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Import Settings:
Base Settings: Brownstone Default
Information Field: Difficulty
Information Field: SectionDef
Highest Answer Letter: E
Multiple Keywords in Same Paragraph: No
Chapter: Chapter 9
Multiple Choice
1. Complete the following statement: When a net torque is applied to a rigid object, it always
produces a
A) constant acceleration.
B) rotational equilibrium.
C) constant angular velocity.
D) constant angular momentum.
E) change in angular velocity.
Ans: E
Difficulty: Easy
SectionDef: Section 9-1
2. A wrench is used to tighten a nut as shown in the figure. A 12-N force is applied 7.0 cm
from the axis of rotation. What is the magnitude of the torque due to the applied force?
A) 0.58 N  m
B) 0.84 N  m
C) 1.71 N  m
D) 14 N  m
E) 58 N  m
Ans: B
Difficulty: Medium
3. A string is tied to a doorknob 0.72 m from the hinge as illustrated in the figure. At the
instant shown, the force applied to the string is 5.0 N. What is the magnitude of the torque on
the door?
A) 2.1 N  m
B) 3.0 N  m
C) 1.0 N  m
D) 0.78 N  m
E) 0.60 N  m
Ans: B
Difficulty: Hard
4. A uniform 13-kg trap door is oriented horizontally and hinged as shown. What is the
magnitude of the torque on the door at the instant that the release is activated and the door can
freely rotate?
A) 4.9 N  m
B) 9.8 N  m
C) 48 N  m
D) 72 N  m
E) 96 N  m
Ans: C
Difficulty: Easy
5. Complete the following statement: A body is in translational equilibrium

A) only if it is at rest.
B) only if it is moving with constant velocity.
C) only if it is moving with constant acceleration.
D) if it is either at rest or moving with constant velocity.
E) if it is moving with either constant velocity or constant acceleration.
Ans: D
Difficulty: Easy
SectionDef: Section 9-2 and 9-3
6. A horizontal, 10-m plank weighs 100 N. It rests on two supports that are placed 1.0 m from
each end as shown in the figure. How close to one end can an 800-N person stand without
causing the plank to tip?
A) 0m
B) 0.3 m
C) 0.5 m
D) 0.7 m
E) 0.9 m
Ans: C
Difficulty: Hard
7. A 3.0-kg ball and a 1.0-kg ball are placed at opposite ends of a massless beam so that the
system is in equilibrium as shown. Note: The drawing is not drawn to scale. What is the value
of the ratio of the lengths, b/a?
A) 2.0
B) 2.5
C) 3.0
D) 4.0
E) 5.0
Ans: D
Difficulty: Medium
8. One end of a rope is tied to the handle of a horizontally-oriented and uniform door. A force
F is applied to the other end of the rope as shown in the drawing. The door has a weight of 145
N and is hinged on the right. What is the maximum magnitude of F for which the door will
remain at rest?
A) 145 N
B) 265 N
C) 381 N
D) 424 N
E) 530 N
Ans: B
Difficulty: Medium
9. A meter stick is pivoted at the 0.50-m line. A 3.0-kg object is hung from the 0.15-m line.
Where should a 5.0-kg object be hung to achieve equilibrium (the meter stick oriented horizontal
and motionless)?
A) 0.06-m line
B) 0.24-m line
C) 0.56-m line
D) 0.71-m line
E) A 5.0-kg object cannot be placed anywhere on the meter stick to result in equilibrium in this
system.
Ans: D
Difficulty: Hard
10. In the drawing shown, the large wheel has a radius of 7.1 m. A rope is wrapped around the
edge of the wheel and a 7.6 kg-box hangs from the rope. A smaller disk of radius 1.38 m is
attached to the wheel. A rope is wrapped around the edge of the disk as shown. An axis of
rotation passes through the center of the wheel-disk system. What is the value of the mass M
that will prevent the wheel from rotating?
A) 34 kg
B) 12 kg
C) 17 kg
D) 39 kg
E) 46 kg
Ans: D
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: Ref 9-1
An 80-kg man balances the boy on a teeter-totter as shown. Note: Ignore the weight of the
board.
11. What is the approximate mass of the boy?

A) 10 kg
B) 20 kg
C) 40 kg
D) 45 kg
E) 50 kg
Ans: B
Refer To: Ref 9-1
Difficulty: Medium
12. What, approximately, is the magnitude of the downward force exerted on the fulcrum?
A) zero newtons
B) 100 N
C) 600 N
D) 800 N
E) 1000 N
Ans: E
Refer To: Ref 9-1
Difficulty: Easy
13. Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the center of gravity of an
object?
A) It is the point where gravity acts on the object.
B) It is the point where all the mass is concentrated.
C) It must be experimentally determined for all objects.
D) It is the point on the object where all the weight is concentrated.
E) It is the point from which the torque produced by the weight of the object can be calculated.
Ans: E
Difficulty: Easy
14. Consider four point masses located as shown in the sketch. The acceleration due to gravity
is the same everywhere. What is the x coordinate of the center of gravity for this system?
A) 2.0 m
B) 2.7 m
C) 3.0 m
D) 3.3 m
E) 3.8 m
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
15. Three objects are positioned along the x axis as follows: 4.4 kg at x = + 1.1 m, 3.7 kg at x =
–0.80 m, and 2.9 kg at x = –1.6 m. The acceleration due to gravity is the same everywhere.
What is the distance from the location of the center of gravity to the location of the center of
mass for this system?
A) zero meters
B) –0.52 m
C) –0.26 m
D) +0.26 m
E) +0.52 m
Ans: A
Difficulty: Medium
16. A 14-kg beam is hinged at one end. A 6.0-kg triangular object and a 7.5-kg I-shaped
object are positioned as shown. Dots indicate the individual centers of gravity of the beam and
the two objects. What is the distance from the axis of rotation to the center of gravity for this
system?
A) 1.3 m
B) 1.1 m
C) 0.96 m
D) 0.89 m
E) 0.71 m
Ans: A
Difficulty: Medium
17. Consider the following four objects: a hoop, a flat disk, a solid sphere, and a hollow sphere.
Each of the objects has mass M and radius R. The axis of rotation passes through the center of
each object, and is perpendicular to the plane of the hoop and the plane of the flat disk. Which
of these objects requires the largest torque to give it the same angular acceleration?
A) the solid sphere
B) the hollow sphere
C) the hoop
D) the flat disk
E) both the solid and the hollow spheres
Ans: C
Difficulty: Hard
18. A 66-N  m torque acts on a wheel with a moment of inertia 175 kg  m2. If the wheel starts
from rest, how long will it take the wheel to make one revolution?
