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diff --git a/18612.txt b/18612.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5f1c127 --- /dev/null +++ b/18612.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14008 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of From the Housetops, by George Barr McCutcheon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: From the Housetops + +Author: George Barr McCutcheon + +Illustrator: F. Graham Cootes + +Release Date: June 17, 2006 [EBook #18612] +Last updated: March 3, 2009 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM THE HOUSETOPS *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +FROM THE HOUSETOPS + +BY +GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON + +Author of "Ghaustark," "The Hollow of Her Hand," +"The Prince of Graustark," etc. + +With Illustrations by +F. GRAHAM COOTES + + + + +Copyright, 1916 +By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC. +_All rights reserved_ +Made in U.S.A. + + + + +[Illustration: "Stop!" he cried eagerly. "Would you give up +everything--everything, mind you,--if I were to ask you to do so?"] + + + + +Contents +======== + +CHAPTER I 1 +CHAPTER II 9 +CHAPTER III 16 +CHAPTER IV 27 +CHAPTER V 39 +CHAPTER VI 57 +CHAPTER VII 76 +CHAPTER VIII 90 +CHAPTER IX 101 +CHAPTER X 120 +CHAPTER XI 137 +CHAPTER XII 155 +CHAPTER XIII 169 +CHAPTER XIV 185 +CHAPTER XV 197 +CHAPTER XVI 213 +CHAPTER XVII 230 +CHAPTER XVIII 247 +CHAPTER XIX 260 +CHAPTER XX 273 +CHAPTER XXI 292 +CHAPTER XXII 310 +CHAPTER XXIII 329 +CHAPTER XXIV 345 +CHAPTER XXV 359 +CHAPTER XXVI 376 +CHAPTER XXVII 391 +CHAPTER XXVIII 405 +CHAPTER XXIX 421 +CHAPTER XXX 431 + + + + +FROM THE HOUSETOPS + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +Mr. Templeton Thorpe was soon to be married for the second time. Back in +1860 he married a girl of twenty-two, and now in the year 1912 he was +taking unto himself another girl of twenty-two. In the interim he had +achieved a grandson whose years were twenty-nine. In his seventy-seventh +year he was worth a great many millions of dollars, and for that and no +other reason perhaps, one of the newspapers, in commenting on the +approaching nuptials, declared that nobody could now deny that he was a +philanthropist. + + * * * * * + +"I daresay you are right, Mrs. Tresslyn," said old Templeton Thorpe's +grandson, bitterly. "He hasn't many more years to live." + +The woman in the chair started, her eyes narrowing. The flush deepened in +her cheeks. It had been faint before and steady, but now it was ominous. + +"I fear you are again putting words into my mouth," she said coldly. "Have +I made any such statement?" + +"I did not say that you had, Mrs. Tresslyn," said the young man. "I merely +observed that you were right. It isn't necessary to put the perfectly +obvious into words. He is a very old man, so you are right in believing +that he hasn't many years left to live. Nearly four times the age of +Anne,--that's how old he is,--and time flies very swiftly for him." + +"I must again remind you that you are in danger of becoming offensive, +Braden. Be good enough to remember that this interview is not of my +choosing. I consented to receive you in--" + +"You knew it was inevitable--this interview, as you call it. You knew I +would come here to denounce this damnable transaction. I have nothing to +apologise for, Mrs. Tresslyn. This is not the time for apologies. You may +order me to leave your house, but I don't believe you will find any +satisfaction in doing so. You would still know that I have a right to +protest against this unspeakable marriage, even though it should mean +nothing more to me than the desire to protect a senile old man against +the--" + +"Your grandfather is the last man in the world to be described as senile," +she broke in, with a thin smile. + +"I could have agreed with you a month ago, but not now," said he savagely. + +"Perhaps you would better go now, Braden," said she, arising. She was a +tall, handsome woman, well under fifty. As she faced her visitor, her +cold, unfriendly eyes were almost on a level with his own. The look she +gave him would have caused a less determined man to quail. It was her way +of closing an argument, no matter whether it was with her butcher, her +grocer, of the bishop himself. Such a look is best described as imperious, +although one less reserved than I but perhaps more potently metaphorical +would say that she simply looked a hole through you, seeing beyond you as +if you were not there at all. She had found it especially efficacious in +dealing with the butcher and even the bishop, to say nothing of the effect +it always had upon the commonplace nobodies who go to the butcher and the +bishop for the luxuries of both the present and the future life, and it +had seldom failed to wither and blight the most hardy of masculine +opponents. It was not always so effective in crushing the members of her +own sex, for there were women in New York society who could look straight +through Mrs. Tresslyn without even appearing to suspect that she was in +the range of vision. She had been known, however, to stare an English duke +out of countenance, and it was a long time before she forgave herself for +doing so. It would appear that it is not the proper thing to do. Crushing +the possessor of a title is permissible only among taxi-drivers and +gentlemen whose daughters are already married. + +Her stony look did not go far toward intimidating young Mr. Thorpe. He was +a rather sturdy, athletic looking fellow with a firm chin and a well-set +jaw, and a pair of grey eyes that were not in the habit of wavering. + +"I came here to see Anne," he said, a stubborn expression settling in his +face. "Is she afraid to see me, or is she obeying orders from you, Mrs. +Tresslyn?" + +"She doesn't care to see you," said Mrs. Tresslyn. "That's all there is to +be said about it, Braden." + +"So far as I am concerned, she is still engaged to me. She hasn't broken +it off by word or letter. If you don't mind, I'd like to have it broken +off in the regular way. It doesn't seem quite proper for her to remain +engaged to me right up to the instant she marries my grandfather. Or is it +possible that she intends to remain bound to me during the lifetime of my +grandparent, with the idea of holding me to my bargain when he is gone?" + +"Don't be ridiculous," was all that Mrs. Tresslyn said in response to this +sarcasm, but she said it scathingly. + +For a full minute they stood looking into each other's eyes, each +appraising the other, one offensively, the other defensively. She had the +advantage of him, for she was prepared to defend herself while he was in +the position of one who attacks without strategy and leaps from one +exposed spot to another. It was to her advantage that she knew that he +despised her; it was to his disadvantage that he knew she had always liked +him after a manner of her own, and doubtless liked him now despite the +things he had said to her. She had liked him from his boyhood days when +report had it that he was to be the sole heir to his grandfather's +millions, and she had liked him, no doubt, quite as sincerely, after the +old man had declared that he did not intend to ruin a brilliant career by +leaving a lot of uninspiring money to his ambitious grandson. + +In so many words, old Templeton Thorpe had said, not two months before, +that he intended to leave practically all of his money to charity! All +except the two millions he stood ready to settle upon his bride the day +she married him! Possibly Mrs. Tresslyn liked the grandson all the more +for the treasures that he had lost, or was about to lose. It is easy to +like a man who will not be pitied. At any rate, she did not consider it +worth while to despise him, now that he had only a profession to offer in +exchange for her daughter's hand. + +"Of course, Mrs. Tresslyn, I know that Anne loves me," he said, with +forced calmness. "She doesn't love my grandfather. That isn't even +debatable. I fear that I am the only person in the world who does love +him. I suspect, too, that if he loves any one, I am that one. If you think +that he is fool enough to believe that Anne loves him, you are vastly +mistaken. He knows perfectly well that she doesn't, and, by gad, he +doesn't blame her. He understands. That's why he sits there at home and +chuckles. I hope you will not mind my saying to you that he considers me a +very lucky person." + +"Lucky?" said she, momentarily off her guard. + +"If you care to hear exactly how he puts it, he says I'm _damned_ lucky, +Mrs. Tresslyn. Of course, you are not to assume that I agree with him. If +I thought all this was Anne's doing and not yours, I should say that I am +lucky, but I can't believe--good heavens, I will not believe that she could +do such a thing! A young, beautiful, happy girl voluntarily--oh, it is +unspeakable! She is being driven into it, she is being sacrificed to--" + +"Just one moment, Braden," interrupted Mrs. Tresslyn, curtly. "I may as +well set you quite straight in the matter. It will save time and put an +end to recriminations. My daughter does not care the snap of her fingers +for Mr. Thorpe. I think she loves you quite as dearly now as she ever did. +At any rate, she says she does. But that is neither here nor there. She is +going to marry Mr. Thorpe, and of her own volition. I have advised her to +do so, I will admit, but I have not driven her to it, as you say. No one +but a fool would expect her to love that old man. He doesn't ask it of +her. He simply asks her to marry him. Nowadays people do not always marry +for love. In fact, they frequently marry to avoid it--at least for the time +being. Your grandfather has told you of the marriage settlement. It is to +be two million dollars, set apart for her, to be hers in full right on the +day that he dies. We are far from rich, Anne and I. My husband was a +failure--but you know our circumstances quite well enough without my going +into them. My daughter is her own mistress. She is twenty-three. She is +able to choose for herself. It pleases her to choose the grandfather +instead of the grandson. Is that perfectly plain to you? If it is, my boy, +then I submit that there is nothing further to be said. The situation is +surely clear enough for even you to see. We do not pretend to be doing +anything noble. Mr. Thorpe is seventy-seven. That is the long and short of +it." + +"In plain English, it's the money you are after," said he, with a sneer. + +"Obviously," said she, with the utmost candour. "Young women of twenty- +three do not marry old men of seventy-seven for love. You may imagine a +young girl marrying a penniless youth for love, but can you picture her +marrying a penniless octogenarian for the same reason? I fancy not. I +speak quite frankly to you, Braden, and without reserve. We have always +been friends. It would be folly to attempt to delude you into believing +that a sentimental motive is back of our--shall we say enterprise?" + +"Yes, that is what I would call it," said he levelly. "It is a more +refined word than scheme." + +"The world will be grateful for the opportunity to bear me out in all that +I have said to you," she went on. "It will cheerfully, even gleefully +supply any of the little details I may have considered unnecessary or +superfluous in describing the situation. You are at liberty, then, to go +forth and assist in the castigation. You have my permission,--and Anne's, I +may add,--to say to the world that I have told you plainly why this +marriage is to take place. It is no secret. It isn't improbable that your +grandfather will consent to back you up in your denunciation. He is that +kind of a man. He has no illusions. Permit me to remind you, therefore, +that neither you nor the world is to take it for granted that we are +hoodwinking Mr. Thorpe. Have I made myself quite clear to you, Braden?" + +The young man drew a deep breath. His tense figure relaxed. "I did not +know there were such women in the world as you, Mrs. Tresslyn. There were +heartless, soulless women among the Borgias and the Medicis, but they +lived in an age of intrigue. Their acts were mildly innocuous when +compared with--" + +"I must ask you to remember that you are in my home, Braden," she +interrupted, her eyes ablaze. + +"Oh, I remember where I am, perfectly," he cried. "It was in this very +room that Anne promised to become my wife. It was here that you gave your +consent, less than a year ago." + +He had been pacing the floor, back and forth across the space in front of +the fireplace, in which logs were blazing on this raw February afternoon. +Now he stopped once more to face her resolutely. + +"I insist that it is my right to see Anne," he said. His eyes were +bloodshot, his cheek pallid. "I must hear from her own lips that she no +longer considers herself bound to me by the promise made a year ago. I +demand that much of her. She owes it to me, if not to herself, to put an +end to the farce before she turns to tragedy. I don't believe she +appreciates the wickedness of the thing she is about to do. I insist that +it is my right to speak with her, to urge her to reconsider, to point out +to her the horrors of--" + +"She will not see you, Braden," broke in the mother, finality in her +voice. + +"She _must_ see me," he shouted. "If not to-day, to-morrow; if not then, +some other day, for, by the Eternal, Mrs. Tresslyn, I intend to speak with +her if I have to wait until the accursed day you have selected,--at the +very altar, if necessary. She shall not go into this thing until she has +had the final word with me, and I with her. She does not know what she is +doing. She is carried away by the thought of all that money--Money! Good +God, Mrs. Tresslyn, she has told me a hundred times that she would marry +me if I were as poor as the raggedest beggar in the streets. She loves me, +she cannot play this vile trick on me. Her heart is pure. You cannot make +me believe that she isn't honest and fair and loyal. I tell you now, once +and for all, that I will not stand idly by and see this vile sacrifice +made in order to--" + +"Rawson," interrupted Mrs. Tresslyn, looking beyond him in the direction +of the door, "Doctor Thorpe is going. Will you give him his hat and coat?" +She had pressed a button beside the mantelpiece, and in response to the +call, the butler stood in the doorway. "Good day, Braden. I am sorry that +Anne is unable to see you to-day. She--" + +"Good day, Mrs. Tresslyn," he choked out, controlling himself with an +effort. "Will you tell her that I shall call to-morrow?" + +She smiled. "When do you expect to return to London? I had hoped to have +you stay until after the wedding." + +His smile was more of an effort than hers. "Thanks. My grandfather has +expressed the same hope. He says the affair will not be complete without +my presence at the feast. To-morrow, at this hour, I shall come to see +Anne. Thank you, Rawson." + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +His gaze swept the long, luxurious drawing-room, now filled with the +shadows of late afternoon. A sigh that ended in an unvoiced imprecation +escaped him. There was not an object in the room that did not possess for +him a peculiar claim of intimacy. Here he had dreamed of paradise with +Anne, and here he had built upon his hopes,--a staunch future that demanded +little of the imagination. He could never forget this room and all that it +had held for him. + +But now, in that brief, swift glance, he found himself estimating the cost +of all the treasures that it contained, and the price that was to be paid +in order that they might not be threatened. These things represented +greed. They had always represented greed. They had been saved out of the +wreck that befell the Tresslyn fortunes when Anne was a young girl +entering her teens, the wreck that destroyed Arthur Tresslyn and left his +widow with barely enough to sustain herself and children through the years +that intervened between the then and the now. + +He recalled that after the wreck had been cleared up, Mrs. Tresslyn had a +paltry twenty-five thousand a year on which to maintain the house that, +fortuitously, had been in her name at the time of the smash. A paltry sum +indeed! Barely enough to feed and clothe one hundred less exacting +families for a year; families, however, with wheelbarrows instead of +automobiles, and with children instead of servants. + +Ten years had elapsed since the death of Arthur Tresslyn, and still the +house in the east Seventies held itself above water by means of that +meagre two thousand a month! These rare, almost priceless objects upon +which he now gazed had weathered the storm, proof against the temptations +that beset an owner embarrassed by their richness; they had maintained a +smug relationship to harmony in spite of the jangling of discordant +instruments, such as writs and attachments and the wails of insufferable +creditors who made the usual mistake of thinking that a man's home is his +castle and therefore an object of reprisal. The splendid porcelains, the +incomparable tapestries and the small but exquisite paintings remained +where they had been placed by the amiable but futile Arthur, and all the +king's men and all the king's horses could not have removed them without +Mrs. Tresslyn's sanction. The mistress of the house subsisted as best she +could on the pitiful income from a sequestered half-million, and lived in +splendour among objects that deluded even the richest and most arrogant of +her friends into believing that nothing was more remote from her +understanding than the word poverty, or the equally disgusting word +thrift. + +Here he had come to children's parties in days when he was a lad and Anne +a child of twelve, and here he had always been a welcome visitor and +playmate, even to the end of his college years. The motherless, fatherless +grandson of old Templeton Thorpe was cherished among heirlooms that never +had had a price put upon them. Of all the boys who came to the Tresslyn +house, young Braden Thorpe was the heir with the most potent possibility. +He did not know it then, but now he knew that on the occasion of his +smashing a magnificent porcelain vase the forgiving kiss that Mrs. +Tresslyn bestowed upon his flaming cheek was not due to pity but to +farsightedness. Somehow he now felt that he could smash every fragile and +inanimate thing in sight, and still escape the kiss. + +Not the least regal and imposing object in the room was the woman who +stood beside the fireplace, smiling as she always smiled when a situation +was at its worst and she at her best. Her high-bred, aristocratic face was +as insensitive to an inward softness as a chiseled block of marble is to +the eye that gazes upon it in rapt admiration. She had trained herself to +smile in the face of the disagreeable; she had acquired the _art_ of +tranquillity. This long anticipated interview with her daughter's cast- +off, bewildered lover was inevitable. They had known that he would come, +insistent. She had not kept him waiting. When he came to the house the day +after his arrival from England, following close upon a cablegram sent the +day after the news of Anne's defection had struck him like a thunderbolt, +she was ready to receive him. + +And now, quite as calmly and indifferently, she was ready to say good-bye +to him forever,--to this man who until a fortnight before had considered +himself, and rightly too, to be the affianced husband of her daughter. He +meant nothing to her. Her world was complete without him. He possessed her +daughter's love,--and all the love she would ever know perhaps,--but even +that did not produce within her the slightest qualm. Doubtless Anne would +go on loving him to the end of her days. It is the prerogative of women +who do not marry for love; it is their right to love the men they do not +marry provided they honour the men they do, and keep their skirts clear +besides. + +Mrs. Tresslyn felt, and honestly too, that her own assurances that Anne +loved him would be quite as satisfactory as if Anne were to utter them +herself. It all came to the same thing, and she had an idea that she could +manage the situation more ably than her daughter. + +And Mrs. Tresslyn was quite sure that it would come out all right in the +end. She hadn't the remotest doubt that Anne could marry Braden later on, +if she cared to do so, and if nothing better offered; so what was there to +worry about? Things always shape themselves after the easiest possible +fashion. It wasn't as if she was marrying a young man with money. Mrs. +Tresslyn had seen things shape themselves before. Moreover, she rather +hated the thought of being a grandmother before she was fifty. And so it +was really a pleasure to turn this possible son-in-law out of her house +just at this time. It would be a very simple matter to open the door to +him later on and invite him in. + +She stood beside her hearth and watched him go with a calm and far from +uneasy eye. He would come again to-morrow, perhaps,--but even at his worst +he could not be a dangerous visitor. He was a gentleman. He was a bit +distressed. Gentlemen are often put to the test, and they invariably +remain gentlemen. + +He stopped at the door. "Will you tell Anne that I'll be here to-morrow, +Mrs. Tresslyn?" + +"I shall tell her, of course," said Mrs. Tresslyn, and lifted her lorgnon. + +He went out, filled to the throat with rage and resentment. His strong +body was bent as if against a gale, and his hands were tightly clenched in +his overcoat pockets. In his haste to get away from the house, he had +fairly flung himself into the ulster that Rawson held for him, and the +collar of his coat showed high above the collar of the greatcoat,--a most +unusual lapse from orderliness on the part of this always careful dresser. + +He was returning to his grandfather's house. Old Templeton Thorpe would be +waiting there for him, and Mr. Thorpe's man would be standing outside the +library door as was his practice when his master was within, and there +would be a sly, patient smile on the servant's lips but not in his sombre +eyes. He was returning to his grandfather's house because he had promised +to come back and tell the old man how he had fared at the home of his +betrothed. The old man had said to him earlier in the afternoon that he +would know more about women than he'd ever known before by the time his +interview was over, and had drily added that the world was full to +overflowing of good women who had not married the men they +loved,--principally, he was just enough to explain, because the men they +loved preferred to marry other women. + +Braden had left him seated in the library after a stormy half-hour; and as +he rushed from the room, he found Mr. Thorpe's man standing in the hall +outside the door, just as he always stood, waiting for orders with the +sly, patient smile on his lips. + +For sixty years Templeton Thorpe had lived in the house near Washington +Square, and for thirty-two of them Wade had been within sound of his +voice, no matter how softly he called. The master never rang a bell, night +or day. He did not employ Wade to answer bells. The butler could do that, +or the parlour-maid, if the former happened to be tipsier than usual. Wade +always kept his head cocked a little to one side, in the attitude of one +listening, and so long had he been at it that it is doubtful if he could +have cocked it the other way without snapping something in his neck. That +right ear of his was open for business twenty-four hours out of the day. +The rest of his body may have slept as soundly as any man's, but his ear +was always awake, on land or sea. It was his boast that he had never had a +vacation. + +Braden, after his long ride down Fifth Avenue on the stage, found Wade in +the hall. + +"Is my grandfather in the library, Wade?" he asked, surprised to find the +man at the foot of the stairs, quite a distance from his accustomed post. + +"He is, sir," said Wade. "He asked me to wait here until you arrived and +then to go upstairs for a little while, sir. I fancy he has something to +say to you in private." Which was a naive way of explaining that Mr. +Thorpe did not want him to have his ear cocked in the hall during the +conversation that was to be resumed after an advisable interval. Observing +the strange pallor in the young man's usually ruddy face, he solicitously +added: "Shall I get you a glass of--ahem!--spirits, sir? A snack of brandy +is a handy thing to--" + +"No, thank you, Wade. You forget that I am a doctor. I never take +medicine," said Braden, forcing a smile. + +"A very good idea, sir," said Wade. + +Meanwhile, Mrs. Tresslyn had reported to Anne, in the cosy little boudoir +at the top of the house in the Seventies. + +"It is just as well that you insisted on me seeing him, dear," she said on +entering the room. "He would have said things to you that you could not +have forgiven. As it is, you have nothing to forgive, and you have saved +yourself a good many tears. He--but, my dear, what's this? Have you been +crying?" + +Anne, tall and slender, stood with her back to the window, her exquisite +face in the shadows. Even in the dim, colourless light of the waning day, +she was lovely--lovely even with the wet cheeks and the drooped, whimpering +lips. + +"What did he say, mother?" she asked, her voice hushed and broken. "How +did he look?" Her head was bent and she looked at her mother from beneath +pain-contracted brows. "Was he angry? Was he desperate? Did--did he say +that he--that he loved me?" + +"He looked very well, he was angry, he was desperate and he said that he +loved you," replied Mrs. Tresslyn, with the utmost composure. "So dry your +eyes. He did just what was to have been expected of him, and just what you +counted upon. He--" + +"He honestly, truly said that he loved me?" cried the girl, lifting her +head and drawing a deep breath. + +"Yes,--truly." + +Anne dried her eyes with a fresh bit of lace. + +"Sit down, mother, and tell me all about it," she said, jerking a small +chair around so that it faced the couch. Then she threw herself upon the +latter and, reaching out with a slender foot, drew the chair closer. "Sit +up close, and let's hear what my future grandson had to say." + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +Braden Thorpe had spent two years in the New York hospitals, after +graduation from Johns Hopkins, and had been sent to Germany and Austria by +his grandfather when he was twenty-seven, to work under the advanced +scientists of Vienna and Berlin. At twenty-nine he came back to New York, +a serious-minded, purposeful man, wrapped up in his profession and +heterodoxically humane, to use the words of his grandfather. The first day +after his return he confided to his grim old relative the somewhat +unprofessional opinion that hopelessly afflicted members of the human race +should be put out of their misery by attending physicians, operating under +the direction of a commission appointed to consider such cases, and that +the act should be authorised by law! + +His grandfather, being seventy-six and apparently as healthy as any one +could hope to be at that age, said that he thought it would be just as +well to kill 'em legally as any other way, having no good opinion of +doctors, and admitted that his grandson had an exceptionally soft heart in +him even though his head was a trifle harder and thicker than was +necessary in one so young. + +"It's worth thinking about, anyhow, isn't it, granddaddy?" Braden had +said, with great earnestness. + +"It is, my boy," said Templeton Thorpe; "especially when you haven't got +anything serious the matter with you." + +"But if you were hopelessly ill and suffering beyond all endurance you'd +welcome death, wouldn't you?" + +"No, I wouldn't," said Mr. Thorpe promptly. "The only time I ever wanted +to shuffle off was when your grandmother first refused to marry me. The +second time she refused me I decided to do something almost but not quite +so terrible, so I went West. The third time I proposed, she accepted me, +and out of sheer joy I very stupidly got drunk. So, you see, there is +always something to live for," he concluded, with his driest smile. + +"I am quite serious about it, grandfather," said Braden stiffly. + +"So I perceive. Well, you are planning to hang out your sign here in New +York pretty soon, and you are going to become a licensed physician, the +confrere and companion of a lot of distinguished gentlemen who believe +just as you do about putting sufferers out of their misery but who +wouldn't think of doing it, so I'd advise you to keep your opinions to +yourself. What do you suppose I sent you abroad for, and gave you an +education that few young men have received? Just to see you kicked out of +your profession before you've fairly well put a foot into it, or a knife +into a plutocrat, or a pill into a pauper? No, sirree, my boy. You sit +tight and let the hangman do all the legal killing that has to be done." + +"Oh, I know perfectly well that if I advanced this theory,--or scheme,--at +present, I'd be kicked out of the profession, notwithstanding the fact +that it has all been discussed a million times by doctors in every part of +the world. I can't help having the feeling that it would be a great and +humane thing--" + +"Quite so," broke in the old man, "but let us talk of something else." + +A month later Braden came to him and announced that he and Anne Tresslyn +were betrothed. They had known each other for years, and from the time +that Anne was seventeen Braden had loved her. He had been a quiet, rather +shy boy, and she a gay, self-possessed creature whose outlook upon life +was so far advanced beyond his, even in those days of adolescence, that he +looked upon her as the eighth wonder of the world. She had poise, manner, +worldly wisdom of a pleasantly superficial character that stood for +sophistication in his blissful estimate of her advantages over him, and +she was so adroit in the art of putting her finger upon the right spot at +precisely the right moment that he found himself wondering if he could +ever bring himself up to her insuperable level. + +And when he came home after the two years in Europe, filled with great +thoughts and vast pretentions of a singularly unromantic nature, he found +her so much lovelier than before that where once he had shyly coveted he +now desired with a fervour that swept him headlong into a panic of dread +lest he had waited too long and that he had irretrievably lost her while +engaged in the wretchedly mundane and commonplace pursuit of trifles. He +was intensely amazed, therefore, to discover that she had loved him ever +since she was a child in short frocks. He expected her to believe him when +he said to her that she was the loveliest of all God's creatures, but it +was more than he could believe when she declared that he was as handsome +as a Greek god. That, of course, to him was a ludicrous thing to say, a +delusion, a fancy that could not be explained, and yet he had seen himself +in a mirror a dozen times a day, perhaps, without even suspecting, in his +simplicity, that he was an extremely good-looking chap and well worth a +second glance from any one except himself. + +The announcement did not come as a surprise to old Mr. Thorpe. He had been +expecting it. He realised that Braden's dilatory tactics alone were +accountable for the delay in bringing the issue to a head. + +"And when do you expect to be married?" he had inquired, squinting at his +grandson in a somewhat dubious manner. + +"Within the year, I hope," said Braden. "Of course, I shall have to get a +bit of a start before we can think of getting married." + +"A bit of a start, eh? Expect to get enough of a practice in a year to +keep Anne going, do you?" + +"We shall live very economically." + +"Is that your idea or hers?" + +"She knows that I have but little more than two thousand a year, but, of +course, it won't take much of a practice to add something to that, you +know." + +"Besides, you can always depend upon me to help you out, Braden,--that is, +within reason," said the other, watching him narrowly out of his shrewd +old eyes. + +Braden flushed. "You have done more than enough for me already, +grandfather. I can't take anything more, you see. I'm going to fight my +own way now, sir." + +"I see," said Mr. Thorpe. "That's the way to talk, my boy. And what does +Anne say to that?" + +"She thinks just as I do about it. Oh, she's the right sort, granddaddy, +so you needn't worry about us, once we are married." + +"Perhaps I should have asked what her mother has to say about it." + +"Well, she gave us her blessing," said his grandson, with a happy grin. + +"After she had heard about your plan to live on the results of your +practice?" + +"She said she wasn't going to worry about that, sir. If Anne was willing +to wait, so was she." + +"Wait for what?" + +"My practice to pick up, of course. What do you mean?" + +"Just that, of course," said the old man quickly. "Well, my boy, while I +daresay it isn't really necessary, I give my consent. I am sure you and +Anne will be very happy in your cosy little five-room flat, and that she +will be a great help to you. You may even attain to quite a fashionable +practice,--or clientele, which is it?--through the Tresslyn position in the +city. Thousand dollar appendicitis operations ought to be quite common +with you from the outset, with Anne to talk you up a bit among the people +who belong to her set and who are always looking for something to keep +them from being bored to death. I understand that anybody who has an +appendix nowadays is looked upon as exceedingly vulgar and is not even +tolerated in good society. As for a man having a sound liver,--well, that +kind of a liver is absolutely inexcusable. Nobody has one to-day if he can +afford to have the other kind. Good livers always have livers,--and so do +bad livers, for that matter. But, now, let us return to the heart. You are +quite sure that Anne loves you better than she loves herself? That's quite +important, you know. I have found that people who say that they love some +one better than anybody else in the world, usually forget themselves,--that +is to say, they overlook themselves. How about Anne?" + +"Rather epigrammatic, aren't you, granddaddy? I have Anne's word for it, +that's all. She wouldn't marry me if she loved any one more than she does +me,--not even herself, as you put it. I am sure if I were Anne I should +love myself better than all the rest of the world." + +"A very pretty speech, my boy. You should make an exceptionally +fashionable doctor. You will pardon me for appearing to be cynical, but +you see I am a very old man and somewhat warped,--bent, you might say, in +my attitude toward the tender passion as it is practised to-day. Still, I +shall take your word for it. Anne loves you devotedly, and you love her. +The only thing necessary, therefore, is a professional practice, or, in +other words, a practical profession. I am sure you will achieve both. You +have my best wishes. I love you, my boy. You are the only thing left in +life for me to love. Your father was my only son. He would have been a +great man, I am sure, if he had not been my son. I spoiled him. I think +that is the reason why he died so young. Now, my dear grandson, I am not +going to make the mistake with his son that I made with my own. I intend +that you shall fight your own battles. Among other things, you will have +to fight pretty hard for Anne. That is a mere detail, of course. You are a +resolute, determined, sincere fellow, Braden, and you have in you the +making of a splendid character. You will succeed in anything you +undertake. I like your eye, my boy, and I like the set of your jaw. You +have principle and you have a sense of reverence that is quite uncommon in +these days of ours. I daresay you have been wicked in an essential sort of +way, and I fancy you have been just as necessarily honourable. I don't +like a mollycoddle. I don't like anything invertebrate. I despise a +Christian who doesn't understand Christ. Christ despised sin but he didn't +despise sinners. And that brings us back to Mrs. Tresslyn,--Constance Blair +that was. You will have to be exceedingly well fortified, my boy, if you +expect to withstand the clever Constance. She is the refinement of +maternal ambition. She will not be satisfied to have her daughter married +to a mere practice. She didn't bring her up for that. She will ask me to +come and see her within the next few days. What am I to say to her when +she asks me if I expect you and Anne to live on what you can earn out of +your ridiculous profession?" + +"I think that's all pretty well understood," said Braden easily. "You do +Mrs. Tresslyn an injustice, granddaddy. She says it will be a splendid +thing for Anne to struggle along as we shall have to do for a while. +Character building, is the way she puts it." + +"Just the same, I shall expect a message from her before the engagement is +announced," said the old man drily. + +A hard glitter had come into his eyes. He loved this good-looking, earnest +grandson of his, and he was troubled. He lay awake half the night thinking +over this piece of not unexpected news. + +The next morning at breakfast he said to Braden: "See here, my boy, you +spoke to me recently about your desire to spend a year in and about the +London hospitals before settling down to the real business of life. I've +been thinking it over. You can't very well afford to pay for these +finishing touches after you've begun struggling along on your own hook, +and trying to make both ends meet on a slender income, so I'd suggest that +you take this next year as a gift from me and spend it on the other side, +working with my good friend, Sir George Bascombe, the greatest of all the +English surgeons. I don't believe you will ever regret it." + +Braden was overjoyed. "I should like nothing better, grandfather. By jove, +you are good to me. You--" + +"It is only right and just that I should give to the last of my race the +chance to be a credit to it." There was something cryptic in the remark, +but naturally it escaped Braden's notice. "You are the only one of the +Thorpes left, my boy. I was an only son and, strange as it may appear, I +was singularly without avuncular relatives. It is not surprising, +therefore, that I should desire to make a great man out of you. You shall +not be handicapped by any failure on my part to do the right thing by you. +If it is in my power to safeguard you, it is my duty to exercise that +power. Nothing must be allowed to stand in the way or to obstruct your +progress. Nothing must be allowed to check your ambition or destroy your +courage. So, if you please, I think you ought to have this chance to work +with Bascombe. A year is a short time to a chap of your age and +experience, and it may be the most valuable one in a long and successful +life." + +"If I can ever grow to be half as wise and half as successful as you, +grandfather, I shall have achieved more than--" + +"My boy, I inherited my success and I've been more of a fool than you +suspect. My father left me with two or three millions of dollars, and the +little wisdom that I have acquired I would pass on to you instead of money +if it were possible to do so. A man cannot bequeath his wisdom. He may +inherit it, but he can't give it away, for the simple reason that no one +will take it as a gift. It is like advice to the young: something to +disregard. My father left me a great deal of money, and I was too much of +a coward to become a failure. Only the brave men are failures. They are +the ones who take the risks. If you are going to be a surgeon, be a great +one. Now, when do you think you can go to London?" + +Braden, his face aglow, was not long in answering. "I'll speak to Anne +about it to-night. If she is willing to marry me at once, we'll start +immediately. By Jove, sir, it is wonderful! It is the greatest thing that +ever happened to a fellow. I--" + +"Ah, but I'm afraid that doesn't fit in with my plan," interrupted the old +man, knitting his brows. "It is my idea that you should devote yourself to +observation and not to experimentation,--to study instead of honeymooning. +A bride is out of the question, Braden. This is to be my year and not +Anne's." + +They were a week thrashing it out, and in the end it was Mrs. Tresslyn who +settled the matter. She had had her talk with Mr. Templeton Thorpe, and, +after hearing all that he had to say, expressed herself in no uncertain +terms on the advisability of postponing the wedding for a year if not +longer. Something she said in private to Anne appeared to have altered +that charming young person's notions in regard to an early wedding, so +Braden found himself without an ally. He went to London early in the fall, +with Anne's promises safely stowed away in his heart, and he came back in +the middle of his year with Sir George, dazed and bewildered by her +faithlessness and his grandfather's perfidy. + +Out of a clear sky had come the thunderbolt. And then, while he was still +dazed and furious, his grandfather had tried to convince him that he had +done him a deuce of a good turn in showing up Anne Tresslyn! + +In patience the old man had listened to his grandson's tirade, his +ravings, his anathemas. He had heard himself called a traitor. He had +smiled grimly on being described as a satyr! When words and breath at last +failed the stalwart Braden, the old gentleman, looking keenly out from +beneath his shaggy brows, and without the slightest trace of resentment in +his manner, suggested that they leave the matter to Anne. + +"If she really wants you, my boy, she'll chuck me and my two-million- +dollar purse out of the window, so to speak, and she'll marry you in spite +of your poverty. If she does that, I'll be satisfied. I'll step down and +out and I'll praise God for his latest miracle. If she looks at it from +the other point of view,--the perfectly safe and secure way, you +understand,--and confirms her allegiance to me, I'll still be exceedingly +happy in the consciousness that I've done you a good turn. I will enter my +extreme old age in the race against your healthy youth. I will proffer my +three or four remaining years to her as against the fifty you may be able +to give her. Go and see her at once. Then come back here to me and tell me +what she says." + +And so it was that Braden Thorpe returned, as he had agreed to do, to the +home of the man who had robbed him of his greatest possession,--faith in +woman. He found his grandfather seated in the library, in front of a half- +dead fire. A word, in passing, to describe this remarkable old man. He was +tall and thin, and strangely erect for one of his years. His gaunt, seamed +face was beardless and almost repellent in its severity. In his deep-set, +piercing eyes lurked all the pains of a lifetime. He had been a strong, +robust man; the framework was all that remained of the staunch house in +which his being had dwelt for so long. His hand shook and his knee +rebelled against exertion, but his eye was unwavering, his chin +unflinching. White and sparse was the thatch of hair upon his shrunken +skull, and harsh was the thin voice that came from his straight, +colourless lips. He walked with a cane, and seldom without the patient, +much-berated Wade at his elbow, a prop against the dreaded day when his +legs would go back on him and the brink would appear abruptly out of +nowhere at his very feet. And there were times when he put his hand to his +side and held it there till the look of pain softened about his mouth and +eyes, though never quite disappeared. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +It was Templeton Thorpe's contention that Braden was a family investment, +and that a good investment will take care of itself if properly handled. +He considered himself quite capable of making a man of Braden, but he did +not allow the boy to think that the job was a one-sided undertaking. +Braden worked for all that he received. There was no silver platter, no +golden spoon in Mr. Thorpe's cupboard. They understood each other +perfectly and Templeton Thorpe was satisfied with his investment. + +That is why his eyes twinkled when Braden burst into the library after his +fruitless appeal to Mrs. Tresslyn. He smiled as one smiles with relief +when a craft he is watching glides safely but narrowly past a projecting +abutment. + +"Calm yourself," he remarked after Braden's somewhat wild and incoherent +beginning. "And sit down. You will not get anywhere pacing this twenty by +thirty room, and you are liable to run into something immovable if you +don't stop glaring at me and watch out where you are going instead." + +"Sit down?" shouted Braden, stopping before the old man in the chair, his +hands clinched and his teeth showing. "I'll never sit down in your house +again! What do you think I am? A snivelling, cringing dog that has to lick +your hand for--" + +"Now, now!" admonished the old man, without anger. "If you will not sit +down, at least be kind enough to stand still. I can't understand half you +say while you are stamping around like that. This isn't a china shop. +Control yourself. Now, let's have it in so many words and not so many +gesticulations. So Anne declined to see you, eh?" + +"I don't believe Anne had a voice in the matter. Mrs. Tresslyn is at the +back of all this. She is the one who has roped you in,--duped you, or +whatever you choose to call it without resorting to profanity. She's +forcing Anne into this damnable marriage, and she is making a perfect fool +of you. Can't you see it? Can't you see--but, my God, how can I ask that +question of you? When a man gets to be as old as you, he--" He broke off +abruptly, on the point of uttering the unforgivable. + +"Go on, my boy," said Templeton Thorpe quietly. "Say it. I shan't mind." + +"Oh, what's the use?" groaned the miserable lover. "I cannot say anything +more to you, sir, than I said early this afternoon. I told you then just +what I think of your treachery. There isn't anything more for me to say, +but I'd like you to know that Anne despises you. Her mother acknowledges +that much at least,--and, curse her, without shame!" + +"I am quite well aware of the fact, Braden," said the old man. "You +couldn't expect her to love me, could you?" + +"Then, why in God's name are you marrying her? Why are you spoiling my +life? Why are you--" + +"Is it spoiling your life to have the girl you love turn to and marry an +old wreck such as I am, just because I happen to be willing to pay her two +million dollars,--in advance, you might say? Is that spoiling your life or +saving it?" + +Mr. Thorpe had dropped the cynical, half-amused air, and was now speaking +with great intensity. Braden, struck by the change, turned suddenly to +regard the old man with a new and puzzled light in his lowering eyes. + +"See here, my lad, you've had your chance. I knew what I was about when I +sent you to see her. I knew precisely what would happen. She wants to +marry you, but she prefers to marry me. That isn't as ambiguous as it +sounds. Just think it over,--later on, not now, for I have something else +to say to you. Do me the honour to be seated. Thank you. Now, you've got +quite a good-sized, respectable nose upon your face. I submit that the +situation is quite as plain as that nose, if you look at it in the broad +light of understanding. If you think that I am marrying Anne because I +love her, or because I am in my dotage and afflicted with senility, you +are very much mistaken. If you think I am giving her two million dollars +as a wedding gift because I expect it to purchase her love and esteem, you +do my intelligence an injustice. If you think that I relish the prospect +of having that girl in my house from now till the day I die, worrying the +soul out of me, you are too simple for words. I am marrying her, not +because I love her, my lad, but--but because I love _you_. God forbid that +I should ever sink so low as to steal from my own flesh and blood. +Stealing is one thing, bartering another. I expect to convince you that I +have not taken anything from you that is of value, hence I am not a +malefactor." + +Braden, seated opposite him, his elbows on the arms of the chair, leaned +forward and watched the old man curiously. A new light had come into his +eyes when Mr. Thorpe uttered those amazing words--"but because I love +_you_." He was beginning to see, he was beginning to analyse the old man's +motives, he was groping his way out of the fog. + +"You will have hard work to convince me that I have not been treated most +unfairly, most vilely," said he, his lips still compressed. + +"Many years ago," said Mr. Thorpe, fixing his gaze on the lazy fire, "I +asked Anne's grandmother to marry me. I suppose I thought that I was +unalterably in love with her. I was the very rich son of a very rich man, +and--pardon my conceit--what you would call an exceedingly good catch. Well, +in those days things were not as they are now. The young lady, a great +beauty and amazingly popular, happened to be in love with Roger Blair, a +good-looking chap with no fortune and no prospects. She took the advice of +her mother and married the man she loved, disdaining my riches and me as +well. Roger wasn't much of a success as a husband, but he was a source of +enlightenment and education to his wife. Not in the way you would suspect, +however. He managed in very short order to convince her that it is a very +ignorant mother who permits her daughter to marry a man without means. +They hadn't been married three years when his wife had learned her lesson. +It was too late to get rid of Roger, and by that time I was happily +married to a girl who was quite as rich as I, and could afford to do as +she pleased. So, you see, Anne's grandmother had to leave me out of the +case, even though Roger would have been perfectly delighted to have given +her sufficient grounds for divorce. I think you knew Anne's grandmother, +Braden?" He paused for an answer, a sly, appraising look in his eyes. +Receiving no response except a slight nod of the head, he chuckled softly +and went on with the history. + +"Poor soul, she's gone to her reward. Now we come to Anne's mother. She +was an only child,--and one was quite enough, I assure you. No mother ever +had greater difficulty in satisfactorily placing a daughter than had Mrs. +Blair. There was an army of young but not very dependable gentlemen who +would have married her like a flash, notwithstanding her own poverty, had +it not been for the fact that Mrs. Blair was so thoroughly educated by +this time that she couldn't even contemplate a mistake in her +calculations. She had had ample proof that love doesn't keep the wolf from +the door, nor does it draw five per cent, as some other bonds do. She +brought Constance up in what is now considered to be the most approved +fashion in high society. The chap who had nothing but health and ambition +and honour and brains to offer, in addition to that unprofitable thing +called love, was a viper in Mrs. Blair's estimation. He was very properly +and promptly stamped upon by the fond mother and doubtless was very glad +to crawl off into the high grass, out of danger. He--" + +"What has all this got to do with your present behaviour?" demanded Braden +harshly. "Speaking of vipers," he added, by way of comment. + +"I am coming to that," said Mr. Thorpe, resenting the interruption but not +its sting. "After a careful campaign, Arthur Tresslyn was elected. He had +a great deal of money, a kind heart and scarcely any brains. He was an +ideal choice, everybody was agreed upon that. The fellow that Constance +was really in love with at the time, Jimmy Gordon, was a friend of your +father's. Well, the gentle Arthur went to pieces financially a good many +years ago. He played hob with all the calculations, and so we find +Constance, his wife, lamenting in the graveyard of her hopes and cursing +Jimmy Gordon for his unfaithfulness in marrying before he was in a +position to do so. If Jimmy had remained single for twelve years longer +than he did, I daresay Arthur's widow would have succeeded in nabbing him +whether or no. Arthur managed to die very happily, they say, quite well +pleased with himself for having squandered the fortune which brought him +so much misery. Now we come to Anne, Arthur's daughter. She became deeply +enamoured of a splendid, earnest young chap named Braden Thorpe, grandson +of the wealthy and doddering Templeton Thorpe, and recognised as his sole +heir. Keep your seat, Braden; I am coming to the point. This young Thorpe +trusted the fair and beautiful Anne. He set out to make a name and fortune +for himself and for her. He sought knowledge and experience in distant +lands, leaving his poor old grandfather at home with nothing to amuse +himself with except nine millions of dollars and his dread of death. While +Braden was experimenting in London, this doddering, senile old gentleman +of Washington Square began to experiment a little on his own account. He +set out to discover just what sort of stuff this Anne Tresslyn was made of +and to prove to himself that she was worthy of his grandson's love. He +began with the girl's mother. As soon as possible, he explained to her +that money is a curse. She agreed that money is a curse if you haven't got +it. In time, he confessed to her that he did not mean to curse his +grandson with an unearned fortune, and that he intended to leave him in +his will the trifling sum of fifty thousand dollars, thereby endowing him +with the ambition and perhaps the energy to earn more and at the same time +be of great benefit to the world in which he would have to struggle. Also, +he let it be known that he was philanthropically inclined, that he +purposed giving a great many millions to science and that his death would +be of untold value to the human race. Are you attending, Braden? If you +are not, I shall stop talking at once. It is very exhausting and I haven't +much breath or time to waste." + +"I am listening. Go on," said Braden, suddenly sitting up in his chair and +taking a long, deep breath. The angry, antagonistic light was gone from +his eyes. + +"Well, the clever Mrs. Tresslyn was interested--deeply interested in my +disclosures. She did not hesitate to inform me that Anne couldn't begin to +live on the income from a miserable fifty thousand, and actually laughed +in my face when I reminded her of the young lady's exalted preference for +love in a cottage and joy at any price. Biding my time, I permitted the +distressing truth to sink in. You will remember that Anne's letters began +to come less frequently about four months ago, and--" + +"How do you happen to know about that?" broke in the young man, in +surprise. + +"Where she had been in the habit of writing twice and even three times a +week," went on Mr. Thorpe, "she was content to set herself to the task of +dropping you a perfunctory letter once in a fortnight. You will also +recall that her letters were not so full of intensity--or enthusiasm: they +lacked fervour, they fell off considerably in many ways. I happen to know +about all this, Braden, because putting two and two together has always +been exceedingly simple for me. You see, it was about three months ago +that Anne began to reveal more than casual interest in Percy Wintermill. +She--" + +"Percy Wintermill!" gasped Braden, clutching the arms of his chair. "Why, +she has always looked upon him as the stupidest, ugliest man in town. His +attentions have been a standing joke between us. He is crazy about her, I +know, but--oh, well, go on with the story." + +"To be sure he is crazy about her, as you say. That isn't strange. Half +the young men in town think they are in love with her, and most of them +believe she could make them happy. Now, no one concedes physical beauty or +allurement to Percy. He is as ugly as they grow, but he isn't stupid. He +is just a nice, amiable, senseless nincompoop with a great deal of money +and a tremendous amount of health. He--" + +"I like Wintermill. He is one of my best friends. He is as square as any +man I know and he would be the last person to try to come between Anne and +me. He is too fond of me for that, sir. You--" + +"Unfortunately he was not aware of the fact that you and Anne were +engaged. You forget that the engagement was to be kept under cover for the +time being. But all this is beside the question. Mrs. Tresslyn had looked +the field over pretty carefully. No one appeared to be so well qualified +to take your place as Percy Wintermill. He had everything that is +desirable in a husband except good looks and perhaps good manners. So she +began fishing for Percy. Anne was a delightful bait. Of course, Percy's +robust health was objectionable, but it wasn't insurmountable. I could see +that Anne loathed the thought of having him for a husband for thirty or +forty years. Anybody could see that,--even Percy must have possessed +intelligence enough to see it for himself. Finally, about six weeks ago, +Anne rose above her environment. She allowed Percy to propose, asked for a +few days in which to make up her mind, and then came out with a point- +blank refusal. She defied her mother, openly declaring that she would +marry you in spite of everything." + +"And that is just what she shall do, poor girl," cried Braden joyously. +"She shall not be driven into--" + +"Just a moment, please. When I discovered that young Wintermill couldn't +be depended upon to rescue his best friend, I stepped into the arena, so +to speak," said Mr. Thorpe with fine irony. "I sensed the situation +perfectly. Percy was young and strong and enduring. He would be a long +time dying in the natural order of things. What Anne was looking for--now, +keep your seat, my boy!--what she wanted was a husband who could be +depended upon to leave her a widow before it was too late. Now, I am +seventy-seven, and failing pretty rapidly. It occurred to me that I would +be just the thing for her. To make the story short, I began to dilate upon +my great loneliness, and also hinted that if I could find the right sort +of companion I would jump at the chance to get married. That's putting it +rather coarsely, my boy, but the whole business is so ugly that it doesn't +seem worth while to affect delicacy. Inside of two weeks, we had come to +an understanding,--that is, an arrangement had been perfected. I think that +everything was agreed upon except the actual day of my demise. As you +know, I am to set aside for Anne as an ante-nuptial substitute for all +dower rights in my estate, the sum of two million dollars. I may add that +the securities guaranteeing this amount have been submitted to Mrs. +Tresslyn and she has found them to be gilt-edged. These securities are to +be held in trust for her until the day I die, when they go to her at once, +according to our contract. She agrees to--" + +"By gad, sir, it is infamous! Absolutely infamous!" exclaimed young +Thorpe, springing to his feet. "I cannot--I will not believe it of her." + +"She agrees to relinquish all claims to my estate," concluded the old man, +with a chuckle. "Inasmuch as I have made it quite clear that all of my +money is to go to charity,--scientific charity,--I imagine that the +Tresslyns feel that they have made a pretty good bargain." + +"I still maintain that she will renounce the whole detestable--" + +"She would go back on her contract like a shot if she thought that I +intended to include you among my scientific charities," interrupted the +old man. + +"Oh, if I could only have an hour--half an hour with her," groaned Braden. +"I could overcome the vile teaching of her mother and bring her to a +realisation of what is ahead of her. I--" + +"Do you honestly,--in your heart, Braden,--believe that you could do that?" +demanded Mr. Thorpe, arising from his chair and laying his hand upon the +young man's shoulder. He forced the other's eyes to meet his. "Do you +believe that she would be worthy of your love and respect even though she +did back out of this arrangement? I want an honest answer." + +"God help me, I--I don't know what to think," cried Braden miserably. "I am +shocked, bewildered. I can't say what I believe, grandfather. I only know +that I have loved her better than my own soul. I don't know what to think +now." + +"You might also say that she loves herself better than she loves her own +soul," said the old man grimly. "She will go on loving you, I've no doubt, +in a strictly physical way, but I wouldn't put much dependence in her +soulfulness. One of these fine days, she will come to you and say that she +has earned two million dollars, and she will ask you if it is too late to +start all over again. What will you say to that?" + +"Good Lord, sir, what would you expect me to say?" exploded Braden. "I +should tell her to--to go to hell!" he grated between his teeth. + +"Meanwhile, I want you to understand that I have acted for your best +interests, Braden. God knows I am not in love with this girl. I know her +kind, I know her breed. I want to save you from--well, I want to give you a +fighting chance to be a great, good man. You need the love of a fine, +unselfish woman to help you to the heights you aspire to reach. Anne +Tresslyn would not have helped you. She cannot see above her own level. +There are no heights for her. She belongs to the class that never looks up +from the ground. They are always following the easiest path. I am doing +you a good turn. Somewhere in this world there is a noble, self- +sacrificing woman who will make you happy, who will give strength to you, +who will love you for yourself and not for _herself_. Go out and find her, +my boy. You will recognise her the instant you see her." + +"But you--what of you?" asked Braden, deeply impressed by the old man's +unsuspected sentiment. "Will you go ahead and--and marry her, knowing that +she will make your last few years of life unhappy, un--" + +"I am under contract," said Templeton Thorpe grimly. "I never go back on a +contract." + +"I shall see her, nevertheless," said Braden doggedly. + +"It is my desire that you should. In fact, I shall make it my business to +see that you do. After that, I fancy you will not care to remain here for +the wedding. I should advise you to return to London as soon as you have +had it out with her." + +"I shall remain here until the very hour of the wedding if it is to take +place, and up to that very hour I shall do my best to prevent it, +grandfather." + +"Your failure to do so will make me the happiest man in New York," said +Mr. Thorpe, emotion in his voice, "for I love you dearly, Braden." + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +A conspicuous but somewhat unimportant member of the Tresslyn family was a +young man of twenty-four. He was Anne's brother, and he had preceded her +into the world by the small matter of a year and two months. Mrs. Tresslyn +had set great store by him. Being a male child he did not present the +grave difficulties that attend the successful launching and disposal of +the female of the species to which the Tresslyn family belonged. He was +born with the divine right to pick and choose, and that is something that +at present appears to be denied the sisters of men. But the amiable +George, at the age of one and twenty and while still a freshman in +college, picked a girl without consulting his parent and in a jiffy put an +end to the theory that man's right is divine. + +It took more than half of Mrs. Tresslyn's income for the next two years, +the ingenuity of a firm of expensive lawyers, the skill of nearly a dozen +private detectives, and no end of sleepless nights to untie the loathsome +knot, and even then George's wife had a shade the better of them in that +she reserved the right to call herself Mrs. Tresslyn, quite permanently +disgracing his family although she was no longer a part of it. + +The young woman was employed as a demonstrator for a new brand of mustard +when George came into her life. The courtship was brief, for she was a +pretty girl and virtuous. She couldn't see why there should be anything +wrong in getting married, and therefore was very much surprised, and not a +little chagrined, to find out almost immediately after the ceremony that +she had committed a heinous and unpardonable sin. She shrank for a while +under the lashings, and then, like a beast driven to cover, showed her +teeth. + +If marriage was not sanctuary, she would know the reason why. With a +single unimposing lawyer and not the remotest suggestion of a detective to +reinforce her position, she took her stand against the unhappy George and +his mother, and so successful were her efforts to make divorce difficult +that she came out of chambers with thirty thousand dollars in cash, an +aristocratic name, and a valuable claim to theatrical distinction. + +All this transpired less than two years prior to the events which were to +culminate in the marriage of George's only sister to the Honourable +Templeton Thorpe of Washington Square. Needless to say, George was now +looked upon in the small family as a liability. He was a never-present +help in time of trouble. The worst thing about him was his obstinate +regard for the young woman who still bore his name but was no longer his +wife. At twenty-four he looked upon himself as a man who had nothing to +live for. He spent most of his time gnashing his teeth because the pretty +little divorcee was receiving the attentions of young gentlemen in his own +set, without the slightest hint of opposition on the part of their +parents, while he was obliged to look on from afar off. + +It appears that parents do not object to young women of insufficient +lineage provided the said young women keep at a safe distance from the +marriage altar. + +It is interesting to note in this connection, however, that little Mrs. +George Tresslyn was a model of propriety despite her sprightly +explorations of a world that had been strange to her up to the time she +was cast into it by a disgusted mother-in-law, and it is still more +interesting to find that she nourished a sly hope that some day George +would kick over the traces in a very manly fashion and marry her all over +again! + +Be that as it may, the bereft and humiliated George favoured his mother +and sister with innumerable half-hours in which they had to contend with +scornful and exceedingly bitter opinions on the iniquity of marriage as it +is practised among the elect. He fairly bawled his disapproval of the sale +of Anne to the decrepit Mr. Thorpe, and there was not a day in the week +that did not contain at least one unhappy hour for the women in his home, +for just so often he held forth on the sanctity of the marriage vows. + +He was connected with a down-town brokerage firm and he was as near to +being a failure in the business as an intimate and lifelong friend of the +family would permit him to be and still allow him to remain in the office. +His business was the selling of bonds. The friend of the family was the +head of the firm, so no importance should be attached to the fact that +George did not earn his salt as a salesman. It is only necessary to report +that the young man made frequent and determined efforts to sell his wares, +but with so little success that he would have been discouraged had it not +been for the fact that he was intimately acquainted with himself. He knew +himself too well to expect people to take much stock in the public +endeavours of one whose private affairs were so far beneath notice. Men +were not likely to overlook the disgraceful treatment of the little +"mustard girl," for even the men who have mistreated women in their time +overlook their own chicanery in preaching decency over the heads of others +who have not played the game fairly. George looked upon himself as a +marked man, against whom the scorn of the world was justly directed. + +Strange as it may appear, George Tresslyn was a tall, manly looking +fellow, and quite handsome. At a glance you would have said that he had a +great deal of character in his make-up and would get on in the world. Then +you would hear about his matrimonial delinquency and instantly you would +take a second glance. The second and more searching look would have +revealed him as a herculean light-weight,--a man of strength and beauty and +stature spoiled in the making. And you would be sorry that you had made +the discovery, for it would take you back to his school days, and then you +would encounter the causes. + +He had gone to a preparatory school when he was twelve. It was eight years +before he got into the freshman class of the college that had been +selected as the one best qualified to give him a degree, and there is no +telling how long he might have remained there, faculty willing, had it not +been for the interfering "mustard girl." He could throw a hammer farther +and run the hundred faster than any youth in the freshman class, and he +could handle an oar with the best of them, but as he had spent nearly +eight years in acquiring this proficiency to the exclusion of anything +else it is not surprising that he excelled in these pursuits, nor is it +surprising that he possessed a decided aversion for the things that are +commonly taught in college by studious-looking gentlemen who do not even +belong to the athletic association and have forgotten their college yell. + +George boasted, in his freshman year, that if the faculty would let him +alone he could easily get through the four years without flunking a single +thing in athletics. It was during the hockey season, just after the +Christmas holidays, that he married the pretty "mustard girl" and put an +abrupt end to what must now be regarded as a superficial education. + +He carried his athletic vigour into the brokerage offices, however. No one +could accuse him of being lazy, and no one could say that he did not make +an effort. He possessed purpose and determination after a fashion, for he +was proud and resentful; but he lacked perspective, no matter which way he +looked for it. Behind him was a foggy recollection of the things he should +have learned, and ahead was the dark realisation that the world is made up +principally of men who cannot do the mile under thirty minutes but who +possess amazing powers of endurance when it comes to running circles +around the man who is trained to do the hundred yard dash in ten seconds +flat. + +A few minutes after Braden Thorpe's departure from the Tresslyn drawing- +room, young George entered the house and stamped upstairs to his +combination bed-chamber and sitting-room on the top floor. He always went +upstairs three steps at a time, as if in a hurry to have it over with. He +had a room at the top of the house because he couldn't afford one lower +down. A delayed sense of compunction had ordered Mrs. Tresslyn to insist +upon George's paying his own way through life, now that he was of age and +working for himself. + +When George found it impossible to pay his week's reckoning out of his +earnings, he blithely borrowed the requisite amount--and a little over--from +friends down-town, and thereby enjoyed the distinction of being uncommonly +prompt in paying his landlady on the dot. So much for character-building. + +And now one of these "muckers" down-town was annoying him with persistent +demands for the return of numerous small loans extending over a period of +nineteen months. That sort of thing isn't done among gentlemen, according +to George Tresslyn's code. For a month or more he had been in the +humiliating position of being obliged to dodge the fellow, and he was +getting tired of it. The whole amount was well under six hundred dollars, +and as he had made it perfectly plain to the beggar that he was drawing +ten per cent. on the loans, he couldn't see what sense there was in being +in such a hurry to collect. On the other hand, as the beggar wasn't +receiving the interest, it is quite possible that he could not look at the +situation from George's point of view. + +Young Mr. Tresslyn finally had reached the conclusion that he would have +to ask his mother for the money. He knew that the undertaking would prove +a trying one, so he dashed up to his room for the purpose of fortifying +himself with a stiff drink of benedictine. + +Having taken the drink, he sat down for a few minutes to give it a chance +to become inspirational. Then he skipped blithely down to his mother's +boudoir and rapped on the door,--not timidly or imploringly but with +considerable authority. Receiving no response, he moved on to Anne's +sitting-room, whence came the subdued sound of voices in conversation. He +did not knock at Anne's door, but boldly opened it and advanced into the +room. + +"Hello! Here you are," said George amiably. + +He was met by a cold, disapproving stare from his mother and a little gasp +of dismay from Anne. It was quite apparent that he was an intruder. + +"I wish you would be good enough to knock before entering, George," said +Mrs. Tresslyn severely. + +"I did," said George, "but you were not in. I always knock at your door, +mother. You can't say that I've ever forgotten to do it." He looked +aggrieved. "You surely don't mean that I ought to knock at Anne's door?" + +"Certainly. What do you want?" + +"Well," he began, depositing his long body on the couch and preparing to +stretch out, "I'd like to kiss both of you if you'll let me." + +"Don't be silly," said Anne, "and don't put your feet on that clean +chintz." + +"All right," said he cheerfully. "My, how lovely the bride is looking to- +day! I wish old Tempy could see you now. He'd--" + +"If you are going to be disagreeable, George, you may get out at once," +said Mrs. Tresslyn. + +"I never felt less like being objectionable in my life," said he, "so if +you don't mind I'll stay awhile. By the way, Anne, speaking of +disagreeable things, I am sure I saw Brady Thorpe on the avenue a bit ago. +Has your discarded skeleton come back with a key to your closet?" + +"Braden is in New York," said his mother acidly. "Is it necessary for you +to be vulgar, George?" + +"Not at all," said he. "When did he arrive? I hope you don't see anything +vulgar in that, mother," he made haste to add. + +"He reached New York to-day, I think. He has been here to see me. He has +gone away. There is nothing more to be said, so please be good enough to +consider the subject--" + +"Gee! but I'd like to have heard what he had to say to you!" + +"I am glad that you didn't," said Anne, "for if you had you might have +been under the painful necessity of calling him to account for it, and I +don't believe you'd like that." + +"Facetious, eh? Well, my mind is relieved at any rate. He spoke up like a +little man, didn't he, mother? I thought he would. And I'll bet you gave +him as good as he sent, so he's got his tail between his legs now and +yelping for mercy. How does he look, Anne? Handsome as ever?" + +"Anne did not see him." + +"Of course she didn't. How stupid of me. Where is he stopping?" + +"With his grandfather, I suppose," said Mrs. Tresslyn, as tolerant as +possible. + +"Naturally. I should have known that without asking. Getting the old boy +braced up for the wedding, I suppose. Pumping oxygen into him, and all +that sort of thing. And that reminds me of something else. I may give +myself the pleasure of a personal call upon my prospective brother-in-law +to-morrow." + +"What?" cried his mother sharply. + +"Yep," said George blithely. "I may have to do it. It's purely a business +matter, so don't worry. I shan't say a word about the wedding. Far be it +from me to distress an old gentleman about--" + +"What business can you have with Mr. Thorpe?" demanded his mother. + +"Well, as I don't believe in keeping secrets from you, mother, I'll +explain. You see, I want to see if I can't negotiate the sale of a +thousand dollar note. Mr. Thorpe may be in the market to buy a good, safe, +gilt-edge note--" + +"Come to the point. Whose note are you trying to sell?" + +"My own," said George promptly. + +Anne laughed. "You would spell gilt with a letter u inserted before the i, +in that case, wouldn't you?" + +"I give you my word," said George, "I don't know how to spell it. The two +words sound exactly alike and I'm always confusing them." + +His mother came and stood over him. "George, you are not to go to Mr. +Thorpe with your pecuniary difficulties. I forbid it, do you understand?" + +"Forbid it, mother? Great Scot, what's wrong in an honest little business +transaction? I shall give him the best of security. If he doesn't care to +let me have the money on the note, that's his affair. It's business, not +friendship, I assure you. Old Tempy knows a good thing when he sees it. I +shall also promise to pay twenty per cent. interest for two years from +date. Two years, do you understand? If anything should happen to him +before the two years are up, I'd still owe the money to his estate, +wouldn't I? You can't deny that--" + +"Stop! Not another word, sir! Am I to believe that I have a son who is +entirely devoid of principle? Are you so lacking in pride that--" + +"It depends entirely on how you spell the word, princi_pal_ or with a +_ple_. I am entirely devoid of the one ending in pal, and I don't see what +pride has to do with it anyway. Ask Anne. She can tell you all that is +necessary to know about the Tresslyn pride." + +"Shut up!" said Anne languidly. + +"It's just this way, mother," said George, sitting up, with a frown. "I've +got to have five or six hundred dollars. I'll be honest with you, too. I +owe nearly that much to Percy Wintermill, and he is making himself +infernally obnoxious about it." + +"Percy Wintermill? Have you been borrowing money from him?" + +"In a way, yes. That is, I've been asking him for it and he's been lending +it to me. I don't think I've ever used the word borrow in a single +instance. I hate the word. I simply say: 'Percy, let me take twenty-five +for a week or two, will you?' and Percy says, 'All right, old boy,' and +that's all there is to it. Percy's been all right up to a few weeks ago. +In fact, I don't believe he would have mentioned the matter at all if Anne +hadn't turned him down on New Year's Eve. Why the deuce did you refuse +him, Anne? He'd always been decent till you did that. Now he's perfectly +impossible." + +"You know perfectly well why I refused him," said Anne, lifting her +eyebrows slightly. + +"Right-o! It was because you were engaged to Brady Thorpe. I quite forgot. +I apologise. You were quite right in refusing him. Be that as it may, +however, Percy is as sore as a crab. I can't go around owing money to a +chap who has been refused by my sister, can I? One of the Wintermills, +too. By Jove, it's awful!" He looked extremely distressed. + +"You are not to go to Mr. Thorpe," said his mother from the chair into +which she had sunk in order to preserve a look of steadiness. A fine +moisture had come out upon her upper lip. "You must find an honourable way +in which to discharge your debts." + +"Isn't my note as good as anybody's?" he demanded. + +"No. It isn't worth a dollar." + +"Ah, but it _will_ be if Mr. Thorpe buys it," said he in triumph. "He +could discount it for full value, if he wanted to. That's precisely what +makes it good. I'm afraid you don't know very much about high finance, +mother dear." + +"Please go away, George," complained Anne. "Mother and I have a great deal +to talk about, and you are a dreadful nuisance when you discover a reason +for coming home so long before dinner-time. Can't you pawn something?" + +"Don't be ridiculous," said George. + +"Why did you borrow money from Percy Wintermill?" demanded Mrs. Tresslyn. + +"There you go, mother, using that word 'borrow' again. I wish you +wouldn't. It's a vulgar word. You might as well say, 'Why did you _swipe_ +money from Percy Wintermill?' He lent it to me because he realised how +darned hard-up we are and felt sorry for me, I suppose." + +"For heaven's sake, George, don't tell me that you--" + +"Don't look so horrified, mother," he interrupted. "I didn't tell him we +were hard-up. I merely said, from time to time, 'Let me take fifty, +Percy.' I can't help it if he _suspects_, can I? And say, Anne, he was so +terribly in love with you that he would have let me take a thousand any +time I wanted it, if I'd had occasion to ask him for it. You ought to be +thankful that I didn't." + +"Don't drag me into it," said Anne sharply. + +"I admit I was fooled all along," said he, with a rueful sigh. "I had an +idea that you'd be tickled to death to marry into the Wintermill family. +Position, money, family jewels, and all that sort of thing. Everything +desirable except Percy. And then, just when I thought something might come +of it, you up and get engaged to Brady Thorpe, keeping it secret from the +public into the bargain. Confound it, you didn't even tell me till last +fall. Your stupid secretiveness allowed me to go on getting into Percy's +debt, when a word from you might have saved me a lot of trouble." + +"Will you kindly leave the room, George?" said his mother, arising. + +"Percy is making himself fearfully obnoxious," went on George ominously. +"For nearly three weeks I've been dodging him, and it can't go on much +longer. One of these fine days, mother, a prominent member of the +Wintermill family is going to receive a far from exclusive thrashing. +That's the only way I can think of to stop him, if I can't raise the money +to pay him up. Some day I'm going to refrain from dodging and he is going +to run right square into this." He held up a brawny fist. "I'm going to +hold it just so, and it won't be too high for his nose, either. Then I'm +going to pick him up and turn him around, with his face toward the +Battery, and kick just as hard as I know how. I'll bet my head he'll not +bother me about money after that--unless, of course, he's cad enough to sue +me. I don't think he'll do that, however, being a proud and haughty +Wintermill. I suppose we'll all be eliminated from the Wintermill +invitation list after that, and it may be that we'll go without a +fashionable dinner once in awhile, but what's all that to the preservation +of the family dignity?" + +Mrs. Tresslyn leaned suddenly against a chair, and even Anne turned to +regard her tall brother with a look of real dismay. + +"How much do you owe him?" asked the former, controlling her voice with an +effort. + +"Five hundred and sixty-five dollars, including interest. A pitiful sum to +get thrashed for, isn't it?" + +"And you were planning to get the money from Mr. Thorpe to pay Percy?" + +"To keep Percy from getting licked, would be the better way to put it. I +think it's uncommonly decent of me." + +"You are--you are a bully, George,--a downright bully," flared Anne, +confronting him with blazing eyes. "You have no right to frighten mother +in this way. It's cowardly." + +"He doesn't frighten me, dear," said Mrs. Tresslyn, but her lips quivered. +Turning to her son, she continued: "George, if you will mail a check to +Percy this minute, I will draw one for you. A Tresslyn cannot owe money to +a Wintermill. We will say no more about it. The subject is closed. Sit +down there and draw a check for the amount, and I will sign it. Rawson +will post it." + +George turned his head away, and lowered his chin. A huskiness came +quickly into his voice. + +"I'm--I'm ashamed of myself, mother,--I give you my word I am. I came here +intending to ask you point-blank to advance me the money. Then the idea +came into my head to work the bluff about old Mr. Thorpe. That grew into +Percy's prospective thrashing. I'm sorry. It's the first time I've ever +tried to put anything over on you." + +"Fill in the check, please," she said coldly. "I've just been drawing a +few for the dressmakers--a few that Anne has just remembered. I shan't in +the least mind adding one for Percy. He isn't a dressmaker but if I were +asked to select a suitable occupation for him I don't know of one he'd be +better qualified to pursue. Fill it in, please." + +Her son looked at her admiringly. "By Jove, mother, you are a wonder. You +never miss fire. I'd give a thousand dollars, if I had it, to see old Mrs. +Wintermill's face if that remark could be repeated to her." + +A faint smile played about his mother's lips. After all, there was honest +tribute in the speech of this son of hers. + +"It would be worse than a bloody nose for Percy," said Anne, slipping an +arm around her mother's waist. "But I don't like what you said about _me_ +and the dressmakers. I must have gowns. It isn't quite the same as +George's I.O.U. to Percy, you know." + +"Don't be selfish, Anne," cried George, jerking a chair up to the +escritoire and scrambling among the papers for a pen. "You won't have to +worry long. You'll soon be so rich that the dressmakers won't dare to send +you a bill." + +"Wait a moment, George," said Mrs. Tresslyn abruptly. "If you do not +promise to refrain from saying disagreeable things to Anne, I shall +withdraw my offer to help you out of this scrape." + +George faced her. "Does that mean that I am to put my O.K. upon this +wedding of Anne's?" His look of good-nature disappeared. + +"It means that you are not to comment upon it, that's all," said his +mother. "You have said quite enough. There is nothing more that you can +add to an already sufficiently distasteful argument." + +George swallowed hard as he bent over the checkbook. "All right, mother, +I'll try to keep my trap closed from now on. But I don't want you to think +that I'm taking this thing pleasantly. I'll say for the last time,--I +hope,--that it's a darned crime, and we'll let it go at that." + +"Very well. We will let it go at that." + +"Great Scot!" burst from his lips as he whirled in the fragile chair to +face the women of the house. "I just can't help feeling as I do about it. +I can't bear to think of Anne,--my pretty sister Anne,--married to that old +rummy. Why, she's fit to be the wife of a god. She's the prettiest girl in +New York and she'd be one of the best if she had half a chance. A fellow +like Braden Thorpe would make a queen of her, and that's just what she +ought to be. Oh, Lord! To think of her being married to that burnt-out, +shrivelled-up--" + +"George! That will do, sir!" + +His sister was staring at him in utter perplexity. Something like wonder +was growing in her lovely, velvety eyes. Never before had she heard such +words as these from the lips of her big and hitherto far from considerate +brother, the brother who had always begrudged her the slightest sign of +favour from their mother, who had blamed her for securing by unfair means +more than her share of the maternal peace-offerings. + +Suddenly the big boy dug his knuckles into his eyes and turned away, +muttering an oath of mortification. Anne sprang to his side. Her hands +fell upon his shoulders. + +"What are you doing, George? Are--are you crazy?" + +"Crazy _nothing_," he choked out, biting his lip. "Go away, Anne. I'm just +a damned fool, that's all. I--" + +"Mother, he's--he's crying," whispered Anne, bewildered. "What is it, +George?" For the first time in her life she slipped an affectionate arm +about him and laid her cheek against his sleek, black hair. "Buck up, +little boy; don't take it like this. I'll--I'll be all right. I'll--oh, I'll +never forget you for feeling as you do, George. I didn't think you'd +really care so much." + +"Why,--why, Anne, of course I care," he gulped. "Why shouldn't I care? +Aren't you my sister, and I your brother? I'd be a fine mess of a thing if +I didn't care. I tell you, mother, it's awful! You know it is! It is a +queer thing for a brother to say, I suppose, but--but I _do_ love Anne. All +my life I've looked upon her as the finest thing in the world. I've been +mean and nasty and all that sort of thing and I'm always saying rotten +things to her, but, darn it, I--I do love my pretty sister. I ought to hate +you, Anne, for this infernal thing you are determined to do--I ought to, do +you understand, but I can't, I just can't. It's the rottenest thing a girl +can do, and you're doing it, I--oh, say, what's the matter with me? +Sniffling idiot! I say, where the devil _do_ you keep your pen?" +Wrathfully he jerked a pile of note paper and blotters off the desk, +scattering them on the floor. "I'll write the check, mother, and I'll +promise to do my best hereafter about Anne and old Tempy. And what's more, +I'll not punch Percy's nose, so you needn't be afraid he'll turn it up at +us." + +The pen scratched vigorously across the check. His mother was regarding +him with a queer expression in her eyes. She had not moved while he was +expressing himself so feelingly about Anne. Was it possible that after all +there was something fine in this boy of hers? His simple, genuine outburst +was a revelation to her. + +"I trust this may be the last time that you will come to me for money in +this way, George," she said levelly. "You must be made to realise that I +cannot afford such luxuries as these. You have made it impossible for me +to refuse you this time. I cannot allow a son of mine to be in debt to a +Wintermill. You must not borrow money. You--" + +He looked up, grinning. "There you go again with that middle-class word, +mother. But I'll forgive you this once on condition that you never use it +again. People in our walk of life never _borrow_ anything but trouble, you +know. We don't borrow money. We arrange for it occasionally, but God +forbid that we should ever become so common as to borrow it. There you +are, filled in and ready for your autograph--payable to Percy Reginald Van +Alstone Wintermill. I put his whole name in so that he'd have to go to the +exertion of signing it all on the back. He hates work worse than poison. +I'm glad you didn't accept him, Anne. It would be awful to have to look up +to a man who is so insignificant that you'd have to look down upon him at +the same time." + +Mrs. Tresslyn signed the check. "I will have Rawson post it to him at +once," she said. "There goes one of your gowns, Anne,--five hundred and +sixty-five dollars." + +"I shan't miss it, mother dear," said Anne cheerfully. She had linked an +arm through one of George's, much to the surprise and embarrassment of the +tall young man. + +"Bully girl," said he awkwardly. "Just for that I'll kiss the bride next +month, and wish her the best of luck. I--I certainly hope you'll have +better luck than I had." + +"There's still loads of luck ahead for you, George," said she, a little +wistfully. "All you've got to do is to keep a sharp lookout and you'll +find it some day--sooner than I, I'm sure. You'll find the right girl +and--zip! Everything will be rosy, old boy!" + +He smiled wryly. "I've lost the right girl, Anne." + +"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Tresslyn sharply. Her eyes narrowed as she +looked into his. "You ought to get down on your knees and thank God that +you are not married to that--" + +"Wait a second, mother," he broke in. "I'm afraid I shall have to ask you +to let her alone, now that you're rid of her, just as I'm expected to let +old Tempy slide by without noticing him." + +"Nonsense," again said Mrs. Tresslyn, but this time with less confidence +in her voice. She looked intently into her son's set face and fear was +revived in her soul, an ever-present fear that slept and roused itself +with sickening persistency. + +"We'll hang her up in the family closet, if you don't mind, alongside of +Brady Thorpe, and we'll never mention her again if I can help it. I must +say, though, that our skeletons are uncommonly attractive, aren't they, +Anne? No dry, rattling bones in our closets, are there?" He squeezed her +arm playfully, and was amazed when she jerked it away. + +"I was nice to you, George, and this is the way you--" + +"Forgive me, please. I didn't mean it in an offensive way. I just took it +for granted that we'd understand each other. At any rate, we've got one +thing to be thankful for. There are no Wintermill skeletons hanging in our +closets. We've both succeeded in dodging them, praise the Lord." + +It so happened that Percy's excessively homely sister had been considered +at one time as a most desirable helpmate for the rapidly developing +George, and it is barely possible that the little mustard girl upset a +social dynasty. