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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/5971-h.zip b/5971-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cf97f68 --- /dev/null +++ b/5971-h.zip diff --git a/5971-h/5971-h.htm b/5971-h/5971-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5a2ddb3 --- /dev/null +++ b/5971-h/5971-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12374 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <title> + Jane Cable, by George Barr Mccutcheon + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of June Cable, 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: June Cable + +Author: George Barr McCutcheon + +Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5971] +First Posted: October 2, 2002 +Last Updated: May 10, 2019 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JUNE CABLE *** + + + + +Etext produced by Charles Franks, Charles Aldarondo and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + + +</pre> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + JANE CABLE + </h1> + <h2> + By George Barr McCutcheon + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I — WHEN JANE GOES DRIVING </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II — THE CABLES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III — JAMES BANSEMER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV — THE FOUNDLING </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V — THE BANSEMER CRASH </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI — IN SIGHT OF THE FANGS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII — MRS. CABLE ENTERTAINS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII — THE TELEGRAM </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX — THE PROPOSAL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X — THE FOUR INITIALS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI — AN EVENING WITH DROOM </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII — JAMES BANSEMER CALLS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII — JANE SEES WITH NEW EYES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV — THE CANKER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV — THE TRAGEDY AT THE SEA WALL + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI — HOURS OF TERROR </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII — DAVID CABLE'S DEBTS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII — THE VISIT OF HARBERT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX — THE CRASH </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX — FATHER AND SON </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI — IN THE PHILIPPINES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII — THE CHASE OF PILAR </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII — THE FIGHT IN THE CONVENT + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV — TERESA VELASQUEZ </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV — THE BEAUTIFUL NURSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0026"> CHAPTER XXVI — THE SEPARATION OF HEARTS + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII — "IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU" + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII — HOMEWARD BOUND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX — THE WRECKAGE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER XXX — THE DRINK OF GALL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER XXXI — THE TRANSFORMING OF DROOM + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER XXXII — ELIAS DROOM'S DINNER PARTY + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER XXXIII — DROOM TRIUMPHS OVER DEATH + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0034"> CHAPTER XXXIV — TO-MORROW </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I — WHEN JANE GOES DRIVING + </h2> + <p> + It was a bright, clear afternoon in the late fall that pretty Miss Cable + drove up in her trap and waited at the curb for her father to come forth + from his office in one of Chicago's tallest buildings. The crisp, + caressing wind that came up the street from the lake put the pink into her + smooth cheeks, but it did not disturb the brown hair that crowned her + head. Well-groomed and graceful, she sat straight and sure upon the box, + her gloved hand grasping the yellow reins firmly and confidently. Miss + Cable looked neither to right nor to left, but at the tips of her + thoroughbred's ears. Slender and tall and very aristocratic she appeared, + her profile alone visible to the passers-by. + </p> + <p> + After a very few moments, waiting in her trap, the smart young woman + became impatient. A severe, little pucker settled upon her brow, and not + once, but many times her eyes turned to the broad entrance across the + sidewalk. She had telephoned to her father earlier in the afternoon; and + he had promised faithfully to be ready at four o'clock for a spin up the + drive behind Spartan. At three minutes past four the pucker made its first + appearance; and now, several minutes later, it was quite distressing. + Never before had he kept her waiting like this. She was conscious of the + fact that at least a hundred men had stared at her in the longest ten + minutes she had ever known. From the bottom of a very hot heart she was + beginning to resent this scrutiny, when a tall young fellow swung around a + near-by corner, and came up with a smile so full of delight, that the + dainty pucker left her brow, as the shadow flees from the sunshine. His + hat was off and poised gallantly above his head, his right hand reaching + up to clasp the warm, little tan one outstretched to meet it. + </p> + <p> + "I knew it was you long before I saw you," said he warmly. + </p> + <p> + "Truly? How interesting!" she responded, with equal warmth. "Something + psychic in the atmosphere today?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no," he said, reluctantly releasing her hand. "I can't see through + these huge buildings, you know—-it's impossible to look over their + tops—I simply knew you were here, that's all." + </p> + <p> + "You're romantic, even though you are a bit silly," she cried gaily. + "Pray, how could you know?" + </p> + <p> + "Simplest thing in the world. Rigby told me he had seen you, and that you + seemed to be in a great rage. He dared me to venture into your presence, + and—that's why I'm here." + </p> + <p> + "What a hopelessly, commonplace explanation! Why did you not leave me to + think that there was really something psychic about it? Logic is so + discouraging to one's conceit. I'm in a very disagreeable humour to-day," + she said, in fine despair. + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe it," he disputed graciously. + </p> + <p> + "But I am," she insisted, smiling brightly. His heart was leaping high—so + high, that it filled his eyes. "Everything has gone wrong with me to-day. + It's pretty trying to have to wait in front of a big office building for + fifteen minutes. Every instant, I expect a policeman to come up and order + me to move on. Don't they arrest people for blocking the street?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, and put them in awful, rat-swarming dungeons over in Dearborn + Avenue. Poor Mr. Cable, he should be made to suffer severely for his + wretched conduct. The idea of—" + </p> + <p> + "Don't you dare to say anything mean about dad," she warned. + </p> + <p> + "But he's the cause of all the trouble—he's never done anything to + make you happy, or—" + </p> + <p> + "Stop!—I take it all back—I'm in a perfectly adorable humour. + It was dreadfully mean of me to be half-angry with him, wasn't it? He's in + there, now, working his dear old brain to pieces, and I'm out here with no + brain at all," she said ruefully. + </p> + <p> + To the ingenuous youth, such an appeal to his gallantry was well-nigh + irresistible, and for a moment it seemed as if he would yield to the + temptation to essay a brilliant contradiction; but his wits came to his + rescue, for quickly realising that not only were the frowning rocks of + offence to be avoided, but likewise the danger of floundering helplessly + about in the inviting quicksands of inanity, he preserved silence—wise + young man that he was, and trusted to his eyes to express an eloquent + refutation. At last, however, something seemed to occur to him. A smile + broke on his face. + </p> + <p> + "You had a stupid time last night?" he hazarded. + </p> + <p> + "What makes you think so?" + </p> + <p> + "I know who took you in to dinner." + </p> + <p> + The eyes of the girl narrowed slightly at the corners. + </p> + <p> + "Did he tell you?" + </p> + <p> + "No, I have neither seen nor heard from anyone present." She opened her + eyes wide, now. + </p> + <p> + "Well, Mr. S. Holmes, who was it?" + </p> + <p> + "That imbecile, Medford." + </p> + <p> + Miss Cable sat up very straight in the trap; her little chin went up in + the air; she even went so far as to make a pretence of curbing the + impatience of her horse. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Medford was most entertaining—he was the life of the dinner," + she returned somewhat severely. + </p> + <p> + "He's a professional!" + </p> + <p> + "An actor!" she cried incredulously. + </p> + <p> + "No, a professional diner-out. Wasn't that rich young Jackson there?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes; but do tell me how you knew?" The girl was softening a little, + her curiosity aroused. + </p> + <p> + "Of course I will," he said boyishly, at once pleased with himself and his + sympathetic audience. "About five-thirty I happened to be in the club. + Medford was there, and as usual catering to Jackson, when the latter was + called to the 'phone. Naturally, I put two and two together." He paused to + more thoroughly enjoy the look of utter mystification that hovered on the + girl's countenance. It was very apparent that this method of deduction + through addition was unsatisfying. "What Jackson said to Medford, on his + return," the young man continued, "I did not hear; but from the expression + on the listener's face I could have wagered that an invitation had been + extended and accepted. Oh, we boys have got it down fine! Garrison is—-" + </p> + <p> + "And who is Garrison?" + </p> + <p> + "Garrison is the head door man at the club. It's positively amazing the + number of telephone calls he receives every afternoon from well-known + society women!" + </p> + <p> + "What about? And what's that got to do with Mr. Medford taking me in to + dinner?" + </p> + <p> + "Just this: Suppose Mrs. Rowden..." + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Rowden!" The girl was nonplussed. + </p> + <p> + "Yes—wants to find out who's in the club? She 'phones Garrison. + Instantly, after ascertaining which set—younger or older is wanted, + from a small card upon which he has written a few but choice names of club + members, he submits a name to her." + </p> + <p> + "Really, you don't mean to tell me that such a thing is actually done?" + exclaimed Miss Cable, who as yet was socially so unsophisticated as to be + horrified; "you're joking, of course!" + </p> + <p> + "But nine time out of ten," ignoring the interruption; "it is met