A) 0.37 s
B) 0.71 s
C) 2.4 s
D) 5.8 s
E) 6.9 s
Ans: D
Difficulty: Hard
19. A string is wrapped around a pulley of radius 0.05 m and moment of inertia 0.2 kg  m2.
If the string is pulled with a force F , the resulting angular acceleration of the pulley is 2 rad/s2.
Determine the magnitude of the force F .
A) 0.4 N
B) 2N
C) 8N
D) 16 N
E) 40 N
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
20. A massless frame in the shape of a square with 2-m sides has a 1-kg ball at each corner.
What is the moment of inertia of the four balls about an axis through the corner marked O and
perpendicular to the plane of the paper?
A) 4 kg  m2
B) 8 kg  m2
C) 10 kg  m2
D) 12 kg  m2
E) 16 kg  m2
Ans: E
Difficulty: Medium
21. A certain merry-go-round is accelerated uniformly from rest and attains an angular speed of
1.2 rad/s in the first 18 seconds. If the net applied torque is 1200 N  m, what is the moment
of inertia of the merry-go-round?
A) 1400 kg  m2
B) 18 000 kg  m2
C) 9000 kg  m2
D) 500 kg  m2
E) This cannot be determined since the radius is not specified.
Ans: B
Difficulty: Hard
22. The drawing shows the top view of a door that is 1.68 m wide. Two forces are applied to
the door as indicated. What is the magnitude of the net torque on the door with respect to the
hinge?
A) 0Nm
B) 4.4 N  m
C) 8.3 N  m
D) 9.1 N  m
E) 11 N  m
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
23. Which one of the following statements concerning the moment of inertia I is false?
A) I may be expressed in units of kg  m2.
B) I depends on the angular acceleration of the object as it rotates.
C) I depends on the location of the rotation axis relative to the particles that make up the object.
D) I depends on the orientation of the rotation axis relative to the particles that make up the
object.
E) Of the particles that make up an object, the particle with the smallest mass may contribute
the greatest amount to I.
Ans: B
Difficulty: Medium
24. Two uniform solid spheres, A and B have the same mass. The radius of sphere B is twice
that of sphere A. The axis of rotation passes through each sphere. Which one of the following
statements concerning the moments of inertia of these spheres is true?
A) The moment of inertia of A is one-fourth that of B.
B) The moment of inertia of A is one-half that of B.
C) The moment of inertia of A is 5/4 that of B.
D) The moment of inertia of A is 5/2 that of B.
E) The two spheres have equal moments of inertia.
Ans: A
Difficulty: Medium
25. Three objects are attached to a massless rigid rod that has an axis of rotation as shown.
Assuming all of the mass of each object is located at the point shown for each, calculate the
moment of inertia of this system.
A) 1.3 kg  m2
B) 3.1 kg  m2
C) 5.3 kg  m2
D) 7.2 kg  m2
E) 9.1 kg  m2
Ans: E
Difficulty: Medium
26. Three children are pulling on a rotatable platform on a playground. The platform has a
radius of 3.80 m. In the picture, two children are pulling with equal forces of 40.0 N in an
attempt to make the platform rotate clockwise. The third child applies a force of 60 N as shown.
What is the net torque on the platform? Note: “ccw” is counterclockwise and “cw” is
clockwise.
A) 76 N  m, ccw
B) 76 N  m, cw
C) 290 N  m, ccw
D) 290 N  m, cw
E) 0Nm
Ans: B
Difficulty: Medium
27. A string is wrapped around a pulley of radius 0.20 m and moment of inertia 0.40 kg  m2.
The string is pulled with a force of 28 N. What is the magnitude of the resulting angular
acceleration of the pulley?
A) 22 rad/s2
B) 14 rad/s2
C) 68 rad/s2
D) 0.55 rad/s2
E) 8.0 rad/s2
Ans: B
Difficulty: Medium
28. A 45-N brick is suspended by a light string from a 2.0-kg pulley. The brick is released
from rest and falls to the floor below as the pulley rotates through 5.0 rad. The pulley may be
considered a solid disk of radius 1.5 m. What is the angular speed of the pulley?
A) 17 rad/s
B) 15 rad/s
C) 9.4 rad/s
D) 8.1 rad/s
E) 7.3 rad/s
Ans: A
Difficulty: Hard
29. A hollow cylinder of mass M and radius R rolls down an inclined plane. A block of mass
M easily slides down an identical inclined plane. Complete the following statement: If both
objects are released at the same time from the top of their inclined planes,
A) the cylinder will reach the bottom first.
B) the block will reach the bottom first.
C) the block will reach the bottom with the greater kinetic energy.
D) the cylinder will reach the bottom with the greater kinetic energy.
E) both the block and the cylinder will reach the bottom at the same time.
Ans: B
Difficulty: Easy
30. A solid sphere and a hollow sphere each of mass M and radius R are released at the same
time from the top of an inclined plane. Which one of the following statements is necessarily
true?
A) The solid sphere will reach the bottom first.
B) The hollow sphere will reach the bottom first.
C) Both spheres will reach the bottom at the same time.
D) The solid sphere will reach the bottom with the greater kinetic energy.
E) The hollow sphere will reach the bottom with the greater kinetic energy.
Ans: A
Difficulty: Easy
31. Consider the following three objects, each of the same mass and radius:
(1) a solid sphere (2) a solid disk (3) a hoop
All three are released from rest at the top of an inclined plane. The three objects proceed down
the incline undergoing rolling motion without slipping. In which order do the objects reach the
bottom of the incline?
A) 3, 1, 2
B) 2, 3, 1
C) 1, 2, 3
D) 3, 2, 1
E) All three reach the bottom at the same time.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
32. A rider on a motorcycle that has a mass of 195 kg is traveling with a speed of 24 m/s.
Each of the two wheels of the motorcycle has a radius of 0.29 m and a moment of inertia of 0.46
kg  m2. What is the approximate total rotational kinetic energy of the wheels?
A) 800 J
B) 1100 J
C) 1500 J
D) 3200 J
E) 4100 J
Ans: D
Difficulty: Medium
33. A 1.0-kg wheel in the form of a solid disk rolls along a horizontal surface with a speed of
6.0 m/s. What is the total kinetic energy of the wheel?
A) 9.0 J
B) 18 J
C) 27 J
D) 36 J
E) 54 J
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
34. A 2.0-kg solid cylinder of radius 0.5 m rotates at a rate of 40 rad/s about its cylindrical axis.
What power is required to bring the cylinder to rest in 10 s?
A) 20 W
B) 40 W
C) 160 W
D) 200 W
E) 400 W
Ans: A
Difficulty: Medium
35. A solid cylinder of radius 0.35 m is released from rest from a height of 1.8 m and rolls
down the incline as shown. What is the angular speed of the cylinder when it reaches the
horizontal surface?