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +Mr. Thorpe was as good as his word. He arranged for the meeting between +Braden and Anne, but with characteristic astuteness laid his plans so that +they were to come upon each other unexpectedly. It happened on the second +day after his talk with Braden. + +Mr. Thorpe's plan involved other people as well as the two most vitally +interested. There was to be a meeting at his house late in the afternoon +for the purpose of signing the ante-nuptial contract already agreed upon. +Five o'clock was the hour set for the gathering. Lawyers representing both +parties were to be there, with Mrs. Tresslyn, George and Anne, and Mr. +Thorpe's private secretary, who, with Dr. Bates, was to serve as a witness +to the instrument. + +At noon Wade delivered a letter to Miss Tresslyn in which Mr. Thorpe said +that he would be pleased if she would accompany him to Tiffany's for the +purpose of selecting a string of pearls. He made it quite clear that she +was to go alone with him, playfully mentioning his desire to be the only +witness to her confusion when confronted by the "obsequious salesman and +his baubles from the sea." If quite agreeable to her he would make an +appointment with the jeweller for 3.30 and would call for her in person. +After that, he continued, the signing of a contract for life would not +seem such a portentous undertaking, and they could go to the meeting with +hearts as light as air. It was a cheerful, even gay little missive, but +she was not for an instant blind to the irony that lay between the lines. + +Anne selected the pearls that he had chosen in advance of their visit to +Tiffany's. He did not tell her that he had instructed the jeweller to make +up a string of pearls for her inspection, with the understanding that she +was to choose for herself from an assortment of half-a-dozen beautiful +offerings, no price to be mentioned. He was quite sure that she would not +even consider the cost. He credited her with an honest scorn for +sentimentality; she would make no effort to glorify him for an act that +was so obviously a part of their unsentimental compact. There would be no +gushing over this sardonic tribute to her avarice. She would have herself +too well in hand for that. + +They were about her neck when she entered the house near Washington Square +almost an hour before the time appointed for the conference. In her secret +but subdued pleasure over acquiring the costly present, she had lost all +count of time. That was a part of Mr. Thorpe's expensive programme. + +All the way down in the automobile she had been estimating the value of +her new possession. On one point she was satisfied: there were few +handsomer strings in New York than hers. She would have to keep them in a +safe place,--a vault, no doubt. Nearly every matron of her acquaintance +made a great deal of the fact that she had to buy a safe in which to store +her treasures. There was something agreeable--subtly agreeable--in owning +jewels that would have to be kept in one of those staunch, opulent looking +safes. She experienced a thrill of satisfaction by describing herself in +advance, as one of the women with pearls. And there was additional +gratification in the knowledge that she could hardly be called a matron in +the strict sense of the word. She was glad that she was too young for +that. She tried to recall the names of all the women who possessed pearls +like these, and the apparent though undeclared age of each. There was not +one among them who was under forty. Most of them had endured many years of +married life before acquiring what she was to have at the outset. Mrs. +Wintermill, for instance: she was sixty-two or three, and had but recently +come into a string of pearls not a whit more valuable than the one that +now adorned her neck and lay hidden beneath the warm fur collar of her +coat. + +Her calculations suddenly hit upon something that could be used as a +basis. Mrs. Wintermill's pearls had cost sixty-five thousand dollars. +Sixty-five thousand dollars! She could not resist the impulse to shoot a +swift, startled look out of the corners of her eyes at the silent old man +beside her. That was a lot of money! And it was money that he was under no +obligation to expend upon her. It was quite outside the contract. She was +puzzled. Why this uncalled for generosity? A queer, sickening doubt +assailed her. + +"Are--are these pearls really and truly to be mine?" she asked. "Mine to +keep forever?" + +"Certainly, my dear," he said, looking at her so oddly that she flushed. +He had read the thought that was in her mind. "I give and bequeath them to +you this day, to have and to hold forever," he added, with a smile that +she could not fail to understand. + +"I wanted to be sure," she said, resorting to frankness. + +When they entered the Thorpe home, Wade was waiting in the hall with the +butler. His patient, set smile did not depart so much as the fraction of +an inch from its habitual condition. His head was cocked a little to one +side. + +"Are we late, Wade?" inquired Mr. Thorpe. + +"No, sir," said Wade. "No one has come." He glanced up at the tall clock +on the landing. "It is a quarter past four, sir. Mrs. Tresslyn telephoned +a few minutes ago, sir." + +"Ah! That she would be late?" + +"No, sir. To inquire if--ahem!--if Mr. Braden was likely to be here this +afternoon." + +Anne started violently. A quick, hunted expression leaped into her eyes as +she looked about her. Something rushed up into her throat, something that +smothered. + +"You informed her, of course, that Mr. Braden declines to honour us with +his presence," said Mr. Thorpe suavely. + +"Yes, sir, in a way." + +"Ahem! Well, my dear, make yourself quite at home. Go into the library, +do. You'll find a roaring fire there. Murray, take Miss Tresslyn's coat. +Make her comfortable. Come, Wade, your arm. Forgive me, Anne, if I leave +you to yourself for a few minutes. My joy at having you here is shorn of +its keenness by a long-established age that demands house-boots, an eider- +down coat and--Murray, what the devil do you mean by letting the house get +so cold as all this? It's like a barn. Are the furnaces out. What am I +paying that rascally O'Toole for? Tell him to--" + +"It is quite comfortable, Mr. Thorpe," said Anne, with a slight shiver +that was not to be charged to the defective O'Toole. + +The long, wide hall was dark and grim. Wade was dark and grim, and Murray +too, despite his rotundity. There were lank shadows at the bottom of the +hall, grim projections of objects that stood for ornamentation: a suit of +armour, a gloomy candlestick of prodigious stature, and a thin Italian +cabinet surmounted by an urn whose unexposed contents might readily have +suggested something more sinister than the dust of antiquity. The door to +the library was open. Fitful red shadows flashed dully from the fireplace +across the room, creeping out into the hall and then darting back again as +if afraid to venture. The waning sunlight struggled through a curtained +window at the top of the stairs. There was dusk in the house. Evening had +fallen there. + +Anne stood in the middle of the library, divested of her warm fur coat. +Murray was poking the fire, and cheerful flames were leaping upward in +response to the call to wake. She had removed one of her gloves. With the +slim, bared fingers she fondled the pearls about her neck, but her +thoughts were not of baubles. She was thinking of this huge room full of +shadows, shadows through which she would have to walk for many a day, +where night would always be welcome because of the light it demanded. + +It was a man's room. Everything in it was massive, substantial. Big +chairs, wide lounges, and a thick soft carpet of dull red that deprived +the footfall of its sound. Books mounted high,--almost to the +ceiling,--filling all the spaces left unused by the doors and windows. +Heavy damask curtains shut out the light of day. She wondered why they had +been drawn so early, and whether they were always drawn like this. Near +the big fireplace, with its long mantelpiece over which hung suspended the +portrait of an early Knickerbocker gentleman with ruddy, even convivial +countenance, stood a long table, a reading lamp at the farther end. Books, +magazines, papers lay in disorder upon this table. + +She recalled something that Braden once had told her: his grandfather +always "raised Cain" with any one who happened to be guilty of what he +called criminal orderliness in putting the table to rights. He wanted the +papers and magazines left just as they were, so that he could put his hand +upon them without demanding too much of a servant's powers of divination. +More than one parlour-maid had been dismissed for offensive neatness. + +She closed her eyes for a second. A faint line, as of pain, appeared +between them. In this room Braden Thorpe had been coddled and scolded, in +this room he had romped and studied--She opened her eyes quickly. + +"Murray," she said, in a low voice; "you are quite sure that Mr. Braden +is--is out?" + +The old butler straightened up from his task, his hand going to his back +as if to keep it from creaking. "Yes, Miss Tresslyn, quite sure." He +hesitated for a moment. "I think he said that he intended to give himself +the pleasure of a call--ahem! I beg pardon. Yes, he is quite out--I should +say, I'm quite sure he is out." He was confused, a most unheard of thing +in Murray. + +"But he will return--soon?" She took a step or two nearer the door, +possessed of a sudden impulse to run,--to run swiftly away. + +"I think not, miss," said he. "He is not expected to be here during +the--er--you might say, the--ahem!" + +"I'll have a look about the room," said Anne softly. She felt that she was +going to like Murray. She wanted him to like her. The butler may have +caught the queer little note in her voice, or he may have seen the hunted +look in her eyes before she turned them away. At any rate, he poked the +fire vigorously once more. It was his way of saying that she might depend +upon him. Then he went out of the room, closing the door behind him. + +She started violently, and put her hand to her heart. She had the queer, +uncanny feeling that she was locked in this sombre room, that she would +never be free again. + +In a room upstairs, Mr. Templeton Thorpe was saying to Wade: + +"Is my grandson in his room?" + +"Yes, sir. He came in at four and has been waiting for you, as you +directed, sir." + +"Tell him that I would like to see him at once in the library," said Mr. +Thorpe. + +"Yes, sir," said Wade, and for the first time in years his patient smile +assumed the proportions of a grin. He did not have to be told that Anne's +presence in the house was not to be made known to Braden. All that he was +expected to do was to inform the young man that his grandfather wanted to +see him in the library,--at once. + +And so it came to pass that three minutes later, Braden and Anne were face +to face with each other, and old Mr. Thorpe had redeemed his promise. + +Of the two, Braden was the more surprised. The girl's misgivings had +prepared her for just such a crisis as this. Something told her the +instant she set foot inside the house that she was to be tricked. In a +flash she realised that Mr. Thorpe himself was responsible for the +encounter she had dreaded. It was impossible to suspect Braden of being a +party to the scheme. He was petrified. There could be no doubt that he had +been tricked quite as cleverly as she. + +But what could have been in the old man's design? Was it a trap? Did he +expect her to rush into Braden's arms? Was he lurking behind some near-by +curtain to witness her surrender? Was he putting her to the test, or was +it his grandson who was on trial? + +Here was the supreme crisis in the life of Anne Tresslyn: the turning +point. Her whole being cried out against this crafty trick. One word now +from Braden would have altered the whole course of her life. In eager +silence she stood on the thin edge of circumstance, ready to fall as the +wind blew strongest. She was in revolt. If this stupefied, white-faced +young man had but called out to her: "Anne! Anne, my darling! Come!" she +would have laughed in triumph over the outcome of the old man's test, and +all the years of her life would have been filled with sweetness. She would +have gone to him. + +But, alas, those were not the words that fell from his lips, and the fate +of Anne Tresslyn was sealed as she stood there watching him with wide- +spread eyes. + +"I prefer to see you in your own home," he said, a flush of anger +spreading over his face; "not here in my grandfather's house." + +There was no mistaking his meaning. He thought she had come there to see +him,--ay, conceivably had planned this very situation! She started. It was +like a slap in the face. Then she breathed once more, and realised that +she had not drawn a breath since he entered the room. Her life had been +standing still, waiting till these few stupendous seconds were over. Now +they were gone and she could take up life where it had left off. The +tightness in her throat relaxed. The crisis was over, the turning point +was behind her. He had failed her, and he would have to pay. He would have +to pay with months, even years of waiting. For it had never occurred to +Anne Tresslyn to doubt that he would come to her in good and proper time! + +She could not speak at once. Her response was not ready. She was +collecting herself. Given the time, she would rise above the mischief that +confounded her. To have uttered the words that hung unuttered on her lips +would have glorified him and brought shame to her pride forever more. Five +words trembled there awaiting deliverance and they were good and honest +words--"Take me back, Braden darling!" They were never spoken. They were +formed to answer a different call from him. She checked them in time. + +"I did not come here to see you," she said at last, standing very straight +beside the table. He was just inside the door leading to the hall. "Whose +trick is this,--yours or Mr. Thorpe's?" + +Enlightenment flashed into his eyes. "By Jove!" he exclaimed. "He said he +would do it, and he has made good. This is his way of--" He broke off in +the middle of the sentence. In an instant he had whirled about and the +door was closed with a bang. + +She started forward, her hand pressed to her quick-beating heart, real +fear in her eyes. What was in his mind? Was this insanity? She had read of +men driven mad by disappointment who brutally set upon and killed--But he +was facing her now, and she stopped short. His jaw was set but there was +no insane light in the eyes that regarded her so steadily. Somehow--and +suddenly--her composure was restored. She was not afraid of him. She was +not afraid of the hands and arms that had caressed her so tenderly, nor +was she afraid of the words that were to fall from the lips that had +kissed hers so many times. He was merely going to plead with her, and she +was well prepared for that. + +For weeks and weeks she had been preparing herself for this unhappy +moment. She knew that the time would come when she would have to face him +and defend herself. She would have to deny the man she loved. She would +have to tell him that she was going for a higher price than he could pay. +The time had come and she was ready. The weakness of the minute before had +passed--passed with his failure to strike when, with all her heart and +soul, she wanted him to strike. + +"You need not be frightened," he said, subduing his voice with an effort. +"Let us take time to steady ourselves. We have a good deal to say to each +other. Let's be careful not to waste words, now that we're face to face at +last." + +"I am quite calm," she said, stock-still beside the table. "Why should I +be frightened? I am the last person in the world that you would strike, +Braden." She was that sure of him! + +"Strike? Good God, why should that have entered your head?" + +"One never knows," she said. "I was startled. I was afraid--at first. You +implied a moment ago that I had arranged for this meeting. Surely you +understand that I--" + +"My grandfather arranged it," he interrupted. "There's no use beating +about the bush. I told him that I would not believe this thing of you +unless I had it from your own lips. You would not see me. You were not +permitted to see me. I told him that you were being forced into this +horrible marriage, that your mother was afraid to let me have a single +word with you. He laughed at me. He said that you were going into it with +your eyes open, that you were obeying your mother willingly, that you--" + +"Pardon me," she interrupted coldly. "Is your grandfather secreted +somewhere near so that he may be able to enjoy the--" + +"I don't know, and I don't care. Let him hear if he wants to. Why should +either of us care? He knows all there is to know about you and he +certainly appreciates my position. We may as well speak freely. It will +not make the slightest difference, one way or the other, so far as he is +concerned. He knows perfectly well that you are not marrying him for love, +or respect, or even position. So let's speak plainly. I say that he +arranged this meeting between us. He brought you here, and he sent +upstairs for me to join him in this room. Well, you see he isn't here. We +are quite alone. He is fair to both of us. He is giving me my chance and +he is giving you yours. It only remains for us to settle the matter here +and now. I know all of the details of this disgusting compact. I know that +you are to have two million dollars settled upon you the day you are +married--oh, I know the whole of it! Now, there's just one thing to be +settled between you and me: are you going ahead with it or are you going +to be an honest woman and marry the man you love?" + +He did not leave her much to stand upon. She had expected him to go about +it in an entirely different way. She had counted upon an impassioned plea +for himself, not this terse, cold-blooded, almost unemotional summing up +of the situation. For an instant she was at a loss. It was hard to look +into his honest eyes. A queer, unformed doubt began to torment her, a +doubt that grew into a question later on: was he still in love with her? + +"And what if I do not care to discuss my private affairs with you?" she +said, playing for time. + +"Don't fence, Anne," he said sternly. "Answer the question. Wait. I'll put +it in another form, and I want the truth. If you say to me that your +mother is deliberately forcing you into this marriage I'll believe you, +and I'll--I'll fight for you till I get you. I will not stand by and see +you sacrificed, even though you may appear to--" + +"Stop, please. If you mean to ask _that_ question, I'll answer it in +advance. It is I, not my mother, who expects to marry Mr. Thorpe, and I am +quite old enough and wise enough to know my own mind. So you need not put +the question." + +He drew nearer. The table separated them as they looked squarely into each +other's eyes through the fire-lit space that lay between. + +"Anne, Anne!" he cried hoarsely. "You must not, you shall not do this +unspeakable thing! For God's sake, girl, if you have an atom of self- +respect, the slightest--" + +"Don't begin that, Braden!" she cut in, ominously. "I cannot permit you or +any man to _say_ such things to me, no matter what you may think. Bear +that in mind." + +"Don't you mind what I think about it, Anne?" he cried, his voice +breaking. + +"See here, Braden," she said, in an abrupt, matter-of-fact manner, "it +isn't going to do the least bit of good to argue the point. I am pledged +to marry Mr. Thorpe and I shall do so if I live till the twenty-third of +next month. Provided, of course, that he lives till that day himself. I +have gone into it with my eyes open, as he says, and I am satisfied with +my bargain. I suppose you will hate me to the end of your days. But if you +think that I expect to hate myself, you are very much mistaken. Look! Do +you see these pearls? They were not included in the bargain, and I could +have gone on very well without them to the end of my term as the mistress +of this house, but I accepted them from my fiance to-day in precisely the +same spirit in which they were given: as alms to the undeserving. Your +grandfather did not want me to marry you. He is merely paying me to keep +my hands _off_. That's the long and the short of it. I am not in the least +deceived. You will say that I could--and should have told him to go to the +devil. Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you that I couldn't see my way +clear to doing that. I hope he _is_ listening behind the curtains. We +drove a hard bargain. He thought he could get off with a million. You must +remember that he had deliberately disinherited you,--that much I know. His +will is made. It will not be altered. You will be a poor man as wealth is +reckoned in these days. But you will be a great man. You will be famous, +distinguished, honoured. That is what he intends. He set out to sacrifice +me in order that you might be spared. You were not to have a millstone +about your neck in the shape of a selfish, unsacrificing wife. What rot! +From the bottom of my heart, Braden,--if you will grant me a heart,--I hope +and pray that you may go to the head of your profession, that you may be a +great and good man. I do not ask you to believe me when I say that I love +you, and always--" + +"For God's sake, don't ask me to believe it! Don't add to the degradation +you are piling up for yourself. Spare yourself that miserable confession. +It is quite unnecessary to lie to me, Anne." + +"Lie? I am telling you the truth, Braden. I do love you. I can't help +that, can I? You do not for an instant suspect that I love this doddering +old man, do you? Well, I must love some one. That's natural, isn't it? +Then, why shouldn't it be you? Oh, laugh if you will! It doesn't hurt me +in the least. Curse me, if you like. I've made up my mind to go on with +this business of marrying. We've had one unsuccessful marriage in our +family of late. Love was at the bottom of it. You know how it has turned +out, Braden. It--" + +"I believe I know how it might have turned out if they had been left to +themselves," said he bluntly. + +"She would have been a millstone, nevertheless," she argued. + +"I don't agree with you. George found his level in that little nobody, as +you all have called her. Poor little thing, she was not so lucky as I. She +did not have her eyes opened in time. She had no chance to escape. But +we're not here to talk about Lutie Carnahan. I have told my grandfather +that I intend to break this thing off if it is in my power to do so. I +shall not give up until I know that you are actually married. It is a +crime that must not--" + +"How do you purpose breaking it off?" she inquired shrilly. Visions of a +strong figure rising in the middle of the ceremony to cry out against the +final words flashed into her mind. Would she have that to look forward to +and dread? + +"I shall go on appealing to your honour, your decency, your self-respect, +if not to the love you say you bear for me." + +She breathed easier. "And will you confine your appeals to me?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"I thought you might take it into your head to appeal to Mr. Thorpe's +honour, decency, self-respect and love for you," she said, sullenly. "He +is quite as guilty as I, remember." + +"He has quite a different object in view. He seems to feel that he is +doing me a good turn, not an evil one." + +"Bosh!" She was angry. "And what will be your attitude toward me if you +_do_ succeed in preventing the marriage? Will you take me back as I was +before this thing came up? Will you make me your wife, just as if nothing +had happened? In view of my deliberate intention to deny you, will you +forget everything and take me back?" + +He put his hand to his throat, and for a moment appeared to be struggling +against himself. "I will take you back, Anne, as if nothing had happened, +if you will say to me here and now that you will marry me to-morrow." + +She stared at him, incredulous. Her heart began to beat rapidly once more +and the anger died away. "You would do that, knowing me to be what I am?" + +"Knowing you to be what you _were_," he amended eagerly. "Oh, Anne, you +are worth loving, you are pure of heart and--" + +"If I will marry you to-morrow?" she went on, watching his face closely. + +"Yes. But you must say it now--this instant. I will not grant you a +moment's respite. If you do not say the word now, your chance is gone +forever. It has to be now, Anne." + +"And if I refuse--what then?" + +"I would not marry you if you were the only woman on earth," he said +flatly. + +She smiled. "Are you sure that you love me, Braden?" + +"I will love you when you become what you were,--a month ago," he said +simply. "A girl worth the honour of being loved," he added. + +"Men sometimes love those who are not worth the honour," she said, feeling +her way. "They cannot help themselves." + +"Will you say the word _now_?" he demanded hoarsely. + +She sighed. It was a sigh of relief,--perhaps of triumph. He was safe for +all time. He would come to her in the end. She was on solid ground once +more. + +"I am afraid, Braden, that I cannot play fast and loose with a man as old +as Mr. Thorpe," she said lightly. + +He muttered an oath. "Don't be a fool! What do you call your treatment of +me? Fast and loose! Good Lord, haven't you played fast and loose with me?" + +"Ah, but you are young and enduring," she said. "You will get over it. He +wouldn't have the time or strength to recover from the shock of--" + +"Oh, for God's sake, don't talk like that! What do you call yourself? +What--" He checked the angry words and after a moment went on, more +quietly: "Now, see here, Anne, I'm through parleying with you. I shall go +on trying to prevent this marriage, but succeed or fail, I don't want to +see your face again as long as I live. I'm through with you. You _are_ +like your mother. You are a damned vampire. God, how I have loved and +trusted you, how I have believed in you. I did not believe that the woman +lived who could degrade herself as you are about to degrade yourself. I +have had my eyes opened. All my life I have loved you without even knowing +you. All my life I--" + +"All my life I have loved you," she broke in cringingly. + +He laughed aloud. "The hell you have!" he cried out. "You have allowed me +to hold you in my arms, to kiss you, to fondle you, and you have trembled +with joy and passion,--and now you call it love! Love! You have never loved +in your life and you never will. You call self-gratification by the name +of love. Thank God, I know you at last. I ought to pity you. In all +humanity I ought to pity a fellow creature so devoid of--" + +"Stop!" she cried, her face flaming red. "Go! Go away! You have said +enough. I will hate you if you utter another word, and I don't want to +hate you, Braden. I want to go on loving you all my life. I _must_ go on +loving you." + +"You have my consent," he said, ironically, bowing low before her. +"Humanity compels me to grant you all the consolation you can find in +deceiving yourself." + +"Wait!" she cried out, as he turned toward the door. "I--I am hurt, Braden. +Can't you see how you have hurt me? Won't you--" + +"Of course, you are hurt!" he shouted. "You squeal when you are hurt. You +think only of yourself when you cry 'I am hurt'! Don't you ever think of +any one else?" His hand grasped the big silver door-knob. + +"I want you to understand, if you can, why I am doing this thing you +revile me for." + +"I understand," he said curtly. + +She hurried her words, fearful that he might rush from the room before she +could utter the belated explanation. + +"I don't want to be poor. I don't want to go through life as my mother has +gone, always fighting for the things she most desired, always being behind +the game she was forced to play. You can't understand,--you are too big and +fine,--you cannot understand the little things, Braden. I want love and +happiness, but I want the other, too. Don't you see that with all this +money at my command I can be independent, I can be safe for all time, I +can give more than myself in return for the love that I must have? Don't +you understand why--" + +She was quite close to him when he interrupted the impassioned appeal. His +hand shook as he held it up to check her approach. + +"It's all over, Anne. There is nothing more to be said. I understand +everything now. May God forgive you," he said huskily. + +She stopped short. Her head went up and defiance shone in her face. + +"I'd rather have your forgiveness than God's," she said distinctly, "and +since I may not ask for it now, I will wait for it, my friend. We love +each other. Time mends a good many breaks. Good-bye! Some day I hope +you'll come to see your poor old granny, and bring--" + +"Oh, for the love of heaven, have a little decency, Anne," he cried, his +lip curling. + +But her pride was roused, it was in revolt against all of the finer +instincts that struggled for expression. + +"You'd better go now. Run upstairs and tell your grandfather that his +scheme worked perfectly. Tell him everything I have said. He will not +mind. I am sorry you will not remain to see the contract signed. I should +like to have you for a witness. If you--" + +"Contract? What contract?" + +"Oh," she said lightly, "just a little agreement on his part to make life +endurable for me while he continues to live. We are to sign the paper at +five o'clock. Yes, you'd better run along, Braden, or you'll find yourself +the centre of a perplexed crowd. Before you go, please take a last look at +me in my sepulchre. Here I stand! Am I not fair to look upon?" + +"God, I'd sooner see you in your grave than here," he grated out. "You'd +be better off, a thousand times." + +"This is my grave," she said, "or will be soon. I suppose I am not to +count you among the mourners?" + +He slammed the door behind him, and she was alone. + +"How I hate people who slam doors," she said to herself. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +A fortnight passed. Preparations for the wedding went on in the Tresslyn +home with little or no slackening of the tension that had settled upon the +inmates with the advent of the disturber. Anne was now sullenly determined +that nothing should intervene to prevent the marriage, unless an unkind +Providence ordered the death of Templeton Thorpe. She was bitter toward +Braden. Down in her soul, she knew that he was justified in the stand he +had taken, and in that knowledge lay the secret of her revolt against one +of the commands of Nature. He had treated her with the scorn that she knew +she deserved; he had pronounced judgment upon her, and she confessed to +herself that she was guilty as charged. That was the worst of it; she +could pronounce herself guilty, and yet resent the justice of her own +decision. + +In her desperation, she tried to hold old Mr. Thorpe responsible for the +fresh canker that gnawed at her soul. But for that encounter in his +library, she might have proceeded with confidence instead of the +uneasiness that now attended her every step. She could not free herself of +the fear that Braden might after all succeed in his efforts to persuade +the old man to change his mind. True, the contract was signed, but +contracts are not always sacred. They are made to be broken. Moreover, by +no stretch of the imagination could this contract be looked upon as sacred +and it certainly would not look pretty if exposed to a court of law. Her +sole thought now was to have it all safely over with. Then perhaps she +could smile once more. + +In the home of the bridegroom, preparations for the event were scant and +of a perfunctory nature. Mr. Templeton Thorpe ordered a new suit of +clothes for himself--or, to be quite precise, he instructed Wade to order +it. He was in need of a new suit anyway, he said, and he had put off +ordering it for a long, long time, not because he was parsimonious but +because he did not like going up town for the "try-on." He also had a new +silk hat made from his special block, and he would doubtless be compelled +to have his hair trimmed up a bit about the nineteenth or twentieth, if +the weather turned a trifle warmer. Of course, there would be the trip to +City Hall with Anne, for the licence. He would have to attend to that in +person. That was one thing that Wade couldn't do for him. Wade bought the +wedding-ring and saw to the engraving; he attended to the buying of a gift +for the best man,--who under one of the phases of an all-enveloping irony +was to be George Dexter Tresslyn!--and in the same expedition to the +jewellers' purchased for himself a watch-fob as a self-selected gift from +a master who had never given him anything in all his years of service +except his monthly wage and a daily malediction. + +Braden Thorpe made the supreme effort to save his grandfather. Believing +himself to be completely cured of his desire for Anne, he took the stand +that there was no longer a necessity for the old gentleman to sacrifice +himself to the greed of the Tresslyns. But Mr. Thorpe refused to listen to +this new and apparently unprejudiced argument. He was firm in his +determination to clip Anne's claws; he would take no chances with youth, +ultimate propinquity, and the wiles of a repentant sinner. + +"You can guard against anything," said he in his wisdom, "except the +beautiful woman who repents. You never can tell what she'll do to make her +repentance satisfactory to everybody concerned. So we'll take no chances +with Anne. We'll put her in irons, my boy, so to speak." + +And so it was that Braden, worn and disspirited, gave up in despair and +prepared for his return to London. He went before an examining board in +New York first and obtained his licence to become a practising physician +and surgeon, and, with a set expression in his disillusioned eyes, peered +out into the future in quest of the fame that was to take the place of a +young girl's love. + +He met his first patient in the Knickerbocker Cafe. Lunching alone there +one day, a week before the date selected for sailing, he was accosted by +an extremely gay and pretty young woman who came over from a table of four +in a distant corner of the room. + +"Is this Dr. Braden Thorpe?" she inquired, placing her hands on the back +of the chair opposite and leaning forward with a most agreeable, even +inviting smile. + +Her face was familiar. "Since day before yesterday," he replied, rising +with a self-conscious flush. + +"May I sit down? I want to talk to you about myself." She sat down in the +chair that an alert waiter pulled out for her. + +"I am afraid you are labouring under a misapprehension," he said. "I--I am +not what you would call a practising physician as yet." + +"Aren't you looking for patients?" she inquired. "Sit down, please." + +"I haven't even an office, so why should I feel that I am entitled to a +patient?" he said. "You see, I've just got my licence to practice. As +things go, I shouldn't have a client for at least two years. Are you +looking for a doctor?" + +"I saw by the papers this morning that the grandson of Mr. Templeton +Thorpe was a regular doctor. One of my friends over there pointed you out +to me. What is your fee for an appendicitis operation, Dr. Thorpe?" + +"Good--ahem! I beg your pardon. You really startled me. I--" + +"Oh, that's all right. I quite understand. Hard to grasp at first, isn't +it? Well, I've got to have my appendix out sooner or later. It's been +bothering me for a year, off and on. Everybody tells me I ought to have it +out sometime when it isn't bothering me and--" + +"But, my dear young lady, I'm not the man you want. You ought to go to +some--" + +"You'll do just as well as any one, I'm sure. It's no trick to take out an +appendix in these days. The fewer a doctor has snipped off, the less he +charges, don't you know. So why shouldn't I, being quite poor, take +advantage of your ignorance? The most intelligent surgeon in New York +couldn't do any more than to snip it off, now could he? And he wouldn't be +one-tenth as ignorant as you are about prices." + +She was so gay and naive about it that he curbed his amazement, and, to +some extent, his embarrassment. + +"I suppose that it is also ignorance on my part that supplies me with +office hours in a public restaurant from one to three o'clock," he said, +with a very unprofessional grin. + +"What hospital do you work in?" she demanded, in a business-like tone. + +Humouring her, he mentioned one of the big hospitals in which he had +served as an interne. + +"That suits me," she said. "Can you do it to-morrow?" + +"For heaven's sake, madam, I--are you in earnest?" + +"Absolutely. I want to have it done right away. You see, I do a good deal +of dancing, and--now, listen!" She leaned farther across the table, a +serious little line appearing between her brows. "I want you to do it +because I've always heard that you are one of the most earnest, capable +and ambitious young men in the business. I'd sooner trust you than any one +else, Dr. Thorpe. It has to be done by some one, so if I'm willing to take +a chance with you, why shouldn't you take one with me?" + +"I have been in Europe for nearly three years. How could you possibly have +heard all this about me?" + +"See that fellow over there facing us? The funny little chap with the baby +moustache? He--" + +"Why, it's Simmy Dodge," cried Braden. "Are--are you--" + +"Just a friend, that's all. He's one of the finest chaps in New York. He's +a gentleman. That's Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey Fenn,--the other two, I mean. You +can't see them for the florist shop in between. They know you too, so--" + +"May I inquire why one of my friends did not bring you over and introduce +me to you, Miss--er--" + +"Miss, in a sort of way, Doctor, but still a Missus," she said amiably. +"Well, I told them that I knew you quite well and I wouldn't let them come +over. It's all right, though. We'll be partially related to each other by +marriage before long, I understand; so it's all right. You see, I am Mrs. +George Dexter Tresslyn." + +"You--you are?" he gasped. "By Jove, I thought that your face was familiar. +I--" + +"One of the best advertised faces in New York about two years ago," she +said, and he detected a plaintive note in the flippant remark. "Not so +well-known nowadays, thank God. See here, Dr. Thorpe, I hope you won't +think it out of place for me _to_ congratulate you." + +"Congratulate me? My dear Mrs. Tresslyn, it is not I who am to be married. +You confuse me with--" + +"I'm congratulating you because you're not the one," said she, her eyes +narrowing. "Bless your soul, I know what I'm talking about. But say no +more. Let's get back to the appendix. Will you do the job for me?" + +"Now that we are acquainted with each other," he said, suppressing a +natural excitement, "may we not go over and join Simmy and the Fenns? +Don't you think you'd better consult with them before irrevocably +committing yourself to me?" + +"Fine! We'll talk it over together, the whole lot of us. But, I say, don't +forget that I've known you for years--through the family, of course. I want +to thank you first for one thing, Dr. Thorpe. George used to tell me how +you took my part in the--the smash-up. He said you wrote to him from Europe +to be a man and stand by me in spite of everything. That's really what +I've been wanting to say to you, more than the other. Still, I've got to +have it out, so come on. Let's set a day. Mrs. Fenn will go up to the +hospital with me. She's used to hospitals. Says she loves them. She's +trying her best to have Mr. Fenn go in next week to have his out. She's +had five operations and a baby. I'm awfully glad to know you, Dr. Thorpe. +I've always wanted to. I'd like better than anything I know of to be your +first regular patient. It will always be something to boast about in years +to come. It will be splendid to say to people, 'Oh, yes, I am the first +person that ever had her appendix removed by the celebrated Dr. Thorpe.' +It will--" + +"But I have removed a great many," he said, carried away by her sprightly +good humour. "In my training days, so to speak." + +"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she cried, disappointed. Then her face +brightened: "Still, I suppose you had to learn just where the thing is. It +wouldn't do to go about stabbing people in the wrong place, just as if the +appendix might be any little old where, would it?" + +"I should say not," said he, arising and bowing very profoundly. Then he +followed close behind her trim, smart figure as they threaded their way +among the tables. + +So this was the "pretty little mustard girl" that all fashionable New York +had talked about in the past and was dancing with in the present. This was +the girl who refused to go to the dogs at the earnest behest of the +redoubtable Mrs. Tresslyn. Somehow he felt that Fate had provided him with +an unexpected pal! + +And, to his utter astonishment, he was prevailed upon to perform the +operation! The Fenns and Simeon Dodge decided the matter for him. + +"I shall have to give up sailing next week," he said, as pleased as Punch +but contriving to project a wry face. "I can't go away and leave my first +bona-fide patient until she is entirely out of the woods." + +"I have engagements for to-morrow and Wednesday," said Mrs. Rumsey Fenn, +after reflection. She was a rather pallid woman of thirty-five who might +have been accused of being bored with life if she had not made so many +successful efforts to prolong it. + +"It doesn't happen to be your appendix, my dear," said her husband. + +"Goodness, I wish it were," said she, regretfully. "What I mean is that I +can't go to the hospital with Lutie before,--let me see,--before Thursday. +Can you wait that long, dear?" + +"Ask Dr. Thorpe," said young Mrs. Tresslyn. "He is my doctor, you know." + +"Of course, you all understand that I cannot go ahead and perform an +operation without first determining--" + +"Don't you worry," said the patient. "My physician has been after me for a +year to have it out. He'll back me up. I'll telephone him as soon as I get +back home, and I'll have him call you up, Dr. Thorpe. Thanks ever so much. +And, before I forget it, what is the fee to be? You see, I pay my own +bills, so I've got to know the--the worst." + +"My fee will be even more reasonable than you hope, Mrs. Tresslyn," said +Braden, smiling. "Just guess at the amount you'd feel able to pay and then +divide it by two, and you'll have it." + +"Dear me," cried Mrs. Fenn, "how perfectly satisfactory! Rumsey, you +_must_ have yours out this week. You're always talking about not being +able to afford things, and here's a chance to save money in a way you +never would have suspected." + +"Good Lord, Madge," exclaimed her husband, "I've never had a pain in my +life. I wish you wouldn't keep nagging at me all the time to have an +operation performed, whether I need it or not. Let my appendix alone. It's +always treated me with extreme loyalty and respect, so why the deuce +should I turn upon the poor thing and assassinate it?" + +"See here, Rumsey," said Simmy Dodge sagely, "if I were in your place I'd +have a perfectly sound tooth pulled some time, just to keep it from aching +when you're an old man. Or you might have your left leg amputated so that +it couldn't be crushed in a railroad accident. You ought to do something +to please Madge, old chap. She's been a thoughtful, devoted wife to you +for twelve or thirteen years, and what have you ever done to please her? +Nothing! You've never so much as had a crick in your neck or a pain that +you couldn't account for, so do be generous, Rumsey. Besides, maybe you +haven't got an appendix at all. Just think how you could crow over her if +they couldn't find one, even after the most careful and relentless search +over your entire system." + +"She's always wanting me to die or something like that," growled Fenn; +"but when I talked of going to the Spanish War she went into hysterics." + +"We'd only been married a month, Rumsey," said his wife reproachfully. + +"But how could I have known that war was to be declared so soon?" he +demanded. + +Braden and Simeon Dodge left the restaurant together. They were old +friends, college-mates, and of the same age. Dodge had gone into the law- +school after his academic course, and Thorpe into the medical college. +Their ways did not part, however. Both were looked upon as heirs to huge +fortunes, and to both was offered the rather doubtful popularity that +usually is granted to affluence. Thorpe accepted his share with the +caution of the wise man, while Dodge, not a whit less capable, took his as +a philanderer. He now had an office in a big down-town building, but he +never went near it except when his partner took it into his head to go +away for a month's vacation at the slack season of the year. At such +periods Mr. Dodge, being ages younger than the junior member of the firm, +made it his practice to go down to the office and attend to the business +with an earnestness that surprised every one. He gave over frolicking and +stuck resolutely to the "knitting" that Johnson had left behind. Possessed +of a natural though thrifty intelligence,--one that wasted little in +public,--and a latent energy that could lift him occasionally above a +perfectly normal laziness, he made as much of his opportunities as one +could expect of a young man who has two hundred thousand a year and an +amiable disposition. + +No one in the city was more popular than Simmy Dodge, and no one more +deservedly so, for his bad qualities were never so bad that one need +hesitate about calling him a good fellow. His habits were easy but +genteel. When intoxicated he never smashed things, and when sober,--which +was his common condition,--he took extremely good care of other people's +reputations. Women liked him, which should not be surprising; and men +liked him because he was not to be spoiled by the women who liked him, +which is saying a great deal for an indolent young man with money. He had +a smile that always appeared at its best in the morning, and survived the +day with amazing endurance. And that also is saying a great deal for a +young man who is favoured by both sexes and a _supposedly_ neutral Dame +Fortune at the same time. He had broken many of the laws of man and some +of those imposed by God, but he always paid without apology. He was +inevitably pardoned by man and paroled by his Maker,--which is as much as +to say that he led a pretty decent sort of existence and enjoyed +exceedingly good health. + +He really wasn't much to look at. Being a trifle under medium height, +weighing less than one hundred and twenty pounds stripped, as wiry as a +cat and as indefatigable as a Scotch terrier, and with an abnormally large +pair of ears that stood out like oyster shells from the sides of a round, +sleek head, he made no pretentions to physical splendour,--unless, by +chance, you would call the perky little straw-coloured moustache that +adorned his long upper lip a tribute to vanity. His eyes were blue and +merry and set wide apart under a bulging, intellectual looking forehead, +and his teeth were large and as white as snow. When he laughed the world +laughed with him, and when he tried to appear downcast the laughter went +on just the same, for then he was more amusing than ever. + +"I didn't know you were a friend of hers," said he as they stood in front +of the hotel waiting for the taxi that was to take Thorpe to a hospital. + +Thorpe remembered the admonition. "I tried to put a little back-bone into +George Tresslyn at the time of the rumpus, if that's what you'd call being +a friend to her," he said evasively. + +"She's a nice little girl," said Simmy, "and she's been darned badly +treated. Mrs. Tresslyn has never gotten over the fact that Lutie made her +pay handsomely to get the noble Georgie back into the smart set. Plucky +little beggar, too. Lot of people like the Fenns and the Roush girls have +taken her up, primarily, I suppose, because the Tresslyns threw her down. +She's making good with them, too, after a fashion all her own. Must be +something fine in a girl like that, Brady,--I mean something worth while. +Straight as a string, and a long way from being a disgrace to the name of +Tresslyn. Quaint, isn't she?" + +"Amazingly so. I think George would marry her all over again if she'd have +him, mother or no mother." + +"Well, she's quaint in another respect," said Dodge. "She still considers +herself to be George Tresslyn's wife." + +"Religion?" + +"Not a bit of it. She just says she is, that's all, and what God joined +together no woman can put asunder. She means Mrs. Tresslyn, of course. By +the way, Brady, I wonder if I'm still enough of a pal to be allowed to say +something to you." The blue eyes were serious and there was a sort of +caressing note in his voice. + +"We've always been pals, Simmy." + +"Well, it's just this: I'm darned sorry things have turned out as they +have for you. It's a rotten shame. Why don't you choke that old +grandparent of yours? Put him out of his misery. Anne has told me of your +diabolical designs upon the hopelessly afflicted. She used to talk about +it for hours while you were in London,--and I had to listen with shivers +running up and down my back all the time. Nobody on earth could blame you +for putting the quietus on old Templeton Thorpe. He is about as hopelessly +afflicted as any one I know,--begging your pardon for treading on the +family toes." + +"He's quite sane, Simmy," said Braden, with a smile that was meant to be +pleasant but fell short of the mark. + +"He's an infernal old traitor, then," said Simmy hotly. "I wouldn't treat +a dog as he has treated you,--no kind of a dog, mind you. Not even a +Pekinese, and I hate 'em worse than snakes. What the devil does Anne mean? +Lordy, Lordy, man, she's always been in love with you. She--but, forgive +me, old chap, I oughtn't to run on like this. I didn't mean to open a +sore--" + +"It's all right, Simmy. I understand. Thanks, old boy. It was a pretty +stiff blow, but--well, I'm still on my pins, as you see." + +Dodge was hanging onto the door of the taxi, impeding his friend's +departure. "She's too fine a girl to be doing a rotten thing like this. I +don't mind telling you I've always been in--er--that is, I've always had a +tender spot for Anne. I suppose you know that?" + +"I know that, Simmy." + +"Hang it all, I never dreamed that she'd look at any one else but you, so +I never even peeped a word to her about my own feelings. And here she +goes, throwing you over like a shot, and spilling everything. Confound it, +man, if I'd thought she could possibly want to marry anybody else but you, +I'd have had my try. The good Lord knows I'm not much, but by thunder, I'm +not decrepit. I--I suppose it was the money, eh?" + +"That's for you to say, Simmy; certainly not for me." + +"If it's money she's after and not an Adonis, I don't see why the deuce +she didn't advertise. I would have answered in a minute. I can't help +saying it, old man, but I feel sorry for Anne, 'pon my soul, I do. I don't +think she's doing this of her own free will. See what her mother did to +George and that little girl in there? I tell you there's something nasty +and--" + +"I may as well tell you that Anne _is_ doing this thing of her own free +will," said Braden gravely. + +"I don't believe it," said Dodge. + +"At any rate, Simmy, I'm grateful to you for standing clear while there +was still a chance for me. So long! I must be getting up to the hospital, +and then around to see her doctor." + +"So long, Brady. See you on Thursday." He meant, good soul, that he would +be at the hospital on that day. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +An hour later, Mr. Simeon Dodge appeared at the home of Anne Tresslyn. In +place of his usual care-free manner there now rested upon him an air of +extreme gravity. This late afternoon visit was the result of an +inspiration. After leaving Thorpe he found himself deeply buried in +reflection which amounted almost to abstraction. He was disturbed by the +persistency of the thoughts that nagged at him, no matter whither his +aimless footsteps carried him. For the life of him, he could not put from +his mind the conviction that Anne Tresslyn was not responsible for her +actions. + +He was convinced that she had been bullied, cowed, coerced, or whatever +you like, into this atrocious marriage, and, of course, there could be no +one to blame but her soulless mother. The girl ought to be saved. (These +are Simmy's thoughts.) She was being sacrificed to the greed of an +unnatural mother. Admitting, for the sake of argument, that she was no +longer in love with Braden Thorpe, there still remained the positive +conviction that she could not be in love with any one else, and certainly +not with that treacherous old man in Washington Square. That, of course, +was utterly impossible, so there was but the one alternative: she was +being forced into a marriage that would bring the most money into the +hands of the designing and, to him, clearly unnatural parent. + +He knew nothing of the ante-nuptial settlement, nor was he aware of the +old man's quixotic design in coming between Braden and the girl he loved. +To Simmy it was nothing short of brigandage, a sort of moral outlawry. Old +Templeton Thorpe deserved a coat of tar and feathers, and there was no +word for the punishment that ought to be meted out to Mrs. Tresslyn. He +tried to think of what ought to be done to her, and, getting as far as +boiling oil, gave up in despair, for even that was too much like +compassion. + +Money! The whole beastly business was money! He thought of his own +unestimated wealth. Nothing but money,--horrible, insensate, devastating +money! He shuddered as he thought of what his money was likely to bring to +him in the end: a loveless wife; avarice in place of respect; misery +instead of joy; destruction! How was he ever to know whether a girl was +marrying him for himself or for the right to lay hands upon the money his +father had left to him when he died? How can any rich man know what he is +getting into when he permits a girl to come into his home? To burglarise +it with the sanction of State and Church, perhaps, and to escape with the +connivance of both after she's got all she wants. That's where the poor +man has an advantage over the unprotected rich: he is never confronted by +a problem like this. He doesn't have to stop and wonder why the woman +marries him. He knows it's love, or stupidity, or morality, but it is +never duplicity. + +Before he got through with it, Simmy had worked himself into a state of +desperation. Regarding himself with unprejudiced eyes he saw that he was +not the sort of man a girl would choose for a husband unless he had +something besides a happy, loving disposition to offer. She would marry +him for his money, of course; certainly he would be the last to suspect +her of marrying him for his beauty. He had never thought of it in this +light before, and he was wet with the sweat of anguish. He could never be +sure! He could love a woman with all his heart and soul, and still never +be sure of her! Were all the girls he had loved in his college days--But +here he stopped. It was too terrible to even contemplate, this unmerited +popularity of his! If only one of them had been honest enough to make fun +of his ears, or to snicker when he became impassioned, or to smile +contemptuously from her superior height when he asked her to dance,--if +only one of them had turned her back upon him, then he would have grasped +the unwelcome truth about himself. But, now that he thought of it, not one +of them had ever turned a deaf ear to his cajoleries, not one had failed +to respond to his blandishments, not one had been sincere enough to frown +upon him when he tried to be witty. And that brought him to another +sickening standstill: was he as bright and clever and witty as people made +him out to be? Wasn't he a dreadful bore, a blithering ass, after all? He +felt himself turning cold to the marrow as he thought of the real value +that people placed upon him. He even tried to recall a single thing that +he had ever said that he could now, in sober judgment, regard as bright or +even fairly clever. He couldn't, so then, after all, it was quite clear +that he was tolerated because he had nothing but money. + +Just as he was about to retire from his club where he had gone for solace, +an inspiration was born. It sent him forthwith to Anne Tresslyn's home, +dogged, determined and manfully disillusioned. + +"Miss Tresslyn is very busy, Mr. Dodge," said Rawson, "but she says she +will see you, sir, if you will wait a few moments." + +"I'll wait," said Simmy, and sat down. + +He had come to the remarkable conclusion that as long as some one had to +marry him for his money it might as well be Anne. He was fond of her and +he could at least spare her the ignominy and horror of being wedded to old +Templeton Thorpe. With his friend Braden admittedly out of the running, +there was no just cause why he should not at least have a try at saving +Anne. She might jump at the chance. He was already blaming himself for not +having recognised her peril, her dire necessity, long before this. And +since he had reached the dismal conclusion that no one could possibly love +him, it would be the sensible thing on his part to at least marry some one +whom he loved, thereby securing, in a way, half of a bargain when he might +otherwise have to put up with nothing at all. At any rate, he would be +doing Anne a good turn by marrying her, and it was reasonably certain that +she would not bring him any more unhappiness than any other woman who +might accept him. + +As he sat there waiting for her he began to classify his financial +holdings, putting certain railroads and industrials into class one, others +into class two, and so on to the best of his ability to recollect what +really comprised his fortune. It was rather a hopeless task, for to save +his life he could not remember whether he had Lake Shore stock or West +Shore stock, and he did not know what Standard Oil was selling at, nor any +of the bank stocks except the Fifth Avenue, which seldom went below forty- +five hundred. There might be a very awkward situation, too, if he couldn't +justify his proposal with facts instead of conjectures. Suppose that she +came out point blank and asked him what he was worth: what could he say? +But then, of course, she wouldn't have to ask such a question. If she +considered it possible to marry him, she would _know_ how much he was +worth without inquiring. As a matter of fact, she probably knew to a +dollar, and that was a great deal more than he knew. + +Half an hour passed before she came down. She was wearing her hat and was +buttoning her gloves as she came hurriedly into the room. Simmy had a +startling impression that he had seen a great many women putting on their +gloves as they came into rooms where he was waiting. The significance of +this extraordinary custom had never struck him with full force before. In +the gloom of his present appraisal of himself, he now realised with +shocking distinctness that the women he called upon were always on the +point of going somewhere else. + +"Hello, Simmy," cried Anne gaily. He had never seen her looking more +beautiful. There was real colour in her smooth cheeks and the sparkle of +enthusiasm in her big, dark eyes. + +He shook hands with her. "Hello," he said. + +"I can spare you just twenty minutes, Simmy," she said, peering at the +little French clock on the mantelpiece with the frankest sort of +calculation. "Going to the dressmaker's at five, you know. It's a great +business, this getting married, Simmy. You ought to try it." + +"I know I ought," said he, pulling a chair up close to hers. "That's what +I came to see you about, Anne." + +She gave a little shriek of wonder. "For heaven's sake, Simmy, don't tell +me that _you_ are going to be married. I can't believe it." + +He made note of the emphasis she put upon the pronoun, and secretly +resented it. + +"Depends entirely on you, Anne," he said. He looked over his shoulder to +see if any one was within the sound of his voice, which he took the +precaution to lower to what had always been a successful tone in days when +he was considered quite an excellent purveyor of sweet nothings in dim +hallways, shady nooks and unpopulated stairways. "I want you to marry me +right away," he went on, but not with that amazing confidence of yester- +years. + +Anne blinked. Then she drew back and stared at him for a moment. A merry +smile followed her brief inspection. + +"Simmy, you've been drinking." + +He scowled, and at that she laughed aloud. "'Pon my soul, not more than +three, Anne. I rarely drink in the middle of the day. Almost never, I +swear to you. Confound it, why should you say I've been drinking? Can't I +be serious without being accused of drunkenness? What the devil do you +mean, Anne, by intimating that I--" + +"Don't explode, Simmy," she cried. "I wasn't intimating a thing. I was +positively asserting it. But go on, please. You interest me. Don't try to +look injured, Simmy. You can't manage it at all." + +"I didn't come here to be insulted," he growled. + +"Did you come here to insult me?" she inquired, the smile suddenly leaving +her eyes. + +"Good Lord, no!" he gasped. "Only I don't like what you said a minute ago. +I never was more serious or more sober in my life. You've been proposed to +a hundred times, I suppose, and I'll bet I'm the only one you've ever +accused of drinking at the time. It's just my luck. I--" + +"What in the world are you trying to get at, Simmy Dodge?" she cried. "Are +you really asking me to marry you?" + +"Certainly," he said, far from mollified. + +She leaned back in the chair and regarded him in silence for a moment. "Is +it possible that you have not heard that I am to be married this month?" +she asked, and there was something like pity in her manner. + +"Heard it? Of course, I've heard it. Everybody's heard it. That's just +what I've come to see you about. To talk the whole thing over. To see if +we can't do something. Now, there is a way out of it, dear girl. It may +not be the best way in the world but it's infinitely--" + +"Are you crazy?" she cried, staring at him in alarm. + +"See here, Anne," he said gently, "I am your friend. It will not make any +difference to you if I tell you that I love you, that I've loved you for +years. It's true nevertheless. I'm glad that I've at last had the courage +to tell you. Still I suppose it's immaterial. I've come up here this +afternoon to ask you to be my wife. I don't ask you to _say_ that you love +me. I don't want to put you in such a position as that. I know you don't +love me, but--" + +"Simmy! Oh, Simmy!" she cried out, a hysterical laugh in her throat that +died suddenly in a strange, choking way. She was looking at him now with +wide, comprehending eyes. + +"I can't bear to see you married to that old man, Anne," he went on. "It +is too awful for words. You are one of the most perfect of God's +creations. You shall not be sacrificed on this damned altar of--I beg your +pardon, I did not mean to begin by accusing any one of deliberately +forcing you into--into--" He broke off and pulled fiercely at his little +moustache. + +"I see now," she said presently. "You are willing to sacrifice yourself in +order that I may be spared. Is that it?" + +"It isn't precisely a sacrifice. At least, it isn't quite the same sort of +sacrifice that goes with your case as it now stands. In this instance, one +of us at least is moved by a feeling of love;--in the other, there is no +love at all. If you will take me, Anne, you will get a man who adores you +for yourself. Isn't there something in that? I can give you everything +that old man Thorpe can give, with love thrown in. I understand the +situation. You are not marrying that old man because you love him. There's +something back of it all that you can't tell me, and I shall not ask you +to do so. But listen, dear; I'm decent, I'm honest, I'm young and I'm +rich. I can give you everything that money will buy. Good Lord, I wish I +could remember just what I've got to offer you in the way of--But, never +mind now. If you'd like it, I'll have my secretary make out a complete +list of--" + +"So you think I am marrying Mr. Thorpe for his money,--is that it, Simmy +dear?" she asked. + +"I know it," said he promptly. "That is, you are marrying him because some +one else--ahem! You can't expect me to believe that you love the old +codger." + +"No, I can't expect that of any one. Thank you, Simmy. I think I +understand. You really want to--to save me. Isn't that so?" + +"I do, Anne, God knows I do," he said fervently. "It's the most beastly, +diabolical--" + +"You have been fair with me, Simmy," she broke in seriously, "so I'll be +fair with you. I am marrying Mr. Thorpe for his money. I ought to be +ashamed to confess it openly in this way, but I'm not. Every one knows +just why I am going into this thing, and every one is putting the blame +upon my mother. She is not wholly to blame. I am not being driven into it. +It's in the blood of us. We are that kind. We are a bad lot, Simmy, we +women of the breed. It goes a long way back, and we're all alike. Don't +ask me to say anything more, dear old boy. I'm just a rotter, so let it go +at that." + +"You're nothing of the sort," he exclaimed, seizing her hand. "You're +nothing of the sort!" + +"Oh, yes, I am," she said wearily. + +"See here, Anne," he said earnestly, "why not take me? If it's a matter of +money, and nothing else, why not take me? That's what I mean. That's just +what I wanted to explain to you. Think it over, Anne. For heaven's sake, +don't go on with the other thing. Chuck it all and--take me. I won't bother +you much. You can have all the money you need--and more, if you ask for it. +Hang it all, I'll settle a stipulated amount upon you before we take +another step. A million, two millions,--I don't care a hang,--only don't +spoil this bright, splendid young life of yours by--Oh, Lordy, it's +incomprehensible!" + +She patted the back of his hand, gently, even tremblingly. Her eyes were +very bright and very solemn. + +"It has to go on now, Simmy," she said at last. + +For a long time they were silent. + +"I hope you have got completely over your love for Braden Thorpe," he +said. "But, of course, you have. You don't care for him any more. You +couldn't care for him and go on with this. It wouldn't be human, you +know." + +"No, it wouldn't be human," she said, her face rigid. + +He was staring intently at the floor. Something vague yet sure was forming +in his brain, something that grew to comprehension before he spoke. + +"By Jove, Anne," he muttered, "I am beginning to understand. You wouldn't +marry a _young_ man for his money. It has to be an old man, an incredibly +old man. I see!" + +"I would not marry a young man, Simmy, for anything but love," she said +simply. "I would not live for years with a man unless I loved him, be he +poor or rich. Now you have it, my friend. I'm a pretty bad one, eh?" + +"No, siree! I'd say it speaks mighty well for you," he cried +enthusiastically. His whimsical smile returned and the points of his +little moustache went up once more. "Just think of waiting for a golden +wedding anniversary with a duffer like me! By Jove, I can see the horror +of that myself. You just couldn't do it. I get your idea perfectly, Anne. +Would it interest you if I were to promise to be extremely reckless with +my life? You see, I'm always taking chances with my automobiles. Had three +or four bad smash-ups already, and one broken arm. I _could_ be a little +more reckless and _very_ careless if you think it would help. I've never +had typhoid or pneumonia. I could go about exposing myself to all sorts of +things after a year or two. Flying machines, too, and long distance +swimming. I might even try to swim the English Channel. North Pole +expeditions, African wild game hunts,--all that sort of thing, Anne. I'll +promise to do everything in my power to make life as short as possible, if +you'll only--" + +"Oh, Simmy, you are killing," she cried, laughing through her tears. "I +shall always adore you." + +"That's what they all say. Well, I've done my best, Anne. If you'll run +away with me to-night, or to-morrow, or any time before the twenty-third, +I'll be the happiest man in the world. You can call me up any time,--at the +club or at my apartment. I'll be ready. Think it over. Good-bye. I wish I +could wish you good luck in this other--but, of course, you couldn't expect +that. We're a queer lot, all of us. I've always had a sneaking suspicion +that if my mother had married the man she was truly in love with, I'd be a +much better-looking chap than I am to-day." + +She was standing beside him at the door, nearly a head taller than he. + +"Or," she amended with a dainty grimace, "you might be a very beautiful +girl, and that would be dreadful." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +The day before the wedding, little Mrs. George Dexter Tresslyn, +satisfactorily shorn of her appendix and on the rapid road to recovery +that is traveled only by the perfectly healthy of mankind, confided to her +doctor that the mystery of the daily bunch of roses was solved. They +represented the interest and attention of her ex-husband, and, while they +were unaccompanied by a single word from him, they also signified +devotion. + +"Which means that he is still making love to you?" said Thorpe, with mock +severity. + +"Clandestinely," said she, with a lovely blush and a curious softening of +her eyes. She was wondering how this big, strong friend of hers would take +the information, and how far she could go in her confidences without +adventuring upon forbidden territory. Would he close the gates in the wall +that guarded his own opinions of the common foe, or would he let her +inside long enough for a joint discussion of the condition that confronted +both of them: the Tresslyn nakedness? "He has been inquiring about me +twice a day by telephone, Doctor, and this morning he was down stairs. My +night nurse knows him by sight. He was here at half-past seven. That's +very early for George, believe me. This hospital is a long way from where +he lives. I would say that he got up at six or half-past, wouldn't you?" + +"If he went to bed at all," said Thorpe, with a grim smile. + +"Anyhow, it proves something, doesn't it?" she persisted. + +"Obviously. He is still in love with you, if that's what you want me to +say." + +"That's just what I wanted you to say," she cried, her eyes sparkling. +"Poor George! He's a dear, and I don't care who hears me say it. If he'd +had any kind of a chance at all we wouldn't be--Oh, well, what's the use +talking about it?" She sighed deeply. + +Braden watched her flushed, drawn face with frowning eyes. He realised +that she had suffered long in silence, that her heart had been wrung in +the bitter stretches of a thousand nights despite the gay indifference of +the thousand days that lay between them. For nearly three years she had +kept alive the hungry thing that gnawed at her heart and would not be +denied. He was sorry for her. She was better than most of the women he +knew in one respect if in no other: she was steadfast. She had made a +bargain and it was not her fault that it was not binding. He had but +little pity for George Tresslyn. The little he had was due to the belief +that if the boy had been older he would have fought a better fight for the +girl. As she lay there now, propped up against the pillows, he could not +help contrasting her with the splendid, high-bred daughter of Constance +Tresslyn. That she was a high-minded, honest, God-fearing girl he could +not for an instant doubt, but that she lacked the--there is but one word +for it--_class_ of the Tresslyn women he could not but feel as well as see. +There was a distinct line between them, a line that it would take +generations to cross. Still, she was a loyal, warm-hearted enduring +creature, and by qualities such as these she mounted to a much higher +plane than Anne Tresslyn could ever hope to attain, despite her position +on the opposite side of the line. He had never seen George's wife in +anything but a blithe, confident mood; she was an unbeaten little warrior +who kept her colours flying in the face of a despot called Fate. In fact, +she was worthy of a better man than young Tresslyn, worthy of the steel of +a nobler foe than his mother. + +He was eager to comfort her. "It is pretty fine of George, sending you +these flowers every day. I am getting a new light on him. Has he ever +suggested to you in any way the possibility of--of--well, you know what I +mean?" + +"Fixing it up again between us?" she supplied, an eager light in her eyes. +"No, never, Dr. Thorpe. He has never spoken to me, never written a line to +me. That's fine of him too. He loves me, I'm sure of it, and he wants me, +but it _is_ fine of him not to bother me, now isn't it? He knows he could +drag me back into the muddle, he knows he could make a fool of me, and yet +he will not take that advantage of me." + +"Would you go back to him if he asked you to do so?" + +"I suppose so," she sighed. Then brightly: "So, you see, I shall refuse to +see him if he ever comes to plead. That's the only way. We must go our +separate ways, as decreed. I am his wife but I must not so far forget +myself as to think that he is my husband. I know, Dr. Thorpe, that if we +had been left alone, we could have managed somehow. He was young, but so +was I. I am not quite impossible, am I? Don't these friends of yours like +me, don't they find something worth while in me? If I were as common, as +undesirable as Mrs. Tresslyn would have me to be, why do people of your +kind like me,--take me up, as the saying is? I know that I don't really +belong, I know I'm not just what they are, but I'm not so awfully +hopeless, now am I? Isn't Mrs. Fenn a nice woman? Doesn't she go about in +the smart set?" + +She appeared to be pleading with him. He smiled. + +"Mrs. Fenn is a very nice woman and a very smart one," he said. "You have +many exceedingly nice women among your friends. So be of good cheer, if +that signifies anything to you." He was chaffing her in his most amiable +way. + +"It signifies a lot," she said seriously. "By rights, I suppose, I should +have gone to the devil. That's what was expected of me, you know. When I +took all that money from Mrs. Tresslyn, it wasn't for the purpose of +beating my way to the devil as fast as I could. I took it for an entirely +different reason: to put myself where I could tell other people to go to +him if I felt so inclined. I took it so that I could make of myself, if +possible, the sort of woman that George Tresslyn might have married +without stirring up a row in the family. I've taken good care of all that +money. It is well invested. I manage to live and dress on the income. +Rather decent of me, isn't it? Surprisingly decent, you might say, eh?" + +"Surprisingly," he agreed, smiling. + +"What George Tresslyn needs, Dr. Thorpe, is something to work for, +something to make work an object to him. What has he got to work for now? +Nothing, absolutely nothing. He's merely keeping up appearances, and he'll +never get anywhere in God's world until he finds out that it's a waste of +time working for a living that's already provided for him." + +Thorpe was impressed by this quaint philosophy. "Would you, in your +wisdom, mind telling me just what you think George would be capable of +doing in order to earn a living for two people instead of one?" + +She looked at him in surprise. "Why, isn't he big and strong and hasn't he +a brain and a pair of hands? What more can a man require in this little +old age? A big, strapping fellow doesn't have to sit down and say 'What in +heaven's name am I to do with these things that God has given me?' Doesn't +a blacksmith earn enough for ten sometimes, and how about the carpenter, +the joiner and the man who brings the ice? Didn't I earn a living up to +the time I burnt my fingers and had to be pensioned for dishonourable +service? It didn't take much strength or intelligence to demonstrate +mustard, did it? And you sit there and ask me what George is capable of +doing! Why, he could do _anything_ if he had to." + +"You are really a very wonderful person," said he, with conviction. "I +believe you could have made a man of George if you'd had the chance." + +She looked down. "I suppose the world thinks I made him what he is now, so +what's the use speculating? Let's talk about you for awhile. Miss McKane +won't be back for a few minutes, so let's chat some more. Didn't I hear +you tell her yesterday that you expect to leave for London about the +first?" + +"If you are up and about," said he. + +She hesitated, a slight frown on her brow. "Do you know that you are pale +and tired-looking, Dr. Thorpe? Have you looked in the glass at yourself +lately?" + +"Regularly," he said, forcing a smile. "I shave once a day, and I--" + +"I'm serious. You don't look happy. You may confide in me, Doctor. I think +you ought to talk to some one about it. Are you still in love with Miss +Tresslyn? Is that what's taking the colour out--" + +"I am not in love with Miss Tresslyn," he said, meeting her gaze steadily. +"That is all over. I will confess that I have been dreadfully hurt, +terribly shocked. A man doesn't get over such things easily or quickly. I +will not pretend that I am happy. So, if that explains my appearance to +you, Mrs. Tresslyn, we'll say no more about it." + +Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, I'm sorry if I've--if I've meddled,--if +I've been too--" + +"Don't worry," he broke in quickly. "I don't in the least mind. In fact, +I'm glad you gave me the opportunity to say in so many words that I do not +love her. I've never said it before. I'm glad that I have said it. It +helps, after all." + +"You'll be happy yet," she sniffled. "I know you will. The world is full +of good, noble women, and there's one somewhere who will make you glad +that this thing has happened to you. Now, we'll change the subject. Miss +McKane may pop in at any moment, you know. Have you any new patients?" + +He smiled again. "No. You are my sole and only, Mrs. Fenn can't persuade +Rumsey to have a thing done to him, and Simmy Dodge refuses to break his +neck for scientific purposes, so I've given up hope. I shall take no more +cases. In a year I may come back from London and then I'll go snooping +about for nice little persons like you who--" + +"Simmy Dodge says you are not living at your grandfather's house any +longer," she broke, irrelevantly. + +"I am at a hotel," he said, and no more. + +"I see," she said, frowning very darkly for her. + +He studied her face for a moment, and then arose from the chair beside her +bed. "You may be interested to hear that while I am invited to attend the +wedding to-morrow afternoon I shall not be there," he said, divining her +thoughts. + +"I didn't like to ask," she said. The nurse came into the room. "He says +I'm doing as well as could be expected, Miss McKane," she said glibly, +"and if nothing unforeseen happens I'll be dodging automobiles in Fifth +Avenue inside of two weeks. Good-bye, Doctor." + +"Good-bye. I'll look in to-morrow--afternoon," he said. + + * * * * * + +The marriage of Anne Tresslyn and Templeton Thorpe took place at the home +of the bridegroom at four o'clock on the afternoon of the twenty-third. A +departure from the original plans was made imperative at the eleventh hour +by the fact that Mr. Thorpe had been quite ill during the night. His +condition was in no sense alarming, but the doctors announced that a +postponement of the wedding was unavoidable unless the ceremony could be +held in the Thorpe home instead of at Mrs. Tresslyn's as originally +planned. Moreover, the already heavily curtailed list of guests would have +to be narrowed to even smaller proportions. The presence of so many as the +score of selected guests might prove to be hazardous in view of the old +gentleman's state of nerves, not to say health. Mr. Thorpe was able to be +up and about with the aid of the imperturbable Wade, but he was +exceedingly irascible and hard to manage. He was annoyed with Braden. When +the strange illness came early in the night, he sent out for his grandson. +He wanted him to be there if anything serious was to result from the +stroke,--he persisted in calling it a stroke, scornfully describing his +attack as a "rush of blood to the head from a heart that had been squeezed +too severely by old Father Time." Braden was not to be found. What annoyed +Mr. Thorpe most was the young man's unaccountable disposition to desert +him in his hour of need. In his querulous tirade, he described his +grandson over and over again as an ingrate, a traitor, a good-for-nothing +without the slightest notion of what an obligation means. + +He did not know, and was not to know for many days, that his grandson had +purposely left town with the determination not to return until the ill- +mated couple were well on their way to the Southland, where the ludicrous +honeymoon was to be spent. And so it was that the old family doctor had to +be called in to take charge of Mr. Thorpe in place of the youngster on +whom he had spent so much money and of whom he expected such great and +glorious things. + +He would not listen to a word concerning a postponement. Miss Tresslyn was +called up on the telephone by Wade at eight o'clock in the morning, and +notified of the distressing situation. What was to be done? At first no +one seemed to know what _could_ be done, and there was a tremendous flurry +that for the time being threatened to deprive Mr. Thorpe of a mother-in- +law before the time set for her to actually become one. Doctors were +summoned to revive the prostrated Mrs. Tresslyn. She went all to pieces, +according to reports from the servants' hall. In an hour's time, however, +she was herself once more, and then it was discovered that a postponement +was the last thing in the world to be considered in a crisis of such +magnitude. Hasty notes were despatched hither and thither; caterers and +guests alike were shunted off with scant ceremony; chauffeurs were +commandeered and motors confiscated; everybody was rushing about in +systematic confusion, and no one paused to question the commands of the +distracted lady who rose sublimely to the situation. So promptly and +effectually was order substituted for chaos that when the clock in Mr. +Thorpe's drawing-room struck the hour of four, exactly ten people were +there and two of them were facing a minister of the gospel,--one in an arm +chair with pillows surrounding him, the other standing tall and slim and +as white as the driven snow beside him.... + +Late that night, Mr. George Tresslyn came upon Simmy Dodge in the buffet +at the Plaza. + +"Well, you missed it," he said thickly. His high hat was set far back on +his head and his face was flushed. + +"Come over here in the corner," said Simmy, with discernment, "and for +heaven's sake don't talk above a whisper." + +"Whisper?" said George, annoyed. "What do I want to whisper for? I don't +want to whisper, Simmy. I never whisper. I hate to hear people whisper. I +refuse to whisper to anybody." + +Simmy took him by the arm and led him to a table in a corner remote from +others that were occupied. + +"Maybe you'd rather go for a drive in the Park," he said engagingly. + +"Nonsense! I've been driven all day, Simmy. I don't want to be driven any +more. I'm tired, that's what's the matter with me. Dog-tired, understand? +Have a drink? Here, boy!" + +"Thanks, George, I don't care for a drink. No, not for me, thank you. +Strictly on the wagon, you know. Better let it alone yourself. Take my +advice, George. You're not a drinking man and you can't stand it." + +George glowered at him for a moment, and then let his eyes fall. "Guess +you're right, Simmy. I've had enough. Never mind, waiter. First time I've +been like this in a mighty long time, Simmy. But don't think I'm +celebrating, because I ain't. I'm drowning something, that's all." He was +almost in tears by this time. "I can't help thinking about her standin' +there beside that old--Oh, Lord! I can't talk about it." + +"That's right," said Simmy, persuasively. "I wouldn't if I were you. Come +along with me. I'll walk home with you, George. A good night's rest will +put--" + +"Rest? My God, Simmy, I'm never going to rest again, not even in my grave. +Say, do you know who I blame for all this business? Do you?" + +"Sh!" + +"I won't shoosh! I blame myself. I am to blame and no one else. If I'd +been any kind of a man I'd have put my foot down--just like that--and +stopped the thing. That's what I'd have done if I'd been a man, Simmy. And +instead of stoppin' it, do you know what I did? I went down there and +stood up with old Thorpe as his best man. Can you beat that? His best man! +My God! Wait a minute. See, he was sittin' just like you are--lean back a +little and drop your chin--and I was standing right here, see--on this side +of him. Just like this. And over here was Anne--oh, Lord! And here was +Katherine Browne,--best maid, you know,--I mean maid of honour. Standin' +just like this, d'you see? And then right in front here was the preacher. +Say, where do all these preachers come from? I've never seen that feller +in all my life, and still they say he's an old friend of the family. Fine +business for a preacher to be in, wasn't it? Fi-ine bus-i-ness! He ought +to have been ashamed of himself. By Gosh, come to think of it, I believe +he was worse than I. He might have got out of it if he'd tried. He looked +like a regular man, and I'm nothing but a fish-worm." + +"Not so loud, George, for heaven's sake. You don't want all these men in +here to--" + +"Right you are, Simmy, right you are. I'm one of the fellers that talks +louder than anybody else and thinks he's as big as George Washington +because he's got a bass voice." He lowered his voice to a hoarse, raucous +whisper and went on. "And mother stood over there, see,--right about where +that cuspidor is,--and looked at the preacher all the time. Watchin' to see +that he kept his face straight, I suppose. Couple of old rummies standin' +back there where that table is, all dressed up in Prince Alberts and +shaved within an inch of their lives. Lawyers, I heard afterwards. Old +Mrs. Browne and Doc. Bates stood just behind me. Now you have it, just as +it was. Curtains all down and electric lights going full blast. It +wouldn't have been so bad if the lights had been out. Couldn't have seen +old Tempy, for one thing, and Anne's face for another. I'll never forget +Anne's face." His own face was now as white as chalk and convulsed with +genuine emotion. + +Simmy was troubled. There was that about George Tresslyn that suggested a +subsequent catastrophe. He was in no mood to be left to himself. There was +the despairing look of the man who kills in his eyes, but who kills only +himself. + +"See here, George, let's drop it now. Don't go on like this. Come along, +do. Come to my rooms and I'll make you comfortable for the--" + +But George was not through with his account of the wedding. He +straightened up and, gritting his teeth, went on with the story. "Then +there were the responses, Simmy,--the same that we had, Lutie and I,--just +the same, only they sounded queer and awful and strange to-day. Only young +people ought to get married, Simmy. It doesn't seem so rotten when young +people lie like that to each other. Before I really knew what had happened +the preacher had pronounced them husband and wife, and there I stood like +a block of marble and held my peace when he asked if any one knew of a +just cause why they shouldn't be joined in holy wedlock. I never even +opened my lips. Then everybody rushed up and congratulated Anne! And +kissed her, and made all sorts of horrible noises over her. And then what +do you think happened? Old Tempy up and practically ordered everybody out +of the house. Said he was tired and wanted to be left alone. 