u00e7\u0131kt\u0131. Y\u0131llar \u00f6ncesinden ya\u015fl\u0131 bir adam tan\u0131yordum, Bayan Celia’y\u0131 bu k\u0131z\u0131 tamamen \u00e7\u0131plak halde bir a\u011faca ba\u011flay\u0131p kam\u00e7\u0131yla k\u0131rba\u00e7lad\u0131\u011f\u0131na dair yeminler etmi\u015fti. Kayboldu\u011funda kimse \u015fa\u015f\u0131rmam\u0131\u015f. Herkes onun en nihayetinde ka\u00e7t\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcnm\u00fc\u015ft\u00fc.<\/p>\n
1890’\u0131n bahar\u0131nda bir g\u00fcn, Bayan Elizabeth en k\u00fc\u00e7\u00fckleri, belki de y\u0131l i\u00e7inde ilk defa \u015fehre gelmi\u015f.\u00a0 Erzak i\u00e7in gelmi\u015f. B\u00fct\u00fcn zencilerin terk etti\u011fini s\u00f6ylemi\u015f. Biraz daha anlatm\u0131\u015f. Bayan Celia’n\u0131n tek bir kelime dahi etmeden gitti\u011fini s\u00f6ylemi\u015f. K\u0131z karde\u015fleri halalar\u0131n\u0131n Bat\u0131 Hint Adalar\u0131na geri d\u00f6nd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcn\u00fc d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcn\u00fcyormu\u015f ama o halalar\u0131n\u0131n hala evde oldu\u011funa inan\u0131yormu\u015f. Neyi kastetti\u011fini s\u00f6ylememi\u015f ama sadece erzaklar\u0131n\u0131 al\u0131r ve malik\u00e2ne i\u00e7in d\u0131\u015far\u0131 \u00e7\u0131karm\u0131\u015f.<\/p>\n
Bir ay sonra bir zenci kasabaya gelip Bayan Elizabeth’in malikanede yaln\u0131z ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6ylemi\u015f. \u00dc\u00e7 k\u0131z karde\u015fin art\u0131k orada olmad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131, ne bir kelime s\u00f6yleyip ne de bir a\u00e7\u0131klama yapmadan tek tek gittiklerini anlatm\u0131\u015f. Nereye gittiklerini bilmiyormu\u015f ve orada yaln\u0131z kalmaktan korkuyormu\u015f ama nereye gidece\u011fini de bilemiyormu\u015f. Malikane d\u0131\u015f\u0131nda pek bir yer g\u00f6rmemi\u015fti, ne bir akrabas\u0131 ne de bir arkada\u015f\u0131 vard\u0131. Fakat \u00f6ld\u00fcr\u00fcc\u00fc bir korkunun i\u00e7indeymi\u015f. Zenci gece kendini odas\u0131na kilitledi\u011fini ve b\u00fct\u00fcn gece mumlar\u0131n yand\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6ylemi\u015f…<\/p>\n
F\u0131rt\u0131nal\u0131 bir bahar gecesiydi, Bayan Elizabeth korkudan \u00f6lmek \u00fczereyken sahip oldu\u011fu tek atla \u015fehre sald\u0131r\u0131r gibi girmi\u015f. Meydanda at\u0131ndan d\u00fc\u015fm\u00fc\u015f konu\u015fabildi\u011finde ise malik\u00e2nede y\u00fczy\u0131llard\u0131r unutulmu\u015f bir oda buldu\u011funu s\u00f6yleyebilmi\u015f. Ve orada \u00fc\u00e7 k\u0131z karde\u015finin \u00f6l\u00fc bedenini buldu\u011funu anlatm\u0131\u015f, boyunlar\u0131ndan tavana as\u0131l\u0131 haldelermi\u015f. Bir \u015feyin onu kovalad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 ve \u00f6n kap\u0131dan \u00e7\u0131karken neredeyse kafas\u0131n\u0131 baltayla par\u00e7alad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6ylemi\u015f ama bir \u015fekilde at\u0131na binip ka\u00e7abilmi\u015f. Korkudan neredeyse \u00e7\u0131ld\u0131rm\u0131\u015f ve onu neyin kovalad\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 bilmiyormu\u015f, soluk benizli bir kad\u0131n oldu\u011funu s\u00f6ylemi\u015f.<\/p>\n
