House Divided Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    â€œI don’t care why you do it, so you do.”
    â€œWell I ain’t a-going to do it. I keep a-telling you!”
    â€œTelling won’t stop me. I’m keeping at you, Lucy, till you do.”
    Scorn that was half terror swept her. “You’re a fine one, letting on to be sweet on me and then getting the jury to do this!”
    â€œIf I had a young one that was cutting up, I’d take a switch to it, but I’d go on loving it all the time.”
    â€œWhat do you want of me anyway? I’m every man’s woman! Ain’t you man enough to find a woman of your own?”
    â€œI aim to see to it you’re my own, soon or late.”
    His steady persistence made her wish to wound him, and she knew the way. “You don’t have to marry me, Henry. I’ve told you so. And anybody’ll tell you how nice I can be.”
    But she said this once too often. His blow spun her around and knocked her off her feet; above her he stood black with sober wrath.
    â€œMind your tongue. You go too far with me.”
    She sprang up, his death in her eyes. “If I had a gun, or anything—” Then at last she was sobbing in his arms. “Oh, Henry, I can’t best you. I’ve tried to make you mad, and I’ve tried everything, but you just keep on being good and kind.”
    â€œI’ll always be good to you.”
    â€œYou’re a good man. I wouldn’t let you marry a woman like me!”
    â€œI’ll resk it.” Her tears choked her. “Go on and cry, Lucy. Cry all you want. It’ll do you good. You’ve had hard years to cry away.”
    â€œI’ll be in jail!”
    â€œYou won’t have to go to jail if you’ll say you’ll marry me. I’ll give bond for a license and show the court and that’s the end of it.”
    â€œI won’t do it to you, Henry. Folks would always remember the way I been, always keep saying it to you.”
    â€œYou can show ‘em different, Lucy. We’ll give bond for the license, and tell the court, and then we’ll wait. I’m not a hand to hurry. We’ll wait till you come and say to me, ‘Henry, I can be a good wife to you.’ We’ll wait till you’ve showed them the true kind of woman you are.”
    So at last she surrendered. “What do we have to do?”

    â€œYou write a paper that you’ll marry me, so I can show it to the court. I’ll do everything after that.”
    â€œDo I write it right now?”
    â€œThere has to be someone see you do it. I’ll bring someone tonight. You can write it then, for them to sign.”
    He brought Bob Mitchell and John Berry; and while they stood by he gave her a quill and paper. “Here’s what you want to put, Lucy. I’ll read it off to you.” He read slowly, while she wrote: “‘I do certify that I am of age, and give my approbation freely for——’”
    Lucy interrupted: “How do you spell ‘approbation’?” He told her, and she said: “Oh, I went and put an ‘s’ instead of a ‘t’.” She scratched out the word, wrote it afresh. He went on:
    â€œâ€˜â€”give my approbation freely for Henry Sparrow to git out a license.’ ”
    He paused and when she had written this much she asked: “Is that all?”
    â€œAll the main part, only ‘given under my hand this day’ and sign your name.”
    She began to write, and stopped, and looked up at him, suddenly radiant with smiling eyes; and then she finished with a stumbling, hasting pen. “Bother, I ran out of ink! There ’tis, Henry.”
    He took the slip of paper and read aloud, for Bob Mitchell and John Berry to hear. “‘I do certify that I am of age and give my approbation freely for Henry Sparrow to git out a license this or any other day.’ ”
    She laughed, her cheeks bright. “I put that in because