'Good-bye,' +he said, just like that, right in our faces--right in mother's face, and +the preacher's, and old Mrs. Browne's. You could have heard a pin drop. +'Good-bye,' that's what he said, and then, will you believe it, he turned +to one of the pie-faced lawyers and said to him: 'Will you turn over that +package to my wife, Mr. Hollenback?' and then he says to that man of his: +'Wade, be good enough to hand Mr. Tresslyn the little acknowledgment for +his services?' Then and there, that lawyer gave Anne a thick envelope and +Wade gave me a little box,--a little bit of a box that I wish I'd kept to +bury the old skinflint in. It would be just about his size. I had it in my +vest pocket for awhile. 'Wade, your arm,' says he, and then with what he +probably intended to be a sweet smile for Anne, he got to his feet and +went out of the room, holding his side and bending over just as if he was +having a devil of time to keep from laughing out loud. I heard the doctor +say something about a pain there, but I didn't pay much attention. What do +you think of that? Got right up and left his guests, his bride and +everybody standing there like a lot of goops. His bride, mind you. I'm +dead sure that so-called stroke of his was all a bluff. He just put one +over on us, that's all. Wasn't any more sick than I am. Didn't you hear +about the stroke? Stroke of luck, I'd call it. And say, what do you think +he gave me as a little acknowledgment for my services? Look! Feast your +eyes upon it!" He turned back the lapel of his coat and fumbled for a +moment before extracting from the cloth a very ordinary looking scarf-pin, +a small aqua-marine surrounded by a narrow rim of pearls. "Great, isn't +it? Magnificent tribute! You could get a dozen of 'em for fifty dollars. +That's what I got for being best man at my sister's funeral, and, by God, +it's more than I deserved at that. He had me sized up properly, I'll say +that for him." + +He bowed his head dejectedly, his lips working in a sort of spasmodic +silence. Dodge eyed him with a curious, new-born commiseration. The boy's +self-abasement, his misery, his flouting of his own weakness were not +altogether the result of maudlin reaction. He presented a combination of +manliness and effectiveness that perplexed and irritated Simeon Dodge. He +did not want to feel sorry for him and yet he could not help doing so. +George's broad shoulders and splendid chest were heaving under the strain +of a genuine, real emotion. Drink was not responsible for his present +estimate of himself; it had merely opened the gates to expression. + +Simmy's scrutiny took in the fine, powerful body of this incompetent +giant,--for he was a giant to Simmy,--and out of his appraisal grew a fresh +complaint against the Force that fashions men with such cruel +inconsistency. What would not he perform if he were fashioned like this +splendid being? Why had God given to George Tresslyn all this strength and +beauty, to waste and abuse, when He might have divided His gifts with a +kindlier hand? To what heights of attainment in all the enterprises of man +would not he have mounted if Nature had but given to him the shell that +George Tresslyn occupied? And why should Nature have put an incompetent, +useless dweller into such a splendid house when he would have got on just +as well or better perhaps in an insignificant body like his own? +Proportions were wrong, outrageously wrong, grieved Simmy as he studied +the man who despised the strength God had given him. And down in his +honest, despairing soul, Simmy Dodge was saying to himself that he would +cheerfully give all of his wealth, all of his intelligence, all of his +prospects, in exchange for a physical body like George Tresslyn's. He +would court poverty for the privilege of enjoying other triumphs along the +road to happiness. + +"Why don't you say something?" demanded George, suddenly looking up. "Call +me whatever you please, Simmy; I'll not resent it. Hang it all, I'll let +you kick me if you want to. Wouldn't you like to, Simmy?" + +"Lord love you, no, my boy," cried the other, reaching out and laying a +hand on George's shoulder. "See here, George, there's a great deal more to +you than you suspect. You've got everything that a man ought to have +except one thing, and you can get that if you make up your mind to go +after it." + +"What's that?" said George, vaguely interested. + +"Independence," said Simmy. "Do you know what I'd do if I had that body +and brain of yours?" + +"Yes," said George promptly. "You'd go out and lick the world, Simmy, +because you're that kind of a feller. You've got character, you have. +You've got self-respect, and ideals, and nerve. I ought to have been put +into your body and you into mine." + +Simmy winced. "Strike out for yourself, George. Be somebody. Buck up, +and--" + +George sagged back into the chair as he gloomily interrupted the speaker. +"That's all very fine, Simmy, that sort of talk, but I'm not in the mood +to listen to it now. I wasn't through telling you about the wedding. Where +was I when I stopped? Oh, yes, the scarf-pin. Hey, waiter! Come here a +second." + +A waiter approached. With great solemnity George arose and grasped him by +the shoulder, and a moment later had removed the nickel-plated badge from +the man's lapel. The waiter was tolerant. He grinned. It was what he was +expected to do under the circumstances. But he was astonished by the next +act of the tall young man in evening clothes. George proceeded to jam the +scarf-pin into the fellow's coat where the badge of service had rested the +instant before. Then, with Simmy looking on in disgust, he pinned the +waiter's badge upon his own coat. "There!" he said, with a sneer. "That is +supposed to make a gentleman of you, and this makes a man of me. On your +way, gentleman! I--" + +"For heaven's sake, George," cried Simmy, arising. "Don't be an ass." He +took the tag from Tresslyn's coat and handed it back to the waiter. "Give +him the scarf-pin if you like, old man, but don't rob him of his badge of +honour. He earns an honest living with that thing, you know." + +George sat down. He was suddenly abashed. "What an awful bounder you must +think I am, Simmy." + +"Nonsense. You're a bit tight, that's all." He slipped the waiter a bank- +note and motioned him away. "Now, let's go home, George." + +"Yes, sir; he turned and walked out of the room, leaving all of us +standing there," muttered George, with a mental leap backward. "I'll never +forget it, long as I live. He simply scorned the whole lot of us. I went +away as quickly as I could, but the others beat me to it. I left mother +and Anne there all alone, just wandering around the room as if they were +half-stunned. Never, never will I forget Anne's white, scared face, and +I've never seen mother so helpless, either. Anne gripped, that big +envelope so tight that it crumpled up into almost nothing. Mother took it +away from her and opened it. Nobody was there but us three. I shan't tell +you what was in the envelope. I'm not drunk enough for that." + +"Never mind. It's immaterial, in any event." Simmy had called for his +check. + +George's mind took a new twist. Suddenly he sprang to his feet. "By the +way, before I forget it, do you know where I can find Braden Thorpe?" + +A black scowl disfigured his face. There was an ugly, ominous glare in his +fast clearing eyes. Simmy, coming no higher than his shoulder, linked his +arm through one of George's and started toward the door with him. He was +headed for the porters' entrance. + +"He's out of town, George. Don't bother about Braden." + +"I'm going to kill Brady Thorpe, Simmy," said George hoarsely. Simmy felt +the big right arm swell and become as rigid as steel. + +"Don't talk like a fool," he whispered. + +"He didn't act right by Anne," said George. "He's got to account to me. +He's--" + +They were in the narrow hallway by this time. Simmy called to a porter. + +"Get me a taxi, will you?" + +"I say he didn't act right by Anne. It's his fault that she--Let go my arm, +Simmy!" He gave it a mighty wrench. + +"All right," said Simmy, maintaining his equilibrium with some difficulty +after the jerk he had received. "Don't you want me to be your friend, +George?" + +George glared at him, and then broke into a shamed, foolish laugh. +"Forgive me, Simmy. Of course, I want you as my friend. I depend upon +you." + +"Then stop this talk about going after Braden. In heaven's name, you kid, +what has he done to you or Anne? He's the one who deserves sympathy and--" + +"I've got it in for him because he's a coward and a skunk," explained +George, lowering his voice with praiseworthy consideration. "You see, it's +just this way, Simmy. He didn't do the right thing by Anne. He ought to +have come back here and _made_ her marry him. That's where he's to blame. +He ought to have gone right up to the house and grabbed her by the throat +and choked her till she gave in and went with him to a justice-of-the- +peace or something. He owed it to her, Simmy,--he was in duty bound to save +her. If he hadn't been a sneakin' coward, he'd have choked her till she +was half-dead and then she would have gone with him gladly. Women like a +brave man. They like to be choked and beaten and--" + +Simmy laughed. "Do you call it bravery to choke a woman into submission, +and drag her off to--" + +"I call it cowardice to give up the woman you love if she loves you," said +George. "I know what I'm talking about, too, because I'm one of the +sneakingest cowards on earth. What do you think of me, Simmy? What does +everybody think of me? Wouldn't call me a brave man, would you?" + +"The cases are not parallel. Braden's case is different. He couldn't force +Anne to--" + +"See here, Simmy," broke in George, wonderingly, "I hadn't noticed it +before, but, by giminy, I believe you're tipsy. You've been drinking, +Simmy. No sober man would talk as you do. When you sober up, you'll think +just as I do,--and that is that Brady Thorpe ought to have been a man when +he had the chance. He ought to have stuck his fist under Anne's nose and +said 'Come on, or I'll smash you,' and she'd have gone with him like a +little lamb, and she'd have loved him a hundred times more than she ever +loved him before. He didn't do the right thing by her, Simmy. He didn't, +curse him, and I'll never forgive him. I'm going to wring his neck, so +help me Moses. I've been a coward just as long as I intend to be. Take a +good look at me, Simmy. If you watch closely you may see me turning into a +man." + +"Get in," said Simmy, pushing him toward the door of the taxi-cab. "A +little sleep is what you need." + +"And say, there's another thing I've got to square up with Brady Thorpe," +protested George, holding back. "He took Lutie up there to that beastly +hospital and slashed her open, curse him. A poor, helpless little girl +like that! Call that brave? Sticking a knife into Lutie? He's got to +settle with me for that, too." + +And then Simmy understood. + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +Much may happen in a year's time. The history of the few people involved +in the making of this narrative presents but few new aspects, and yet +there is now to be disclosed an unerring indication of great and perhaps +enduring changes in the lives of every one concerned. + +To begin with, Templeton Thorpe, at the age of seventy-eight, is lying at +the edge of his grave. On the day of his marriage with Anne Tresslyn, he +put down his arms in the long and hopeless conflict with an enemy that +knows no pity, a foe so supremely confident that man has been powerless to +do more than devise a means to temporarily check its relentless fury. The +thing in Mr. Thorpe's side was demanding the tolls of victory. There was +no curbing its wrath: neither the soft nor the harsh answer of science had +served to turn it away. The hand with the gleaming, keen-edged knife had +been offered against it again and again, but the stroke had never fallen, +for always there stood between it and the surgeon who would slay the +ravager, the resolute fear of Templeton Thorpe. Time there was when the +keen-edged knife might have vanquished or at least deprived it of its +early venom, but the body of a physical coward housed it and denied +admittance to all-comers. Templeton Thorpe did not fear death. He wanted +to die, he implored his Maker to become his Destroyer. The torture of a +slow, inevitable death, however, was as nothing to the horror of the knife +that is sharp and cold. + +When he went upstairs with Wade on that memorable twenty-third of March, +he said to his enemy: "Be quick, that's all I ask of you," and then +prepared to wait as patiently as he could for the friendly end. + +From that day on, he was to the eyes of the world what he had long been to +himself in secret: a sick man without hope. Weeks passed before his bride +recognised the revolting truth, and when she came to know that he was +doomed her pity was _so_ vast that she sickened under its weight. She had +come prepared to see him die, as all men do when they have lived out their +time, but she had not counted on seeing him die like this, with suffering +in his bleak old eyes and a smile of derision on his pallid lips. + +Old Templeton Thorpe's sufferings were for himself, and he guarded them +jealously with all the fortitude he could command. His irascibility +increased with his determination to fight it out alone. He disdained every +move on her part to extend sympathy and help to him. To her credit, be it +said, she would have become his nurse and consoler if he had let down the +bars,--not willingly, of course, but because there was in Anne Thorpe, +after all, the heart of a woman, and of such it must be said there is +rarely an instance where its warmth has failed to respond to the call of +human suffering. She would have tried to help him, she would have tried to +do her part. But he was grim, he was resolute. She could not bridge the +gulf that lay between them. His profound tolerance did not deceive her; it +was scorn of the most poignant character. + +Braden was in Europe. He was expected in New York by the middle of March. +His grandfather would not consent to his being sent for, although it was +plain to be seen that he lived only for the young man's return. + +Anne had once suggested, timorously, that Braden's place was at the +sufferer's bedside, but the smile that the old man bestowed upon her was +so significant, so full of understanding, that she shrank within herself +and said no more. She knew, however, that he longed for the sustaining +hand of his only blood relation, that he looked upon himself as utterly +alone in these last few weeks of life; and yet he would not send out the +appeal that lay uppermost in his thoughts. In his own good time Braden +would come back and there would be perhaps' one long, farewell grip of the +hand. + +After that, ironic peace. + +He could not be cured himself, but he wanted to be sure that Braden was +cured before he passed away. He knew that his grandson would not come home +until the last vestige of love and respect for Anne Tresslyn was gone; not +until he was sure that his wound had healed beyond all danger of bleeding +again. Mr. Thorpe was satisfied that he had served his grandson well. He +was confident that the young man would thank him on his death-bed for +turning the hand of fate in the right direction, so that it pointed to +contentment and safety. Therefore, he felt himself justified in forbidding +any one to acquaint Braden of the desperate condition into which he had +fallen. He insisted that no word be sent to him, and, as in all things, +the singular power of old Templeton Thorpe prevailed over the forces that +were opposed. Letters came to him infrequently from the young +man,--considerate, formal letters in which he never failed to find the +touch of repressed gratitude that inspired the distant writer. Soon he +would be coming home to "set up for himself." Soon he would be fighting +the battle of life on the field that no man knew and yet was traversed by +all. + +Dr. Bates and the eminent surgeons who came to see the important invalid, +discussed among themselves, but never in the presence of Mr. Thorpe, the +remarkable and revolutionary articles that had been appearing of late in +one of the medical journals over the signature of Braden Thorpe. There +were two articles, one in answer to a savage, denunciatory communication +that had been drawn out by the initial contribution from the pen of young +Thorpe. + +In his first article, Braden had deliberately taken a stand in favour of +the merciful destruction of human life in cases where suffering is +unendurable and the last chance for recovery or even relief is lost. He +had the courage, the foolhardiness to sign his name to the article, +thereby irrevocably committing himself to the propaganda. A storm of +sarcasm ensued. The great surgeons of the land ignored the article, +amiably attributing it to a "young fool who would come to his senses one +day." Young and striving men in the profession rushed into print,--or at +least tried to do so,--with the result that Braden was excoriated by a +thousand pens. Only one of these efforts was worthy of notice, and it +inspired a calm, dispassionate rejoinder from young Thorpe, who merely +called attention to the fact that he was not trying to "make murderers out +of God's commissioners," but was on the other hand advocating a plan by +which they might one day,--a far-off day, no doubt,--extend by Man's law, +the same mercy to the human being that is given to the injured beast. + +Anne was shocked one day by a callous observation on the lips of old Dr. +Bates, a sound practitioner and ordinarily as gentle as the average family +doctor one hears so much about. Mr. Thorpe was in greater pain than usual +that day. Opiates were of little use in these cruel hours. It was now +impossible to give him an amount sufficient to produce relief without +endangering the life that hung by so thin a thread. + +"I suppose this excellent grandson of his would say that Mr. Thorpe ought +to be killed forthwith, and put out of his misery," said the doctor, +discussing his patient's condition with the young wife in the library +after a long visit upstairs. + +Anne started violently. "What do you mean by that, Dr. Bates?" she +inquired, after a moment in which she managed to subdue her agitation. + +"Perhaps I shouldn't have said it," apologised the old physician, really +distressed. "I did it quite thoughtlessly, my dear Mrs. Thorpe. I forgot +that you do not read the medical journals." + +"Oh, I know what Braden has always preached," she said hurriedly. "But it +never--it never occurred to me that--" She did not complete the sentence. A +ghastly pallor had settled over her face. + +"That his theory might find application to the case upstairs?" supplied +the doctor. "Of course it would be unthinkable. Very stupid of me to have +spoken of it." + +Anne leaned forward in her chair. "Then you regard Mr. Thorpe's case as +one that might be included in Braden's--" Again she failed to complete a +sentence. + +"Yes, Mrs. Thorpe," said Dr. Bates gravely. "If young Braden's pet theory +were in practice now, your husband would be entitled to the mercy he +prescribes." + +"He has no chance?" + +"Absolutely no chance." + +"All there is left for him is to just go on suffering until--until life +wears out?" + +"We are doing everything in our power to alleviate the +suffering,--everything that is known to science," he vouchsafed. "We can do +no more." + +"How long will he live, Dr. Bates?" she asked, and instantly shrank from +the fear that he would misinterpret her interest. + +"No man can answer that question, Mrs. Thorpe. He may live a week, he may +live six months. I give him no more than two." + +"And if he were to consent to the operation that you once advised, what +then?" + +"That was a year ago. I would not advise an operation now. It is too late. +In fact, I would be opposed to it. There are men in my profession who +would take the chance, I've no doubt,--men who would risk all on the +millionth part of a chance." + +"You think he would die on the operating table?" + +"Perhaps,--and perhaps not. That isn't the point. It would be useless, +that's all." + +"Then why isn't Braden's theory sound and humane?" she demanded sharply. + +He frowned. "It is humane, Mrs. Thorpe," said he gravely, "but it isn't +sound. I grant you that there is not one of us who would not rejoice in +the death of a man in Mr. Thorpe's condition, but there is not one who +would deliberately take his life." + +"It is all so cruel, so horribly cruel," she said. "The savages in the +heart of the jungle can give us lessons in humanity." + +"I daresay," said he. "By the same reasoning, is it wise for us to receive +lessons in savagery from them?" + +Anne was silent for a time. She felt called upon to utter a defence for +Braden but hesitated because she could not choose her words. At last she +spoke. "I have known Braden Thorpe all my life, Dr. Bates. He is sincere +on this question. I think you might grant him that distinction." + +"Lord love you, madam, I haven't the faintest doubt as to his sincerity," +cried the old doctor. "He is voicing the sentiment of every honest man in +my profession, but he overlooks the fact that sentiment has a very small +place among the people we serve,--in other words, the people who love life +and employ us to preserve it for them, even against the will of God." + +"They say that soldiers on the field of battle sometimes mercifully put an +end to the lives of their mutilated comrades," she mused aloud. + +"And they make it their business to put an end to the lives of the +perfectly sound and healthy men who confront them on that same field of +battle," he was quick to return. "There is a wide distinction between a +weapon and an instrument, Mrs. Thorpe, and there is just as much +difference between the inspired soldier and the uninspired doctor, or +between impulse and decision." + +"I believe that Mr. Thorpe would welcome death," said she. + +Dr. Bates shook his head. "My dear, if that were true he could obtain +relief from his suffering to-day,--this very hour." + +"What do you mean?" she cried, with a swift shudder, as one suddenly +assailed by foreboding. + +"There is a very sharp razor blade on his dressing-table," said Dr. Bates +with curious deliberation. "Besides that, there is sufficient poison in +four of those little--But there, I must say no more. You are alarmed,--and +needlessly. He will not take his own life, you may be sure of that. By +reaching out his hand he can grasp death, and he knows it. A month ago I +said this to him: 'Mr. Thorpe, I must ask you to be very careful. If you +do not sleep well to-night, take one of these tablets. If one does not +give you relief, you may take another, but no more. Four of them would +mean certain, almost instant death.' For more than a month that little box +of tablets has lain at his elbow, so to speak. Death has been within reach +all this time. Those tablets are still there, Mrs. Thorpe, so now you +understand." + +"Yes," she said, staring at him as if fascinated; "they are still there. I +understand." + +The thick envelope that Mr. Hollenback handed to Anne on the day of her +wedding contained a properly executed assignment of securities amounting +to two million dollars, together with an order to the executors under his +will to pay in gold to her immediately after his death an amount +sufficient to cover any shrinkage that may have occurred in the value of +the bonds by reason of market fluctuations. In plain words, she was to +have her full two millions. There was also an instrument authorising a +certain Trust Company to act as depository for these securities, all of +which were carefully enumerated and classified, with instructions to +collect and pay to her during his lifetime the interest on said bonds. At +his death the securities were to be delivered to her without recourse to +the courts, and were to be free of the death tax, which was to be paid +from the residue of the estate. There was a provision, however, that she +was to pay the state, city and county taxes on the full assessed value of +these bonds during his lifetime, and doubtless by premeditation on his +part all of them were subject to taxation. This unsuspected "joker" in the +arrangements was frequently alluded to by Anne's mother as a "direct slap +in the face," for, said she, it was evidently intended as a reflection +upon the Tresslyns who, as a family, it appears, were very skilful in +avoiding the payment of taxes of any description. (It was a notorious fact +that the richest of the Tresslyns was little more than a mendicant when +the time came to take his solemn oath concerning taxable possessions.) + +Anne took a most amazing stand in respect to the interest on these bonds. +Her income from them amounted to something over ninety thousand dollars a +year, for Mr. Thorpe's investments were invariably sound and sure. He +preferred a safe four or four and a half per cent, bond to an "attractive +six." With the coming of each month in the year, Anne was notified by the +Trust Company that anywhere from seven to eight thousand dollars had been +credited to her account in the bank. She kept her own private account in +another bank, and it was against this that she drew her checks. She did +not withdraw a dollar of the interest arising from her matrimonial +investment! + +Mrs. Tresslyn, supremely confident and self-assured, sustained the +greatest shock of her life when she found that Anne was behaving in this +quixotic manner about the profits of the enterprise. At first she could +not believe her ears. But Anne was obdurate, She maintained that her +contract called for two million dollars and no more, and she refused to +consider this extraneous accumulation as rightfully her own. Her mother +berated her without effect. She subjected her to countless attacks from as +many angles, but Anne was as "hard as nails." + +"I'm not earning this ninety thousand a year, mother," she declared hotly, +"and I shall not accept it as a gift. If I were Mr. Thorpe's wife in every +sense of the term, it might be different, but as you happen to know I am +nothing more than a figure of speech in his household. I am not even his +nurse, nor his housekeeper, nor his friend. He despises me. I despise +myself, for that matter, so he's not quite alone in his opinion. I've sold +myself for a price, mother, but you must at least grant me the privilege +of refusing to draw interest on my infamy." + +"Infamy!" gasped Mrs. Tresslyn. "Infamy? What rot,--what utter rot!" + +"Just the same, I shall confine myself to the original bargain. It is bad +enough. I shan't make it any worse by taking money that doesn't belong to +me." + +"Those bonds are yours," snapped Mrs. Tresslyn. "You are certainly +entitled to the interest. You--" + +"They are _not_ mine," returned Anne decisively. "Not until Mr. Thorpe is +dead, if you please. I am to have my pay after he has passed away, no +sooner. That was the bargain." + +"You did not hesitate to accept some rather expensive pearls if I remember +correctly," said Mrs. Tresslyn bitingly. + +"That was his affair, not mine," said Anne coolly. "He despises me so +thoroughly that he thought he could go beyond his contract and tempt me +with this interest we are quarrelling about, mother. He was sure that I +would jump at it as a greedy fish snaps at the bait. But I disappointed +him. I shall never forget the look of surprise,--no, it was wonder,--that +came into his eyes when I flatly refused to take this interest. That was +nearly a year ago. He began to treat me with a little respect after that. +There is scarcely a month goes by that he does not bring up the subject. I +think he has never abandoned the hope that I may give in, after all. +Lately he has taken to chuckling when I make my monthly protest against +accepting this money. He can't believe it of me. He thinks there is +something amusing about what I have been foolish enough to call my sense +of honour. Still, I believe he has a little better opinion of me than he +had at first. And now, mother, once and for all, let us consider the +matter closed. I will not take the interest until the principal is +indisputably mine." + +"You are a fool, Anne," said her mother, in her desperation; "a simple, +ridiculous fool. Why shouldn't you take it? It is yours. You can't afford +to throw away ninety thousand dollars. The bank has orders to pay it over +to you, and it is deposited to your account. That ought to settle the +matter. If it isn't yours, may I enquire to whom does it belong?" + +"Time enough to decide that, mother," said Anne, so composedly that Mrs. +Tresslyn writhed with exasperation. "I haven't quite decided who is to +have it in the end. You may be sure, however, that I shall give it to some +worthy cause. It shan't be wasted." + +"Do you mean to say that you will give it away--give it to charity?" +groaned her mother. + +"Certainly." + +Words failed Mrs. Tresslyn. She could only stare in utter astonishment at +this incomprehensible creature. + +"I may have to ask your advice when the time comes," went on Anne, +complacently. "You must assist me in selecting the most worthy charity, +mother dear." + +"I suppose it has never occurred to you that there is some justice in the +much abused axiom that charity begins at home," said Mrs. Tresslyn +frigidly. + +"Not in our home, however," said Anne. "That's where it ends, if it ends +anywhere." + +"I have hesitated to speak to you about it, Anne, but I am afraid I shall +now have to confess that I am sorely pressed for money," said Mrs. +Tresslyn deliberately, and from that moment on she never ceased to employ +this argument in her crusade against Anne's ingratitude. + +There was no estrangement. Neither of them could afford to go to such +lengths. They saw a great deal of each other, and, despite the constant +bickerings over the idle money, there was little to indicate that they +were at loggerheads. Mrs. Tresslyn was forced at last to recognise the +futility of her appeals to Anne's sense of duty, and contented herself +with occasional bitter references to her own financial distress. She +couldn't understand the girl, and she gave up trying. As a matter of fact, +she began to fear that she would never be able to understand either one of +her children. She could not even imagine how they could have come by the +extraordinary stubbornness with which they appeared to be afflicted. + +As for George Tresslyn, he was going to the dogs as rapidly and as +accurately as possible. He took to drink, and drink took him to cards. The +efforts of Simmy Dodge and other friends, including the despised Percy +Wintermill, were of no avail. He developed a pugnacious capacity for +resenting advice. It was easy to see what was behind the big boy's +behaviour: simple despair. He counted himself among the failures. In due +time he lost his position in Wall Street and became a complaining +dependent upon his mother's generosity. He met her arguments with the +furious and constantly reiterated charge that she had ruined his life. +That was another thing that Mrs. Tresslyn could not understand. How, in +heaven's name, had she ruined his life? + +He took especial delight in directing her attention to the upward progress +of the discredited Lutie. + +That attractive young person, much to Mrs. Tresslyn's disgust, actually +had insinuated her vulgar presence into comparatively good society, and +was coming on apace. Blithe, and gay, and discriminating, the former +"mustard girl" was making a place for herself among the moderately smart +people. Now and then her name appeared in the society columns of the +newspapers, where, much to Mrs. Tresslyn's annoyance, she was always +spoken of as "Mrs. George Dexter Tresslyn." Moreover, in several +instances, George's mother had found her own name printed next to Lutie's +in the alphabetical list of guests at rather large entertainments, and +once,--heaven forfend that it should happen again!--the former "mustard +girl's" picture was published on the same page of a supplement with that +of the exclusive Mrs. Tresslyn and her daughter, Mrs. Templeton Thorpe, +over the caption: "The Tresslyn Triumvirate," supplied by a subsequently +disengaged art editor. + +George came near to being turned out into the street one day when he so +far forgot himself as to declare that Lutie was worth the whole Tresslyn +lot put together, and she ought to be thankful she had had "the can tied +to her" in time. His mother was livid with fury. + +"If you ever mention that person's name in this house again, you will have +to leave it forever. If she's worth anything at all it is because she has +appropriated the Tresslyn name that you appear to belittle. You--" + +"She didn't appropriate it," flared George. "I remember distinctly of +having given it to her. I don't care what you say or do, mother, she +deserves a lot of credit. She's made a place for herself, she's decent, +she's clever--" + +"She hasn't earned a place for herself, let me remind you, sir. She made +it out of the proceeds of a sale, the sale of a husband. Don't forget, +George, that she sold you for so much cash." + +"A darned good bargain," said he, "seeing that she got me at my own +value,--which was nothing at all." + +Lutie went on her way serenely, securely. If she had a thought for George +Tresslyn she succeeded very well in keeping it to herself. Men would have +made love to her, but she denied them that exquisite distraction. Back in +her mind lurked something that guaranteed immunity. + +The year had dealt its changes to Lutie as well as to the others, but they +were not important. Discussing herself frankly with Simmy Dodge one +evening, she said: + +"I'm getting on, am I not, Simmy? But, after all, why shouldn't I? I'm a +rather decent sort, and I'm not a real vulgarian, am I? Like those people +over there at the next table, I mean. The more I go about, the more I +realise that class is a matter of acquaintance. If you know the right sort +of people, and have known them long enough, you unconsciously form habits +that the other sort of people haven't got, so you're said to have 'class.' +Of course, you've got to be imitative, you've got to be able to mimic the +real ones, but that isn't difficult if you're half way bright, don't you +know." + +"Lord love you, Lutie, you don't have to imitate any one," said Simmy. +"You're in a class by yourself." + +"Thanks, Simmy. Don't let any one else at the table hear you say such +things to me, though. They would think that I'd just come in from the +country. Why shouldn't I get on? How many of the girls that you meet in +your day's walk have graduated from a high-school? How many of the great +ladies who rule New York society possess more than a common school +education, outside of the tricks they've learned after they put on long +frocks? Not many, let me tell you, Simmy. Four-fifths of them can't spell +Connecticut, and they don't know how many e's there are in 'separate.' I +graduated from a high school in Philadelphia, and my mother did the same +thing before me. I also played on the basket-ball team, if that means +anything to you. My parents were poor but respectable, God-fearing people, +as they say in the novels, and they were quite healthy as parents go in +these days, when times are hard and children so cheap that nobody's +without a good sized pack of them. I was born with a brain that was meant +to be used." + +"What are you two talking about so secretively?" demanded Mrs. Rumsey +Fenn, across the table from them. + +"Ourselves, of course," said Lutie. "Bright people always have something +in reserve, my dear. We save the very best for an extremity. Simmy +delights in talking about me, and I love to talk about him. It's the +simplest kind of small talk and doesn't disturb us in the least if we +should happen to be thinking of something else at the time." + +"Have you heard when Braden Thorpe is expected home, Simmy?" + +"Had a letter from him yesterday. He sails next week. Is there any +tinkering to be done for your family this season, Madge? Any little old +repairs to be made?" + +"I'm afraid not," said Mrs. Fenn desolately, "Rumsey positively refuses to +imagine he's got a pain anywhere, and the baby's tonsils are disgustingly +healthy." + +"Old Templeton Thorpe's in a critical condition, I hear," put in Rumsey +Fenn. "There'll be a choice widow in the market before long, I pledge +you." + +"Can't they operate?" inquired his wife. + +"Not for malignant widows," said Mr. Fenn. + +"Oh, don't be silly. I should think old Mr. Thorpe would let Braden +operate. Just think what a fine boost it would give Braden if the +operation was a success." + +"And also if it failed," said one of the men, sententiously. "He's the +principal heir, isn't he?" + +Simmy scowled. "Brady would be the last man in the world to tackle the +job," he said, and the subject was dropped at once. + +And so the end of the year finds Templeton Thorpe on his death bed, Anne a +quixotic ingrate, George among the diligently unemployed, Lutie on the +crest of popularity, Braden in contempt of court, and Mrs. Tresslyn sorely +tried by the vagaries of each and every one of the aforesaid persons. + +Simmy Dodge appears to be the only one among them all who stands just as +he did at the beginning of the year. He has neither lost nor gained. He +has merely stood still. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +When Dr. Braden Thorpe arrived in New York City on the fourteenth of March +he was met at the pier by a horde of newspaper men. For the first time, he +was made to appreciate "the importance of being earnest." These men, +through a frequently prompted spokesman, put questions to him that were so +startling in their boldness that he was staggered by the misconception +that had preceded him into his home land. + +He was asked such questions as these: "But, doctor, would you do that sort +of thing to a person who was dear to you,--say a wife, a mother or an only +child?" "How could you be sure that a person was hopelessly afflicted?" +"Have you ever put this theory of yours into practice on the other side?" +"How many lives have you taken in this way, doctor,--if it is a fair +question?" "Do you expect to practise openly in New York?" "And if you do +practise, how many patients do you imagine would come to you, knowing your +views?" "How would you kill 'em,--with poison or what?" And so on, almost +without end. + +He was to find that a man can become famous and infamous in a single +newspaper headline, and as for the accuracy of the interviews there was +but one thing to be said: the questions were invariably theirs and the +answers also. He did his best to make them understand that he was merely +advancing a principle and not practising a crime, that his hand had never +been brought down to kill, that his heart was quite as tender as any other +man's, and that he certainly was not advocating murder in any degree. Nor +was he at present attempting to proselyte. + +When he finally escaped the reporters, his brow was wet with the sweat of +one who finds himself confronted by a superior force and with no means of +defence. He knew that he was to be assailed by every paper in New York. +They would tear him to shreds. + +Wade was at the pier. He waited patiently in the background while the +returned voyager dealt with the reporters, appearing abruptly at Braden's +elbow as he was giving his keys to the inspector. + +"Good morning, sir," said Wade, in what must be recorded as a confidential +tone. He might have been repeating the salutation of yesterday morning for +all that his manner betrayed. + +"Hello, Wade! Glad to see you." Braden shook hands with the man. "How is +my grandfather?" + +"Better, sir," said the other, meaning that his master was more +comfortable than he had been during the night. + +Wade was not as much of an optimist as his reply would seem to indicate. +It was his habit to hold bad news in reserve as long as possible, +doubtless for the satisfaction it gave him to dribble it out sparingly. He +had found it to his advantage to break all sorts of news hesitatingly to +his master, for he was never by way of knowing what Mr. Thorpe would +regard as bad news. For example, early in his career as valet, he had +rushed into Mr. Thorpe's presence with what he had every reason to believe +would be good news. He had been sent over to the home of Mr. Thorpe's son +for an important bit of information, and he supplied it by almost shouting +as he burst into the library: "It's a fine boy, sir,--a splendid ten- +pounder, sir." But Mr. Thorpe, instead of accepting the good news gladly, +spoiled everything by anxiously inquiring, "And how is the poor little +mother getting along?"--a question which caused Wade grave annoyance, for +he had to reply: "I'm sorry, sir, but she's not expected to live the hour +out." + +All of which goes to show that Mr. Thorpe never regarded any news as good +without first satisfying himself that it wasn't bad. + +"I have the automobile outside, sir," went on Wade, "and I am to look +after your luggage." + +"Thank you, Wade. If you'll just grab these bags and help the porter out +to the car with them, I'll be greatly obliged. And then you may drop me at +the Wolcott. I shall stop there for a few days, until I get my bearings." + +Wade coughed insinuatingly. "Beg pardon, sir, but I was to fetch you +straight home." + +"Do you mean to my grandfather's?" demanded the young man sharply. + +"Yes, sir. Those were the orders." + +"Orders to be disobeyed, I fear, Wade," said Braden darkly. "I am not +going to Mr. Thorpe's house." + +"I understand, sir," said Wade patiently. "I quite understand. Still it is +my duty to report to you that Mr. Thorpe is expecting you." + +"Nevertheless, I shall not--" + +"Perhaps I should inform you that your grandfather is--er--confined to his +bed. As a matter of fact, Mr. Braden, he is confined to his death-bed." + +Braden was shocked. Later on, as he was being rushed across town in the +car, he drew from Wade all of the distressing details. He had never +suspected the truth. Indeed, his grandfather had kept the truth from him +so successfully that he had come to look upon him as one of the fortunate +few who arrive at death in the full possession of health, those who die +because the machinery stops of its own accord. And now the worst possible +death was stalking his benefactor, driving,--always driving without pity. +Braden's heart was cold, his face pallid with dread as he hurried up the +steps to the front door of the familiar old house. + +He had forgotten Anne and his vow never to enter the house so long as she +was mistress of it. He forgot that her freedom was about to become an +accomplished fact, that the thing she had anticipated was now at hand. He +had often wondered how long it would be in coming to her, and how she +would stand up under the strain of the half score of years or more that +conceivably might be left to the man she had married. There had been times +when he laughed in secret anticipation of the probabilities that attended +her unwholesome adventure. Years of it! Years of bondage before she could +lay hands upon the hard-earned fruits of freedom! + +As he entered the hall Anne came out of the library to greet him. There +was no hesitation on her part, no pretending. She came directly to him, +her hand extended. He had stopped stock-still on seeing her. + +"I am glad you have come, Braden," she said, letting her hand fall to her +side. Either he had ignored it or was too dismayed to notice it at all. +"Mr. Thorpe has waited long and patiently for you. I am glad you have +come." + +He was staring at her, transfixed. There was no change in her appearance. +She was just as he had seen her on that last, never-to-be-forgotten +day,--the same tall, slender, beautiful Anne. And yet, as he stared, he saw +something in her eyes that had not been there before: the shadow of fear. + +"I must see him immediately," said he, and was at once conscious of a +regret that he had not first said something kind to her. She had the +stricken look in her eyes. + +"You will find him in his old room," she said quietly. "The nurse is a +friend of yours, a Miss McKane." + +"Thank you." He turned away, but at the foot of the staircase paused. "Is +there no hope?" he inquired. "Is it as bad as Wade--" + +"There is only one hope, Braden," she said, "and that is that he may die +soon." Curiously, he was not shocked by this remark. He appreciated the +depth of feeling behind it. She was thinking of Templeton Thorpe, not of +herself. + +"I--I can't tell you how shocked, how grieved I am," he said. "It +is--terrible." + +She drew a few steps nearer. "I want you to feel, Braden, that you are +free to come and go--and to stay--in this house. I know that you have said +you would not come here while I am its mistress. I am in no sense its +mistress. I have no place here. If you prefer not to see me, I shall make +it possible by remaining in my room. It is only fair that I should speak +to you at once about--about this. That is why I waited here to see you. I +may as well tell you that Mr. Thorpe does not expect me to visit his +room,--in fact, he undoubtedly prefers that I should not do so. I have +tried to help him. I have done my best, Braden. I want you to know that. +It is possible that he may tell you as much. Your place is here. You must +not regard me an obstacle. It will not be necessary for you to communicate +with me. I shall understand. Dr. Bates keeps me fully informed." She spoke +without the slightest trace of bitterness. + +He heard her to the end without lifting his gaze from the floor. When she +was through, he looked at her. + +"You _are_ the mistress of the house, Anne. I shall not overlook the fact, +even though you may. If my grandfather wishes me to do so, I shall remain +here in the house with him--to the end, not simply as his relative, but to +do what little I can in a professional way. Why was I not informed of his +condition?" His manner was stern. + +"You must ask that question of Mr. Thorpe himself," said she. "As I have +told you, he is the master of the house. The rules are his, not mine; and, +by the same token, the commands are his." + +He hesitated for a moment. "You might have sent word to me. Why didn't +you?" + +"Because I was under orders," she said steadily. "Mr. Thorpe would not +allow us to send for you. There was an excellent purpose back of his +decision to keep you on the other side of the Atlantic until you were +ready to return of your own accord. I daresay, if you reflect for a +moment, you will see through his motives." + +His eyes narrowed. "There was no cause for apprehension," he said coldly. + +"It was something I could not discuss with him, however," she returned, +"and so I was hardly in a position to advise him. You must believe me, +Braden, when I say that I am glad for his sake that you are here. He will +die happily now." + +"He has suffered--so terribly?" + +"It has been too horrible,--too horrible," she cried, suddenly covering her +eyes and shivering as with a great chill. + +The tears rushed to Braden's eyes. "Poor old granddaddy," he murmured. +Then, after a second's hesitation, he turned and swiftly mounted the +stairs. + +Anne, watching him from below, was saying to herself, over and over again: +"He will never forgive me, he will never forgive me." Later on, alone in +the gloomy library, she sat staring at the curtained window through which +the daylight came darkly, and passed final judgment upon herself after +months of indecision: "I have been too sure of myself, too sure of him. +What a fool I've been to count on a thing that is so easily killed. What a +fool I've been to go on believing that his love would survive in spite of +the blow I've given it. I've lost him. I may as well say farewell to the +silly hope I've been coddling all these months." She frowned as she +allowed her thoughts to run into another channel. "But they shall not +laugh at me. I'll play the game out. No whimpering, old girl. Stand up to +it." + +Wade was waiting outside his master's door, his ear cocked as of old. The +same patient, obsequious smile greeted Braden as he came up. + +"He knows you are here, Mr. Braden. I sent in word by the nurse." + +"He is conscious?" + +"Yes, sir. That's the worst of it. Always conscious, sir." + +"Then he can't be as near to death as you think, Wade. He--" + +"That's a pity, sir," said Wade frankly. "I was in hopes that it would +soon be all over for him." + +"Am I to go in at once?" + +"May I have a word or two with you first, sir?" said Wade, lowering his +voice to a whisper and sending an uneasy glance over his shoulder. "Come +this way, sir. It's safer over here. Uncommonly sharp ears he has, sir." + +"Well, what is it? I must not be delayed--" + +"I shan't keep you a minute, Mr. Braden. It's something I feel I ought to +tell you. Mr. Thorpe is quite in his right mind, sir, so you'll appreciate +more fully what a shock his proposition was to me. In a word, Mr. Braden, +he has offered me a great sum of money if I'll put four of those little +pills into a glass of water to-night and give it to him to drink. There's +enough poison in them to kill three men in a flash, sir. My God, Mr. +Braden, it was--it was terrible!" The man's face was livid. + +"A great sum of money--" began Braden dumbly. Then the truth struck him +like a blow in the face. "Good God, Wade,--he--he wanted you to _kill_ him!" + +"That's it, sir, that's it," whispered Wade jerkily. "He has an envelope +up there with fifty thousand dollars in it. He had me count them a week +ago, right before his eyes, and hide the envelope in a drawer. You see how +he trusts me, sir? He knows that I could rob him to-night if I wanted to +do so. Or what's to prevent my making off with the money after he's gone? +Nobody would ever know. But he knows me too well. He trusts me. I was to +give him the poison the night after you got home, and I would never be +suspected of doing it because the pills have been lying on his table for +weeks, ready for him to take at any time. Every one might say that he took +them himself, don't you see?" + +"Then, in God's name, why doesn't he take them,--why does he ask you to +give them to him?" cried Braden, an icy perspiration on his brow. + +"That's the very point, sir," explained Wade. "He says he has tried to do +it, but--well, he just can't, sir. Mr. Thorpe is a God-fearing man. He will +not take his own life. He--he says he believes there is a hell, Mr. Braden. +I just wanted to tell you that I--I can't do what he asks me to do. Not for +all the money in the world. He seems to think that I don't believe there +is a hell. Anyhow, sir, he appears to think it would be quite all right +for me to kill a fellow man. Beg pardon, sir; I forgot that you have been +writing all these articles about--" + +"It's all right, Wade," interrupted Braden. "Tell me, has he made this +proposition to any one else? To the nurses, to Murray--any one?" + +Wade hesitated. "I'm quite sure he hasn't appealed to any one but me, sir, +except--that is to say--" + +"Who else?" + +"He told me plainly that he couldn't ask any of the nurses to do it, +because he thought it ought to be done by a friend or a--member of the +family. The doctors, of course, might do it unbeknownst to him, but they +won't, sir." + +"Whom else did he speak to about it?" insisted Braden. + +"I can't be sure, but I think he has spoken to Mrs. Thorpe a good many +times about it. Every time she is alone with him, in fact, sir. I've heard +him pleading with her,--yes, and cursing her, too,--and her voice is always +full of horror when she says 'No, no! I will not do it! I cannot!' You +see, sir, I always stand here by the door, waiting to be called, so I +catch snatches of conversation when their voices are raised. Besides, +she's always as white as a sheet when she comes out, and two or three +times she has actually run to her room as if she was afraid he was +pursuing her. I can't help feeling, Mr. Braden, that he considers her a +member of the family, and so long as I won't do it, he--" + +"Good God, Wade! Don't say anything more! I--" His knees suddenly seemed +about to give way under him. He went on in a hoarse whisper: "Why, I--I am +a member of the family. You don't suppose he'll--you don't suppose--" + +"I just thought I'd tell you, sir," broke in Wade, "so's you might be +prepared. Will you go in now, sir? He is most eager to see you." + +Braden entered the room, sick with horror. A member of the family! A +member of the family to do the killing! + +He was shocked by the appearance of the sick old man. Templeton Thorpe had +wasted to a thin, greyish shadow. His lips were as white as his cheek, and +that was the colour of chalk. Only his eyes were bright and gleaming with +the life that remained to him. The grip of his hand was strong and firm, +and his voice, too, was steady. + +"I've been waiting for you, Braden, my boy," said Mr. Thorpe, some time +after the greetings. He turned himself weakly in the bed and, drawing a +little nearer to the edge, lowered his voice to a more confidential tone. +His eyes were burning, his lips drawn tightly across his teeth,--for even +at his age Templeton Thorpe was not a toothless thing. They were alone in +the room. The nurse had seized upon the prospect of a short respite. + +"I wish I had known, granddaddy," lamented Braden. "You should have sent +for me long ago." + +"That is the fifth or sixth time you've made that remark in the last ten +minutes," said Mr. Thorpe, a querulous note stealing into his voice. +"Don't say it again. By the way, suppose that I had sent for you: what +could you have done? What good could you have done? Answer me that." + +"There is no telling, sir. At least, I could have done my share of +the--that is to say, I might have been useful in a great many ways. You may +be sure, sir, that I should have been in constant attendance. I should +have been on hand night and day." + +"You would have assisted Anne in the death watch, eh?" said Mr. Thorpe, +with a ghastly smile. + +"Don't say that, sir," cried Braden, flinching. + +"I may not have the opportunity to speak with you again, +Braden,--privately, I mean,--and, as my time is short, I want to confess to +you that I have been agreeably surprised in Anne. She has tried to do her +best. She has not neglected me. She regards me as a human being in great +pain, and I am beginning to think that she has a heart. There is the bare +possibility, my boy, that she might have made you a good wife if I had not +put temptation in her way. In any event, she would not have dishonoured +you. It goes without saying that she has been wife to me in name only. You +may find some comfort in that. In the past few weeks I have laid even +greater temptations before her and she has not fallen. I cannot explain +further to you, but--" here he smiled wanly--"some day she may tell you in +the inevitable attempt to justify herself and win back what she has lost. +Don't interrupt me, please. She _will_ try, never fear, and you will have +to be strong to resist her. I know what you would say to me, so don't say +it. You are horrified by the thought of it, but the day will come when you +must again raise your hand against the woman who loves you. Make no +mistake, Braden; she loves you." + +"I believe I would strike her dead if she made the slightest appeal to--" + +"Never mind," snapped the old man. "I know you well enough to credit you +with self-respect, if not self-abnegation. What I am trying to get at is +this: do you hold a grudge against me for revealing this girl's true +character to you?" + +"I must ask you to excuse me from answering that question, grandfather," +said Braden, compressing his lips. + +The old man eyed him closely. "Is that an admission that you think I have +wronged you in saving you from the vampires?" he persisted ironically. + +"I cannot discuss your wife with you, sir," said the other. + +Mr. Thorpe continued to regard his grandson narrowly for a moment or two +longer, and then a look of relief came into his eyes. "I see. I shouldn't +have asked it of you. Nevertheless, I am satisfied. My experiment is a +success. You are qualified to distinguish between the Tresslyn greed and +the Tresslyn love, so I have not failed. They put the one above the other +and so far they have trusted to luck. If Anne had spurned my money I +haven't the slightest doubt that she would have married you and made you a +good wife. The fact that she did not spurn my money would seem to prove +that she wouldn't make anybody a good wife. I know all this is painful to +you, my boy, but I must say it to you before I die. You see I am dying. +That's quite apparent, even to the idiots who are trying to keep me alive. +They do not fool me with their: 'Aha, Mr. Thorpe, how are we to-day? +Better, eh?' I am dying by inches,--fractions of inches, to be precise." He +stopped short, out of breath after this long speech. + +Braden laid his hand upon the bony fore-arm. "How long have you known, +granddaddy, that you had this--this--" + +"Cancer? Say it, my boy. I'm not afraid of the word. Most people are. It's +a dreadful word. How can I answer your question? Years, no doubt. It +became active a year and a half ago. I knew what it was, even then." + +"In heaven's name, sir, why did you let it go on? An operation at that +time might have--" + +"You forget that I could afford to wait. When a man gets to be as old as I +am he can philosophise even in the matter of death. What is a year or two, +one way or the other, to me? An operation is either an experiment or a +last resort, isn't it? Well, my boy, I preferred to look upon it as a last +resort, and as such I concluded to put it off until the last minute, when +it wouldn't make any difference which way it resulted. If it had resulted +fatally a year and a half ago, what would I have gained? If it should take +place to-morrow, with the same result, haven't I cheated Time out of +eighteen months?" + +"But the pain, the suffering," cried Braden. "You might at least have +spared yourself the whole lifetime of pain that you have lived in these +last few months. You haven't cheated pain out of its year and a half." + +"True," said Mr. Thorpe, his lips twitching with the pain he was trying to +defy; "I have not been able to laugh at the futility of pain. Ah!" It was +almost a scream that issued from between his stretched lips. He began to +writhe.... + +"Come in again to-night," he said half an hour later, whispering the words +with difficulty. The two nurses and the doctor's assistant, who had been +staying in the house for more than a week, now stood back from the +bedside, dripping with perspiration. The paroxysm had been one of the +worst he had experienced. They had believed for a time that it was also to +be the last. Braden Thorpe, shaking like a leaf because of the very +inactivity that was forced upon him by the activity of others, wiped the +sweat from his brow, and nodded his head in speechless despair. "Come in +to-night, after you've talked with Anne and Dr. Bates. I'm easier now. It +can't go on much longer, you see. Bates gives me a couple of weeks. That +means a couple of centuries of pain, however. Go now and talk it over with +Anne." + +With this singular admonition pounding away at his senses, Braden went out +of the room. Wade,--the ever-present Wade,--was outside the door. His +expression was as calmly attentive as it would have been were his master +yawning after a healthy nap instead of screaming with all the tortures of +the damned. As Braden hurried by, hardly knowing whither he went, the +servant did something he had never done before in his life. He ventured to +lay a detaining hand upon the arm of a superior. + +"Did he ask you to--to do it, Master Braden?" he whispered hoarsely. The +man's eyes were glazed with dread. + +Braden stopped. At first he did not comprehend. Then Wade's meaning was +suddenly revealed to him. He drew back, aghast. + +"Good Lord, no! No, no!" he cried out. + +"Well," said Wade deliberately, "he will, mark my words, sir. I don't mind +saying to you, Mr. Braden, that he _depends_ upon you." + +"Are you crazy, Wade?" gasped Braden, searching the man's face with an +intentness that betrayed his own fear that the prophecy would come true. +Something had already told him that his grandfather would depend upon him +for complete relief,--and it was that something that had gripped his heart +when he entered the sick-room, and still gripped it with all the infernal +tenacity of inevitableness. + +He hurried on, like one hunted and in search of a place in which to hide +until the chase had passed. At the foot of the stairs he came upon Murray, +the butler. + +"Mrs. Thorpe says that you are to go to your old room, Mr. Braden," said +the butler. "Will you care for tea, sir, or would you prefer something a +little stronger?" + +"Nothing, Murray, thank you," replied Braden, cold with a strange new +terror. He could not put aside the impression that Murray, the bibulous +Murray, was also regarding him in the light of an executioner. Somewhere +back in his memory there was aroused an old story about the citizens who +sat up all night to watch for the coming of the hangman who was to do a +grewsome thing at dawn. He tried to shake off the feeling, he tried to +laugh at the fantastic notion that had so swiftly assailed him. "I think I +shall go to my room. Call me, if I am needed." + +He did not want to see Anne. He shrank from the revelations that were +certain to come from the harassed wife of the old man who wanted to die. +As he remounted the stairs, he was subtly aware that some one opened a +door below and watched him as he fled. He did not look behind, but he knew +that the watcher was white-faced and pleading, and that she too was +counting on him for support. + +An hour later, a servant knocked at his door. The afternoon was far gone +and the sky was overcast with sinister streaks of clouds that did not +move, but hung like vast Zeppelins over the harbour beyond: long, blue- +black clouds with white bellies. Mournful clouds that waited for the time +to come when they could burst into tears! He had been watching them as +they crept up over the Jersey shores, great stealthy birds of ill-omen, +giving out no sound yet ponderous in their flight. He started at the +gentle tapping on his door; a strange hope possessed his soul. Was this a +friendly hand that knocked? Was its owner bringing him the word that the +end had come and that he would not be called upon to deny the great +request? He sprang to the door. + +"Dr. Bates is below, sir," said the maid. "He would like to see you before +he goes." + +Braden's heart sank. "I'll come at once, Katie." + +There were three doctors in the library. Dr. Bates went straight to the +point. + +"Your grandfather, Braden, has a very short time to live. He has just +dismissed us. Our services are no longer required in this case, if I--" + +"Dismissed you?" cried Braden, unbelievingly. + +Dr. Bates smiled. "We can do nothing more for him, my boy. It is just as +well that we should go. He--" + +"But, my God, sir, you cannot leave him to die in--" + +"Have patience, my lad. We are not leaving him to die alone. By his +express command, we are turning the case over to you. You are to be his +sole--" + +"I refuse!" shouted Braden. + +"You cannot refuse,--you will not, I am sure. For your benefit I may say +that the case is absolutely hopeless. Not even a miracle can save him. If +you will give me your closest attention, I will, with Dr. Bray's support, +describe his condition and all that has led up to this unhappy crisis. Sit +down, my boy. I am your good friend. I am not your critic, nor your +traducer. Sit down and listen calmly, if you can. You should know just +what is before you, and you must also know that every surgeon who has been +called in consultation expresses but one opinion. In truth, it is not an +opinion that they venture, but an unqualified decision." + +For a long time Braden sat as if paralysed and listened to the words of +the fine old doctor. At last the three arose and stood over him. + +"You understand everything now, Braden," said Dr. Bates, a tremor in his +voice. "May God direct your course. We shall not come here again. You are +not to feel that we are deserting you, however, for that is not true. We +go because you have come, because you have been put in sole charge. And +now, my boy, I have something else to say to you as an old friend. I know +your views. Not I alone, but Dr. Bray and thousands of others, have felt +as you feel about such things. There have been countless instances, like +the one at hand, when we have wished that we might be faithless to the +tenets of a noble profession. But we have never faltered. It is not our +province to be merciful, if I may put it in that way, but to be +conscientious. It is our duty to save, not to destroy. That is what binds +every doctor to his patient. Take the advice of an old man, Braden, and +don't allow your pity to run away with your soul. Take my advice, lad. Let +God do the deliberate killing. He will do it in his own good time, for all +of us. I speak frankly, for I know you consider me your friend and well- +wisher." + +"Thank you, Dr. Bates," said Braden, hoarsely. "The advice is not needed, +however. I am not a murderer. I could not kill that poor old man upstairs, +no matter how dreadfully he suffers. I fear that you have overlooked the +fact that I am an advocate, not a performer, of merciful deeds. You should +not confuse my views with my practice. I advocate legalising the +destruction of the hopelessly afflicted. Inasmuch as it is not a legal +thing to do at present, I shall continue to practise my profession as all +the rest of you do: conscientiously." He was standing before them. His +face was white and his hands were clenched. + +"I am glad to hear you say that, Braden," said Dr. Bates gently. "Forgive +me. One last word, however. If you need me at any time, I stand ready to +come to you. If you conclude to operate, I--I shall advise against it, of +course,--you may depend upon me to be with you when you--" + +"But you have said, Dr. Bates, that you do not believe an operation would +be of--" + +"In my opinion it would be fatal. But you must not forget that God rules, +not we mortals. We do not know everything. I am frank to confess that +there is not one among us who is willing to take the chance, if that is a +guide to you. That's all, my boy. Good-bye. God be with you!" + +They passed out of and away from the house. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +In the course of the evening, desolated by the ugly responsibility that +had been thrust upon him, Braden put aside his scruples, his antipathy, +and sent word to Anne that he would like to discuss the new situation with +her. She had not appeared for dinner, which was a doleful affair; she did +not even favour him with an apology for not coming down. Distasteful as +the interview promised to be for him, he realised that it should not be +postponed. His grandfather's wife would have to be consulted. It was her +right to decide who should attend the sick man. While he was acutely +confident that she would not oppose his solitary attendance, there still +struggled in his soul the hope that she might, for the sake of appearances +at least, insist on calling in other physicians. It was a hope that he +dared not encourage, however. Fate had settled the matter. It was ordained +that he should stand where he now stood in this unhappy hour. + +He recalled his grandfather's declaration that she still loved him. The +thought turned him sick with loathing, for he believed in his heart that +it was true. He knew that Anne loved him, and always would love him. But +he also knew that every vestige of love and respect for her had gone out +of his heart long ago and that he now felt only the bitterness of +disillusionment so far as she was concerned. He was not afraid of her. She +had lost all power to move a single drop of blood in his veins. But he was +afraid _for_ her. + +She came downstairs at nine o'clock. He had not gone near the sick-room +since his initial visit, earlier in the day, literally obeying the command +of the sick man: to talk matters over with Anne before coming again to see +him. + +"I am sorry to have kept you waiting," she said simply, as she advanced +into the room. "I have been talking over the telephone with my mother. She +does not come here any more. It has been nearly three weeks since she last +came to see me. The dread of it all, don't you know. She is positive that +she has all of the symptoms. I suppose it is a not uncommon fault of the +imagination. Of course, I go to see her every afternoon. I see no one +else, Braden, except good old Simmy Dodge. He stops in nearly every day to +inquire, and to cheer me up if possible." + +She was attired in a simple evening gown,--an old one, she hastily would +have informed a woman visitor,--and it was hard for him to believe that +this was not the lovely, riant Anne Tresslyn of a year ago instead of the +hardened mistress of Templeton Thorpe's home. There was no sign of +confusion or uncertainty in her manner, and not the remotest indication +that her heart still owned love for him. If she retained a spark of the +old flame in that beautiful body of hers, it was very carefully secreted +behind a mask of indifference. She met his gaze frankly, unswervingly. Her +poise was perfect,--marvellously so in the face of his ill-concealed +antipathy. + +"I suppose you know that I have been left in sole charge of the case," he +said, without preface. + +"Oh, yes," she replied calmly. "It was Mr. Thorpe's desire." + +"And yours?" + +"Certainly. Were you hoping that I would interpose an objection?" + +"Yes. I am not qualified to take charge of--" + +"Pardon me, Braden, if I remind you, that so far as Mr. Thorpe's chances +for recovery are concerned, he might safely be attended by the simplest +novice. The result would be the same." She spoke without a trace of irony. +"Dr. Bates and the others were willing to continue, but what was the use? +They do not leave you a thing to stand on, Braden. There is nothing that +you can do. I am sorry. It seems a pity for you to have come home to +this." + +He smiled faintly, whether at her use of the word "home" or the prospect +she laid down for him it would be difficult to say. + +"Shall we sit down, Anne, and discuss the situation?" he said. "It is one +of my grandfather's orders, so I suppose we shall have to obey." + +She sank gracefully into a deep chair at the foot of the library table, +and motioned for him to take one near-by. The light from the chandelier +fell upon her brown hair, and glinted. + +"It is very strange, Braden, that we should come into each other's lives +again, and in this manner. It seems so long ago--" + +"Is it necessary to discuss ourselves, Anne?" + +She regarded him steadily. "Yes, I think so," she said. "We must at least +convince ourselves that the past has no right to interfere with or +overshadow what we may choose to call the present,--or the future, for that +matter, if I may look a little farther ahead. The fact remains that we are +here together, Braden, in spite of all that has happened, and we must make +the best of it. The world,--our own little world, I mean,--will be watching +us. We must watch ourselves. Oh, don't misconstrue that remark, please. We +must see to it that the world does not judge us entirely by our past." She +was very cool about it, he thought,--and confident. + +"As I said before, Anne, I see no occasion to--" + +"Very well," she interrupted. "I beg your pardon. You asked me to see you +to-night. What is it that you wish to say to me?" + +He leaned forward in the chair, his elbows on the arms of it, and regarded +her fixedly. "Has my grandfather ever appealed to you to--to--" He stopped, +for she had turned deathly pale; she closed her eyes tightly as if to shut +out some visible horror; a perceptible shudder ran through her slender +body. As Braden started to rise, she raised her eye-lids, and in her +lovely eyes he saw horror, dread, appeal, all in one. "I'm sorry," he +murmured, in distress "I should have been more--" + +"It's all right," she said, recovering herself with an effort. "I thought +I had prepared myself for the question you were so sure to ask. I have +been through hell in the past two weeks, Braden. I have had to listen to +the most infamous proposals--but perhaps it would be better for me to +repeat them to you just as they were made to me, and let you judge for +yourself." + +She leaned back in the chair, as if suddenly tired. Her voice was low and +tense, and at no time during her recital did she raise it above the level +at which she started. Plainly, she was under a severe strain and was +afraid that she might lose control of herself. + +It appeared that Mr. Thorpe had put her to the supreme test. In brief, he +had called upon his young wife to put him out of his misery! Cunningly, he +had beset her with the most amazing temptations. Her story was one of +those incredible things that one cannot believe because the mind refuses +to entertain the utterly revolting. In the beginning the old man, consumed +by pain, implored her to perform a simple act of mercy. He told her of the +four little pellets and the glass of water. At that time she treated the +matter lightly. The next day he began his sly, persistent campaign against +what he was pleased to call her inhumanity; he did not credit her with +scruples. There was something Machiavellian in the sufferer's scheming. He +declared that there could be no criminal intent on her part, therefore her +conscience would never be afflicted. The fact that he consented to the act +was enough to clear her conscience, if that was all that restrained her. +She realised that he was in earnest now, and fled the room in horror. + +Then he tried to anger her with abuse and calumny to such an extent that +she would be driven to the deed by sheer rage. Failing in this, he resumed +his wheedling tactics. It would be impossible, he argued, for any one to +know that she had given him the soothing poison. The doctors would always +believe that he had overcome his prejudice against self-destruction and +had taken the tablets, just as they intended and evidently desired him to +do. But he would not take his own life. He would go on suffering for years +before he would send his soul to purgatory by such an act. He believed in +damnation. He had lived an honourable, upright life and he maintained that +his soul was entitled to the salvation his body had earned for it by its +resistance to the evils of the flesh. What, said he, could be more +incompatible with a lifelong observance of God's laws than the commission +of an act for which there could be no forgiveness, what more terrible than +going into the presence of his maker with sin as his guide and advocate? +His last breath of life drawn in sin! + +Day after day he whispered his wily arguments, and always she fled in +horror. Her every hour was a nightmare, sleeping or waking. Her strength +was shattered, yet she was compelled to withstand his daily attacks. He +never failed to send for her to sit with him while the nurse took her +exercise. He would have no one else. Ultimately he sought to tempt her +with offers of gold! He agreed to add a codicil to his will, giving her an +additional million dollars if she would perform a "simple service" for +him. That was the way he styled it: a simple service! Merely the dropping +of four little tablets into a tumbler of water and holding it to his lips +to drain! Suicide with a distinction, murder by obligation! One of his +arguments was that she would be free to marry the man she loved if he was +out of the way. He did not utter the name of the man, however. + +Anne spoke to no one of these shocking encounters in the darkened sick- +room. She would not have spoken to Braden but for her husband's command +given no later than the hour before that she should do so. + +"Twice, Braden, I was tempted to do what he asked of me," she said in +conclusion, almost in a whisper. "He was in such fearful agony. You will +never know how he has suffered. My heart ached for him. I cannot +understand how a good and gentle God can inflict such pain upon one of his +creatures. Why should this Christian be crucified? But I must not say such +things. Twice I came near to putting those tablets in the glass and giving +it to him to drink, but both times I shrank even as I took them up from +the table. I shall never forget the look of joy that came into his eyes +when he saw me pick them up, nor shall I ever forget the look he gave me +when I threw them down and put my fingers to my ears to shut out the sound +of his moans. It would have been so easy to end it all for him. No one +could have known, and he would have died thanking me for one good deed at +least. Yesterday when I failed him for the second time, he made the most +horrible confession to me. He said that when he married me a year ago he +knew that this very crisis would come and that he had counted on me then +as his deliverer! He actually said to me, Braden, that all this was in his +mind when he married me. Can't you understand? If the time ever came when +he wanted to die, who would be more likely to serve his purpose than the +young, avaricious wife who loved another man? Oh, he was not thinking of +your good, my friend,--at least, not entirely. He did not want you to throw +yourself away on me, that's true, but your preservation was not his sole +object, let me assure you. He planned deeper than we knew. He looked ahead +for one year and saw what was coming, and he counted on me,--he counted on +the wife he had bought. Once he asked me if I had the faintest idea how +many wives have killed strong and healthy husbands in order that they +might wed the men they loved better. If murderesses can do that, said he, +why should I hesitate, when there could be no such thing as murder in +my--oh, it was too terrible! Thank God, he thinks better of me now than he +did on the day he married me. Even though he is your grandfather, Braden, +I can say to you frankly that if taking his own life means going to hell +for him, I would see him in hell before I would--" + +"Anne, Anne!" cried he, shaken. "Don't say it! It is too horrible. Think +of what you were about to say and--" + +"Oh, I've thought, my friend," she broke in fiercely. "It is time for you +to think of what he would have done for me. He would have sent me to hell +in his place. Do you understand? Do you suppose that if I had killed him, +even with mercy and kindness in my heart, I could ever have escaped from a +hell on earth, no matter what God's judgment may have been hereafter? +Would heaven after death affect the hell that came before?" + +"Do you believe that there is life beyond the grave?" he demanded. "Do you +still believe that there is a heaven and a hell?" + +"Yes," she said firmly, "and down in your soul, Braden, you believe it +too. We all believe it, even the scientists who scoff. We can't help +believing it. It is that which makes good men and women of us, which keeps +us as children to the end. It isn't honour or nobility of character that +makes us righteous, but the fear of God. It isn't death that we dread. We +shrink from the answer to the question we've asked all through life. Can +you answer that question now?" + +"Of course not," he said, "nor can I solve the riddle of life. That is the +great mystery. Death is simple. We know why we die but we don't know why +we live." + +"The same mystery that precedes life also follows it," she said +stubbornly. "The greatest scientist in the world was once a lifeless atom. +He acknowledges that, doesn't he? So, my friend, there is something even +vaster than the greatest of all intelligences, and that is ignorance. But +we are wasting time. I have told you everything. You know just what I've +been through. I don't ask for your sympathy, for you would be quite right +in refusing to give it me. I made my bed, so there's the end of it. I am +glad that you are here. The situation is in your hands, not mine." + +"What is there for me to do except to sit down, like you, and wait?" he +groaned, in desperation. + +She was silent for a long time, evidently weighing her next remark. "What +have you to say for your pet theory now, Braden?" she inquired, haltingly. + +"You may rest assured, Anne, that even were it legally possible, I should +not put it into practice in this instance," he said coldly. + +Her face brightened. "Do you really mean it?" + +"I wish you and all the rest of them would understand that I am not +setting myself up as a butcher--" he began hotly. + +"That is all I want to know," she cried, tremulously. "I have been +dreading the--I have found myself wondering if _you_ would give him those +tablets. Look me straight in the eye, Braden. You will not do that, will +you?" + +"Never!" he exclaimed. + +"You don't know what that means to me," she said in a low voice. Again +there was a long silence. He was studying her face, and queer notions were +entering his brain. "Another question, please, and that is all. Can his +life be prolonged by an operation?" + +"I am assured that he could not survive an operation." + +"He may ask you to--to perform one," she said, watching him closely. + +He hesitated. "You mean that he is willing to take the chance?" + +"I mean that he realises it will make no difference, one way or the other. +The other doctors have refused to operate." + +"He will not ask me to operate," said Braden, but his soul shook within +him as he spoke. + +"We shall see," said she strangely, and then arose. She came quite close +to him. "I do not want you to operate, Braden. Any one but you. You must +not take the--the chance. Now you would better go up to him. Tell him you +have talked with me. He will understand. He may even speak a good word for +me. Good night. Thank you for--for letting me speak with you to-night." + +She left the room. He stood quite still for a full minute, staring at the +closed door. Then he passed his hand over his eyes as if to shut out the +vision that remained. He knew now that his grandfather was right. + +In the hall upstairs he found Wade. + +"Time you were in bed," said Braden shortly. "Get a little rest, man. I am +here now. You needn't worry." + +"He's been asking for you, sir. The nurse has been out here twice within +the last ten minutes. Excuse me, Mr. Braden; may I have another word with +you?" He did not lower his voice. Wade's voice was of a peculiarly +unpenetrating character. Unless one _observed_ his speech it was scarcely +audible, and yet one had a queer impression, at a glance, that he was +speaking a little above the ordinary tone of voice. "Did Mrs. Thorpe tell +you that her brother has been here to see Mr. Thorpe three times within a +week?" + +Braden started. "She did not, Wade." + +"Why didn't she tell you, sir?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"Well, sir, it is just this way: Mr. Thorpe sent for young Mr. Tresslyn +last Friday afternoon. Considerable difficulty was had in finding him. He +was just a wee bit tipsy when he got here at eight o'clock. Mrs. Thorpe +did not see him, although Murray went to her room to tell her of his +arrival. Young Mr. Tresslyn was in Mr. Thorpe's room for ten or fifteen +minutes, and then left the house in a great hurry, sir. He came again on +Saturday evening, and acted very queerly. Both times he was alone with Mr. +Thorpe. Again he fairly rushed out of the house as if he was pursued by +devils. Then he came on Sunday night, and the same thing happened. As he +was going out, I spoke to him, and this is what he said to me,--scared-like +and shaking all over, sir,--'I'm not coming here again, Wade. No more of it +for me. Damn him! You tell my sister that I'm not coming again!' Then he +went out, mumbling to himself. Right after that I went up to Mr. Thorpe. +He was very angry. He gave orders that Mr. Tresslyn was not to be admitted +again. It was then, sir, that he spoke to me about the money in the +envelope. I have had a notion, sir, that the money was first intended for +Mr. George Tresslyn, but he didn't like that way of earning it any more +than I did. Rather strange, too, when you stop to think how badly he needs +money and how low he's been getting these past few months. Poor chap, he--" + +"Now, Wade, you are guessing," interrupted Braden, with a sinking heart. +"You have no right to surmise--" + +"Beg pardon, sir; I was only putting two and two together. I'm sorry. I +dare say I am entirely wrong, perhaps a little bit out of my head because +of the--Please, sir, do not misunderstand me. I would not for the world +have you think that I connect Mrs. Thorpe with the business. I am sure +that she had nothing whatever to do with her brother's visits +here,--nothing at all, sir." + +Braden's blood was like ice water as he turned away from the man and +entered his grandfather's room. The nurse was reading to the old man. With +the young man's entrance, Mr. Thorpe cut her off brusquely and told her to +leave the room. + +"Come here, Braden," he said, after the door had closed behind the woman. +"Have you talked with Anne?" + +"Yes, grandfather." + +"She told you everything?" + +"I suppose so. It is terrible. You should not have made such demands--" + +"We won't go into that," said the other harshly, gripping his side with +his claw-like hand. His face was contorted by pain. After a moment, he +went on: "She's better than I thought, and so is that good-for-nothing +brother of hers. I shall never forgive this scoundrel Wade though. He has +been my servant, my slave for more than thirty years, and I know that he +hasn't a shred of a conscience. While I think of it, I wish you would take +this key and unlock the top drawer in my dressing table. See if there is +an envelope there, will you? There is, eh? Open it. Count the bills, +Braden." + +He lay back, with tightly closed eyes, while Braden counted the package of +five hundred dollar bank-notes. + +"There are fifty thousand dollars here, grandfather," said the young man +huskily. + +"'Pon my soul, they are more honest than I imagined. Well, well, the world +is getting better." + +"What shall I do with this money, sir? You shouldn't have it lying around +loose with all these--" + +"You may deposit it to my account in the Fifth Avenue Bank to-morrow. It +is of absolutely no use to me now. Put it in your pocket. It will be quite +safe with you, I dare say. You are all so inexcusably honest, confound +you. Sit down. I want to tell you what I've finally decided to do. These +surgeons say there is about one chance in a million for me, my boy. I've +decided to take it." + +"Take it?" muttered Braden, knowing full well what was to come. + +"I have given you the finest education, the finest training that any young +man ever had, Braden. You owe a great deal to me, I think you will admit. +Never mind now. Don't thank me. I would not trust my one chance to any of +these disinterested butchers. They would not care a rap whether I pulled +through or not. With you, it is different. I believe you would--" + +"My God, grandfather, you are not going to ask me to--" + +"Sit still! Yes, I am going to ask you to give me that one chance in a +million. If you fail, I shall not be here to complain. If you +succeed,--well, you will have performed a miracle. You--" + +"But there is no possible chance,--not the slightest chance of success," +cried Braden, the cold sweat running down his face. "I can tell you in +advance that it means death to--" + +"Nevertheless, it is worth trying, isn't it, my boy?" said Templeton +Thorpe softly. "I demand it of you. You are my flesh and blood. You will +not let me lie here and suffer like this for weeks and months. It is your +duty to do what you can. It is your time to be merciful, my lad." + +Braden's face was in his hands. His body was shaking as if in convulsions. +He could not look into the old man's eyes. + +"Send for Bates and Bray to-morrow. Tell them that you have decided to +operate,--with my consent. They will understand. It must be done at once. +You will not fail me. You will do this for your poor old granddaddy who +has loved you well and who suffers to-day as no man in all this world has +ever suffered before. I am in agony. Nothing stops the pain. Everything +has failed. You _will_ do this for me, Braden?" + +The young man raised his haggard face. Infinite pity had succeeded horror +in his eyes. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +Simmy Dodge emerged from Sherry's at nine-thirty. He was leaving Mrs. +Fenwick's dinner-dance in response to an appeal from Anne Thorpe, who had +sent for him by messenger earlier in the evening. Simmy was reluctant +about going down to the house off Washington Square; he was constituted as +one of those who shrink from the unwholesomeness of death rather than from +its terrors. He was fond of Anne, but in his soul he was abusing her for +summoning him to bear witness to the final translation of old Templeton +Thorpe from a warm, sensitive body, into a cold, unpleasant hulk. He had +no doubt that he had been sent for to see the old man die. While he would +not, for the world, have denied Anne in her hour of distress, he could not +help wishing that she had put the thing off till to-morrow. Death doesn't +appear so ugly in the daytime. One is spared the feeling that it is +stealing up through the darkness of night to lay claim to its prey. + +Simmy shivered a little as he stood in front of Sherry's waiting for his +car to come up. He made up his mind then and there that when it came time +for him to die he would see to it that he did not do it in the night. For, +despite the gay lights of the city, there were always sombre shadows for +one to be jerked into by the relentless hand of death; there was something +appalling about being dragged off into a darkness that was to be +dissipated at sunrise, instead of lasting forever. + +He left behind him in one of the big private diningrooms a brilliant, +high-spirited company of revellers. One of Mrs. Fenwick's guests was Lutie +Tresslyn. He sat opposite her at one of the big round tables, and for an +hour he had watched with moody eyes her charming, vivacious face as she +conversed with the men on either side of her. She was as cool, as self- +contained as any woman at the table. There was nothing to indicate that +she had not been born to this estate of velvet, unless the freshness of +her cheek and the brightness of her eye betrayed her by contrast with the +unmistakable haggardness of "the real thing." + +She was unafraid. All at once Simmy was proud of her. He felt the thrill +of something he could not on the moment define, but which he afterwards +put down as patriotism! It was just the sort of thrill, he argued, that +you have when the band plays at West Point and you see the cadets come +marching toward you with their heads up and their chests out,--the thrill +that leaves a smothering, unuttered cheer in your throat. + +He thought of Anne Tresslyn too, and smiled to himself. This was Anne +Tresslyn's set, not Lutie's, and yet here she was, a trim little warrior, +inside the walls of a fortified place, hobnobbing with the formidable army +of occupation and staring holes through the uniforms of the General Staff! +She sat in the Tresslyn camp, and there were no other Tresslyns there. She +sat with the Wintermills, and--yes, he had to admit it,--she had winked at +him slyly when she caught his eye early in the evening. It was a very +small wink to be sure and was not repeated. + +The night was cold. His chauffeur was not to be found by the door-men who +ran up and down the line from Fifth to Sixth Avenue for ten minutes before +Simmy remembered that he had told the man not to come for him until three +in the morning, an hour at which one might reasonably expect a dance to +show signs of abating. + +He was on the point of ordering a taxi-cab when his attention was drawn to +a figure that lurked well back in the shadows of the Berkeley Theatre down +the street--a tall figure in a long ulster. Despite the darkness, Simmy's +intense stare convinced him that it was George Tresslyn who stood over +there and gazed from beneath lowered brows at the bright doorway. He +experienced a chill that was not due to the raw west wind. There was +something sinister about that big, motionless figure, something portentous +of disaster. He knew that George had been going down the hill with +startling rapidity. On more than one occasion he had tried to stay this +downward rush, but without avail. Young Tresslyn was drinking, but he was +not carousing. He drank as unhappy men drink, not as the happy ones do. He +drank alone. + +For a few minutes Simmy watched this dark sentinel, and reflected. What +was he doing over there? What was he up to? Was he waiting for Lutie to +come forth from the fortified place? Was there murder and self-murder in +the heart of this unhappy boy? Simmy was a little man but he was no +coward. He did not hesitate long. He would have to act, and act promptly. +He did not dare go away while that menacing figure remained on guard. The +police, no doubt, would drive him away in time, but he would come back +again. So Simmy Dodge squared his shoulders and marched across the street, +to face what might turn out to be a ruthless lunatic--the kind one reads +about, who kill their best friends, "and all that sort of thing." + +It was quite apparent that the watcher had been observing him. As Simmy +came briskly across the street, Tresslyn moved out of his position near +the awning and started westward, his shoulders hunched upward and his chin +lowered with the evident desire to prevent recognition. Simmy called out +to him. The other quickened his steps. He slouched but did not stagger, a +circumstance which caused Simmy a sharp twinge of uneasiness. He was not +intoxicated. Simmy's good sense told him that he would be more dangerous +sober than drunk, but he did not falter. At the second shout, young +Tresslyn stopped. His hands were thrust deep into his overcoat pockets. + +"What do you want?" he demanded thickly, as the dapper little man came up +and extended his hand. Simmy was beaming, as if he suddenly had found a +long lost friend and comrade. George took no notice of the friendly hand. +He was staring hard, almost savagely at the other's face. Simmy was +surprised to find that his cheeks, though sunken and haggard, were cleanly +shaved, and his general appearance far from unprepossessing. In the light +from a near-by window, the face was lowering but not inflamed; the eyes +were heavy and tired-looking--but not bloodshot. + +"I thought I recognised you," said Simmy glibly. + +"Much obliged," said George, without the semblance of a smile. + +Simmy hesitated. Then he laid his hand on George's arm. "See here, George, +this will not do. I think I know why you are here, and--it won't do, old +chap." + +"If you were anybody else, Dodge, I'd beat your head off," said George +slowly, as if amazed that he had not already done so. "Better go away, +Simmy, and let me alone. I'm all right. I'm not doing any harm, am I, +standing out here?" + +"What do you gain by standing here in the cold and--" + +"Never mind what I gain. That's my affair," said George, his voice shaking +in spite of its forced gruffness. + +Simmy was undaunted. "Have you been drinking to-night?" + +"None of your damned business. What do you mean by--" + +"I am your friend, George," broke in Simmy earnestly. "I can see now that +you've had a drink or two, and you--" + +"I'm as sober as you are!" + +"More so, I fear. I've had champagne. You--" + +"I am not drunk all of the time, you know," snarled George. + +"Well, I'm glad to hear it," said Simmy cheerfully. + +"I hate the stuff,--hate it worse than anything on earth except being +sober. Good night, Simmy," he broke off abruptly. + +"That dance in there won't be over before three o'clock," said Simmy +shrewdly. "You're in for a long wait, my lad." + +George groaned. "Good Lord, is it--is it a dance? The papers said it was a +dinner for Lord and Lady--" + +"Better come along with me, George," interrupted Simmy quietly. "I'm going +down to Anne's. She has sent for me. It's the end, I fancy. That's where +you ought to be to-night, Tresslyn. She needs you. Come--" + +Young Tresslyn drew back, a look of horror in his eyes. "Not if I know +myself," he muttered. "You'll never get me inside that house again. +Why,--why, it's more than I could stand, Simmy. That old man tried--but, +never mind. I can't talk about it. There's one thing sure, though: I +wouldn't go near him again for all the money in New York,--not I." + +"I sha'n't insist, of course. But I do insist on your getting away from +here. You are not to annoy Lutie. She's had trouble enough and you ought +to be man enough to let her alone." + +George stared at him as if he had not heard aright. "Annoy her? What the +devil are you talking about?" + +"You know what I'm talking about. Oh, don't glare at me like that. I'm not +afraid of you, big as you are. I'm trying to put sense into your head, +that's all, and you'll thank me for it later on, too." + +"Why, I--I wouldn't annoy her for all the world, Simmy," said George, +jerkily. "What do you take me for? What kind of a--" + +"Then, why are you here?" demanded Simmy "It looks bad, George. If it +isn't Lutie, who is it you're after?" + +The other appeared to be dazed. "I'm not after any one," he mumbled. +Suddenly he gripped Simmy by the shoulders and bent a white, scowling face +down to the little man's level. "My God, Simmy, I--I can't help it. That's +all there is to it. I just want to see her--just want to look at her. Can't +you understand? But of course you can't. You couldn't know what it means +to love a girl as I love her. It isn't in you. Annoy her? I'd cut my heart +out first. What business is it of yours if I choose to stand out here all +night just for a glimpse of her in all her happiness, all her triumph, all +that she's got because she deserves it? Oh, I'm sober enough, so don't +think it's that. Now, you let me alone. Get out of this, Simmy. I know +what I'm doing and I don't want any advice from you. She won't know I'm +over here when she comes out of that place, and what she doesn't know +isn't going to bother her. She doesn't know that I sneak around like this +to get a look at her whenever it's possible, and I don't want her to know +it. It would worry her. It might--frighten her, Simmy, and God knows I +wouldn't harm her by word or deed for anything on earth. Only she wouldn't +understand. D'you see?" He shook Simmy as a dog would have shaken a rat, +not in anger but to emphasise his seriousness. + +"By Jove, George,--I'd like to believe that of you," chattered Simmy. + +"Well, you can believe it. I'm not ashamed to confess what I'm doing. You +may call me a baby, a fool, a crank or whatever you like,--I don't care. +I've just got to see her, and this is the only way. Do you think I'd spoil +things for her, now that she's made good? Think I'd butt in and queer it +all? I'm no good, I'm a rotter, and I'm going to the devil as fast as I +know how, Simmy. That's my affair, too. But I'm not mean enough to +begrudge her the happiness she's found in spite of all us damned +Tresslyns. Now, run along, Simmy, and don't worry about anything happening +to her,--at least, so far as I'm concerned. She'll probably have her work +cut out defending herself against some of her fine gentlemen, some of the +respectable rotters in there. But she'll manage all right. She's the right +sort, and she's had her lesson already. She won't be fooled again." + +Simmy's amazement had given way to concern. "Upon my word, George, I'm +sorry for you. I had no idea that you felt as you do. It's too darned bad. +I wish it could have been different with you two." + +"It could have been, as I've said before, if I'd had the back-bone of a +caterpillar." + +"If you still love her as deeply as all this, why--" + +"Love her? Why, if she were to come out here this instant and smile on me, +Simmy, I'd--I'd--God, I don't know what I'd do!" He drooped his head +dejectedly, and Simmy saw that he was shaking. + +"It's too bad," said Simmy again, blinking. For a long time the two of +them stood there, side by side, looking at the bright doorway across the +street. Simmy was thinking hard. "See here, old fellow," he said at last, +profoundly moved, "why don't you buck up and try to make something of +yourself? It isn't too late. Do something that will make her proud of you. +Do--" + +"Proud of me, eh?" sneered George. "The only thing I could do would be to +jump into the river with my hands tied. She'd be proud of me for that." + +"Nonsense. Now listen to me. You don't want her to know that you've been +put in jail, do you?" + +"What am I doing that would get me into jail?" + +"Loitering. Loafing suspiciously. Drinking. A lot of things, my boy. +They'll nab you if you hang around here till three o'clock. You saw her go +in, didn't you?" + +"Yes. She--she happened to turn her face this way when she got to the top +of the steps. Saying something to the people she was with. God, I--she's +the loveliest thing in--" He stopped short, and put his hand to his eyes. + +Simmy's grip tightened on George's arm, and then for five minutes he +argued almost desperately with the younger man. In the end, Tresslyn +agreed to go home. He would not go to Anne's. + +"And you'll not touch another drop to-night?" said Dodge, as they crossed +over to the line of taxi-cabs. + +George halted. "Say, what's on your mind, Simmy? Are you afraid I'll go +off my nut and create a scene,--perhaps mop up the sidewalk with some one +like Percy Wintermill or--well, any one of those nuts in there? That the +idea you've got? Well, let me set you right, my boy. If I ever do anything +like that it will not be with Lutie as the excuse. I'll not drag her name +into it. Mind you, I'm not saying I'll never smash some one's head, but--" + +"I didn't mean that, at all," said Simmy. + +"And you needn't preach temperance to me," went on George. "I know that +liquor isn't good for me. I hate the stuff, as a matter of fact. I know +what it does to a man who has been an athlete. It gets him quicker than it +gets any one else. But the liquor makes me forget that I'm no good. It +makes me think I'm the biggest, bravest and best man in the world, and God +knows I'm not. When I get enough of the stuff inside of me, I imagine that +I'm good enough for Lutie. It's the only joy I have, this thinking that +I'm as decent as anybody, and the only time I think I'm decent is when I'm +so damned drunk that I don't know anything at all. Tell him to take me to +Meikelham's hotel. Good night. You're all right, Simmy." + +"To Meikelham's? I want you to go home, George." + +"Well, that's home for me at present. Rotten place, believe me, but it's +the best I can get for a dollar a day," grated George. + +"I thought you were living with your mother?" + +"No. Kicked out. That was six weeks ago. Couldn't stand seeing me around. +I don't blame her, either. But that's none of your business, Simmy, so +don't say another word." + +"It's pretty rough, that's all." + +"On me--or her?" + +"Both of you," said Simmy sharply. "I say, come over and see me to-morrow +afternoon, George,--at three o'clock. Sober, if you don't mind. I've got +something to say to you--" + +"No use, Simmy," sighed George. + +"You are fond of Anne, aren't you?" + +"Certainly. What's that got to do with it?" + +"She may need you soon. You must be ready, that's all. See what I mean?" + +"Moral support, eh?" scoffed George. + +"You are her brother." + +"Right you are," said the other soberly. "I'll be on hand, Simmy, if I'm +needed. Tell Anne, will you? I'll stick it out for a few days if it will +help her." + +"There is a lot of good in you, George," said Simmy, engagingly. "I don't +mind telling you that Lutie says the same thing about you. She has said to +me more than once that--" + +"Oh, don't lie to me!" snarled young Tresslyn, but Simmy did not fail to +note the quickening of interest in his sullen eyes. + +"More than once," he went on, following up the advantage, "she has +expressed the opinion that with half a chance you would have been more +than half a man." + +"'Gad," said George, wonderingly, "I--I can almost believe you now. That's +just the way she would have put it. God knows, Simmy, you are not smart +enough to have said it out of your own head. She really thinks that, does +she?" + +"We'll talk it over to-morrow," said the other, quite well pleased with +himself. Young Tresslyn was breathing heavily, as if his great lungs had +expanded beyond their normal capacity. "Move along now." + +"If I thought--" began George, but Simmy had slammed the door and was +directing the chauffeur where to take his fare. + +Half an hour later, Mrs. Fenwick's tables were deserted and the dance was +on. Simmy Dodge, awaiting the moment of dispersion, lost no time in +seeking Lutie. He had delayed his departure for Anne's home, and had been +chafing through a long half-hour in the lounge downstairs. She was dancing +with Percy Wintermill. + +"Hello, Dodge," said that young man, halting abruptly and somewhat +aggressively when Simmy, without apology, clutched his arm as they swung +by; "thought you'd gone. What d'you come back for?" + +"I haven't gone, so I couldn't come back," answered Simmy easily. "I want +a word or two with Mrs. Tresslyn, old boy, so beat it." + +"Oh, I say, you've got a lot of cheek--" + +"Come along, Mrs. Tresslyn; don't mind Percy. _This_ is important." With +Lutie at his side, he made his way through the crowd about the door and +led her, wondering and not a little disturbed, into one of the ante-rooms, +where he found a couple of chairs. + +She listened to his account of the meeting with her former husband, her +eyes fixed steadily on his homely little face. There was alarm at first in +those merry eyes of hers, but his first words were reassuring. He +convinced her that George was not bent on any act of violence, nor did he +intend to annoy or distress her by a public encounter. + +"As a matter of fact," he said, "he's gone off to bed, and I am quite +certain that he will not change his mind. I waited here to tell you about +him, Lutie, because I felt you ought to be prepared in case he does come +back and you happen to see him skulking around in--" + +"This isn't news to me, Simmy," she said seriously. "A half dozen times in +the past two weeks I have caught sight of him, always in some convenient +spot where he could watch me without much prospect of being seen. He seems +to possess an uncanny knowledge of my comings and goings. I never see him +in the daytime. I felt sure that he would be outside this place to-night, +so when I came in I made it a point to look up and down the +street,--casually, of course. There was a man across the street. I couldn't +be sure, but I thought it was George. It has been getting on my nerves, +Simmy." Her hand shook slightly, but what he had taken for alarm was gone +from her eyes. Instead they were shining brightly, and her lips remained +parted after she had finished speaking. + +"Needn't have any fear of him," said he. "George is a gentleman. He still +worships you, Lutie,--poor devil. He'll probably drink himself to death +because of it, too. Of course you know that he is completely down and out? +Little more than a common bum and street loafer." + +"He--he doesn't like whiskey," said she, after a moment. + +"One doesn't have to like it to drink it, you know." + +"He could stop it if he tried." + +"Like a flash. But he isn't going to try. At least, not until he feels +that it's worth while." + +She looked up quickly. "What do you mean by that?" Without waiting for him +to answer, she went on: "How can you expect me to do anything to help him? +I am sorry for him, but--but, heavens and earth, Simmy, I can't preach +temperance to a man who kicked me out of his house when he was sober, can +I?" + +"You loved him, didn't you?" + +She flushed deeply. "I--I--oh, certainly." + +"Never have quite got over loving him, as a matter of fact," said he, +watching her closely. + +She drew a long breath. "You're right, Simmy. I've never ceased to care +for him. That's what makes it so hard for me to see him going to the dogs, +as you say." + +"I said 'going to the devil,'" corrected Simmy resolutely. + +She laid her hand upon his arm. Her face was white now and her eyes were +dark with pain. + +"I shiver when I think of him, Simmy, but not with dread or revulsion. I +am always thinking of the days when he held me tight in those big, strong +arms of his,--and that's what makes me shiver. I adored being in his arms. +I shall never forget. People said that he would never amount to anything. +They said that he was too strong to work and all that sort of thing. He +didn't think much of himself, but I _know_ he would have come through all +right. He is the best of his breed, I can tell you that. Think how young +he was when we were married! Little more than a boy. He has never had a +chance to be a man. He is still a boy, puzzled and unhappy because he +can't think of himself as anything but twenty,--the year when everything +stopped for him. He's twenty-five now, but he doesn't know it. He is still +living in his twenty-first year." + +"I've never thought of it in that light," said Simmy, considerably +impressed. "I say, Lutie, if you care so much for him, why not--" He +stopped in some confusion. Clearly he had been on the point of trespassing +on dangerous ground. He wiped his forehead. + +"I can finish it for you, Simmy, by answering the question," she said, +with a queer little smile. "I want to help him,--oh, you don't know how my +heart aches for him!--but what can I do? I am his wife in the sight of God, +but that is as far as it goes. The law says that I am a free woman and +George a free man. But don't you see how it is? The law cannot say that we +shall not love each other. Now can it? It can only say that we are free to +love some one else if we feel so inclined without being the least bit +troubled by our marriage vows. But George and I are still married to each +other, and we are still thinking of our marriage vows. The simple fact +that we love each other proves a whole lot, now doesn't it, Simmy? We are +divorced right enough,--South Dakota says so,--but we refuse to think of +ourselves as anything but husband and wife, lover and sweetheart. Down in +our hearts we loved each other more on the day the divorce was granted +than ever before, and we've never stopped loving. I have not spoken a word +to George in nearly three years--but I know that he has loved me every +minute of the time. Naturally he does not think that I love him. He thinks +that I despise him. But I don't despise him, Simmy. If he had followed his +teachings he would now be married to some one else--some one of his +mother's choosing--and I should be loathing him instead of feeling sorry +for him. That would have convinced me that he was the rotter the world +said he was when he turned against me. I tell you, Simmy, it is gratifying +to know that the man you love is drinking himself to death because he's +true to you." + +"That's an extraordinary thing to say," said Simmy, squinting. "You are +happy because that poor devil is--" + +"Now don't say that!" she cried. "I didn't say I was happy. I said I was +gratified--because he is true to me in spite of everything. I suppose it's +more than you can grasp, Simmy,--you dear old simpleton." Her eyes were +shining very brightly, and her cheeks were warm and rosy. "You see, it's +my husband who is being true to me. Every wife likes to have that thing +proved to her." + +"Quixotic," said Simmy. "He isn't your husband, my dear." + +"Oh, yes, he is," said Lutie earnestly. "Just as much as he ever was." + +"The law says he is not." + +"What are you trying to get me to say?" + +"I may as well come to the point. Would you marry him again if he were to +come to you,--now?" + +"Do you mean, would I live with him again?" + +"You couldn't do that without marrying him, you know." + +"I am already married to him in the sight of God," said she, stubbornly. + +"Good Lord! Would you go back to him without a ceremony of--" + +"If I made up my mind to live with him, yes." + +"Oh, I see. And may I inquire just what your state of mind would be if he +came to you to-morrow?" + +"You have got me cornered, Simmy," she said, her lip trembling. There was +a hunted look in her eyes. "I--I don't know what I should do. I want him, +Simmy,--I want my man, my husband, but to be perfectly honest with you, I +don't believe he has sunk low enough yet for me to claim the complete +victory I desire." + +"Victory?" gasped Simmy. "Do you want to pick him out of the gutter? Is +that your idea of triumph over the Tresslyns? Are you--" + +"When the time comes, Simmy," said she cryptically, "I will hold out my +hand to him, and then we'll have a _real_ man before you can say Jack +Robinson. He will come up like a cork, and he'll be so happy that he'll +stay up forever." + +"Don't be too sure of that. I've seen better men than George stay down +forever." + +"Yes, but George doesn't want to stay down. He wants me. That's all he +wants in this world." + +"Do you imagine that he will come to you, crawling on his knees, to plead +for forgiveness or--" + +"By no means! He'd never sink so low as that. That's why I tell you that +he is a man, a real man. There isn't one in a thousand who wouldn't be +begging, and whining, and even threatening the woman if he were in +George's position. That's why I'm so sure." + +"What do you expect?" + +"When his face grows a little thinner, and the Tresslyn in him is drowned, +I expect to ask him to come and see me," she said slowly. + +"Good Lord!" muttered Simmy. + +She sprang to her feet, her face glowing. "And I don't believe I can stand +seeing it grow much thinner," she cried. "He looks starved, Simmy. I can't +put it off much longer. Now I must go back. Thank you for the warning. You +don't understand him, but--thank you, just the same. I never miss seeing +him when he thinks he is perfectly invisible. You see, Simmy, I too have +eyes." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +The next afternoon but one Templeton Thorpe was on the operating table. In +a private sitting-room on the third floor of the great hospital, three +people sat waiting for the result--two women and a man. They were the +Tresslyns, mother, son and daughter. There were unopened boxes of flowers +on the table in the middle of the room. The senders of these flowers were +men, and their cards were inside the covers, damp with the waters of +preservation. They were for Anne Thorpe, and they were from men who looked +ahead even as she had looked ahead. But the roses and orchids they sent +were never to be seen by Anne Thorpe. They were left in the boxes with +their little white envelopes attached, for Anne was not thinking of roses +as she sat there by the window, looking down into the street, waiting for +the word from upstairs,--the inevitable word. Later on the free wards would +be filled with the fragrance of American Beauties, and certain smug +gentlemen would never be thanked. No one had sent flowers to Templeton +Thorpe, the sick man. + +There had been a brief conference on the day before between Anne and +Braden. The latter went to her with the word that he was to operate, +provided she offered no objection. + +"You know what an operation will mean, Anne," he said steadily. + +"The end to his agony," she remarked. Outwardly she was calm, inwardly she +shivered. + +"It is absurd to say that he has one chance in a million to pull through. +He hasn't a single chance. I appreciate that fact and--so does he." + +"You are willing to do this thing, Braden?" + +"I am willing," he said. His face was like death. + +"And if I should object, what then?" she asked, almost inaudibly. + +"I should refuse to operate. I cannot pretend that an operation is the +only means left to save his life. It is just the other way round. We are +supposed to take extreme measures in extreme cases, but always with the +idea of prolonging human life. In this instance, I am bound to tell you, +that I don't believe there is a chance to save him. We must look the +matter squarely in the face." + +"You said that there was absolutely no chance." She leaned heavily against +the table. + +"I believe there is no chance, but I am not all-seeing, Anne. We never +know,--absolutely. Miracles happen. They are not performed by man, +however." + +"Have you spoken to Dr. Bates?" + +"Yes. He is coming to the hospital, to--to be with me." + +"He will not attempt to prevent the operation?" + +"No. He does not advise or sanction it, but he--understands." + +"And you will be held responsible for everything?" + +"I suppose so," said he bitterly. + +She was silent for a long time. "I think I shall object to the operation, +Braden," she said at last. + +"For my sake and not for his, I take it," he said. + +"I may as well give him the tablets myself, as to consent to your method +of--of--" She could not finish the sentence. + +"It isn't quite the same," he said. "I act with the authority of the law +behind me. You would be violating the law." + +"Still you would be killing a fellow creature," she protested. "I--I cannot +allow you to sacrifice yourself, Braden." + +"You forget that I have no false notions as to the question of right and +wrong in cases of this kind. I assure you that if I undertake this +operation it will be with a single purpose in mind: to save and prolong +the life of my patient. The worst you can say of me is that I am convinced +beforehand that I shall fail. If I were to act upon the principles I +advocate, I should not feel obliged to go through the travesty of an +operation. The time may come when cases of this sort will be laid before a +commission, and if in their judgment it is deemed humane to do so, a drug +will be administered and the horrors that are likely to attend my efforts +of to-morrow will be impossible. There is no such law to sustain me now, +no commission, no decision by experts and familiars to back me up, so I +can only obey the commands of the patient himself,--and do the best I can +for him. He insists on having the operation performed--and by me. I am one +of the family. I am his only blood relative. It is meet and just, says he, +that I should be the one, and not some disinterested, callous outsider. +That is the way he puts it, and I have not denied him." + +"It is horrible," she moaned, shuddering. "Why do you ask me to consent? +Why do you put it up to me?" + +"You now place me in the position of the surgeon who advises a prompt--I +mean, who says that an operation is imperative." + +"But that isn't the truth. You do not advise it." + +He drew a long breath. "Yes, I do advise it. There is no other way. I +shall try to save him. I _do_ advise it." + +She left him and went over to the fireplace, where she stood with her back +toward him for many minutes, staring into the coals. He did not change his +position. He did not even look at her. His eyes were fixed on the rug near +the closed door. There was a warm, soft red in that rare old carpet. +Finally she turned to him. + +"I shall not let you take all of the responsibility, Braden," she said. +"It isn't fair. I shall not oppose you. You have my consent to go on with +it." + +"I assume all responsibility," he said, abruptly, almost gruffly. + +"You are wrong there, Braden," she said, slowly. "My husband assumes the +responsibility. It is his act, not yours. I shall always regard it in that +light, no matter what may happen. It is his command." + +He tried to smile. "Perhaps that is the right way to look at it," he said, +"but it is a poor way, after all." For a full minute they stood looking +into each other's eyes. "Then I shall go ahead with the--arrangements," he +said, compressing his lips. + +She nodded her head. + +"Before I go any farther, Anne, I want to tell you what happened this +morning when his lawyer was here. I sent for him. There is a clause in my +grandfather's will bequeathing to me the sum of one hundred thousand +dollars. I insisted that a codicil be added to the instrument, revoking +that clause. My grandfather was obstinate at first. Finally he agreed to +discuss the matter privately with Judge Hollenback. A couple of hours ago +Wade and Murray witnessed the codicil which deprives me of any interest in +my grandfather's estate. I renounce everything. There will be no contest +on my part. Not a penny is to come to me." + +She stared at him. "You refuse to take what rightfully belongs to you? Now +that _is_ quixotic, Braden. You shall not--" + +"The matter is closed, Anne. We need not discuss it," he said firmly. "I +had to tell you, that's all. The reason should be obvious. You know, of +course, that the bulk of his estate, apart from the amount to be paid to +you--" She winced perceptibly--"aside from that amount is to go to various +charities and institutions devoted to the betterment of the human race. I +need not add that these institutions are of a scientific character. I +wanted you to know beforehand that I shall profit in no way by the death +of my grandfather." After a significant pause he repeated distinctly: "I +shall profit _in no way_." + +She lowered her eyes for an instant. "I think I understand, Braden," she +said, looking up to meet his gaze unwaveringly. Her voice was low, even +husky. She saw finality in his eyes. + +"He seemed to feel that I ought to know of the clause I mention," +explained Braden dully. "Perhaps he thought it would--it might be an +inducement to me to--to go ahead. God! What a thought!" + +"He allowed you to read it?" + +"A copy, last night. The real instrument was produced to-day by Judge +Hollenback at my request, and the change was made in the presence of +witnesses." + +"Where is it now?" + +"Judge Hollenback took it away with him. That's all I know about it." + +"I am sorry," she said, a queer glint in her eyes. "Sorry he took it away +with him, I mean. There is nothing I can do--now." + +She sent for her mother that night. The next morning Simmy Dodge came down +with George Tresslyn, who steadfastly refused to enter the house but rode +to the hospital with his mother and sister in Simmy's automobile. Anne did +not see Braden again after that momentous interview in the library. He had +effaced himself. + +Now she sat in the window looking down into the street, dull and listless +and filled with the dread of the future that had once looked so engaging +to her. The picture that avarice and greed had painted was gone. In its +place was an honest bit of colour on the canvas,--a drab colour and +noteless. + +Mrs. Tresslyn, unmoved and apparently disinterested, ran idly through the +pages of an illustrated periodical. Her furs lay across a chair in the +corner of the room. They were of chinchilla and expressed a certain +arrogance that could not be detached by space from the stately figure with +the lorgnon. The year had done little toward bending that proud head. The +cold, classic beauty of this youngish mother of the other occupants of the +room was as yet absolutely unmarred by the worries that come with +disillusionment. If she felt rebellious scorn for the tall disappointment +who still bore and always would bear the honoured name of Tresslyn she +gave no sign: if the slightest resentment existed in her soul toward the +daughter who was no longer as wax in her hands, she hid the fact securely +behind a splendid mask of unconcern. As for the old man upstairs she had +but a single thought: an insistent one it was, however, and based itself +upon her own dread of the thing that was killing him. + +George Tresslyn, white-faced and awed, sat like a graven image, looking at +the floor. He was not there because he wanted to be, but because a rather +praiseworthy allegiance to Anne had mastered his repugnance. Somewhere in +his benumbed intelligence flickered a spark of light which revealed to him +his responsibility as the head of the family. Anne was his sister. She was +lovely. He would have liked to be proud of her. If it were not for the +millions of that old man upstairs he could have been proud of her, and by +an odd reasoning, even more ashamed of himself than he was now. He was not +thinking of the Thorpe millions, however, as he sat there brooding; he was +not wondering what Anne would do for him when she had her pay in hand. He +was dumbly praising himself for having refused to sell his soul to +Templeton Thorpe in exchange for the fifty thousand dollars with which the +old man had baited him on three separate occasions, and wishing that Lutie +could know. It was something that she would have to approve of in him! It +was rather pitiful that he should have found a grain of comfort in the +fact that he had refused to kill a fellow man! + +Anne took several turns up and down the room. There was a fine line +between her dark, brooding eyes, and her nostrils were distended as if +breathing had become difficult for her. + +"I told him once that if such a thing ever happened to me, I'd put an end +to myself just as soon as I knew," she said, addressing no one, but +speaking with a distinctness that was startling. "I told him that one +would be justified in taking one's life under such circumstances. Why +should one go on suffering--" + +"What are you saying, Anne?" broke in her mother sharply. George looked +up, astonishment struggling to make its way through the dull cloud on his +face. + +Anne stopped short. For a moment she appeared to be dazed. She went paler +than before, and swayed. Her brother started up from his chair, alarmed. + +"I say, Anne old girl, get hold of yourself!" he exclaimed. "None of that, +you know. You mustn't go fainting or anything like that. Walk around with +me for a couple of minutes. You'll be all right in--" + +"Oh, I'm not going to faint," she cried, but grasped his arm just the +same. + +"They always walked us around on the football field when we got woozy--" + +"Go out and see if you can find out anything, George," said she, pulling +herself together. "Surely it must be over by this time." + +"Simmy's on the lookout," said George. "He'll let us know." + +"Be patient, my dear," said Mrs. Tresslyn, wiping a fine moisture from her +upper lip, where it had appeared with Anne's astounding observation. "You +will not have to wait much longer. Be--" + +Anne faced her, an unmistakable sneer on her lips. "I'm used to waiting," +she said huskily. + +"She has waited a year and more," said George aggressively, glowering at +his mother. It was a significant but singularly unhappy remark. + +For the first time in their lives, they saw their mother in tears. It was +so incomprehensible that at first both Anne and her brother laughed, not +in mirth, but because they were so stupefied that they did not know what +they were doing, and laughter was the simplest means of expressing an +acute sense of embarrassment. Then they stood aloof and watched the +amazing exposition, fascinated, unbelieving. It did not occur to either of +them to go to the side of this sobbing woman whose eyes had always been +dry and cold, this mother who had wiped away their tears a hundred times +and more with dainty lace handkerchiefs not unlike the one she now pressed +so tightly to her own wet cheeks. They could not understand this thing +happening to her. They could not believe that after all their mother +possessed the power to shed tears, to sob as other women do, to choke and +snivel softly, to blubber inelegantly; they had always looked upon her as +proof against emotion. Their mother was crying! Her back was toward them, +evidence of a new weakness in her armour. It shook with the effort she +made to control the cowardly spasmodic sobs. And why was she in tears? +What had brought this amazing thing to pass? What right had she to cry? + +They watched her stupidly as she walked away from them toward the window. +They were not unfeeling; they simply did not know how to act in the face +of this marvel. They looked at each other in bewilderment. What had +happened? Only the moment before she had been as cold and as magnificently +composed as ever she had been, and now! Now she was like other people. She +had come down to the level of the utterly commonplace. She was just a +plain, ordinary woman. It was unbelievable. + +They did not feel sorry for her. A second time, no doubt, would find them +humanly sympathetic, troubled, distressed, but this first time they could +only wonder, they could only doubt their senses. It would have been most +offensive in them to have let her see they noticed anything unusual in her +behaviour. At least that is the way they felt about it in their failure to +understand. + +For five minutes Mrs. Tresslyn stood with her back to them. Gradually the +illy-stifled sobs subsided and, as they still looked on curiously, the +convulsive heaving of her shoulders grew less perceptible, finally ceasing +altogether. Her tall figure straightened to its full, regal height; her +chin went up to its normal position; her wet handkerchief was stuffed, +with dignified deliberateness, into the gold mesh bag. A minute more to +prove that she had completely mastered her emotions, and then she faced +her children. It was as if nothing had happened. She was the calm and +imperious mother they had always known. Involuntarily, Anne uttered a deep +sigh of relief. George blinked his eyes and also fell to wondering if they +had served him honestly, or if, on the other hand, he too had merely +imagined something incredible. + +They did not question her. The incident was closed. They were never to ask +her why she had wept in their presence. They were never to know what had +moved her to tears. Instinctively and quite naturally they shrank from the +closer intimacy that such a course would involve. Their mother was herself +once more. She was no longer like other women. They could not be in touch +with her. And so they were never to know why she had cried. They only knew +that for a brief space she had been as silly as any ordinary mortal could +be, and they were rather glad to have caught her at it. + +Years afterward, however, George was to say to Anne: "Queer thing, wasn't +it, that time she cried? Do you remember?" And Anne was to reply: "I've +never forgotten it. It _was_ queer." + +Nor did Mrs. Tresslyn offer the slightest explanation for her conduct. She +did not even smile shamefacedly, as any one else certainly would have done +in apology. She was, however, vaguely pleased with her children. They had +behaved splendidly. They were made of the right stuff, after all! She had +not been humbled. + +Apathy was restored. George slumped down in his chair and set his jaws +hard. Mrs. Tresslyn glanced idly through the pages of a magazine, while +Anne, taking up her position once more at the window, allowed her thoughts +to slip back into the inevitable groove. They were not centred upon +Templeton Thorpe as an object of pity but as a subject for speculation: +she was thinking of the thing that Braden was doing, and of his part in +this life and death affair. She was trying to picture him up there in that +glaring little room cutting the life out of a fellow creature under the +very eyes of the world. + +The door was opened swiftly but softly. Simmy Dodge, white as a sheet, +came into the room.... Mrs. Tresslyn went over to the window, where Anne +was sitting, white and dry-eyed. + +"It is no more than we expected, dear," said she quietly. "He had no +chance. You were prepared. It is all over. You ought to be thankful that +his sufferings are over. He--" + +Anne was not listening. She broke in with a question to Simmy. + +"What was it that you said happened while you were in the room? Before the +ether, I mean. Tell me again,--and slowly." + +Simmy cleared his throat. It was very tight and dry. He was now afraid of +death. + +"It was awfully affecting," he said, wiping the moisture from his brow. +"Awfully. That young interne fellow told me about it. Just before they +gave the ether, Mr. Thorpe shook hands with Brady. He was smiling. They +all heard him say 'Good-bye, my boy,--and thank you.' And Brady leaned over +and kissed him on the forehead. The chap couldn't quite hear, but says he +thinks he whispered, 'Good-bye, granddaddy.' Awfully affecting scene--" + +"'Good-bye, granddaddy,'" Anne repeated, dully. Then she covered her eyes +with her hands. + +Simmy fidgeted. He wanted to help, but felt oddly that he was very much +out of place. George's big hand gripped his arm. At any other time he +would have winced with pain, but now he had no thought for himself. +Moreover, there was something wonderfully sustaining in the powerful hand +that had been laid upon his. + +"She ought not to take it so hard, George," he began. + +"They told you he never came out of the anaesthetic," said George, in a +half-whisper. "Just died--like that?" + +"That's what he said. Little chap with blond hair and nose-glasses. You +remember seeing him--Yes, he told me. He was in there. Saw it all. Gosh, I +don't see how they can do it. This fellow seemed to be very much upset, at +that. He looked scared. I say, George, do you know what the pylorus is?" + +"Pylorus? No." + +"I wish I knew. This fellow seemed to think that Brady made some sort of a +mistake. He wouldn't say much, however. Some sort of a slip, I gathered. +Something to do with the pylorus, I know. It must be a vital spot." + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + +The day after the funeral, George Tresslyn called to see his sister. He +found that it required a new sort of courage on his part to enter the +house, even after his hesitation about pressing the door-bell. He was not +afraid of any living man, and yet he was oppressed by the uncanny fear +that Templeton Thorpe was still alive and waiting somewhere in the dark +old house, ready to impose further demands upon his cupidity. The young +man was none too steady beforehand, and now he was actually shaking. When +Murray opened the door, he was confronted by an extremely pallid visitor +who shot a furtive look over his head and down the hall before inquiring +whether Mrs. Thorpe was at home. + +"She is, Mr. George," said Murray. "You telephoned half an hour ago, sir." + +"So I did," said George nervously. He was not offended by Murray's obvious +comment upon his unstable condition, for he knew--even though Murray did +not--that no drop of liquor had passed his lips in four days. + +"Mrs. Thorpe is expecting you." + +"Is she alone, Murray?" + +"Yes, sir. Would you mind stepping inside, sir? It's a raw wind that is +blowing. I think I must have taken a bit of a cold yesterday during--ahem! +Thank you, sir. I will tell Mrs. Thorpe that you are here." Murray was +rather testy. He had been imbibing. + +George shivered. "I say, Murray, would you mind giving me a drop of +something to warm me up? I--" + +The butler regarded him fixedly, even severely. "You have had quite enough +already, sir," he said firmly, but politely. + +"Oh, come now! I haven't had a drink in God knows how long. I--but never +mind! If that's the way you feel about it, I withdraw my request. Keep +your darned old brandy. But let me tell you one thing, Murray; I don't +like your impertinence. Just remember that, will you?" + +"I beg your pardon, sir," said Murray, unoffended. He was seeing with a +clearer vision. "You are ill. I mistook it for--" + +"No, I'm not ill. And I'll forgive you, too, Murray," he added +impulsively. "I daresay you were justified. My fame has preceded me. Tell +Mrs. Thorpe I'm here, will you? Run along; the decanter is quite safe." + +A few minutes later he was ushered into Anne's sitting-room upstairs. He +stopped short just inside the door, struck by the pallor, the haggardness +of his sister's face. + +"Oh, I say, Anne!" he exclaimed. "You're not taking it so hard as all +this, I hope. My Lord, girlie, you look--you look--why, you can't possibly +feel like this about him. What the deuce are--" + +"Close the door, George," she commanded. Her voice sounded hollow, +lifeless to him. She was sitting bolt upright on the huge, comfortable +couch in front of the grate fire. He had dreaded seeing her in black. She +had worn it the day before. He remembered that she had worn more of it +than seemed necessary to him. It had made her appear clumsy and over-fed. +He was immensely relieved to find that she now wore a rose-coloured +pignoir, and that it was wrapped very closely about her slim, long figure, +as if she were afflicted by the cold and was futilely trying to protect +her shivering flesh. He shuffled across the room and sat down beside her. +"I'm glad you came. It is--oh, it is horribly lonely here in this dreadful +house. You--" + +"Hasn't mother been down to see you?" he demanded. "She ought to be here. +You need her. Confound it, Anne, what sort of a woman is--" + +"Hush! She telephoned. I said that I preferred to be alone. But I'm glad +you came, George." She laid her hand on his. "You are able to feel sorry +for me. Mother isn't." + +"You're looking awfully seedy, Anne. I still say she ought to be here to +look after you. It's her place." + +"I'm all right. Of course, I look like the dickens, but who wouldn't? It +has been terrible. Weeks and weeks of it. You'll never know what--" She +shuddered so violently that he threw his arm about her and drew her close. + +"Well, it's all over now, girlie. Brace up. Sunshine from now on. It was a +bad day's work when you let yourself in for it, but that's all over now." + +"Yes, it's all over," she said slowly. "Everything's all over." Her wide, +sombre eyes fixed their gaze upon the rippling blue flames in the grate. + +"Well, smile a little. It's time some one of us Tresslyns had a chance to +grin a little without bearing it." + +She raised her eyes and slowly inspected this big brother of hers. +Seemingly she had not taken him in as a whole up to that moment of +consideration. A slight frown appeared on her brow. + +"I've been hearing rather bad things about you, George," she said, after a +moment. "Now that I look at you, you do look pretty shaky,--and pretty well +threshed out. Is it true? Have you been as bad as they say?" + +He flushed. "Has Simmy Dodge been talking?" + +"Simmy is your friend, George," she said sharply. + +"It's always a fellow's friends who do the most talking," said he, "and +that's what hurts. You don't mind what your enemies say." + +"Simmy has not mentioned your name to me in weeks." + +"Well, I don't call that being friendly. He knows everything. He ought to +have told you just how rotten I've been, because you could believe Simmy. +You can't believe every one, Anne, but I know Simmy would give it to you +straight. Yes, I've been all that could be expected. The only thing I +haven't been is a liar." + +"Can't you brace up, George? You are really the best of the lot, if you +only knew it. You--" + +"I don't drink because I like it, you know, Anne," he said earnestly. + +"I see," she said, nodding her head slowly. "You drink because it's the +surest way to prove to Lutie that you are still in love with her. Isn't +that it?" She spoke ironically. + +"When I think how much you would have liked Lutie if she'd had a chance +to--" + +"Don't tell it to me, George," she interrupted. "I didn't in the least +care whom you married. As a matter of fact, I think you married the right +girl." + +"You do?" he cried eagerly. + +"Yes. But she didn't marry the right man. If you had been the right man +and had been taken away from her as you were, she would have died of a +broken heart long before this. Logic for you, isn't it?" + +"She's got too much sense to die of a broken heart. And that isn't saying +she wasn't in love with me, either." + +"Oh, well," she sighed, "it doesn't matter. She didn't die, she didn't go +to the bad, she didn't put on a long face and weep her eyes out,--as I +recall them they were exceedingly pretty eyes, which may account for her +determination to spare them,--and she didn't do anything that a sensible +woman would have done under the circumstances. A sensible woman would have +set herself up as a martyr and bawled her eyes out. But Lutie, being an +ignoramus, overlooked her opportunities, and now see where she is! I am +told that she is exasperatingly virtuous, abstemious and exceedingly well- +dressed, and all on an income derived from thirty thousand dollars that +came out of the Tresslyn treasure chest. Almost incomprehensible, isn't +it? Nothing sensible about Lutie, is there?" + +"Are you trying to be sarcastic, Anne?" demanded George, contriving to sit +up a little straighter on the sofa. He was not in the habit of exerting +himself in these days of unregeneration. Anne was always smarter than he; +he never knew just how much smarter she was but he knew when to feel +apprehensive. + +"You wanted to see me, George," she said abruptly. "What is it you want? +Money?" + +He scowled. "I might have known you would ask that question. No, I don't +want money. I could have had some of old man Thorpe's money a couple of +weeks ago if I'd been mean enough to take it, and I'm not mean enough to +take it now--from you. I want to talk to you about Braden Thorpe." + +For a moment or two Anne looked into his frowning eyes, and then she drew +back into the corner of the couch, a queer shudder running through her +body. + +"About Braden?" she asked, striving to make her voice sound firm and +unstrained. + +"Where is he? Staying here in the house?" + +"Of course not. I don't know where he is. He has not been near me +since--since the day before--" She spoke rapidly, jerkily, and did not deem +it necessary to complete the sentence. + +George had the delicacy to hesitate. He even weighed, in that brief +instant, the advisability of saying what he had come to say to her. Then a +queer sense of duty, of brother to sister, took the place of doubt. She +was his sister and she needed him now as never before, needed him now +despite his self-admitted worthlessness. + +"See here, Anne, I'm going to speak plainly," he blurted out, leaning +forward. "You must not see Brady Thorpe again. If he comes here, you must +refuse to receive him." + +Her eyes were very dark and lustreless against the increased pallor of her +cheeks. "He will not come here, George," she said, scarcely above a +whisper. She moistened her lips. "It isn't necessary to--to warn me." + +"Mind you, I don't say a word against him," he made haste to explain. +"It's what people will say that troubles me. Perhaps you don't know what +they are going to say, Anne, but I do." + +"Oh, I know what they will say," she muttered. She looked straight into +his eyes. "They will say that he killed his grandfather--purposely." + +"It doesn't matter that they say he killed his grandfather, Anne," said he +slowly, "so much as that he killed your husband. That's the point." + +"What have you heard, George?" she asked, in dread of his reply. + +"Barely enough to let me understand that where one man is talking now, a +hundred will be talking next week. There was a young doctor up there in +the operating room. He doesn't say it in so many words, but he suspects +that it wasn't an accidental slip of the--don't look like that, Anne! Gee, +you looked awfully scary just then." He wiped his brow. "I--I thought you +were about to faint. I say, we'll drop the matter this instant if--" + +"I'm not going to faint," she exclaimed. "You need not be afraid. What is +it that this young doctor says? And how do you happen to have heard--" + +"It's what he said to Simmy," interrupted George, quickly. "Simmy let it +slip last night. I was in his apartment. Then I made him tell me the whole +thing. He says it is certain that if this young fellow saw anything wrong, +the others also did. And you know there were three pretty big surgeons +there looking on. Bates and those other fellows, you remember. It--it looks +bad, Anne. That's why I tell you that you must not see Brady again." + +"And what has all this to do with my not seeing Braden again?" she +demanded steadily. + +He stared. "Why,--why, you just mustn't, that's all. Can't you understand?" + +"You mean that I ought not to be put in the position of sharing the blame +with him. Is that it?" + +"Well, if there should be a--er--criminal investigation, you'd be a blamed +sight better off if you kept out of it, my girl. And what's more to the +point, you can't afford to have people say that you are determined to do +the thing they believe you set out to do in the beginning,--and that is to +marry Braden as soon as--" + +"Stop right there, George!" she cried hotly. "Other people may say what +they please, but the same privilege is not extended to you. Don't forget +that you are my brother." + +"I'm sorry, Anne. I didn't mean it in that way. Of course, I know that +it's all over between you and Brady. Just the same, I mean what I say when +I advise you to see nothing of him. I've given you the hint, that's all." + +"And I am sorry I spoke as I did just now," she said listlessly. "Thanks, +George. You are looking out for me, aren't you? I didn't expect it. +Somehow, I've always felt that nobody cared whether I--" + +"I'll look out for you as long as I'm able to stand," said he, setting his +jaw. "I wish you could love me, Anne. I think we'd be pretty good pals, +after all, if we got to thinking more about each other and less about +ourselves. Of course, I'm a down-and-outer and don't deserve much in the +way of--" + +"You don't deserve sympathy," she interrupted, laying a firm hand upon +his, "and I know you are not asking for it. Encouragement is what you +need." Her voice shook slightly. "You want some one to love you. I +understand. It's what we all want, I suppose. I'll try to be a real, true +sister from now on, George. It--it will not be very hard for me to love +you, I'm sure," she concluded, with a whimsical little smile that went +straight to his sore, disfigured heart. A lump came into his throat and +his eyes began to smart so suddenly that a mist came over them before he +could blink his lids. He was very young, was George Tresslyn, despite the +things that go to make men old. + +"Gee!" he said, astonished by his own emotions. Then he gripped her +slender, ringless hand in his huge palm,--and was further surprised to +discover that she did not wince. "We're not acting like Tresslyns at all, +Anne. We're acting just like regular people." + +"Do you know that you are a very lucky person, George?" she said abruptly. +He blinked. "You don't know it, but you are. I wish I had the same chance +that you have." + +"What are you talking about?" he demanded. + +"I wish I had the same chance to be happy that you have." + +"Happy? Good Lord, I'll never be happy without Lutie, and you know it," he +groaned. + +"That is just the chance you still have, Buddy. It isn't inconceivable +that you may get Lutie back, while I--well, you know how it is with me. I'm +done for, to put it plainly." + +"Lutie wouldn't wipe her feet on me," he said, struggling between hope and +conviction. "I'd let her do it like a flash if she wanted to, but--Oh, +what's the use! You and I have queered ourselves forever, you with Brady +and I with Lutie. It's an infernal shame you didn't take Brady when you--" + +"Yes, we've queered ourselves," said she, struck by the phrase that fell +from his lips. It was not Anne's habit to use slang, but somehow George's +way of putting the situation into words was so aggravatingly complete that +she almost resented his prior use of an expression that she had never used +before in her life. It _did_ sum up the business, neatly and compactly. +Strange that she had never thought of that admirable word before! "And of +the two of us, George, I am the worst offender. I went about my mistake +deliberately. I suppose it is only right that I should pay the heavier +price." + +"If I thought there was a chance to get Lutie back, I'd--" But there he +stopped as he always stopped. He had never been able to end that sentence, +and he had got just that far with it a million times or more. + +"Have you tried to get her back?" she demanded suddenly, a flash of +interest in her eyes. It was to grow into genuine enthusiasm. The impulse +at the back of her mind was to develop into an idea, later into a strong, +definite purpose. It had for its foundation a hitherto unsuspected desire +to do good. + +"Great Scot, no!" + +"Then _try_, George," she cried, a new thrill in her voice. + +He was bewildered. "Try what?" + +"I would stake my life on it, George, if you set about it in the right way +you can win Lutie all over again. All you have to do is to let her see +that you are a man, a real man. There's no reason in the world why she +shouldn't remember what love really is, and that she once had it through +you. There's a lot in love that doesn't come out in a couple of months and +she has the sense to know that she was cheated out of it. If I am not +greatly mistaken she is just like all other women. We don't stop loving +before we get our fill of it, or until we've at least found out that it +bores us to be loved by the man who starts the fire going. Now, Lutie must +realise that she never got her full share. She wasn't through loving you. +She had barely begun. It doesn't matter how badly a woman is treated, she +goes on loving her man until some other man proves that she is wrong, and +he cannot prove it to her until she has had all of the love that she can +get out of the first man. That's why women stick to the men who beat them. +Of course, this doesn't apply to unmoral women. You know the kind I mean. +But it is true of all honest women, and Lutie appears to be more honest +than we suspected. She had two or three months of you, George, and then +came the crash. You can't tell me that she stopped wanting to be loved by +you just as she was loving you the hardest. She may some day marry another +man, but she will never forget that she had you for three months and that +they were not enough." + +"Great Scot!" said George once more, staring open-mouthed at his +incomprehensible sister. "Are you in earnest?" + +"Certainly." + +"Why, she ought to despise me." + +"Quite true, she should," said Anne coolly. "The only thing that keeps her +from despising you is that uncompleted honeymoon. It's like giving a +starving man just half enough to eat. He is still hungry." + +"Do you mean to say that you'd like to see me make it up again with Lutie? +You'd like to have me marry her again?" + +"Why not? I'd find some happiness in seeing you happy, I suppose. I dare +say it is self interest on my part, after all. In a way, it makes for my +happiness, so therein I am selfish." + +"Bosh! You'll be happy, Anne, but not through me. You are the prettiest +girl in New York, one of the richest, one of the smartest--" + +"See here, George," she said, a hard note stealing into her voice, "you +and I are pretty much alike in one respect. Surprising as it may seem, we +have been able to love some one besides ourselves. And still more +surprising, we appear to be constant. You are no more constant in your +love for Lutie than I am in my love for the man I shall never have. My man +despises me. Your woman merely pities you. You can retake what you have +lost. I cannot. But why shouldn't I go on loving my man, just as you are +loving your woman? Why shouldn't I?" she cried out fiercely. + +He gulped. "Oh, I say, Anne, I--I didn't dream that it meant so much to +you. I have always thought of you as--as--er--sort of indifferent to--But, +that just shows how little a fellow knows about his sister. A sister never +seems to be given the same flesh and blood feelings that other women have. +I'm sorry I said what I did a little while ago. I take it back, Anne. If +you've got a chance to get Brady back--" + +"Stop! I spoke of your affairs, George, because they are not altogether +hopeless. We cannot discuss mine." + +"And as for that story, who is going to prove that Braden intentionally--" +He checked the words, and switched off along another line. "Even though he +did put a merciful end to Mr. Thorpe's suffering, what selfish motive can +be charged to him? Not one. He doesn't get a dollar of the estate, Simmy +says. He alone loved that old man. No one else in the world loved him. He +did the best he could for him, and he doesn't care what any one thinks +about it. I came here to warn you, to tell you to be careful, but now that +I know what it means to you, I--" + +She arose. Facing him, she said slowly, deliberately: "I believe that +Braden tried to save his grandfather's life. He asked my consent to the +operation. I gave it. When I gave it, I was morally certain that Mr. +Thorpe was to die on the operating table. I wanted him to die. I wanted an +end put to his suffering. But I did not want Braden to be the one. Some +day I may have the courage to tell you something, George, that will shock +you as nothing on earth has ever shocked you. I will tell you the real +reason why Templeton Thorpe married me. I--but not now. I wish that the +whole world could know that if Braden did take his own way to end the +suffering of that unhappy old man, I have no word of condemnation for him. +He did the humane thing." + +George remained seated, watching her with perplexed, dubious eyes. It was +a matter that deserved mental concentration. He could best achieve this by +abstaining from physical indulgence. Here was his sister, the wife of the +dead man, actually condoning an act that was almost certain to be +professionally excoriated,--behind the hand, so to say,--even though there +was no one to contend that a criminal responsibility should be put upon +Braden Thorpe. He was, for the moment, capable of forgetting his own +troubles in considering the peril that attended Anne. + +"Oh, I say, Anne, you'll have to be careful what you say. It's all right +to say it to me, but for heaven's sake don't go telling these things to +other people." He was serious, desperately serious. "No one will +understand. No one will see it as you do. There has been a lot of talk +about Brady's views and all that. People are not very charitable toward +him. They stick to the idea that God ought to do such jobs as Brady +advocates, and I don't know but they are right. So now you just keep your +mouth closed about all this. It is Braden's affair, it's his lookout, not +yours. The least said, the better, take it from me. You--" + +"We will talk of something else, George, if you don't mind," she said, +relaxing suddenly. She sat down beside him once more, rather limply and +with a deep, long-drawn sigh, as if she had spent herself in this single +exposition of feeling. "Now what do you intend to do in regard to Lutie? +Are you ready to straighten up and make the effort to--to be something +creditable to yourself and to her?" + +"Oh, I've tried to hold down a good many respectable jobs," he scoffed. +"It's no good trying. I'm too busy thinking of her to be able to devote +much of my remarkable intelligence to ordinary work." + +"Well, you've never had me behind you till now," she said. "I am perfectly +able to think for you, if you'll let me. Simmy Dodge is interested in you. +He can get you a berth somewhere. It may be a humble one, but it will lead +to something better. You are not a drunkard, you are not a loafer. Now, I +will tell you what I intend to do. If, at the end of a year, you can show +me that you--" + +"Hold on! You are not thinking of offering me money, are you?" he +demanded, flushing angrily. + +Her eyes brightened. "You would not accept it?" + +"No," he said flatly. + +"You must remember one thing, George," she said, after a moment. "You +cannot take Lutie back until you have paid mother in full for all that +your freedom cost her. It wouldn't be fair to take both the girl and the +money she received for giving you up that time. She was paid in full for +returning you to the family circle. If she takes you back again, she +should refund the money, even though she is accepting damaged and well- +worn goods. Now, Lutie should not be called upon to make restitution. That +is for you to do. I fancy it will be a long time before you can amass +thirty or forty thousand dollars, so I make you this offer: the day you +are _good_ enough for Lutie to marry all over again, I will pay to mother +for you the full amount that Lutie would owe her in violating the +contract. You will not receive a cent of it, you see. But you understand +how rotten it would be for you and Lutie to--" + +"I see, I see," cried he, striking his knee with his clenched hand. "We +couldn't do it, that's all. It's awfully good of you, Anne, to do this for +me. I'll--I'll never forget it. And I'll pay you back somehow before we're +through, see if I don't." He was already assuming that the task of winning +back Lutie was joyously on the way to certain consummation. + +"I am a rich woman," said Anne, compressing her lips. "I sha'n't miss a +few dollars, you know. To-morrow I am to go with Mr. Hollenback to the +safety vaults. A fortune will be placed in my hands. The deal will be +closed." + +"It's a lot of money," said George, shaking his head gloomily. It was as +if he had said that it was money she shouldn't speak of with pride. "I +say, Anne, do you know just how mother is fixed for money? Last winter she +told me she might have to sell the house and--" + +"I know," said Anne shortly. "I intend to share the spoils with her, in a +way, even though she can't share the shame with me. She brought us up, +George, and she made us the noble creatures that we are. We owe her +something for that, eh? Oh, I am not as bitter as I appear to be, so don't +look shocked. Mother has her ideals, and she is honest about them. She is +a wonderful woman, a wonderful mother. She did her best for us in every +way possible. I don't blame her for what has happened to me. I blame +myself. She is not half as mean as I am, George, and she isn't one-tenth +as weak-kneed as you. She stood by both of us, and I for one shall stand +by her. So don't you worry about mother, old boy. Worry about the honest +job you are expected to get--and hold." + +Later on she said to him: "Some day I shall make it a point to see Lutie. +I will shake hands with her. You see, George dear," she went on +whimsically, "I don't in the least object to divorcees. They are not half +as common as divorces. And as for your contention that if you and Lutie +had a child to draw you together, I can only call your attention to the +fact that there are fewer divorces among people who have no children than +among those who have. The records--or at least the newspapers--prove that to +be a fact. In nine-tenths of the divorce cases you read about, the custody +of children is mentioned. That should prove something, eh? It ought to put +at rest forever the claim that children bind mismated people together. +They don't, and that is all there is about it." + +George grinned in his embarrassment. "Well, I'll be off now, Anne. I'll +see Simmy this afternoon, as you suggest, and--" he hesitated, the worried +look coming into his eyes once more--"Oh, I say, Anne, I can't help +repeating what I said about your seeing Braden. Don't--" + +"Good-bye, George," she broke in abruptly, a queer smile on her lips. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + +Braden Thorpe realised that he would have to pay, one way or another, for +what had happened in the operating room. Either his honour or his skill +would be attacked for the course his knife had taken. + +The day after his grandfather's death, he went to the office of Dr. Bates, +the deposed family physician and adviser. He did not go in a cringing, +apologetic spirit, but as one unafraid, as one who is justified within +himself and fears not the report of evil. His heart was sore, for he knew +he was to be misjudged. Those men who looked on while he worked so +swiftly, so surely, so skilfully in that never-to-be-forgotten hour, were +not to be deceived. He knew too well that he had performed with the most +noteworthy skill, and, if he had any other feeling than that of grief for +the death of one who had been dear to him, it was that of pride in the +consciousness that he deserved the praise of these men for the manner in +which he performed the most delicate of operations. He knew that they +knew, quite as well as he, that but for the fatal swerving of half an inch +of the instrument in his steady fingers, Templeton Thorpe would not only +be alive at that moment but conceivably might be expected to survive for +many days. + +They had seen everything and they understood. He did not seek to conceal +the truth from himself. He had heard the sharply drawn breath that was +taken through the parted lips of his tense observers as that admirably +handled blade slid from its true course and spoiled what might have been +heralded as a marvellous feat in surgery. It was as if something had +snapped in the minds of these three men who watched. They had looked, +however, upon all that was before him as he worked. They had seen, as he +saw, the thing that no human skill could conquer. He felt their eyes upon +him as he turned the knife quickly, suddenly, surely, and then they had +looked into his eyes as he raised them for a second. He had spared his +grandfather another month of agony, and they had seen everything. It was +not unlikely that the patient might have survived the anaesthetic, and it +was equally probable that subsequent care on the part of the doctor and +the nurse might have kept him alive long enough to permit his case to be +recorded by virtue of his having escaped alive from the operating table, +as one of those exasperatingly smug things known to the profession as a +"successful operation,"--sardonic prelude to an act of God! + +There seems to be no such thing as an unsuccessful operation. If God would +only keep his finger out of the business, nothing could go wrong. It is +always the act of God that keeps a man from enjoying the fruits of an +absolutely successful operation. Up to the instant that Braden's knife +took its sanguinary course, there was every indication that the operation +would be successful, even though Mr. Thorpe were to breathe his last while +the necessary stitches were being taken. + +He had slept soundly throughout the night just past. For the first night +in a week his mind and body took the rest that had been denied them for so +long. The thing was behind him. It was over. He had earned his right to +sleep. When he laid his head upon the pillow there was no fear of evil +dreams, no qualms, no troubled conscience to baffle the demands of +exhaustion. He had done no wrong. His sleep was long, sweet, refreshing. +He had no fear of God in his soul that night, for he had spoken with God +in the silence of the long night before and he was at peace with Him. No +man could say that he had not tried to save the life of Templeton Thorpe. +He had worked with all the knowledge at his command; he himself felt that +he had worked as one inspired,--so much so, in fact, that he now knew that +never again in all his life would he be able to surpass or even equal the +effort of that unforgettable day. But he had recognised the futility of +skill even as it was being exerted to its utmost accomplishments. The +inevitable was bared to his intelligence. He had done his best for +Templeton Thorpe; no man could have done more than that. With the eyes of +other men upon him, eyes that saw all that he saw, he took it upon himself +to spare his grandfather the few days that might have been added to his +hell by an act less kind,--though no doubt more eminently professional. + +And as he performed that final act of mercy, his mind and heart were on +the handshake, and the word of farewell that his benefactor had murmured +in his ear. Templeton Thorpe was at rest; he had thanked his grandson in +advance. + +So it was that Braden slept the night through without a tremor. But with +his waking came the sense of responsibility to others. Not to the world at +large, not to the wife of the dead man, but to the three sincere and +honourable members of his profession, who, no doubt, found themselves in a +most trying position. They were, in a way, his judges, and as such they +were compelled to accept their own testimony as evidence for or against +him. With him it was a matter of principle, with them a question of +ethics. As men they were in all probability applauding his act, but as +doctors they were bound by the first and paramount teachings of their +profession to convict him of an unspeakable wrong. It was his duty to +grant these men the right to speak of what they had seen. + +He went first to see Dr. Bates, his oldest friend and counsellor, and the +one man who could afterwards speak freely with the widow of the man who +had been his lifelong patient. Going down in the elevator from his room at +the hotel, Braden happened to glance at himself in the narrow mirror. He +was startled into a second sharp, investigating look. Strange that he had +not observed while shaving how thin his face had become. His cheeks seemed +to have flattened out leanly over night; his heavy eyes looked out from +shadowy recesses that he had failed to take account of before; there were +deeper lines at the corners of his mouth, as if newly strengthened by some +artful sculptor while he slept. He was older by years for that unguarded +sleep. Time had taken him unawares; it had slyly seized the opportunity to +remould his features while youth was weak from exhaustion. In a vague way +he recalled a certain mysterious change in Anne Tresslyn's face. It was +not age that had wrought the change in her, nor could it be age that had +done the same for him. + +The solution came to him suddenly, as he stepped out into the open air and +saw the faces of other men. It was strength, not weakness, that had put +its stamp upon his countenance, and upon Anne's; the strength that +survives the constructive years, the years of development. He saw this +set, firm strength in the faces of other men for the first time. They too +no doubt had awakened abruptly from the dream of ambition to find +themselves dominated by a purpose. That purpose was in their faces. +Ambition was back of that purpose perhaps, deep in the soul of the man, +but purpose had become the necessity. + +Every man comes to that strange spot in the dash through life where he +stops to divest himself of an ideal. He lays it down beside the road and, +without noticing, picks up a resolve in its place and strides onward, +scarcely conscious of the substitution. It requires strength to carry a +resolve. An ideal carries itself and is no burden. So each of these men in +the street,--truckman, motorman, merchant, clerk, what you will,--sets forth +each day with the same old resolution at his heels; and in their set faces +is the strength that comes with the transition from wonder to earnestness. +Its mark was stamped upon the countenances of young and old alike. Even +the beggar at the street corner below was without his ideal. Even he had a +definite, determined purpose. + +Then there was that subtle change in Anne. He thought of it now, most +unwillingly. He did not want to think of her. He was certain that he had +put her out of his thoughts. Now he realised that she had merely lain +dormant in his mind while it was filled with the intensities of the past +few days. She had not been crowded out, after all. The sharp recollection +of the impression he had had on seeing her immediately after his arrival +was proof that she was still to be reckoned with in his thoughts. + +The strange, elusive maturity that had come into her young, smooth +face,--that was it. Maturity without the passing of Youth; definiteness, +understanding, discovery,--a grip on the realities of life, just as it was +with him and all the others who were awake. A year in the life of a young +thing like Anne could not have created the difference that he felt rather +than saw. + +Something more significant than the dimensions of a twelve-month had added +its measure to Anne's outlook upon life. She had turned a corner in the +lane and was facing the vast plain she would have to cross unguided. She +had come to the place where she must think and act for herself,--and to +that place all men and all women come abruptly, one time or another, to +become units in the multitude. + +We do not know when we pass that inevitable spot, nor have we the power to +work backward and decide upon the exact moment when adolescence gave way +to manhood. It comes and passes without our knowledge, and we are given a +new vision in the twinkling of an eye, in a single beat of the heart. No +man knows just when he becomes a man in his own reckoning. It is not a +matter of years, nor growth, nor maturity of body and mind, but an +awakening which goes unrecorded on the mind's scroll. Some men do not note +the change until they are fifty, others when they are fifteen. +Circumstance does the trick. + +He was still thinking of Anne as he hurried up the front door-steps and +rang Dr. Bates' bell. She was not the same Anne that he had known and +loved, far back in the days when he was young. Could it be possible that +it was only a year ago? Was Anne so close to the present as all that, and +yet so indefinably remote when it came to analysing this new look in her +eyes? Was it only a year ago that she was so young and so unfound? + +A sudden sickness assailed him as he waited for the maid to open the door. +Anne had been made a widow. He, not God, was responsible for this new +phase in her life. Had he not put a dreadful charge upon her conscience? +Had he not forced her to share the responsibility with him? And, while the +rest of the world might forever remain in ignorance, would it ever be +possible for her to hide the truth from herself? + +She knew what it all meant, and she had offered to share the consequences +with him, no matter what course his judgment led him to pursue. He had not +considered her until this instant as a partner in the undertaking, but now +he realised that she must certainly be looking upon herself as such. His +heart sank. He had made a hideous mistake. He should not have gone to her. +She could not justify herself by the same means that were open to him. + +From her point of view, he had killed her husband, and with her consent! + +He found himself treating the dead man in a curiously detached fashion, +and not as his own blood-relation. Her husband, that was the long and the +short of his swift reflections, not his grandfather. All her life she +would remember that she had supported him in an undertaking that had to do +with the certain death of her husband, and no matter how merciful, how +sensible that act may have been, or how earnestly he may have tried to see +his way clear to follow a course opposed to the one he had taken, the fact +remained that she had acknowledged herself prepared for just what +subsequently happened in the operating room. + +Going back to the beginning, Templeton Thorpe's death was in her mind the +day she married him. It had never been a question with her as to how he +should die, but _when_. But this way to the desired end could never have +been included in her calculations. _This_ was not the way out. + +She had been forced to take a stand with him in this unhappy business, and +she would have to pay a cost that he could not share with her, for his +conscience was clear. What were her thoughts to-day? With what ugly crime +was she charging herself? Was she, in the secrecy of her soul, convicting +herself of murder? Was _that_ what he had given her to think about all the +rest of her life? + +The servant was slow in answering the bell. They always are at the homes +of doctors. + +"Is Dr. Bates at home?" + +"Office hours from eight to nine, and four to six." + +"Say that Dr. Thorpe wishes to see him." + +This seemed to make a difference. "He is out, Dr. Thorpe. We expect him in +any moment though. For lunch. Will you please to come in and wait?" + +"Thank you." + +She felt called upon to deliver a bit of information. "He went down to see +Mrs. Thorpe, sir,--your poor grandmother." + +"I see," said Braden dully. It did not occur to him that enlightenment was +necessary. A queer little chill ran through his veins. Was Dr. Bates down +there now, telling Anne all that he knew, and was she, in the misery of +remorse, making him her confessor? In the light of these disturbing +thoughts, he was fast becoming blind to the real object of this, the first +of the three visits he was to make. + +Dr. Bates found him staring gloomily from the window when he came into the +office half an hour later, and at once put the wrong though obvious +construction upon his mood. + +"Come, come, my boy," he said as they shook hands; "put it out of your +mind. Don't let the thing weigh like this. You knew what you were about +yesterday, so don't look back upon what happened with--" + +Braden interrupted him, irrelevantly. "You've been down to see Mrs. +Thorpe. How is she? How does she appear to be taking it?" He spoke +rapidly, nervously. + +"As well as could be expected," replied the older man drily. "She is glad +that it's all over. So are we all, for that matter." + +"Did she send for you?" + +"Yes," said Dr. Bates, after an instant's hesitation. "I'll be frank with +you, Braden. She wanted to know just what happened." + +"And you told her?" + +"I told her that you did everything that a man could do," said the other, +choosing his words with care. + +"In other words, you did not tell her what happened." + +"I did not, my boy. There is no reason why she should know. It is better +that she should never know," said Dr. Bates gravely. + +"What did she say?" asked Braden sharply. + +Dr. Bates suddenly was struck by the pallor in the drawn face. "See here, +Braden, you must get a little rest. Take my advice and--" + +"Tell me what she had to say," insisted the young man. + +"She cried a little when I told her that you had done your best, and +that's about all." + +"Didn't she confess that she expected--that she feared I might have--" + +"Confess? Why do you use that word?" demanded Dr. Bates, as the young man +failed to complete his sentence. His gaze was now fixed intently on +Braden's face. A suspicion was growing in his mind. + +"I am terribly distressed about something, Dr. Bates," said Braden, +uneasily. "I wish you would tell me everything that Anne had to say to +you." + +"Well, for one thing, she said that she knew you would do everything in +your power to bring about a successful result. She seemed vastly relieved +when I told her that you had done all that mortal man could do. I don't +believe she has the faintest idea that--that an accident occurred. Now that +I think of it, she did stop me when I undertook to convince her that your +bark is worse than your bite, young man,--in other words, that your +theories are for conversational and not practical purposes. Yes, she cut +me off rather sharply. I hadn't attached any importance to her--See here, +Braden," he demanded suddenly, "is there any reason why she should have +cut me off like that? Had she cause to feel that you might have put into +practice your--your--Come, come, you know what I mean." He was leaning +forward in his chair, his hands gripping the arm-rests. + +"She is more or less in sympathy with my views," said Braden warily. "Of +course, you could not expect her to be in sympathy with them in this case, +however." He put it out as a feeler. + +"Well, I should say not!" exclaimed Dr. Bates. "It's conceivable that she +may have been in some doubt, however, until I reassured her. By George, I +am just beginning to see through her, Braden. She had me down there to--to +set her mind at rest about--about _you_. 