Yakla\u015f\u0131k y\u00fcz ki\u015fi direk oraya ak\u0131n etti. Evin alt\u0131n\u0131 \u00fcst\u00fcn\u00fc arad\u0131lar ama ne oday\u0131 ne de karde\u015flerin cesetlerini bulabildiler. Fakat alt katta ki kap\u0131n\u0131n pervaz\u0131na saplanm\u0131\u015f bir balta buldular, t\u0131pk\u0131 anlatt\u0131\u011f\u0131 gibi Bayan Elizabeth’in sa\u00e7lar\u0131 \u00fcst\u00fcndeymi\u015f. Oraya tekrar gidip o gizli oday\u0131 onlara g\u00f6stermeyi kesinlikle reddetmi\u015f ve bunu teklif ettiklerinde neredeyse \u00e7\u0131ld\u0131rm\u0131\u015f.<\/p>\n
Gitme zaman\u0131 geldi\u011finde, insanlar biraz para toplay\u0131p ona \u00f6d\u00fcn\u00e7 vermi\u015f, ba\u011f\u0131\u015f\u0131 kabul ederken hala \u00e7ok ma\u011frurmu\u015f ve Kaliforniya’ya gitmi\u015f. Bir daha da d\u00f6nmemi\u015f ama sonra ona \u00f6d\u00fcn\u00e7 verilen paray\u0131 geri verirken \u00f6\u011frenmi\u015fler ki orada evlenmi\u015f.<\/p>\n
Kimse evi sat\u0131n almad\u0131… Orada \u00f6ylece b\u0131rakt\u0131\u011f\u0131 gibi duruyor, y\u0131llar ge\u00e7tik\u00e7e insanlar b\u00fct\u00fcn mobilyalar\u0131 \u00e7alm\u0131\u015flar, zavall\u0131 beyaz d\u00f6k\u00fcnt\u00fc. Bir zenci \u00f6yle bir \u015feyi denemedi bile. Ama g\u00fcne\u015f do\u011fduktan sonra oradan ge\u00e7er ve g\u00fcn bat\u0131m\u0131ndan epey \u00f6nce oradan ayr\u0131l\u0131rlar.”<\/p>\n
“\u0130nsanlar Bayan Elizabeth’in hikayesi i\u00e7in ne d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcnm\u00fc\u015fler peki?” diye sordu Griswell.<\/p>\n
“Eh, \u00e7o\u011fu onun o eski evde yaln\u0131z ya\u015farken biraz \u00e7\u0131ld\u0131rd\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcnd\u00fc. Ama baz\u0131lar\u0131 melez k\u0131z Joan’\u0131n oray\u0131 terk etmedi\u011fine inand\u0131. Ormanda sakland\u0131\u011f\u0131na ve Bayan Celia ve \u00fc\u00e7 k\u0131z\u0131 \u00f6ld\u00fcrerek Blassenvilles’e olan nefretini doyurdu\u011funa inand\u0131lar. Orman\u0131 taz\u0131larla ar\u015f\u0131nlad\u0131lar fakat ondan bir iz bulamad\u0131lar. E\u011fer b\u00f6yle bir ihtimal olsayd\u0131 ve evin gizli bir oda varsa orada saklan\u0131yordur.”<\/p>\n
Griswell, “Bunca y\u0131l orada saklanm\u0131\u015f olmaz,” diye m\u0131r\u0131ldand\u0131. “Her neyse, evdeki o \u015fey \u015fu an insan de\u011fil.”<\/p>\n
Buckner direksiyonu ana yoldan ayr\u0131lan ve \u00e7amlar\u0131n i\u00e7inden dolanan izbe bir yola k\u0131rd\u0131.<\/p>\n
“Nereye gidiyorsun?”<\/p>\n
“Bu yoldan birka\u00e7 kilometre uzakta ya\u015fayan bir zenci var. Onunla konu\u015fmak istiyorum. Beyaz adam\u0131n hislerinden daha fazlas\u0131n\u0131 gerektiren bir \u015feyle kar\u015f\u0131 kar\u015f\u0131yay\u0131z. Zenciler baz\u0131 \u015feyleri bizden daha iyi bilirler. Bu ya\u015fl\u0131 herif neredeyse y\u00fcz ya\u015f\u0131nda. Efendisi onu \u00e7ocukken e\u011fitmi\u015f ve \u00f6zg\u00fcr b\u0131rak\u0131ld\u0131ktan sonra \u00e7o\u011fu beyazdan daha \u00e7ok gezdi. Onun bir b\u00fcy\u00fcc\u00fc oldu\u011fu s\u00f6ylenir.”<\/p>\n
Griswell bu ifade kar\u015f\u0131s\u0131nda titredi, onlar\u0131 k\u0131st\u0131ran bu ye\u015fil ormandan duvarlara huzursuzca bakt\u0131. \u00c7amlar\u0131n kokusu, hi\u00e7 bilmedi\u011fi \u00e7i\u00e7eklerin kokular\u0131na kar\u0131\u015fm\u0131\u015ft\u0131. Fakat bunlar\u0131n alt\u0131nda \u00e7\u00fcr\u00fcme kokular\u0131 vard\u0131. Tekrardan bu karanl\u0131k gizemli orman\u0131n nefreti onu ala\u015fa\u011f\u0131 etti.<\/p>\n