with: + 'Don't want him!' Another: 'Makes a bad combination!' A third: 'Oh, no, my + dear, not a dollar to his name—hopelessly ineligible!' This last + exclamation though intended solely for the visitor at her home, elicits + from Garrison a low chuckle of approval of the speaker's discrimination; + and presently, he hears: 'Goodness me, Garrison, there must be someone + else!' Then, to her delights she is informed that Mr. Jackson has just + come in; and he is requested to come to the 'phone, Garrison being + dismissed with thanks and the expectation of seeing her butler in the + morning." + </p> + <p> + "How perfectly delicious!" came from the girl. "I can almost hear Mrs. + Rowden telling Jackson that he will be the dearest boy in the world if he + will dine with her." + </p> + <p> + "And bring someone with him, as she is one man short," laughed Graydon, as + he wound up lightly; "and here is where the professional comes in. We're + all onto Medford! Why, Garrison has half a dozen requests a night—six + times five—thirty dollars. Not bad—but then the man's a 'who's + who' that never makes mistakes. I won't be positive that he does not draw + pay from both ends. For, men like Medford, outside of the club, probably + tip him to give them the preference. It would be good business." + </p> + <p> + There was so much self-satisfaction in the speaker's manner of uttering + these last words, that it would not have required the wisdom of one older + than Miss Cable to detect that he was thoroughly enjoying his pose of man + of the world. He was indeed young! For, he had yet to learn that not to + disillusion the girl, but to conform as much as possible to her ideals, + was the surest way to win her favour; and his vanity surely would have + received a blow had not David Cable at that moment come out of the doorway + across the sidewalk, pausing for a moment to converse with the man who + accompanied him. The girl's face lighted with pleasure and relief; but the + young man regarding uneasily the countenance of the General Manager of the + Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic R.R. Company, saw that he was white, tired + and drawn. It was not the keen, alert expression that had been the + admiration of everyone; something vital seemed to be missing, although he + could not have told what it was. A flame seemed to have died somewhere in + his face, leaving behind a faint suggestion of ashes; and through the + young man's brain there flashed the remark of his fair companion: 'He's in + there now, working his dear, old brain to pieces.' + </p> + <p> + "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Jane," said Cable, crossing to the + curb. "Hello, Graydon; how are you?" His voice was sharp, crisp, and + louder than the occasion seemed to demand, but it was natural with him. + Years of life in an engine cab do not serve to mellow the tone of the + human voice, and the habit is too strong to be overcome. There was no + polish to the tones as they issued from David Cable's lips. He spoke with + more than ordinary regard for the Queen's English, but it was because he + never had neglected it. It was characteristic of the man to do a thing as + nearly right as he knew how in the beginning, and to do it the same way + until a better method presented itself. + </p> + <p> + "Very well, thank you, Mr. Cable, except that Jane has been abusing me + because you were not here to—-" + </p> + <p> + "Don't you believe a word he says, dad," she cried. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, if the truth isn't in me, I'll subside," laughed Graydon. + "Nevertheless, you've kept her waiting, and it's only reasonable that she + should abuse somebody." + </p> + <p> + "I am glad you were here to receive it; it saves my grey hairs." + </p> + <p> + "Rubbish!" was Miss Cable's simple comment, as her father took his place + beside her. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, please drive on, Jane," said the young man, his admiring eyes on the + girl who grasped the reins afresh and straightened like a soldier for + inspection. "I must run around to the University Club and watch the score + of the Yale-Harvard game at Cambridge. It looks like Harvard, hang it all! + Great game, they say—-" + </p> + <p> + "There he goes on football. We must be off, or it will be dark before we + get away from him. Good-bye!" cried Miss Cable. + </p> + <p> + "How's your father, Gray? He wasn't feeling the best in the world, + yesterday," said Cable, tucking in the robe. + </p> + <p> + "A case of liver, Mr. Cable; he's all right to-day. Good-bye!" + </p> + <p> + As Jane and her father whirled away, the latter gave utterance to a remark + that brought a new brightness to her eyes and a proud throbbing to her + heart; but he did not observe the effect. + </p> + <p> + "Bright, clever chap—that Graydon Bansemer," he said comfortably. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II — THE CABLES + </h2> + <p> + The General Manager of the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic Railroad System + had had a hard struggle of it. He who begins his career with a shovel in a + locomotive cab usually has something of that sort to look back upon. There + are no roses along the pathway he has traversed. In the end, perhaps, he + wonders if it has been worth while. David Cable was a General Manager; he + had been a fireman. It had required twenty-five years of hard work on his + part to break through the chrysalis. Packed away in a chest upstairs in + his house there was a grimy, greasy, unwholesome suit of once-blue + overalls. The garments were just as old as his railroad career, for he had + worn them on his first trip with the shovel. When his wife implored him to + throw away the "detestable things," he said, with characteristic humour, + that he thought he would keep them for a rainy day. It was much simpler to + go from General Manager to fireman than vice versa, and it might be that + he would need the suit again. It pleased him to hear his wife sniff + contemptuously. + </p> + <p> + David Cable had been a wayward, venturesome youth. His father and mother + had built their hopes high with him as a foundation, and he had proved a + decidedly insecure basis; for one night, in the winter of 1863, he stole + away from his home in New York; before spring he was fighting in the far + Southland, a boy of sixteen carrying a musket in the service of his + country. + </p> + <p> + At the close of the Civil War Private Cable, barely eighteen, returned to + his home only to find that death had destroyed its happiness: his father + had died, leaving his widowed mother a dependant upon him. It was then, + philosophically, he realised that labour alone could win for him; and he + stuck to it with rigid integrity. In turn, he became brakeman and fireman; + finally his determination and faithfulness won him a fireman's place on + one of the fast New York Central "runs." If ever he was dissatisfied with + the work, no one was the wiser. + </p> + <p> + Railroading in those days was not what it is in these advanced times. + Then, it meant that one was possessed of all the evil habits that fall to + the lot of man. David Cable was more or less contaminated by contact with + his rough, ribald companions of the rail, and he glided moderately into + the bad habits of his kind. He drank and "gamboled" with the rest of the + boys; but by nature not being vicious and low, the influences were not + hopelessly deadening to the better qualities of his character. To his + mother, he was always the strong, good-hearted, manly boy, better than all + the other sons in the world. She believed in him; he worshipped her; and + it was not until he was well up in the twenties that he stopped to think + that she was not the only good woman in the world who deserved respect. + </p> + <p> + Up in Albany lived the Widow Coleman and her two pretty daughters. Mrs. + Coleman's husband died on the battlefield, and she, like many women in the + North and the South, after years of moderate prosperity, was compelled to + support herself and her family. She had been a pretty woman, and one + readily could see where her daughters got their personal attractiveness. + Not many doors from the boisterous little eating-house in which the + railroad men snatched their meals as they went through, the widow opened a + book and newsstand. Her home was on the floor above the stand, and it was + there she brought her little girls to womanhood. Good-looking, + harum-scarum Dave Cable saw Frances Coleman one evening as he dropped in + to purchase a newspaper. It was at the end of June, in 1876, and the + country was in the throes of excitement over the first news of the Custer + massacre on the Little Big Horn River. + </p> + <p> + Cable was deeply interested, for he had seen Custer fighting at the front + in the sixties. Frances Coleman, the prettiest girl he had ever seen, sold + him the newspaper. After that, he seldom went through Albany without + visiting the little book shop. + </p> + <p> + Tempestuous, even arrogant in love, Cable, once convinced that he cared + for her, lost no time in claiming her, whether or no. In less than three + months after the Custer massacre they were married. + </p> + <p> + Defeated rivals unanimously and enviously observed that the handsomest + fireman on the road had conquered the mo&t outrageous little coquette + between New York and Buffalo. As a matter of fact, she had loved him from + the start; the others served as thorns with which she delightedly pricked + his heart into subjection. + </p> + <p> + The young husband settled down, renounced all of his undesirable habits + and became a new man with such surprising suddenness that his friends + marvelled and—derided. A year of happiness followed. He grew + accustomed to her frivolous ways, overlooked her merry whimsicalities and + gave her the "full length of a free rope," as he called it. He was + contented and consequently careless. She chafed under the indifference, + and in her resentment believed the worst of him. Turmoil succeeded peace + and contentment, and in the end, David Cable, driven to distraction, + weakly abandoned the domestic battlefield and fled to the Far West, giving + up home, good wages, and all for the sake of freedom, such as it was. He + ignored her letters and entreaties, but in all those months that he was + away from her he never ceased to regret the impulse that had defeated him. + Nevertheless, he could not make up his mind to go back and resume the life + of torture her jealousy had begotten. + </p> + <p> + Then, the unexpected happened. A letter was received containing the + command to come home and care for his wife and baby. At once, David Cable + called a halt in his demoralising career and saw the situation plainly. He + forgot that she had "nagged" him to the point where endurance rebelled; he + forgot everything but the fact that he cared for her in spite of all. + Sobered and conscience-stricken, he knew only that she was alone and + toiling; that she had suffered uncomplainingly until the babe was some + months old before appealing to him for help. In abject humiliation, he + hastened back to New York, reproaching himself every mile of the way. Had + he but known the true situation, he would have been spared the pangs of + remorse, and this narrative never would have been written. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III — JAMES BANSEMER + </h2> + <p> + In the City of New York there was practising, at that time, a lawyer by + the name of Bansemer. His office, on the topmost floor of a dingy building + in the lower section of the city, was not inviting. On leaving the + elevator, one wound about through narrow halls and finally peered, with + more or less uncertainty and misgiving, at the half-obliterated sign which + said that James Bansemer held forth on the other side of the glass panel. + </p> + <p> + It was whispered in certain circles and openly avowed in others that + Bansemer's business was not the kind which elevates the law; in plain + words, his methods were construed to debase the good and honest statutes + of the land. Once inside the door of his office—and a heavy spring + always closed it behind one—there was quick evidence that the lawyer + lamentably disregarded the virtues of prosperity, no matter how they had + been courted and won. Although his transactions in and out of the courts + of that great city bore the mark of dishonour, he was known to have made + money during the ten years of his career as a member of the bar. Possibly + he kept his office shabby and unclean that it might be in touch with the + transactions which had their morbid birth inside the grimy walls. There + was no spot or corner in the two small rooms that comprised his "chambers" + to which he could point with pride. The floors were littered with papers; + the walls were greasy and bedecked with malodorous notations, documents + and pictures; the windows were smoky and useless; the clerk's desk bore + every suggestion of dissoluteness. + </p> + <p> + But little less appalling to one's aesthetic sense was the clerk himself. + Squatting behind his wretched desk, Elias Droom peered across the litter + of papers and books with snaky but polite eyes, almost as inviting as the + spider who, with wily but insidious decorum, draws the guileless into his + web. + </p> + <p> + If one passed muster in the estimation of the incomprehensible Droom, he + was permitted, in due season, to pass through a second oppressive-looking + door and into the private office of Mr. James Bansemer, attorney-at-law + and solicitor. It may be remarked at this early stage that, no matter how + long or how well one may have known Droom, one seldom lingered to engage + in commonplaces with him. His was the most repellent personality + imaginable. When he smiled, one was conscious of a shock to the nervous + system; when he so far forgot himself as to laugh aloud, there was a + distinct illustration of the word "crunching"; when he spoke, one was + almost sorry that he had ears. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer knew but little of this freakish individual's history; no one + else had the temerity to inquire into his past—or to separate it + from his future, for that matter. Once, Bansemer ironically asked him why + he had never married. It was a full minute before the other lifted his + eyes from the sheet of legal cap, and by that time he was in full control + of his passion. + </p> + <p> + "Look at me! Would any woman marry a thing like me?" + </p> + <p> + This was said with such terrible earnestness that Bansemer took care never + to broach the subject again. He saw that Droom's heart was not all steel + and brass. + </p> + <p> + Droom was middle-aged. His lank body and cadaverous face were constructed + on principles not generally accredited to nature as it applies to men. + When erect, his body swayed as if it were a stubborn reed determined to + maintain its dignity in the face of the wind; he did not walk, he glided. + His long square chin, rarely clean-shaven, protruded far beyond its + natural orbit; indeed, the attitude of the chin gave one an insight to the + greedy character of the man. At first glance, one felt that Droom was + reaching forth with his lower jaw to give greeting with his teeth, instead + of his hand. + </p> + <p> + His neck was long and thin, and his turndown collar was at least two sizes + too large. The nose was hooked and of abnormal length, the tip coming well + down over the short, upper lip and broad mouth. His eyes were light blue, + and so intense that he was never known to blink the lashes. Topping them + were deep, wavering, black eyebrows that met above the nose, forming an + ominous, cloudy line across the base of his thin, high forehead. The crown + of his head, covered by long, scant strands of black hair, was of the type + known as "retreating and pointed." The forehead ran upward and back from + the brows almost to a point, and down from the pinnacle hung the veil of + hair, just as if he had draped it there with the same care he might have + used in placing his best hat upon a peg. His back was stooped, and the + high, narrow shoulders were hunched forward eagerly. Long arms and + ridiculously thin legs, with big hands and feet, tell the story of his + extremities. When he was on his feet Droom was more than six feet tall; as + he sat in the low-backed, office chair he looked to be less than five + feet, over all. What became of that lank expanse of bone and cuticle when + he sat down was one of the mysteries that not even James Bansemer could + fathom. + </p> + <p> + The men had been classmates in an obscure law school down in Pennsylvania. + Bansemer was good-looking, forceful and young; while Droom was distinctly + his opposite. Where he came from no one knew and no one cared. He was past + thirty-five when he entered the school-at least twelve years the senior of + Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + His appearance and attire proclaimed him to be from the country; but his + sophistry, his knowledge of the world and his wonderful insight into human + nature contradicted his looks immeasureably. A conflict or two convinced + his fellow students that he was more than a match for them in stealth and + cunning, if not in dress and deportment. + </p> + <p> + Elias Droom had not succeeded as a lawyer. He repelled people, growing + more and more bitter against the world as his struggles became harder. + What little money he had accumulated—Heaven alone knew how: he came + by it—dwindled to nothing, and he was in actual squalor when, later, + Bansemer found him in an attic in Baltimore. Even as he engaged the + half-starved wretch to become his confidential clerk the lawyer shuddered + and almost repented of his action. + </p> + <p> + But Elias Droom was worth his weight in gold to James Bansemer from that + day forth. His employer's sole aim in life was to get rich and thereby to + achieve power. His ambition was laudable, if one accepts the creed of + morals, but his methods were not so praise-worthy. After a year of two of + starvation struggles to get on with the legitimate, he packed up his + scruples and laid them away—temporarily, he said. He resorted to + sharp practice, knavery, and all the forms of legal blackmail; it was not + long before his bank account began to swell. His business thrived. He was + so clever that not one of his shady proceedings reacted. It is safe to + venture that ninety-nine per cent, of the people who were bilked through + his manipulations promised, in the heat of virtuous wrath, to expose him, + but he had learned to smile in security. He knew that exposure for him + meant humiliation for the instigator, and he continued to rest easy while + he worked hard. + </p> + <p> + "You're getting rich at this sort of thing," observed Droom one day, after + the lawyer had closed a particularly nauseous deal to his own + satisfaction, "but what are you going to do when the tide turns?" + </p> + <p> + Bansemer, irritated on perceiving that the other was engaged in his + exasperating habit of rubbing his hands together, did not answer, but + merely thundered out: "Will you stop that!" + </p> + <p> + There was a faint suggestion of the possibility of a transition of the + hands to claws, as Droom abruptly desisted, but smilingly went on: + </p> + <p> + "Some day, the other shark will get the better of you and you'll have + nothing to fall back on. You've been building on mighty slim foundations. + There isn't a sign of support if the worst comes to the worst," he + chuckled. + </p> + <p> + "It's a large world, Droom," said his employer easily. + </p> + <p> + "And small also, according to another saying," supplemented Droom. "When a + man's down, everybody kicks him—I'm afraid you could not survive the + kicking." + </p> + <p> + Droom grinned so diabolically as again he resumed the rubbing of his hands + that the other turned away with an oath and closed the door to the inside + office. Bansemer was alone and where Droom's eyes could not see him, but + something told him that the grin hung outside the door for many minutes, + as if waiting for a chance to pop in and tantalise him. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer was a good-looking man of the coarser mould—the kind of man + that merits a second look in passing, and the second look is not always in + his favour. He was thirty-five years of age, but looked older. His face + was hard and deeply marked with the lines of intensity. The black eyes + were fascinating in their brilliancy, but there was a cruel, savage light + in their depths. The nose and mouth were clean-cut and pitiless in their + very symmetry. Shortly after leaving college to hang out his shingle, he + had married the daughter of a minister. For two years her sweet influence + kept his efforts along the righteous path, but he writhed beneath the yoke + of poverty. His pride suffered because he was unable to provide her with + more of the luxuries of life; in his selfish way, he loved her. Failure to + advance made him surly and ill-tempered, despite her amiable efforts to + lighten the shadows around their little home. When the baby boy was born + to them, and she suffered more and more from the unkindness of privation, + James Bansemer, by nature an aggressor, threw off restraint and plunged + into the traffic that soon made him infamously successful. She died, + however, before the taint of his duplicity touched her, and he, even in + his grief, felt thankful that she never was to know the truth. + </p> + <p> + At this time Bansemer lived in comfort at one of the middle-class boarding + houses uptown, and the boy was just leaving the kindergarten for a private + school. Bansemer's calloused heart had one tender chamber, and in it dwelt + the little lad with the fair hair and grey eyes of the woman who had died. + </p> + <p> + Late one November afternoon just before Bansemer put on his light topcoat + to leave the office for the day, Droom tapped on the glass panel of the + door to his private office. Usually, the clerk communicated with him by + signal—a floor button by which he could acquaint his master with + much that he ought to know, and the visitor in the outer office would be + none the wiser. The occasions were rare when he went so far as to tap on + the door. Bansemer was puzzled, and stealthily listened for sounds from + the other side. Suddenly, there came to his ears the voices of women, + mingled with Broom's suppressed but always raucous tones. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer opened the door; looking into the outer office, he saw Droom + swaying before two women, rubbing his hands and smiling. One of the women + carried a small babe in her arms. Neither she nor her companion seemed + quite at ease in the presence of the lank guardian of the outer office. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV — THE FOUNDLING + </h2> + <p> + "Lady to see you!" announced Droom. The shrewd, fearless genius of the + inner room glanced up quickly and met the prolonged, uncanny gaze of his + clerk; unwillingly, his eyes fell. + </p> + <p> + "Confound it, Lias! will you ever quit looking at me like that! There's + something positively creepy in that stare of yours!" + </p> + <p> + "Lady to see you!" repeated the clerk, shifting about uneasily, and then + gliding away to take his customary look at the long row of books in the + wall cases. He had performed this act a dozen times a day for more than + five years; the habit had become so strong that chains could not have + restrained him. It was what he considered a graceful way of dropping out + of notice, at the same time giving the impression that he was constantly + busy. + </p> + <p> + "Are you Mr. Bansemer?" asked the woman with the babe in her arms, as he + crossed into the outer office. + </p> + <p> + For a moment Bansemer purposely remained absorbed in the contemplation of + his finger nails; then he shot a sudden comprehensive glance which took in + the young woman, her burden and all the supposed conditions. There was no + doubt in his mind that here was another "paternity case," as he catalogued + them in his big, black book. + </p> + <p> + "I am," he replied shortly, for he usually made short, quick work of such + cases. There was not much money in them at best. They spring from the + lower and poorer classes. The rich ones who are at fault in such matters + never permit them to go to the point where a lawyer is consulted. "Would + you mind coming in to-morrow? I'm just leaving for the day." + </p> + <p> + "It will take but a few minutes, sir, and it would be very hard for me to + get away again to-morrow," said the young woman nervously. "I'm a + governess in a family 'way uptown and my days are not very free." + </p> + <p> + "Is this your baby?" asked Bansemer, more interested. The word governess + appealed to him; it meant that she had to do with wealthy people, at + least. + </p> + <p> + "No—that is—well, not exactly," she replied confusedly. The + lawyer looked at her so sharply that she flinched under his gaze. A + kidnapper, thought he, with the quick cunning of one who deals in + stratagems. Instinctively he looked about as if to make sure that there + were no unnecessary witnesses to share the secret. + </p> + <p> + "Come into this room," said he suddenly. "Both of you. See that we are not + disturbed," he added, to Droom. "I think I can give you a few minutes, + madam, and perhaps some very good advice. Be seated," he went on, closing + the door after them. His eyes rested on Broom's face for an instant as the + door closed, and he saw a particularly irritating grin struggling on his + thin lips. "Now, what is it? Be as brief as possible, please. I'm in quite + a hurry." + </p> + <p> + It occurred to him at this juncture that the young woman was not + particularly distressed. Instead, her rather pretty face was full of + eagerness and there was a certain lightness in her manner that puzzled him + for the moment. Her companion was the older of the two and quite as + prepossessing. Both were neatly dressed and both looked as though they + were or had been bread-winners. If they had a secret, it was now quite + evident to this shrewd, quick thinker that it was not a dark one. In + truth, he was beginning to feel that something mischievous lurked in the + attitude of the two visitors. + </p> + <p> + "I want to ask how a person has to proceed to adopt a baby," was the blunt + and surprising remark that came from the one who held the infant. Bansemer + felt himself getting angry. + </p> + <p> + "Who wants to adopt it?" he asked shortly. + </p> + <p> + "I do, of course," she answered, so readily that the lawyer stared. He + scanned her from head to foot, critically; her face reddened perceptibly. + It surprised him to find that she was more than merely good-looking; she + was positively attractive! + </p> + <p> + "Are you a married woman?" he demanded. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," she answered, with a furtive glance at her companion. "This is my + sister," she added. + </p> + <p> + "I see. Where is your husband?" + </p> + <p> + "He is at home—or rather, at his mother's home. We are living there + now." + </p> + <p> + "I thought you said you were a governess?" + </p> + <p> + "That doesn't prevent me from having a home, does it?" she explained + easily. "I'm not a nurse, you know." + </p> + <p> + "This isn't your child, then?" he asked impatiently. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know whose child it is." There was a new softness in her voice + that made him look hard at her while she passed a hand tenderly over the + sleeping babe. "She comes from a foundling's home, sir." + </p> + <p> + "You cannot adopt a child unless supported by some authority," he said. + "How does she happen to be in your possession; and what papers have you + from the foundling's home to show that the authorities are willing that + you should have her? There is a lot of red tape about such matters, + madam." + </p> + <p> + "I thought perhaps you could manage it for me, Mr. Bansemer," she said, + plaintively. "They say you never fail at anything you undertake." He was + not sure there was a compliment in her remark, so he treated it with + indifference. + </p> + <p> + "I'm afraid I can't help you." The tone was final. + </p> + <p> + "Can't you tell me how I'll have to proceed? I must adopt the child, sir, + one way or another." Her manner was more subdued and there was a touch of + supplication in her voice. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, you go into the proper court and make application, that's all," he + volunteered carelessly. "The judge will do the rest. Does your husband + approve of the plans?" + </p> + <p> + "He doesn't know anything about it?" + </p> + <p> + "What's that?" + </p> + <p> + "I can't tell him; it would spoil everything." + </p> + <p> + "My dear madam, I don't believe I understand you quite clearly. You want + to adopt the child and keep the matter dark so far as your husband is + concerned? May I inquire the reason?" Bansemer, naturally, was interested + by this time. + </p> + <p> + "If you have time to listen, I'd like to tell you how it all comes about. + It won't take long. I want someone to tell me just what to do and I'll pay + for the advice, if it isn't too expensive. I'm very poor, Mr. Bansemer; + perhaps you won't care to help me after you know that I can't afford to + pay very much." + </p> + <p> + "We'll see about that later," he said brusquely; "go ahead with the + story." + </p> + <p> + The young woman hesitated, glanced nervously at her sister as if for + support, and finally faced the expectant lawyer with a flash of + determination in her dark eyes. As she proceeded, Bansemer silently and + somewhat disdainfully made a study of the speaker. He concluded that she + was scarcely of common origin and was the possessor of a superficial + education that had been enlarged by conceitedness; furthermore, she was a + person of selfish instincts, but without the usual cruel impulses. There + was little if any sign of true refinement in the features, and yet, there + was a strange strength of purpose that puzzled him. As her story + progressed, he solved the puzzle. She had the strength to carry out a + purpose that might further her own personal interests; but not the will to + endure sacrifice for the sake of another. Her sister was larger and + possessed a reserve that might have been mistaken for deepness. He felt + that she was hardly in sympathy with the motives of the younger, more + volatile woman. + </p> + <p> + "My husband is a railroad engineer and is ten years older than I," the + narrator said in the beginning. "I wasn't quite nineteen when we were + married—two years ago. For some time, we got along all right; then + we began to quarrel. He commenced to—-" + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Bansemer is in a hurry, Fan," broke in the older sister, sharply; and + then, repeating the lawyer's words: "Be as brief as possible." + </p> + <p> + There was a world of reproach in the look which greeted the speaker. + Evidently, it was a grievous disappointment not to be allowed to linger + over the details. + </p> + <p> + "Well," she continued half pettishly; "it all ended by his leaving home, + job and everything. I had told him that I was going to apply for a + divorce. For three months I never heard from him." + </p> + <p> + "Did you apply for a divorce?" asked the lawyer, stifling a yawn. + </p> + <p> + "No, sir, I did not, although he did nothing towards my support." The + woman could not resist a slightly coquettish attempt to enlist Bansemer's + sympathy. "I obtained work at St. Luke's Hospital for Foundlings, and + after that, as a governess. But, once a week I went back to the asylum to + see the little ones. One day, they brought in a beautifully dressed baby—a + girl. She was found on a doorstep, and in the basket was a note asking + that she be well cared for; with it, was a hundred dollar bill. The moment + I saw the little thing, I fell in love with her. I made application and + they gave me the child with the understanding that I was to adopt it. You + see, I was lonely—I had been living alone for nine or ten months. + The authorities knew nothing of my trouble with Mr. Cable—that's my + husband, David Cable. The child was about a month old when I took her to + his mother, whom I hadn't seen in months. I told Mrs. Cable that she was + mine. The dear old lady believed me; half the battle was won." She paused + out of breath, her face full of excitement. + </p> + <p> + "And then?" he asked, once more interested. + </p> + <p> + "We both wrote to David asking him to come home to his wife and baby." She + looked away guiltily. For a full minute, Bansemer did not speak. + </p> + <p> + "The result?" he demanded. + </p> + <p> + "He came back last month." + </p> + <p> + "Does he know the truth?" + </p> + <p> + "No, and with God's help, he never shall! It's my only salvation!" she + exclaimed emotionally. "He thinks she is his baby and—and—-" + The tears were on her cheeks, now. "I worship him, Mr. Bansemer! Oh, how + good and sweet he has been to me since he came back! Now, don't you see + why I must adopt this child, and why he must never know? If he learned + that I had deceived him in this way, he would hate me to my dying day." + </p> + <p> + The infant was awake and staring at him with wide, blue eyes. + </p> + <p> + "And you want me to handle this matter so that your husband will be none + the wiser?