'Pon my soul, she did it neatly, +too." + +"And she believes--you think she believes that her mind is at rest?" + +"That's an odd question. What do you mean?" + +"Just that. Does she believe that you told her the truth?" + +"Oh! I see. Well, a doctor has to tell a good many lies in the course of a +year. He gets so that he can tell them with a straighter face than when +he's telling the truth. I don't see why Mrs. Thorpe should doubt my +word--my professional word--unless there is some very strong reason for +doing so." He continued to eye Braden keenly. "Do you know of any reason?" + +Thorpe by this time was able to collect himself. The primal instinct to +unburden himself to this old, understanding friend, embraced sturdy, +outspoken argument in defence of his act, but this defence did not +contemplate the possible inclusion of Anne. He was now satisfied that she +had not delivered herself into the confidence of Dr. Bates. She had kept +her secret close. It was not for him to make revelations. The newly +aroused fear that even this good old friend might attach an unholy design +to their motives impelled him to resort to equivocation, if not to actual +falsehood. This was a side to the matter that had not been considered by +him till now. But he was now acutely aware of an ugly conviction that she +had thought of it afterwards, just as he was thinking of it now, hence her +failure to repeat to Dr. Bates the substance of their discussion before +the operation took place. + +He experienced an unaccountable, disquieting sensation of guilt, of +complicity in an evil deed, of a certain slyness that urged him to hide +something from this shrewd old man. To his utter amazement, he was saying +to himself that he must not "squeal" on Anne, his partner! He now knew +that he could never speak of what had passed between himself and Anne. Of +his own part in the affair he could speak frankly with this man, and with +all men, and be assured that no sinister motive would be attributed to +him. He would be free from the slightest trace of suspicion so long as he +stood alone in accounts of the happenings of the day before. No matter how +violent the criticism or how bitter the excoriation, he would at least be +credited with honest intentions. But the mere mention of Anne's name would +be the signal for a cry from the housetops, and all the world would hear. +And Anne's name would sound the death knell of "honest intentions." + +"As I said a moment ago, Dr. Bates, Mrs. Thorpe is fully aware of my +rather revolutionary views," he said, not answering the question with +directness. "That was enough to cause some uneasiness on my part." + +"Um! I dare say," said Dr. Bates thoughtfully. Back in his mind was the +recollection of a broken engagement, or something of the sort. "I see. +Naturally. I think, on the whole, my boy, she believes that I told her the +truth. You needn't be uneasy on that score. I--I--for a moment I had an idea +that you might have _said_ something to her." It was almost a question. + +Braden shook his head. His eyes did not flicker as he answered steadily: +"Surely you cannot think that I would have so much as mentioned my views +in discussing--" + +"Certainly not, my boy," cried the other heartily. Braden did not fail to +note the look of relief in his eye, however. "So now you are all right as +far as Mrs. Thorpe is concerned. I made a point of assuring her that +everything went off satisfactorily to the three of us. She need never know +the truth. You needn't feel that you cannot look her in the eyes, Braden." + +"'Gad, that sounds sinister," exclaimed Thorpe, staring. "That's what they +say when they are talking about thieves and liars, Dr. Bates." + +"I beg your pardon. I meant well, my boy, although perhaps it wasn't the +nice thing to say. And now have you come to tell me that it was an +accident, an unfortunate--" + +"No," said Braden, straightening up. "I come to you first, Dr. Bates, +because you are my oldest friend and supporter, and because you were the +lifelong friend of my grandfather. I am going also to Dr. Bray and Dr. +Ernest after I leave here. I do not want any one of you to feel that I +expect you to shield me in this matter. You are at liberty to tell all +that you know. I did what I thought was best, what my conscience ordered +me to do, and I did it openly in the presence of three witnesses. There +was no accident. No one may say that I bungled. No one--" + +"I should say you didn't bungle," said the older man. "I never witnessed a +finer--ahem! In fact, we all agree on that. My boy, you have a great future +before you. You are one of the most skilful--" + +"Thanks. I didn't come to hear words of praise, Dr. Bates. I came to +release you from any obligation that you may--" + +"Tut, tut! That's all right. We understand--perfectly. All three of us. I +have talked it over with Bray and Ernest. What happened up there yesterday +is as a closed book. We shall never open it. I will not go so far as to +say that we support your theories, but we do applaud your method. There +isn't one of us who would not have _felt_ like doing the thing you did, +but on the other hand there isn't one of us who could have done it. We +would have allowed him a few more days of life. Now that it is all over, I +will not say that you did wrong. I can only say that it was not right to +do the thing you did. However, it is your conscience and not mine that +carries the load,--if there is one. You may rest assured that not one of us +will ever voluntarily describe what actually took place." + +"But I do not want to feel that you regard it your duty to protect me from +the consequences of a deliberate--" + +"See here, my lad, do you want the world to know that you took your +grandfather's life? That's what it amounts to, you know. You can't go +behind the facts." + +Thorpe lowered his head. "It would be ridiculous for me to say that I do +not care whether the world knows the truth about it, Dr. Bates. To be +quite honest, sir, I do not want the world to know. You will understand +why, in this particular instance, I should dread publicity. Mr. Thorpe was +my grandfather. He was my benefactor. But that isn't the point. I had no +legal right to do the thing I did. I took it upon myself to take a step +that is not now countenanced by the law or by our profession. I did this +in the presence of witnesses. What I want to make clear to you and to the +other doctors is that I should have acted differently if my patient had +been any one else in the world. I loved my grandfather. He was my only +friend. He expected me to do him a great service yesterday. I could not +fail him, sir. When I saw that there was nothing before him but a few +awful days of agony, I did what he would have blessed me for doing had he +been conscious. If my patient had been any one else I should have adhered +strictly to the teachings of my profession. I would not have broken the +law." + +"Your grandfather knew when he went up to the operating room that he was +not to leave it alive. Is that the case?" + +"He did not expect to leave it alive, sir," amended Braden steadily. + +"You had talked it all over with him?" + +"I had agreed to perform the operation, that is all, sir. He knew that his +case was hopeless. That is why he insisted on having the operation +performed." + +"In other words, he deliberately put you in your present position? He set +his mind on forcing this thing upon you? Then all I have to say for +Templeton Thorpe is that he was a damned--But there, he's dead and gone +and, thank God, he can't hear me. You must understand, Braden, that this +statement of yours throws an entirely new light upon the case," said Dr. +Bates gravely. "The fact that it was actually expected of you makes your +act a--er--shall we say less inspirational? I do not believe it wise for you +to make this statement to my colleagues. You are quite safe in telling me, +for I understand the situation perfectly. But if you tell them that there +was an agreement--even a provisional agreement--I--well, the thing will not +look the same to them." + +"You are right, Dr. Bates," said Braden, after a moment. "Thank you for +the advice. I see what you mean. I shall not tell them all that I have +told you. Still, I am determined to see them and--" + +"Quite so. It is right that you should. Give them cause to respect you, my +boy. They saw everything. They are sound, just men. From what they have +said to me, you may rest assured that they do not condemn you any more +than I do. The anaesthetician saw nothing. He was occupied. That young +fellow--what's his name?--may have been more capable of observing than we'd +suspect in one so tender, but I fancy he wouldn't know _everything_. I +happen to know that he saw the knife slip. He mentioned it to Simeon +Dodge." + +"To Simmy Dodge!" + +"Yes. Dodge came to see me last night. He told me that the boy made some +queer statement to him about the pylorus, and he seemed to be troubled. I +set him straight in the matter. He doesn't know any more about the pylorus +than he knew before, but he does know that no surgeon on earth could have +avoided the accident that befell you in the crisis. Simmy, good soul, was +for going out at once and buying off the interne, but I stopped him. We +will take care of the young man. He doesn't say it was intentional, and we +will convince him that it wasn't. How do you stand with young George +Tresslyn?" + +"I don't know. He used to like me. I haven't seen--" + +"It appears that Simmy first inquired of George if he knew anything about +the pylorus. He is Mrs. Thorpe's brother. I should be sorry if he got it +into his head that--well, that there was anything wrong, anything that +might take him to her with ugly questions." + +"I shall have to chance that, Dr. Bates," said Braden grimly. + +"Mrs. Thorpe must never know, Braden," said the other, gripping his hands +behind his back. + +"If it gets out, she can't help knowing. She may suspect even now--" + +"But it is not to get out. There may be rumours starting from this +interne's remark and supported by your avowed doctrines, but we must +combine to suppress them. The newspapers cannot print a line without our +authority, and they'll never get it. They will not dare to print a rumour +that cannot be substantiated. I spoke of George a moment ago for a very +good reason. I am afraid of him. He has been going down hill pretty fast +of late. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that he had sunk low enough to +attempt blackmail." + +"Good heaven! Why--why, he's not that sort--" + +"Don't be too sure of him. He is almost in the gutter, they say. He's +_that_ sort, at any rate." + +"I don't believe George ever did a crooked thing in his life, poor devil. +He wouldn't dream of coming to me with a demand for--" + +"He wouldn't come to you," said the other, sententiously. "He would not +have the courage to do that. But he might go to Anne. Do you see what I +mean?" + +Braden shook his head. He recalled George's experiences in the sick-room +and the opportunity that had been laid before him. "I see what you mean, +but George--well, he's not as bad as you think, Dr. Bates." + +"We'll see," said the older man briefly. "I hope he's the man you seem to +think he is. I am afraid of him." + +"He loves his sister, Dr. Bates." + +"In that case he may not attempt to blackmail her, but it would not +prevent his going to her with his story. The fact that he does love her +may prove to be your greatest misfortune." + +"What do you mean?" + +"As I said before, Anne must never know," said Dr. Bates, laying his hand +on the young man's shoulder and gripping it suddenly. "Your grandfather +talked quite freely with me toward the end. No; Anne must never know." + +Braden stared at the floor in utter perplexity. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + +Wade went through the unnecessary form of "giving notice" a day or two +after his old master was laid to rest. On the day that Templeton Thorpe +went to the hospital he abandoned an almost lifelong habit of cocking his +head in an attitude of listening, and went about the house with the +corners of his mouth drooping instead of maintaining their everlasting +twist upward in the set smile of humility. + +He had been there for thirty years and more, and now he was no longer +needed. He would have to get out. He had saved a little money,--not much, +but enough to start a small business of some sort,--and he was complaining +bitterly to himself of the fate that deprived him of Mr. Thorpe's advice +just when it was imperative that he should know what enterprise would be +the safest for him to undertake. It nettled him to think that he had +failed to take advantage of his opportunities while this shrewd, capable +old man was alive and in a position to set him on the right path to +prosperity. He should have had the sense to look forward to this very day. + +For thirty years he had gone on believing that he knew so much more than +Mr. Thorpe that Mr. Thorpe couldn't possibly get along without him, and +now he was brought up sharply against the discovery that he couldn't get +along without Mr. Thorpe. For thirty years he had done only the things +that Mr. Thorpe wanted him to do, instructed him to do, or even drove him +to do. Suddenly he found himself with absolutely nothing to do, or at any +rate with no one to tell him what to do, and instead of a free and +independent agent, with no one to order him about, he wasn't anything,--he +wasn't anything at all. This was not what he had been looking forward to +with such complacency and confidence. He was like a lost soul. No one to +tell him what to do! No one to valet! No one to call him a blundering +idiot! No one to despise except himself! And he had waited thirty years +for the day to come when he could be his own man, with the power to tell +every one to go to the devil--and to do so himself if he saw fit. He hardly +recognised himself when he looked in the mirror. Was that scared, bleak, +wobegone face a reflection? Was he really like that? + +He was filled with a bitter rage against Mr. Thorpe. How he hated him for +dying like this and leaving him with nothing to do after all these years +of faithful service. And how shocked he was, and frightened, to discover +himself wanting to pause outside his master's door with his head cocked to +hear the voice that would never shout out to him again. + +He knew to a penny just how much he had in the Savings Banks about town,--a +trifle over twelve thousand dollars, the hoardings of thirty years. He had +gone on being a valet all these years without a single thought of being +anything else, and yet he had always looked forward to the day when he +could go into some nice, genteel little business for himself,--when he +could step out of service and enjoy life to the full. But how was he to go +about stepping out of service and into a nice, genteel little business +without Mr. Thorpe to tell him what to do? Here was he, sixty-five years +old, without a purpose in life. Beginning life at sixty-five! + +Of course, young Mrs. Thorpe would have no use for a valet. No doubt she +would marry again,--Wade had his notions!--but he couldn't think of +subjecting himself to the incompetency of a new master, even though his +old place were held open for him. He would not be able to adjust himself +to another master,--or to put it in his own words, it would be impossible +to adjust another master to himself. Young Master Braden might give him +something to do for the sake of old times, but then again Mrs. Thorpe +would have to be taken into consideration. Wade hadn't the slightest doubt +that she would one day "marry into the family again." As a matter of fact, +he believed in his soul that there was an understanding between the young +people. There were moments when he squinted his eyes and cringed a little. +He would have given a great deal to be able to put certain thoughts out of +his mind. + +And then there was another reason for not wanting to enter the service of +Dr. Braden Thorpe. Suppose he were to become critically ill. Would he, in +that event, feel at liberty to call in an outside doctor to take charge of +his case? Would it not be natural for Dr. Braden to attend him? And +suppose that Dr. Braden were to conclude that he couldn't get well! + +He gave notice to Murray, the butler. He hated to do this, for he despised +Murray. The butler would not have to go. He too had been with Mr. Thorpe +for more than a quarter of a century, and death had not robbed him of a +situation. What manner of justice was it that permitted Murray to go on +being useful while he had to go out into the world and become a burden to +himself? + +"Murray informs me, Wade, that you have given notice," said Anne, looking +up as he shuffled into an attitude before her. "He says that you have +saved quite a lot of money and are therefore independent. I am happy to +hear that you are in a position to spend the remainder of your life in +ease and--why, what is the matter, Wade?" + +He was very pale, and swayed slightly. "If you please, madam, Murray is +mistaken," he mumbled. An idea was forming in his unhappy brain. "I--I am +leaving because I realise that you no longer have any use for my services, +and not because I am--er--well off, as the saying is. I shall try to get +another place." His mind was clear now. The idea was completely formed. +"Of course, it will be no easy matter to find a place at my age, +but,--well, a man must live, you know." He straightened up a bit, as if a +weight had been lifted from his shoulders. + +She was puzzled. "But you have money, Wade. You have worked hard. You have +earned a good rest. Why should you go on slaving for other people?" + +"Alas," said Wade, resuming the patient smile that had been missing for +days and cocking his head a little, "it is not for me to rest. Murray does +not know everything. My savings are small. He does not know the uses to +which I have been obliged to--I beg pardon, madam, you cannot, of course, +be interested in my poor affairs." He was very humble. + +"But Mr. Thorpe always spoke of you as an exceedingly thrifty man. I am +sure that he believed you to be comfortably fixed for life, Wade." + +"Quite so," agreed Wade. "And I should have been had it been possible to +lay by with all these unmentioned obligations crowding upon me, year in, +year out." + +"Your family? I did not know that there was any one dependent upon you." + +"I have never spoken of my affairs, ma'am," said Wade. "It is not for a +servant to trouble his employer with--ahem! You understand, I am sure." + +"Perfectly. I am sorry." + +"So I thought I would give notice at once, madam, so that I might be on +the lookout as soon as possible for a new place. You see, I shall soon be +too old to apply for a place, whilst if I manage to secure one in time I +may be allowed to stay on in spite of my age." + +"Have you anything in view?" + +"Nothing, madam. I am quite at a loss where to--" + +"Take all the time you like, Wade," she said, genuinely sorry for the man. +She never had liked him. He was the one man in all the world who might +have pitied her for the mistake she had made, and he had steeled his heart +against her. She knew that he felt nothing but scorn for her, and yet she +was sorry for him. This was new proof to her that she had misjudged her +own heart. It was a softer thing than she had supposed. "Stay on here +until you find something satisfactory. Mr. Thorpe would have wished you to +stay. You were a very faithful friend to him, Wade. He set great store by +you." + +"Thank you, madam. You are very kind. Of course, I shall strive to make +myself useful while I remain. I dare say Murray can find something for me +to do. Temporarily, at least, I might undertake the duties of the furnace +man and handy-man about the house. He is leaving to-morrow, I hear. If you +will be so good as to tell Murray that I am to take O'Toole's +place,--temporarily, of course,--I shall be very grateful. It will give me +time to collect my thoughts, ma'am." + +"It will not be necessary, Wade, for you to take on O'Toole's work. I am +not asking you to perform hard, manual labor. You must not feel that my--" + +"Pardon me, madam," interrupted he; "I very much prefer to do some sort of +regular work, if I may be permitted." + +She smiled. "You will find Murray a hard task-master, I am afraid." + +He took a long breath, as of relief--or could it have been pleasure? "I +quite understand that, madam. He is a martinet. Still, I shall not mind." +The same thought was in the mind of each: he was accustomed to serving a +hard task-master. "If you don't mind, I shall take O'Toole's place until +you find some one else. To-morrow I shall move my belongings from the room +upstairs to O'Toole's room off the furnace-room. Thank--" + +"No!" she exclaimed. "You are not to do that. Keep your old room, Wade. +I--I cannot allow you to go down there. Mr. Thorpe would never forgive me +if he knew that--" He lifted his eyes at the sudden pause and saw that she +was very white. Was she too afraid of ghosts? + +"It's very good of you," he said after a moment. "I shall do as you wish +in everything, and I shall let you know the instant I find another place." +He cleared his throat. "I fear, madam, that in the confusion of the past +few days I have failed to express to you my sympathy. I assure you the +oversight was not--" + +She was looking straight into his eyes. "Thank you, Wade," she interrupted +coldly. "Your own grief would be sufficient excuse, if any were necessary. +If you will send Murray to me I will tell him that you have withdrawn your +notice and will stay on in O'Toole's place. It will not be necessary for +him to engage another furnace-man at present." + +"No, ma'am," said Wade, and then added without a trace of irony in his +voice: "At any rate not until cold weather sets in." + +And so it was that this man solved the greatest problem that had ever +confronted him. He went down into the cellars to take orders from the man +he hated, from the man who would snarl at him and curse him and humiliate +him to the bitter end, and all because he knew that he could not begin +life over again. He wanted to be ordered about, he wanted to be snarled at +by an overbearing task-master. It simplified everything. He would never be +called upon to think for himself. Thorpe or Murray, what mattered which of +them was in command? It was all the same to him. His dignity passed, away +with the passing of his career as a "Man," and he rejoiced in the belief +that he had successfully evaded the responsibilities that threatened him +up to the moment he entered the presence of the mistress of the house. He +was no longer without a purpose in life. He would not have to go out and +be independent. + +Toward the end of the second week Templeton Thorpe's will was read by +Judge Hollenback in the presence of "the family." There had been some +delay on account of Braden Thorpe's absence from the city. No one knew +where he had gone, nor was he ever to explain his sudden departure +immediately after the funeral. He simply disappeared from his hotel, +without so much as a bag or a change of linen in his possession, so far as +one could know. At the end of ten days he returned as suddenly and as +casually as he had gone away, but very much improved in appearance. The +strange pallor had left his cheeks and his eyes had lost the heavy, tired +expression. + +At first he flatly refused to go down for the reading of the will. He was +not a beneficiary under the new instrument and he could see no reason for +his attendance. Anne alone understood. The old vow not to enter the house +while she was its mistress,--that was the reason. He was now in a position +to revive that vow and to order his actions accordingly. + +She drooped a little at the thought of it. From time to time she caught +herself wishing that she could devise some means of punishing him, only to +berate herself afterward for the selfishness that inspired the thought. + +Still, why shouldn't he come there now? She was the same now that she was +before her marriage took place,--a year older, that was all, but no less +desirable. That was the one thing she could not understand in him. She +could understand his disgust, his scorn, his rage, but she could not see +how it was possible for him to hold out against the qualities that had +made him love her so deeply before she gave him cause to hate her. + +As for the operation that had resulted in the death of her husband, Anne +had but one way of looking at it. Braden had been forced to operate +against his will, against his best judgment. He was to be pitied. His +grandfather had failed in his attempt to corrupt the souls of others in +his desire for peace, and there remained but the one cowardly alternative: +the appeal to this man who loved him. In his extremity, he had put upon +Braden the task of performing a miracle, knowing full well that its +accomplishment was impossible, that failure was as inevitable as death +itself. + +The thought never entered her mind that in persuading Braden to perform +this strange act of mercy her husband may have been moved by the sole +desire to put the final touch to the barrier he had wrought between them. +The fact that Braden was responsible for his death had no sinister meaning +for her. It was the same as if he had operated upon a total stranger with +a like result and with perhaps identical motives. + +She kept on saying to herself that she had given up hope of ever regaining +the love she had lost. She tried to remember just when she had ceased to +hope. Was it before or after that last conversation took place in the +library? Hope may have died, but he was alive and she was alive. Then how +could love be dead? + +It was Simmy Dodge who prevailed upon Braden to be present at the reading +of the will. Simmy was the sort of man who goes about, in the goodness of +his heart, adjusting matters for other people. He constituted himself in +this instance, however, as the legal adviser of his old friend and +companion, and that gave him a certain amount of authority. + +"And what's more," he said in arguing with the obdurate Braden, "we'll +probably have to smash the will, if, as you say, you have been cut off +without a nickel. You--" + +"But I don't want to smash it," protested Braden. + +"And why not?" demanded Simmy, in surprise. "You are his only blood +relation, aren't you? Why the deuce should he leave everything away from +you? Of course we'll make a fight for it. I've never heard of a more +outrageous piece of--" + +"You don't understand, Simmy," Braden interrupted, suddenly realising that +his position would be a difficult one to explain, even to this good and +loyal friend. "We'll drop the matter for the present, at any rate." + +"But why should Mr. Thorpe have done this rotten, inconceivable thing to +you, Brady?" demanded Dodge. "Good Lord, that will won't stand a minute in +a court of--" + +"It will stand so far as I'm concerned," said Braden sharply, and Simmy +blinked his eyes in bewilderment. + +"You wouldn't be fighting Anne, you know," he ventured after a moment, +assuming that Braden's attitude was due to reluctance in that direction. +"She is provided for outside the will, she tells me." + +"Are you her attorney, Simmy?" + +"Yes. That is, the firm represents her, and I'm one of the firm." + +"I don't see how you can represent both of us, old chap." + +"That's just what I'm trying to get into your head. I couldn't represent +you if there was to be a fight with Anne. But we can fight these idiotic +charities, can't we?" + +"No," said Braden flatly. "My grandfather's will is to stand just as it +is, Simmy. I shall not contest for a cent. And so, if you please, there's +no reason for my going down there to listen to the reading of the thing. I +know pretty well what the document says. I was in Mr. Thorpe's confidence. +For your own edification, Simmy, I'll merely say that I have already had +my share of the estate, and I'm satisfied." + +"Still, in common decency, you ought to go down and listen to the reading +of the will. Judge Hollenback says he will put the thing off until you are +present, so you might as well go first as last. Be reasonable, Brady. I +know how you feel toward Anne. I can appreciate your unwillingness to go +to her house after what happened a year ago. Judge Hollenback declares +that his letter of instruction from Mr. Thorpe makes it obligatory for him +to read the document in the presence of his widow and his grandson, and in +the library of his late home. Otherwise, the thing could have been done in +Hollenback's offices." + +In the end Braden agreed to be present. + +When Judge Hollenback smoothed out the far from voluminous looking +document, readjusted his nose glasses and cleared his throat preparatory +to reading, the following persons were seated in the big, fire-lit +library: Anne Thorpe, the widow; Braden Thorpe, the grandson; Mrs. +Tresslyn, George Tresslyn, Simmy Dodge, Murray, and Wade, the furnace-man. +The two Tresslyns were there by Anne's request. Late in the day she was +overcome by the thought of sitting there alone while Braden was being +dispossessed of all that rightfully belonged to him. She had not intended +to ask her mother to come down for the reading. Somehow she had felt that +Mrs. Tresslyn's presence would indicate the consummation of a project that +had something ignoble about it. She knew that her mother could experience +no other sensation than that of curiosity in listening to the will. Her +interest in the affairs of Templeton Thorpe ended with the signing of the +ante-nuptial contract, supplemented of course by the event which +satisfactorily terminated the agreement inside of a twelve-month. But +Anne, practically alone in the world as she now found herself to be, was +suddenly aware of a great sense of depression. She wanted her mother. She +wanted some one near who would not look at her with scornful, bitter eyes. + +George's presence is to be quickly explained. He had spent the better part +of the week with Anne, sleeping in the house at her behest. For a week she +had braved it out alone. Then came the sudden surrender to dread, terror, +loneliness. The shadows in the halls were grim; the sounds in the night +were sinister, the stillness that followed them creepy; the servants were +things that stalked her, and she was afraid--mortally afraid in this home +that was not hers. She had made up her mind to go away for a long time +just as soon as everything was settled. + +As for the furnace-man, Judge Hollenback had summoned him on his arrival +at the house. So readily had Wade adapted himself to his new duties that +he now felt extremely uncomfortable and ill-at-ease in a room that had +been like home to him for thirty years. He seemed to feel that this was no +place for the furnace-man, notwithstanding the scouring and polishing +process that temporarily had restored him to a more exalted office,--for +once more he was the smug, impeccable valet. + +Braden was the last to arrive. He timed his arrival so that there could be +no possibility of an informal encounter with Anne. She came forward and +shook hands with him, simply, unaffectedly. + +"You have been away," she said, looking straight into his eyes. He was +conscious of a feeling of relief. He had been living in some dread of what +he might detect in her eyes. But it was a serene, frank expression that he +found in them, not a question. + +"Yes," he said. "I was tired," he added after a moment. + +She hesitated. Then: "I have not seen you, Braden, since--since the twenty- +first. You have not given me the opportunity to tell you that I know you +did all that any one could possibly do for Mr. Thorpe. Thank you for +undertaking the impossible. I am sorry--oh, so sorry,--that you were made to +suffer. I want you to remember too that it was with my sanction that you +made the hopeless effort." + +He turned cold. The others had heard every word. She had spoken without +reserve, without the slightest indication of nervousness or compunction. +The very thing that he feared had come to pass. She had put herself +definitely on record. He glanced quickly about, searching the faces of the +other occupants of the room. His gaze fell upon Wade, and rested for a +second or two. Something told him that Wade's gaze would shift,--and it +did. + +"I did everything, Anne. Thank you for believing in me." That was all. No +word of sympathy, no mawkish mumbling of regret, no allusion to his own +loss. He looked again into her eyes, this time in quest of the motive that +urged her to make this unnecessary declaration. Was there a deeper +significance to be attached to her readiness to assume responsibility? He +looked for the light in her eye that would convince him that she was +taking this stand because of the love she felt for him. He was +immeasurably relieved to find no secret message there. She had not stooped +to that, and he was gratified. Her eyes were clouded with concern for him, +that was all. He was ashamed of himself for the thought,--and afterwards he +wondered why he should have been ashamed. After all, it was only right +that she should be sorry for him. He deserved that much from her. + +An awkward silence ensued. Simmy Dodge coughed nervously, and then Braden +advanced to greet Mrs. Tresslyn. She did not rise. Her gloved hand was +extended and he took it without hesitation. + +"It is good to see you again, Braden," she said, with the bland, +perfunctory parting of the lips that stands for a smile with women of her +class. He meant nothing to her now. + +"Thanks," he said, and moved on to George, who regarded him with some +intensity for a moment and then gripped his hand heartily. "How are you, +George?" + +"Fine! First stage of regeneration, you know. I'm glad to see you, Brady." + +There was such warmth in the repressed tones that Thorpe's hand clasp +tightened. Tresslyn was still a friend. His interest quickened into a keen +examination of the young man who had pronounced himself in the first stage +of regeneration, whatever that may have signified to one of George's type. +He was startled by the haggard, sick look in the young fellow's face. +George must have read the other's expression, for he said: "I'm all +right,--just a little run down. That's natural, I suppose." + +"He has a dreadful cold," said Anne, who had overheard. "I can't get him +to do anything for it." + +"Don't you worry about me, Anne," said George stoutly. + +"Just the same, you should take care of yourself," said Braden. "Pneumonia +gets after you big fellows, you know. How are you, Wade? Poor old Wade, +you must miss my grandfather terribly. You knew him before I was born. It +seems an age, now that I think of it in that way." + +"Thirty-three years, sir," said Wade. "Nearly ten years longer than +Murray, Mr. Braden, It does seem an age." + +The will was not a lengthy document. The reading took no more than three +minutes, and for another full minute after its conclusion, not a person in +the room uttered a word. A sort of stupefaction held them all in its +grip,--that is, all except the old lawyer who was putting away his glasses +and waiting for the outburst that was sure to follow. + +In the first place, Mr. Thorpe remembered Anne. After declaring that she +had been satisfactorily provided for in a previous document, known to her +as a contract, he bequeathed to her the house in which she had lived for a +single year with him. All of its contents went with this bequest. To +Josiah Wade he left the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, to Edward +Murray ten thousand dollars, and to each of the remaining servants in his +household a sum equal to half of their earnings while in his service. +There were bequests to his lawyer, his doctor and his secretary, besides +substantial gifts to persons who could not by any chance have expected +anything from this grim old man,--such as the friendly doorman at his +favourite club, and the man who had been delivering newspapers to him for +a score of years or more, and the old negro bootblack who had attended him +at the Brevoort in the days before the Italian monopoly set in, and the +two working-girls who supported the invalid widow of a man who had gone to +prison and died there after having robbed the Thorpe estate of a great +many thousands of dollars while acting as a confidential and trusted +agent. + +Then came the astounding disposition of the fortune that had accumulated +in the time of Templeton Thorpe. There were no bequests outright to +charity, contrary to all expectations. The listeners were prepared to hear +of huge gifts to certain institutions and societies known to have been +favoured by the testator. Various hospitals were looked upon as sure to +receive splendid endowments, and specific colleges devoted to the +advancement of medical and surgical science were also regarded as +inevitable beneficiaries. It was all cut and dried, so far as Judge +Hollenback's auditors were concerned,--that is to say, prior to the reading +of the will. True, the old lawyer had declared in the beginning, that the +present will was drawn and signed on the afternoon of the day before the +death of Mr. Thorpe, and that a previous instrument to which a codicil had +been affixed was destroyed in the presence of two witnesses. The +instrument witnessed by Wade and Murray was the one that had been +destroyed. This should have aroused uneasiness in the mind of Braden +Thorpe, if no one else, but he was slow to recognise the significance of +the change in his grandfather's designs. + +With his customary terseness, Templeton Thorpe declared himself to be +hopelessly ill but of sound mind at the moment of drawing his last will +and testament, and suffering beyond all human endurance. His condition at +that moment, and for weeks beforehand, was such that death offered the +only panacea. He had come to appreciate the curse of a life prolonged +beyond reason. Therefore, in full possession of all his faculties and +being now irrevocably converted to the principles of mercy advocated by +his beloved grandson, Braden Lanier Thorpe, he placed the residue of his +estate in trust, naming the aforesaid Braden Lanier Thorpe as sole +trustee, without bond, the entire amount to be utilised and expended by +him in the promotion of his noble and humane propaganda in relation to the +fate of the hopelessly afflicted among those creatures fashioned after the +image of God. The trust was to expire with the death of the said Braden +Lanier Thorpe, when all funds remaining unused for the purposes herein set +forth were to go without restriction to the heirs of the said trustee, +either by bequest or administration. + +In so many words, the testator rested in his grandson full power and +authority to use these funds, amounting to nearly six million dollars, as +he saw fit in the effort to obtain for the human sufferer the same mercy +that is extended to the beast of the field, and to make final disposition +of the estate in his own will. Realising the present hopelessness of an +attempt to secure legislation of this character, he suggested that first +of all it would be imperative to prepare the way to such an end by +creating in the minds of all the peoples of the world a state of common +sense that could successfully combat and overcome love, sentimentality and +cowardice! For these three, he pointed out, were the common enemy of +reason. "And in compensation for the discharge of such duties as may come +under the requirements of this trusteeship, the aforesaid Braden Lanier +Thorpe shall receive the fees ordinarily allotted by law and, in addition, +the salary of twenty-five thousand dollars per annum, until the terms of +this instrument are fully carried out." + +Anne Tresslyn Thorpe was named as executrix of the will. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + +Simmy Dodge was the first to speak. He was the first to grasp the full +meaning of this deliberately ambiguous will. His face cleared. + +"By Jove!" he exclaimed, without respect for the proprieties. He slapped +Braden on the back, somewhat enthusiastically. "We sha'n't have to smash +it, after all. It's the cleverest thing I've ever listened to, old man. +What a head your grandfather had on his--" + +Braden leaped to his feet, his face quivering. "Of course we'll smash it," +he stormed. "Do you suppose or imagine for an instant that I will allow +such a thing as that to stand? Do you--" + +"Go slow, Brady, go slow," broke in his excited, self-appointed lawyer. +"Can't you see through it? Can't you see what he was after? Why, good +Lord, man, he has made you the principal legatee,--he has actually given +you _everything_. All this rigmarole about a trust or a foundation or +whatever you want to call it amounts to absolutely nothing. The money is +yours to do what you like with as long as you live. You have complete +control of every dollar of it. No one else has a thing to say about it. +Why, it's the slickest, soundest will I've--" + +"Oh, my God!" groaned Braden, dropping into a chair and covering his face +with his hands. + +Judge Hollenback was smiling benignly. He had drawn the will. He knew that +it was sound, if not "slick," as Simmy had described it. The three +Tresslyns leaned forward in their chairs, bewildered, dumbfounded. Their +gaze was fixed on the shaking figure of Braden Thorpe. + +As for Wade, he had sunk helplessly into a chair. A strange, hunted look +appeared in his eyes. His chin sank lower and lower, and his body +twitched. He was not caring what happened to Braden Thorpe, he was not +even thinking about the vast fortune that had been placed at the young +man's disposal. His soul was sick. In spite of all that he could do to +prevent it, his gaze went furtively to Murray's rubicund jowl, and then +shifted to the rapt, eager face of his young mistress. Twenty-five +thousand dollars! There was no excuse for him now. With all that money he +could not hope to stay on in service. He was rich. He would have to go out +into the world and shift for himself. He could not go on 'tending furnace +for Mrs. Thorpe,--he couldn't take the bread out of some deserving +wretch's mouth by hanging onto the job with all that money in his +possession. Mrs. Thorpe would congratulate him on the morrow, and turn him +out. And no one would tell him where to go,--unless it might be Murray, in +a fit of anger. + +"Mr. Thorpe was not moved by any desire to circumvent certain--perhaps I +should say that he intended you, Dr. Thorpe, to act in strict accordance +with the provisions of the will," said Judge Hollenback. "He did not lose +sight of the fact that he had promised to leave you out of his will +completely. This money is not yours. It is in your hands as trustee. Mr. +Dodge is wrong. Your grandfather was very deeply in earnest when he +authorised the drawing of this instrument. You will discover, on reading +it carefully and thoughtfully, that he does not give you the right to +divert any of this money to your own private uses, but clearly says that +it is to be employed, under your sole direction and as you see fit, for +the carrying out of your ideas along certain lines. He has left a letter +for you, Dr. Thorpe, which I have been privileged to read. You will find +it in this envelope. For the benefit of future beneficiaries under this +instrument, I may say that he expresses the hope and desire that you will +not permit the movement to languish after your death. In fact, he +expressly instructs you to establish during your life time a systematic +scheme of education by reason of which the world eventually may become +converted to the ideas which you promulgate and defend. He realised that +this cannot he brought about in one generation, nor in two, three or four. +Indeed, he ventures the opinion that two centuries may pass before this +sound and sensible theory of yours,--the words are his, not mine,--becomes a +reality. Two centuries, mind you. So, you will see, he does not expect you +to perform a miracle, Braden. You are to start the ball rolling, so to +speak, in a definite, well-supported groove, from which there can be no +deviation. By this will, you are to have free and unhampered use of a vast +sum of money. He does not bind you in any particular. So much for the +outward expression of the will. Inversely, however, as you will find by +reading this letter, you are not so completely free to exercise your own +discretion. You will find that while he gives to you the undisputed right +to bequeath this fortune as you may see fit at the expiration of your term +as trustee--in short, at your death,--he suggests that,--being an honourable +and conscientious man to his certain knowledge,--you will create a so- +called foundation for the perpetuation of your ideas--and his, I may add. +This foundation is to grow out of and to be the real development of the +trust over which you now have absolute control. But all this, my friend, +we may discuss later on. The real significance of Mr. Thorpe's will is to +be found in the faith he reposes in you. He puts you on your honour. He +entrusts this no inconsiderable fortune to your care. It rests entirely +with you as to the manner in which it shall be used. If you elect to +squander it, there is no one to say nay to you. It is expressly stated +here that the trust comprehends the spread of the doctrines you advocate, +but it does not pretend to guide or direct you in the handling of the +funds. Mr. Thorpe trusts you to be governed by the dictates of your own +honour. I have no hesitancy in saying that I protested against this +extraordinary way of creating a trust, declaring to him that I thought he +was doing wrong in placing you in such a position,--that is to say, it was +wrong of him to put temptation in your way. He was confident, however. In +fact, he was entirely satisfied with the arrangement. I will admit that at +the time I had a queer impression that he was chuckling to himself, but of +course I was wrong. It was merely the quick and difficult breathing of one +in dire pain. The situation is quite plain, ladies and gentlemen. The will +is sound. Mr. Dodge has observed,--somewhat hastily I submit,--that he +believes it will not have to be smashed. He says that the money has been +left to Dr. Thorpe, and that the trust is a rigmarole, or something of the +sort. Mr. Dodge is right, after a fashion. If Dr. Thorpe chooses to +violate his grandfather's staunch belief in his integrity, if he elects to +disregard the suggestions set down in this letter--which, you must +understand, is in no sense a legal supplement to the will,--he may justify +Mr. Dodge's contention that the fortune is his to do with as he pleases." +He turned to Anne. "I beg to inform you, Mrs. Thorpe, that your duties as +executrix will not prove onerous. Your late husband left his affairs in +such shape that there will be absolutely no difficulty in settling the +estate. It could be done in half an hour, if necessary. Everything is +ship-shape, as the saying is. I shall be glad to place myself at the +command of yourself and your attorneys. Have no hesitancy in calling upon +me." + +He waited. No one spoke. Braden was looking at him now. He had recovered +from his momentary collapse and was now listening intently to the old +lawyer's words. There was a hard, uncompromising light in his eyes,--a +sullen prophecy of trouble ahead. After a moment, Judge Hollenback +construed their silence as an invitation to go on. He liked to talk. + +"Our good friend Dodge says that no one else has a thing to say about the +manner in which the trustee of this vast fund shall disperse his dollars." +(Here he paused, for it sounded rather good to him.) "Ahem! Now does Mr. +Dodge really believe what he says? Just a moment, please. I am merely +formulating--er--I beg pardon, Mrs. Thorpe. You were saying--?" + +"I prefer not to act as executrix of the will, Judge Hollenback," said +Anne dully. "How am I to go about being released from--" + +"My dear Mrs. Thorpe, you must believe me when I say that your +duties,--er--the requirements,--are practically _nil_. Pray do not labour +under the impression that--" + +"It isn't that," said Anne. "I just don't want to serve, that's all. I +shall refuse." + +"My daughter will think the matter over for a few days, Judge Hollenback," +said Mrs. Tresslyn suavely. "She _does_ feel, I've no doubt, that it would +be a tax on her strength and nerves. In a few days, I'm sure, she will +feel differently." She thought she had sensed Anne's reason for +hesitating. Mrs. Tresslyn had been speechless with dismay--or perhaps it +was indignation--up to this moment. She had had a hard fight to control her +emotions. + +"We need not discuss it now, at any rate," said Anne. She found it +extremely difficult to keep from looking at Braden as she spoke. Something +told her that he was looking hard at her. She kept her face averted. + +"Quite right, quite right," said Judge Hollenback. "I hope you will +forgive me, Braden, for mentioning your--er--theories,--the theories which +inspired the somewhat disturbing clause in your grandfather's will. I feel +that it is my duty to explain my position in the matter. I was opposed to +the creation of this fund. I tried to make your grandfather see the utter +fallacy of his--shall we call it whim? Now, I will not put myself in the +attitude of denying the true humanity of your theory. I daresay it has +been discussed by physicians for ages. It was my aim to convince your +grandfather that all the money in the world cannot bring about the result +you desire. I argued from the legal point of view. There are the insurance +companies to consider. They will put obstacles in the way of--" + +"Pardon me, Judge Hollenback," interrupted Braden steadily. "I do not +advocate an illegal act. We need not discuss my theories, however. The +absurdity of the clause in my grandfather's will is as clear to me as it +is to you. The conditions cannot be carried out. I shall refuse to accept +this trusteeship." + +Judge Hollenback stared. "But, my dear friend, you must accept. What is to +become of the--er--money if you refuse to act? You can't possibly refuse. +There is no other provision for the disposition of the estate. He has put +it squarely up to you. There is no other solution. You may be sure, sir, +that I do not care what you do with the money, and I fancy no one else +will undertake to define your--" + +"Just the same, sir, I cannot and will not accept," said Braden, finality +in his tone. "I cannot tell you how shocked, how utterly overwhelmed I am +by--" + +Simmy interrupted him. "I'd suggest, old fellow, that you take Mr. +Thorpe's letter to your rooms and read it. Take time to think it all out +for yourself. Don't go off half-cocked like this." + +"You at least owe it to yourself and to your grandfather--" began Judge +Hollenback soothingly, but was cut short by Braden, who arose and turned +to the door. There he stopped and faced them. + +"I'm sorry, Judge Hollenback, but I must ask you to consider the matter +closed. I shall leave you and Mr. Dodge to find a satisfactory solution. +In the first place, I am a practising physician and surgeon. I prefer to +regulate my own life and my life's work. I need not explain to you just +how deeply I am interested in the saving of human life. That comes first +with me. My theories, as you call them, come second. I cannot undertake +the promotion of these theories as a salaried advocate. This is the only +stupid and impractical thing that my grandfather ever did, I believe. He +must have known that the terms of the will could not be carried out. Mr. +Dodge is right. It was his way of leaving the property to me after +declaring that he would not do so, after adding the codicil annulling the +bequest intended for me. He broke a solemn compact. Now he has made the +situation absolutely impossible. I shall not act as trustee of this fund, +and I shall not use a penny of the fortune 'as I see fit,' Judge +Hollenback. There must be some other channel into which all this money can +be diverted without--" + +"There is no provision, sir, as I said before," said Judge Hollenback +testily. "It can only be released by an act of yours. That is clear, quite +clear." + +"Then, I shall find a way," said Braden resolutely. "I shall go into court +and ask to have the will set aside as--" + +"That's it, sir, that's it," came an eager voice from an unexpected +quarter. Wade was leaning forward in his chair, visibly excited by the +prospect of relief. "I can testify, sir, that Mr. Thorpe acted +strangely,--yes, very queerly,--during the past few months. I should say +that he was of unsound mind." Then, as every eye was upon him, he subsided +as suddenly as he had begun. + +"Shut up!" whispered Murray, murderously, bending over, the better to +penetrate his ear. "You damn fool!" + +Judge Hollenback indulged in a frosty smile. "Mr. Wade is evidently +bewildered." Then, turning to Braden, he said: "Mr. Dodge's advice is +excellent. Think the matter over for a few days and then come to see me." + +"I am placed in a most unhappy position," said Braden, with dignity. "Mrs. +Thorpe appreciates my feelings, I am sure. She was led to believe, as I +was, that my grandfather had left me out of his will. Such a thing as this +subterfuge never crossed my mind, nor hers. I wish to assure her, in the +presence of all of you, that I was as completely ignorant of all this--" + +"I know it, Braden," interrupted Anne. "I know that you had nothing to do +with it. And for that reason I feel that you should accept the trust that +is--" + +"Anne!" cried out Braden, incredulously. "You cannot mean it. You--" + +"I do mean it," she said firmly. "It is your greatest justification. You +should carry out his wishes. He does not leave you the money outright. You +may do as you please with it, to be sure, but why should you agree with +Simmy that it may be converted solely to your own private uses? Why should +you feel that he intended you to have it all for your own? Does he not set +forth explicitly just what uses it is to be put to by you during your +lifetime? He puts you on your honour. He knew what he was about when he +overruled Judge Hollenback's objection. He knew that this trust would be +safe in your hands. Yes, Braden, he knew that you would not spend a penny +of it on yourself." + +He was staring at her blankly. Mrs. Tresslyn was speaking now, but it is +doubtful if he heard a word that she uttered. He was intent only upon the +study of Anne's warm, excited face. + +"Mr. Thorpe assured me a little over a year ago," began Anne's mother, a +hard light in her eyes, "that it was his determination to leave his +grandson out of his will altogether. It was his desire,--or at least, so he +said,--to remove from Braden's path every obstacle that might interfere +with his becoming a great man and a credit to his name. By that, of +course, he meant money unearned. He told me that most of his fortune was +to go to Charitable and Scientific Institutions. I had his solemn word of +honour that his grandson was to be in no sense a beneficiary under his +will. He--" + +"Please, mother!" broke in Anne, a look of real shame in her eyes. + +"And so how are we to reconcile this present foolishness with his very +laudable display of commonsense of a year ago?" went on Mrs. Tresslyn, the +red spot darkening in her cheek. "He played fast and loose with all of us. +I agree with Braden Thorpe. There was treachery in--" + +"Ahem!" coughed Judge Hollenback so loudly and so pointedly that the angry +sentence was not completed. + +Mrs. Tresslyn was furious. She had been cheated, and Anne had been +cheated. The old wretch had played a trick on all of them! He had bought +Anne for two millions, and now _nothing_,--absolutely _nothing_ was to go +to Charity! Braden was seven times a millionaire instead of a poor but +ambitious seeker after fame! + +In the few minutes that followed Judge Hollenback's cough, she had time to +restore her equanimity to its habitual elevation. It had, for once, +stooped perilously near to catastrophe. + +Meanwhile, her son George had arrived at a conclusion. He arose from his +chair with a wry face and a half uttered groan, and crossed over to +Braden's side. Strange, fierce pains were shooting through all the joints +and muscles of his body. + +"See here, Brady, I'd like to ask a question, if you don't mind." + +"I don't mind. What is it?" + +"Would you have operated on Mr. Thorpe if you'd known what was in this +will?" + +Braden hesitated, but only for a second. "Yes. My grandfather asked me to +operate. There was nothing else for me to do under the circumstances." + +"That's just what I thought. Well, all I've got to say is that so long as +you respected his wishes while he was alive it seems pretty rotten in you +to take the stand you're taking now." + +"What do you mean?" + +"He virtually asked you to make an end of him. You both knew there was no +chance. You operated and he died. I'm speaking plainly, you see. No one +blames you. You did your best. But it seems to me that if you could do +what he asked you to do at that time, you ought to do what he asks of you +now. As long as you were willing to respect his last wish alive, you ought +not to stir up a rumpus over his first wish dead." + +The two men were looking hard into each other's eyes. George's voice shook +a little, but not from fear or nervousness. He was shivering with the +chill that precedes fever. + +Anne drew a step or two nearer. She laid an appealing hand on George's +arm. + +"I think I understand you, George," said Thorpe slowly. "You are telling +me that you believe I took my grandfather's life by design. You--" + +"No," said George quietly, "I'm not saying that, Brady. I'm saying that +you owe as much to him now as you did when he was alive. If you had not +consented to operate, this will would never have been drawn. If you had +refused, the first will would have been read to-day. I guess you are +entirely responsible for the making of this new will, and that's why I say +you ought to be man enough to stand by your work." + +Thorpe turned away. His face was very white and his hands were clenched. + +Anne shook her brother's arm. "Why,--oh, why did you say that to him, +George? Why--" + +"Because it ought to have been said to him," said George coolly; "that's +why. He made old Mr. Thorpe see things from his point of view, and it's up +to him to shoulder the responsibility." + +Mrs. Tresslyn spoke to Murray. "Is there any reason why we shouldn't have +tea, Murray? Serve it, please." She turned to Judge Hollenback. "I don't +see any sense in trying to settle all the little details to-day, do you, +Judge Hollenback? We've done all that it is possible to do to-day. The +will has been read. That is all we came for, I fancy. I confess that I am +astonished by several of the provisions, but the more I think of them the +less unreasonable they seem to be. We have nothing to quarrel about. Every +one appears to be satisfied except Dr. Thorpe, so let us have tea--and +peace. Sit down, Braden. You can't decide the question to-day. It has too +many angles." + +Braden lifted his head. "Thank you, Mrs. Tresslyn; I shall not wait. At +what hour may I see you to-morrow, Judge Hollenback?" + +"Name your own hour, Braden." + +"Three o'clock," said Braden succinctly. He turned to George. "No hard +feelings, George, on my part." + +"Nor on mine," said George, extending his hand. "It's just my way of +looking at things lately. No offence was meant, Brady. I'm too fond of you +for that." + +"You've given me something to think about," said Thorpe. He bowed stiffly +to the ladies and Judge Hollenback. George stepped out into the hall with +him. + +"I intend to stick pretty close to Anne, Brady," he said with marked +deliberation. "She needs me just now." + +Thorpe started. "I don't get your meaning, George." + +"There will be talk, old man,--talk about you and Anne. Do you get it now?" + +"Good heaven! I--yes, I suppose there will be all sorts of conjectures," +groaned Braden bitterly. "People remember too well, George. You may rest +easy, however. I shall not give them any cause to talk. As for coming to +this house again, I can tell you frankly that as I now feel I could almost +make a vow never to enter its doors again as long as I live." + +"Well, I just thought I'd let you know how I stand in the matter," said +George. "I'm going to try to look out for Anne, if she'll let me. Good- +bye, Brady. I hope you'll count me as one of your friends, if you think +I'm worth while. I'm--I'm going to make a fresh start, you know." He +grinned, and his teeth chattered. + +"You'd better go to bed," said Braden, looking at him closely. "Tell Anne +that I said so, and--you'd better let a doctor look you over, too." + +"I haven't much use for doctors," said George, shaking his head. "I wanted +to kill you last winter when you cut poor little Lutie--Oh, but of course +you understand. I was kind of dotty then, I guess. So long." + +Simmy came to the library door and called out: "I'll be with you in a +second, Brady. I'm going your way, and I don't care which way you're +going. My car's outside." Re-entering the room, Mr. Dodge walked up to +Anne and actually shook her as a parent would shake a child. "Don't be +silly about it, Anne. You've got to accept the house. He left it to you +without--" + +"I cannot live up to the conditions. The will says that I must continue to +make this place my home, that I must reside here for--Oh! I cannot do it, +that's all, Simmy. I would go mad, living here. There is no use discussing +the matter. I will not take the house." + +"'Pon my soul," sighed Judge Hollenback, "the poor man seems to have made +a mess of everything. He can't even give his property away. No one will +take it. Braden refuses, Mrs. Thorpe refuses, Wade is dissatisfied--Ah, +yes, Murray seems to be pleased. One lump, Mrs. Tresslyn, and a little +cream. Now as for Wade's attitude--by the way, where is the man?" + +Wade was at the lower end of the hall, speaking earnestly in a tremulous +undertone to Braden Thorpe. + +"Yes, sir, Mr. Braden, there's only one thing to do. We've got to have it +set aside, declared void. You may count on me, sir. I'll swear to his +actions. Crazy as a loon, sir,--? crazy as a loon." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + + +Two days later George Tresslyn staggered weakly into Simmy Dodge's +apartment. He was not alone. A stalwart porter from an adjacent apartment +building was supporting him when Dodge's man opened the door. + +"This Mr. Dodge?" demanded the porter. + +"Mr. Dodge's man. Mr. Dodge isn't at 'ome," said Baffly quickly. + +"All right," said the porter, pushing past the man and leading George +toward a couch he had observed from the open door. "This ain't no jag, +Johnny. He's sick. Out of his head. Batty. Say, don't you know him? Am I +in wrong? He said he wanted to come here to--" + +George had tossed himself, sprawling, upon the long couch. His eyes were +closed and his breathing was stertorous. + +"Of course I know him. What--what is the matter with him? My Gawd, man, +don't tell me he is dying. What do you mean, bringing 'im 'ere? There will +be a coroner's hinquest and--" + +"You better get a doctor first. Waste no time. Get the coroner afterward +if you have to. You tell Mr. Dodge that he came into our place half an +hour ago and said he wanted to go up to his friend's apartment. He was +clean gone then. He wanted to lick the head porter for saying Mr. Dodge +didn't live in the buildin'. We saw in a minute that he hadn't been +drinkin'. Just as we was about to call an ambulance, a gentleman in our +building came along and reckonised him as young Mr. Tresslyn. Friend of +Mr. Dodge's. That was enough for us. So I brings him around. Now it's up +to you guys to look after him. Off his nut. My name's Jenks. Tell it to +Mr. Dodge, will you? And git a doctor quick. Put your hand here on his +head. Aw, he won't bite you! Put it _here_. Ever feel anything as hot as +that?" + +Baffly arose to the occasion. "Mr. Dodge 'as been hexpecting Mr. Tresslyn. +He will also be hexpecting you, Mr. Jenks, at six o'clock this evening." + +"All right," said Mr. Jenks. + +Baffly put George Tresslyn to bed and then called up Mr. Dodge's favourite +club. He never called up the office except as a last resort. If Mr. Dodge +wasn't to be found at any one of his nine clubs, or at certain +restaurants, it was then time for calling up the office. Mr. Dodge was not +in the club, but he had left word that if any one called him up he could +be found at his office. + +"Put him to bed and send for Dr. Thorpe," was Simmy's order a few minutes +later. + +"I've put 'im to bed, sir." + +"Out of his head, you say?" + +"I said, 'Put 'im to bed, sir,'" shouted Baffly. + +"I'll be home in half-an-hour, Baffly." + +Simmy called up Anne Thorpe at once and reported that George had been +found and was now in his rooms. He would call up later on. She was not to +worry,--and good-bye! + +It appears that George Tresslyn had been missing from the house near +Washington Square since seven o'clock on the previous evening. At that +hour he left his bed, to which Dr. Bates had ordered him, and made off in +the cold, sleety night, delirious with the fierce fever that was consuming +him. As soon as his plight was discovered, Anne called up Simmy Dodge and +begged him to go out in search of her sick, and now irresponsible brother. +In his delirium, George repeatedly had muttered threats against Braden +Thorpe for the cruel and inhuman "slashing of the most beautiful, the most +perfect body in all the world," "marking for life the sweetest girl that +God ever let live"; and that he would have to account to him for "the +dirty work he had done." + +Acting on this hint, Simmy at once looked up Braden Thorpe and put him on +his guard. Thorpe laughed at his fears, and promptly joined in the search +for the sick man. They thought of Lutie, of course, and hurried to her +small apartment. She was not at home. Her maidservant said that she did +not know where she could be found. Mrs. Tresslyn had gone out alone at +half-past seven, to dine with friends, but had left no instructions,--a +most unusual omission, according to the young woman. + +It was a raw, gusty night. A fine, penetrating sleet cut the face, and the +sharp wind drove straight to the marrow of the most warmly clad. Tresslyn +was wandering about the streets, witless yet dominated by a great purpose, +racked with pain and blind with fever, insufficiently protected against +the gale that met his big body as he trudged doggedly into it in quest +of--what? He had left Anne's home without overcoat, gloves or muffler. His +fever-struck brain was filled with a resolve that deprived him of all +regard for personal comfort or safety. He was out in the storm, looking +for some one, and whether love or hate was in his heart, no man could +tell. + +All night long Dodge and Thorpe looked for him, aided in their search by +three or four private detectives who were put on the case at midnight. At +one o'clock the two friends reappeared at Lutie's apartment, summoned +there by the detective who had been left on guard with instructions to +notify them when she returned. + +It was from the miserable, conscience-stricken Lutie that they had an +account of George's adventures earlier in the night. White-faced, scared +and despairing, she poured out her unhappy tale of triumph over love and +pity. The thing that she had longed for, though secretly dreaded, had +finally come to pass. She had seen her former husband in the gutter, +degraded, besotted, thoroughly reduced to the level from which nothing +save her own loyal, loving efforts could lift him. She had dreamed of a +complete conquest of caste, and the remaking of a man. She had dreamed of +the day when she could pick up from the discarded of humanity this +splendid, misused bit of rubbish and in triumph claim it as her own, to +revive, to rebuild, to make over through the sure and simple processes of +love! This had been Lutie Tresslyn's notion of revenge! + +She saw George at eight o'clock that night. As she stood in the shelter of +the small canvas awning protecting the entrance to the building in which +she lived, waiting for the taxi to pull up, her eyes searched the swirling +shadows up and down the street. She never failed to look for the distant +and usually indistinct figure of _her man_. It had become a habit with +her. The chauffeur had got down to crank his machine, and there was +promise of a no inconsiderable delay in getting the cold engine started. +She was on the point of returning to the shelter of the hallway, when she +caught sight of a tall, shambling figure crossing the street obliquely, +and at once recognised George Tresslyn. He was staggering. The light from +the entrance revealed his white, convulsed face. Her heart sank. She had +never seen him so drunk, so disgusting as this! The taxi-cab was twenty or +thirty feet away. She would have to cross a wet, exposed space in order to +reach it before George could come up with her. She realised with a quiver +of alarm that it was the first time in all these months that he had +ventured to approach her. It was clear that he now meant to accost her,--he +might even contemplate violence! She wanted to run, but her feet refused +to obey the impulse. Fascinated she watched the unsteady figure lurching +toward her, and the white face growing more and more distinct and +forbidding as it came out of the darkness. Suddenly she was released from +the spell. Like a flash she darted toward the taxi-cab. From behind came a +hoarse cry. + +"Lutie! For God's sake--" + +"Quick!" she cried out to the driver. "Open the door! Be quick!" + +The engine was throbbing. She looked back. George was supporting himself +by clinging to one of the awning rods. His legs seemed to be crumbling +beneath his weight. Her heart smote her. He had no overcoat. It was a bare +hand that gripped the iron rod and a bare hand that was held out toward +her. Thank heaven, he had stopped there! He was not coming on. + +"Lutie! Oh, Lutie!" came almost in a wail from his lips. Then he began to +cry out something incoherent, maudlin, unintelligible. + +"Never mind him," said the driver reassuringly. "Just a souse. Wants to +make a touch, madam. Streets are full of 'em these cold nights. He won't +bone you while I'm here. Where to?" He was holding the door open. + +Lutie hesitated. Long afterwards she recalled the strange impulse that +came so near to sending her back to the side of the man who cried out to +her from the depths of a bottomless pit. Something whispered from her +heart that _now was her time_,--_now_! And then came the loud cry from her +brain, drowning the timid voice of the merciful: "Wait! Wait! Not now! To- +morrow!" + +And while she stood there, uncertain, held inactive by the two warring +emotions, George turned and staggered away, reeling, and crying out in a +queer, raucous voice. + +"They'll get him," said the driver. + +"Who will get him?" cried Lutie, shrilly. + +"The police. He--" + +"No! No! It must not be _that_. That's not what I want,--do you hear, +driver? Not that. He must not be locked up--Oh!" George had collapsed. His +knees went from under him and he was half-prostrate on the curb. "Oh! He +has fallen! He has hurt himself! Go and see, driver. Go at once." She +forgot the sleet and the wind, and stood there wide-eyed and terrified +while the man shuffled forward to investigate. She hated him for stirring +the fallen man with his foot, and she hated him when he shook him +violently with his hands. + +"I better call a cop," said the man. "He's pretty full. He'll freeze if--I +know how it is, ma'am. I used to hit it up a bit myself. I--" + +"Listen!" cried Lutie, regaining the shelter of the awning, where she +stopped in great perturbation. "Listen; you must put him in your cab and +take him somewhere. I will pay you. Here! Here is five dollars. Don't mind +me. I will get another taxi. Be quick! There is a policeman coming. I see +him,--there by--" + +"Gee! I don't know where to take him. I--" + +"You can't leave him lying there in the gutter, man," she cried fiercely. +"The gutter! The gutter! My God, what a thing to happen to--" + +"Here! Get up, you!" shouted the driver, shaking George's shoulder. "Come +along, old feller. I'll look out for you. Gee! He weighs a ton." + +Tresslyn was mumbling, half audibly, and made little or no effort to help +his unwilling benefactor, who literally dragged him to his feet. + +"Is--is he hurt?" cried Lutie, from the doorway. + +"No. Plain souse." + +"Where will you take him?" + +The man reflected. "It wouldn't be right to take him to his home. Maybe +he's got a wife. These fellers beat 'em up when they get like this." + +"A wife? Beat them up--oh, you don't know what you are saying. He--" + +At this juncture George straightened out his powerful figure, shook off +the Samaritan and with a loud, inarticulate cry rushed off down the +street. The driver looked after the retreating figure in utter amazement. + +"By Gosh! Why--why; he ain't any more drunk than I am," he gasped. "Well, +can you beat that? All bunk! It beats thunder what these panhandlers will +do to pick up a dime or two. He was--say, he saw the cop, that's what it +was. Lord, look at him go!" + +Tresslyn was racing wildly toward the corner. Lutie, aghast at this +disgusting exhibition of trickery, watched the flying figure of her +husband. She never knew that she was clinging to the arm of the driver. +She only knew that her heart seemed to have turned to lead. As he turned +the corner and disappeared from view, she found her voice and it seemed +that it was not her own. He had swerved widely and almost lost his feet as +he made the turn. He _was_ drunk! Her heart leaped with joy. He _was_ +drunk. He had not tried to trick her. + +"Go after him!" she cried out, shaking the man in her agitation. "Find +him! Don't let him get away. I--" + +But the policeman was at her elbow. + +"What's the matter here?" he demanded. + +"Panhandler," said the driver succinctly. + +"Just a poor wretch who--who wanted enough for--for more drink, I suppose," +said Lutie, warily. Her heart was beating violently. She was immensely +relieved by the policeman's amiable grunt. It signified that the matter +was closed so far as he was concerned. He politely assisted her into the +taxi-cab and repeated her tremulous directions to the driver. As the +machine chortled off through the deserted street, she peered through the +little window at the back. Her apprehensions faded. The officer was +standing where she had left him. + +Then came Thorpe and Simmy Dodge in the dead hour of night and she learned +that she had turned away from him when he was desperately ill. Sick and +tortured, he had come to her and she had denied him. She looked so +crushed, so pathetic that the two men undertook to convince her that she +had nothing to fear,--they would protect her from George! + +She smiled wanly, shook her head, and confessed that she did not want to +be protected against him. She wanted to surrender. She wanted _him_ to +protect her. Suddenly she was transformed. She sprang to her feet and +faced them, and she was resolute. Her voice rang with determination, her +lips no longer drooped and trembled, and the appeal was gone from her +eyes. + +"He must be found, Simmy," she said imperatively. "Find him and bring him +here to me. This is his home. I want him here." + +The two men went out again, half an hour later, to scour the town for +George Tresslyn. They were forced to use every argument at their command +to convince her that it would be highly improper, in more ways than one, +to bring the sick man to her apartment. She submitted in the end, but they +were bound by a promise to take him to a hospital and not to the house of +either his mother or his sister. + +"He belongs to me," she said simply. "You must do what I tell you to do. +They do not want him. I do. When you have found him, call me up, Simmy, +and I will come. I shall not go to bed. Thank you,--both of you,--for--for--" +She turned away as her voice broke. After a moment she faced them again. +"And you will take charge of him, Dr. Thorpe?" she said. "I shall hold you +to your promise. There is no one that I trust so much as I do you." + +Thorpe was with the sick man when Simmy arrived at his apartment. George +was rolling and tossing and moaning in his delirium, and the doctor's face +was grave. + +"Pneumonia," he said. "Bad, too,--devilish bad. He cannot be moved, Simmy." + +Simmy did not blink an eye. "Then right here he stays," he said heartily. +"Baffly, we shall have two nurses here for a while,--and we may also have +to put up a young lady relative of Mr. Tresslyn's. Get the rooms ready. By +Jove, Brady, he--he looks frightfully ill, doesn't he?" His voice dropped +to a whisper. "Is he likely to--to--you know!" + +"I think you'd better send for Dr. Bates," said Braden gravely. "I believe +his mother and sister will be better satisfied if you have him in at once, +Simmy." + +"But Lutie expressly--" + +"I shall do all that I can to redeem my promise to that poor little girl, +but we must consider Anne and Mrs. Tresslyn. They may not have the same +confidence in me that Lutie has. I shall insist on having Dr. Bates called +in." + +"All right, if you insist. But--but you'll stick around, won't you, Brady?" + +Thorpe nodded his head. He was watching the sick man's face very closely. + +Half an hour later, Lutie Tresslyn and Anne Thorpe entered the elevator on +the first floor of the building and went up together to the apartment of +Simeon Dodge. Anne had lifted her veil,--a feature in her smart tribute to +convention,--and her lovely features were revealed to the cast-off sister- +in-law. For an instant they stared hard at each other. Then Anne, +recovering from her surprise, bowed gravely and held out her hand. + +"May we not forget for a little while?" she said. + +Lutie shook her head. "I can't take your hand--not yet, Mrs. Thorpe. It was +against me once, and I am afraid it will be against me again." She +detected the faintest trace of a smile at the corners of Anne's mouth. A +fine line appeared between her eyes. This fine lady could still afford to +laugh at her! "I am going up to take care of my husband, Mrs. Thorpe," she +added, a note of defiance in her voice. She was surprised to see the +smile,--a gentle one it was,--deepen in Anne's eyes. + +"That is why I suggested that we try to forget," she said. + +Lutie started. "You--you do not intend to object to my--" she began, and +stopped short, her eyes searching Anne's for the answer to the uncompleted +question. + +"I am not your enemy," said Anne quietly. She hesitated and then lowered +the hand that was extended to push the button beside Simmy's door. "Before +we go in, I think we would better understand each other, Lutie." She had +never called the girl by her Christian name before. "I have nothing to +apologise for. When you And George were married I did not care a pin, one +way or the other. You meant nothing to me, and I am afraid that George +meant but little more. I resented the fact that my mother had to give you +a large sum of money. It was money that I could have used very nicely +myself. Now that I look back upon it, I am frank to confess that therein +lies the real secret of my animosity toward you. It didn't in the least +matter to me whether George married you, or my mother's chambermaid, or +the finest lady in the land. You will be surprised to learn that I looked +upon myself as the one who was being very badly treated at the time. To +put it rather plainly, I thought you were getting from my mother a great +deal more than you were worth. Forgive me for speaking so frankly, but it +is best that you should understand how I felt in those days so that you +may credit me with sincerity now. I shall never admit that you deserved +the thirty thousand dollars you took from us, but I now say that you were +entitled to keep the man you loved and married. I don't care how unworthy +you may have seemed to us, you should not have been compelled to take +money for something you could not sell--the enduring love of that sick boy +in there. My mother couldn't buy it, and you couldn't sell it. You have it +still and always will have it, Lutie. I am glad that you have come to take +care of him. You spoke of him as 'my husband' a moment ago. You were +right. He _is_ your husband. I, for one, shall not oppose you in anything +you may see fit to do. We do not appear to have been capable of preserving +what you gave back to us--for better or for worse, if you please,--so I +fancy we'd better turn the job over to you. I hope it isn't too late. I +love my brother now. I suppose I have always loved him but I overlooked +the fact in concentrating my affection on some one else,--and that some one +was myself. You see I do not spare myself, Lutie, but you are not to +assume that I am ashamed of the Anne Tresslyn who was. I petted and +coddled her for years and I alone made her what she was, so I shall not +turn against her now. There is a great deal of the old Anne in me still +and I coddle her as much as ever. But I've found out something new about +her that I never suspected before, and it is this new quality that speaks +to you now. I ask you to try to forget, Lutie." + +Throughout this long speech Lutie's eyes never left those of the tall +young woman in black. + +"Why do you call me Lutie?" she asked. + +"Because it is my brother's name for you," said Anne. + +Lutie lowered her eyes for an instant. A sharp struggle was taking place +within her. She had failed to see in Anne's eyes the expression that would +have made compromise impossible: the look of condescension. Instead, there +was an anxious look there that could not be mistaken. She was in earnest. +She could be trusted. The old barrier was coming down. But even as her +lips parted to utter the words that Anne wanted to hear, suspicion +intervened and Lutie's sore, tried heart cried out: + +"You have come here to _claim_ him! You expect me to stand aside and let +you take him--" + +"No, no! He is yours. I _did_ come to help him, to nurse him, to be a real +sister to him, but--that was before I knew that you would come." + +"I am sorry I spoke as I did," said Lutie, with a little catch in her +voice. "I--I hope that we may become friends, Mrs. Thorpe. If that should +come to pass, I--am sure that I could forget." + +"And you will allow me to help--all that I can?" + +"Yes." Then quickly, jealously: "But he _belongs_ to me. You must +understand that, Mrs. Thorpe." + +Anne drew closer and whispered in sudden admiration. "You are really a +wonderful person, Lutie Carnahan. How _can_ you be so fine after all that +you have endured?" + +"I suppose it is because I too happen to love myself," said Lutie drily, +and turned to press the button. "We are all alike." Anne laid a hand upon +her arm. + +"Wait. You will meet my mother here. She has been notified. She has not +forgiven you." There was a note of uneasiness in her voice. + +Lutie looked at her in surprise. "And what has that to do with it?" she +demanded. + +Then they entered the apartment together. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + + +George Tresslyn pulled through. + +He was a very sick man, and he wanted to die. That is to say, he wanted to +die up to a certain point and then he very much wanted to live. Coming out +of his delirium one day he made a most incredible discovery, and at that +very instant entered upon a dream that was never to end. He saw Lutie +sitting at his bedside and he knew that it must be a dream. As she did not +fade away then, nor in all the mysterious days that followed, he came to +the conclusion that if he ever did wake up it would be the most horrible +thing that could happen to him. It was a most grateful and satisfying +dream. It included a wonderful period of convalescence, a delightful and +ever-increasing appetite, a painless return voyage over a road that had +been full of suffering on the way out, a fantastic experience in the +matter of legs that wouldn't work and wobbled fearfully, a constant but +properly subdued desire to sing and whistle--oh, it was a glorious dream +that George was having! + +For six weeks he was the uninvited guest of Simmy Dodge. Three of those +weeks were terrifying to poor Simmy, and three abounded with the greatest +joy he had ever known, for when George was safely round the corner and on +the road to recovery, the hospitality of Simmy Dodge expanded to hitherto +untried dimensions. Relieved of the weight that had pressed them down to +an inconceivable depth, Simmy's spirits popped upward with an +effervescence so violent that there was absolutely no containing them. +They flowed all over the place. All day long and most of the night they +were active. He hated to go to bed for fear of missing an opportunity to +do something to make everybody happy and comfortable, and he was up so +early in the morning that if he hadn't been in his own house some one +would have sent him back to bed with a reprimand. + +He revelled in the establishment of a large though necessarily +disconnected family circle. The nurses, the doctors, the extra servants, +Anne's maid, Anne herself, the indomitable Lutie, and, on occasions, the +impressive Mrs. Tresslyn,--all of these went to make up Simmy's family. + +The nurses were politely domineering: they told him what he could do and +what he could not do, and he obeyed them with a cheerfulness that must +have shamed them. The doctors put all manner of restrictions upon him; the +servants neglected to whisper when discussing their grievances among +themselves; his French poodle was banished because canine hospitality was +not one of the niceties, and furthermore it was most annoying to recent +acquaintances engaged in balancing well-filled cups of broth in transit; +his own luxurious bath-room was seized, his bed-chambers invested, his +cosy living-room turned into a rest room which every one who happened to +be disengaged by day or night felt free to inhabit. He had no privacy +except that which was to be found in the little back bedroom into which he +was summarily shunted when the occupation began, and he wasn't sure of +being entirely at home there. At any time he expected a command to +evacuate in favour of an extra nurse or a doctor's assistant. But through +all of it, he shone like a gem of purest ray. + +At the outset he realised that his apartment, commodious when reckoned as +a bachelor's abode, was entirely inadequate when it came to accommodating +a company of persons who were not and never could be bachelors. Lutie +refused to leave George; and Anne, after a day or two, came to keep her +company. It was then that Simmy began to reveal signs of rare strategical +ability. He invaded the small apartment of his neighbour beyond the +elevator and struck a bargain with him. The neighbour and his wife rented +the apartment to him furnished for an indefinite period and went to Europe +on the bonus that Simmy paid. Here Anne and her maid were housed, and here +also Mrs. Tresslyn spent a few nights out of each week. + +He studied the nurses' charts with an avid interest. He knew all there was +to know about temperature, respiration and nourishment; and developing a +sudden sort of lordly understanding therefrom, he harangued the engineer +about the steam heat, he cautioned the superintendent about noises, and he +held many futile arguments with God about the weather. Something told him +a dozen times a day, however, that he was in the way, that he was "a +regular Marceline," and that if Brady Thorpe had any sense at all he would +order him out of the house! + +He began to resent the speed with which George's convalescence was marked. +He was enjoying himself so immensely in his new environment that he hated +to think of going back to the old and hitherto perfect order of existence. +When Braden Thorpe and Dr. Bates declared one day that George would be +able to go home in a week or ten days, he experienced a surprising and +absolutely inexplicable sinking of the heart. He tried to persuade them +that it would be a mistake to send the poor fellow out inside of a month +or six weeks. That was the trouble with doctors, he said: they haven't any +sense. Suppose, he argued, that George were to catch a cold--why, the damp, +spring weather would raise the dickens--Anne's house was a drafty old barn +of a place, improperly heated,--and any fool could see that if George _did_ +have a relapse it would go mighty hard with him. Subsequently he sounded +the nurses, severally, on the advisability of abandoning the poor, weak +young fellow before he was safely out of the woods, and the nurses, who +were tired of the case, informed him that the way George was eating he +soon would be as robust as a dock hand. An appeal to Mrs. Tresslyn brought +a certain degree of hope. That lady declared, quite bitterly, that +inasmuch as her son did not seem inclined to return to _her_ home he might +do a great deal worse than to remain where he was, and it was some time +before Simmy grasped the full significance of the remark. + +He remembered hearing Lutie say that she was going to take George home +with her as soon as he was able to be moved! + +What was he to do with himself after all these people were gone? For the +first time in his life he really knew what it meant to have a home, and +now it was to be broken up. He saw more of his home in the five or six +weeks that George was there than he had seen of it all told in years. He +stayed at home instead of going to the club or the theatre or to stupid +dinner parties. He hadn't the faintest idea that a place where a fellow +did nothing but sleep and eat bacon and eggs could be looked upon as a +"home." He had thought of it only as an apartment, or "diggings." Now he +loved his home and everything that was in it. How he would miss the +stealthy blue linen nurses, and the expressionless doctors, and the odour +of broths and soups, and the scent of roses, and the swish of petticoats, +and the elevating presence of pretty women, and the fragrance of them, and +the sweet chatter of them--Oh my, oh me-oh-my! If George would only get +well in a more leisurely fashion! + +Certain interesting events, each having considerable bearing upon the +lives of the various persons presented in this narrative, are to be +chronicled, but as briefly as possible so that we may get on to the +results. + +Naturally one turns first to the patient himself. He was the magnet that +drew the various opposing forces together and, in a way, united them in a +common enterprise, and therefore is of first importance. For days his life +hung in the balance. Most of the time he was completely out of his head. +It has been remarked that he thought himself to be dreaming when he first +beheld Lutie at his bedside, and it now becomes necessary to report an +entirely different sensation when he came to realise that he was being +attended by Dr. Thorpe. The instant he discovered Lutie he manifested an +immense desire to live, and it was this desire that sustained a fearful +shock when his fever-free eyes looked up into the face of his doctor. +Terror filled his soul. Almost his first rational words were in the form +of a half-whispered question: "For God's sake, can't I get well? Is--is it +hopeless?" + +Braden was never to forget the anguish in the sick man's eyes, nor the +sagging of his limp body as if all of his remaining strength had given way +before the ghastly fear that assailed him. Thorpe understood. He knew what +it was that flashed through George's brain in that first moment of +intelligence. His heart sank. Was it always to be like this? Were people +to live in dread of him? His voice was husky as he leaned over and laid +his hand gently upon the damp brow of the invalid. + +"You are going to get well, George. You will be as sound as a rock in no +time at all. Trust me, old fellow,--and don't worry." + +"But that's what they always say," whispered George, peering straight into +the other's eyes. "Doctors always say that. What are you doing here, +Brady? Why have you been called in to--" + +"Hush! You're all right. Don't get excited. I have been with you from the +start. Ask Lutie--or Anne. They will tell you that you are all right." + +"I don't want to die," whined George. "I only want a fair chance. Give me +a chance, Brady. I'll show you that I--" + +"My God!" fell in agonised tones from Thorpe's lips, and he turned away as +one condemned. + +When Lutie and Anne came into the room soon afterward, they found George +in a state of great distress. He clutched Lutie's hand in his strong +fingers and drew her down close to him so that he could whisper furtively +in her ear. + +"Don't let any one convince you that I haven't a chance to get well, +Lutie. Don't let him talk you into anything like that. I won't give my +consent, Lutie,--I swear to God I won't. He can't do it without my consent. +I've just got to get well. I can do it if I get half a chance. I depend on +you to stand out against any--" + +Lutie managed to quiet him. Thorpe had gone at once to her with the story +and she was prepared. For a long time she talked to the frightened boy, +and at last he sank back with a weak smile on his lips, confidence +partially restored. + +Anne stood at the head of the bed, out of his range of vision. Her heart +was cold within her. It ached for the other man who suffered and could not +cry out. _This_ was but the beginning for him. + +In a day or two George's attitude toward Braden underwent a complete +change, but all the warmth of his enthusiastic devotion could not drive +out the chill that had entered Thorpe's heart on that never-to-be- +forgotten morning. + +Then there were the frequent and unavoidable meetings of Anne and her +former lover. For the better part of three weeks Thorpe occupied a room in +Simmy's apartment, to be constantly near his one and only patient. He +suffered no pecuniary loss in devoting all of his time and energy to young +Tresslyn. Ostensibly he was in full charge of the case, but in reality he +deferred to the opinions and advice of Dr. Bates, who came once a day. He +had the good sense to appreciate his own lack of experience, and thereby +earned the respect and confidence of the old practitioner. + +It was quite natural that he and Anne should come in contact with each +other. They met in the sick-room, in the drawing-room, and frequently at +table. There were times during the darkest hours in George's illness when +they stood side by side in the watches of the night. But not once in all +those days was there a word bearing on their own peculiar relationship +uttered by either of them. It was plain that she had the greatest +confidence in him, and he came, ere long, to regard her as a dependable +and inspired help. Unlike the distracted, remorseful Lutie, she was the +source of great inspiration to those who worked over the sick man. Thorpe +marvelled at first and then fell into the way of resorting to her for +support and encouragement. He had discovered that she was not playing a +game. + +Templeton Thorpe's amazing will was not mentioned by either of them, +although each knew that the subject lay uppermost in the mind of the +other. The newspapers printed columns about the instrument. Reporters who +laid in wait for Braden Thorpe, however, obtained no satisfaction. He had +nothing to say. The same reporters fell upon Anne and wanted to know when +she expected to start proceedings to have the will set aside. They seemed +astonished to hear that there was to be no contest on her part. She could +not tell them anything about the plans or intentions of Dr. Thorpe, and +she had no opinion as to the ultimate effect of the "Foundation" upon the +Constitution of the United States or the laws of God! + +As a matter of fact, she was more eager than any one else to know the +stand that Braden intended to take on the all-absorbing question. +Notwithstanding her peculiar position as executrix of the will under which +the conditions were created, she could not bring herself to the point of +discussing the salient feature of the document with him. And so there the +matter stood, unmentioned by either of them, and absolutely unsettled so +far as the man most deeply involved was concerned. + +Then came the day when Thorpe announced that it was no longer necessary +for him to impose upon Simmy's hospitality, and that he was returning that +evening to his hotel. George was out of danger. It was then that he said +to Anne: + +"You have been wonderful, Anne. I want to thank you for what you have done +to help me. You might have made the situation impossible, but--well, you +didn't, that's all. I am glad that you and that poor little woman in there +have become such good friends. You can do a great deal to help her--and +George. She is a brick, Anne. You will not lose anything by standing by +her now. As I said before, you can always reach me by telephone if +anything goes wrong, and I'll drop in every morning to--" + +"I want you to know, Braden, that I firmly believe you saved George for +us. I shall not try to thank you, however. You did your duty, of course. +We will let Lutie weep on your neck, if you don't mind, and you may take +my gratitude for granted." There was a slightly satirical note in her +voice. + +His figure stiffened. "I don't want to be thanked," he said,--"not even by +Lutie. You must know that I did not come into this case from choice. But +when Lutie insisted I--well, there was nothing else to do." + +"Would you have come if I had asked you?" she inquired, and was very much +surprised at herself. + +"No," he answered. "You would have had no reason for selecting me, and I +would have told you as much. And to that I would have added a very good +reason why you shouldn't." + +"What do you mean?" + +"I may as well be frank, Anne. People,--our own friends,--are bound to +discuss us pretty thoroughly from now on. No matter how well we may +understand each other and the situation, the rest of the world will not +understand, simply because it doesn't want to do so. It will wait,--rather +impatiently, I fear,--for the chance to say, 'I told you so.' Of course, +you are sensible enough to have thought of all this, still I don't see why +I shouldn't speak of it to you." + +"Has it occurred to you that our friends may be justified in thinking that +I _did_ call upon you to take this case, Braden?" she asked quietly. + +He frowned. "I daresay that is true. I hadn't thought of it--" + +"They also believe that I summoned you to take charge of my husband a few +weeks ago. No one has advised the world to the contrary. And now that you +are here, in the same house with me, what do you suppose they will say?" A +queer little smile played about her lips, a smile of diffidence and +apology. + +He gave her a quick look of inquiry. "Surely no one will--" + +"They will say the Widow Thorpe's devotion to her brother was not her only +excuse for moving into good old Simmy's apartment, and they will also say +that Dr. Thorpe must be singularly without practice in order to give all +of his time to a solitary case." + +"Oh, for heaven's sake, Anne," he cried impatiently, "give people credit +for having a little commonsense and charity. They--" + +"I don't give them credit for having anything of the kind," she said +coolly, "when it comes to discussing their fellow creatures. I hope you +are not distressed, Braden. As you have said, people will discuss us. We +cannot escape the consequences of being more or less public institutions, +you and I. Of course they will talk about our being here together. I knew +that when I came here three weeks ago." + +"Then why did you come?" he demanded. + +She replied with a directness that shamed him. "Because I do not want +people to talk about Lutie. That is one reason. Another is that I wanted +to do my share in looking after George." Suddenly her eyes narrowed. +"You--you do not imagine that I--I--you couldn't have thought _that_ of me, +Braden." + +He shook his head slowly. "If I had thought _that_, Anne, I should not +have told you a moment ago that you were wonderful," he said. + +Few women would have been content to let it go at that. It is the +prerogative of woman to expect more than a crumb, and, if it is not +forthcoming from others, to gratify the appetite by feeding confidently +upon herself. In this instance, Anne might have indulged herself in the +comfort of a few tremulous words of self-justification, and even though +they drew nothing in exchange, she would at least have had the pleasure of +uttering them, and the additional satisfaction of knowing that he would +have to listen to them, whether or no. But she was far too intelligent for +that. Her good sense overcame the feminine craving; she surprised him by +holding her tongue. + +He waited for a second or two and then said: "Good-bye. I shall drop in +to-morrow to see George." + +She held out her hand. "He swears by you," she said, with a smile. + +For the first time in more than a year, their hands touched. Up to this +moment there had not been the remotest evidence of an inclination on the +part of either to bridge the chasm that lay between them. The handclasp +was firm but perfunctory. She had herself under perfect control. It is of +importance to note, however, that later on she pressed her hand to her +lips, and that there were many times during the day when she looked at it +as if it were something unreal and apart from her own physical being. + +"Thank heaven he doesn't feel toward me as he did last week," he said +fervently. "I shall never get over that awful moment. I shall never forget +the look of despair that--" + +"I know," she interrupted. "I saw it too. But it is gone now, so why make +a ghost of it? Don't let it haunt you, Braden." + +"It is easy to say that I shouldn't let it--" + +"If you are going to begin your life's work by admitting that you are +thin-skinned, you'll not get very far, my friend," she said seriously. +"Good-bye." + +She smiled faintly as she turned away. He was never quite sure whether it +was encouragement or mockery that lay in her dark eyes when she favoured +him with that parting glance. He stood motionless until she disappeared +through the door that opened into the room where George was lying; his +eyes followed her slender, graceful figure until she was gone from sight. +His thoughts leaped backward to the time when he had held that lovely, +throbbing, responsive body close in his arms, to the time when he had +kissed those, sensitive lips and had found warmth and passion in them, to +the time when he had drunk in the delicate perfume of her hair and the +seductive fragrance of her body. That same slender, adorable body had been +pressed close to his, and he had trembled under the enchantment it held. + +He went away plagued and puzzled by an annoying question that kept on +repeating itself without answer; was it in his power now to rouse the old +flame in her blood, to revive the tender fires that once consumed her +senses when he caressed her? Would she be proof against him if he set out +to reconquer? She seemed so serene, so sure of herself. Was it a pose or +had love really died within her? + +By no means the least important of the happenings in Simmy's house was the +short but decisive contest that took place between Lutie and Mrs. +Tresslyn. They met first in the sick-room, and the shock was entirely one- +sided. It was George's mother who sustained it. She had not expected to +find the despised "outcast" there. For once her admirable self-control was +near to being shattered. If she had been permitted to exercise the right +of speech at that crucial moment, she would have committed the +irretrievable error of denouncing the brazen creature in the presence of +disinterested persons. Afterwards she thanked her lucky stars for the +circumstances which compelled her to remain angrily passive, for she was +soon to realise what such an outburst would have brought upon her head. + +She took it out on Anne, as if Anne were wholly to blame for the outrage. +Anne had the temerity,--the insolence, Mrs. Tresslyn called it,--to advise +her to make the best of a situation that could not be helped. She held +forth at some length for her daughter's benefit about "common decency," +and was further shocked by Anne's complacency. + +"I think she's behaving with uncommon decency," said Anne. "It isn't every +one who would turn the other cheek like this. Let her alone. She's the +best thing that can happen to George." + +"My dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Tresslyn, aghast. "Of course, I shall not come +to this apartment while she is here. That is out of the question." + +"Inasmuch as Lutie was here first and means to stay, I am afraid you will +have to reconsider that decision, mother,--provided you want to be near +George." + +"Did you speak of her as 'Lutie'?" demanded Mrs. Tresslyn, staring. + +"I don't know what else to call her," said Anne. + +"Simeon Dodge will appreciate my feelings,--my position--" + +"Simmy is very much on her side, so I'd advise you to steer clear of him," +said Anne impatiently. "Now, mother dear, don't upset things here. Don't +make a fuss. Don't--" + +"A fuss?" cried her mother, trying hard not to believe her ears. + +"Don't make it any harder for poor old Simmy. He is in for a rough time of +it. Tresslyns everywhere! It isn't a lovely prospect, you know. He will be +fed up with us before--And, mother, don't overlook the fact that George is +very ill. He may not pull through. He--" + +"Of course he will get well. He's as strong as an ox. Don't be silly." + +The next day she and Lutie met in the library and had it out,--briefly, as +I said before, but with astounding clarity. Mrs. Tresslyn swept into the +library at four in the afternoon, coming direct from her home, where, as +she afterwards felt called upon to explain in self-defence, the telephone +was aggravatingly out of order,--and that was why she hadn't called up to +inquire!--(It is so often the case when one really wants to use the stupid +thing!) She was on the point of entering the sick-room when Lutie came up +from behind. + +"I'm afraid you can't go in just now, Mrs. Tresslyn," she said, firmly and +yet courteously. + +George's mother started as if stung. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and her tone was +so declaratory that it was not necessary to add the unspoken--"it's _you_, +is it?" + +"He is asleep," said Lutie gently. "They won't even allow _me_ to go in." + +This was too much for Mrs. Tresslyn. She transfixed the slight, tired-eyed +young woman with a look that would have chilled any one else to the +bone--the high-bred look that never fails to put the lowly in their places. + +"Indeed," she said, with infinite irony in her voice. "This is Miss +Carnahan, I believe?" She lifted her lorgnon as a further aid to +inspection. + +"I am the person you have always spoken of as Miss Carnahan," said Lutie +calmly. Throughout the brief period in which she had been legally the wife +of George Tresslyn, Lutie was never anything but Miss Carnahan to her +mother-in-law. Mrs. Tresslyn very carefully forbore giving her daughter- +in-law a respectable name. "I was afraid you might have forgotten me." + +"You will forgive me if I confess that I have tried very hard to forget +you, Miss Carnahan," said the older woman. + +"It isn't my fault that you haven't been able to do so," said Lutie. +"Please! you are not to go in." Mrs. Tresslyn's hand was turning the door- +knob. + +"I fear you are forgetting who I am," said she coldly. + +"Oh, I know you're his mother, and all that," said Lutie, breathlessly. "I +do not question your right to be with your son. That isn't the point. The +nurse has ordered your daughter and me out of the room for awhile. It is +the first wink of sleep he has had in heaven knows how long. So you cannot +go in and disturb him, Mrs. Tresslyn." + +Mrs. Tresslyn's hand fell away from the knob. For a moment she regarded +the tense, agitated girl in silence. + +"Has it occurred to you to feel--if you can feel at all--that you may not be +wanted here, Miss Carnahan?" she said, deliberately cruel. She towered +above her adversary. + +"Will you be kind enough to come away from the door?" said Lutie, wholly +unimpressed. "It isn't very thick, and the sound of voices may penetrate--" + +"Upon my soul!" exclaimed Mrs. Tresslyn, staring. "Do you presume to--" + +"Not quite so loud, if you please. Come over here if you want to talk to +me, Mrs. Tresslyn. Nurse's orders, not mine. I don't in the least mind +what you say to me, or what you call me, or anything, but I do entreat you +to think of George." + +Greatly to her own surprise, Mrs. Tresslyn moved away from the door, and, +blaming herself inwardly for the physical treachery that impelled her to +do so, sat down abruptly in a chair on the opposite side of the room, +quite as far removed from the door as even Lutie could have desired. + +Lutie did not sit down. She came over and stood before the woman who had +once driven her out. Her face was white and her eyes were heavy from loss +of sleep, but her voice was as clear and sharp as a bell. + +"We may as well understand each other, Mrs. Tresslyn," she said quietly. +"Or, perhaps I'd better say that you may as well understand me. I still +believe myself to be George's wife. A South Dakota divorce may be all +right so far as the law is concerned, but it will not amount to +_that_"--she snapped her fingers--"when George and I conclude to set it +aside. I went out to that God-forsaken little town and stayed there for +nearly a year, eating my heart out until I realised that it wasn't at all +appetising. I lived up to my bargain, however. I made it my place of +residence and I got my decree. I tore that hateful piece of paper up last +night before I came here. You paid me thirty thousand dollars to give +George up, and he allowed you to do it. Now I have just this to say, Mrs. +Tresslyn: if George gets well, and I pray to God that he may, I am going +back to him, and I don't care whether we go through the form of marrying +all over again or not. He is my husband. I am his wife. There never was an +honest cause for divorce in our case. He wasn't as brave as I'd have liked +him to be in those days, but neither was I. If I had been as brave as I am +now, George wouldn't be lying in there a wreck and a failure. You may take +it into your head to ask why I am here. Well, now you know. I'm here to +take care of my husband." + +Mrs. Tresslyn's steady, uncompromising gaze never left the face of the +speaker. When Lutie paused after that final declaration, she waited a +moment for her to resume. + +"There is, of course," said she levelly, "the possibility that my son may +not get well." + +Lutie's eyes narrowed. "You mean that you'd rather see him die than--" + +"Miss Carnahan, I am compelled to speak brutally to you. I paid you to +give up my son. You took the money I proffered and the divorce I arranged +for. You agreed to--" + +"Just a moment, please. I took the money and--and _got out_ in order to +give George a chance to marry some one else and be happy. That was what +you wanted, and what _you_ promised me. You promised me that if I gave him +up he would find some one else more worthy, that he would forget me and be +happy, and that I would be forgotten inside of six months. Well, none of +these things has happened. He hasn't found any one else, he still loves +me, and he isn't happy. I am going back on my bargain, Mrs. Tresslyn, +because you haven't carried out your part of it. If you think it was easy +for me to give him up when I did, you are very much mistaken. But that +wouldn't interest you, so I'll say no more about it. We'll come down to +the present, if you don't mind, and see where we stand; George needs me +now, but no more than he has needed me all along. I intend to stick to him +like a leech from this time on, Mrs. Tresslyn. You had your chance to make +_your_ kind of a man out of him, and I guess you'll admit that you failed. +Well, I'm going to begin where you were content to leave off. You treated +me like a dog, and God knows you've treated George but little better, +although perhaps you didn't know what you were doing to him. He is down +and out. You didn't expect things to turn out as they have. You thought +I'd be the one to go to the devil. Now I'll put it up to you squarely. I +still have the thirty thousand you gave me. It is nicely invested. I have +lived comfortably on the income. A few years ago I sold George to you for +that amount. Well, I'll buy him back from you to-morrow." + +"Buy my son from me?" gasped Mrs. Tresslyn. + +"You made it a business proposition three years ago, so I'll do the same +now. I want to be fair and square with you. I'm going to take him back in +any event, but I shall be a great deal better satisfied if you will let me +pay for him." + +Mrs. Tresslyn had recovered herself by this time. She gave the younger +woman a frosty smile. + +"And I suppose you will expect to get him at a considerably reduced +price," she said sarcastically, "in view of the fact that he is damaged +goods." + +"You shall have back every penny, Mrs. Tresslyn," said Lutie, with +dignity. + +"How ingenuous you are. Do you really believe that I will _sell_ my son to +you?" + +"I sold him to you," said the other, stubbornly. + +Mrs. Tresslyn arose. "I think we would better bring this interview to an +end, Miss Carnahan. I shall spare you the opinion I have formed of you +in--" + +"Just as you please, Mrs. Tresslyn," said Lutie calmly. "We'll consider +the matter closed. George comes back to me at my own price. I--" + +"My son shall never marry you!" burst out Mrs. Tresslyn, furiously. + +Lutie smiled. "It's good to see you mad, Mrs. Tresslyn. It proves that you +are like other people, after all. Give yourself a chance, and you'll find +it just as easy to be glad as it is to be mad, now that you've let go of +yourself a little bit." + +"You are insufferable! Be good enough to stand aside. I am going in to my +son. He--" + +"If you are so vitally interested in him, how does it happen that you wait +until four o'clock in the afternoon to come around to inquire about him? +I've been here on the job since last night--and so has your daughter. But +you? Where have you been all this time, Mrs. Tresslyn?" + +"God in heaven!" gasped Mrs. Tresslyn, otherwise speechless. + +"If I had a son I'd be with him day and night at--" + +"The telephone was out of order," began Mrs. Tresslyn before she could +produce the power to check the impulse to justify herself in the eyes of +this brazen tormentor. + +"Indeed?" said Lutie politely. + +"My son shall never marry you," repeated the other, helplessly. + +"Well," began Lutie slowly, a bright spot in each cheek, "all I have to +say is that he will be extremely unfair to your grandchildren, Mrs. +Tresslyn, if he doesn't." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + + +A ground-floor window in an apartment building in Madison Avenue, north of +Fifty-ninth street, displayed in calm black lettering the name "Dr. Braden +L. Thorpe, M.D." On the panel of a door just inside the main entrance +there was a bit of gold-leaf information to the effect that office hours +were from 9 to 10 A.M. and from 2 to 4 P.M. There was a reception room and +a consultation room in the suite. The one was quite as cheerless and +uninviting as any other reception room of its kind, and the other +possessed as many of the strange, terrifying and more or less +misunderstood devices for the prolongation of uncertainty in the minds of +the uneasy. During office-hours there was also a doctor there. Nothing was +missing from this properly placarded and admirably equipped +office,--nothing at all except the patients! + +About the time that George Tresslyn fared forth into the world again, +Thorpe hung out his shingle and sat himself down under his own gates to +wait for the unwary. But no one came. The lame, the halt and even the +blind had visions that were not to be dissipated by anything so trivial as +a neat little sign in an office window. The name of Braden Thorpe was on +the lips of every one. It was mentioned, not with horror or disgust, but +as one speaks of the exalted genius whose cure for tuberculosis has +failed, or of the man who found the North Pole by advertising in the +newspapers, or of the books of Henry James. He was a person to steer clear +of, that was all. + +Every newspaper in the country discussed him editorially, paragraphically, +and as an article of news. For weeks after the death of Templeton Thorpe +and the publication of his will, not a day passed in which Braden Thorpe's +outlandish assault upon civilisation failed to receive its country-wide +attention in the press. And when editorial writers, medical sharps, legal +experts and grateful reporters failed to avail themselves of the full +measure of space set apart for their gluttony, ubiquitous "Constant +Reader" rushed into print under many aliases and enjoyed himself as never +before. + +In the face of all this uproar, brought about by the posthumous utterance +of old Templeton Thorpe, Braden had the courage,--or the temerity, if that +is a truer word,--to put his name in a window and invite further attention +to himself. + +The world, without going into the matter any deeper than it usually does, +assumed that he who entered the office of Dr. Thorpe would never come out +of it alive! + +The fact that Thorpe advocated something that could not conceivably become +a reality short of two centuries made no impression on the world and his +family. Dr. Thorpe believed that it was best to put sufferers out of their +misery, and that was all there was to be said about the matter so far as +Mr. Citizen was concerned. + +It would appear, therefore, that all of Templeton Thorpe's ideas, hopes +and plans concerning the future of his grandson were to be shattered by +his own lack of judgment and foresight. Without intending to do so he had +deprived the young man of all that had been given him in the way of +education, training and character. Young Thorpe might have lived down or +surmounted the prejudice that his own revolutionary utterances created, +but he could never overcome the stupendous obstacle that now lay in his +path. + +If Mr. Thorpe had hoped to create, or believed sincerely that it was +possible to create, a force capable of overpowering the natural instincts +of man, he had set for himself a task that could have but one result so +far as the present was concerned, and it was in the present that Braden +Thorpe lived, very far removed from the future that Mr. Thorpe appeared to +be seeing from a point close by as he lay on his death-bed. He had +completely destroyed the present usefulness of his grandson. He had put a +blight upon him, and now he was sleeping peacefully where mockery could +not reach him nor reason hold him to account. + +The letter that the old man left for his grandson's guidance was an +affectionate apology, very skilfully worded, for having, in a way, left +the bulk of his fortune to the natural heir instead of to the great, +consuming public. True, he did not put this in so many words, but it was +obvious to the young man, if not to others who saw and read, that he was +very clear in his mind as to the real purport and intention of the clause +covering the foundation. He was careful to avoid the slightest expression +that might have been seized upon by the young man as evidence of treachery +on his part in view of the solemn promise he had made to leave to him no +portion of his estate. On the surface, this letter was a simple, direct +appeal to Braden to abide by the terms of the will, and to consider the +trust as sacred in spite of the absence of restrictions. To Braden, there +was but one real meaning to the will: the property was his to have, hold +or dispose of as he saw fit. He was at liberty either to use every dollar +of it in carrying out the expressed sentiments of the testator, or to sit +back luxuriously and console himself with the thought that nothing was +really expected of him. + +The Foundation that received such wide-spread notice, and brought down +upon his head, not the wrath but the ridicule of his fellow beings, was +not to serve in any sense as a memorial to the man who provided the money +with which the work was to be carried on. As a matter of fact, old +Templeton Thorpe took very good care to stipulate plainly that it was not +to be employed to any such end. He forbade the use of his name in any +capacity except as one of the _supporters_ of the movement. The whole +world rose up at first and heaped anathemas on the name of Templeton +Thorpe, and then, swiftly recovering its amiable tolerance of fools, +forgot the dead and took its pleasure in "steering clear of the man who +was left to hold the bag of gold," as some of the paragraphers would have +it. + +The people forgot old Templeton, and they also became a bit hazy about the +cardinal principle of the Foundation, much as they forget other disasters, +but they did not forget to look upon Braden Thorpe as a menace to mankind. + +And so it was that after two months of waiting, he closed his office for +the summer and disappeared from the city. He had not treated a solitary +patient, nor had he been called in consultation by a single surgeon of his +acquaintance, although many of them professed friendship for and +confidence in him. + +Six weeks later Simmy Dodge located his friend in a small coast town in +Maine, practically out of the reach of tourists and not at all accessible +to motorists. He had taken board and lodging with a needy villager who was +still honest, and there he sat and brooded over the curse that his own +intelligence had laid upon him. He had been there for a month or more +before he lifted his head, figuratively speaking, to look at the world +again,--and he found it still bright and sparkling despite his desire to +have it otherwise in order that he might be recompensed for his mood. Then +it was that he wrote to Simmy Dodge, asking him to sell the furnishings +and appliances in his office, sublet the rooms, and send to him as soon as +possible the proceeds of the sale. He confessed frankly and in his +straightforward way that he was hard up and needed the money! + +Now, it should be remembered that Braden Thorpe had very little means of +his own, a small income from his mother's estate being all that he +possessed. He had been dependent upon his grandfather up to the day he +died. Years had been spent in preparing him for the personal achievements +that were to make him famous and rich by his own hand. Splendid ability +and unquestioned earning power were the result of Templeton Thorpe's faith +in the last of his race. But nothing was to come of it. His ability +remained but his earning power was gone. He was like a splendid engine +from which the motive power has been shut off. + +For weeks after leaving New York he had seen the world blackly through +eyes that grasped no perspective. But he was young, he was made of the +flesh that fights, and the spirit that will not down. He looked up from +the black view that had held his attention so long, and smiled. It was not +a gay smile but one in which there was defiant humour. After all, why +shouldn't he smile? These villagers smiled cheerfully, and what had they +in their narrow lives to cause them to see the world brightly? He was no +worse off than they. If they could be content to live outside the world, +why shouldn't he be as they? He was big and strong and young. The fellows +who went out to sea in the fishing boats were no stronger, no better than +he. He could do the things that they were doing, and they sang while they +went to and from their work. + +It was the reviving spirit in him that opened his eyes to the lowly joys +surrounding him. He found himself thinking with surprising interest that +he could do what these men were doing and do it well, and after all what +more can be expected of a man than that he should do some one thing well? +He did not realise at the time that this small, mean ambition to surpass +these bold fishermen was nothing less than the resurrection of dead hopes. + +And so, when Simmy Dodge walked in upon him one day, expecting to find a +beaten, discouraged skulker, he was confronted by a sun-browned, bare- +armed, bright-eyed warrior whose smile was that of the man who never +laughs,--the grim smile of him who thinks. + +The lines in his face had deepened under the influence of sun and wind; +there was a new, almost unnatural ruggedness about the man Simmy had seen +less than two months before. The cheeks had the appearance of being sunken +and there was an even firmer look to the strong chin and jaws than in the +so recent past. Simmy looked at this new, hardy face and wondered whether +two months in the rough world would do as much in proportion for his own +self-despised countenance. + +Thorpe had been up since five o'clock in the morning. For two weeks he had +started off every morning at that hour with his landlord for the +timberlands above the town, where they spent the day hewing out the sills +and beams for a new boat-house. Unskilled at such labor, his duties were +not those of the practised workman, but rather those of the "handy man" +upon whom falls the most arduous tasks as a rule. Thorpe's sinews were +strained to the utmost in handling the long, unwieldy trunks of the fallen +trees; his hands were blistered and his legs bruised, but the splendid +muscles were no longer sore, nor was he so fatigued at day's-end that he +could have "dropped in his tracks" right joyfully,--as he had felt like +doing in the first week of his toiling. + +"Well, I'll be jiggered," said Simmy, still holding Thorpe's hand as he +backed away from him the better to take in this new and strange creature +in overalls. Thorpe and his grizzled host had just come down from the +woods with a load of pine logs, and had found the trim, immaculate little +New Yorker waiting for them at the breakwater, directed thither by the +housewife in the winding lane that was called High Street. "By the way, is +your name Thorpe?" he added quizzically. + +"Yep," said the graduate of three great universities, gripping the little +man's hand a trifle harder. "All that is left of me is named Thorpe, +Simmy." + +"Have you--hired out as a--Good Lord, Brady, you're not as hard up as all +that, are you?" Simmy's face was bleak with concern. + +"I'm doing it for the fun of the thing," said Thorpe. "Next week I'm going +out with the boats. I say, Simmy, have you a cigarette about your person? +I haven't had a--" + +Half an hour later, Simmy was seated in the cool little front porch with +its screen of vines, the scent of the sea filling his sensitive nostrils, +and he was drinking buttermilk. + +"Now, see here, Brady, it's all damned tommyrot," he was saying,--and he +had said something of the kind several times before in the course of their +earnest conversation. "There's just one course open to you, and that's the +right one. You've got to come back to New York and look people in the eye +and tell 'em to go to Gehenna if they don't like what you're doing. You +can't go on living like this, no matter how much you love it now. You're +not cut out for this sort of thing. Lordy, if I was as big and brutal +looking as you are at this minute I'd stand up for myself against--" + +"But you will not understand," repeated Thorpe doggedly. "If my +attainments, as you call them, are to be of no value to me in helping +mankind, what is there left for me to do but this? Didn't I have enough of +it in those horrible two months down there to prove to me that they hate +me? They--" + +"You weren't so thin skinned as all this when you were writing those +inspired articles of yours, were you? Confound you, Brady, you invited all +of this, you brought it down upon your head with all that nonsense +about--why, it was you who converted old Templeton Thorpe and here you are +running away like a 'white-head.' Haven't you any back-bone?" + +"That's all very well, Simmy, but of what value is a back-bone in a case +like mine? If I had ten back-bones I couldn't compel people to come to me +for treatment or advice. They are afraid of me. I am a doctor, a surgeon, +a friend to all men. But if they will not believe that I am their friend, +how can I be of service to them?" + +"You'll get patients, and plenty of 'em too, if you'll just hang on and +wait. They'll come to know that you wouldn't kill a cockroach if you could +help it. You'll--what's the matter?" He broke off suddenly with this sharp +question. A marked pallor had come over Thorpe's sunburnt face. + +"Nothing--nothing at all," muttered the other. "The heat up there in the +woods--" + +"You must look out for that, old boy," said Simmy anxiously. "Go slow. +You're only a city feller, as they'd say up here. What a God-forsaken +place it is! Not more than two hundred miles from Boston and yet I was a +whole day getting here." + +"It is peaceful, Simmy," said Thorpe. + +"I grant you that, by Jove. A fellow could walk in the middle of the +street here for a solid year without being hit by an automobile. But as I +was saying, you can make a place for yourself--" + +"I should starve, old fellow. You forget that I am a poor man." + +"Rats! You've got twenty-five thousand dollars a year, if you'll only be +sensible. There isn't another man in the United States who would be as +finicky about it as you are, no matter how full of ideals and principles +he may be stuffed." + +Thorpe looked up suddenly. His jaw was set hard and firm once more. "Don't +you know what people would say about me if I were to operate and the +patient died?--as some of them do, you know. They would say that I did it +deliberately. I couldn't afford to lose in a single instance, Simmy. I +couldn't take the chance that other surgeons are compelled to take in a +great many cases. One failure would be sufficient. One--" + +"See here, you've just got to look at things squarely, Braden. You owe +something to your grandfather if not to yourself. He left all that money +for a certain, definite purpose. You can't chuck it. You've got to come to +taw. You say that he took this means of leaving the money to you, that the +trust thing is all piffle, and all that sort of thing. Well, suppose that +it is true, what kind of a fool would you be to turn up your nose at six +million dollars? There are all kinds of ways of looking at it. In the +first place, he didn't leave it to you outright. It _is_ a trust, or a +foundation, and it has a definite end in view. You are the sole trustee, +that's the point on which you elect to stick. You are to be allowed to +handle this vast fortune as your judgment dictates, _as a trustee_, mind +you. You forget that he fixed your real position rather clearly when he +stipulated that you were to have a salary of twenty-five thousand dollars +a year, and fees as a trustee. That doesn't look as though he left it to +you without strings, does it?" + +For an hour they argued the great question. Simmy did not pretend that he +accepted Braden's theories; in fact, he pronounced them shocking. Still, +he contended, that was neither here nor there. Braden believed in them, +and it wasn't any affair of his, after all. + +"I don't believe it is right for man to try to do God's work," said he, in +explaining his objections. "But it doesn't matter what I think about it, +old chap, so don't mind me." + +"Can't you understand, Simmy, that I advocate a simple, direct means of +relieving the--" + +"Sure, I understand," broke in Simmy agreeably. + +"Does God send the soldiers into battle, does he send the condemned man to +the gallows? Man does that, doesn't he? If it is God's work to drop a +small child into a boiling vat by accident, and if He fails to kill that +child at once, why shouldn't it be the work of man to complete the job as +quickly as possible? We shoot down the soldiers. Is that God's work? We +hang the murderer. Is that God's work? Emperors and kings conduct their +wars in the name of God and thousands of God's creatures go down to death. +Do you believe that God approves of this slaughter of the strong and +hardy? God doesn't send the man to the gallows nor the soldier to the +fighting line. Man does that, and he does it because he has the power to +do it, and he lives serene in the consolation that the great, good God +will not hold him to account for what he has done. We legalise the killing +of the strong; but not for humane reasons. Why shouldn't we legalise the +killing of the weak for humane reasons? It may interest you to know, +Simmy, that we men have more merciful ways of ending life than God Himself +directs. Why prolong life when it means agony that cannot be ended except +by the death that so certainly waits a few days or weeks beyond--" + +"How can you be sure that a man is going to die? Doctors very frequently +say that a person has no chance whatever, and then the fellow fools 'em +and gets well." + +"I am not speaking of such cases. I only speak of the cases where there +can be no doubt. There are such cases, you see. I would let Death take its +toll, just as it has always done, and I would fight for my patient until +the last breath was gone from his body. Two weeks ago a child was gored by +a bull back here in the country. It was disembowelled. That child lived +for many hours,--and suffered. That's what I mean, in substance. I too +believe in the old maxim,--'while there's life there's hope.' That is the +foundation on which our profession is built. A while ago you spoke of the +extremely aged as possible victims of my theories. I suppose you meant to +ask me if I would include them in my list. God forbid! To me there is +nothing more beautiful than a happy, healthy, contented old age. We love +our old people. If we love them we do not think of them as old. We want +them to live,--just as I shall want to live, and you, Simmy. And we want +them to die when their time comes, by God's hand not man's, for God does +give them a peaceful, glorious end. But we don't want them to suffer, any +more than we would want the young to suffer, I loved my grandfather. Death +was a great boon to him. He wanted to die. But all old men do not want to +die. They--" + +"We're not getting anywhere with this kind of talk," interrupted Simmy. +"The sum and substance is this: you would put it in the power of a few men +to destroy human life on the representation of a few doctors. If these +doctors said--" + +"And why not? We put it into the power of twelve men to send a man to the +gallows on the testimony of witnesses who may be lying like thieves. We +take the testimony of doctors as experts in our big murder trials. If we +believe some of them we hang the man because they say he is sane. On the +other hand we frequently acquit the guilty man if they say he's insane." + +Simmy squinted a half-closed eye, calculatingly, judicially. "My dear +fellow, the insane asylums in this country to-day hold any number of +reasonably sane inmates, sent there by commissions which perhaps +unintentionally followed out the plans of designing persons who were +actuated solely by selfish and avaricious motives. Control of great +properties falls into the hands of conspiring relatives simply because it +happened to be an easy matter to get some one snugly into a madhouse." He +said no more. Braden was allowed to draw his own conclusions. + +"Oh, I dare say people will go on putting obstacles out of their way till +the end of time," said he coolly. "If I covet your wife or your ass or +your money-bags I put poison in your tea and you very obligingly die, and +all that the law can do is to send me after you as soon as the lawyers +have got through with me. That is no argument, Simmy. That sort of thing +will go on forever." + +Finally Thorpe settled back in his chair resignedly, worn out by the +persistent argument of his tormentor. + +"Well, suppose that I agree with all you say,--what then? Suppose that I +take up my burden, as you say I should, and set out to bring the world +around to my way of thinking, where am I to begin and how?" + +Simmy contrived to suppress the sigh of relief that rose to his lips. This +was making headway, after all. Things looked brighter. + +"My dear fellow, it will take you a good many years to even make a +beginning. You can't go right smack up against the world and say: 'Here, +you, look sharp! I'm going to hit you in the eye.' In the first place, you +will have to convince the world that you are a great, big man in your +profession. You will have to cure ten thousand people before you can make +the world believe that you are anybody at all. Then people will listen to +you and what you say will have some effect. You can't do anything now. +Twenty years from now, when you are at the top of your profession, you +will be in a position to do something. But in the meantime you will have +to make people understand that you can cure 'em if anybody can, so that +when you say _you_ can't cure 'em, they'll know it's final. I'm not asking +you to renounce your ideas. You can even go on talking about them and +writing to the newspapers and all that sort of thing, if you want to, but +you've got to build up a reputation for yourself before you can begin to +make use of all this money along the lines laid down for you. But first of +all you must make people say that in spite of your theories you are a +practical benefactor and not a plain, ordinary crank. Go on sowing the +seed if you will, and then when the time comes found a college in which +your principles may be safely and properly taught, and then see what +people will say." + +"It sounds very simple, the way you put it," said Thorpe, with a smile. + +"There is no other way, my friend," said Simmy earnestly. + +Thorpe was silent for a long time, staring out over the dark waters of the +bay. The sun had slipped down behind the ridge of hills to the south and +west, and the once bright sea was now cold and sinister and unsmiling. The +boats were stealing in from its unfriendly wastes. + +"I had not thought of it in that light, Simmy," he said at length. "My +grandfather said it might take two hundred years." + +"Incidentally," said Simmy, shrewdly, "your grandfather knew what he was +about when he put in the provision that you were to have twenty-five +thousand dollars a year as a salary, so to speak. He was a far-seeing man. +He knew that you would have a hard, uphill struggle before you got on your +feet to stay. He may even have calculated on a lifetime, my friend. That's +why he put in the twenty-five. He probably realised that you'd be too +idiotic to use the money except as a means to bring about the millennium, +and so he said to himself 'I'll have to do something to keep the damn' +fool from starving.' You needn't have any scruples about taking your pay, +old boy. You've got to live, you know. I think I've got the old +gentleman's idea pretty--" + +"Well, let's drop the subject for to-night, Simmy," said Thorpe, coming to +his feet. His chin was up and his shoulders thrown back as he breathed +deeply and fully of the new life that seemed to spring up mysteriously +from nowhere. "You'll spend the night with me. There is a spare bed and +you'll--" + +"Isn't there a Ritz in the place?" inquired Simmy, scarcely able to +conceal his joy. + +"Not so that you can notice it," replied Thorpe gaily. He walked to the +edge of the porch and drank in more of that strange, puzzling air that +came from vast distances and filled his lungs as they had never been +filled before. + +Simmy watched him narrowly in the failing light. After a moment he sank +back comfortably in the old rocking chair and smiled as a cat might smile +in contemplating a captive mouse. The rest would be easy. Thorpe would go +back with him. That was all that he wanted, and perhaps more than he +expected. As for old Templeton Thorpe's "foundation," he did not give it a +moment's thought. Time would attend to that. Time would kill it, so what +was the use worrying. He prided himself on having done the job very +neatly,--and he was smart enough to let the matter rest. + +"What is the news in town?" asked Braden, turning suddenly. There was a +new ring in his voice. He was eager for news of the town! + +"Well," said Simmy naively, "there is so much to tell I don't believe I +could get it all out before dinner." + +"We call it supper, Simmy." + +"It's all the same to me," said Simmy. + +And after supper he told him the news as they walked out along the +breakwater. + +Anne Thorpe was in Europe. She closed the house as soon as George was able +to go to work, and went away without any definite notion as to the length +of her stay abroad. + +"She's terribly upset over having to live in that old house down there," +said Simmy, "and I don't blame her. It's full of ghosts, good and bad. It +has always been her idea to buy a big house farther up town. In fact, that +was one of the things on which she had set her heart. I don't mind telling +you that I'm trying to find some way in which she can chuck the old house +down there without losing anything. She wants to give it away, but I won't +listen to that. It's worth a hundred thousand if it's worth a nickel. So +she closed the place, dismissed the servants and--" + +"'Gad, my grandfather wouldn't like that," said Braden. "He was fond of +Murray and Wade and--" + +"Murray has bought a saloon in Sixth Avenue and talks of going into +politics. Old Wade absolutely refused to allow Anne to close up the house. +He has received his legacy and turned it over to me for investment. +Confound him, when I had him down to the office afterwards he as much as +told me that he didn't want to be bothered with the business, and actually +complained because I had taken him away from his work at that hour of the +day. Anne had to leave him there as caretaker. I understand he is all +alone in the house." + +"Anne is in Europe, eh? That's good," said Thorpe, more to himself than to +his companion. + +"Never saw her looking more beautiful than the day she sailed," said +Simmy, peering hard in the darkness at the other's face. "She hasn't had +much happiness, Brady." + +"Umph!" was the only response, but it was sufficient to turn Simmy off +into other channels. + +"I suppose you know that George and Lutie are married again." + +"Good! I'm glad to hear it," said Thorpe, with enthusiasm. + +"Married two weeks after George went to work in that big bank note +company's plant. I got the job for him. He starts at the bottom, of +course, but that's the right way for a chap like George to begin. He'll +have to make good before he can go up an inch in the business. Fifteen a +week. But he'll go up, Brady. He'll make good with Lutie to push from +behind. Awful blow to Mrs. Tresslyn, however. He's a sort of clerk and has +to wear sleeve papers and an eye-shade. I shall never forget the day that +Lutie bought him back." Simmy chuckled. + +"Bought him back?" + +"Yes. She plunked thirty thousand down on the table in my office in front +of Mrs. Tresslyn and said 'I sha'n't need a receipt, Mrs. Tresslyn. George +is receipt enough for me.' I'd never seen Mrs. Tresslyn blush before, but +she blushed then, my boy. Got as red as fire. Then she rose up in her +dignity and said she wouldn't take the money. How was her son to live, she +said, if Lutie deprived him of his visible means of support? Lutie replied +that if George was strong enough to carry the washing back and forth from +the customers', she'd manage to support him by taking in dirty linen. Then +Mrs. Tresslyn broke down. Damme, Brady, it brought tears to my eyes. You +don't know how affecting it is to see a high and mighty person like Mrs. +Tresslyn humble herself like that. She didn't cry. I was the only one who +cried, curse me for a silly ass. She just simply said that Lutie was the +best and bravest girl in the world and that she was sorry for all that she +had done to hurt her. And she asked Lutie to forgive her. Then Lutie put +her arm around her and called her an old dear. I didn't see any more on +account of the infernal tears. But Lutie wouldn't take back the money. She +said that it didn't belong to her and that she couldn't look George in the +face if she kept it. So that's how it stands. She and George have a tiny +little apartment 'way up town,--three rooms, I believe, and so far she +hasn't taken in anybody's washing. Anne wants to refund the money to +Lutie, but doesn't know how to go about it. She--er--sort of left it to me +to find the way. Lordy, I seem to get all of the tough jobs." + +"You are a brick, Simmy," said Thorpe, laying his arm across the little +man's shoulders. + +"Heigh-ho!" sighed Simmy. Later on, as they returned through the fog that +was settling down about them, he inquired: "By the way, will you be ready +to start back with me to-morrow?" + +"Lord love you, no," cried Thorpe. "I've agreed, to help old man Stingley +with the boat house. I'll come down in three weeks, Simmy." + +"Lordy, Lordy!" groaned Simmy, dejectedly. "Three weeks in this God- +forsaken place? I'll die, Brady." + +"You? What are you talking about?" + +"Why, you don't suppose I'm going back without you, do you?" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + + +Anne Thorpe remained in Europe for a year, returning to New York shortly +before the breaking out of the Great War. She went to the Ritz, where she +took an apartment. A day or two after her arrival in the city, she sent +for Wade. + +"Wade," she said, as the old valet stood smirking before her in the little +sitting-room, "I have decided not to re-open the house. I shall never re- +open it. I do not intend to live there." + +The man turned a sickly green. His voice shook a little. "Are--are you +going to close it--for good,--madam?" + +"I sent for you this morning to inquire if you are willing to continue +living there as caretaker until--" + +"You may depend on me, Mrs. Thorpe, to--" he broke in eagerly. + +"--until I make up my mind what to do with the property," she concluded. + +He hesitated, clearing his throat. "I beg pardon for mentioning it, ma'am, +but the will said that you would have to live in the house and that you +may not sell it or do anything--" + +"I know," she interrupted shortly. "I sha'n't sell the house, of course. +On the other hand, I do not intend to live in it. I don't care what +becomes of it, Wade." + +"It's worth a great deal of money," he ventured. + +She was not interested. "But so am I," she said curtly. "By the way, how +have you fared, Wade? You do not look as though you have made the best of +your own good fortune. Are you not a trifle thinner?" + +The man looked down at the rug. "I am quite well, thank you. A little +older, of course,--that's all. I haven't had a sick day in years." + +"Why do you stay on in service? You have means of your own,--quite a handy +fortune, I should say. I cannot understand your willingness, to coop +yourself up in that big old house, when you might be out seeing something +of life, enjoying your money and--you are a very strange person, Wade." + +He favoured her with his twisted smile. "We can't all be alike, madam," he +said. "Besides, I couldn't see very much of life with my small pot of +gold. I shall always stick to my habit, I suppose, of earning my daily +bread." + +"I see. Then I may depend upon you to remain in charge of the house? +Whenever you are ready to give it up, pray do not hesitate to come to me. +I will release you, of course." + +"I may possibly live to be ninety," he said, encouragingly. + +She stared. "You mean--that you will stay on until you die?" + +"Seeing that you cannot legally sell the house,--and you will not live in +it,--I hope to be of service to you to the end of my days, madam. Have you +considered the possibility of some one setting up a claim to the property +on account of your--er--violation of the terms of the will?" + +"I should be very happy if some one were to do so, Wade," she replied with +a smile. "I should not oppose the claim. Unfortunately there is no one to +take the step. There are no disgruntled relatives." + +"Ahem! Mr. Braden, of course, might--er--be regarded as a--" + +"Dr. Thorpe will not set up a claim, Wade. You need not be disturbed." + +"There is no one else, of course," said he, with a deep breath of relief. + +"No one. I can't even _give_ it away. I shall go on paying taxes on it all +my life, I daresay. And repairs and--" + +"Repairs won't be necessary, ma'am, unless you have a complaining tenant. +I shall manage to keep the place in good order." + +"Are your wages satisfactory, Wade?" + +"Quite, madam." Sometimes he remembered not to say "ma'am." + +"And your food, your own personal comforts, your--" + +"Don't worry about me, madam. I make out very well." + +"And you are all alone there? All alone in that dark, grim old house? Oh, +how terribly lonely it must be. I--" she shivered slightly. + +"I have a scrub-woman in twice a month, and Murray comes to see me once in +awhile. I read a great deal." + +"And your meals?" + +"I get my own breakfast, and go down to Sixth Avenue for my luncheons and +dinners. There is an excellent little restaurant quite near, you +see,--conducted by a very estimable Southern lady in reduced circumstances. +Her husband is a Northerner, however, and she doesn't see a great deal of +him. I understand he is a person of very uncertain habits. They say he +gambles. Her daughter assists her with the business. She--but, I beg +pardon; you would not be interested in them." + +"I am glad that you are contented, Wade. We will consider the matter +settled, and you will go on as heretofore. You may always find me here, if +you desire to communicate with me at any time." + +Wade looked around the room. Anne's maid had come in and was employed in +restoring a quantity of flowers to the boxes in which they had been +delivered. There were roses and violets and orchids in profusion. + +Mrs. Thorpe took note of his interest. "You will be interested to hear, +Wade, that my sister-in-law is expecting a little baby very soon. I am +taking the flowers up to her flat." + +"A baby," said Wade softly. "That will be fine, madam." + +After Wade's departure, Anne ordered a taxi, and, with the half dozen +boxes of flowers piled up in front of her, set out for George's home. On +the way up through the park she experienced a strange sense of exaltation, +a curious sort of tribute to her own lack of selfishness in the matter of +the flowers. This feeling of self-exaltation was so pleasing to her, so +full of promise for further demands upon her newly discovered nature, that +she found herself wondering why she had allowed herself to be cheated out +of so much that was agreeable during all the years of her life! She was +now sincerely in earnest in her desire to be kind and gentle and generous +toward others. She convinced herself of that in more ways than one. In the +first place, she enjoyed thinking first of the comforts of others, and +secondly of herself. That in itself was most surprising to her. Up to a +year or two ago she would have deprived herself of nothing unless there +was some personal satisfaction to be had from the act, such as the +consciousness that the object of her kindness envied her the power to +give, or that she could pity herself for having been obliged to give +without return. Now she found joy in doing the things she once +abhorred,--the unnecessary things, as she had been pleased to describe +them. + +She loved Lutie,--and that surprised her more than anything else. She did +not know it, but she was absorbing strength of purpose, independence, and +sincerity from this staunch little woman who was George's wife. She would +have cried out against the charge that Lutie had become an Influence! It +was all right for Lutie to have an influence on the character of George, +but--the thought of anything nearer home than that never entered her head. + +As a peculiar--and not especially commendable--example of her present state +of unselfishness, she stopped for luncheon with her pretty little sister- +in-law, and either forgot or calmly ignored the fact that she had promised +Percy Wintermill and his sister to lunch with them at Sherry's. And later +on, when Percy complained over the telephone she apologised with perfect +humility,--surprising him even more than she surprised herself. She did +not, however, feel called upon to explain to him that she had transferred +his orchids to Lutie's living-room. That was another proof of her +consideration for others. She knew that Percy's feelings would have been +hurt. + +Lutie was radiantly happy. Her baby was coming in a fortnight. + +"You shall have the very best doctor in New York," said Anne, caressing +the fair, tousled head. Her own heart was full. + +"We're going to have Braden Thorpe," said Lutie. + +Anne started. "But he is not--What you want, Lutie, is a specialist. Braden +is--" + +"He's good enough for me," said Lutie serenely. Possibly she was +astonished by the sudden, impulsive kiss that Anne bestowed upon her, and +the more fervent embrace that followed. + +That afternoon Anne received many callers. Her home-coming meant a great +deal to the friends who had lost sight of her during the period of +preparation that began, quite naturally, with her marriage to Templeton +Thorpe, and was now to bear its results. She would take her place once +more in the set to which she belonged as a Tresslyn. + +Alas, for the memory of old Templeton Thorpe, her one-time intimates in +society were already speaking of her,--absently, of course,--as Anne +Tresslyn. The newspapers might continue to allude to her as the beautiful +Mrs. Thorpe, but that was as far as it would go. Polite society would not +be deceived. It would not deny her the respectability of marriage, to be +sure, but on the other hand, it wouldn't think of her as having been +married to old Mr. Thorpe. It might occasionally give a thought or two to +the money that had once been Mr. Thorpe's, and it might go so far as to +pity Anne because she had been stupid or ill-advised in the matter of a +much-discussed ante-nuptial arrangement, but nothing could alter the fact +that she had never ceased being a Tresslyn, and that there was infinite +justice in the restoration of at least one of the Tresslyns to a state of +affluence. It remains to be seen whether Society's estimate of her was +right or wrong. + +Her mother came in for half an hour, and admitted that the baby would be a +good thing for poor George. + +"I am rather glad it is coming," she said. "I shall know what to do with +that hateful money she forced me to take back." + +"What do you mean, mother?" + +Mrs. Tresslyn lifted her lorgnon. "Have you forgotten, my dear?" + +"Of course I haven't. But what _do_ you mean?" + +"It is perfectly simple, Anne. I mean that as soon as this baby comes I +shall settle the whole of that thirty thousand dollars upon it, and have +it off my mind forever. Heaven knows it has plagued me to--" + +"You--but, mother, can you afford to do anything so--" + +"My dear, it may interest you to know that your mother possesses a great +deal of that abomination known as pride. I have not spent so much as a +penny of Lutie Car--of my daughter-in-law's money. You look surprised. Have +you been thinking so ill of me as that? Did you believe that I--" + +Anne threw her arms about her mother's neck, and kissed her rapturously. + +"I see you _did_ believe it of me," said Mrs. Tresslyn drily. Then she +kissed her daughter in return. "I haven't been able to look my daughter- +in-law in the face since she virtually threw all that money back into +mine. I've been almost distracted trying to think of a way to force it +back upon her, so that I might be at peace with myself. This baby will +open the way. It will simplify everything. It shall be worth thirty +thousand dollars in its own right the day it is born." + +Anne was beaming. "And on that same day, mother dear, I will replace the +amount that you turn over to--" + +"You will do nothing of the kind," said Mrs. Tresslyn sharply. "I am not +doing this thing because I am kind-hearted, affectionate, or even +remorseful. I shall do it because it pleases me, and not for the sake of +pleasing any one else. Now we'll drop the subject. I do hope, however, +that if George doesn't take the trouble to telephone me within a +reasonable time after his child comes into the world--say within a day or +two--I hope you will do so." + +"Really, mother, you are a very wonderful person," said Anne, rather wide- +eyed. + +"No more wonderful, my dear, than Lutie Carnahan, if you will pause for a +moment to think of what _she_ did." + +"She is very proud, and very happy," said Anne dubiously. "She and George +may refuse to accept this--" + +"My dear Anne," interrupted her mother calmly, "pray let me remind you +that Lutie is no fool. And now, tell me something about your plans. Where +are you going for the summer?" + +"That depends entirely on where my nephew wants to spend the heated term," +said Anne brightly. "I shall take him and Lutie into the country with me." + +Mrs. Tresslyn winced. "It doesn't sound quite so terrible as grandson, at +any rate," she remarked, considering the first sentence only. + +"I do hope it will be a boy," mused Anne. + +"I believe I could love her if she gave us a boy," said the other. "I am +beginning to feel that we need more men in the family." + +One of the last to drop in during the afternoon to welcome Anne back to +the fold was the imposing and more or less redoubtable Mrs. Wintermill, +head of the exclusive family to which Percy belonged. Percy's father was +still alive but he was a business man, and as such he met his family as he +would any other liability: when necessary. + +Mrs. Wintermill's first remark after saying that she was glad to see Anne +looking so well was obviously the result of a quick and searching glance +around the room. + +"Isn't Percy here?" she inquired. + +Anne had just had an uncomfortable half minute on the telephone with +Percy. "Not unless he is hiding behind that couch over there, Mrs. +Wintermill," she said airily. "He is coming up later, I believe." + +"I was to meet him here," said Mrs. Wintermill, above flippancy. "Is it +five o'clock?" + +"No," said Anne. Mrs. Wintermill smiled again. She was puzzled a little by +the somewhat convulsive gurgle that burst from Anne's lips. "I beg your +pardon. I just happened to think of something." She turned away to say +good-bye to the last of her remaining visitors,--two middle-aged ladies who +had not made her acquaintance until after her marriage to Templeton Thorpe +and therefore were not by way of knowing Mrs. Wintermill without the aid +of opera-glasses. "Do come and see me again." + +"Who are they?" demanded Mrs. Wintermill before the servant had time to +close the door behind the departing ones. She did not go to the trouble of +speaking in an undertone. + +"Old friends of Mr. Thorpe's," said Anne. "Washington Square people. More +tea, Ludwig. How well you are looking, Mrs. Wintermill. So good of you to +come." + +"We wanted to be among the first--if not the very first--to welcome you +home, Jane. Percy said to me this morning before he left for the office: +'Mother, you must run in and see Jane Tresslyn to-day.' Ahem! Dear me, I +seem to have got into the habit of dropping things every time I move. +Thanks, dear. Ahem! As I was saying, I said to Percy this morning: 'I must +run in and see Jane Tresslyn to-day.' And Percy said that he would meet me +here and go on to the--Do you remember the Fenns? The Rumsey Fenns?" + +"Oh, yes. I've been away only a year, you know, Mrs. Wintermill." + +"It seems ages. Well, the Fenns are having something or other for a French +woman,--or a man, I'm not quite sure,--who is trying to introduce a new +tuberculosis serum over here. I shouldn't be the least bit surprised to +see it publicly injected into Mr. Fenn, who, I am told, has everything his +wife wants him to have. My daughter was saying only a day or two ago that +Rumsey Fenn,--we don't know them very well, of course,--naturally, we +wouldn't, you know--er--what was I saying? Ah, yes; Percy declared that the +city would be something like itself once more, now that you've come home, +Jennie. I beg your pardon;--which is it that you prefer? I've quite +forgotten. Jennie or Jane?" + +"It doesn't in the least matter, Mrs. Wintermill," said Anne amiably. +"There isn't much choice." + +"How is your mother?" + +"Quite well, thank you. And how is Mr. Wintermill?" + +"As I was saying, Mrs. Fenn dances beautifully. Percy,--he's really quite +silly about dancing,--Percy says she's the best he knows. I do not pretend +to dance all of the new ones myself, but--Did you inquire about Mr. +Wintermill? He's doing it, too, as they say in the song. By the way, I +should have asked before: how is your mother? I haven't seen her in weeks. +Good heavens!" The good lady actually turned pale. "It was your husband +who died, wasn't it? Not your--but, of course, _not_. What a relief. You +say she's well?" + +"You barely missed her. She was here this afternoon." + +"So sorry. It _is_ good to have you with us again, Kate. How pretty you +are. Do you like the Ritz?" + +A bell-boy delivered a huge basket of roses at the door at this juncture. +Mrs. Wintermill eyed them sharply as Ludwig paused for instructions. Anne +languidly picked up the detached envelope and looked at the card it +contained. + +"Put it on the piano, Ludwig," she said. "They are from Eddie Townshield," +she announced, kindly relieving her visitor's curiosity. + +"Really," said Mrs. Wintermill. She sent a very searching glance around +the room once more. This time she was not looking for Percy, but for +Percy's tribute. She was annoyed with Percy. What did he mean by not +sending flowers to Anne Tresslyn? In her anger she got the name right. +"Orchids are Percy's favourites, Anne. He never sends anything but +orchids. He--" + +"He sent me some gorgeous orchids this morning," said Anne. + +Mrs. Wintermill looked again, even squinting her eyes. "I suppose they +_aren't_ very hardy at this time of the year. I've noticed they perish--" + +"Oh, these were exceedingly robust," interrupted Anne. "They'll live for +days." Her visitor gave it up, sinking back with a faint sigh. "I've had +millions of roses and orchids and violets since I landed. Every one has +been so nice." + +Mrs. Wintermill sat up a little straighter in her chair. "New York men are +rather punctilious about such things," she ventured. It was an inquiry. + +"Captain Poindexter, Dickie Fowless, Herb. Vandervelt,--oh, I can't +remember all of them. The room looked like Thorley's this morning." + +Mrs. Wintermill could not stand it any longer. "What have you done with +them, my dear?" + +Anne enjoyed being veracious. "I took a whole truckload up to my sister- +in-law. She's going to have a baby." + +Her visitor stiffened. "I was not aware that you had a sister-in-law. Mr. +Thorpe was especially free from relatives." + +"Oh, this is George's wife. Dear little Lutie Carnahan, don't you know? +She's adorable." + +"Oh!" oozed from the other's lips. "I--I think I do recall the fact that +George was married while in college. It is very nice of you to share your +flowers with her. I loathed them, however, when Percy and Elaine were +coming. It must be after five, isn't it?" + +"Two minutes after," said Anne. + +"I thought so. I wonder what has become of--Oh, by the way, Jane, Percy was +saying the other day that Eddie Townshield has really been thrown over by +that silly little Egburt girl. He was frightfully gone on her, you know. +You wouldn't know her. She came out after you went into retirement. That's +rather good, isn't it? Retirement! I must tell that to Percy. He thinks I +haven't a grain of humour, my dear. It bores him, I fancy, because he is +so witty himself. And heaven knows he doesn't get it from his father. That +reminds me, have you heard that Captain Poindexter is about to be +dismissed from the army on account of that affair with Mrs. Coles last +winter? The government is very strict about--Ah, perhaps that is Percy +now." + +But it was not Percy,--only a boy with a telegram. + +"Will you pardon me?" said Anne, and tore open the envelope. "Why, it's +from Percy." + +"From--dear me, what is it, Anne? Has anything happened--" + +"Just a word to say that he will be fifteen or twenty minutes late," said +Anne drily. + +"He is the most thoughtful boy in--But as I was saying, Herbie Vandervelt's +affair with Anita Coles was the talk of the town last winter. Every one +says that he will not marry her even though Coles divorces her. How I hate +that in men. They are not all that sort, thank God. I suppose the business +in connection with the estate has been settled, hasn't it? As I recall it, +the will was a very simple one, aside from that ridiculous provision that +shocked every one so much. I think you made a great mistake in not +contesting it, Annie. Percy says that it wouldn't have stood in any court. +By the way, have you seen Braden Thorpe?" She eyed her hostess rather +narrowly. + +"No," was the reply. "It hasn't been necessary, you know. Mr. Dodge +attended to everything. My duties as executrix were trifling. My report, +or whatever you call it, was ready months ago." + +"And all that money? I mean, the money that went to Braden. What of that?" + +"It did not go to Braden, Mrs. Wintermill," said Anne levelly. "It is in +trust." + +Mrs. Wintermill smiled. "Oh, nothing will come of that," she said. "Percy +says that you could bet your boots that Braden would have contested if +things had been the other way round." + +"I'm sure I don't know," said Anne briefly. + +"I hear that he is hanging on in spite of what the world says about him, +trying to get a practice. Percy sees him quite frequently. He's really +sorry for him. When Percy likes a person nothing in the world can turn him +against--why, he would lend him money as long as his own lasted. He--" + +"Has Braden borrowed money from Percy?" demanded Anne quickly. + +"I did not say that he had, my dear," said the other reprovingly. "I +merely said that he would lend it to him in any amount if he asked for it. +Of course, Braden would probably go to Simmy Dodge in case of--they are +almost inseparable, you know. Simmy has been quite a brick, sticking to +him like this. My dear,"--leaning a little closer and lowering her voice on +Ludwig's account,--"do you know that the poor fellow didn't have a patient +for nearly six months? People wouldn't go near him. I hear that he has +been doing better of late. I think it was Percy who said that he had +operated successfully on a man who had gall stones. Oh, yes, I quite +forgot that Percy says he has twenty-five thousand dollars a year as wages +for acting as trustee. I fancy he doesn't hesitate to use it to the best +advantage. As long as he has that, I dare say he will not starve or go +naked." + +Receiving no response from Anne, she took courage and playfully shook her +finger at the young woman. "Wasn't there some ridiculous talk of an +adolescent engagement a few years ago? How queer nature is! I can't +imagine you even being interested in him. So soggy and emotionless, and +you so full of life and verve and--Still they say he is completely wrapped +up in his profession, such as it is. I've always said that a daughter of +mine should never marry a doctor. As a matter of fact, a doctor never +should marry. No woman should be subjected to the life that a doctor's +wife has to lead. In the first place, if he is any good at all in his +profession, he can't afford to give her any time or thought, and then +there is always the danger one runs from women patients. You never could +be quite sure that everything was all right, don't you know. Besides, I've +always had a horror of the infectious diseases they may be carrying around +in their--why, think of small-pox and diphtheria and scarlet fever! Those +diseases--" + +"My dear Mrs. Wintermill," interrupted Anne, with a smile, "I am not +thinking of marrying a doctor." + +"Of course you are not," said Mrs. Wintermill promptly. "I wasn't thinking +of that. I--" + +"Besides, there is a lot of difference between a surgeon and a regular +practitioner. Surgeons do not treat small-pox and that sort of thing. You +couldn't object to a surgeon, could you?" She spoke very sweetly and +without a trace of ridicule in her manner. + +"I have a horror of surgeons," said the other, catching at her purse as it +once more started to slip from her capacious lap. She got it in time. +"Blood on their hands every time they earn a fee. No, thank you. I am not +a sanguinary person." + +All of which leads up to the belated announcement that Mrs. Wintermill was +extremely desirous of having the beautiful and wealthy widow of Templeton +Thorpe for a daughter-in-law. + +"I suppose you know that James,--but naturally you wouldn't know, having +just landed, my dear Jane. You haven't seen Braden Thorpe, so it isn't +likely that you could have heard. I fancy he isn't saying much about it, +in any event. The world is too eager to rake up things against him in view +of his extraordinary ideas on--" + +"You were speaking of James, but _what_ James, Mrs. Wintermill?" +interrupted Anne, sensing. + +Mrs. Wintermill lowered her voice. "Inasmuch as you are rather closely +related to Braden by marriage, you will be interested to know that he is +to perform a very serious operation upon James Marraville." There was no +mistaking the awe in her voice. + +"The banker?" + +"The great James Marraville," said Mrs. Wintermill, suddenly passing her +handkerchief over her brow. "He is said to be in a hopeless condition," +she added, pronouncing the words slowly. + +"I--I had not heard of it, Mrs. Wintermill," murmured Anne, going cold to +the very marrow. + +"Every one has given him up. It is terrible. A few days ago he sent for +Braden Thorpe and--well, it was announced in the papers that there will be +an operation to-morrow or the next day. Of course, he cannot survive it. +That is admitted by every one. Mr. Wintermill went over to see him last +night. He was really shocked to find Mr. Marraville quite cheerful +and--contented. I fancy you know what that means." + +"And Braden is going to operate?" said Anne slowly. + +"No one else will undertake it, of course," said the other, something like +a triumphant note in her voice. + +"What a wonderful thing it would be for Braden if he were to succeed," +cried Anne, battling against her own sickening conviction. "Think what it +would mean if he were to save the life of a man so important as James +Marraville,--one of the most talked-of men in the country. It would--" + +"But he will not save the man's life," said Mrs. Wintermill significantly. +"I do not believe that Marraville himself expects that." She hesitated for +an instant. "It is really dreadful that Braden should have achieved so +much notoriety on account of--I _beg_ your pardon!" + +Anne had arisen and was standing over her visitor in an attitude at once +menacing and theatric. The old lady blinked and caught her breath. + +"If you are trying to make me believe, Mrs. Wintermill, that Braden would +consent to--But, why should I insult him by attempting to defend him when +no defence is necessary? I know him well enough to say that he would not +operate on James Marraville for all the money in the world unless he +believed that there was a chance to pull him through." She spoke rapidly +and rather too intensely for Mrs. Wintermill's peace of mind. + +"That is just what Percy says," stammered the older woman hastily. "He +believes in Braden. He says it's all tommyrot about Marraville paying him +to put him out of his misery. My dear, I don't believe there is a more +loyal creature on earth than Percy Wintermill. He--" + +Percy was announced at that instant. He came quickly into the room and, +failing utterly to see his mother, went up to Anne and inquired what the +deuce had happened to prevent her coming to luncheon, and why she didn't +have the grace to let him know, and what did she take him for, anyway. + +"Elaine and I stood around over there for an hour,--an hour, do you get +that?--biting everything but food, and--" + +"I'm awfully sorry, Percy," said Anne calmly. "I wouldn't offend Elaine +for the world. She's--" + +"Elaine? What about me? Elaine took it as a joke, confound her,--but I +didn't. Now see here, Anne, old girl, you know I'm not in the habit of +being--" + +"Here is your mother, Percy," interrupted Anne coldly. + +"Hello! You still waiting for me, mother? I say, what do you think Anne's +been doing to your angel child? Forgetting that he's on earth, that's all. +Now, where were you, Anne, and what's the racket? I'm not in the habit of +being--" + +"I forgot all about it, Percy," confessed Anne deliberately. She was +conscious of a sadly unfeminine longing to see just how Percy's nose +_could_ look under certain conditions. "I couldn't say that to you over +the phone, however,--could I?" + +"Anne's sister-in-law is expecting a baby," put in Mrs. Wintermill +fatuously. This would never do! Percy ought to know better than to say +such things to Anne. What on earth had got into him? Except for the +foregoing effort, however, she was quite speechless. + +"What's that got to do with it?" demanded Percy, chucking his gloves +toward the piano. He faced Anne once more, prepared to insist on full +satisfaction. The look in her eyes, however, caused him to refrain from +pursuing his tactics. He smiled in a sickly fashion and said, after a +moment devoted to reconstruction: "But, never mind, Anne; I was only +having a little fun bullying you. That's a man's privilege, don't you +know. We'll try it again to-morrow, if you say so." + +"I have an engagement," said Anne briefly. The next instant she smiled. +"Next week perhaps, if you will allow me the privilege of forgetting +again." + +"Oh, I say!" said Percy, blinking his eyes. How was he to take that sort +of talk? He didn't know. And for fear that he might say the wrong thing if +he attempted to respond to her humour, he turned to his mother and +remarked: "Don't wait for me, mother. Run along, do. I'm going to stop for +a chat with Anne." + +As Mrs. Wintermill went out she met Simmy Dodge in the hall. + +"Would you mind, Simmy dear, coming down to the automobile with me?" she +said quickly. "I--I think I feel a bit faint." + +"I'll drive home with you, if you like," said the good Simmy, +solicitously. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + + +She saw by the evening papers that the operation on Marraville was to take +place the next day. That night she slept but little. When her maid roused +her from the slumber that came long after the sun was up, she immediately +called for the morning papers. In her heart she was hoping, almost praying +that they would report the death of James Marraville during the night. +Then, as she read with burning eyes, she found herself hoping against hope +that the old man would, at the last moment, refuse to undergo the +operation, or that some member of his family would protest. But even as +she hoped, she knew that there would be no objection on the part of either +Marraville or his children. He was an old man, he was fatally ill, he was +through with life. There would be no obstacle placed in the way of Death. +His time had come and there was no one to ask for a respite. He would die +under the knife and every one would be convinced that it was for the best. +As she sat up in bed, staring before her with bleak, unseeing eyes, she +had an inward vision of this rich man's family counting in advance the +profits of the day's business! Braden Thorpe was to be the only victim. He +was to be the one to suffer. Two big tears grew in her eyes and rolled +down her cheeks. She had never loved Braden Thorpe as she loved him now. + +She knew that he was moved by honest intentions. That he confidently +believed he could preserve this man's life she would not for an instant +doubt. But why had he agreed to undertake the feat that other men had +declared was useless, the work that other men had said to be absolutely +unnecessary? A faint ray of comfort rested on the possibility that these +great surgeons, appreciating, the wide-spread interest that naturally +would attend the fate of so great a man as James Marraville, were loth to +face certain failure, but even that comfort was destroyed by an +intelligence that argued for these surgeons instead of against them. They +had said that the case was hopeless. They were honest men. They had the +courage to say: "This man must die. It is God's work, not ours," and had +turned away. They were big men; they would not operate just for the sake +of operating. And when they admitted that it was useless they were +convincing the world that they were honourable men. Therefore,--she almost +ground her pretty teeth at the thought of it,--old Marraville and his +family had turned to Braden Thorpe as one without honour or conscience! + +She had never been entirely free from the notion that her husband's death +was the result of premeditated action on the part of his grandson, but in +that instance there was more than professional zeal in the heart of the +surgeon: there was love and pity and gentleness in the heart of Braden +Thorpe when he obeyed the command of the dying man. If he were to come to +her now, or at any time, with the confession that he had deliberately +ended the suffering of the man he loved, she would have put her hand in +his and looked him in the eye while she spoke her words of commendation. +Templeton Thorpe had the right to appeal to him in his hour of +hopelessness, but this other man--this mighty Marraville!