“B\u00fcy\u00fc!” diye m\u0131r\u0131ldand\u0131. “Bunu unutmu\u015fum, G\u00fcney ile kara b\u00fcy\u00fcy\u00fc asla bir arada d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcnememi\u015fim.\u00a0 Bana g\u00f6re b\u00fcy\u00fcc\u00fcl\u00fck her zaman Salem’de cad\u0131lar\u0131 asarken sahil kasabalar\u0131ndaki eski \u00e7arp\u0131k sokaklarda eski be\u015fik \u00e7at\u0131lardayd\u0131, kara kedilerin ve di\u011fer \u015feylerin geceleri \u00e7alabilecekleri karanl\u0131k k\u00fcfl\u00fc sokaklar. B\u00fcy\u00fcc\u00fcl\u00fck New England’\u0131n eski kasabalar\u0131yd\u0131 ama b\u00fct\u00fcn bunlar New England efsanelerinden daha korkun\u00e7, bu kasvetli \u00e7amlar, terk edilmi\u015f eski evler, kay\u0131p tarlalar, gizemli zenciler, eski \u00e7\u0131lg\u0131n ve korkun\u00e7 hik\u00e2yeler, Tanr\u0131m bu topraklar ne \u00e7ok korkun\u00e7, deh\u015fet verici hik\u00e2yeler geziyor, aptallar da buna ‘macera’ ! diyor.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“\u0130\u015fte ya\u015fl\u0131 Jackob’un kul\u00fcbesi,” diye bildirdi ve arabay\u0131 durdurdu Buckner.<\/p>\n
Griswell, b\u00fcy\u00fck a\u011fa\u00e7lar\u0131n g\u00f6lgesi alt\u0131nda kurulan bir kul\u00fcbe ve a\u00e7\u0131kl\u0131k g\u00f6rd\u00fc. \u00c7amlar\u0131n yerini gri yosunlar\u0131n kaplad\u0131\u011f\u0131 me\u015feler ve selviler ald\u0131, kul\u00fcbenin arkas\u0131nda bo\u011fuk a\u011fa\u00e7lar\u0131n alt\u0131na ka\u00e7an, ota bo\u011fulmu\u015f bir batakl\u0131k yat\u0131yordu. \u0130nce ve zay\u0131f bir mavi duman \u00e7ubuklarla sabitlenen toprak bacadan k\u0131vr\u0131l\u0131yordu.<\/p>\n
Buckner’\u0131 k\u00fc\u00e7\u00fck verandaya kadar takip etti, \u015ferif deri mente\u015feli kap\u0131y\u0131 itti ve i\u00e7eri girdi. Griswell g\u00f6zlerini mekan\u0131n karanl\u0131\u011f\u0131nda k\u0131p\u0131\u015ft\u0131rd\u0131. K\u00fc\u00e7\u00fcc\u00fck bir pencere g\u00fcn \u0131\u015f\u0131\u011f\u0131 getiriyordu. Ya\u015fl\u0131 bir zenci oca\u011f\u0131n yan\u0131nda \u00e7\u00f6melmi\u015f, ate\u015fin \u00fczerindeki yahnisini izliyordu. \u0130\u00e7eri girdiklerinde g\u00f6zlerini onlara \u00e7evirdi ama kalkmad\u0131. \u0130nan\u0131lmaz derecede ya\u015fl\u0131 g\u00f6r\u00fcn\u00fcyordu. Y\u00fcz\u00fc k\u0131r\u0131\u015f\u0131klarla doluydu, g\u00f6zleri karanl\u0131k ve canl\u0131yd\u0131, zaman zaman zihni dolan\u0131yormu\u015f gibi \u00e7ekildi.<\/p>\n
Buckner, Griswell’e bir sandalyeye oturmas\u0131 i\u00e7in i\u015faret etti kendisi de ya\u015fl\u0131 adama bakacak \u015fekilde oca\u011f\u0131n yan\u0131nda kabaca yap\u0131lm\u0131\u015f olan banka oturdu.<\/p>\n
“Jacob”, dedi a\u00e7\u0131k\u00e7a, “seninle konu\u015fma vaktimiz geldi. Blassenville Malikanesinin s\u0131rr\u0131n\u0131 bildi\u011fini biliyorum. Seni bunun i\u00e7in hi\u00e7 sorgulamad\u0131m \u00e7\u00fcnk\u00fc benim s\u0131n\u0131rlar\u0131mda de\u011fildi. Ama d\u00fcn gece bir adam \u00f6ld\u00fcr\u00fcld\u00fc ve bu adam bunun i\u00e7in dar a\u011fac\u0131na gidebilir, tabii sen bana Blssenvilles’e musallat olan \u015feyin ne oldu\u011funu s\u00f6ylemezsen.<\/p>\n
