" Down to the
lowliest menial the sentiment regarding him underwent a subtle but
noticeable change. He was no longer the guileless outsider: he was
exalted even among those who once had scoffed.
Anxiety, worry and a mighty craving for exoneration, with a glorious
return to the land of his people, triumphant in his innocence, were
telling on the proud, high-spirited youth. A gauntness settled in his
face; there was a hungry, wistful look in his eyes; his ever-winning
smile responded less readily than before; sharp lines began to reveal
themselves, flanking his nostrils. His heart was bitter. The weeks had
brought him to a fuller realization of the horrid blight upon his fair
name; he had come to see the wreck in all its cold, brutal aspects.
The realization that he was a hunted, branded thing, with a price on
his head, sank deeper and deeper into his soul. Hunted! Chased as a
criminal! He, a Jenison of Virginia!
Nor was he permitted at any time to feel that he was safe from arrest.
Thomas Braddock, savagely disappointed on that shameful night, made
life miserable for the young clown. Only a sodden hope that there was
still a chance to secure the treasure kept him from actually doing
bodily harm to David, to such an extent that he might be forced to
leave the show.
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