A) 8.2 rad/s
B) 14 rad/s
C) 34 rad/s
D) 67 rad/s
E) This cannot be determined because the mass is unknown.
Ans: B
Difficulty: Hard
36. A solid sphere rolls without slipping along a horizontal surface. What percentage of its
total kinetic energy is rotational kinetic energy?
A) 33 %
B) 50 %
C) 12 %
D) 75 %
E) 29 %
Ans: E
Difficulty: Medium
37. A hollow sphere of radius 0.25 m is rotating at 13 rad/s about an axis that passes through its
center. The mass of the sphere is 3.8 kg. Assuming a constant net torque is applied to the
sphere, how much work is required to bring the sphere to a stop?
A) 1.0 J
B) 3.8 J
C) 13 J
D) 25 J
E) 38 J
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
38. A ceiling fan has five blades, each with a mass of 0.34 kg and a length of 0.66 m. The fan
is operating in its “low” setting at which the angular speed is 9.4 rad/s. If the blades can be
approximated as uniform thin rods that rotate about one end, what is the total rotational kinetic
energy of the five blades?
A) 35 J
B) 29 J
C) 23 J
D) 17 J
E) 11 J
Ans: E
Difficulty: Medium
39. A solid cylinder with a mass m and radius r is mounted so that it can be rotated about an
axis that passes through the center of both ends. At what angular speed  must the cylinder
rotate to have the same total kinetic energy that it would have if it were moving horizontally with
a speed v without rotation?
v
=
A) r
v2
=
B) r2
v
=
C) 2r
v
= 2
D) r
v2
=
E) 2r
Ans: D
Difficulty: Hard
40. A child standing on the edge of a freely spinning merry-go-round moves quickly to the
center. Which one of the following statements is necessarily true concerning this event and
why?
A) The angular speed of the system decreases because the moment of inertia of the system has
increased.
B) The angular speed of the system increases because the moment of inertia of the system has
increased.
C) The angular speed of the system decreases because the moment of inertia of the system has
decreased.
D) The angular speed of the system increases because the moment of inertia of the system has
decreased.
E) The angular speed of the system remains the same because the net torque on the
merry-go-round is zero N  m.
Ans: D
Difficulty: Easy
41. What happens when a spinning ice skater draws in her outstretched arms?
A) Her angular momentum decreases.
B) Her angular momentum increases.
C) Her moment of inertia decreases causing her to speed up.
D) Her moment of inertia decreases causing her to slow down.
E) The torque that she exerts increases her moment of inertia.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Easy
42. A spinning star begins to collapse under its own gravitational pull. Which one of the
following occurs as the star becomes smaller?
A) The star's angular velocity decreases.
B) The star's angular momentum remains constant.
C) The star's angular momentum increases.
D) The star's angular velocity remains constant.
E) Both the star's angular momentum and its angular velocity remain constant.
Ans: B
Difficulty: Easy
43. A spinning skater draws in her outstretched arms thereby reducing her moment of inertia by
a factor of 2. Determine the ratio of her final kinetic energy to her initial kinetic energy.
A) 0.5
B) 1
C) 2
D) 4
E) 16
Ans: C
Difficulty: Medium
44. A 1500-kg satellite orbits a planet in a circular orbit of radius 6.2 × 106 m. What is the
angular momentum of the satellite in its orbit around the planet if the satellite completes one
orbit every 1.5 × 104 s?
A) 3.9 × 106 kg  m2/s
B) 1.4 × 1014 kg  m2/s
C) 6.2 × 108 kg  m2/s
D) 8.1 × 1011 kg  m2/s
E) 2.4 × 1013 kg  m2/s
Ans: E
Difficulty: Hard
45. A 60.0-kg skater begins a spin with an angular speed of 6.0 rad/s. By changing the
position of her arms, the skater decreases her moment of inertia to one-half its initial value.
What is the skater's final angular speed?
A) 3.0 rad/s
B) 4.5 rad/s
C) 9.0 rad/s
D) 12 rad/s
E) 18 rad/s
Ans: D
Difficulty: Medium
46. Two equal spheres, labeled A and B in the figure, are attached to a massless rod with a
frictionless pivot at the point P. The system is made to rotate clockwise with angular speed 
on a horizontal, frictionless tabletop. Sphere A collides with and sticks to another equal sphere
that is at rest on the tabletop. Note: the masses of all three spheres are equal.
What is the angular speed of the system immediately after the collision?
A) 
B) 0.82
C) 0.60
D) 0.56
E) 0.29
Ans: D
Difficulty: Medium
47. Planets A and B are uniform solid spheres that rotate at a constant speed about axes through
their centers. Although B has twice the mass and three times the radius of A, each planet has
the same rotational kinetic energy. What is the ratio B/A of their angular speeds?
A) 0.055
B) 0.093
C) 0.165
D) 0.191
E) 0.236
Ans: E
Difficulty: Hard
48. A solid sphere of radius R rotates about a diameter with an angular speed . The sphere
then collapses under the action of internal forces to a final radius R/2. What is the final angular
speed of the sphere?
A) /4
B) /2
C) 
D) 2
E) 4
Ans: E
Difficulty: Medium
49. A ball of mass M moves in a circular path on a horizontal, frictionless surface. It is

attached to a light string that passes through a hole in the center of the table. If the string is
pulled down, thereby reducing the radius of the path of the ball, the speed of the ball is observed
to increase. Complete the following sentence: This occurs because
A) the linear momentum of the ball is conserved.

B) it is required by Newton's first law of motion.
C) the angular momentum of the ball is conserved.
D) the angular momentum of the ball must increase.
E) the total mechanical energy of the ball must remain constant.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Easy
50. A 4.0-kg ball moves in a straight line at 8.0 m/s as shown in the figure. At the instant
shown, what is its angular momentum about the point P?
A) 33 kg  m2/s
B) 85 kg  m2/s
C) 110 kg  m2/s
D) 160 kg  m2/s
E) zero kg  m2/s
Ans: B
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: Ref 9-2
Two skaters, each of mass 40 kg, approach each other along parallel paths that are separated by a
distance of 2 m. Both skaters have a speed of 10 m/s. The first skater carries a 2-m pole that
may be considered massless. As he passes the pole, the second skater catches hold of the end.
The two skaters then go around in a circle about the center of the pole.
51. What is the angular speed of the skaters after they have linked together?
A) 4 rad/s
B) 5 rad/s
C) 10 rad/s
D) 20 rad/s
E) 40 rad/s
Ans: C
Refer To: Ref 9-2
Difficulty: Hard
52. What is their combined angular momentum about the center of the pole?
A) 2 kg  m2/s
B) 40 kg  m2/s
C) 80 kg  m2/s
D) 400 kg  m2/s
E) 800 kg  m2/s
Ans: E
Refer To: Ref 9-2
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: Ref 9-3
A 2.0-kg hoop rolls without slipping on a horizontal surface so that its center proceeds to the
right with a constant linear speed of 6.0 m/s.