Ya\u015fl\u0131 adam\u0131n g\u00f6zleri parlad\u0131 ve y\u00fczy\u0131ll\u0131k bulutlar k\u0131r\u0131lgan zihnine s\u00fcr\u00fckleniyormu\u015f gibi puslu puslu b\u00fcy\u00fcd\u00fc.<\/p>\n
“Blassenvilles”, diye m\u0131r\u0131ldand\u0131, sesi a\u011f\u0131r ve yo\u011fundu, konu\u015fmas\u0131 b\u00f6lge halk\u0131n\u0131n a\u011fz\u0131na benzemiyordu. “Gururlu insanlard\u0131 efendiler, gururlu ve ac\u0131mas\u0131zlard\u0131. Kimisi sava\u015fta \u00f6ld\u00fc, kimi d\u00fcellolarda \u00f6ld\u00fcr\u00fcld\u00fc- erkek hizmet\u00e7ilerle olan d\u00fcellolar, efendiler. Kimileri Malikanede \u00f6ld\u00fc- eski Malikane’de-” sesi anla\u015f\u0131lmayan m\u0131r\u0131lt\u0131lara d\u00f6nm\u00fc\u015ft\u00fc.<\/p>\n
“Malikane ne?” diye sab\u0131rla sordu Buckner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\t\n
Again the shadows were lengthening over the pinelands, and again two men came bumping along the old road in a car with a New England license plate. Buckner was driving. Griswell’s nerves were too shattered for him to trust himself at the wheel. He looked gaunt and haggard, and his face was still pallid. The strain of the day spent at the county-seat was added to the horror that still rode his soul like the shadow of a black-winged vulture. He had not slept, had not tasted what he had eaten.<\/p>\n
“I told you I’d tell you about the Blassenvilles,” said Buckner. “They were proud folks, haughty, and pretty damn ruthless when they wanted their way. They didn’t treat their slaves as well as the other planters did-got their ideas in the West Indies, I reckon. There was a streak of cruelty in them-especially Miss Celia, the last one of the family to come to these parts. That was long after the slaves had been freed, but she used to whip her mulatto maid just like she was a slave, the old folks say… The Negroes said when a Blassenville died, the devil was always waitin’ for him out in the black pines.<\/p>\n
Well, after the Civil War they died off pretty fast, livin’ in poverty on the plantation which was allowed to go to ruin. Finally only four girls were left, sisters, livin’ in the old house and ekin’ out a bare livin’, with a few blacks livin’ in the old slave huts and workin’ the fields on the share. They kept to themselves, bein’ proud, and ashamed of their poverty. Folks wouldn’t see them for months at a time. When they needed supplies they sent a Negro to town after them.<\/p>\n
But folks knew about it when Miss Celia came to live with them. She came from somewhere in the West Indies, where the whole family originally had its roots-a fine, handsome woman, they say, in the early thirties. But she didn’t mix with folks any more than the girls did. She brought a mulatto maid with her, and the Blassenville cruelty cropped out in her treatment of this maid. I knew an old man years ago, who swore he saw Miss Celia tie this girl up to a tree, stark naked, and whip her with a horsewhip. Nobody was surprised when she disappeared. Everybody figured she’d run away, of course.<\/p>\n
Well, one day in the spring of 1890 Miss Elizabeth, the youngest girl, came in to town for the first time in maybe a year. She came after supplies. Said the blacks had all left the place. Talked a little more, too, a bit wild. Said Miss Celia had gone, without leaving any word. Said her sisters thought she’d gone back to the West Indies, but she believed her aunt was still in the house. She didn’t say what she meant. Just got her supplies and pulled out for the Manor.<\/p>\n