--what right had he +to demand the sacrifice? She had witnessed the suffering of Templeton +Thorpe, she had prayed for death to relieve him; he had called upon her to +be merciful, and she had denied him. She wondered if James Marraville had +turned to those nearest and dearest to him with the cry for mercy. She +wondered if the little pellets had been left at his bedside. She knew the +extent of his agony, and yet she had no pity for him. He was not asking +for mercy at the hands of a man who loved him and who could not deny him. +He was demanding something for which he was willing to pay, not with love +and gratitude, but with money. Would he look up into Braden's eyes and +say, "God bless you," when the end was at hand? + +Moved by a sudden irresistible impulse she flung reserve aside and decided +to make an appeal to Braden. She would go to him and plead with him to +spare himself instead of this rich old man. She would go down on her knees +to him, she would humble and humiliate herself, she would cry out her +unwanted love to him.... + +At nine o'clock she was at his office. He was gone for the day, the little +placard on the door informed her. Gone for the day! In her desperation she +called Simmy Dodge on the telephone. He would tell her what to do. But +Simmy's man told her that his master had just gone away in the motor with +Dr. Thorpe,--for a long ride into the country. Scarcely knowing what she +did she hurried on to Lutie's apartment, far uptown. + +"What on earth is the matter, Anne?" cried the gay little wife as her +sister-in-law stalked into the tiny drawing-room and threw herself +dejectedly upon a couch. Lutie was properly alarmed and sympathetic. + +It was what Anne needed. She unburdened herself. + +"But," said Lutie cheerfully, "supposing he should save the old codger's +life, what then? Why do you look at the black side of the thing? While +there's life, there's hope. You don't imagine for an instant that Dr. +Thorpe is going into this big job with an idea of losing his patient, do +you?" + +Anne's eyes brightened. A wave of relief surged into her heart. + +"Oh, Lutie, Lutie, do you really believe that Braden thinks he can save +him?" + +Lutie's eyes opened very wide. "What in heaven's name are you saying? You +don't suppose he's thinking of anything else, do you?" A queer, sinking +sensation assailed her suddenly. She remembered. She knew what was in +Anne's mind. "Oh, I see! You--" she checked the words in time. An instant +later her ready tongue saved the situation. "You don't seem to understand +what a golden opportunity this is for Braden. Here is a case that every +newspaper in the country is talking about. It's the chance of a lifetime. +He'll do his best, let me tell you that. If Mr. Marraville dies, it won't +be Braden's fault. You see, he's just beginning to build up a practice. +He's had a few unimportant cases and he's--well, he's just beginning to +realise that pluck and perseverance will do 'most anything for a fellow. +Now, here comes James Marraville, willing to take a chance with +him--because it's the only chance left, I'll admit,--and you can bet your +last dollar, Anne, that Braden isn't going to make a philanthropic job of +it." + +"But if he fails, Lutie,--if he fails don't you see what the papers will +say? They will crush him to--" + +"Why should they? Bigger men than he have failed, haven't they?" + +"But it will ruin Braden forever. It will be the end of all his hopes, all +his ambitions. _This_ will convict him as no other--" + +"Now, don't get excited, dear," cautioned the other gently. "You're +working yourself into an awful state. I think I understand, Anne. You poor +old girl!" + +"I want you to know, Lutie. I want some one to know what he is to me, in +spite of everything." + +Then Lutie sat down beside her and, after deliberately pulling the pins +from her visitor's hat, tossed it aimlessly in the direction of a near-by +chair,--failing to hit it by several feet,--and drew the smooth, troubled +head down upon her shoulder. + +"Stay and have luncheon with George and me," she said, after a half hour +of confidences. "It will do you good. I'll not breathe a word of what +you've said to me,--not even to old George. He's getting so nervous +nowadays that he comes home to lunch and telephones three or four times a +day. It's an awful strain on him. He doesn't eat a thing, poor dear. I'm +really quite worried about him. Take a little snooze here on the sofa, +Anne. You must be worn out. I'll cover you up--" + +The door-bell rang. + +Lutie started and her jaw fell. "Good gracious! That's--that's Dr. Thorpe +now. He is the only one who comes up without being announced from +downstairs. Oh, dear! What shall I--Don't you think you'd better see him, +Anne?" + +Anne had arisen. A warm flush had come into her pale cheeks. She was +breathing quickly and her eyes were bright. + +"I will see him, Lutie. Would you mind leaving us alone together for a +while? I must make sure of one thing. Then I'll be satisfied." + +Lutie regarded her keenly for a moment. "Just remember that you can't +afford to make a fool of yourself," she said curtly, and went to the door. +A most extraordinary thought entered Anne's mind, a distinct thought among +many that were confused: Lutie ought to have a parlour-maid, and she would +make it her business to see that she had one at once. Poor, plucky little +thing! And then the door was opened and Thorpe walked into the room. + +"Well, how are we this morning?" he inquired cheerily, clasping Lutie's +hand. "Fine, I see. I happened to be passing with Simmy and thought I'd +run in and see--" His gaze fell upon the tall, motionless figure on the +opposite side of the room, and the words died on his lips. + +"It's Anne," said Lutie fatuously. + +For a moment there was not a sound or a movement in the little room. The +man was staring over Lutie's head at the slim, elegant figure in the +modish spring gown,--it was something smart and trig, he knew, and it was +not black. Then he advanced with his hand extended. + +"I am glad to see you back, Anne. I heard you had returned." Their hands +met in a brief clasp. His face was grave, and a queer pallor had taken the +place of the warm glow of an instant before. + +"Three days ago," she said, and that was all. Her throat was tight and +dry. He had not taken his eyes from hers. She felt them burning into her +own, and somehow it hurt,--she knew not why. + +"Well, it's good to see you," he mumbled, finding no other words. He +pulled himself together with an effort. He had not expected to see her +here. He had dreamed of her during the night just past. "Simmy is waiting +down below in the car. I just dropped in for a moment. Can't keep him +waiting, Lutie, so I'll--" + +"Won't you spare me a few moments, Braden?" said Anne steadily. "There is +something that I must say to you. To-morrow will not do. It must be now." + +He looked concerned. "Has anything serious--" + +"Nothing--yet," she broke in, anticipating his question. + +"Sit down, Braden," said Lutie cheerfully. "I'll make myself scarce. I see +you are down for a big job to-day. Good boy! I told you they'd come your +way if you waited long enough. It is a big job, isn't it?" + +"Ra-_ther_," said he, smiling. "I daresay it will make or break me." + +"I should think you'd be frightfully nervous." + +"Well, I'm not, strange to say. On the contrary, I'm as fit as a fiddle." + +"When do you--perform this operation?" Anne asked, as Lutie left the room. + +"This afternoon. He has a superstition about it. Doesn't want it done +until after banking hours. Queerest idea I've ever known." He spoke in +quick, jerky sentences. + +She held her breath for an instant, and then cried out imploringly: "I +don't want you to do it, Braden,--I don't want you to do it. If not for my +sake, then for your own you must refuse to go on with it." + +He looked straight into her troubled, frightened eyes. "I suppose you are +like the rest of them: you think I'm going to kill him, eh?" His voice was +low and bitter. + +She winced, half closing her eyes as if a blow had been aimed at them. +"Oh, don't say that! How horrible it sounds when you--_speak it_." + +He could see that she was trembling, and suddenly experienced an odd +feeling of contentment. He had seen it in her eyes once more: the love +that had never faltered although dragged in the dirt, discredited and +betrayed. She still loved him, and he was glad to know it. He could gloat +over it. + +"I am not afraid to speak it, as you say," he said curtly. Then he pitied +her. "I'm sorry, Anne. I shouldn't have said it. I think I understand what +you mean. It's good of you to care. But I am going ahead with it, just the +same." His jaw was set in the old, resolute way. + +"Do you know what they will say if you--fail?" Her voice was husky. + +"Yes, I know. I also know why they finally came to me. They haven't any +hope. They believe that I may--well, at least I will not say _that_, Anne. +Down in their hearts they all hope,--but it isn't the kind of hope that +usually precedes an operation. No one has dared to suggest to me that I +put him out of his misery, but that's what they're expecting,--all of them. +But they are going to be disappointed. I do not owe anything to James +Marraville. He is nothing to me. I do not love him as I loved my +grandfather." + +He spoke slowly, with grave deliberation; there was not the slightest +doubt that he intended her to accept this veiled explanation of his +present attitude as a confession that he had taken his grandfather's life. + +She was silent. She understood. He went on, more hurriedly: + +"I can only say to you, Anne, that my grandfather might have gone on +living for a few weeks or even months. Well, there is no reason why +Marraville shouldn't go on living for awhile. Do you see what I mean? He +shall not die to-day if I can help it. He will hang on for weeks, not +permanently relieved but at least comforted in the belief that his case +isn't hopeless. I shall do my best." He smiled sardonically. "The +operation will be called a success, and he will merely go on dying instead +of having it all over with." + +She closed her eyes. "Oh, how cruel it is," she murmured. "How cruel it +is, after all." + +"He will curse me for failing to do my duty," said he grimly. "The world +will probably say that I am a benefactor to the human race, after all, and +I will be called a great man because I allow him a few more weeks of +agony. I may fail, of course. He may not survive the day. But no one will +be justified in saying that I did not do my best to tide him over for a +few weeks or months. And what a travesty it will be if I do succeed! Every +one except James Marraville will praise me to the skies. My job will be +done, but he will have it all to do over again,--this business of dying." + +She held out her hand. Her eyes had filled with tears. + +"God be with you, Braden." He took her hand in his, and for a moment +looked into the swimming eyes. + +"You understand _everything_ now, don't you, Anne?" he inquired. His face +was very white and serious. He released her hand. + +"Yes," she answered; "I understand everything. I am glad that you have +told me. It--it makes no difference; I want you to understand that, +Braden." + +It seemed to her that he would never speak. He was regarding her +thoughtfully, evidently weighing his next words with great care. + +"Three doctors know," he said at last. "They must never find out that you +know." + +Her eyes flashed through the tears. "I am not afraid to have the world +know," she said quickly. + +He shook his head, smiling sadly. + +"But I am," he said. It was a long time before she grasped the full +significance of this surprising admission. When, hours afterward, she came +to realise all that it meant she knew that he was not thinking of himself +when he said that he was afraid. He was thinking of her; he had thought of +her from the first. Now she could only look puzzled and incredulous. It +was not like him to be afraid of consequences. + +"If you are afraid," she demanded quickly, "why do you invite peril this +afternoon? The chances are against you, Braden. Give it up. Tell them you +cannot--" + +"This afternoon?" he broke in, rather violently. "Good God, Anne, I'm not +afraid of what is going to happen this afternoon. Marraville isn't going +to die to-day, poor wretch. I can't afford to let him die." He almost +snarled the words. "I have told these people that if I fail to take him +through this business to-day, I'll accept no pay. That is understood. The +newspapers will be so informed in case of failure. You are shocked. Well, +it isn't as bad as it sounds. I am in deadly earnest in this matter. It is +my one great chance. It means more to me to save James Marraville's life +than it means to him. I'm sorry for him, but he has to go on living, just +the same. Thank you for being interested. Don't worry about it. I--" + +"The evening papers will tell me how it turns out," she said dully. "I +shall pray for you, Braden." + +He turned on her savagely. "Don't do that!" he almost shouted. "I don't +want your support. I--" Other words surged to his lips but he held them +back. She drew back as if he had struck her a blow in the face. "I--I beg +your pardon," he muttered, and then strode across the room to thump +violently on the door to Lutie's bed-chamber. "Come out! I'm going. Can't +keep the nation waiting, you know." + +Two minutes later Anne and Lutie were alone. The former, inwardly shaken +despite an outward appearance of composure, declined to remain for +luncheon, as she had done the day before. Her interest in Lutie and her +affairs was lost in the contemplation of a reviving sense of self- +gratification, long dormant but never quite unconscious. She had recovered +almost instantly from the shock produced by his violent command, and where +dismay had been there was now a warm, grateful rush of exultation. She +suspected the meaning of that sudden, fierce lapse into rudeness. Her +heart throbbed painfully, but with joyous relief. It was not rudeness on +his part; on the contrary he was paying tribute to her. He was dismayed by +the feelings he found himself unable to conquer. The outburst was the +result of a swift realisation that she still had the power to move him in +spite of all his mighty resolves, in spite even of the contempt he had for +her. + +She walked to the Ritz. It was a long distance from George's home, but she +went about it gladly in preference to the hurried, pent-up journey down by +taxi or stage. She wanted to be free and unhampered. She wanted to think, +to analyse, to speculate on what would happen next. For the present she +was content to glory in the fact that he had unwittingly betrayed himself. + +She was near the Plaza before the one great, insurmountable obstacle arose +in her mind to confound her joyous calculations. What would it all come +to, after all? She could never be more to him than she was at this +instant, for between them lay the truth about the death of Templeton +Thorpe,--and Templeton Thorpe was her husband. Her exaltation was short- +lived. The joy went out of her soul. The future looked to be even more +barren than before the kindly hope sprang up to wave its golden prospects +before her deluded eyes. + +He would never look at the situation from her point of view. Even though +he found himself powerless to resist the love that was regaining strength +enough to batter down the wall of prejudice her marriage had created in +his mind, there would still stand between them his conviction that it +would be an act of vileness to claim or even covet the wife of the man +whose life he had taken, not in anger or reprisal but in honest devotion. + +Anne was not callous or unfeeling in her readiness to disregard what he +might be expected to call the ethics of the case. She very sensibly looked +at the question as one in which the conscience had no part, for the simple +reason that there was no guilty motive to harass it. If his conscience was +clear,--and it most certainly was,--there could be no sound reason for him +to deny himself the right to reclaim that which belonged to him by all the +laws of nature. On her part there was not the slightest feeling of +revulsion. She did not look upon his act as a barrier. Her own act in +betraying him was far more of a barrier than this simple thing that he had +done. She had believed it to be insurmountable. She had long ago accepted +as final the belief that he despised her and would go on doing so to the +end. And now, in the last hour, there had been a revelation. He still +loved her. His scorn, his contempt, his disgust were not equal to the task +of subduing the emotion that lived in spite of all of them. But this other +thing! This thing that he would call _decency_! + +All through the afternoon his savage, discordant cry: "Don't do that!" +rang in her ears. She thrilled and crumpled in turn. The blood ran hot +once more in her veins. As she looked back over the past year it seemed to +her that her blood had been cold and sluggish. But now it was warm again +and tingling. Even the desolating thought that her discovery would yield +no profit failed to check the riotous, grateful warmth that raced through +her body from crown to toe. Despair had its innings, but there was always +compensation in the return of a joy that would not acknowledge itself +beaten. Joy enough to feel that he could not help loving her! Joy to feel +that he was hungry too! No matter what happened now she would know that +she had not lost all of him. + +After a while she found herself actually enjoying the prospect of certain +failure on Braden's part in the case of Marraville. Reviled and excoriated +beyond endurance, he would take refuge in the haven that she alone could +open to him. He would come to her and she would go with him, freely and +gladly, into new places where he could start all over again and--But even +as she conjured up this sacrificial picture, this false plaisance, her +cheeks grew hot with shame. The real good that was in Anne Tresslyn leaped +into revolt. She hated herself for the thought; she could have cursed +herself. What manner of love was this that could think of self alone? What +of him? What of the man she loved? + +She denied herself to callers. At half-past five she called up the +hospital and inquired how Mr. Marraville was getting along. She had a +horrid feeling that the voice at the other end would say that he was dead. +She found a vast relief in the polite but customary "doing very nicely" +reply that came languidly over the wires. Anne was not by way of knowing +that the telephone operators in the hospitals would say very cheerfully +that "Mr. Washington is doing very nicely," if one were to call up to +inquire into the condition of the Father of his Country! An "extra" at six +o'clock announced that the operation had taken place and that Mr. +Marraville had survived it, although it was too soon to,--and so on and so +forth. + +Then she called Simmy Dodge up on the telephone. Simmy would know if +anybody knew. And with her customary cleverness and foresightedness she +called him up at the hospital. + +After a long delay Simmy's cheery voice came singing--or rather it was +barking--into her ear. This had been the greatest day in the life of Simeon +Dodge. From early morn he had gone about in a state of optimistic unrest. +He was more excited than he had ever been in his life before,--and yet he +was beatifically serene. His brow was unclouded, his eyes sparkled and his +voice rang with all the confidence of extreme felicity. There was no +question in Simmy's mind as to the outcome. Braden would pull the old +gentleman through, sure as anything. Absolutely sure, that's what Simmy +was, and he told other people so. + +"Fine as silk!" he shouted back in answer to Anne's low, suppressed +inquiry. "Never anything like it, Anne, old girl. One of the young doctors +told me--" + +"Has he come out of the ether, Simmy?" + +"What say?" + +"Is he conscious? Has the ether--" + +"I can't say as to that," said Simmy cheerfully. "He's been back in his +room since five o'clock. That's--let's see what time is it now? Six- +fourteen. Nearly an hour and a quarter. They all say--" + +"Have you see Braden?" + +"Sure. He's fagged out, poor chap. Strain something awful. Good Lord, I +wonder what it must have been to him when it came so precious near to +putting me out of business. I thought I was dying at half-past four. I +never expected to live to see Mr. Marraville out of the operating-room. +Had to take something for medicinal purposes. I knew all along that Braden +could do the job like a--" + +"Where is he now?" + +"Last I heard of him he was back in his room with the house doctor and--" + +"I mean Braden." + +"What are you sore about, Anne?" complained Simmy. Her voice had sounded +rather querulous to him. "I thought you meant the patient. Brady is up +there, too, I guess. Sh! I can't say anything more. A lot of reporters, +are coming this way." + +The morning papers announced that James Marraville had passed a +comfortable night and that not only Dr. Thorpe but other physicians who +were attending him expressed the confident opinion that if he continued to +gain throughout the day and if nothing unforeseen occurred there was no +reason why he should not recover. He had rallied from the anaesthetic, his +heart was good, and there was no temperature. Members of the family were +extremely hopeful. His two sons-in-law--who were spokesmen for the other +members of the family--were united in the opinion that Dr. Thorpe had +performed a miracle. Dr. Thorpe, himself, declined to be interviewed. He +referred the newspaper men to the other surgeons and physicians who were +interested in the case. + +There was an underlying note of dismay, rather deftly obscured, in all of +the newspaper accounts, however. Not one of them appeared to have +recovered from the surprise that had thrown all of their plans out of +order. They had counted on James Marraville's death and had prepared +themselves accordingly. There were leading editorials in every office, and +columns of obituary matter; and there were far from vague allusions to the +young doctor who performed the operation. And here was the man alive! It +was really more shocking than if he had died, as he was expected to do. It +is no wonder, therefore, that the first accounts were almost entirely +without mention of the doctor who had upset all of their calculations. He +hadn't lived up to the requirements. The worst of it all was that Mr. +Marraville's failure to expire on the operating table forever deprived +them of the privilege of saying, invidiously, that young Doctor Thorpe had +been called in as the last resort. It would take them a day or two, no +doubt, to adjust themselves to the new situation, and then, if the +millionaire was still showing signs of surviving, they would burst forth +into praise of the marvellous young surgeon who had startled the entire +world by his performance! + +In the meantime, there was still a chance that Mr. Marraville might die, +so it was better to hesitate and be on the safe side. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + + +James Marraville called Thorpe a coward and a poltroon. This was a week +after the operation. They were alone in the room. For days his wondering, +questioning eyes had sought those of the man on whom he had depended for +everlasting peace, and always there had been a look of reproach in them. +Not in words, but still plainly, he was asking why he still lived, why +this man had not done the thing that was expected of him. Every one about +him was talking of the marvellous, incredible result of the operation; +every one was looking cheerful and saying that he would "soon be as good +as new." And all the while he was lying there, weak and beaten, wondering +why they lied to him, and why Man as well as God had been so cruel to him. +He was not deceived. He knew that he had it all to live over again. He +knew what they meant when they said that it had been very successful! And +so, one day, in all the bitterness of his soul, he cursed the man who had +given him a few more months to live. + +But there were other men and women who did not want to die. They wanted +very dearly to live, and they had been afraid to risk an operation. Now +that the world was tumbling over itself to proclaim the greatness of the +surgeon who had saved James Marraville's life, the faint-hearted of all +degrees flowed in a stream up to his doors and implored him to name his +own price.... So goes the world.... + +The other doctors knew, and Braden knew, and most thoroughly of all James +Marraville knew, that while the operation was a wonderful feat in surgery, +it might just as well have remained undone. The young doctor simply had +done all that was in the power of man to do for a fellow creature. He had +cheated Death out of an easy victory, but Death would come again and sit +down beside James Marraville to wait for another day. + +Down near Washington Square, Wade blinked his eyes and shook his head, and +always re-read the reports from the sick-room. He was puzzled and +sometimes there was a faraway look in his eyes. + + * * * * * + +Lutie's baby came. He came long after midnight, and if he had been given +the power at birth to take intelligent notice of things, he would have +been vastly astonished to hear that his grandmother had been sitting up in +an adjoining room with her son and daughter, anxiously, even fearfully, +awaiting his advent into the world. And he would have been further +astonished and perhaps distressed if any one had told him that his granny +cried a little over him, and refused to go to her own home until she was +quite sure that his little mother was all right. Moreover, he would have +been gravely impressed by the presence of the celebrated Dr. Thorpe, and +the extraordinary agony of that great big tall man who cowered and +shivered and who wouldn't even look at him because he had eyes and thought +for no one but the little mother. Older and wiser persons would have +revealed considerable interest in the certificate of deposit that his +grandmother laid on the bed beside him. He was quite a rich little boy +without knowing it. Thirty thousand dollars is not to be sneezed at, and +it would be highly unjust to say that it was a sneeze that sent his +grandmother, his aunt and his father into hysterics of alarm. + +They called him Carnahan Tresslyn. He represented a distinct phase in the +regeneration of a proud and haughty family. + +A few weeks later Anne took a house up among the hills of Westchester +County, and moved Lutie and the baby out into the country. It did not +occur to her to think that she was making a personal sacrifice in going up +there to spend the hot months. + +Percy Wintermill informed her one day that he was going to ask her to +marry him when the proper time arrived. It would be the third time, he +reminded her. He was being forehanded, that was all,--declaring himself in +advance of all others and thereby securing, as he put it, the privilege of +priority. She was not very much moved by the preparation of Percy. In +fact, she treated the matter with considerable impatience. + +"Really, you know, Percy," she said, "I'm getting rather fed up with +refusing you. I'm sure I've done it more than three times. Why don't you +ask some girl who will have you?" + +"That's just the point," said he frankly. "If I asked some girl who would +have me, she'd take me, and then where would you come in? I don't want any +one but you, Anne, and--" + +"Sorry, Perce, but it's no use," said she briefly. + +"Well, I haven't asked you yet," he reminded her. After some minutes, +spent by him in rumination and by her in wondering why she didn't send him +away, he inquired, quite casually: "Anybody else in mind, old girl?" She +merely stared at him. "Hope it isn't Brady Thorpe," he went on. "He's one +of my best friends. I'd hate to think that I'd have to--" + +"Go home, Percy," she said. "I'm going out,--and I'm late already. Thanks +for the orchids. Don't bother to send any more. It's just a waste of +money, old fellow. I sha'n't marry you. I sha'n't marry any one except the +man with whom I fall desperately, horribly in love,--and I'm not going to +fall in love with you, so run away." + +"You weren't in love with old man Thorpe, were you?" he demanded, flushing +angrily. + +"I haven't the right to be offended by that beastly remark, Percy," she +said quietly; "and yet I don't think you ought to have said it to me." + +"It was meant only to remind you that it won't be necessary for you to +fall desperately, horribly in love with me," he explained, and was +suddenly conscious of being very uncomfortable for the first time in his +life. He did not like the expression in her eyes. + +Her shoulders drooped a little. "It isn't very comforting to feel that any +one of my would-be husbands could be satisfied to get along without being +loved by me. No doubt I shall be asked by others besides you, Percy. I +hope you do not voice the sentiments of all the rest of them." + +"I'm sorry I said it," he said, and seemed a little bewildered immediately +afterwards. He really couldn't make himself out. He went away a few +minutes later, vaguely convinced that perhaps it wouldn't be worth while +to ask her, after all. This was a new, strange Anne, and it would hurt to +be refused by her. He had never thought of it in just that way--before. + +"So that is the price they put upon me, is it?" Anne said to herself. She +was regarding herself rather humbly in the mirror as she pinned on her +hat. "I am still expected to marry without loving the man who takes me. It +isn't to be exacted of me. Don't they credit me with a capacity for +loving? What do they think I am? What do they think my blood is made of, +and the flesh on my bones? Do they think that because I am beautiful I can +love no one but myself? Don't they think I'm human? How can any one look +at me without feeling that I'd rather love than be loved? The poor fools! +Any woman can be loved. What we all want more than anything else is to +_love_. And I love--I _do_ love! And I _am_ beloved. And all the rest of my +life I shall love; I shall gloat over the fact that I love; I shall love, +love, _love_ with all that there is in me, all that there is in my body +and my soul. The poor fools." + +And all that was in her body and her soul was prepared to give itself to +the man who loved her. She wanted him to have her for his own. She pitied +him even more than she pitied herself. + +Anne had no illusions concerning herself. Mawkish sentimentality had no +place in her character. She was straightforward and above board with +herself, and she would not cheapen herself in her own eyes. Another woman +might have gone down on her knees, whimpering a cry for forgiveness, but +not Anne Tresslyn. She would ask him to forgive her but she would not lie +to herself by prostrating her body at his feet. There was firm, noble +stuff in Anne Tresslyn. It was born in her to know that the woman who goes +down on her knees before her man never quite rises to her full height +again. She will always be in the position of wondering whether she stayed +on her knees long enough to please him. The thought had never entered +Anne's head to look anywhere but straight into Braden's eyes. She was not +afraid to have him see that she was honest! He could see that she had no +lies to tell him. And she was as sorry for him as she was for herself.... + +She saw him often during the days of Lutie's convalescence, but never +alone. There was considerable comfort for her in the thought that he made +a distinct point of not being alone with her. One day she said to him: + +"I have my car outside, Braden. Shall I run you over to St. Luke's?" + +It was a test. She knew that he was going to the hospital, and intended to +take the elevated down to 110th Street. His smile puzzled her. + +"No, thank you." Then, after a moment, he added: "If people saw me driving +about in a prosperous looking touring-car they'd be justified in thinking +that my fees are exorbitant, and I should lose more than I'd gain." + +She flushed slightly. "By the same argument they might think you were +picking up germs in the elevated or the subway." + +"I shun the subway," he said. + +Anne looked straight into his eyes and said--to herself: "I love you." He +must have sensed the unspoken words, for his eyes hardened. + +"Moreover, Anne, I shouldn't think it would be necessary for me to remind +you that--" he hesitated, for he suddenly realised that he was about to +hurt her, and it was not what he wanted to do--"that there are other and +better reasons why--" + +He stopped there, and never completed the sentence. She was still looking +into his eyes and was still saying to herself: "I love you." It was as if +a gentle current of electricity played upon every nerve in his body. He +quivered under the touch of something sweet and mysterious. Exaltation was +his response to the magnetic wave that carried her unspoken words into his +heart. She had not uttered a sound and yet he heard the words. How many +times had she cried those delicious words into his ear while he held her +close in his arms? How many times had she looked at him like this while +actually speaking the words aloud in answer to his appeal? + +They were standing but a few feet apart. He could take a step forward and +she would be in his arms,--that glorious, adorable, ineffably feminine +creation,--in his arms,--in his arms,-- + +It was she who broke the spell. Her voice sounded far off--and exhausted, +as if it came from her lips without breath behind it. + +"It will always be just the same, Braden," she said, and he knew that it +was an acknowledgment of his unfinished reminder. She was promising him +something. + +He took a firm grip on himself. "I'm glad that you see things as they are, +Anne. Now, I must be off. Thanks just the same for--" + +"Oh, don't mention it," she said carelessly. "I'm glad that you see things +too as they are, Braden." She held out her hand. There was no restraint in +her manner. "I'm sorry, Braden. Things might have been so different. I'm +sorry." + +"Good God!" he burst out. "If you had only been--" He broke off, resolutely +compressing his lips. His jaw was set again in the strong old way that she +knew so well. + +She nodded her head slowly. "If I had only been some one else instead of +myself," she said, "it would not have happened." + +He turned toward the door, stopped short and then turned to face her. +There was a strange expression in his grey eyes, not unlike diffidence. + +"Percy told me last night that you have refused to marry him. I'm glad +that you did that, Anne. I want you to know that I am glad, that I +felt--oh, I cannot tell you how I felt when he told me." + +She eyed him closely for a moment. "You thought that I--I might have +accepted him. Is that it?" + +"I--I hadn't thought of it at all," he said, confusedly. + +"Well," she said, and a slight pallor began to reveal itself in her face, +"I tried marrying for money once, Braden. The next time I shall try +marrying for love." + +He stared. "You don't mince words, do you?" he said, frowning. + +"No," she said. "Percy will tell you that, I fancy," she added, and +smiled. "He can't understand my not marrying him. He will be worth fifteen +or twenty millions, you know." The irony in her voice was directed +inwardly, not outwardly. "Perhaps it would be safer for him to wait before +taking too much for granted. You see, I haven't actually refused him. I +merely refused to give him an option. He--" + +"Oh, Anne, don't jest about--" he began, and then as her eyes fell suddenly +under his gaze and her lip trembled ever so slightly,--"By Jove, I--I +sha'n't misjudge you in that way again. Good-bye." This time he held out +his hand to her. + +She shook her head. "I've changed my mind. I'm never going to say good-bye +to you again." + +"Never say good-bye? Why, that's--" + +"Why should I say good-bye to you when you are always with me?" she broke +in. Noting the expression in his eyes she went on ruthlessly, +breathlessly. "Do you think I ought to be ashamed to say such a thing to +you? Well, I'm not. It doesn't hurt my pride to say it. Not in the least." +She paused for an instant and then went on boldly. "I fancy I am more +honest with myself than you are with yourself, Braden." + +He looked steadily into her eyes. "You are wrong there," he said quietly. +Then bluntly: "By God, Anne, if it were not for the one terrible thing +that lies between us, I could--I could--" + +"Go on," she said, her heart standing still. "You can at least _say_ it to +me. I don't ask for anything more." + +"But why say it?" he cried out bitterly. "Will it help matters in the +least for me to confess that I am weak and--" + +She laughed aloud, unable to resist the nervous excitement that thrilled +her. "Weak? You weak? Look back and see if you can find a single thing to +prove that you are weak. You needn't be afraid. You are strong enough to +keep me in my place. You cannot put yourself in jeopardy by completing +what you started out to say. 'If it were not for the one terrible thing +that lies between us, I could--I could--' Well, what could you do? Overlook +my treachery? Forget that I did an even more terrible thing than you did? +Forgive me and take me back and trust me all over again? Is that what +you would have said to me?" + +"That is what I might have said," he admitted, almost savagely, "if I had +not come to my senses in time." + +Her eyes softened. The love-light glowed in their depths. "I am not as I +was two years ago, Braden," she said. "I'd like you to know that, at +least." + +"I dare say that is quite true," he said harshly. "You got what you went +after and now that you've got it you can very comfortably repent." + +She winced. "I am not repenting." + +"Would you be willing to give up all that you gained out of that +transaction and go back to where my grandfather found you?" he demanded? + +"Do you expect me to lie to you?" she asked with startling candour. + +"No. I know you will not lie." + +"Would it please you to have me say that I would willingly give up all +that I gained?" + +"I see what you mean. It would be a lie." + +"Would it please you to have me give it all up?" she insisted. + +He was thoughtful. "No," he said candidly. "You earned it, you are +entitled to it. It is filthy, dirty money, but you earned it. You do not +deny that it was your price. That's the long and the short of it." + +"Will you let me confess something to you? Something that will make it all +seem more despicable than before?" + +"Good Lord, I don't see how that can be possible!" + +"I did not expect to lose you, Braden, when I married Mr. Thorpe. I +counted on you in the end. I was so sure of myself,--and of you. Wait! Let +me finish. If I had dreamed that I was to lose you, I should not have +married Mr. Thorpe. That makes it worse, doesn't it?" There was a note of +appeal in her voice. + +"Yes, yes,--it makes it worse," he groaned. + +"I was young and--over-confident," she murmured. "I looked ahead to the day +when I should be free again and you would be added to the--well, the gains. +Now you know the whole truth about me. I was counting on you, looking +forward to you, even as I stood beside him and took the vows. You were +always uppermost in my calculations. I never left you out of them. Even to +this day, to this very moment, I continue to count on you. I shall never +be able to put the hope out of my mind. I have tried it and failed. You +may despise me if you will, but nothing can kill this mean little thing +that lurks in here. I don't know what you will call it, Braden, but I call +it loyalty to you." + +"Loyalty! My God!" he cried out hoarsely. + +"Yes, loyalty," she cried. "Mean as I am, mean as I have been, I have +never wavered an instant in my love for you. Oh, I'm not pleading for +anything. I'm not begging. I don't ask for anything,--not even your good +opinion. I am only telling you the truth. Mr. Thorpe knew it all. He knew +that I loved you, and he knew that I counted on having you after he was +out of the way. And here is something else that you never knew, or +suspected. He believed that my love for you, my eagerness, my longing to +be free to call you back again, would be the means of releasing him from +the thing that was killing him. He counted on me to--I will put it as +gently as I can--to free myself. I believe in my soul that he married me +with that awful idea in his mind." + +For a long time they were silent. Braden was staring at her, horror in his +eyes. She remained standing before him, motionless. Lutie's nurse passed +through the little hall outside, but they did not see or hear her. A door +closed softly; the faint crying of the baby went unheard. + +"You are wrong there," he said at last, thickly. "I happen to know what +his motives were, Anne." + +"Oh, I know," she said wearily. "To prove to you how utterly worthless I +am,--or was. Well, it may have been that. I hope it was. I would like to +think it of him instead of the other thing. I would like to think of him +as sacrificing himself for your sake, instead of planning to sacrifice me +for his sake. It is a terrible thought, Braden. He begged me to give him +those tablets, time and again. I--I couldn't have done that, not even with +you as the prize." She shuddered. + +A queer, indescribable chill ran through his veins. "Do you--have you ever +thought that he may have held you out as a prize--for me?" + +"You mean?" She went very white. "God above us, no! If I thought _that_, +Braden, then there would be something lying between us, something that +even such as I could not overcome." + +"Just the same," he went on grimly, "he went to his death with a word of +praise on his lips for you, Anne. He told me you were deserving of +something better than the fate he had provided for you. He was sorry. +It--it may have been that he was pleading your cause, that--" + +"I would like to think that of him," she cried eagerly, "even though his +praise fell upon deaf ears." + +She turned away from him and sank wearily into a chair. For a minute or +two he stood there regarding her in silence. He was sorry for her. It had +taken a good deal of courage to humble herself in his eyes, as she had +done by her frank avowal. + +"Is it any satisfaction to your pride, Anne," he said slowly, after +deliberate thought, "to know that I love you and always will love you, in +spite of everything?" + +Her answer was a long time in coming, and it surprised him when it did +come. + +"If I had any pride left I should hate you for humbling it in that manner, +Braden," she said, little red spots appearing on her cheeks. "I am not +asking for your pity." + +"I did not mean to--" he cried impulsively. For an instant he threw all +restraint aside. The craving mastered him. He sprang forward. + +She closed her eyes quickly, and held her breath. + +He was almost at her side when he stopped short. Then she heard the rush +of his feet and, the next instant, the banging of the hall door. He was +gone! She opened her eyes slowly, and stared dully, hazily before her. For +a long time she sat as one unconscious. The shock of realisation left her +without the strength or the desire to move. Comprehension was slow in +coming to her in the shock of disappointment. She could not realise that +she was not in his arms. He had leaped forward to clasp her, she had felt +his outstretched arms encircling her,--it was hard to believe that she sat +there alone and that the ecstasy was not real. + +Tears filled her eyes. She did not attempt to wipe them away. She could +only stare, unblinking, at the closed door. Sobs were in her throat; she +was first cold, then hot as with a fever. + +Slowly her breath began to come again, and with it the sobs. Her body +relaxed, she closed her eyes again and let her head fall back against the +chair, and for many minutes she remained motionless, still with the +weakness of one who has passed through a great crisis.... Long +afterward,--she did not know how long it was,--she laid her arms upon the +window-sill at her side and buried her face on them. The sobs died away +and the tears ceased flowing. Then she raised her eyes and stared down +into the hot, crowded street far below. She looked upon sordid, cheap, +ugly things down there, and she had been looking at paradise such a little +while ago. + +Suddenly she sprang to her feet. Her tall, glorious figure was extended to +its full height, and her face was transformed with the light of +exaltation. + +A key grated noisily in the hall door. The next instant it swung violently +open and her brother George strode in upon her,--big, clear-eyed, happy- +faced and eager. + +"Hello!" he cried, stopping short. "I popped in early to-day. Matter of +great importance to talk over with my heir. Wait a second, Anne. I'll be +back--I say, what's the matter? You look posi-_tive_-ly as if you were on +the point of bursting into grand opera. Going to sing?" + +"I'm singing all over, Georgie,--all over, inside and out," she cried +joyously. + +"Gee whiz!" he gasped. "Has the baby begun to talk?" + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + + +She did not meet him again at Lutie's. Purposely, and with a cunning +somewhat foreign to her sex, she took good care that he should not be +there when she made her daily visits. She made it an object to telephone +every day, ostensibly to inquire about Lutie's condition, and she never +failed to ask what the doctor had said. In that way she knew that he had +made his visit and had left the apartment. She would then drive up into +Harlem and sit happily with her sister-in-law and the baby, whom she +adored with a fervour that surprised not only herself but the mother, +whose ideas concerning Anne were undergoing a rapid and enduring +reformation. + +She was shocked and not a little disillusioned one day, however, when +Lutie, now able to sit up and chatter to her heart's content, remarked, +with a puzzled frown on her pretty brow: + +"Dr. Braden must be terribly rushed with work nowadays, Anne. For the last +week he has been coming here at the most unearthly hour in the morning, +and dashing away like a shot just as soon as he can. Good gracious, we're +hardly awake when he gets here. Never later than eight o'clock." + +Anne's temple came down in a heap. He wasn't playing the game at all as +she had expected. He was avoiding _her_. She was dismayed for an instant, +and then laughed outright quite frankly at her own disenchantment. + +Lutie looked at her with deep affection in her eyes. "You ought to have a +little baby of your own, Anne," she said. + +"It's much nicer having yours," said Anne. "He's such a fat one." + +Two weeks later they were all up in the country, and George was saying +twice a day at least that Anne was the surprise and comfort of his old +age. She was as gay as a lark. She sang,--but not grand opera selections. +Her days were devoted to the cheerful occupation of teaching young +Carnahan how to smile and how to count his toes. + +But in the dark hours of the night she was not so serene. Then was her +time for reflection, for wonder, for speculation. Was life to be always +like this? Were her days to be merry and confident, and her nights as full +of loneliness and doubt? Was her craving never to be satisfied? Sometimes +when George and Lutie went off to bed and left her sitting alone on the +dark, screened-in veranda, looking down from the hills across the sombre +Hudson, she almost cried aloud in her desolation. Of what profit was love +to her? Was she always to go on being alone with the love that consumed +her? + +The hot, dry summer wore away. She steadfastly refused to go to the cool +seashore, she declined the countless invitations that came to her, and she +went but seldom into the city. Her mother was at Newport. They had had one +brief, significant encounter just before the elder woman went off to the +seashore. No doubt her mother considered herself entitled to a fair share +of "the spoils," but she would make no further advances. She had failed +earlier in the game; she would not humble herself again. And so, one hot +day in August, just before going to the country, Anne went up to her old +home, determined to have it out with her mother. + +"Why are you staying in town through all of this heat, mother dear?" she +asked. Her mother was looking tired and listless. She was showing her age, +and that was the one thing that Anne could not look upon with complacency. + +"I can't afford to go junketing about this year," said her mother, simply. +"This awful war has upset--" + +"The war hasn't had time to upset anything over here, mother. It's only +been going on a couple of weeks. You ought to go away, dearest, for a good +long snooze in the country. You'll be as young as a debutante by the time +the season sets in." + +Mrs. Tresslyn smiled aridly. "Am I beginning to show my age so much as all +this, Anne?" she lamented. "I'm just a little over fifty. That isn't old +in these days, my dear." + +"You look worried, not old," said her daughter, sympathetically. "Is it +money?" + +"It's always money," admitted Mrs. Tresslyn. "I may as well make up my +mind to retrench, to live a little more simply. You would think that I +should be really quite well-to-do nowadays, having successfully gotten rid +of my principal items of expense. But I will be quite frank with you, +Anne. I am still trying to pay off obligations incurred before I lost my +excellent son and daughter. You were luxuries, both of you, my dear." + +Anne was shocked. "Do you mean to say that you are still paying off--still +paying up for _us_? Good heavens, mamma! Why, we couldn't have got you +into debt to that--" + +"Don't jump to conclusions, my dear," her mother interrupted. "The debts +were not all due to you and George. I had a few of my own. What I mean to +say is that, combining all of them, they form quite a handsome amount." + +"Tell me," said Anne determinedly, "tell me just how much of it should be +charged up to George and me." + +"I haven't the remotest idea. You see, I was above keeping books. What are +you trying to get at? A way to square up with me? Well, my dear, you can't +do that, you know. You don't owe me anything. Whatever I spent on you, I +spent cheerfully, gladly, and without an idea of ever receiving a penny in +the shape of recompense. That's the way with a mother, Anne. No matter +what she may do for her children, no matter how much she may sacrifice for +them, she does it without a single thought for herself. That is the best +part of being a mother. A wife may demand returns from her husband, but a +mother never thinks of asking anything of her children. I am sure that +even worse mothers than I will tell you the same. We never ask for +anything in return but a little selfish pleasure in knowing that we have +borne children that are invariably better than the children that any other +mother may have brought into the world. No, you owe me nothing, Anne. Put +it out of your mind." + +Anne listened in amazement. "But if you are hard-up, mother dear, and on +account of the money you were obliged to spend on us--because we were both +spoiled and selfish--why, it is only right and just that your children, if +they can afford to do so, should be allowed to turn the tables on you. It +shouldn't be so one-sided, this little selfish pleasure that you mention. +I am rich. I have a great deal more than I need. I have nearly a hundred +thousand a year. You--" + +"Has any one warned you not to talk too freely about it in these days of +income tax collectors?" broke in her mother, with a faint smile. + +"Pooh! Simmy attends to that for me. I don't understand a thing about it. +Now, see here, mother, I insist that it is my right,--not my duty, but my +right--to help you out of the hole. You would do it for me. You've done it +for George, time and again. How much do you need?" + +Mrs. Tresslyn regarded her daughter thoughtfully. "Back of all this, I +suppose, is the thought that it was I who made a rich girl of you. You +feel that it is only right that you should share the spoils with your +partner, not with your mother." + +"Once and for all, mother, let me remind you that I do not blame you for +making a rich woman of me. I did not have to do it, you know. I am not the +sort that can be driven or coerced. I made my own calculations and I took +my own chances. You were my support but not my _commander_. The super- +virtuous girls you read about in books are always blaming their mothers +for such marriages as mine, and so do the comic papers. It's all bosh. +Youth abhors old age. It loves itself too well. But we needn't discuss +responsibilities. The point is this: I have more money than I know what to +do with, so I want to help you out. It isn't because I think it is my +duty, or that I owe it to you, but because I love you, mother. If you had +forced me into marrying Mr. Thorpe, I should hate you now. But I don't,--I +love you dearly. I want you to let me love you. You are so hard to get +close to,--so hard to--" + +"My dear, my dear," cried her mother, coming up to her and laying her +hands on the tall girl's shoulders, "you have paid me in full now. What +you have just said pays off all the debts. I was afraid that my children +hated me." + +"You poor old dear!" cried Anne, her eyes shining. "If you will only let +me show you how much I can love you. We are pretty much alike, mother, you +and I. We--" + +"No!" cried out the other fiercely. "I do not want you to say that. I do +not want you to be like me. Never say that to me again. I want you to be +happy, and you will never be happy if you are like me." + +"Piffle!" said Anne, and kissed her mother soundly. And she knew then, as +she had always known, that her mother was not and never could be a happy +woman. Even in her affection for her own children she was the spirit of +selfishness. She loved them for what they meant to her and not for +themselves. She was consistent. She knew herself better than any one else +knew her. + +"Now, tell me how much you need," went on Anne, eagerly. "I've hated to +broach the subject to you. It didn't seem right that I should. But I don't +care now. I want to do all that I can." + +"I will not offend you, or insult you, Anne, by saying that you are a good +girl,--a better one than I thought you would ever be. You can't help me, +however. Don't worry about me. I shall get on, thank you." + +"Just the same, I insist on paying your bills, and setting you straight +once more for another fling. And you are going to Newport this week. Come, +now, mother dear, let's get it over with. Tell me about _everything_. You +may hop into debt again just as soon as you like, but I'll feel a good +deal better if I know that it isn't on my account. It isn't right that you +should still have George and me hanging about your neck like millstones. +Come! I insist. Let's figure it all up." + +An hour afterward, she said to her mother: "I'll make out one check to you +covering everything, mother. It will look better if you pay them yourself. +Thirty-seven thousand four hundred and twelve dollars. That's everything, +is it,--you're sure?" + +"Everything," said Mrs. Tresslyn, settling back in her chair. "I will not +attempt to thank you, Anne. You see, I didn't thank Lutie when she threw +her money in my face, for somehow I knew that I'd give it all back to her +again. Well, you may have to wait longer than she did, my dear, but this +will all come back to you. I sha'n't live forever, you know." + +Anne kissed her. "You are a wonder, mother dear. You wouldn't come off of +your high-horse for anything, would you? By Jove, that's what I like most +in you. You never knuckle." + +"My dear, you are picking up a lot of expressions from Lutie." + +The early evenings at Anne's place in the country were spent solely in +discussions of the great war. There was no other topic. The whole of the +civilised world was talking of the stupendous conflict that had burst upon +it like a crash out of a clear sky. George came home loaded down with the +latest extras and all of the regular editions of the afternoon papers. + +"By gemini," he was in the habit of saying, "it's a lucky thing for those +Germans that Lutie got me to reenlist with her a year ago. I'd be on my +way over there by this time, looking for real work. Gee, Anne, that's one +thing I could do as well as anybody. I'm big enough to stop a lot of +bullets. We'll never see another scrap like this. It's just my luck to be +happily married when it bursts out, too." + +"I am sure you would have gone," said Lutie serenely. "I'm glad I captured +you in time. It saves the Germans an awful lot of work." + +The smashing of Belgium, the dash of the great German army toward Paris, +the threatened disaster to the gay capital, the sickening conviction that +nothing could check the tide of guns and men,--all these things bore down +upon them with a weight that seemed unbearable. And then came the battle +of the Marne! Von Kluck's name was on the lips of every man, woman and +child in the United States of America. Would they crush him? Was Paris +safe? What was the matter with England? And then, the personal element +came into the situation for Anne and her kind: the names of the officers +who had fallen, snuffed out in Belgium and France. Nearly every day +brought out the name of some one she had known, a few of them quite well. +There were the gallant young Belgians who had come over for the horse- +shows, and the polo-players she had known in England, and the gay young +noblemen,--their names brought the war nearer home and sickened her. + +As time went on the horrors of the great conflict were deprived, through +incessant repetition, of the force to shock a world now accustomed to the +daily slaughter of thousands. Humanity had got used to war. War was no +longer a novelty. People read of great battles in which unprecedented +numbers of men were slain, and wondered how much of truth was in the +reports. War no longer horrified the distant on-looker. The sufferings of +the Belgians were of greater interest to the people of America than the +sufferings of the poor devils in the trenches or on the battle lines. A +vast wave of sympathy was sweeping the land and purses were touched as +never before. War was on parade. The world turned out en masse to see the +spectacle. The heart of every good American was touched by what he saw, +and the hand of every man was held out to stricken Belgium, nor was any +hand empty. Belgium presented the grewsome spectacle, and the world paid +well for the view it was having. + +It was late in November when Anne and the others came down to the city, +and by that time the full strength of the movement to help the sufferers +had been reached. People were fighting for the Belgians, but with their +hearts instead of their hands. The stupendous wave of sympathy was at its +height. It rolled across the land and then across the sea. People were +swept along by its mighty rush. Anne Thorpe was caught up in the maelstrom +of human energy. + +Something fine in her nature, however, caused Anne to shrink from public +benefactions. She realised that a world that was charitable to the +Belgians was not so apt to be charitable toward her. While she did not +contribute anonymously to the fund, she let it be distinctly understood +that her name was not to be published in any of the lists of donors, +except in a single instance when she gave a thousand-dollars. That much, +at least, would be expected of her and she took some comfort in the belief +that the world would not charge her with self-exploitation on the money +she had received from Templeton Thorpe. Other gifts and contributions were +never mentioned in the press by the committees in charge. She gave +liberally, not only to the sufferers on the other side of the Atlantic but +to the poor of New York, and she steadfastly declined to serve on any of +the relief committees. + +Never until now had she appreciated how thin-skinned she was. It is not to +be inferred that she shut herself up and affected a life of seclusion. As +a matter of fact, she went out a great deal, but invariably among friends +and to small, intimate affairs. + +Not once in the months that followed the scene in Lutie's sitting-room did +she encounter Braden Thorpe. She heard of him frequently. He was very +busy. He went nowhere except where duty called. There was not a moment in +her days, however, when her thoughts were not for him. Her eyes were +always searching the throngs on Fifth Avenue in quest of his figure; in +restaurants she looked eagerly over the crowded tables in the hope that +she might see actually the face that was always before her, night and day. +Be it said to her credit, she resolutely abstained from carrying her quest +into quarters where she might be certain of seeing him, of meeting him, of +receiving recognition from him. She avoided the neighbourhood in which his +offices were located, she shunned the streets which he would most +certainly traverse. While she longed for him, craved him with all the +hunger of a starved soul, she was content to wait. He loved her. She +thrived on the joy of knowing this to be true. He might never come to her, +but she knew that it would never be possible for her to go to him unless +he called her to him. + +Then, one day in early January, she crumpled up under the shock of seeing +his name in the headlines of her morning newspaper. + +He was going to the front! + +For a moment she was blind. The page resolved itself into a thick mass of +black. She was in bed when the paper was brought to her with her coffee. +She had been lying there sweetly thinking of him. Up to the instant her +eyes fell upon the desolating headline she had been warm and snug and +tingling with life just aroused. And then she was as cold as ice, +stupefied. It was a long time before she was able to convince herself that +the type was really telling her something that she would have to believe. +He was going to the war! + +Thorpe was one of a half-dozen American surgeons who were going over on +the steamer sailing that day to give their services to the French. The +newspaper spoke of him in glowing terms. His name stood out above all the +others, for he was the one most notably in the public eye at the moment. +The others, just as brave and self-sacrificing as he, were briefly +mentioned and that was all. He alone was in the headlines, he alone was +discussed. No one was to be allowed to forget that he was the clever young +surgeon who had saved the great Marraville. The account dwelt upon the +grave personal sacrifice he was making in leaving New York just as the +world was beginning to recognise his great genius and ability. Prosperity +was knocking at his door, fame was holding out its hand to him, and yet he +was casting aside all thought of self-aggrandisement, all personal +ambition in order to go forth and serve humanity in fields where his name +would never be mentioned except in a cry for help from strong men who had +known no fear. + +Sailing that day! Anne finally grasped the meaning of the words. She would +not see him again. He would go away without a word to her, without giving +her the chance to say good-bye, despite her silly statement that she would +never utter the words again where he was concerned. + +Slowly the warm glow returned to her blood. Her brain cleared, and she was +able to think, to grasp at the probable significance of his action in +deserting New York and his coveted opportunities. Something whispered to +her that he was going away because of his own sufferings and not those of +the poor wretches at the front. Her heart swelled with pity. There was no +triumph in the thought that he was running away because of his love for +her. She needed no such proof as this to convince her that his heart was +more loyal to her than his mind would have it be. She cried a little ... +and then got up and called for a messenger boy. + +This brief message went down to the ship: + +"God be with you. I still do not say good-bye, just God be with you +always, as I shall be. Anne." + +She did not leave the hotel until long after the ship had sailed. He did +not telephone. There were a dozen calls on the wire that morning, but she +had her maid take the messages. There was always the fear that he might +try to reach her while some one of her idle friends was engaged in making +a protracted visit with her over the wire. About one o'clock Simmy Dodge +called up to ask if he could run in and have luncheon with her. + +"I've got a message for you," he said. + +Her heart began to beat so violently that she was afraid he would hear it +through the receiver at his ear. She could not trust herself to speak for +a moment. Evidently he thought she was preparing to put him off with some +polite excuse. Simmy was, as ever, considerate. He made haste to spare her +the necessity for fibbing. "I can drop in late this afternoon--" + +"No," she cried out, "come now, Simmy. I shall expect you. Where are you?" + +He coughed in some embarrassment. "I'm--well, you see, I was going past so +I thought I'd stop in and--What? Yes, I'm downstairs." + +She joined him in the palm room a few minutes later, and they went in to +luncheon. Her colour was high. Simmy thought he had never seen her when +she looked more beautiful. But he thought that with each succeeding +glimpse of her. + +"'Pon my word, Anne," he said, staring at her across the table, "you +fairly dazzle me. Forgive me for saying so. I couldn't help it. Perfect +ass sometimes, you see." + +"I forgive you. I like it. What message did Braden send to me?" + +He had not expected her to be so frank, so direct. "I don't know. I wish I +did. The beggar wrote it and sealed it up in this beastly little +envelope." He handed her the square white envelope with the ship's emblem +in the corner. + +Before looking at the written address, she put her next question to him. A +good deal depended on his answer. "Do you know when he wrote this note, +Simmy?" + +"Just before they pushed me down the gang-plank," he said. A light broke +in upon him. "Did you send him a message?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, I don't know whether it is the right thing to say, but I can tell +you this: he wrote this note before reading your letter or telegram or +whatever it was. He had a score of things like that and he didn't open one +of 'em until she'd cast off." + +She smiled. "Thank you, Simmy. You have said the right thing,--as you +always do." One glance at the superscription was enough. It was in his +handwriting. For the first time she saw it in his hand: "Anne Tresslyn +Thorpe." A queer little shiver ran through her, never to be explained. + +Simmy watched her curiously as she slipped the missive, unopened, into her +gold mesh bag. "Don't mind me," he said. "Read it." + +"Not now, Simmy," she said simply. And all through luncheon she thrilled +with the consciousness that she had something of Braden there with her, +near her, waiting for her. His own hand had touched this bit of paper; it +was a part of him. It was so long since she had seen that well-known, +beloved handwriting,--strong like the man, and sure; she found herself +counting the ages that had passed since his last love missive had come to +her. + +Simmy was rattling on, rather dolefully, about Braden's plans. He was +likely to be over there for a long time,--just as long as he was needed or +able to endure the strain of hard, incessant work in the field hospitals. + +"I wanted to go," the little man was saying, and that brought her back to +earth. "The worst way, Anne. But what could I do? Drive an automobile, +yes, but what's that? Brady wouldn't hear to it. He said it was nonsense, +me talking of going over there and getting in people's way. Of course, I'd +probably faint the first time I saw a mutilated dead body, and that +_would_ irritate the army. They'd have to stop everything while they gave +me smelling salts. I suppose I'd get used to seeing 'em dead all over the +place, just as everybody does,--even the worst of cowards. I'm not a +coward, Anne. I drive my racing-car at ninety miles, I play polo, I go up +in Scotty's aeroplane whenever I get a chance, I can refuse to take a +drink when I think I've had enough, and if that doesn't prove that I've +got courage I'd like to know what it does prove. But I'm not a fighting +man. Nobody would ever be afraid of me. There isn't a German on earth who +would run if he saw me charging toward him. He'd just wait to see what the +dickens I was up to. Something would tell him that I wouldn't have the +heart to shoot him, no matter how necessary it might be for me to do so. +Still I wanted to go. That's what amazes me. I can't understand it." + +"I can understand it, you poor old simpleton," cried Anne. "You wanted to +go because you are _not_ afraid." + +"I wish I could think so," said he, really perplexed. "Brady is different. +He'd be a soldier as is a soldier. He's going over to save men's lives, +however, and that's something I wouldn't be capable of doing. If I went +they'd expect me to kill 'em, and that's what I'd hate. Good Lord, Anne, I +couldn't shoot down a poor German boy that hadn't done a thing to me--or to +my country, for that matter. If they'd only let me go as a spy, or even a +messenger boy, I'd jump at the chance. But they'd want me to kill +people,--and I couldn't do it, that's all." + +"Is Braden well? Does he look fit, Simmy? You know there will be great +hardships, vile weather, exposure--" + +"He's thin and--well, I'll be honest with you, he doesn't look as fit as +might be." + +She paled. "Has he been ill?" + +"Not in body, but--he's off his feed, Anne. Maybe you know the reason why." +He looked at her narrowly. + +"I have not seen him in months," she said evasively. + +"I guess that's the answer," he said, pulling at his little moustache. +"I'm sorry, Anne. It's too bad--for both of you. Lordy, I never dreamed I +could be so unselfish. I'm mad in love with you myself and--oh, well! +That's an old tale, so we'll cut it short. I don't know what I'm going to +do without Brady. I've got the blues so bad that--why, I cried like a nasty +little baby down there at the--everybody lookin' at me pityingly and saying +to themselves 'what a terrible thing grief is when it hits a man like +that,' and thinkin' of course that I'd lost a whole family in Belgium or +somewhere--oh, Lordy, what a blithering--" + +"Hush!" whispered Anne, her own eyes glistening. "You are an angel, Simmy. +You--" + +"Let's talk sense," he broke in abruptly. "Braden left his business in my +hands, and his pleasures in the hands of Dr. Cole. He says it's a pleasure +to heal people, so that's why I put it in that way. I've got his will down +in our safety vault, and his instructions about that silly foundation--" + +"You--you think he may not come back?" she said, gripping her hands under +the edge of the table. + +"You never can tell. Taking precautions, that's all, as any wise man would +do. Oh, I'm sorry, Anne! I should have known better. Lordy, you're as +white as--Sure, he'll come back! He isn't going to be in the least danger. +Not the least. Nobody bothers the doctors, you know. They can go anywhere. +They wear plug hats and all that sort of thing, and all armies respect a +plug hat. A plug hat is a _silk_ hat, you know,--the safest hat in the +world when you're on the firing line. Everybody tries to hit the hat and +not the occupant. It's a standing army joke. I was reading in the paper +the other day about a fellow going clear from one end of the line to the +other and having six hundred and some odd plug hats shot off his head +without so much as getting a hair singed. Wait! I can tell what you're +going to ask, and I can't, on such short notice, answer the question. I +can only say that I don't know where he got the hats. Ah, good! You're +laughing again, and, by Jove, it becomes you to blush once in a while, +too. Tell me, old lady,"--he leaned forward and spoke very seriously,--"does +it mean a great deal to you?" + +She nodded her head slowly. "Yes, Simmy, it means everything." + +He drew a long breath. "That's just what I thought. One ordinary dose of +commonsense split up between the two of you wouldn't be a bad thing for +the case." + +"You dear old thing!" cried Anne impulsively. + +"How are Lutie and my god-son?" he inquired, with a fine air of +solicitude. + +Half an hour later, Anne read the brief note that Braden had sent to her. +She read it over and over again, and without the exultation she had +anticipated. Her heart was too full for exultation. + +"Dear Anne," it began, "I am going to the war. I am going because I am a +coward. The world will call me brave and self-sacrificing, but it will not +be true. I am a coward. The peril I am running away from is far greater +than that which awaits me over there. I thought you would like to know. +The suffering of others may cause me to forget my own at times." He signed +it "Braden"; and below the signature there was a postscript that puzzled +her for a long time. "If you are not also a coward you will return to my +grandfather's house, where you belong." + +And when she had solved the meaning of that singular postscript she sent +for Wade. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + + +Anne Thorpe had set her heart on an eventuality. She could see nothing +else, think of nothing else. She prayed each night to God,--and +devoutly,--not alone for the safe return of her lover, but that God would +send him home soon! She was conscious of no fear that he might never +return at all. + +To the surprise of every one, with the approach of spring, she announced +her determination to re-open the old Thorpe residence and take up her +abode therein. George was the only one who opposed her. He was seriously +upset by the news. + +"Good heaven, Anne, you don't _have_ to live in the house, so why do it? +It's like a tomb. I get the shivers every time I think about it. You can +afford to live anywhere you like. It isn't as if you were obliged to think +of expenses--" + +"It seems rather silly _not_ to live in it," she countered. "I will admit +that at first I couldn't endure the thought of it, but that was when all +of the horrors were fresh in my mind. Besides, I resented his leaving it +to me. It was not in the bargain, you know. There was something high- +handed, too, in the way I was _ordered_ to live in the house. I had the +uncanny feeling that he was trying to keep me where he could watch--but, of +course, that was nonsense. There is no reason why I shouldn't live in the +house, Georgie. It is--" + +"There is a blamed good reason why you should never have lived in it," he +blurted out. "There's no use digging it up, however, so we'll let it stay +buried." He argued bitterly, even doggedly, but finally gave it up. +"Well," he said in the end, "if you will, you will. All the King's horses +and all the King's men can't stop you when you've once made up your mind." + +A few days later she called for Lutie in the automobile and they went +together to the grim old house near Washington Square. Her mind was made +up, as George had put it. She was going to open the house and have it put +in order for occupancy as soon as possible. + +She had solved the meaning of Braden's postscript. She would have to prove +to him, first of all, that she was not afraid of the shadow that lay +inside the walls of that grim old house. "If you are not also a coward you +will return to my grandfather's house, where you belong." It was, she +honestly believed, his way of telling her that if she faced the shadow in +her own house, and put it safely behind her, her fortitude would not go +unrewarded! + +It did not occur to her that she was beginning badly when she delayed +going down to the house for two whole days because Lutie was unable to +accompany her. + +The windows and doors were boarded up. There was no sign of life about the +place when they got down from the limousine and mounted the steps at the +heels of the footman who had run on ahead to ring the bell. They waited +for the opening of the inner door and the shooting of the bolts in the +storm-doors, but no sound came to their ears. Again the bell jangled,--how +well she remembered the old-fashioned bell at the end of the hall!--and +still no response from within. + +The two women looked at each other oddly. "Try the basement door," said +Anne to the man. They stood at the top of the steps while the footman +tried the iron gate that barred the way to the tradesmen's door. It was +pad-locked. + +"I asked Simmy to meet us here at eleven," said Anne nervously. "I expect +it will cost a good deal to do the house over as I want--Doesn't any one +answer, Peters?" + +"No, ma'am. Maybe he's out." + +Lutie's face blanched suddenly. "My goodness, Anne, what if--what if he's +dead in--" + +"Oh, for heaven's sake, Lutie," cried Anne impatiently, "don't go to +imagining--Still it's very odd. Pound on the door, Peters,--hard." + +She shivered a little and turned away so that Lutie could not see the +expression in her eyes. "I have had no word from him in nearly two weeks. +He calls up once every fortnight to inquire--You are not pounding hard +enough, Peters." + +"Let's go away," said Lutie, starting down the steps. + +"No," said Anne resolutely, "we must get in somehow. He may be ill. He is +an old man. He may be lying in there praying for help, dying for lack of--" +Then she called out to the chauffeur. "See if you can find a policeman. We +may have to break the door down. You see, Lutie, if he's in there I must +get to him. We may not be too late." + +Lutie rejoined her at the top of the steps. "You're right, Anne. I don't +know what possessed me. But, goodness, I _hope_ it's nothing--" She +shuddered. "He may have been dead for days." + +"What a horrible thing it would be if--But it doesn't matter, Lutie; I am +going in. If you are nervous or afraid of seeing something unpleasant, +don't come with me. Wade must be nearly seventy. He may have fallen +or--Look! Why,--can _that_ be him coming up the--" She was staring down the +street toward Sixth Avenue. A great breath of relief escaped her lips as +she clutched her companion's arm and pointed. + +Wade was approaching. He was still half way down the long block, and only +an eye that knew him well could have identified him. Even at closer range +one might have mistaken him for some one else. + +He was walking rather briskly,--in fact, he was strutting. It was not his +gait, however, that called for remark. While he was rigidly upright and +steady as to progress, his sartorial condition was positively staggering. +He wore a high, shiny silk hat. It was set at just the wee bit of an angle +and quite well back on his head. Descending his frame, the eye took in a +costly fur-lined overcoat with a sable collar, properly creased trousers +with a perceptible stripe, grey spats and unusually glistening shoes that +could not by any chance have been of anything but patent leather. Light +tan gloves, a limber walking stick, a white carnation and a bright red +necktie--there you have all that was visible of him. Even at a great +distance you would have observed that he was freshly shaved. + +Suddenly his eye fell upon the automobile and then took in the smart +looking visitors above. His pace slackened abruptly. After a moment of +what appeared to be indecision, he came on, rather hurriedly. There had +been a second or two of suspense in which Anne had the notion that the +extraordinary creature was on the point of darting into a basement door, +as if, unlike the peacock, he was ashamed of his plumage. + +He came up to them, removing his high hat with an awkwardness that +betrayed him. His employer was staring at him with undisguised amazement. +"I just stepped out for a moment, Mrs. Thorpe, to post a letter," said +Wade, trying his best not to sink back into servility, and quite miserably +failing. He was fumbling for his keys. The tops of the houses across the +street appeared to interest him greatly. His gaze was fixed rather +intently upon them. "Very sorry, Mrs. Thorpe,--dreadfully sorry. Ahem! Good +morning. I hope you have not been waiting long. I--ah, here we are!" He +found the key in the pocket of his fancy waistcoat, and bolted down the +steps to unlock the gate. "Excuse me, please. I will run in this way and +open the door from the--" + +"Wade," cried out Mrs. Thorpe, "is it really you?" + +He looked astonished--and a trifle hurt. "Who else could I be, Mrs. +Thorpe?" Then he darted through the gate and a moment later the servants' +door opened and closed behind him. + +"I must be dreaming," said Anne. "What in the world has come over the +man?" + +Lutie closed one eye slowly. "There is only one thing under heaven that +could make a man rig himself out like that,--and that thing is a woman." + +"A woman? Don't be foolish, Lutie. Wade couldn't even _think_ of a woman. +He's nearly seventy." + +"They think of 'em until they drop, my dear," said Lutie sagely. "That's +one thing we've got to give them credit for. They keep on thinking about +us even while they're trying to keep the other foot out of the grave. You +are going to lose the amiable Wade, Anne dear. He's not wearing spats for +nothing." + +Some time passed before the key turned in the inner door, and there was +still a long wait before the bolts in the storm doors shot back and Wade's +face appeared. He had not had the time to remove the necktie and spats, +but the rest of his finery had been replaced by the humble togs of +service--long service, you would say at a glance. + +"Sorry to keep you waiting, ma'am, but--" He held the doors open and the +two ladies entered the stuffy, unlighted hall. + +"Turn on the lights, please," said Anne quickly. Wade pushed a button and +the lights were on. She surveyed him curiously. "Why did you take them +off, Wade? You looked rather well in them." + +He cleared his throat gently, and the shy, set smile reappeared as if by +magic. "It isn't necessary for me to say that I was not expecting you this +morning." + +"Quite obviously you were not," said Anne drily. She continued to regard +him somewhat fixedly. Something in his expression puzzled her. "Mr. Dodge +will be here presently. I am making arrangements to open the house." + +He started. "Er--not to--er--live in it yourself, of course. I was sure Mr. +Dodge would find a way to get around the will so that you could let the +house--" + +"I expect to live here myself, Wade," said she. After a moment, she went +on: "Will you care to stay on?" + +He was suddenly confused. "I--I can't give you an answer just at this +moment, Mrs. Thorpe. It may be a few days before I--" He paused. + +"Take all the time you like, Wade," she interrupted. + +"I fancy I'd better give notice now, ma'am," he said after a moment. "To- +day will do as well as any day for that." He seemed to straighten out his +figure as he spoke, resuming a little of the unsuspected dignity that had +accompanied the silk hat and the fur-lined coat. + +"I'm sorry," said Anne,--who was not in the slightest sense sorry. Wade +sometimes gave her the creeps. + +"I should like to explain about the--ah--the garments you saw me +wearing--ah--I mean to say, I should have brought myself to the point of +telling you a little later on, in any event, but now that you have caught +me wearing of them, I dare say this is as good a time as any to get it +over with. First of all, Mrs. Thorpe, I must preface my--er--confession by +announcing that I am quite sure that you have always considered me to be +an honest man and above deception and falsehood. Ahem! That _is_ right, +isn't it?" + +"What are you trying to get at, Wade?" she cried in surprise. "You cannot +imagine that I suspect you of--anything wrong?" + +"It may be wrong, and it may not be. I have never felt quite right about +it. There have been times when I felt real squeamish--and a bit +underhanded, you might say. On the other hand, I submit that it was not +altogether reprehensible on my part to air them occasionally--and to see +that the moths didn't--" + +"Air them? For goodness' sake, Wade, speak plainly. Why shouldn't you air +your own clothes? They are very nice looking and they must have cost you a +pretty penny. Dear me, I have no right to say what you shall wear on the +street or--" + +Wade's eyes grew a little wider. "Is it possible, madam, that you failed +to recognise the--er--garments?" + +She laid her hand upon Lutie's arm, and gripped it convulsively. Her eyes +were fixed in a fast-growing look of aversion. + +"You do not mean that--that they were Mr. Thorpe's?" she said, in a low +voice. + +"I supposed, of course, you would have remembered them," said Wade, a +trifle sharply. "The overcoat was one that he wore every day when you went +out for your drive with him, just before he took to his bed. I--" + +"Good heaven!" cried Anne, revolted. "You have been wearing his clothes?" + +"They were not really what you would call cast-off garments, ma'am," he +explained in some haste, evidently to save his dignity. "They were rather +new, you may remember,--that is to say, the coat and vest and trousers. As +I recall it, the overcoat was several seasons old, and the hat was the +last one he ordered before taking to the comfortable lounge hat--he always +had his hats made from his own block, you see,--and as I was about to +explain, ma'am, it seemed rather a sin to let them hang in the closet, +food for moths and to collect dust in spite of the many times I brushed +them. Of course, I should never have presumed to wear them while he was +still alive, not even after he had abandoned them for good--No, that is a +thing I have never been guilty of doing. I could not have done it. That is +just the difference between a man-servant and a woman-servant. Your maid +frequently went out in your gowns without your knowledge. I am told it is +quite a common practice. At least I may claim for myself the credit of +waiting until my employer was dead before venturing to cover my back with +his--Yes, honest confession is good for the soul, ma'am. These shoes are my +own, and the necktie. He could not abide red neckties. Of course, I need +not say that the carnation I wore was quite fresh. The remainder of my +apparel was once worn by my beloved master. I am not ashamed to confess +it." + +"How _could_ you wear the clothes of a--a dead person?" cried Anne, +cringing as if touched by some cold and slimy thing. + +"It seemed such a waste, madam. Of late I have taken to toning myself up a +bit, and there seemed no sensible reason why I shouldn't make use of Mr. +Thorpe's clothes,--allow me to explain that I wore only those he had used +the least,--provided they were of a satisfactory fit. We were of pretty +much the same size,--you will remember that, I'm sure,--and, they fitted me +quite nicely. Of course, I should not have taken them away with me when I +left your employ, madam. That would have been unspeakable. I should have +restored them to the clothes presses, and you would have found them there +when I turned over the keys and--" + +"Good heavens, man," she cried, "take them away with you when you go--all +of them. Everything, do you hear? I give them all to you. Of what use +could they be to me? They are yours. Take everything,--hats, boots, +linen,--" + +"Thank you, ma'am. That is very handsome of you. I wasn't quite sure that +perhaps Mr. Braden wouldn't find some use for the overcoat. It is a very +elegant coat. It cost--" + +"Wade, you are either very stupid or very insolent," she interrupted +coldly. "We need not discuss the matter any farther. How soon do you +expect to leave?" + +"I should say that a week would be sufficient notice, under the +circumstances," said he, and chuckled, much to their amazement. "I may as +well make a clean breast of it, ma'am. I am going to be married on the +seventeenth of next month. That's just six weeks off and--" + +"Married! You?" + +"Ah, madam, I trust you will not forget that I have lived a very lonely +and you might say profitless life," he said, rubbing his hands together, +and allowing his smile to broaden into a pleased grin. "As you may know in +the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,--and so +on. A man is as old as he feels. I can't say that I ever felt younger in +my life than I have felt during the past month." + +"I wish you joy and happiness, Wade," said Anne dumbly. She was staring at +his smirking, seamed old face as if fascinated. "I hope she is a good +woman and that you will find--" + +"She is little more than a girl," said he, straightening his figure still +a little more, remembering that he had just spoken of his own youthful +feelings. There may have been something of the pride of conquest as well. +"Just twenty-one last December." + +Lutie laughed out loud. He bent his head quickly and they saw that his +lips were compressed. + +"I beg your pardon, Wade," cried George's wife. "It--it really isn't +anything to laugh at, and I'm sorry." + +"That's all right, Mrs. George," he muttered. + +"Only twenty-one," murmured Anne, her gaze running over the shabby old +figure in front of her. "My God, Wade, is she--what can she be thinking +of?" + +He looked straight into her eyes, and spoke. "Is it so horrible for a +young girl to marry an old man, ma'am?" he asked sorrowfully, and so +respectfully that she was deceived into believing that he intended no +affront to her. + +"They usually know what they are doing when they marry very old men," she +replied deliberately. "You must not overlook that fact, Wade. But perhaps +it isn't necessary for me to remind you that young girls do not marry old +men for love. There may be pity, or sentiment, or duty--but never love. +More often than not it is avarice, Wade." + +"Quite true," said he. "I am glad to have you speak so frankly to me, +ma'am. It proves that you are interested in my welfare." + +"Who is she, Wade?" she inquired. + +Lutie had passed into the library, leaving them together in the hall. She +had experienced a sudden sensation of nausea. It was impossible for her to +remain in the presence of this shattered old hulk and still be able to +keep the disgust from showing itself in her eyes. She was the wife of a +real man, and the wife of a man whom she could love and caress and yield +herself to with a thrill of ecstasy in her blood. + +"The young lady I was speaking to you about some weeks ago, madam,--the +daughter of my friend who conducts the _delicatessen_ just below us in +Sixth Avenue. You remember I spoke to you of the Southern lady reduced to +a commercial career by--" + +"I remember. I remember thinking at the time that it might be the mother +who would prevail--I am sorry, Wade. I shouldn't have said that--" + +"It's quite all right," said he amiably. "It is barely possible--ay, even +probable,--that it was the mother who prevailed. They sometimes do, you +know. But Marian appears to have a mind of her own. She loves me, Mrs. +Thorpe. I am quite sure of that. It would be pretty hard to deceive me." + +Through all of this Anne was far from oblivious to the sinister +comparisons the man was drawing. She had always been a little afraid of +him. Now an uneasy horror was laying its hold upon her. He had used her as +an example in persuading a silly, unsophisticated girl to give herself to +him. He had gone about his courtship in the finery his dead master had +left behind him. + +"I thank you for your good wishes, Mrs. Thorpe," he went on, smoothly. "If +it is not too much to ask, I should like to have you say a few good words +for me to Marian some day soon. She would be very greatly influenced by +the opinion of so great a lady as--" + +"But I thought you said it was settled," she broke in sharply. + +"It is settled," he said. "But if you would only do me the favour +of--er--advising her to name an earlier day than the seventeenth, I--" + +"I cannot advise her, Wade," said she firmly. "It is out of the question." + +"I am sorry," he said, lowering his gaze. "Mr. Thorpe was my best friend +as well as my master. I thought, for his sake, you might consent to--" + +"You must do your own pleading, Wade," she interrupted, a red spot +appearing in each cheek. Then rashly: "You may continue to court her in +Mr. Thorpe's clothes but you need not expect his wife to lend her +assistance also." + +His eyes glittered. "I am sorry if I have offended you, ma'am. And I thank +you for being honest and straightforward with me. It is always best." + +"I did not mean to hurt your feelings, Wade," she began, half-sorry for +her remark. + +"Not in the least, ma'am. Nothing can hurt my feelings. You see, I lived +with Mr. Thorpe a great deal longer than you did. I got quite beyond being +hurt." + +She drew a step nearer. "Wade," she said quietly, "I am going to advise +you, not this wretched girl who is planning to marry you. How old are +you?" + +"Two score and a half and five," he answered promptly. Evidently he had +uttered the glib lie before, and as on another occasion he waited for his +listener to reduce the words to figures. + +"Fifty-five," said Anne, after some time. She was not good at mathematics. +"I thought you were older than that. It doesn't matter, however. You are +fairly well-off, I believe. Upwards of fifty thousand dollars, no doubt. +Now, I shall be quite frank with you. This girl is taking you for your +money. Just a moment, if you please. I do not know her, and I may be doing +her an injustice. You have compared her to me in reaching your +conclusions. You do not deceive yourself any more than Mr. Thorpe deceived +himself. He knew I did not love him, and you must know that the same +condition exists in this affair of yours. You have thanked me for being +honest. Well, I was honest with Mr. Thorpe. I would have been as true as +steel to him, even if he had lived to be an hundred. The question you must +ask of yourself is this, Wade: Will this girl be as true as steel to you? +Is there no other man to be afraid of?" + +He listened intently. A certain greyness crept into his hollow cheeks. + +"Was there no other man when you married Mr. Thorpe?" he asked levelly. + +"Yes, there was," she surprised him by replying. "An honest man, however. +I think you know--" + +She scarcely heard Wade as he went on, now in a most conciliatory way. "It +may interest you to know that I have arranged to buy out the delicatessen. +We expect to enlarge and tidy the place up just as soon as we can get +around to it. I believe I shall be very happy, once I get into active +business. Mrs. Gadscomb,--that's the present mother,--I mean to say, the +present owner, Marian's mother, has agreed to conduct the place as +heretofore, at a very excellent salary, and I have no fear as to--But +excuse me for going on like this, ma'am. No doubt you would like to talk +about your own affairs instead of listening to mine. You said something +about opening the house and coming back here to live. Of course, I shall +consider it my duty to remain here just as long as I can be of service to +you. There will be a little plumbing needed on the third floor, and I +fancy a general cleaning--" + +"Thank heaven, there is Mr. Dodge at last," cried Anne, as the bell +jangled almost over her head, startling her into a little cry of alarm. + +As Wade shuffled toward the front door, once more the simple slave of +circumstance, she fled quickly into the library. + +"Oh, Lutie," she cried, sinking into a chair beside the long, familiar +table, and beating with her clenched hands upon the surface of it, "I know +at last just how I look to other people. My God in heaven, what a _thing +I_ must seem to you." + +Lutie came swiftly out of the shadows and laid her hands upon the +shoulders of her sister-in-law. + +"You ought to thank the Lord, dear old girl, for the revelation," she said +gently. "I guess it's just what you've needed." Then she leaned over and +pressed her warm, soft cheek to Anne's cold one. "If I owned this house," +she said almost in a whisper, "I'd renovate it from top to bottom. I'd get +rid of more than old Wade and the old clothes. The best and cheapest way +to renovate it would be to set fire to a barrel of kerosene in the +basement." + +"Oh, how horrible for that girl to marry a dreadful, shrivelled old man +like Wade. The skin on his hands is all wrinkled and loose--I couldn't help +noticing it as I--" + +"Hello!" called out Simmy from the doorway, peering into the darkened +room. "Where the deuce are you? Ah, that's better, Wade." The caretaker +had switched on the lights in the big chandelier. "Sorry to be late, Anne. +Morning, Lutie. How's my god-son? Couldn't get here a minute sooner. You +see, Anne, I've got other clients besides you. Braden, for instance. I've +been carrying out his instructions in regard to that confounded +trusteeship. The whole matter is to be looked after by a Trust Company +from now on. Simplifies matters enormously." + +Anne started up. "Isn't--isn't he coming back to America?" she cried. + +"Sure,--unless they pink him some day. My goodness, you don't suppose for +an instant that he could manage the whole of that blooming foundation and +have any time to spare for _hopeful_ humanity,--do you? Why, it will take a +force of half a dozen men to keep the books straight and look after the +ever-increasing capital. By the time old Brady is ready to start the ball +rolling there will be so much money stored up for the job that Rockefeller +will be ashamed to mention the pitiful fortune he controls. In the +meantime he can go on saving people's lives while the trust company saves +the Foundation." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + + +Thorpe returned to New York about the middle of May, in the tenth month of +the war. The true facts concerning the abrupt severance of his connections +with the hospital corps in France were never divulged. His confreres and +his superiors maintained a discreet and loyal silence. It was to Simmy +that he explained the cause of his retirement. Word had gone out among the +troops that he was the American doctor whose practices were infinitely +more to be feared than the bullets from an enemy's guns.... It was +announced from headquarters that he was returning to the United States on +account of ill-health. He had worked hard and unceasingly and had exposed +himself to grave physical hardships. He came home with a medal for +conspicuous and unexampled valour while actually under fire. One report +had it that on more than one occasion he appeared not only to scorn death +but to invite it, so reckless were his deeds. + + * * * * * + +Meanwhile James Marraville died in great agony. Those nearest to him said, +in so many words, that it was a great pity he did not die at the time of +the operation. + + * * * * * + +"But," began one of the reporters at the dock, "you are said to have +risked your own life, Dr. Thorpe, on at least half a dozen occasions when +you exposed yourself to the fire of the enemy by going out in front after +men who had fallen and were as good as dead when you got to them. In every +case, we are told the men died on the stretchers while they were being +carried to the rear. Do you mind telling us why you brought those men back +when you knew that they were bound to die--" + +"You have been misinformed," interrupted Thorpe. "One of those men did not +die. I did all that was possible to save the lives as well as the bodies +of those wretched fellows. Not one of them appeared to have a chance. The +one who survived was in the most hopeless condition of them all. He is +alive to-day, but without legs or arms. He is only twenty-two. He may live +to be seventy. The others died. Will you say that they are not better off +than he? And yet we tried to save them all. That is what we were there +for. I saw a man run a bayonet through the heart of his own brother one +day. We were working over him at the time and we knew that our efforts +would be useless. The brother knew it also. He merely did the thing we +refused to do. You want to know why I deliberately picked out of all the +wounded the men who seemed to have the least chance for recovery, and +brought them back to a place of safety. Well, I will tell you quite +frankly, why I chose those men from among all the others. They were being +left behind. They were as good as dead, as you say. I wanted to treat the +most hopeless cases that could be found. I wanted to satisfy myself. I +went about it quite cold-bloodedly,--not bravely, as the papers would have +it,--and I confess that I passed by men lying out there who might have had +a chance, looking for those who apparently had none. Seven of them died, +as you say,--seven of the 'hopelessly afflicted.' One of them lived. You +will now say that having proved to my own satisfaction that no man can be +'hopelessly afflicted,' I should be ready to admit the fallacy of my +preachings. But you are wrong. I am more firmly intrenched in my position +than ever before. That man's life should not have been saved. We did him a +cruel wrong in saving it for him. He wanted to die, he still wants to die. +He will curse God to the end of his days because he was allowed to live. +Some day his relatives will exhibit him in public, as one of the greatest +of freaks, and people will pay to enter the side shows to see him. They +will carry him about in shawl straps. He will never be able to protest, +for he has lost the power of speech. He can only _see_ and _hear_. Will +you be able to look into the agonised eyes of that man as he lies propped +up in a chair, a mere trunk, and believe that he is glad to be alive? Will +you then rejoice over the fact that we saved him from a much nobler grave +than the one he occupies in the side-show, where all the world may stare +at him at so much per head? An inglorious reward, gentlemen, for a brave +soldier of the Republic." + +"We may quote you as saying, Dr. Thorpe, that you have not abandoned your +theories?" + +"Certainly. I shall go on preaching, as you are pleased to call my +advocacy. A great many years from to-day--centuries, no doubt,--the world +will think as I do now. Thank you, gentlemen, for your courtesy in--" + +"Have you heard that James Marraville died last week, Dr. Thorpe?" broke +in one of the reporters. + +"No," said he, quite unmoved. "I am not surprised, however. I gave him +five or six months." + +"Didn't you expect him to get entirely well?" demanded the man, surprised. + +Braden shook his head, smiling. "No one expected that, gentlemen,--not even +Mr. Marraville." + +"But every one thought that the operation was a success, and--" + +"And so it was, gentlemen," said Thorpe unsmilingly; "a very terrible +success." + +"Gee, if we print that as coming from you, Dr. Thorpe, it will create the +biggest sensation in years." + +"Then I haven't the least doubt that you will print it," said Thorpe. + +There was a short silence. Then the spokesman said: "I think I speak for +every man here when I say that we will not print it, Dr. Thorpe. We +understand, but the people wouldn't." He deliberately altered the +character of the interview and inquired if German submarines had been +sighted after the steamship left Liverpool. The whole world was still +shuddering over the disaster to the _Lusitania_, torpedoed the week +before, with the loss of over a thousand souls. + +Thorpe drove uptown with Simmy Dodge, who would not hear of his going to +an hotel, but conducted him to his own apartment where he was to remain as +long as he pleased. + +"Get yourself pulled together, old chap, before you take up any work," +advised Simmy. "You look pretty seedy. We're going to have a hot summer, +they say. Don't try to do too much until you pick up a bit. Too bad +they're fighting all over the continent of Europe. If they weren't, hang +me if I wouldn't pack you onto a boat and take you over there for a good +long rest, in spite of what happened to the _Lusitania_. We'll go up into +the mountains in June, Brady,--or what do you say to skipping out to the +San Francisco fair for a few--" + +"You're looking thin and sort of pegged out, old boy," began Simmy +soothingly. + +"I'm all right, Simmy. Sound as anything. I don't mind telling you that it +wasn't my health that drove me out of the service,--and that's what hurts. +They--they didn't want me. They thought it was best for me to get out." + +"Good Lord!" gasped Simmy, struggling between amazement and indignation. +"What kind of blithering fools have they got over--" + +"They are not blithering fools," said Thorpe soberly. "The staff would not +have turned me out, I'm sure of that. I was doing good work, Simmy," he +went on rapidly, eagerly, "even though I do say it myself. Everybody was +satisfied, I'm sure. Night and day,--all the time,--mind you, and I was +standing up under it better than any of them. But, you see, it wasn't the +staff that did it. It was the poor devil of a soldier out there in the +trenches. They found out who I was. Newspapers, of course. Well, that +tells the story. They were afraid of me. But I am not complaining. I do +not blame them. God knows it was hard enough for them to face death out +there at the front without having to think of--well, getting it anyhow if +they fell into my hands. I--But there's no use speaking of it, Simmy. I +wanted you to know why I got out, and I want Anne to know. As for the +rest, let them think I was sick or--cowardly if they like." + +Simmy was silent for a long time. He said afterwards that it was all he +could do to keep from crying as he looked at the pale, gaunt face of his +friend and listened to the verdict of the French soldiers. + +"I don't see the necessity for telling Anne," he said, at last, pulling +rather roughly at his little moustache. They were seated at one of the +broad windows in Simmy's living-room, drinking in the cool air that came +up from the west in advance of an impending thunderstorm. The day had been +hot and stifling. "No sense in letting her know, old man. Secret between +you and me, if you don't--" + +"I'd rather she knew," said Thorpe briefly. "In fact, she will have to +know." + +"What do you mean?" + +Thorpe was staring out over the Park, and did not answer. Simmy found +another cigarette and lighted it, scorching his fingers while furtively +watching his companion's face. + +"How is Anne, Simmy?" demanded Thorpe abruptly. There was a fierce, eager +light in his eyes, but his manner was strangely repressed. "Where is she?" + +Simmy took a deep breath. "She's well and she's at home." + +"You mean,--down there in the old--" + +"The old Thorpe house. I don't know what's got into the girl, Brady. First +she swears she won't live in the house, and then she turns around,--just +like that,--and moves in. Workmen all over the place, working overtime and +all that sort of thing,--with Anne standing around punchin' 'em with a +sharp stick if they don't keep right on the job. Top to bottom,--renovated, +redecorated, brightened up,--wouldn't recognise the place as--" + +"Is she living there--alone?" + +"Yes. New lot of servants and--By the way, old Wade has--what do you think +he has done?" + +"How long has she been living down there?" demanded the other, +impatiently. His eyes were gleaming. + +"Well, old Wade has gone and got married," went on Simmy, deliberately +ignoring the eager question. "Married a girl of twenty or something like +that. Chucked his job, bloomed out as a dandy,--spats and chamois gloves +and silk hats,--cleared out three weeks ago for a honeymoon,--rather pretty +girl, by the way,--" + +Braden's attention had been caught at last and held. "Wade married? Good +Lord! Oh, I say, Simmy, you _can't_ expect me to believe--" + +"You'll see. He has shaken the dust of Thorpe house from his person and is +gallivanting around in lavender perfumes and purple linen." + +"My God! That old hulk and--twenty years, did you say? Why, the damned old +scoundrel! After all he has seen and--" His jaws closed suddenly with a +snap, and his eyes narrowed into ugly slits. + +"Be careful, Brady, old top," said Simmy, shaking his head. "It won't do +to call Wade names, you know. Just stop and think for a second or two." + +Thorpe relaxed with a gesture of despair. "You are right, Simmy. Why +should I blame Wade?" + +He got up and began pacing the floor, his hands clenched behind his back. +Simmy smoked in silence, apparently absorbed in watching the angry clouds +that blackened the western sky. + +Presently Thorpe resumed his seat in the window. His eyes did not meet +Simmy's as the latter turned toward him. He look straight out over the +tops of the great apartment houses on the far side of the Park. + +"How long has she been living down there alone?" he asked again. + +"Five or six weeks." + +"When did you last see her?" + +"Yesterday. She's been dreadfully nervous ever since the blowing up of the +_Lusitania_. I asked her to go to the pier with me. She refused. See here, +Brady," said Simmy, rising suddenly and laying his hand on the other's +shoulder, "what are you going to do about Anne?" + +"Nothing. Anne can never be anything to me, nor I to her," said Thorpe, +white-faced and stern. His face was rigid. + +"Nonsense! You love her, don't you?" + +"Yes. That has nothing to do with it, however." + +"And she loves you. I suppose that hasn't anything to do with it, either. +I suppose it is right and proper and natural that you both should go on +loving each other to the end of time without realising the joys of--" + +"Don't try to argue the--" + +"It's right that you should let that glorious, perfect young creature +wither and droop with time, grow old without--oh, Lordy, what a damn fool +you are, Brady! There isn't the slightest reason in this world why you +shouldn't get married and--" + +"Stop that, Simmy!" + +"Here you are, two absolutely sound, strong, enduring specimens of +humanity,--male and female,--loving each other, wanting each other,--and yet +you say you can never be anything to each other! Hasn't nature anything to +do with it? Are you going to sit there and tell me that for some +obstinate, mawkish reason you think you ought to deprive her of the one +man in all this world that she wants and must have? It doesn't matter what +she did a couple of years ago. It doesn't matter that she was,--and still +may be designing,--the fact remains that she is the woman you love and that +you are her man. She married old Mr. Thorpe deliberately, I grant you. She +doesn't deny it. She loved you when she did it. And you can't, to save +your soul, hate her for it. You ought to do so, I admit. But you don't, +and that solves the problem. You want her now even more than you did two +years ago. You can't defy nature, old chap. You may defy convention, and +honour, and even common decency, but you can't beat nature out of its due. +Now, look me in the eye! Why can't you marry Anne and--be everything to +her, instead of nothing, as you put it? Answer me!" + +"It is impossible," groaned Thorpe. "You cannot understand, Simmy." + +"Nothing is impossible," said Simmy, the optimist. "If you are afraid of +what people will say about it, then all I have to say is that you are +worse than a coward: you are a stupid ass. People talked themselves black +in the face when she married your grandfather, and what good did it do +them? Not a particle of good. They roasted her to a fare-you-well, and +they called her a mean, avaricious, soulless woman, and still she +survives. Everybody expects her to marry you. When she does it, everybody +will smile and say 'I told you so,'--and sneer a little, perhaps,--but, hang +it all, what difference should that make? This is a big world. It is +busier than you think. It will barely take the time to sniff twice or +maybe three times at you and Anne and then it will hustle along on the +scent of something new. It's always smelling out things, but that's all it +amounts to. It overlooks divorces, liaisons, murders,--everything, in fact, +except disappointments. It never forgives the man or woman who disappoints +it. Now, I know something else that's on your mind. You think that because +you operated--fatally, we'll say,--on your grandfather, that that is an +obstacle in the way of your marriage with Anne. Tommy-rot! I've heard of a +hundred doctors who have married the widows of their patients, and their +friends usually congratulate 'em, which goes to prove something, doesn't +it? You are expected by ninety per cent. of the inhabitants of greater New +York to marry Anne Tresslyn. They may have forgotten everything else, but +that one thing they _do_ expect. They said it would happen and it must. +They said it when Anne married your grandfather, they said it when he died +and they say it now, even though their minds are filled with other +things." + +Thorpe eyed him steadily throughout this earnest appeal. "Do you think +that Anne expects it, Simmy?" he inquired, a harsh note in his voice. + +Simmy had to think quickly. "I think she does," he replied, and always was +to wonder whether he said the right thing. "She is in love with you. She +wants you, and anything that Anne wants she expects to get. I don't mean +that in a disparaging sense, either. If she doesn't marry you, she'll +never marry any one. She'll wait for you till the end of her days. Even if +you were to marry some one else, she'd--" + +"I shall not marry any one else," said Thorpe, almost fiercely. + +"--She'd go on waiting and wanting you just the same, and you would go on +wanting her," concluded Simmy. "You will never consider your life complete +until you have Anne Tresslyn as a part of it. She wants to make you happy. +That's what most women want when they're in love with a man." + +"I tell you, Simmy, I cannot marry Anne. I love her,--God knows how +terribly I want her,--in spite of everything. It _is_ nature. You can't +kill love, no matter how hard you try. Some one else has to do the +killing. Anne is keeping it alive in me. She has tortured my love, beaten +it, outraged it, but all the time she has been secretly feeding it, +caressing it, never for an instant letting it out of her grasp. You cannot +understand, Simmy. You've never been in love with a woman like Anne. She +may have despaired at times, but she has never given up the fight, not +even when she must have thought that I despised her. She knew that my love +was mortally hurt, but do you think she would let it die? No! She will +keep it alive forever,--and she will suffer, too, in doing so. But what's +that to Anne? She--" + +"Just a second, old chap," broke in Simmy. "You are forgetting that Anne +wants you to be happy." + +"God, how happy I could have been with her!" + +"See here, will you go down there and see her?" demanded Simmy. + +"I can't do that,--I can't do it. Simmy--" he lowered his voice to almost a +whisper,--"I can't trust myself. I don't know what would happen if I were +to see her again,--be near her, alone with her. This longing for her has +become almost unbearable. I thought of her every minute of the time I was +out there at the front--Yes, I had to put the heaviest restraint upon +myself at times to keep from chucking the whole thing and dashing back +here to get her, to take her, to keep her,--maybe to kill her, I don't +know. Now I realise that I was wrong in coming back to America at all. I +should have gone--oh, anywhere else in the world. But here I am, and, +strangely enough, I feel stronger, more able to resist. It was the +distance between us that made it so terrible. I can resist her here, but, +by heaven, I couldn't over there. I could have come all the way back from +France to see her, but I can't go from here down to Washington Square,--so +that shows you how I stand in the matter." + +"Now I know the real reason why you came back to little old New York," +said Simmy sagely, and Thorpe was not offended. + +"In the first place I cannot marry her while she still has in her +possession the money for which she sold herself and me," said Thorpe, +musing aloud. "You ought to at least be able to understand that, Simmy? No +matter how much I love her, I can't make her my wife with that accursed +money standing--But there's no use talking about _that_. There is an even +graver reason why I ought not to marry her, an insurmountable reason. I +cannot tell you what it is, but I fear that down in your heart you +suspect." + +Simmy leaned forward in his chair. "I think I know, old man," he said +simply. "But even that shouldn't stand in the way. I don't see why you +should have been kind and gentle and merciful to Mr. Thorpe, and refuse to +be the same, in a different way, to her." His face broke into a whimsical +smile. "Anne is what you might call hopelessly afflicted. Dammit all, put +her out of her misery!" + +Thorpe stared at him aghast. The utter banality of the remark left him +speechless. For the first time in their acquaintance, he misjudged Simmy +Dodge. He drew back from him, scowling. + +"That's a pretty rotten thing to say, Simmy," he said, after a moment. +"Pretty poor sort of wit." + +"It wasn't meant for wit, my friend," said Simmy seriously. "I meant every +word of it, no matter how rotten it may have sounded. If you are going to +preach mercy and all that sort of silly rot, practise it whenever it is +possible. There's no law against your being kind to Anne Tresslyn. You +don't have to be governed by a commission or anything like that. She's +just as deserving as any one, you know." + +"Which is another way of saying that she _deserves_ my love?" cried Thorpe +angrily. + +"She's got it, so it really doesn't matter whether she deserves it or not. +You can't take it away from her. You've tried it and--well, she's still got +it, so there's no use arguing." + +"Do you think it gives me any happiness to love her as I do?" cried the +other. "Do you think I am finding joy in the prospect of never having her +for my own--all for my own? Do you--" + +"Well, my boy, do you think she is finding much happiness living down +there in that old house all alone? Do you think she is getting much real +joy out of her little old two millions? By the way, why is she living down +there at all? I can tell you. She's doing it because she's got nerve +enough to play the game out as she began it. She's doing it because she +believes it will cause you to think better of her. This is a guess on my +part, but I know darned well she wouldn't be doing it if there wasn't some +good and sufficient reason." + +Thorpe nodded his head slowly, an ironic smile on his lips. "Yes, she _is_ +playing the game, but not as she began it. I am not so sure that I think +better of her for doing it." + +"Brady, I hope you'll forgive me for saying something harsh and +disrespectful about your grandfather, but here goes. He played you a +shabby trick in taking Anne away from you in the first place. No matter +how shabbily Anne behaved toward you, he was worse than she. Then he +virtually compelled you to perform an operation that--well, I'll not say +it. We can forgive him for that. He was suffering. And then he went out of +his way to leave that old house down there to Anne, knowing full well that +if she continued to live in it, it would be a sort of prison to her. She +can't sell it, she can't rent it. She's got to live in it, or abandon it +altogether. I call it a pretty mean sort of trick to play on her, if +you'll forgive my--" + +"She doesn't have to live in it," said Thorpe doggedly. + +"She is going to live there until you take her out of it, bodily if you +please, and you are going to become so all-fired sorry for her that +you'll--" + +"Good Lord, Simmy," shouted Thorpe, springing to his feet with a bitter +imprecation, "don't go on like this. I can't stand it. I know how she +hates it. I know how frightened, how miserable she is down there. It _is_ +a prison,--no, worse than that, it is haunted by something that you cannot +possibly--My God, it must be awful for her, all alone,--shivering, +listening,--something crawly--something sinister and accusing--Why, she--" + +"Here, here, old fellow!" cried Simmy in alarm. "Don't go off your nut. +You're talking like a crazy man,--and, hang it all, I don't like the look +in your eye. Gosh, if it gives you the creeps--who don't have to be down +there of nights,--what must it be for that shrinking, sensitive--Hey! Where +are you going?" + +"I'm going down there to see her. I'm going to tell her that I was a cur +to write what I did to her the day I sailed. I--" He stopped short near the +door, and faced his friend. His hands were clenched. + +"I shall see her just this once,--never again if I can avoid it," he said. +"Just to tell her that I don't want her to live in that house. She's got +to get out. I'll not know a moment's peace until she is out of that +house." + +Simmy heard the door slam and a few minutes later the opening and closing +of the elevator cage. He sat quite still, looking out over the trees. He +was a rather pathetic figure. + +"I wonder if I'd be so loyal to him if I had a chance myself," he mused. +"Oh, Lordy, Lordy!" He closed his eyes as if in pain. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + + +The storm burst in all its fury when Thorpe was half way down the Avenue +in the taxi he had picked up at the Plaza. Pedestrians scurried in all +directions, seeking shelter from the wind and rain; the blackness of night +had fallen upon the city; the mighty roar of a thousand cannon came out of +the clouds; terrifying flashes rent the skies. The man in the taxi neither +saw nor heard the savage assault of the elements. He was accustomed to the +roar of battle. He was used to thinking with something worse than thunder +in his ears, and something worse than raindrops beating about him. + +He knew that Anne was afraid of the thunder and the lightning. More than +once she had huddled close to him and trembled in the haven of his arms, +her fingers to her ears, while storms raged about them. He was thinking of +her now, down there in that grim old house, trembling in some darkened +place, her eyes wide with alarm, her heart beating wildly with terror,--ah, +he remembered so well how wildly her heart could beat! + +He had forgotten his words to Simmy: "I can't trust myself!" There was but +one object in his mind and that was to retract the unnecessary challenge +with which he had closed his letter to her in January. Why should he have +demanded of her a sacrifice for which he could offer no consolation? He +now admitted to himself that when he wrote the blighting postscript he was +inspired by a mean desire to provoke anticipation on her part. "If you +also are not a coward, you will return to my grandfather's house, where +you belong." What right had he to revive the hope that she accounted dead? +She still had her own life to live, and in her own way. He was not to be a +part of it. He was sure of that, and yet he had given her something on +which to sustain the belief that a time would come when their lives might +find a common channel and run along together to the end. She had taken his +words as he had hoped she would, and now he was filled with shame and +compunction. + +The rain was coming down in sheets when the taxi-cab slid up to the curb +in front of the house that had been his home for thirty years. His home! +Not hers, but _his_! She did not belong there, and he did. He would never +cease to regard this fine old house as his home. + +He was forced to wait for the deluge to cease or to slacken. For many +minutes he sat there in the cab, his gaze fixed rigidly on the streaming, +almost opaque window, trying to penetrate the veil of water that hung +between him and the walls of the house not twenty feet away. At last his +impatience got the better of him, and, the downpour having diminished +slightly, he made a sudden swift dash from the vehicle and up the stone +steps into the shelter of the doorway. Here he found company. Four +workmen, evidently through for the day, were flattened against the walls +of the vestibule. + +They made way for him. Without realising what he did, he hastily snatched +his key-ring from his pocket, found the familiar key he had used for so +many years, and inserted it in the lock. The door opened at once and he +entered the hall. As he closed the door behind him, his eyes met the +curious gaze of the four workmen, and for the first time he realised what +he had done through force of habit. For a moment or two he stood +petrified, trying to grasp the full significance of his act. He had never +rung the door-bell of that house,--not in all the years of his life. He had +always entered in just this way. His grandfather had given him a key when +he was thirteen,--the same key that he now held in his fingers and at which +he stared in a sort of stupefaction. + +He was suddenly aware of another presence in the hall,--a figure in white +that stood near the foot of the staircase, motionless where it had been +arrested by the unexpected opening of the door,--a tall, slender figure. + +He saw her hand go swiftly to her heart. + +"Why--why didn't you--let me know?" she murmured in a voice so low that he +could hardly hear the words. "Why do you come in this way to--" + +"What must you think of me for--for breaking in upon you--" he began, +jerkily. "I don't know what possessed me to--you see, I still have the key +I used while I lived--Oh, I'm sorry, Anne! I can't explain. It just seemed +natural to--" + +"Why did you come without letting me know?" she cried, and now her voice +was shrill from the effort she made to suppress her agitation. + +"I should have telephoned," he muttered. Suddenly he tore the key from the +ring. "Here! It does not belong to me. I should not have the key to your--" + +"Keep it," she said, drawing back. "I want you to keep it. I shall be +happier if I know that you have the key to the place where I live. No! I +will not take it." + +To her infinite surprise, he slipped the key into his pocket. She had +expected him to throw it upon the floor as she resolutely placed her hands +behind her back. + +"Very well," he said, rather roughly. "It is quite safe with me. I shall +never forget myself again as I have to-day." + +For the first time since entering the door, he allowed his gaze to sweep +the lofty hallway. But for the fact that he knew he had come into the +right house, he would have doubted his own senses. There was nothing here, +to remind him of the sombre, gloomy place that he had known from +childhood's earliest days. All of the massive, ugly trappings were gone, +and all of the gloom. The walls were bright, the rugs gay, the woodwork +cheerfully white. He glanced quickly down the length of the hall and--yes, +the suit of mail was gone! He was conscious of a great relief. + +Then his eyes fell upon her again. A strange, wistful little smile had +appeared while his gaze went roving. + +"You see that I am trying not to be a coward," she said. + +"What a beast I was to write that thing to you," he cried. "I came down +here to tell you that I am sorry. I don't want you to live here, Anne. It +is--" + +"Ah, but I am here," she said, "and here I shall stay. We have done +wonders with the place. You will not recognise it,--not a single corner of +it, Braden. It was all very well as the home of a lonely old man who loved +it, but it was not quite the place for a lonely young woman who hated it. +Come! Let me show you the library. It is finished. I think you will say it +is a woman's room now and not a man's. Some of the rooms upstairs are +still unfinished. My own room is a joy. Everything is new and--" + +"Anne," he broke in, almost harshly, "it will come to nothing, you may as +well know the truth now. It will save you a great deal of unhappiness, and +it will allow you to look elsewhere for--" + +"Come into the library," she interrupted. "I already have had a great deal +of unhappiness in that room, so I fancy it won't be so hard to hear what +you have come to say to me if you say it to me there." + +He followed her to the library door, and there stopped in amazement, +unwilling to credit his eyes. He was looking into the brightest, gayest +room he had ever seen. An incredible transformation had taken place. The +vast, stately, sober room had become dainty, exquisite, enchanting. Here, +instead of oppressive elegance, was the most delicate beauty; here was +exemplified at a glance the sweet, soft touch of woman in contrast to the +heavy, uncompromising hand of man. Here was sweetness and freshness, and +the sparkle of youth, and gone were the grim things of age. Here was light +and happiness, and the fragrance of woman. + +"In heaven's name, what _have_ you done to this room?" he cried. "Am I in +my right senses? Can this be my grandfather's house?" + +She smiled, and did not answer. She was watching his face with eager, +wistful eyes. + +"Why, it's--it's unbelievable," he went on, an odd tremor in his voice. "It +is wonderful. It is--why, it is beautiful, Anne. I could not have dreamed +that such a change,--What has become of everything? What have you done with +all the big, clumsy, musty things that--" + +"They are in a storage warehouse," said she crisply. "There isn't so much +as a carpet-tack left of the old regime. Everything is gone. Every single +thing that was here with your grandfather is gone. I alone am left. When I +came down here two months ago the place was filled with the things that +you remember. I had made up my mind to stay here,--but not with the things +that I remembered. The first thing I did was to clean out the house from +cellar to garret. I am not permitted to sell the contents of this house, +but there was nothing to prevent me from storing them. Your grandfather +overlooked that little point, I fear. In any event, that was the first +thing I did. Everything is gone, mind you,--even to the portrait that used +to hang over the mantelpiece there,--and it was the only cheerful object in +the house. I wish I could show you my boudoir, my bedroom, and the rooms +in which Mr. Thorpe lived. You--you would love them." + +He was now standing in the middle of the room, staring about him at the +handiwork of Aladdin. + +"Why, it isn't--it will not be so dreadful, after all," he said slowly. +"You have made it all so lovely, so homelike, so much like yourself +that--you will not find it so hard to live here as I--" + +"I wanted you to like it, Braden. I wanted you to see the place,--to see +what I have done to make it bright and cheerful and endurable. No, I +sha'n't find it so hard to live here. I was sure that some day you would +come to see me here and I wanted you to feel that--that it wasn't as hard +for me as you thought it would be. I have been a coward, though. I confess +that I could not have lived here with all those things about to--to remind +me of--You see, I just _had_ to make the place possible. I hope you are not +offended with me for what I have done. I have played havoc with sentiment +and association, and you may feel that I--" + +"Offended? Good heavens, Anne, why should I be offended? You have a right +to do what you like here." + +"Ah, but I do not forget that it is _your_ home, Braden, not mine. It will +always be home to you, and I fear it can never be that to me. This is not +much in the way of a library now, I confess. Thirty cases of books are +safely stored away,--all of those old first editions and things of that +sort. They meant nothing to me. I don't know what a first edition is, and +I never could see any sense in those funny things he called missals, nor +the incunabula, if that's the way you pronounce it. You may have liked +them, Braden. If you care for them, if you would like to have them in your +own house, you must let me _lend_ them to you. Everybody borrows books, +you know. It would be quite an original idea to lend a whole library, +wouldn't it? If you--" + +"They are better off in the storage warehouse," he interrupted, trying to +steel himself against her rather plaintive friendliness. + +"Don't you intend to shake hands with me?" she asked suddenly. "I am so +glad that you have come home,--come back, I mean,--and--" She advanced with +her hand extended. + +It was a perilous moment for both of them when she laid her hand in his. +The blood in both of them leaped to the thrill of contact. The impulse to +clasp her in his arms, to smother her with kisses, to hold her so close +that nothing could ever unlock his arms, was so overpowering that his head +swam dizzily and for an instant he was deprived of vision. How he ever +passed through that crisis in safety was one of the great mysteries of his +life. She was his for the taking! She was ready. + +Their hands fell apart. A chill swept through the veins of both,--the ice- +cold chill of a great reaction. They would go on loving each other, +wanting each other, perhaps forever, but a moment like the one just past +would never come again. Bliss, joy, complete satisfaction might come, but +that instant of longing could never be surpassed. + +He was very white. For a long time he could not trust himself to speak. +The fight was a hard one, and it was not yet over. She was a challenge to +all that he tried to master. He wondered why there was a smile in her +lovely, soft eyes, while in his own there must have been the hardness of +steel. And he wondered long afterward how she could have possessed the +calmness to say: + +"Simmy must have been insane with joy. He has talked of nothing else for +days." + +But he did not know that in her secret heart she was crying out in +ecstasy: "God, how I love him--and _how he loves me_!" + +"He is a good old scout," said he lamely, hardly conscious of the words. +Then abruptly: "I can't stay, Anne. I came down to tell you that--that I +was a dog to say what I did in my note to you. I knew the construction you +would put upon the--well, the injunction. It wasn't fair. I led you to +believe that if you came down here to live that sometime I would--" + +"Just a moment, Braden," she interrupted, steadily. "You are finding it +very difficult to say just the right thing to me. Let me help you, please. +I fear that I have a more ready tongue than you and certainly I am less +agitated. I confess that your note decided me. I confess that I believed +my coming here to live would result in--well, forgiveness is as good a word +as any at this time. Now you have come to me to say that I have nothing to +gain by living in this house, that I have nothing to gain by living in a +place which revolts and terrifies me,--not always, but at times. Well, you +may spare yourself the pain of saying all that to me. I shall continue to +live here, even though nothing comes of it, as you say. I shall continue +to sit here in this rather enchanting place and wait for you to come and +share it with me. If you--" + +"Good God! That is just what I am trying to tell you that I cannot--" + +"I know, I know," she broke in impatiently. "That is just what you are +trying to tell me, and this is just what I am trying to tell you. I do not +say that you will ever come to me here, Braden. I am only saying to you +that I shall wait for you. If you do not come, that is your affair, not +mine. I love you. I love you with every bit of selfishness that is in my +soul, every bit of goodness that is in my heart, and every bit of badness +that is in my blood. I am proud to tell you that I am selfish in this one +respect, if no longer in any other. I would give up everything else in the +world to have you. That is how selfish I am. I want to be happy and I +selfishly want you to be happy--for my sake if not for your own. Do you +suppose that I am glorifying myself by living here? Do you suppose that I +am justifying myself? If you do, you are very greatly mistaken. I am here +because you led me to believe that--that things might be altered if I--" Her +lips trembled despite the brave countenance she presented to him. In a +second she had quelled the threatened weakness. "I have made this house a +paradise. I have made it a place in which you may find happiness if you +care to seek for it here. At night I shudder and cringe, because I am the +coward you would try to reform. I hide nothing from myself. I am afraid to +be alone in this house. But I shall stay--I shall stay." + +"Do you think that I could ever find happiness in this house--now?" he +demanded hoarsely. + +"Do you expect to find happiness anywhere else, Braden?" she asked, a +little break in her voice. + +"No. I shall never find happiness anywhere else,--real happiness, I mean. I +cannot be happy without you, Anne." + +"Nor I without you," she said simply. "I don't see that it makes very much +difference _where_ we choose to be unhappy, Braden, so I shall take mine +here,--where it is likely to be complete." + +"But that is just what I don't want you to do," he cried angrily. "I don't +want you to stay here. You must leave this place. You have had hell +enough. I insist that you--" + +"No use arguing," she said, shaking her head. "I can love you here as well +as anywhere else, and that is all I care for,--just my love for you." + +"God, what a cruel thing love is, after all. If there was no such thing as +love, we could--" + +"Don't say that!" she cried out sharply. "Love is everything. It conquers +everything. It is both good and evil. It makes happiness and it makes +misery. Braden,--oh, my dearest!--see what it has made for us? Love! Why, +don't you know it is Love that we love? _We love Love._ I would not love +you if you were not Love itself. I treated you abominably, but you still +love me. You performed an act of mercy for the man you loved, and he loved +you. You cursed me in your heart, and I still love you. We cannot escape +love, my friend. It rules us,--it rules all of us. The thing that you say +stands between us--that act of mercy, dearest,--what effect has it had upon +either of us? I would come to you to-morrow, to-day,--this very hour if you +asked me to do so, and not in all the years that are left to me would I +see the shadow you shrink from." + +"The shadow extends back a great deal farther, Anne," he said, closing his +eyes as if in pain. "It began long before my grandfather found the peace +which I have yet to find. It began when you sold yourself to him." + +She shrank slightly. "But even that did not kill your love for me," she +cried out, defensively. "I did not sell my love,--just my soul, if you must +have a charge against me. I've got it back, thank God, and it is worth a +good deal more to me to-day than it was when Mr. Thorpe bargained for it. +Two million dollars!" She spoke ironically, yet with great seriousness. +"If he could have bought my love for that amount, his bargain would have +been a good one. If I were to discover now that you do not care for me, +Braden, and if I could buy your love, which is the most precious thing in +the world to me, I would not hesitate a second to pay out every dollar I +have in--" + +"Stop!" he cried eagerly, drawing a step nearer and fixing her with +a look that puzzled and yet thrilled her. "Would you give up +everything--everything, mind you,--if I were to ask you to do so?" + +"You said something like that a few months ago," she said, after a +moment's hesitation. There was a troubled, hunted look in her eyes, as of +a creature at bay. "You make it hard for me, Braden. I don't believe I +could give up everything. I have found that all this money does not give +me happiness. It does provide me with comfort, with independence, with a +certain amount of power. It does not bring me the thing I want more than +anything else in the world, however. Still I cannot say to you now that I +would willingly give it up, Braden. You would not ask it of me, of course. +You are too fair and big--" + +"But it is exactly what I would ask of you, Anne," he said earnestly, "if +it came to an issue. You could not be anything more to me than you are now +if you retained a dollar of that money." + +She drew a long, deep breath. "Would you take me back, Braden,--would you +let me be your wife if I--if I were to give up all that I received from Mr. +Thorpe?" She was watching his face closely, ready to seize upon the +slightest expression that might direct her course, now or afterwards. + +"I--I--Oh, Anne, we must not harass ourselves like this," he groaned. "It is +all so hopeless, so useless. It never can be, so what is the use in +talking about it?" + +She now appeared to be a little more sure of her ground. There was a note +of confidence in her voice as she said: "In that event, it can do no harm +for me to say that I do not believe I could give it up, Braden." + +"You _wouldn't_?" + +"If I were to give up all this money, Braden dear, I would prove myself to +be the most selfish creature in the world." + +"Selfish? Good Lord! It would be the height of self-denial. It--" + +"When a woman wants something so much that she will give up everything in +the world to get it, I claim that she is selfish to the last degree. She +gratifies self, and there is no other way to look at it. And I will admit +to you now, Braden, that if there is no other way, I will give up all this +money. That may represent to you just how much I think of _self_. But," +and she smiled confidently, "I don't intend to impoverish myself if I can +help it, and I don't believe you are selfish enough to ask it of me." + +"Would you call Lutie selfish?" he demanded. "She gave up everything for +George." + +"Lutie is impulsive. She did it voluntarily. No one demanded it of her. +She was not obliged to give back a penny, you must remember. My case is +different. You would demand a sacrifice of me. Lutie did not sell herself +in the beginning. She sold George. She bought him back. If George was +worth thirty thousand dollars to her, you are worth two millions to me. +She gave her _all_, and that would be my _all_. She was willing to pay. Am +I? That is the question." + +"You would have to give it up, Anne," said he doggedly. + +He saw the colour fade from her cheeks, and the lustre from her eyes. + +"I am not sure that I could do it, Braden," she said, after a long +silence. Then, almost fiercely: "Will you tell me how I should go about +getting rid of all this money,--sensibly,--if I were inclined to do so? What +could I do with it? Throw it away? Destroy it? Burn--" + +"There isn't much use discussing ways and means," he said with finality in +his manner. "I'm sorry we brought the subject up. I came here with a very +definite object in view, and we--well, you see what we have come to." + +"Oh, I--I love you so!" came tremulously from her lips. "I love you so, +Braden. I--I don't see how I can go on living without--" She suppressed the +wild, passionate words by deliberately clapping her hands, one above the +other, over her lips. Red surged to her brow and a look of exquisite shame +and humiliation leaped into her eyes. + +"Anne, Anne--" he began, but she turned on him furiously. + +"Why do you lie to me? Why do you lie to yourself? You came here to-day +because you were mad with the desire to see me, to be near me, to--Oh, you +need not deny it! You have been crying out for me ever since the day you +last held me in your arms and kissed me,--ages ago!--just as I have been +crying out for you. Don't say that you came here merely to tell me that I +must not live in this house if it leads me to hope for--recompense. Don't +say that, because it is not the real reason, and you know it. You would +have remained in Europe if you were through with me, as you would have +yourself believe. But you are not through with me. You never will be. If +you cannot be fair with yourself, Braden, you should at least be fair with +me. You should not have come here to-day. But you could not help it, you +could not resist. It will always be like this, and it is not fair, it is +not fair. You say we never can be married to each other. What is there +left for us, I ask of you,--what will all this lead to? We are not saints. +We are not made of stone. We--" + +"God in heaven, Anne," he cried, aghast and incredulous. "Do you know what +you are saying? Do you think I would drag you down, despoil you--" + +"Oh, you would be honest enough to marry me--_then_," she cried out +bitterly. "Your sense of honour would attend to all that. You--" + +"Stop!" he commanded, standing over her as she shrank back against the +wall. "Do you think that I love you so little that I could--Love? Is that +the kind of love that you have been extolling to the skies?" + +She covered her flaming face with her hands. "Forgive me, forgive me!" she +murmured, brokenly. "I am so ashamed of myself." + +He was profoundly moved. A great pity for her swept through him. "I shall +not come again," he said hoarsely. "I will be fair. You are right. You see +more clearly than I can see. I must not come to you again unless I come to +ask you to be my wife. You are right. We would go mad with--" + +"Listen to me, Braden," she interrupted in a strangely quiet manner. "I +shall never ask you to come to me. If you want me you must ask me to come +to you. I will come. But you are to impose no conditions. You must leave +me to fight out my own battle. My love is so great, so honest, so strong +that it will triumph over everything else. Listen! Let me say this to you +before I send you away from me to-day. Love is relentless. It wrecks +homes, it sends men to the gallows and women to the madhouse. It makes +drunkards, suicides and murderers of noble men and women. It causes men +and women to abandon homes, children, honour--and all the things that +should be dear to them. It impoverishes, corrupts and--defiles. It makes +cowards of brave men and brave men of cowards. The thing we call love has +a thousand parts. It has purity, nobility, grandeur, greed, envy, +lust--everything. You have heard of good women abandoning good husbands for +bad lovers. You have heard of good mothers giving up the children they +worship. You have heard of women and men murdering husbands and wives in +order to remove obstacles from the path of love. One woman whom we both +know recently gave up wealth, position, honour, children,--everything,--to +go down into poverty and disgrace with the man she loved. You know who I +mean. She did it because she could not help herself. Opposed to the evil +that love can do, there is always the beautiful, the sweet, the pure,--and +it is that kind of love that rules the world. But the other kind _is_ +love, just the same, and while it does not govern the world, it is none +the less imperial. What I want to say to you is this: while love may +govern the world, the world cannot govern love. You cannot govern this +love you have for me, although you may control it. Nor can I destroy the +love I have for you. I may not deserve your love, but I have it and you +cannot take it away from me. Some other woman may rob me of it, perhaps, +but you cannot do it, my friend. I will wait for you to come and get me, +Braden. Now, go,--please go,--and do not come here again until--" she smiled +faintly. + +He lowered his head. "I will not come again, Anne," he said huskily. + +She did not follow him to the door. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + + +Anne left town about the middle of June and did not return until late in +September. She surprised every one who knew her by going to Nova Scotia, +where she took a cottage in one of the quaint old coast towns. Lutie and +George and the baby spent the month of August with her. Near the close of +their visit, Anne made an announcement that, for one day at least, caused +them to doubt, very gravely, whether she was in her right mind. George, +very much perturbed, went so far as to declare to Lutie in the seclusion +of their bedroom that night, that Anne was certainly dotty. And the queer +part of it all was that he couldn't, for the life of him, feel sorry about +it! + +The next morning they watched her closely, at times furtively, and waited +for her to either renounce the decision of the day before or reveal some +sign that she had no recollection of having made the astounding statement +at all,--in which case they could be certain that she had been a bit +flighty and would be in a position to act accordingly. (Get a specialist +after her, or something like that.) But Anne very serenely discoursed on +the sweetest sleep she had known in years, and declared she was ready for +_anything_, even the twelve-mile tramp that George had been trying so hard +to get her to take with him. Her eyes were brighter, her cheeks rosier +than they had been for months, and, to George's unbounded amazement, she +ate a hearty breakfast with them. + +"I have written to Simmy," said she, "and James has posted the letter. The +die is cast. Congratulate me!" + +"But, hang it all," cried George desperately, "I still believe you are +crazy, Anne, so--how can I congratulate you? My Lord, girl--" + +He stopped short, for Lutie sprang up from the table and threw her arms +around Anne. She kissed her rapturously, all the time gurgling something +into her ear that George could not hear, and perhaps would not have +understood if he had. Then they both turned toward him, shining-eyed and +exultant. An instant later he rushed over and enveloped both of them in +his long, strong arms and shouted out that he was crazy too. + +Anne's letter to Simmy was a long one, and she closed it with the +sentence: "You may expect me not later than the twentieth of September." + + * * * * * + +Thorpe grew thin and haggard as the summer wore away; his nerves were in +such a state that he seriously considered giving up his work, for the time +being, at least. The truth was gradually being forced in upon him that his +hand was no longer as certain, no longer as steady as it had been. Only by +exercising the greatest effort of the will was he able to perform the +delicate work he undertook to do in the hospitals. He was gravely alarmed +by the ever-growing conviction that he was never sure of himself. Not that +he had lost confidence in his ability, but he was acutely conscious of +having lost interest. He was fighting all the time, but it was his own +fight and not that of others. Day and night he was fighting something that +would not fight back, and yet was relentless; something that was content +to sit back in its own power and watch him waste his strength and +endurance. Each succeeding hour saw him grow weaker under the strain. He +was fighting the thing that never surrenders, never weakens, never dies. +He was struggling against a mighty, world-old Giant, born the day that +God's first man was created, and destined to live with all God's men from +that time forth: Passion. + +Time and again he went far out of his way to pass by the house near +Washington Square, admittedly surreptitious in his movements. On hot +nights he rode down Fifth Avenue on the top of the stages, and always cast +an eye to the right in passing the street in which Anne lived, looking in +vain for lights in the windows of the closed house. And an hundred times a +day he thought of the key that no longer kept company with others at the +end of a chain but lay loose in his trousers' pocket. Times there were +when an almost irresistible desire came upon him to go down there late at +night and enter the house, risking discovery by the servants who remained +in quarters, just for a glimpse of the rooms upstairs she had +described,--her own rooms,--the rooms in which she dreamed of him. + +He affected the society of George and Lutie, spending a great deal of his +leisure with them, scorning himself the while for the perfectly obvious +reason that moved him. Automobile jaunts into the country were not +infrequent. He took them out to the country inns for dinner, to places +along the New Jersey and Long Island shores, to the show grounds at Coney +Island. There were times when he could have cursed himself for leading +them to believe that he was interested only in their affairs and not in +this affair of his own; times when he realised to the full that he was +_using_ them to satisfy a certain craving. They were close to Anne in +every way; they represented her by proxy; they had letters from her +written in the far-off town in Canada; she loved them, she encouraged +them, she envied them. And they talked of her,--how they talked of her! + +More than all else, George and Lutie personified Love. They represented +love triumphant over all. Their constancy had been rewarded, and the odds +had been great against it. He was contented and happy when near them, for +they gave out love, they radiated it, they lived deep in the heart of it. +He craved the company of these serene, unselfish lovers because they were +brave and strong and inspiring. He fed hungrily on their happiness, and he +honestly tried to pay them for what they gave to him. + +He was glad to hear that George was going into a new and responsible +position in the fall,--a six thousand dollar a year job in the office of a +big manufacturing company. He rejoiced not because George was going ahead +so splendidly but because his advancement was a justification of Anne's +faith in her seemingly unworthy brother,--and, moreover, there was +distinctly something to be said for the influence of love. + +When George's family departed for the north, Thorpe was like a lost soul. +In the first week of their absence, he found himself more than once on the +point of throwing everything aside and rushing off after them. His +scruples, his principles, his resolutions were shaken in the mighty grasp +of despair. There were to be no more letters, and, worse than all else, +she would not be lonely! + + * * * * * + +One day late in August Simmy Dodge burst in upon him. He had motored in +from Southampton and there was proof that he had not dallied along the +way. His haste in exploding in Thorpe's presence was evidence of an +unrestrained eagerness to have it over with. + +"My God!" he shouted, tugging at his goggles with nervous hands from which +he had forgotten to remove his gloves. "You've got to put a stop to this +sort of thing. It can't go on. She must be crazy,--stark, raving crazy. You +must not let her do this--" + +"What the devil are you talking about?" gasped Thorpe, acutely alarmed by +the little man's actions, to say nothing of his words, which under other +circumstances might have been at least intelligent. + +"Anne! Why, she's--What do you think she's going to do? Or maybe you know +already. Maybe you've put her up to this idiotic--Say, what _do_ you know +about it?" He was glaring at his friend. The goggles rested on the floor +in a far corner of the consultation-room. + +"In heaven's name, Simmy, cool off! I haven't the remotest idea of what +you are talking about. What has happened?" + +"Nothing has happened yet. And it mustn't happen at all. You've got to +stop her. She has threatened to do it before, and now she comes out flat- +footed and says she's going to do it,--absolutely, irrevocably, positively. +Is that plain enough for you? Absolutely, irrev--" + +"Would you mind telling me what she is going to do?" + +Simmy sat down rather abruptly and wiped his moist, dust-blackened brow. + +"She's going to give away every damned nickel of that money she got from +old Mr. Thorpe,--every damned nickel of it, do you hear? My God! She _is_ +crazy, Brady. We've got to put her in a sanitarium--or torium--as soon as we +can get hold of--Hi! Look out!" + +Thorpe had leaped forward and was shaking him furiously by the shoulders. +His eyes were wide and gleaming. + +"Say that again! Say it again!" he shouted. + +"Say it, damn you, Simmy! Can't you see that I want you to say it again--" + +"Say--it--again," chattered Simmy. "Let go! How the dickens can I say +anything with you mauling me all over the--" + +"I'm sorry! I will--try to be sensible--and quiet. Now, go on, old +chap,--tell me all there is to tell." He sank into a chair and leaned +forward, watching every expression that crossed his friend's face--watching +with an intensity that finally got on Simmy's nerves. + +"She wrote me,--I got the letter yesterday,--Lordy, what did I do with it? +Never mind. I'll look for it later on. I can remember nearly every word, +so it doesn't matter. She says she has made up her mind to give all that +money to charity. Some darned nonsense about never knowing happiness as +long as she has the stuff in her possession. Absolute idiocy! Wants me to +handle the matter for her. Lawyer, and all that sort of thing, you see. I +know what the game is, and so do you. She'd sooner have you than all that +money. By Gosh! I--here's something I never thought of before." He paused +and wiped his brow, utter bewilderment in his eyes. "It has just occurred +to me that I'd sooner have Anne than all the money I've got. I've said +that to myself a thousand times and--But that has nothing to do with the +case. Lordy, it gave me a shock for a second or two, though. Seems to +knock my argument all to smash. Still there _is_ a difference. I didn't +_earn_ my money. Where was I? Oh, yes,--er--she's got the idea into her head +that she can never be anything to you until she gets rid of that money. +Relief fund! Red Cross! Children's Welfare! Tuberculosis camps! All of +'em! Great snakes! Every nickel! Can you beat it? Now, there's just one +way to stop this confounded nonsense. You can do it, and you've got to +come to the mark." + +Thorpe was breathing fast, his eyes were glowing. "But suppose that I fail +to regard it as confounded nonsense. Suppose--" + +"Will you marry Anne Thorpe if she gives up this money?" demanded Simmy +sharply. + +"That has nothing to do with Anne's motives," said Thorpe grimly. "She +wants to give it up because it is burning her soul, Simmy." + +"Rats! You make me sick, talking like that. She is giving it up for your +sake and not because her soul is even uncomfortably hot. Now, I want to +see you two patch things up, cut out the nonsense, and get married,--but I +don't intend to see Anne make a fool of herself if I can help it. That +money is Anne's. The house is hers. The--By the way, she says she intends +to _keep_ the house. But how in God's name is she going to maintain it if +she hasn't a dollar in the world? Think the Red Cross will help her when +she begins to starve down there--" + +"I shall do nothing to stop her, Simmy," said Thorpe firmly. "If she has +made up her mind to give all that money to charity, it is her affair, not +mine. God knows the Red Cross Society and the Relief Funds need it now +more than ever before. I'll tell you what I think of Anne Tresslyn's +sacri--" + +"Anne Thorpe, if you please." + +"She _hates_--do you hear?--_hates_ the money that my grandfather gave to +her. It hurts her in more ways than you can ever suspect. Her honour, her +pride, her peace of mind--all of them and more. She sold me out, and she +hates the price she received. It is something deeper with her than mere--" + +"You are wrong," broke in Simmy, suddenly calm. He leaned forward and laid +his hand on Thorpe's knee. "She wants you more than anything else in the +world. You are worth more to her than all the money ever coined. It is no +real sacrifice, the way she feels about it now, but--listen to me! I am not +going to stand idly by and see her make herself as poor as Job's turkey +unless I know--positively know, do you hear,--that she is not to lose out +entirely. You've just got to say one thing or the other, Brady, before +it's too late. If she does all this for you, what will you do for her?" + +Thorpe got up from his chair and began pacing the office, his lips +compressed, his eyes lowered. At last he stopped in front of Simmy. + +"If I were you, Simmy, I would tell her at once that--it will be of no +avail." + +Simmy glowered to the best of his ability. "Have you never asked her to +make this sacrifice? Have you never given her a ray of hope on which--" + +"Yes,--I will be honest with you,--I asked her if she _could_ give it up." + +"There you are!" said Simmy triumphantly. "I was pretty sure you had said +something--" + +"My God, Simmy, I--I don't know what to do," groaned Thorpe, throwing +himself into a chair and staring miserably into the eyes of his friend. + +"There is just one thing you are not to do," said the other gently. "You +are not to let her do this thing unless you are prepared to meet her half- +way. If she does her half, you must do yours. I am looking out for her +interests now, old chap, and I mean to see that she gets fair play. You +have no right to let her make this sacrifice unless you are ready to do +your part." + +"Then say to her for me that she must keep the money, every penny of it." + +Simmy was staggered. "But she--she doesn't want it," he muttered, lamely. +His face brightened. "I say, old boy, why let the measly money stand in +the way? Take her and the money too. Don't be so darned finicky about--" + +"Come, come, old fellow," protested Thorpe, eyeing him coldly. + +"All right," said Simmy resignedly. "I'll say no more along that line. But +I'm going to make you give her a square deal. This money is hers. She +bargained for it, and it belongs to her. She sha'n't throw it away if I +can help it. I came here to ask you to use your influence, to help me and +to help her. You say that she is to keep the money. That means--there's no +other chance for her?" + +"She knows how I feel about it," said Thorpe doggedly. + +"I'll tell her just what you've said. But suppose that she insists on +going ahead with this idiotic scheme of hers? Suppose she really hates the +money and wants to get rid of it, just as she says? Suppose this is no +part of a plan to reconcile--Well, you see what I mean. What then? What's +to become of her?" + +"I don't know," said Thorpe dully. "I don't know." + +"She will be practically penniless, Brady. Her mother will not help her. +God, how Mrs. Tresslyn will rage when she hears of this! Lordy, Lordy!" + +Thorpe leaned back in the chair and covered his eyes with his hands. For a +long time he sat thus, scarcely breathing. Simmy watched him in +perplexity. + +"It would be awful to see Anne Tresslyn penniless," said the little man +finally, a queer break in his voice. "She's a fair fighter, my boy. She +doesn't whimper. She made her mistake and she's willing to pay. One +couldn't ask more than that of any one. It means a good deal for her to +chuck all this money. I don't want her to do it. I'm fond of her, Brady. +I, for one, can't bear the thought of her going about in rummy old clothes +and--well, that's just what it will come to--unless she marries some one +else." + +The hands fell from Thorpe's eyes suddenly. "She will not marry any one +else," he exclaimed. "What do you mean? What have you heard? Is there--" + +"My Lord, you don't expect the poor girl to remain single all the rest of +her life just to please you, do you?" roared Simmy, springing to his feet. +"You must not forget that she is young and very beautiful and she'll +probably be very poor. And God knows there are plenty of us who would like +to marry her!" He took a turn or two up and down the room and then stopped +before Thorpe, in whose eyes there was a new and desperate anxiety, born +of alarm. "She wants me to arrange matters so that she can begin turning +over this money soon after she comes down in September. She hasn't touched +the principal. If she sticks to her intention, I'll have to do it. Here is +her letter. I'll read it to you. George and Lutie know everything, and she +is writing to her mother, she says. Not a word about you, however. Now, +listen to what she says, and--for God's sake, _do something_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + + +Anne's strictest injunction to Simmy Dodge bore upon the anonymity of the +contributions to the various specified charities. Huge sums were to be +delivered at stated intervals, covering a period of six months. At the end +of that period she would have contributed the whole of her fortune to +charity and, through its agencies, to humanity. The only obligation +demanded in return from any of these organisations was a pledge of +secrecy, and from this pledge there was to be no release until such time +as the donor herself announced her willingness to make public the nature +and extent of her benefactions. It was this desire to avoid publicity that +appealed most strongly to Thorpe. As for poor Simmy,--he could not +understand it at all. + +Grimly, Anne's lover refused to interfere with her plans. He went about +his work from that day on, however, with a feverish eagerness and zest, +and an exaltation that frequently lifted him to a sort of glory that he +could neither define nor deny. There were moments when he slipped far back +into the depths, and cursed himself for rejoicing in the sacrifice she was +apparently so willing to make. And at such times he found that he had to +resist an impulse that was almost overwhelming in its force: the impulse +to rush down to her and cry out that the sacrifice was not necessary! + +Mrs. Tresslyn came to see him shortly after Anne's return to the city. She +was humble. When she was announced, he prepared himself for a bitter +scene. But she was not bitter, she was not furious; on the contrary, she +was gentler than he had ever known her to be. + +"If you do not take her now, Braden," she said in the course of their +brief interview, "I do not know what will become of her. I blame myself +for everything, of course. It was I who allowed her to go into that +unhappy business of getting Mr. Thorpe's money, and I _am_ to blame. I +should have allowed her to marry you in the beginning. I should not have +been deceived by the cleverness of your amiable grandfather. But, you see +I counted on something better than this for her. I thought,--and she +thought as well,--that she could one day have both you and the money. It is +a pretty hard thing to say, isn't it? I saw her to-day. She is quite +happy,--really it seems to me she was radiantly happy this morning. Simmy +has arranged for the first instalment of five hundred thousand dollars to +be paid over to-morrow. She herself has selected the securities that are +to make up this initial payment. They are the best of the lot, Simmy tells +me. In a few months she will be penniless. I don't know what is to become +of her, Braden, if you do not take her when all this absurd business is +over. You love her and she loves you. Both of you should hate me, but +Anne, for one, does not. She is sorrier for me than she is for herself. Of +course, you are to understand one thing, Braden." She lifted her chin +proudly. "She may return to me at any time. My home is hers. She shall +never want for anything that I am able to give her. She is my daughter +and--well, you are to understand that I shall stand by her, no matter what +she does. I have but one object in coming to see you to-day. I need not +put it into words." + +A few days later Simmy came in, drooping. "Well, the first half-million is +gone. Next month another five hundred thousand goes. I hope you are happy, +Brady." + +"I hope Anne is happy," was all that Thorpe said in response. + + * * * * * + +No word came to him from Anne. She was as silent as the sphinx. Not a day +passed that did not find him running eagerly,--hopefully,--through his mail, +looking for the letter he hoped for and was sure that eventually she would +write to him. But no letter came. The only news he had of her was obtained +through Simmy, who kept him acquainted with the progress of his client's +affairs, forgetting quite simply the admonition concerning secrecy. + +Thorpe virtually abandoned his visits to the home of the young Tresslyns. +He had them out to dinner and the theatre occasionally. They talked quite +freely with him about the all-important topic, and seemed not to be +unhappy or unduly exercised over the step Anne had taken. In fact, George +was bursting with pride in his sister. Apparently he had no other thought +than that everything would turn out right and fair for her in the end. But +the covert, anxious, analysing look in Lutie's eyes was always present and +it was disconcerting. + +He avoided the little flat in which he had spent so many happy, and in a +sense profitable hours, and they appreciated his reason for doing so. They +kept their own counsel. He had no means of knowing that Anne Thorpe's +visits were but little more frequent than his. + +Anne's silence, her persistent aloofness, began to irritate him at last. +Weeks had passed since her return to the city and she had given no sign. +He had long since ceased his sly pilgrimages to the neighbourhood of +Washington Square. Now as the days grew shorter and the nights infinitely +longer, he was conscious, first, of a distinct feeling of resentment +toward her, and later on of an acute sense of uneasiness. The long, dreary +hours of darkness fed him with reflections that kept him awake most of the +night, and only his iron will held his hand and nerves steady during the +days between the black seasons. The theatre palled on him, books failed to +hold his attention, people annoyed him. He could not concentrate his +thoughts on study; his mind was forever journeying. What was she doing? +Every minute of the day he was asking that question of himself. It was in +the printed pages of the books he read; it was on the lips of every +lecturer he listened to; it was placarded on every inch of scenery in the +theatre,--always: "Where is she to-night? What is she doing?" + +And then, at last, one cold, rainy night in late November he resumed his +stealthy journeys to lower Fifth Avenue atop of the stage, protected by a +thick ulster and hidden as well as he could be in the shelter of a rigidly +grasped umbrella. Alighting in front of the Brevoort, he slunk rather than +sauntered up the Avenue until he came to the cross-town street in which +she lived,--in which he once had lived. It was a fair night for such an +adventure as this. There were but few people abroad. The rain was falling +steadily and there was a gusty wind. He had left his club at ten o'clock, +and all the way down the Avenue he was alone on the upper deck of the +stage. Afterwards he chuckled guiltily to himself as he recalled the odd +stare with which the conductor favoured him when he jestingly inquired if +there was "any room aloft." + +Walking down the street toward Sixth Avenue, he peered out from beneath +the umbrella as he passed his grandfather's house across the way. There +were lights downstairs. A solitary taxi-cab stood in front of the house. +He quickened his pace. He did not want to charge himself with spying. A +feeling of shame and mortification came over him as he hurried along; his +face burned. He was not acting like a man, but as a love-sick, jealous +school-boy would have behaved. And yet all the way up Sixth Avenue to +Fifty-ninth Street,--he walked the entire distance,--he wondered why he had +not waited to see who came forth from Anne's house to enter the taxi-cab. + +For a week he stubbornly resisted the desire to repeat the trip down-town. +In the meantime, Simmy had developed into a most unsatisfactory informant. +He suddenly revealed an astonishing streak of uncommunicativeness, totally +unnatural in him and tantalising in the extreme. He rarely mentioned +Anne's name and never discussed her movements. Thorpe was obliged to +content himself with an occasional word from Lutie,--who was also painfully +reticent,--and now and then a scrap of news in the society columns of the +newspapers. Once he saw her in the theatre. She was with other people, all +of whom he knew. One of them was Percy Wintermill. He began on that night +to hate Wintermill. The scion of the Wintermill family sat next to Anne +and there was nothing in his manner to indicate that he had resigned +himself to defeat in the lists. + +If Anne saw him she did not betray the fact. He waited outside for a +fairer glimpse of her as she left the theatre. What he saw at close range +from his carefully chosen position was not calculated to relieve his mind. +She appeared to be quite happy. There was nothing in her appearance or in +her manner to indicate that she suffered,--and he _wanted_ her to suffer as +he was suffering. That night he did not close his eyes. + +He had said to her that he would never marry her even though she gave up +the money she had received from his grandfather, and she had said--how well +he remembered!--that if George was worth thirty thousand dollars to Lutie, +which was her _all_,--he was worth two millions to her, and her _all_. She +was paying for him now, just as Lutie had paid for George, only in Lutie's +case there was the assurance that the sacrifice would bring its own +consolation and reward. Anne was going ahead blindly, trusting to an +uncertainty. She had his word for it that the sacrifice would bring no +reward through him, and yet she persisted in the vain enterprise. She had +likened herself, in a sense, to Lutie, and now he was beginning to think +of himself as he had once thought of George Tresslyn! + +He recalled his pitying scorn for the big, once useless boy during that +long period of dog-like watchfulness over the comings and goings of the +girl he loved. He had felt sorry for him and yet pleased with him. There +was something admirable in the stubborn, drunken loyalty of George +Tresslyn,--a loyalty that never wavered even though there was no such thing +as hope ahead of him. + +As time went on, Thorpe, the sound, sober, indomitable Thorpe,--began to +encourage himself with the thought that he too might sink to the +extremities through which George had passed,--and be as simple and as firm +in his weakness as the other had been! He too might stand in dark places +and watch, he too might slink behind like a thing in the night. Only in +his case the conditions would be reversed. He would be fighting conviction +and not hope, for he knew he had but to walk into Anne's presence and +speak,--and the suspense would be over. She was waiting for him. It was he +who would have to surrender, not she. + +He fought desperately with himself; the longing to see her, to be near +her, to test his vaunted self-control, never for an instant subsided. He +fought the harder because he was always asking himself why he fought at +all. Why should he not take what belonged to him? Why should he deny +himself happiness when it was so much to be desired and so easy to obtain? + +But always when he was nearest to the breaking point, and the rush of +feeling was at flood, there crept up beside him the shadow that threatened +his very existence and hers. He had taken the life of her husband. He had +no right to her. Down in his heart he knew that there was no moral ground +for the position he took and from which he could not extricate himself. He +had committed no crime. There had been no thought of himself in that +solemn hour when he delivered his best friend out of bondage. Anne had no +qualms, and he knew her to be a creature of fine feelings. She had always +revolted against the unlovely aspects of life, and all this despite the +claim she made that love would survive the most unholy of oppressions. +What was it then that _he_ was afraid of? What was it that made him hold +back while love tugged so violently, so persistently at his heart-strings? + +At times he had flashes of the thing that created the shadow, and it was +then that he grasped, in a way, the true cause of his fears. Back of +everything he realised there was the most uncanny of superstitions. He +could not throw off the feeling that his grandfather, in his grave, still +had his hand lifted against his marriage with Anne Tresslyn; that the +grim, loving old man still regarded himself as a safeguard against the +connivings of Anne! + +His common sense, of course, resisted this singular notion. He had but to +recall his grandfather's praise of Anne just before he went to his death. +Surely that signified an altered opinion of the girl, and no doubt there +was in his heart during those last days of life, a very deep, if puzzled, +admiration for her. And yet, despite the conviction that his grandfather, +had he been pressed for a definite statement would have declared himself +as being no longer opposed to his marriage with Anne, there still remained +the fact that he had gone to his grave without a word to show that he +regarded his experiment as a failure. And he had gone to his grave in a +manner that left no room for doubt that his death was to stand always as +an obstacle in the path of the lovers. There were times when Braden Thorpe +could have cursed his grandfather for the cruel cunning to which he had +resorted in the end. + +He could not free himself of the ridiculous, distorted and oft-recurring +notion that his grandfather was watching him from beyond the grave, nor +were all his scientific convictions sufficient to dispel the fear that men +live after death and govern the destinies of those who remain. + +But through all of these vain struggles, his love for Anne grew stronger, +more overpowering. He was hollow-eyed and gaunt, ravenous with the hunger +of love. A spectre of his former self, he watched himself starve with +sustenance at hand. Bountiful love lay within his grasp and yet he +starved. Full, rich pastures spread out before him wherein he could roam +to the end of his days, blissfully gorging himself,--and yet he starved. +And Anne, who dwelt in those elysian pastures, was starving too! + +Once more he wavered and again he fell. He found himself at midnight +standing at the corner above Anne's home, staring at the darkened +unresponsive windows. Three nights passed before he resumed the hateful +vigil. This time there were lights. And from that time on, he went almost +nightly to the neighbourhood of Washington Square, regardless of weather +or inconvenience. He saw her come and go, night after night, and he saw +people enter the house to which he held a key,--always he saw from obscure +points of vantage and with the stealth and caution of a malefactor. + +He came to realise in course of time that she was not at peace with +herself, notwithstanding a certain assumption of spiritedness with which +she fared into the world with others. At first he was deceived by +appearances, but later on he knew that she was not the happy, interested +creature she affected to be when adventuring forth in search of pleasure. +He observed that she tripped lightly down the steps on leaving the house, +and that she ascended them slowly, wearily, almost reluctantly on her +return, far in the night. He invariably waited for the lights to appear in +the shaded windows of her room upstairs, and then he would hurry away as +if pursued. Once, after roaming the streets for two hours following her +return to the house, he wended his way back to the spot from which he had +last gazed at her windows. To his surprise the lights were still burning. +After that he never left the neighbourhood until he saw that the windows +were dark, and more often than otherwise the lights did not go out until +two or three o'clock in the morning. The significance of these nightly +indications of sleeplessness on her part did not escape him. + +Bitterly cold and blustering were some of the nights. He sought warmth and +shelter from time to time in the near-by cafes, always returning to his +post when the call became irresistible. It was his practice to go to the +cheap and lowly cafes, places where he was not likely to be known despite +his long residence in the community. He did not drink. It had, of course, +occurred to him that he might find solace in resorting to the cup that +cheers, but never for an instant was he tempted to do so. He was too +strong for that! + +Curiosity led him one night to the restaurant of Josiah Wade. He did not +enter, but stood outside peering through the window. It was late at night +and old Wade was closing the place. A young woman whom Thorpe took to be +his wife was chatting amiably with a stalwart youth near the cash +register. He did not fail to observe the furtive, shifty glances that Wade +shot out from under his bushy eyebrows in the direction of the couple. + +He knew, through Simmy, that the last of Templeton Thorpe's money would +soon pass from Anne's hands. A million and a half was gone. The time for +the last to go was rapidly approaching. She would soon be poorer than when +she entered upon the infamous enterprise. There would still remain to her +the house in which she lived. It was not a part of the purchase price. It +was outside of the bargain she had made, and the right to sell it was +forbidden her. But possesion of it was a liability rather than an asset. +He wondered what she would do when it came down to the house in which she +lived. + +Again and again he apostrophized himself as follows: "My God, what am I +coming to? Is this madness? Am I as George Tresslyn was, am I no nobler +than he? Or was he noble in spite of himself, and am I noble in the same +sense? If I am mad with love, if I am weak and accursed by consequences, +why should not she be weaker than I? She is a woman. I am--or was--a man. +Why should I sink to such a state as this and she remain brave and strong +and resolute? She keeps away from me, why should I not stay away from her? +God knows I have tried to resist this thing that she resists, and what +have I come to? A street loafer, a spy, a sneak, a dog without a master. +She is doing a big thing, and I am doing the smallest thing that man can +do. She loves me and longs for me and--Oh, what damned madness is it that +brings me to loving her and longing for her and yet makes of me a thing so +much less worthy than she?" And so on by the hour, day and night, he +cursed himself with questions. + + * * * * * + +The end came swiftly, resistlessly. She paused at the bottom of the steps +as the automobile slid off into the chill, windy night. For the first time +in all his vigil, he noted the absence of the footman who always ran up +the steps ahead of her to open the door. She was alone to-night. This had +never happened before. Mystified, he saw her slowly ascend the steps and +pause before the door. Her body drooped wearily. He waited long for her to +press the electric button which had taken the place of the ancient knob +that jangled the bell at the far end of the hall. But she remained +motionless for what seemed to him an interminable time, and then, to his +consternation, she leaned against the door and covered her face with her +hands. + +A great weight suddenly was lifted from his soul; a vast exaltation drove +out everything that had been oppressing him for so long. He was free! He +was free of the thing that had been driving him to death. Joy, so +overwhelming in its rush that he almost collapsed as it assailed him, +swept aside every vestige of resistance,--and, paradox of paradoxes,--made a +man of him! He was a man and he would--But even as his jaw set and his body +straightened in its old, dominant strength, she opened the door and passed +into the dim hall beyond. + +He was half across the street when the door closed behind her, but he did +not pause. His hand came from his pocket and in his rigid fingers he held +the key to his home--and hers. + +At the bottom of the steps he halted. The lights in the drawing-room had +been switched on. The purpose that filled him now was so great that he +waited long there, grasping the hand rail, striving to temper his new- +found strength to the gentleness that was in his heart. The fight was +over, and he had won--the man of him had won. She was in that room where +the lights were,--waiting for him. The moment was not far off when she +would be in his arms. He was suffocating with the thought of the nearness +of it all! + +He mounted the steps. As he came to the top, the door was opened and Anne +stood there in the warm light of the hall,--a slender, swaying figure in +something rose-coloured and--and her lips were parted in a wondering, +enchanted smile. She held out her arms to him. + +THE END + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + +1. Punctuation has been normalized to contemporary standards. +2. Frontispiece relocated after copyright page. +3. Table of Contents added. +4. Typographic errors corrected in original: + p. 102 heared to hearted ("loyal, warm-hearted, enduring creature") + p. 193 snovel to snivel ("choke and snivel softly") + p. 215 unforgetable to unforgettable ("that unforgettable day") + p. 439 "Her saw her" to "He saw her" ("He saw her come and go") + p. 440 possesion to possession ("possession of it was a liability") + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's From the Housetops, by George Barr McCutcheon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM THE HOUSETOPS *** + +***** This file should be named 18612.txt or 18612.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/6/1/18612/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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