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Mr. Bansemer," she cried; "it means everything to me! All depends on + this baby. I must adopt her, or the asylum people won't let me keep her. + Can't it be done so quickly that he'll never find it out?" + </p> + <p> + "How many people know that the child is not yours?" + </p> + <p> + "My sister and the authorities at the asylum; not another soul." + </p> + <p> + "It is possible to arrange the adoption, Mrs. Cable, but I can't guarantee + that Mr. Cable will not find it out. The records will show the fact, you + know. There is but one way to avoid discovery." + </p> + <p> + "And that, please?" + </p> + <p> + "Leave New York and make your home in some distant city. That's the safe + way. If you remain here, there is always a chance that he may find out. I + see the position you're in and I'll help you. It can be done quite + regularly and there is only one thing you'll have to fear—you own + tongue," he concluded, pointedly. + </p> + <p> + "I hate New York, Mr. Bansemer. David likes the West and I'll go anywhere + on earth, if it will keep him from finding out. Oh, if you knew how he + adores her!" she cried, regret and ecstasy mingling in her voice. "I'd + give my soul if she were only mine!" Bansemer's heart was too roughly + calloused to be touched by the wistful longing in these words. + </p> + <p> + Before the end of the week the adoption of the foundling babe was a matter + of record; and the unsuspecting David Cable was awaiting a reply from the + train-master of a big Western railroad, to whom, at the earnest, even + eager, solicitation of his wife, he had applied for work. Elias Droom made + a note of the fee in the daybook at the office, but asked no questions. + Bansemer had told him nothing of the transaction, but he was confident + that the unspeakable Droom knew all about it, even though he had not been + nearer than the outer office during any of the consultations. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V — THE BANSEMER CRASH + </h2> + <p> + Twenty long years had passed since David and Frances Cable took their + hasty departure—virtually fleeing from New York City, their + migrations finally ending in that thriving Western city—Denver. + Then, the grime of the engine was on Cable's hands and deep beneath his + skin; the roar of iron and steel and the rush of wind was ever in his + ears; the quest of danger in his eye; but there was love, pride and a new + ambition in his heart. Now, in 1898, David Cable's hands were white and + strong; the grime was gone; the engineer's cap had given way to the silk + tile of the magnate; and the shovel was a memory. + </p> + <p> + But his case was not unique in that day and age of pluck and luck. Many + another man had gone from the bottom to the top with the speed and + security of the elevator car in the lofty "sky-scrapers." In the heartless + revolution of a few years, he became the successor of his Western + benefactor. The turn that had been kind to him, was unkind to his friend + and predecessor; the path that led upward for David Cable, ran the other + way for the train-master, who years afterward died in his greasy overalls + and the close-fitting cap of an engineer. One night Cable read the news of + the wreck with all the joy gone from his heart. + </p> + <p> + From the cheap, squalid section of town known as "railroad end," Cable's + rising influence carried him to the well-earned luxury. The lines of care + and toil mellowed in the face of his pretty wife, as the years rolled by; + her comely figure shed the cheap raiment of "hard, old days," and took on + the plumage of prosperity. Trouble, resentment, and worry disappeared as + if by magic, smoothed out by the satiny touch of comfort's fingers. She + went upward much faster than her husband, for her ambitions were less + exacting. She longed to shine socially—he loathed the thought of it. + But Cable was proud of his wife. He enjoyed the transition that lifted her + up with steady strength to the plane which fitted her best—as he + regarded it. She had stuck by him nobly and uncomplainingly through the + vicissitudes; it delighted him to give her the pleasures. + </p> + <p> + Frances Cable was proud; but she had not been too proud to stand beside + the man with the greasy overalls and to bend her fine, young strength to + work in unison with his. Together, facing the task, cheerfully, they had + battled and won. + </p> + <p> + There were days when it was hard to smile; but the next day always brought + with it a fresh sign of hope. The rough, hard, days in the Far West + culminated in his elevation to the office of General Manager of the great + railroad system, whose headquarters and home were in the city of Chicago. + Attaining this high place two years prior to the opening of this + narrative, he was regarded now as one of the brainiest railroad men and + slated to be president of the road at the next meeting. + </p> + <p> + Barely past fifty years of age, David Cable was in the prime of life and + usefulness. Age and prosperity had improved him greatly. The iron grey of + his hair, the keen brightness of his face, the erect, and soldierly + carriage of his person made him a striking figure. His wife, ten years his + junior, was one of the most attractive women in Chicago. Her girlish + beauty had refined under the blasts of adversity; years had not been + unkind to her. In a way, she was the leader of a certain set, but her + social ambitions were not content. There was a higher altitude in + fashion's realm. Money, influence and perseverance were her allies; social + despotism her only adversary. + </p> + <p> + The tall, beautiful and accomplished daughter of the Cables was worshipped + by her father with all the warmth and ardour of his soul. Times there were + when he looked in wonder upon this arbiter of not a few manly destinies; + and for his life could not help asking himself how the Creator had given + him such a being for a child, commenting on the fact that she bore + resemblance to neither parent. + </p> + <p> + For years, Mrs. Cable had lived in no little terror of some day being + found out. As the child grew to womanhood, the fears gradually diminished + and a sense of security that would not be disturbed replaced them. Then, + just as she was reaching out for the chief prizes of her ambition, she + came face to face with a man, whose visage she never had forgotten—Elias + Droom! And Frances Cable looked again into the old and terrifying shadows! + </p> + <p> + It was late in the afternoon, and she was crossing the sidewalk to her + carriage waiting near Field's, when a man brushed against her. She was + conscious of a strange oppressiveness. Before she turned to look at him + she knew that a pair of staring eyes were upon her face. Something seemed + to have closed relentlessly upon her heart. + </p> + <p> + One glance was sufficient. The tall, angular form stood almost over her; + the two, wide, blue eyes looked down in feigned surprise; the + never-to-be-forgotten voice greeted her, hoarsely: + </p> + <p> + "Good afternoon, Mrs. Cable! And how is the baby?" + </p> + <p> + "The baby!" she faltered. Struggle against it as she would, a sort of + fascination drew her gaze toward the remarkable face of the old clerk. + "Why—why—she's very well, thank you," she finally stammered. + Her face was as white as a ghost; with a shudder she started to pass him. + Droom, blocked the way. + </p> + <p> + "She was such a pretty little thing, I remember;" and then, insinuatingly: + "Where is her father, now?" + </p> + <p> + "He—Mr. Cable," answered Mrs. Cable, feeling very much as a bird + feels when it is charmed by a snake, "why, he's at home, of course." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed!" was all that Elias Droom said; for she had fled to escape the + grin that writhed in and out among the wrinkles of his face. + </p> + <p> + As her carriage struggled through crowded Washington Street, an + irresistible something compelled Frances Cable to glance back. Droom stood + on the curb, his eyes following her almost hungrily. Half an hour later, + when she reached home, she was in a state of collapse. Although there was + no physical proof of the fact, she was positive that Elias Droom had + followed her to the very doorstep. + </p> + <p> + In suspense and dread, she waited for days before there was a second + manifestation of Droom. There was rarely a day when she did not expect her + husband to stand before her and ask her to explain the story that had been + carried to him by a demon in the form of man. + </p> + <p> + But Droom did not go to David Cable. He went to James Bansemer with the + news. + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer's law and loan offices were not far from the river and, it + is sufficient to say, not much farther from State Street. He who knows + Chicago well cannot miss the location more than three blocks, either way, + if he takes City Hall as a focal point. The office building in which they + were located is not a pretentious structure, but its tenants were then and + still are regarded as desirable. It may be well to announce that Bansemer, + on reaching Chicago, was clever enough to turn over a new leaf and begin + work on a clear, white page, but it is scarcely necessary to add that the + black, besmirched lines on the opposite side of the sheet could be traced + through every entry that went down on the fresh white surface. Bansemer + was just as nefarious in his transactions, but he was a thousandfold more + cautious. Droom sarcastically reminded him that he had a reputation to + protect, in his new field and, besides, as his son was "going in society" + through the influence of a coterie of Yale men, it would be worse than + criminal to deteriorate. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer loathed Droom, but he also feared him. He was the only living + creature that inspired fear in the heart of this bold schemer. It is true + that he feared the effect an exposure might have on the mind of his + stalwart son, the boy with his mother's eyes; but he had succeeded so well + in blinding the youth in the years gone by, that the prospects of + discovery now seemed too remote for concern. The erstwhile New York + "shark" was now an eel, wily and elusive, but he was an eel with a shark's + teeth and a shark's voraciousness. He had grown old in the study of this + particular branch of natural history. Bansemer was fifty-five years old in + this year of 1898. He was thinner than in the old New York days, but the + bull-like vigour had given way to the wiry strength of the leopard. The + once black hair was almost white, and grew low and thick on his forehead. + Immaculately dressed, ever straight and aggressive in carriage, he soon + became a figure of whom all eyes took notice, even in the most crowded of + Chicago thoroughfares. + </p> + <p> + Graydon Bansemer, on leaving Yale with a diploma and some of the honours + of his class, urged his father to take him into his office, and ultimately + to make him a partner in the business. James Bansemer never forgot the + malicious grin that crossed the face of Elias Droom when the young fellow + made the proposition not more than a fortnight before the Bansemer + establishment picked itself up and hastily deserted New York. That grin + spoke plainer than all the words in language. Take him into the office? + Make this honest, grey-eyed boy a partner? It was no wonder that Droom + grinned and it is no wonder that he forgot to cover his mouth with his + huge hand, as was his custom. + </p> + <p> + The proposition, while sincere and earnest, was too impossible for words. + For once in his life, James Bansemer was at a loss for subterfuge. He + stammered, flushed and writhed in the effort to show the young man that + the step would be unprofitable, and he was sorely conscious that he had + not convinced the eager applicant. He even urged him to abandon the + thought of becoming a lawyer, and was ably seconded by Elias Droom, whose + opinion of the law, as he had come to know it, was far from flattering. + </p> + <p> + Just at this time Bansemer was engaged in the most daring as well as the + most prodigious "deal" of his long career. With luck, it was bound to + enrich him to the extent of $50,000. The plans had been so well prepared + and the execution had been so faultless that there seemed to be no + possibility of failure. To take his fair-minded son—with the + mother's eyes—into the game would be suicidal. The young fellow + would turn from him forever. Bansemer never went so far as to wonder + whence came the honest blood in the boy's veins, nor to speculate on the + origin of the unquestioned integrity. He had but to recall the woman who + bore him, the woman whose love was the only good thing he ever knew, the + wife he had worshipped while he sinned. + </p> + <p> + For years and years he had plied his unwholesome trade in reputations, + sometimes evading exposure by the narrowest of margins, and he had come to + believe that he was secure for all time to come. But it was the "big job" + that brought disaster. Just when it looked as though success was assured, + the crash came. He barely had time to cover his tracks, throw the + figurative pepper into the eyes of his enemies, and get away from the + scene of danger. But, he had been clever and resourceful enough to avoid + the penalty that looked inevitable and came off with colours trailing but + uncaptured. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps no other man could have escaped; but James Bansemer was cleverest + when in a corner. He backed away, held them at bay until he could recover + his breath, and then defied them to their teeth. Despite their proof, he + baffled them, and virtue was not its own reward—at least in this + instance. + </p> + <p> + In leaving New York, he hoped that Ellas Droom—who knew too much—might + refuse to go into the new territory with him, but the gaunt, old clerk + took an unnatural and malevolent delight in clinging to his employer. He + declined to give up his place in the office, and, although he hated James + Bansemer, he came like an accusing shadow into the new offices near the + Chicago River, and there he toiled, grinned and scowled with the same old + faithfulness. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI — IN SIGHT OF THE FANGS + </h2> + <p> + At first, it was hard for James Bansemer to believe that his henchman had + not been mistaken. Droom's description of the lady certainly did not + correspond to what his memory recalled. Investigation, however, assured + him that the Cables in the mansion near the lake were the people he had + known in New York. Bansemer took no one into his confidence, not even + Droom. Once convinced that the erstwhile fireman was now the rich and + powerful magnate, he set to work upon the machinery which was to extract + personal gain from the secret in his possession. He soon learned that the + child was a young woman of considerable standing in society, but there was + no way for him to ascertain whether Frances Cable had told the truth to + her husband in those dreary Far West days. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer was rich enough, but avarice had become a habit. The flight from + New York had deprived him of but little in worldly goods. His ill-gotten + gains came with him; and investments were just as easy and just as safe in + Chicago as in New York. Now, he saw a chance to wring a handsome sum from + the rich woman whose only possession had been love when he first knew her. + If the secret of Jane's origin still remained locked up in her heart, the + effort would be an easy one. He learned enough of David Cable, however, to + know that if he shared the secret, the plan would be profitless and + dangerous. + </p> + <p> + It was this uncertainty that kept him from calling at the Cable home; + likewise, from writing a note which might prove a most disastrous folly. + Time and circumstance could be his only friends, and he was accustomed to + the whims of both. He read of the dinners and entertainments given by the + Cables, and smiled grimly. Time had worked wonders for them! Scandal, he + knew, could undo all that ambition and pride had wrought. He could well + afford to wait. + </p> + <p> + However, he did not have long to wait, for his opportunity came one night + in Hooley's Theatre. Graydon and he occupied seats in the orchestra, near + the stage and not far from the lower right-hand boxes. It was during the + busy Christmas holidays, but the "star" was of sufficient consequence to + pack the house. The audience was no end of a fashionable one. Time and + again, some strange influence drew his gaze to the gay party in one of the + lower boxes. The face of the woman nearest to him was not visible; but the + two girls who sat forward, turned occasionally to look over the audience; + and he saw that they were pretty, one exceptionally so. One of the men was + grey-haired and strong-featured; the others were quite too insignificant + to be of interest to him. The woman whose back he could see did not look + out over the audience. Her indifference was so marked that it seemed + deliberate. + </p> + <p> + At last, he felt that her eyes were upon him; he turned quickly. True + enough, for with lips slightly parted, her whole attitude suggestive of + intense restraint, Mrs. Cable was staring helplessly into the eyes of the + man who could destroy her with a word. + </p> + <p> + The one thing that flashed through Bansemer's brain was the realisation + that she was far more beautiful than he had expected her to be. There was + a truly aristocratic loveliness in the rather piquant face, and she + undeniably possessed "manner." Maturity had improved her vastly, he + confessed with strange exultation; age had been kinder than youth. He + forgot the play, seldom taking his eyes from the back which again had been + turned to him. Calculating, he reached the conclusion that she was not + more than forty years of age. More than once he made some remark to his + son, only to surprise that young man glancing surreptitiously at the face + of the more beautiful of the two girls. Even in this early stage, James + Bansemer began to gloat over the beauty of this new-found, old + acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + In the lobby of the theatre, as they were leaving, he deliberately doffed + his hat and extended a pleasant hand to the wife of David Cable. She + turned deathly pale and there was a startled, piteous look in her eyes + that convinced him beyond all shadow of a doubt. There was nothing for her + to do but introduce him to her husband. Two minutes later Graydon Bansemer + and Jane Cable, strangers until then, were asking each other how they + liked the play, and Fate was at work. + </p> + <p> + A few weeks after this scene at the theatre young Mr. Bansemer dashed + across the hall from the elevator and entered his father's office just as + Elias Droom was closing up. + </p> + <p> + "Where's the governor, Mr. Droom?" he asked, deliberately brushing past + the old clerk in the outer office. + </p> + <p> + "Left some time ago," replied Droom, somewhat ungraciously, his blue eyes + staring past the young man with a steadiness that suggested reproach + because he was out of the direct line of vision. "It is nearly six o'clock—he's + never here after five." + </p> + <p> + "I know that he—I asked you if you knew of his whereabouts. Do you—or + not?" The self-confident, athletic youth did not stand in physical awe of + the clerk. + </p> + <p> + "No," was the simple and sufficient answer. + </p> + <p> + "Well then—I'm off," said Graydon a trifle less airily. + </p> + <p> + Droom's overcoat was on and buttoned up to his chin; his long feet were + encased in rubbers of enormous size and uncertain age. There must have + been no blood in the veins of this grim old man, for the weather was far + from cold and the streets were surprisingly dry for Chicago. + </p> + <p> + "I am closing the office for the day," said Droom. For no apparent reason + a smile spread over the lower part of his face and Graydon, bold as he + was, turned his eyes away. + </p> + <p> + "I thought I'd stop in and pick up the governor for a ride home in my + motor," said he, turning to the door. + </p> + <p> + "Yours is one of the first out here, I suppose," came from the thin lips + of the old clerk. + </p> + <p> + Graydon laughed. + </p> + <p> + "Possibly. The company charges a nickel a ride—half a dime—Going + down, sir?" Graydon had rung for the elevator and was waiting in front of + the grating. + </p> + <p> + A look containing a curious compound of affectionate reproach and a + certain senile gratification at being made the object of the boy's + condescending raillery crossed Droom's countenance. Without, however, + answering his question, he slowly and carefully closed the door, tried it + vigorously, and joined Bansemer at the shaft. With Droom, words were + unnecessary when actions could speak for themselves. + </p> + <p> + "Still living over in Wells Street, Mr. Droom?" went on Graydon, + thoroughly at home with the man whom he had feared and despised by stages + from childhood up. + </p> + <p> + "It's good enough for me," said Droom shortly. "'Tisn't Michigan Avenue, + the Drive or Lincoln Park Boulevard, but it's just as swell as I am—or + ever hope to be." + </p> + <p> + "There's nothing against Wells Street but—it got ashamed of itself + when it crossed the river." + </p> + <p> + "They call it Fifth Avenue," sneered Droom, "but it isn't THE Avenue, is + it?" Bansemer was surprised to note a tone of affectionate pride in the + question. + </p> + <p> + "No indeed!" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, there's only one, Mr. Graydon," said the old clerk, quite warmly; + "our own Fifth Avenue." + </p> + <p> + "I had no idea you cared so much for swagger things, Mr. Droom," observed + the other, genuinely surprised. + </p> + <p> + "Even Broadway is heaven to me," said Droom, some of the rasp gone from + his voice. "Good-bye; I go this way," he said when they reached the + sidewalk a little later. The young man watched his gaunt figure as it + slouched away in the semi-darkness. + </p> + <p> + "By George, the old chap is actually homesick!" muttered he. "I didn't + think it was in him." + </p> + <p> + Droom had rooms over a millinery shop in Wells Street. There was a bedroom + at the back and a "living-room" in front, overlooking the street from the + third story of the building. Of the bedchamber there is but little to say, + except that it contained a bed, a washstand, a mirror, two straight-backed + chairs and a clothes-press. Droom went out for his bath—every + Saturday night. The "living-room," however, was queer in more ways than + one. In one corner, on a chest of drawers, stood his oil stove, while in + the opposite corner, a big sheet-iron heater made itself conspicuous. + Firewood was piled behind the stove winter and summer, Droom lamenting + that one could not safely discriminate between the seasons in Chicago. The + chest of drawers contained his stock of provisions, his cooking and table + utensils, his medicine and a small assortment of carpenter's tools. He had + no use for an icebox. + </p> + <p> + A bookcase, old enough to warm the heart of the most ardent antiquarian, + held his small and unusual collection of books. Standing side by side, on + the same shelf, were French romances, unexpurgated, and the Holy Bible, + much bethumbed and pencilled. There were schoolbooks alongside of + sentimental love tales, Greek lexicons and quaint old fairy stories, law + books and works on criminology; books on botany, geology, anatomy, and + physics. In all, perhaps, there were two hundred volumes. A life of + Napoleon revealed signs of almost constant usage. There were three + portraits of the Corsican on the dingy green walls. + </p> + <p> + The strange character of the man was best shown by the pictures that + adorned—or rather disfigured the walls. Vulgar photographs and + prints were to be seen on all sides. Mingled with these cheap creations + were excellent copies of famous Madonnas, quaint Scriptural drawings, + engravings of the Saviour, and an allegorical coloured print which + emphasised the joys of heaven. There was also a badly drawn but idealised + portrait of Droom, done in crayon at the age of twenty. This portrait was + one of his prized possessions. He loved it best because it was a bust and + did not expose his longitudinal defects. If Droom ever had entertained a + feminine visitor in his apartments, there is no record of the fact. But + few men had seen the interior of his home, and they had gone away with + distressed, perplexed sensibilities. + </p> + <p> + He cooked his own meals on the oil stove, and, alone, ate them from the + little table that stood near the heater. Occasionally, he went out to a + near-by eating house for a lonely feast. His rooms usually reeked with the + odour of boiled coffee, burnt cabbage and grease, pungent chemicals and + long-suffering bed linen. Of his "front" room, it may be said that it was + kitchen, dining-room, parlour, library, workshop, laboratory and + conservatory. Four flower-pots in which as many geraniums existed with + difficulty, despite Droom's constant and unswerving care, occupied a + conspicuous place on the window-sills overlooking the street. He watched + aver them with all the tender solicitude of a lover, surprising as it may + appear when one pauses to consider the vicious exterior of the man. + </p> + <p> + Droom was frugal. He was, in truth, a miser. If anyone had asked him what + he expected to do with the money he was putting away in the bank, he could + not have answered, calculating as he was by nature. He had no relative to + whom he would leave it and he had no inclination to give up the habit of + active employment. His salary was small, but he managed to save more than + half of it—for a "rainy day," as he said. He did his reading and + experimenting by kerosene light, and went to bed by candle light, saving a + few pennies a week in that way. The windows in his apartment were washed + not oftener than once a year. He was seldom obliged to look through them + during the day, and their only duty at night was to provide ventilation—and + even that was characteristically meagre. + </p> + <p> + He was a man of habit—not habits. A pipe at night was his only form + of dissipation. It was not too far for him to walk home from the office of + evenings, and he invariably did so unless the weather was extremely + unpleasant. So methodical was he that he never had walked over any other + bridge than the one in Wells Street, coming and going. + </p> + <p> + Past sixty-five years of age. Broom's hair still was black and snaky; his + teeth were as yellow and jagged as they were in the seventies, and his + eyes were as blue and ugly as ever. He had not aged with James Bansemer. + In truth, he looked but little older then when we made his acquaintance. + The outside world knew no more of Droom's private transactions than it + knew of Bansemer's. Up in the horrid little apartment in Wells Street the + queer old man could do as he willed, unobserved and unannoyed. He could + pursue his experiments with strange chemicals, he could construct odd + devices with his kit of tools, and he could let off an endless amount of + inventive energy that no one knew he possessed. + </p> + <p> + When he left Graydon Bansemer on the sidewalk in front of the office + building, he swung off with his long strides towards the Wells Street + bridge. His brain had laid aside everything that had occupied its + attention during office hours and had given itself over to the project + that hastened his steps homeward. His supper that night was a small one + and hurriedly eaten in order that he might get to work on his new device. + Droom grinned and cackled to himself all alone up there in the lamplight, + for he was perfecting an "invention" by which the honest citizen could + successfully put to rout the "hold-up" man that has made Chicago famous. + </p> + <p> + Elias Droom's inventive genius unfailingly led him toward devices that + could inflict pain and discomfiture. His plan to get the better of the + wretched, hard-working hold-up man was unique, if not entirely practical. + He was constructing the models for two little bulbs, made of rubber and + lined with a material that would resist the effects of an acid, no matter + how powerful. On one end of each bulb, which was capable of holding at + least an ounce of liquid, there was a thin syringe attachment, also proof + against acids. These little bulbs were made so that they could be held in + the palm of the hand. By squeezing them suddenly a liquid could be shot + from the tube with considerable force. + </p> + <p> + The bulbs were to contain vitriol. + </p> + <p> + When the hold-up man gave the command to "hold up your hands," the victim + had only to squeeze the bulb as the hands went up, and, if accurately + aimed, the miscreant would get the stream of the deadly vitriolic fluid in + his eyes and—here endeth the first lesson. Experience alone could do + the rest. + </p> + <p> + Young Bansemer hurried to their apartments on the North Side. He found his + father dressed and ready to go out to dinner. + </p> + <p> + "Well, how was everything to-day?" asked James Bansemer from his easy + chair in the library. Graydon threw his hat and gloves on the table. + </p> + <p> + "Terribly dull market, governor," he said. "It's been that way for a week. + How are you feeling?" + </p> + <p> + "Fit to dine with a queen," answered the older man, with a smile. "How + soon can you dress for dinner, Gray?" + </p> + <p> + "That depends on who is giving the dinner." + </p> + <p> + "Some people you like. I found the note here when I came in a little after + five. We have an hour in which to get over there. Can you be ready?" + </p> + <p> + "Do you go security for the affair?" asked Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly. You have been there, my boy, and I've not heard you complain." + </p> + <p> + "You mean over at—-" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, that's where I mean," said the other, breaking in quietly. + </p> + <p> + "I think I can be ready in ten minutes, father." + </p> + <p> + While he was dressing, his father sat alone and stared reflectively at the + small blue gas blaze in the grate. A dark, grim smile unconsciously came + over his face, the inspiration of a triumphant joy. Twice he read the + dainty note that met him on his return from the office. + </p> + <p> + "What changes time can make in woman!" he mused; "and what changes a woman + can make in time! For nearly a year I've waited for this note. I knew it + would come—it was bound to come. Graydon has had everything up to + this time, while I have waited patiently in the background. Now, it is my + turn." + </p> + <p> + "All right, father," called Graydon from the hall. "The cab is at the + door." + </p> + <p> + Together they went down the steps, arm in arm, strong figures. + </p> + <p> + "To Mr. David Cable's," ordered Bansemer, the father, complacently, as he + stepped into the carriage after his son. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII — MRS. CABLE ENTERTAINS + </h2> + <p> + James Bansemer had not recklessly rushed into Mrs. Cable's presence with + threats of exposure; but on the contrary, he had calmly, craftily waited. + It suited his purpose to let her wonder, dread and finally develop the + trust that her secret was safe with him. Occasionally, he had visited the + Cable box in the theatre; not infrequently he had dined with them in the + downtown cafes and at the homes of mutual acquaintances; but this was the + first time that James Bansemer had enjoyed the hospitality of Frances + Cable's home. His son, on the best of terms with their daughter, was a + frequent visitor there. + </p> + <p> + There was a rare bump of progressiveness in the character of Graydon + Bansemer. He was good-looking enough beyond doubt, and there was a vast + degree of personal magnetism about him. It seemed but natural that he + should readily establish himself as a friend and a favourite of the fair + Miss Cable. For some time, James Bansemer had watched his son's progress + with the Cable family, not once allowing his personal interest to manifest + itself. It was but a question of time until Mrs. Cable's suspense and + anxiety would bring her to him, one way or another. Every word that fell + from the lips of his son regarding the Cables held his attention, and it + was not long before he saw the family history as clearly as though it were + an open book—and he knew far more than the open book revealed. + </p> + <p> + Frances Cable was not deluded by his silence and aloofness; but she was + unable to devise means to circumvent him. Constant fear of his power to + crush lurked near her day and night. Conscious of her weakness, but eager + to have done with the strife, sometimes she longed for the enemy to + advance. At first, she distrusted and despised the son, but his very + fairness battered down the barriers of prejudice, and real admiration + succeeded. Her husband liked him immensely, and Jane was his ablest ally. + David Cable regarded him as one of the brightest, young men on the Stock + Exchange, and predicted that some day he would be an influential member of + the great brokerage firm for which he now acted as confidential clerk. Mr. + Clegg, the senior member of the firm of Clegg, Groll & Davidson, his + employers, personally had commended young Bansemer to Cable, and he was + properly impressed. + </p> + <p> + Graydon's devotion to Jane did not go unnoticed. This very condition + should have assured Mrs. Cable that James Bansemer had kept her secret + zealously. There was