A month went past, and a black came into town and said that Miss Elizabeth was livin’ at the Manor alone. Said her three sisters weren’t there any more, that they’d left one by one without givin’ any word or explanation. She didn’t know where they’d gone, and was afraid to stay there alone, but didn’t know where else to go. She’d never known anything but the Manor, and had neither relatives nor friends. But she was in mortal terror of something. The black said she locked herself in her room at night and kept candles burnin’ all night…<\/p>\n
It was a stormy spring night when Miss Elizabeth came tearin’ into town on the one horse she owned, nearly dead from fright. She fell from her horse in the square; when she could talk she said she’d found a secret room in the Manor that had been forgotten for a hundred years. And she said that there she found her three sisters, dead, and hangin’ by their necks from the ceilin’. She said something chased her and nearly brained her with an ax as she ran out the front door, but somehow she got to the horse and got away. She was nearly crazy with fear, and didn’t know what it was that chased her-said it looked like a woman with a yellow face.<\/p>\n
About a hundred men rode out there, right away. They searched the house from top to bottom, but they didn’t find any secret room, or the remains of the sisters. But they did find a hatchet stickin’ in the doorjamb downstairs, with some of Miss Elizabeth’s hairs stuck on it, just as she’d said. She wouldn’t go back there and show them how to find the secret door; almost went crazy when they suggested it.<\/p>\n
When she was able to travel, the people made up some money and loaned it to her-she was still too proud to accept charity-and she went to California. She never came back, but later it was learned, when she sent back to repay the money they’d loaned her, that she’d married out there.<\/p>\n
Nobody ever bought the house. It stood there just as she’d left it, and as the years passed folks stole all the furnishings out of it, poor white trash, I reckon. A Negro wouldn’t go about it. But they came after sunup and left long before sundown.”<\/p>\n
“What did the people think about Miss Elizabeth’s story?” asked Griswell.<\/p>\n
“Well, most folks thought she’d gone a little crazy, livin’ in that old house alone. But some people believed that mulatto girl, Joan, didn’t run away, after all. They believed she’d hidden in the woods, and glutted her hatred of the Blassenvilles by murderin’ Miss Celia and the three girls. They beat up the woods with bloodhounds, but never found a trace of her. If there was a secret room in the house, she might have been hidin’ there-if there was anything to that theory.”<\/p>\n
“She couldn’t have been hiding there all these years,” muttered Griswell. “Anyway, the thing in the house now isn’t human.”<\/p>\n
Buckner wrenched the wheel around and turned into a dim trace that left the main road and meandered off through the pines.<\/p>\n
“Where are you going?”<\/p>\n