6 m/s
2.0 kg
53. Which one of the following statements is true concerning the angular momentum of this
hoop?
A) It points into the paper.
B) It points out of the paper.
C) It points to the left.
D) It points to the right.
E) It varies from point to point on the hoop.
Ans: A
Refer To: Ref 9-3
Difficulty: Easy
54. What is the total kinetic energy of the hoop?

A) 36 J
B) 54 J
C) 72 J
D) 96 J
E) 140 J
Ans: C
Refer To: Ref 9-3
Difficulty: Medium
55. A compact disc rotates about its center at constant angular speed. Which one of the
following quantities is constant and non-zero for a dust particle near the edge of the disc?
A) linear velocity
B) torque about the center of the disc
C) centripetal acceleration
D) angular momentum
E) angular acceleration
Ans: D
Difficulty: Medium
SectionDef: Additional Problems
56. A steady horizontal force F of magnitude 21 N is applied at the axle of a solid disk as
shown. The disk has mass 2.0 kg and diameter 0.10 m. What is the linear speed of the center
of the disk after it has moved 12 m?
A) 9.0 m/s
B) 13 m/s
C) 16 m/s
D) 22 m/s
E) 44 m/s
Ans: B
Difficulty: Hard
57. A uniform disk of radius 1.2 m and mass 0.60 kg is rotating at 25 rad/s around an axis that
passes through its center and is perpendicular to the disk. A rod makes contact with the rotating
disk with a force of 4.5 N at a point 0.75 m from the axis of rotation as shown. The disk is
brought to a stop in 5.0 s. What is the coefficient of kinetic friction for the two materials in
contact?
A) 0.22
B) 0.15
C) 0.64
D) 0.37
E) 0.55
Ans: C
Difficulty: Hard
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Leigh stood with his hand on the back of his chair, and glanced
questioningly up and down the table.
“Where’s Fanchon?” he asked in a low voice.
There was that kind of silence that seems to be audible. It was Mr.
Carter who answered him, frowning heavily.
“She left us some time ago,” he said shortly. “I wish you to know,
Leigh, that—this family’s done with her. Understand?”
Leigh caught his breath, and his mouth fell open. He stared at
William, but William was looking down at his plate. The only sign he
gave of having heard his father’s remark was the deep red flush that
went up to his hair. Leigh remained standing, though his mother
clutched at his sleeve.
“Sit down, dear,” she whispered.
“Father,” he said in his high, boyish voice, his lips shaking, “she
saved me. Where is she?”
“Sit down,” said Mr. Carter with an impatient gesture. “We’ll talk of
that another time.”
He fixed an irate eye on his son, and the boy collapsed into his chair;
but he scarcely tasted his food, nor did William eat more than a few
mouthfuls. The two played with their forks and avoided looking at
each other.
Leigh was panting with anger against William. He understood now
what had happened. William was deserting Fanchon because of
Leigh’s act. Instead of protecting her, he had ruined her. The boy
could not eat. His food strangled him. Mrs. Carter hurried on the
cherry tarts, and Miranda bore them in on a tray, her face beaming.
“Look, Leigh!” cried his mother. “Miranda made these for you.”
The boy raised his shy eyes to the cook’s face.
“You’re very good to me, Miranda,” he managed to say.
Miranda, with her quick racial sympathy, nearly dropped the tray.
“I declar’ to goodness if he ain’t gwine to cry in those tarts fo’ sho’!”
she said to herself and cast an anxious look at Mrs. Carter’s troubled
face.
At this juncture, William, who felt himself to be a death’s head at the
feast, rose abruptly and left the room. A moment later the startled
family heard the front door close behind him. Emily slipped out of her
seat and ran to the window, coming back just as Miranda returned to
the kitchen.
“He’s gone to the Denbighs,” Emily announced in a stage whisper in
her mother’s ear. “I just knew he would.”
“Oh, Emmy, hush!” Mrs. Carter said, looking shocked.
“He’s gone there—I watched him,” said Emily, helping herself to
more cherry tarts.
More might have followed but for the fortunate return of Miranda. As
she came back, Daniel, having finished his meal, rose slowly and
started for the door.
“Dan,” said his father, looking around at him for the first time.
“Jessup says you won the case. He thinks you’re a great lawyer. I’m
proud of you, my son!”
Daniel’s face flushed; he understood the break in the older man’s
voice.
“Thank you,” he said simply. “I’m sorry I had to do what I did.”
His father nodded his head gravely.
“You finished her. It was a bit cruel, but it had to be done.”
Daniel’s flush deepened. He seemed about to speak, then hesitated
and said nothing. They heard him slowly ascending the stairs to his
room.
“He’s going to be a great lawyer, papa,” said Mrs. Carter with a flash
of pleasure.
Mr. Carter nodded his head gravely, assenting, his eyes on Leigh.
Daniel went heavily up-stairs to his room. He tried not to think of
what Emily had said, but he couldn’t shut it out of his mind. His
thoughts kept hovering back to it, like wretched singed moths making
their last fascinated plunge for the flame of the candle; the plunge
that was sure to take their remaining wings off.
He shut the door of his room and walked slowly across to the
window opposite. He had had this room from his boyhood. At first he
had shared it with William, but the elder brother had been promoted
to a better apartment when he began to succeed at Payson’s.
Through long months of illness, after the fall that lamed him, Daniel
had remained in the small upper room where the slant of the gable
made a queer triangle that couldn’t be decorated. The furniture was
simple enough and rather sparse, but he had put up some
bookshelves for himself, and they were well filled now with books on
common law. Still hanging beside the bed was the picture of Virginia
that he had taken from the library; but he did not look at it now.
He went to the window and opened the shutters wide, disclosing a
square of sky where the white clouds floated; but he did not look up.
In spite of himself he looked down. His window commanded a view
of Denbigh Crossing, and involuntarily his eyes turned in that
direction. He saw nothing but the thick foliage of a group of
chestnuts, and the winding road disappearing under the arches of
their wide branches.
He stood for some time looking gloomily at the prospect. He knew
intuitively how his brother felt. William wanted to grovel in the dirt at
Virginia’s feet and beg her pardon; but would he dare to do it? Daniel
remembered Virginia sitting at the piano with the childish face of
William in its frame above her head. Daniel had never doubted that
she loved his brother.
Then the scene in the court-room came back to him, and Fanchon’s
small, quivering face. It had wrung his heart to drag her story from
her, even to save Leigh; but he had done it—without mercy, too. And
now——
His thoughts broke off suddenly, for the door opened, and Leigh
came in and shut it behind him. The boy was white and shaken. He
put out an unsteady hand and clutched at the back of a chair.
