The Mysterious Stranger, and Other Stories
“First, we all counted the piles of coin, each in turn, and all made it
the same--eleven hundred and six. But I had slipped one out, for fun,
when the count began, and now I slipped it back and said, 'I think there
is a mistake--there are eleven hundred and seven; let us count again.'
We did, and of course I was right. They were astonished; then I told how
it came about.”
The astrologer asked us if this was so, and we said it was.
“That settles it,” he said. “I know the thief now. Lads, the money was
stolen.”
Then he went away, leaving us very much troubled, and wondering what he
could mean. In about an hour we found out; for by that time it was all
over the village that Father Peter had been arrested for stealing a
great sum of money from the astrologer. Everybody's tongue was loose and
going. Many said it was not in Father Peter's character and must be a
mistake; but the others shook their heads and said misery and want could
drive a suffering man to almost anything. About one detail there were
no differences; all agreed that Father Peter's account of how the
money came into his hands was just about unbelievable--it had such an
impossible look. They said it might have come into the astrologer's
hands in some such way, but into Father Peter's, never! Our characters
began to suffer now. We were Father Peter's only witnesses; how much
did he probably pay us to back up his fantastic tale? People talked that
kind of talk to us pretty freely and frankly, and were full of scoffings
when we begged them to believe really we had told only the truth. Our
parents were harder on us than any one else. Our fathers said we were
disgracing our families, and they commanded us to purge ourselves of our
lie, and there was no limit to their anger when we continued to say we
had spoken true. Our mothers cried over us and begged us to give back
our bribe and get back our honest names and save our families from
shame, and come out and honorably confess. And at last we were so
worried and harassed that we tried to tell the whole thing, Satan and
all--but no, it wouldn't come out. We were hoping and longing all the
time that Satan would come and help us out of our trouble, but there was
no sign of him.
Within an hour after the astrologer's talk with us, Father Peter was in
prison and the money sealed up and in the hands of the officers of the
law. The money was in a bag, and Solomon Isaacs said he had not touched
it since he had counted it; his oath was taken that it was the same
money, and that the amount was eleven hundred and seven ducats. Father
Peter claimed trial by the ecclesiastical court, but our other priest,
Father Adolf, said an ecclesiastical court hadn't jurisdiction over a
suspended priest. The bishop upheld him. That settled it; the case would
go to trial in the civil court. The court would not sit for some time to
come. Wilhelm Meidling would be Father Peter's lawyer and do the best he
could, of course, but he told us privately that a weak case on his side
and all the power and prejudice on the other made the outlook bad.
So Marget's new happiness died a quick death. No friends came to
condole with her, and none were expected; an unsigned note withdrew her
invitation to the party. There would be no scholars to take lessons.
How could she support herself? She could remain in the house, for the
mortgage was paid off, though the government and not poor Solomon Isaacs
had the mortgage-money in its grip for the present. Old Ursula, who
was cook, chambermaid, housekeeper, laundress, and everything else for
Father Peter, and had been Marget's nurse in earlier years, said
God would provide. But she said that from habit, for she was a good
Christian. She meant to help in the providing, to make sure, if she
could find a way.
We boys wanted to go and see Marget and show friendliness for her, but
our parents were afraid of offending the community and wouldn't let
us. The astrologer was going around inflaming everybody against Father
Peter, and saying he was an abandoned thief and had stolen eleven
hundred and seven gold ducats from him. He said he knew he was a thief
from that fact, for it was exactly the sum he had lost and which Father
Peter pretended he had “found.”
In the afternoon of the fourth day after the catastrophe old Ursula
appeared at our house and asked for some washing to do, and begged my
mother to keep this secret, to save Marget's pride, who would stop this
project if she found it out, yet Marget had not enough to eat and was
growing weak. Ursula was growing weak herself, and showed it; and she
ate of the food that was offered her like a starving person, but could
not be persuaded to carry any home, for Marget would not eat charity
food. She took some clothes down to the stream to wash them, but we saw
from the window that handling the bat was too much for her strength;
so she was called back and a trifle of money offered her, which she was
afraid to take lest Marget should suspect; then she took it, saying she
would explain that she found it in the road. To keep it from being a lie
and damning her soul, she got me to drop it while she watched; then she
went along by there and found it, and exclaimed with surprise and joy,
and picked it up and went her way. Like the rest of the village, she
could tell every-day lies fast enough and without taking any precautions
against fire and brimstone on their account; but this was a new kind of
lie, and it had a dangerous look because she hadn't had any practice in
it. After a week's practice it wouldn't have given her any trouble. It
is the way we are made.
I was in trouble, for how would Marget live? Ursula could not find a
coin in the road every day--perhaps not even a second one. And I was
ashamed, too, for not having been near Marget, and she so in need of
friends; but that was my parents' fault, not mine, and I couldn't help
it.