“There’s an old Negro that lives off this way a few miles. I want to talk to him. We’re up against something that takes more than white man’s sense. The black people know more than we do about some things. This old man is nearly a hundred years old. His master educated him when he was a boy, and after he was freed he traveled more extensively than most white men do. They say he’s a voodoo man.”<\/p>\n
Griswell shivered at the phrase, staring uneasily at the green forest walls that shut them in. The scent of the pines was mingled with the odors of unfamiliar plants and blossoms. But underlying all was a reek of rot and decay. Again a sick abhorrence of these dark mysterious woodlands almost overpowered him.<\/p>\n
“Voodoo!” he muttered. “I’d forgotten about that-I never could think of black magic in connection with the South. To me witchcraft was always associated with old crooked streets in waterfront towns, overhung by gabled roofs that were old when they were hanging witches in Salem; dark musty alleys where black cats and other things might steal at night. Witchcraft always meant the old towns of New England, to me-but all this is more terrible than any New England legend-these somber pines, old deserted houses, lost plantations, mysterious black people, old tales of madness and horror-God, what frightful, ancient terrors there are on this continent fools call ‘young’!”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Here’s old Jacob’s hut,” announced Buckner, bringing the automobile to a halt.<\/p>\n
Griswell saw a clearing and a small cabin squatting under the shadows of the huge trees. The pines gave way to oaks and cypresses, bearded with gray trailing moss, and behind the cabin lay the edge of a swamp that ran away under the dimness of the trees, choked with rank vegetation. A thin wisp of blue smoke curled up from the stick-and-mud chimney.<\/p>\n
He followed Buckner to the tiny stoop, where the sheriff pushed open the leather-hinged door and strode in. Griswell blinked in the comparative dimness of the interior. A single small window let in a little daylight. An old Negro crouched beside the hearth, watching a pot stew over the open fire. He looked up as they entered, but did not rise. He seemed incredibly old. His face was a mass of wrinkles, and his eyes, dark and vital, were filmed momentarily at times as if his mind wandered.<\/p>\n
Buckner motioned Griswell to sit down in a string-bottomed chair, and himself took a rudely-made bench near the hearth, facing the old man.<\/p>\n
“Jacob,” he said bluntly, “the time’s come for you to talk. I know you know the secret of Blassenville Manor. I’ve never questioned you about it, because it wasn’t in my line. But a man was murdered there last night, and this man here may hang for it, unless you tell me what haunts that old house of the Blassenvilles.”<\/p>\n
The old man’s eyes gleamed, then grew misty as if clouds of extreme age drifted across his brittle mind.<\/p>\n
“The Blassenvilles,” he murmured, and his voice was mellow and rich, his speech not the patois of the piny woods darky. “They were proud people, sirs-proud and cruel. Some died in the war, some were killed in duels-the menfolks, sirs. Some died in the Manor-the old Manor-” His voice trailed off into unintelligible mumblings.<\/p>\n
“What of the Manor?” asked Buckner patiently.<\/p>\n
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