“Dan,” he said hoarsely, “what have they done to her? Where’s
Fanchon?”
Daniel laid his hand on his shoulder.
“Sit down, Leigh,” he said kindly.
The boy obeyed him awkwardly. He sat there staring at his own feet,
unwilling to look at his brother.
“Leigh,” said Daniel, “it’s none of our business—it’s William’s.”
“They’ve quarreled, and it’s not her fault. You know it, Dan. We’ve all
been dreadful to her!”
Daniel, who was still standing, looking down at him, was silent a
moment; then he spoke slowly.
“I think you’re right, Leigh, we have been; but there’s another side to
this. She wouldn’t tell me where she was staying. She came to court
for your sake, but she’s done with the rest of us, Leigh.”
Leigh flared up.
“Emmy says William’s going to divorce her and marry Virginia
Denbigh!”
Daniel went white.
“Emily has no right to say that.” Involuntarily his hands clenched at
his sides, but he gripped himself. “You’ve had a lesson, Leigh. You
keep your hands off!”
The boy rose sullenly, his face still flushed.
“I owe her everything,” he said.
“Not quite,” Daniel retorted dryly. “You owe something to Judge
Jessup and the jury.”
Leigh seemed to be deaf to this. He went sulkily to the door and
opened it.
“I think William’s a brute,” he remarked in a low voice. “She loves
him—I know she loves him, and she’s his wife!”
He went out and slammed the door.
XXV
Virginia hung up the telephone receiver with an expression of keen
relief. She had just heard of Leigh’s acquittal.
“Dan got him off!” the colonel told her jubilantly. “I knew he would!
Say, Jinny, I shan’t be home for lunch; going over to the club with
Payson and Jessup.”
Virginia smiled to herself. She knew how the old man would enjoy it,
and she did not care for any luncheon herself. She told Plato so, half
an hour later. The old man retired grumbling.
“’Deed, Miss Jinny, yo’ be sick. I’m gwine to tell de col’nel!” But she
only laughed at him. She was, in fact, too nervous to eat. It seemed
as if food would choke her.
She knew everything that had taken place in that court-house almost
as well as if she had been there. The colonel had been very vivid in
his talk, and she had spoken once over the ’phone with Mrs. Carter
and once with Emily. On all these occasions she had heard the
amazing fact that Fanchon’s story on the stand had been a surprise
to her husband. In other words, poor William had been deceived,
Mrs. Carter declared, by a designing little minx, and his life ruined!
This cry of maternal anguish went to the listener’s heart, for Virginia
had known William from childhood, and she understood, even more
keenly than his mother, the humiliation he had suffered in court.
She moved restlessly about the house, trying not to think of it. She
had gathered flowers in the morning, and could not make the garden
another means of diverting her mind, so she tried to answer some
long-neglected letters.
This failed her, too, after a while, and she went into the old drawing-
room, which at this hour was carefully shaded from the sun. Opening
a shutter, she let in a flood of golden light. It shot across the room
like the fiery lance of a crusader, its radiant tip striking on the ivory
keys of her old piano. Virginia walked in it, watching the light catch
on the white folds of her skirt. She sat down dreamily at the piano
and began to play. She played without her notes, and unconsciously
her fingers strayed into old, half-forgotten tunes.
She began to be quite happy. She had not played these tunes for
years, and they brought back pictures, fragmentary bits of things,
and voices and laughter. She had played that one for a dance when
her grandfather had given her a birthday party at seventeen, and this
one for old Judge Jessup because his wife used to like it. This was
the one that William liked. She played it affectionately and
lingeringly. She liked it herself, for it was old-fashioned and sweet
and mellow, without being great music. She smiled a little over it.
She knew that Judge Jessup, who liked good music, would call it “a
finger-and-thumb exercise.”
She was still playing it when it seemed to her that her bit of sunshine
had grown dim, or was being obscured by some shadow, and she
looked up. William Carter was standing beside her. The wide front
doors were open in the warm summer day. He had entered
unheralded, and he was standing there quietly, looking down at
Virginia, mute as a graven image, and nearly as pale.
She was taken unawares, terribly unawares, and her slender fingers
made a little discord before they fell from the keys. She turned a
startled face toward him, paling and then flushing, her lips tremulous.
“William!” she exclaimed softly, almost below her breath. “How you
startled me!”
“I’ve no right to be here,” he exclaimed bitterly. “I’ve felt that ever
since I crossed the threshold and saw you sitting here—as you used
to sit here with me, Virginia.”
Her lips were still trembling, but she was recovering from the
surprise. She rose from the piano and went to a more distant chair,
which stood a little in the shadow. She did not want him to see her
face too plainly.
“Sit down, William,” she said pleasantly, suppressing the quiver in
her voice. “I’ve just heard the news over the ’phone. I’m so happy
about Leigh!”
He did not sit down. He began, instead, to march up and down the
room, his hands behind him and his head bowed gloomily.
“I’m glad about Leigh, too,” he replied grimly. “He’s my brother—and
I ought to have been in his place! I’m glad, but——”
He broke off, and continued his pacing. Virginia was startled again,
this time painfully. Her heart sank; she began to dread what he might
say next. She saw that he was almost beside himself. Old memories
rushed back, too—old, touching, tender, and intimate things. This
was the man she had once promised to marry, the man who had
professed to love her so much. It seemed to her that she had a
moment of clairvoyance. She knew the thoughts that must be
thronging into his mind, too. She was human, she was aware that he
had repented, that he had had bitter cause to repent; but she tried
not to think of that.
At last he stopped short and stood looking at her, his face as deeply
flushed as it had been pale. She made an effort to speak, but it
seemed impossible, and she averted her eyes. It was true, she knew
now that it was true—Fanchon had deceived him. The whole
miserable tragedy that had crossed her own life, as well as his, was
laid bare before her. She could not look at him; she felt a tightening
in her throat.
“Listen”—he was still standing in front of her, a grim figure of anger
and despair—“I want to tell you the truth. I must tell you, Virginia
——”
She stopped him with an involuntary gesture of protest.
“Oh, William, how can you?” she cried softly, reproachfully.
She had lifted her clear eyes to his, unshadowed and beautiful. He
flinched from the look, and suddenly he was dumb. He turned with a
poignant gesture of pain, averting his face.
Virginia rose from her chair and walked to the window. She was no
longer flushed; she was very pale. Her breath was coming short, but
her eyes were clear and luminous as she looked out on the old
familiar garden, with its box-bordered flower-beds and the wicker
table under the old horse-chestnut. She could almost see the tall,
white head of her grandfather.
She thought, at the moment, that she saw more than that. There was
also a vision of her father—a good man, too, and her mother. They
had been noble-minded—as noble-minded as her grandfather was
to-day. In his simple, kindly old-fashioned way, Colonel Denbigh was
a gentleman, and Virginia knew it.