I was walking along the path, feeling very down-hearted, when a most
cheery and tingling freshening-up sensation went rippling through me,
and I was too glad for any words, for I knew by that sign that Satan was
by. I had noticed it before. Next moment he was alongside of me and I
was telling him all my trouble and what had been happening to Marget and
her uncle. While we were talking we turned a curve and saw old Ursula
resting in the shade of a tree, and she had a lean stray kitten in her
lap and was petting it. I asked her where she got it, and she said it
came out of the woods and followed her; and she said it probably hadn't
any mother or any friends and she was going to take it home and take
care of it. Satan said:
“I understand you are very poor. Why do you want to add another mouth to
feed? Why don't you give it to some rich person?”
Ursula bridled at this and said: “Perhaps you would like to have it. You
must be rich, with your fine clothes and quality airs.” Then she sniffed
and said: “Give it to the rich--the idea! The rich don't care for
anybody but themselves; it's only the poor that have feeling for
the poor, and help them. The poor and God. God will provide for this
kitten.”
“What makes you think so?”
Ursula's eyes snapped with anger. “Because I know it!” she said. “Not a
sparrow falls to the ground without His seeing it.”
“But it falls, just the same. What good is seeing it fall?”
Old Ursula's jaws worked, but she could not get any word out for the
moment, she was so horrified. When she got her tongue, she stormed out,
“Go about your business, you puppy, or I will take a stick to you!”
I could not speak, I was so scared. I knew that with his notions about
the human race Satan would consider it a matter of no consequence to
strike her dead, there being “plenty more”; but my tongue stood still,
I could give her no warning. But nothing happened; Satan remained
tranquil--tranquil and indifferent. I suppose he could not be insulted
by Ursula any more than the king could be insulted by a tumble-bug. The
old woman jumped to her feet when she made her remark, and did it as
briskly as a young girl. It had been many years since she had done the
like of that. That was Satan's influence; he was a fresh breeze to the
weak and the sick, wherever he came. His presence affected even the lean
kitten, and it skipped to the ground and began to chase a leaf. This
surprised Ursula, and she stood looking at the creature and nodding her
head wonderingly, her anger quite forgotten.
“What's come over it?” she said. “Awhile ago it could hardly walk.”
“You have not seen a kitten of that breed before,” said Satan.
Ursula was not proposing to be friendly with the mocking stranger, and
she gave him an ungentle look and retorted: “Who asked you to come here
and pester me, I'd like to know? And what do you know about what I've
seen and what I haven't seen?”
“You haven't seen a kitten with the hair-spines on its tongue pointing
to the front, have you?”
“No--nor you, either.”
“Well, examine this one and see.”
Ursula was become pretty spry, but the kitten was spryer, and she could
not catch it, and had to give it up. Then Satan said:
“Give it a name, and maybe it will come.”
Ursula tried several names, but the kitten was not interested.
“Call it Agnes. Try that.”
The creature answered to the name and came. Ursula examined its tongue.
“Upon my word, it's true!” she said. “I have not seen this kind of a cat
before. Is it yours?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know its name so pat?”
“Because all cats of that breed are named Agnes; they will not answer to
any other.”
Ursula was impressed. “It is the most wonderful thing!” Then a shadow of
trouble came into her face, for her superstitions were aroused, and she
reluctantly put the creature down, saying: “I suppose I must let it go;
I am not afraid--no, not exactly that, though the priest--well, I've
heard people--indeed, many people... And, besides, it is quite well now
and can take care of itself.” She sighed, and turned to go, murmuring:
“It is such a pretty one, too, and would be such company--and the house
is so sad and lonesome these troubled days... Miss Marget so mournful
and just a shadow, and the old master shut up in jail.”
“It seems a pity not to keep it,” said Satan.
Ursula turned quickly--just as if she were hoping some one would
encourage her.
“Why?” she asked, wistfully.
“Because this breed brings luck.”
“Does it? Is it true? Young man, do you know it to be true? How does it
bring luck?”
“Well, it brings money, anyway.”
Ursula looked disappointed. “Money? A cat bring money? The idea! You
could never sell it here; people do not buy cats here; one can't even
give them away.” She turned to go.
“I don't mean sell it. I mean have an income from it. This kind is
called the Lucky Cat. Its owner finds four silver groschen in his pocket
every morning.”
I saw the indignation rising in the old woman's face. She was insulted.
This boy was making fun of her. That was her thought. She thrust her
hands into her pockets and straightened up to give him a piece of her
mind. Her temper was all up, and hot. Her mouth came open and let out
three words of a bitter sentence,... then it fell silent, and the anger
in her face turned to surprise or wonder or fear, or something, and she
slowly brought out her hands from her pockets and opened them and held
them so. In one was my piece of money, in the other lay four silver
groschen. She gazed a little while, perhaps to see if the groschen would
vanish away; then she said, fervently:
“It's true--it's true--and I'm ashamed and beg forgiveness, O dear
master and benefactor!” And she ran to Satan and kissed his hand, over
and over again, according to the Austrian custom.
In her heart she probably believed it was a witch-cat and an agent of