The trouble at Pinelands A detective story
Ralph Satterfield and his fellows of the corn-whisky ring are safe in
Atlanta; and Somers need not fear the bootleggers’ vengeance for another
twenty years, at least. As for Roaring Lafe Rutledge, he never came to
trial. He died in prison of some heart condition, brought on, Doctor
Somers says, by excessive drinking.
Aunt Mary McGregor sleeps in the Pinelands cemetery, no more than a
dozen feet from the man she slew. We put flowers on both graves
impartially, as the genial sun of North Carolina shines on both; and the
quail whistle “bob_white_! bob_white_!” without disturbing the rest of
either.
We do not judge her. As Floyd Somers said, “When you have stood, with a
deadly weapon in hand, facing an enemy who has power to betray your
secrets and destroy the security of your whole life; and when you have
let him go unscathed, knowing you could kill him with impunity, then,
and not till then, dare you blame Mary McGregor.”
Let that be her epitaph. But I, for one, shall never to my dying day
hear the quail calling “bob_white_! bob_white_!” of a lazy summer
morning without an inward shrinking.
THE END
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Transcriber’s Notes
This file uses _underscores_ to indicate italic text.
The following changes and corrections have been made:
• p. 26: Replaced “listend” with “listened” in phrase “I listened
frankly, welcoming any signs of human companionship.”
• p. 76: Removed comma after “quail” from phrase “A quail whistled
sharply.”
• p. 94: Replaced “beeen” with “been” in phrase “From the moment he
left the stand he had been deathly white.”
• p. 152: Added opening double quotation mark before phrase “I’ll be
a-all right p-presently.”
• p. 176: Replaced “laugher” with “laughter” in phrase “Renewed
laughter.”
• p. 186: Replaced “docor” with “doctor” in phrase “the doctor knew
more than was good for him.”