She clung to the window-sill, her hands trembling. She had a
woman’s heart, she was very human—William had come back! How
some women would have triumphed in a rival’s misfortune!
Then she heard his voice.
“I’ve done wrong—everything has been tragic and terrible. It’s almost
too much to ask, but—Virginia, can you forgive me?”
For a moment Virginia could not speak. She did not even look at
him. She was looking far across the lawn toward the white road that
led to the town; but she saw nothing. Her eyes misted. The break in
his voice touched her; it hurt her to hear it. She pitied him, yet there
was a change in her. She had not known it until this moment, but
now she knew it. It was as if she had seen through a glass darkly,
and now the veil was withdrawn, and she looked into a clear mirror
and beheld her own image as it really was. Nothing could ever be
the same again, nothing could be as it had been before, because her
eyes were open.
“Did you hear me, Virginia!” he said hoarsely. “Will you forgive me?”
She lifted her eyes reluctantly to his again, turning from white to red,
but her lips no longer trembled.
“I forgive you, William,” she replied gently, and she held out her
hand.
He took it and held it a moment while he searched her eyes. Then he
turned and made his way blindly out of the room and out of the
house.
He walked heavily down the driveway to the old gates. An impulse
had brought him—an impulse that he had been too broken to resist.
Now, in its reaction, he despised his own weakness. What right had
he to worry Virginia? But his mind was still in conflict; he could no
longer think concisely or even clearly. Like a man in a dream he
walked out of the gates and turned into the road toward town.
The look in Virginia’s eyes, the look that had roused him, came back
to him only dimly. It was obscured by the scene that haunted him—
the scene in the court-room. He could see the crowd of staring faces
again, the judge on the bench, judicial and disinterested, the flushed,
scowling countenance of the prosecuting attorney, the jury—and
Daniel! How coolly his brother had stood in that heated, tense
atmosphere! How his eyes had kindled and his voice pleaded for the
boy’s life! For jail would have been a living death to one so young.
Leigh rose before him, too. He could see the boy’s beautiful face and
his girlish eyes, and the change in him, the terrible change. The look
of a man—a man who has killed—was in those young eyes!
William drew his breath hard. Her work, he thought bitterly! And yet
how she haunted him! He could see more plainly than anything else
her small, white face with its pointed chin and its fawn-like eyes. He
could hear her voice, sweet and hurrying and light, with the spell of
sex in it—how it haunted him, too! But he was done with her. He set
his teeth hard and clenched his hand, walking on.
He walked blindly. A taxi passed, but he was unaware of it. He never
looked up, he looked down into the dust of the road, for his heart
was heavy and bitter. He was done with her!
Fanchon, who had hidden in the corner of the taxi that he might not
see her, leaned forward now and looked out. She was on her way to
the refuge she had found in the country—a poor, desolate place, but
all that she could pay for—more than she could pay for, if the truth
be told. She felt ill and weak, and she must go somewhere—
anywhere, away from the Carters. There was fever in her blood and
her lips were dry, but her brilliant, restless eyes looked out after the
figure in the road.
She had seen him come out of the Denbigh gates!
She had thought of this, she had pictured it. If he got a divorce, he
would marry Virginia—she never doubted that Virginia would take
him. And now, now when it seemed to her that it was already on its
way to accomplishment, she sank back into her corner aghast.
She lifted a shaking hand and pushed back the soft hair from her
forehead. It was a helpless, thoughtless gesture, but she had pulled
off her gloves, and the light caught the rings on her fingers. Suddenly
she saw her wedding-ring—William’s ring. She held out her small
hand and stared at it, choking back the sob in her throat. She
remembered the look in his eyes when he had put that ring on her
finger. How he had loved her then!
A passion of tears and rage swept over her, and she cowered back
in the taxi, weeping and beating the air with her small hands
clenched. They had taken him away from her, they had made him
hate her, and this girl—this girl with the superior look and the calm,
sweet face—she would have him! That was the bitterest drop in
Fanchon’s cup of gall. It was that which set her to shaking and
choking with rage and grief. William had passed her, he had not
even looked at her. He had been to see Virginia!
Fanchon stared at the ring on her finger. It seemed to fascinate her.
Then she became aware of the laboring sound of the taxi. They were
traveling along a rough road. Here it was ascending, and the motor-
engine puffed and bellowed, and wheezed like a whale in a trough of
the sea. She leaned forward and looked out again. The road led
through a wood. She could discern the slender stems of young trees
in ever increasing ranks. Ahead of them a stream ran down to a
bridge.
The sight of the water dashing over the stones brought a new
purpose to mind. She called to the chauffeur.
“Stop! I want to get out here.”
He slowed down and stopped the machine, looking surprised.
Fanchon opened the door and sprang lightly to the ground.
“Wait,” she said quickly, authoritatively. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
The man stared, but he waited obediently. He had an idea that the
lady was a little eccentric; but she was a beauty, and she was
famous. He had been delighted to drive off with her in his cab. He
leaned out now and watched her surreptitiously; but she had turned
into the brush, and he lost sight of her small figure. She was so small
that she was easily lost in the low growth of sumac.
Fanchon knew that he was watching her. She checked an impulse to
go straight down to the brook in plain sight of the road. She turned,
instead, and followed a path that led her to a still pool. The water
was clear, and she could see the pebbles in the sandy bottom. It was
scarcely a foot deep, but the place was hidden, and it would serve
her purpose well.
She stepped out on a stone at the edge of the pool, and stood a
moment staring down into it, panting a little, her lips moving. Her
small, black-clad figure, her white face, and her wild, beautiful eyes
had a startling effect. There was something sylvan about her, and
the sylvan landscape framed her well; but she had, too, the look of a
sorceress weaving a spell.
Slowly, deliberately, as if she performed a rite, she drew the
wedding-ring off her finger, held it aloft a moment, and then, with a
gesture more eloquent than words, she flung it into the pool.
“C’est fini!” she cried, choking and sobbing.
It sank to the bottom, but it was not hidden. It lay there sideways,
glittering. A fugitive ray of sunlight, striking the surface of the still
water, found it and made merry with it. It sent a glint out of the gold
like a flash of laughter in a dark place; it danced upon it and rippled
over it—and then a tadpole disturbed the pool.
Fanchon, still shaking, still filled with jealousy and misery, stared at
the ring. It seemed to her that it mocked her, that it called her an
outcast, that it laughed her to scorn. Her wedding-ring, the tangible
sign of the link that bound her to William—how it flashed and
glittered! Not even water hid it.
Her lips twitched painfully, not with mirth but with anguish, and she
covered her eyes with her hands. Shutting the sight of it out thus,
she stumbled back to the path.
