help no less important to me, for it was
a sharp spur with which he continued to prod us.

CHAPTER VII

MY SECOND PERIL

We always thank God for men like Purvis: we never thank them. They are
without honor in their own time, but how they brighten the pages of
memory! How they stimulated the cheerfulness of the old countryside and
broke up its natural reticence!

Mr. Franklin Purvis was our hired man--an undersized bachelor. He had a
Roman nose, a face so slim that it would command interest and attention
in any company, and a serious look enhanced by a bristling mustache and
a retreating chin. At first and on account of his size I had no very
high opinion of Mr. Purvis. That first evening after his arrival I sat
with him on the porch surveying him inside and out.

"You don't look very stout," I said.

"I ain't as big as some, but I'm all gristle from my head to my heels,
inside an' out," he answered.

I surveyed him again as he sat looking at the ledges. He was not more
than a head taller than I, but if he were "all gristle" he might be
entitled to respect and I was glad to learn of his hidden
resources--glad and a bit apprehensive as they began to develop.

"I'm as full o' gristle as a goose's leg," he went on. "God never made a
man who could do more damage when he lets go of himself an' do it
faster. There ain't no use o' talkin'."

There being no use of talking, our new hired man continued to talk while
I listened with breathless interest and growing respect. He took a chew
of tobacco and squinted his eyes and seemed to be studying the wooded
rock ledges across the road as he went on:

"You'll find me wide awake, I _guess_. I ain't afraid o' anythin' but
lightnin'--no, sir!--an' I can hurt hard an' do it rapid when I begin,
but I can be jest as harmless as a kitten. There ain't no man that can
be more harmlesser when he wants to be an' there's any decent chance for
it--none whatsomever! No, sir! I'd rather be harmless than not--a good
deal."

This relieved, and was no doubt calculated to relieve, a feeling of
insecurity which his talk had inspired. He blew out his breath and
shifted his quid as he sat with his elbows resting on his knees and took
another look at the ledges as if considering how much of his strength
would be required to move them.

"Have you ever hurt anybody?" I asked.

"Several," he answered.

"Did you kill 'em?"

"No, I never let myself go too fur. Bein' so stout, I have