She had scarcely tasted food that day, and she felt suddenly faint
and dizzy; but she set her small white teeth on her lip, and her great
eyes smoldered dangerously. She was wildly angry again now. She
ran along the path and had almost reached the end of it when she
wavered, then stopped short and stared at her hands.
That third finger felt unnatural. It seemed to grin at her—white and
bare as a bone. She felt for her gloves, and could not find them. She
leaned against a tree and clasped her finger with her small, bare
hands. In her agony of mind she clutched and tore at the bark until
the blood came. The cut in the flesh roused her; she drew a deep
breath and looked back.
“Mon Dieu!” she murmured softly, and then: “Non, non, I cannot—I
cannot!”
So she went back slowly, reluctantly, as if she was drawn against her
will. She went all the way to the edge of the pool and looked into it.
Yes, it was there—her ring! How it gleamed at her! So might the eye
of the serpent have gleamed in triumph at Eve in the Garden of
Eden.
She couldn’t resist it. She stooped and picked up a stick. Creeping
out on the stone again, she tried to fish up her ring with the stick; but
it went deeper; it seemed to wink at her and dodge her, burrowing
into the sand. With a cry of anguish, Fanchon dropped to her knees,
half in the water, and plunged her arm into the pool, digging into the
sand with her fingers. Joy and relief shot through her heart when she
felt the hard metal loop again. She had it!
She staggered to her feet, holding it tight, but she wouldn’t put it
back on her finger. She knotted it into her wet handkerchief and
thrust it into her bosom. Then, blindly, weeping and shaken and
dripping, she made her way back to the waiting taxi.
XXVI
Colonel Denbigh was pleasantly detained at the club luncheon. He
went home in a taxi late in the afternoon, only about half an hour
before his own dinner-time. Plato met him in the hall.
“Miss Jinny ain’t eaten no lunch, no suh, an’ now she’s up in her
room. She say she’s got headache, an’ not to wait dinner.”
The colonel deposited his broad-brimmed hat on the table.
“Anybody been here to see me to-day, Plato?”
The old negro shook his head.
“No, suh. Mist’ Wilyum Carter, he came in to see Miss Jinny, but he’s
gone ’bout two hours ago.”
A strange expression flitted across the colonel’s face, but he did not
show it to his faithful factotum.
“Serve dinner on time, Plato,” he said gravely. “I don’t expect
company—lunched in town with Judge Jessup and Mr. Payson.”
“Yessuh, so Miss Jinny tole me. Great trial, suh! Mirandy, Miz
Carter’s collud girl, she ’phoned me ’bout it. She say she got so
excited she went out in de yard an’ killed the wrong hen fo’ dinner.
She killed de bes’ layer dey got, an’ Mist’ Carter he mos’ throw a fit.
She say he’s gwine to make Mist’ Wilyum git a divorcement——”
“Plato,” bellowed the colonel, “how often have I got to tell you to stop
gossiping? You quit it and get my dinner ready, or I’ll kill you instead
of Mrs. Carter’s hen! Hear me?”
Plato giggled disgracefully, but he retired toward the dining-room
door.
“Colonel Colfax he used to say——”
“Shut up!” shouted Colonel Denbigh, making for the stairs.
Plato withdrew slowly, still mumbling, and the colonel went up to
Virginia’s room. He hesitated an instant, and then he knocked at the
door.
“Got a bad headache, Jinny?”
She answered without opening the door.
“Very bad, grandpa. Don’t wait dinner—I don’t want any.”
“I’ll ’phone for Dr. Barbour,” he suggested anxiously. “How about it,
Jinny?”
“No, no! It’s just a little headache from the sun. Any news, grandpa?”
The colonel, outside the closed door, stood with his hand at his chin,
thinking.
“Not much, Jinny. I ’phoned everything I could, didn’t I? Dan made a
great figure at the trial, and Leigh’s home now—I reckon Mrs.
Carter’s got him packed in cotton-batting by this time. There’s one
thing—I saw myself——” He hesitated, listening, but there was no
interrogation from the other side of the door. “I saw William Carter
ignore his wife in open court—after the verdict. It—well, Jinny, it
stuck in my throat.”
There was a significant silence. He heard the slight stir of some one
in the room; he thought that Virginia had been lying down and had
suddenly sat up.
“I don’t think it was just right,” she said at last, in a faint voice. “He
was here this afternoon, and he told me—he says she’s left him for
good.”
The colonel, outside the door, gritted his teeth a moment in silence,
very red in the face.
“The lummox!” he muttered under his breath at last.
“What did you say, grandpa?”
“I didn’t say anything, Jinny. I only thought something. I thought
something not quite polite.”
“Oh!”
Again he heard the faint stir of her movements on the other side of
the door.
“The girl looked like death,” he said bluntly. “She’d been through a
terrible ordeal. It—I tell you what, Jinny, it looked darned cowardly!”
There was no reply to this, not even the rustle of Virginia’s garments.
The colonel waited, rubbing his chin. At last he thought it better to
leave something to her imagination.
“Have a bottle of ginger ale, Jinny? It’ll do your head good.”
She laughed hysterically. He could hear it. It was a musical laugh,
but it was full of tears. His hand clenched.
“You get better!” he called to her. “I want you to drive up the
mountain to-morrow and look at Colonel Russell’s mare. He wants to
sell her for a lady’s saddle-horse. I reckon you’d like her, Jinny. It’ll
take you about half the day. You can lunch with Mrs. Barbour. The
doctor met me in town to-day, and he said his wife wanted you out to
luncheon at the farm to-morrow.”
There was a rustle this time.
“I think I’ll go. Thank you, grandpa. You’re an angel—I mean about
the horse.”
The old man cackled.
“Not in any other way, eh, Jinny?”
“You go to your dinner! You’ll get no compliments here,” she called
back gaily.
But it was a tremulous gaiety. The old man knew it, and he
suspected the headache. He went slowly and thoughtfully down-
stairs. Dinner was already served in the quaint dining-room, Plato
standing erect and black as ebony behind the colonel’s chair. The
old man glanced contentedly at the white damask and the old-
fashioned service.
“What have you got for dinner, Plato?” he asked as he sat down.
Plato went over a modest menu.
“Got some deviled crabs, col’nel. Yessuh, got ’em dis mornin’ when
yo’ was in court—bigges’ crabs I’s seen dis season.”
The colonel considered.
“Plato, you take a deviled crab up to Miss Jinny’s room. If she
doesn’t eat it, I’ll ’phone for Dr. Barbour.”
Unconsciously, the colonel was applying Miranda’s panacea for all
human ills. Inwardly he was exceeding wroth with William Carter. His
wrath and his fears continued well into the next morning, until he saw
Virginia, pale but smiling, seated in the old wagonette, and Lucas
driving sedately down the roadway to the gate. The colonel observed
their departure with an anxious eye.
He was not sure now that Virginia cared. She was pale, but she was
holding her own. The idea that William Carter had dared to come
straight back—after that trial and all!
“The lummox!” the colonel growled under his breath. “The cowardly
lummox—he knew I was out.”
Meanwhile, Lucas was driving slowly along the turnpike down which
Fanchon had galloped, followed by Corwin—on his way, as it turned
out, to his death; for that ride had led straight to the climax in the
upper room of the inn. As it transpired later on, both Virginia and
Lucas were thinking of it as the colonel’s slow old horses trotted
along under the spreading branches of the great trees which stood
like sentinels on either side of the wide road.
At this late season the foliage was dense and a little dusty, while
here and there a sumac waved the first red flag of autumn, or a gum-
tree stood like a flame in the midst of a grove of cedars. Virginia was
watching a cardinal-bird winging its crimson flight from branch to
branch when she heard Lucas accost a passing friend and then fall
to chuckling—the succulent, suggestively happy chuckle of the
negro. Lucas had never acquired the silent elegance of Mrs.
Payson’s coachman. He was an old family servant, and he had
known Virginia from her childhood. He chuckled now, touching the
off horse with the mildly provoking tip of his whip.
“See dat nigger, Miss Jinny? He works at Miz Quantah’s place. He’s
gwine courtin’, sho’s yo’re born!”
Virginia, who had lost sight of the red bird, glanced down the road
after the retreating form of a middle-aged negro attired in clean blue
overalls and a big straw hat.
“How do you know he’s going courting, Lucas? He’s not very young,
is he?”
“No, ma’am, Miss Jinny, he ain’t, but his wife died a while ago. He’s
gwine courtin’—yes, miss, he sho’ is. How’d I know? He done wash
his face, Miss Jinny. When a man wash his face an’ shave, he’s
gwine courtin’—yes, miss.”
Virginia laughed, and Lucas, thus encouraged, proceeded. He
touched the nigh horse this time.
“Yo’ g’long, Tommy Becket. Yes, Miss Jinny, he’s gwine courtin’—he
works ober at Miz Quantah’s, ayonnah”—Lucas pointed his whip
—“righ’ over dere in dem trees. Dat’s where Miz Wilyum Carter am
now, Miss Jinny.”
Virginia blushed. Involuntarily her eyes followed the flourish of his
whip. They had come to the foot-hills, and, in a clearing, she saw a
bleak farmhouse, a mere shack it seemed to her. She remembered
that the Quantah place was miserable and the woman herself gaunt
and poor—a forlorn, forbidding creature.
Then Lucas broke into his monologue again.
“Miz Carter, she’s sick, Miss Jinny—took sick jest after de trial. I did
heah she ain’t got any money, an’ Miz Quantah, she’s gwine to turn
her out, sick or no sick, she say.”
Virginia sat up suddenly.
“What did you say, Lucas?”
Lucas turned half-way round, driving with one hand, and flourishing
the other as he answered.
“I say Miz Wilyum Carter took sick, an’ she ain’t got any money.”
Lucas stopped the horses and pointed.
“I reckon she’s sick in dat room ayonnah—see de blinds open? Ain’t
nebber open ’less Miz Quantah got a lodger. Ain’t got noffin to eat at
Miz Quantah’s ’cept corn-dodgers an’ rabbits—no, Miss Jinny, dey
ain’t.”
“Lucas,” said Virginia earnestly, “do you really mean that Mrs.
William Carter is over there now, ill, and without money?”
“Sho, Miss Jinny, she is. I got dat from Miz Quantah’s collud man—
yes, miss, I sho did. She’s sick an’ she ain’t got no money.”
Virginia was silent. Her eyes fixed themselves on that distant house,
that repulsive, sordid-looking house, and she thought of Fanchon—a
small, dainty, bewitching creature—dancing that amazing dance at
the church musicale.
Lucas started the horses. The road turned, and before them a low
bridge spanned an exquisite stream. The water purled and dashed
over stones and slipped, still clamoring, into a lovely pool where lily-
pads floated and low willows dipped their swinging boughs.
“Lucas, stop!” cried Virginia.
Lucas pulled the horses up so suddenly that one old fellow looked
back over his shoulder.
“Yes, Miss Jinny?”
“Drive back to Quantah’s place, Lucas.”
The fat old horses turned obediently. Lucas said nothing. For once
he restrained that racial quality which makes the faithful colored
servant the intimate adviser and guardian of “his family.” He had a
very clear understanding of Miss Jinny’s motives, he knew Miss
Jinny. For all that, he felt that this time she could be trusted to go her
own way—as long as he was in attendance, to exercise, at the
crucial moment, his worldly wisdom.
The old wagonette, turning clumsily because of its length, was
moving along the broken bit of road which led around the elbow of
the wood into the Quantah clearing. The wood was an exquisite
place, delicately fringed along its edges with yellow patches of
goldenrod and the purplish white mist of asters. Through slender
tree-stems Virginia began to see the house more plainly.
The side door stood open, and a tall, slatternly woman was feeding
chickens, holding an old tin saucepan in the hollow of her arm. As
the wagonette appeared she raised her eyes from the fowls long
enough to stare, but went on throwing scraps out by the fistful, her
hard mouth drawn into forbidding lines.
Lucas drew rein and Virginia descended.
“Is Mrs. William Carter here?” she asked quietly.
Mrs. Quantah emptied the pan and looked around her.
“Yes, she is—she’s sick, too.”
Virginia’s quick blush mounted. She felt peculiarly helpless. She was
not even sure that Fanchon would see her, but she held out her card.
“Please ask her to see me—if she can,” she said, in a propitiating
tone.
Mrs. Quantah wiped her fingers on her apron and took the card.
“Come in,” she said harshly, holding open the door.
Virginia followed her in. Involuntarily she gathered her white dress
about her, the place seemed so dingy and repulsive. They passed
through a forlorn hall and entered the kitchen. Sitting in a chair in the
middle of the old room, with his back to the stove, was Mr. Samuel
Bernstein. Virginia stopped involuntarily, and the woman, pulling out
a chair for her, left them abruptly, carrying Virginia’s card in the
empty saucepan.
Mr. Bernstein rose and bowed.
“Miss Denbigh, I think?” he said with elaborate politeness.
Virginia smiled.
“Mr. Bernstein, I know,” she replied quietly.
He offered his chair.

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Reference: Ref 9-1

11. What is the approximate mass of the boy?

49. A ball of mass M moves in a circular path on a horizontal, frictionless surface. It is

A) the linear momentum of the ball is conserved.

Reference: Ref 9-2

Reference: Ref 9-3

54. What is the total kinetic energy of the hoop?

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