nothing to indicate that the young man knew the story + of the foundling. + </p> + <p> + It was not until some weeks after the chance meeting in Hooley's Theatre + that Mrs. Cable came into direct contact with James Bansemer's designs. + She had met him at two or three formal affairs, but their conversations + had been of the most conventional character; on the other hand, her + husband had lunched and dined at the club with the lawyer. At first, she + dreaded the outcome of these meetings, but as Cable's attitude towards her + remained unchanged, she began to realise that Bansemer, whatever his + purpose, was loyal. + </p> + <p> + They met at last, quite informally, at Mrs. Clegg's dinner, a small and + congenial affair. When the men came into the drawing-room, after the + cigars, Mrs. Cable, with not a little trepidation, motioned to Mr. + Bansemer to draw up his chair beside her. + </p> + <p> + "I have been looking forward with pleasure to this opportunity, Mr. + Bansemer," she said, in a courteously acidulated way. "It has been so long + in coming." + </p> + <p> + "Better late than never," he returned, with marked emphasis. Fortunately, + for her, the challenging significance of his words was quickly nullified + by the smile with which she was almost instantly favoured. "Twenty years, + I believe—it certainly came very near being 'never,'" he went on, + abruptly changing from harsh to the sweetest of tones. "No one could + believe that you—you're simply wonderful!" and added, pointedly, + "But your daughter is even more beautiful, if such is possible, than her—her + mother." + </p> + <p> + Apparently, the innuendo passed unnoticed; in reality, it required all her + courage to appear calm. + </p> + <p> + "How very nice of you," she said softly; and looking him full in the face: + "Her mother thanks you for the compliment." + </p> + <p> + It was a brave little speech; such bravery would have softened a man of + another mould—changed his purpose. Not so with Bansemer. A sinister + gleam came into his eyes and his attack became more brutally direct. + </p> + <p> + "But the husband—has he never mistrusted?" + </p> + <p> + The blow told, though her reply was given with rippling laughter and for + the benefit of any chance listeners. + </p> + <p> + "For shame, Mr. Bansemer!" she cried lightly; "after flattering me so + delightfully, you're surely not going to spoil it all?" + </p> + <p> + Despite his growing annoyance, admiration shone clearly from Bansemer's + eyes. His memory carried him, back some twenty years to the scene in his + office. Was it possible, he was thinking, that the charming woman before + him exercising so cleverly all the arts of society, as if born to the + purple, and the light-headed, frivolous, little wife of the Central's + engineer were one and the same person? The metamorphosis seemed + incredible. + </p> + <p> + Unwittingly, his manner lost some of its aggressiveness; and the woman + perceiving the altered conditions, quick to take advantage, resolved to + learn, if possible his intentions. Presently, going right to the point, + she asked: + </p> + <p> + "Is that extraordinary looking creature you had in your office still with + you, Mr. Bansemer?" + </p> + <p> + "Extraordinary!" He laughed loudly. "He is certainly that, and more. + Indeed, the English language does not supply us with an adjective that + adequately describes the man." + </p> + <p> + The people nearest to them, by this time, had moved away to another part + of the large drawing-room; practically, the couple were by themselves. She + had been thinking, for a moment, reasoning with a woman's logic that it + was always well to know one's enemy. When she next spoke, it was almost in + a whisper. + </p> + <p> + "How much does that terrible man know?" + </p> + <p> + "He is not supposed to know anything;" and then, with an enigmatical + smile, promptly admitted: "However, I'm afraid that he does." + </p> + <p> + "You have told him? And yet, you promised nobody should know. How could—-" + </p> + <p> + "My dear Mrs. Cable, he was not told; if he has found out—I could + not prevent his discovering the truth through his own efforts," he + interrupted in a tone more assuaging than convincing to her; and then, + hitching his chair closer, and lowering his voice a note, he continued: + "The papers had to be taken out—but you must not worry about him—you + can depend on me." + </p> + <p> + "Promise me that you will make him—I am so fearful of that awful—-" + she broke off abruptly. Her fears were proving too much for her, and she + was in imminent danger of a complete breakdown; all the veneer with which + she had bravely commenced the interview had disappeared. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer endeavoured to soothe her with promises; but the poor woman saw + only his teeth in the reassuring smile that he presented to her, together + with the warnings that they were likely to be observed. With the hardest + kind of an effort, she succeeded in pulling herself together sufficiently + to bid good-night to her hostess. + </p> + <p> + When Mrs. Cable reached home that night, it was a full realisation that + she was irrevocably committed into the custody of these cold-blooded men. + </p> + <p> + They met again and again at the homes of mutual friends, and she had come + to loathe the pressure of his hand when it clasped hers. The undeniable + caress in his low, suggestive voice disturbed her; his manner was + unmistakable. One night he held her hand long and firmly in his, and while + she shrank helplessly before him he even tenderly asked why she had not + invited him into her home. It was what she had expected and feared. Her + cup of bitterness was filling rapidly—too rapidly. His invitation to + dinner a fortnight later, followed. + </p> + <p> + Jane Cable was radiant as she entered the drawing-room shortly after the + arrival of the two Bansemers. + </p> + <p> + "It's quite like a family party! How splendid!" she said to Graydon with a + quick glance in the direction of James Bansemer and David Cable, who stood + conversing together, and withdrawing her soft, white hand, which she had + put forth to meet his in friendly clasp. "It's too good to be true!" she + went on in a happy, spontaneous, almost confiding manner. + </p> + <p> + The two fathers looked on in amused silence, the one full of admiration + and pride for the clean, vigorous manhood of his son awaiting to receive + welcome from the adorable Jane; the other, long since conscious of the + splendid beauty of his daughter, mentally declaring that she never had + appeared so well as when standing beside this gallant figure. + </p> + <p> + Other guests arrived before Mrs. Cable made her appearance in the + drawing-room. She had taken more time than usual with her toilet. It was + impossible for her to hide the fact that the strain was telling on her + perceptibly. The face that looked back into her eyes from the mirror on + her dressing-table was not the fresh, warm one that had needed so little + care a few short months before. There was a heaviness about the eyes and + there were strange, persistent lines gathering under the soft, white + tissues of her skin. But when she at last stepped into the presence of her + guests, with ample apologies for her tardiness, she was the picture of + life and nerve. So much for the excellent resources of her will. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer was the last to present himself for her welcome, lingering in the + background until the others had passed. + </p> + <p> + "I'm so glad you could come. Indeed, it's a pleasure to—-" She spoke + clearly and distinctly as she extended her hand; but as she looked + squarely into his eyes she thought him the ugliest man she ever had seen. + Every other woman in the party was saying to herself that James Bansemer + was strikingly handsome. + </p> + <p> + "Most pleasures come late in life to some of us," he returned, gallantly, + and even Graydon Bansemer wished that he could have said it. + </p> + <p> + "Your father is a perfect dear," Jane said to him, softly. "It was not + what he said just then that pleased me, but what he left unsaid." + </p> + <p> + "Father's no end of a good fellow, Jane. I'm glad you admire him." + </p> + <p> + "You are not a bit like him," she said reflectively. + </p> + <p> + "Thanks," he exclaimed. "You are not very flattering." + </p> + <p> + "But you are a different sort of a good fellow, that's what I mean. Don't + be absurd," she cried in some little confusion. + </p> + <p> + "I'm like my mother, they say, though I don't remember her at all." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, how terrible it must be never to have known one's mother," said she + tenderly. + </p> + <p> + "Or one's father," added James Bansemer, who was passing at that instant + with Mrs. Cable. "Please include the father, Miss Cable," he pleaded with + mock seriousness. Turning to Mrs. Cable, who had stopped beside him, he + added: "You, the most charming of mothers, will defend the fathers, won't + you?" + </p> + <p> + "With all my heart," she answered so steadily that he was surprised. + </p> + <p> + "I will include the father, Mr. Bansemer," said Jane, "if it is guaranteed + that he possibly could be as nice and dear as one's mother. In that case, + I think it would be—oh, dreadfully terrible never to have known + him." + </p> + <p> + "And to think, Miss Cable, of the unfortunates who have known neither + father nor mother," said Bansemer, senior, slowly, relentlessly. "How much + they have missed of life and love!" + </p> + <p> + "That can be offset somewhat by the thought of the poor parents who never + have known a son or a daughter," said Jane. + </p> + <p> + "How can they be parents, then?" demanded Bobby Rigby, coming up in time. + </p> + <p> + "Go away, Bobby," she said scornfully. + </p> + <p> + "That's a nice way to treat logic," he grumbled, ambling on in quest of + Miss Clegg. + </p> + <p> + "The debate will become serious if you continue," said Mrs. Cable lightly. + "Come along, Mr. Bansemer; Mrs. Craven is waiting." + </p> + <p> + When they were across the room and alone, she turned a white face to him + and remonstrated bitterly: "Oh, that was cowardly of you after your + promise to me!" + </p> + <p> + "I forgot myself," he said quietly. "Don't believe me to be utterly + heartless." His hand touched her arm. Instantly her assumed calm gave way + to her deep agitation, and with a swift change of manner, she turned on + him, her passion alight. + </p> + <p> + "You—-!" she stammered; then her fears found voice. "What do you + mean?" she demanded in smothered, alarmed tones. + </p> + <p> + He desisted savagely and shrank away, the colour flaming into his + disgusted, saturnine face. He did not speak to her again until he said + good-bye long afterward. + </p> + <p> + As he had expected, his place at the dinner-table was some distance from + hers. He was across the table from Jane and Graydon, and several seats + removed from. David Cable. He smiled grimly and knowingly when he saw that + he had been cut off cleverly from the Cables. + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow night, then, Jane!" said Graydon at parting. No one was near + enough to catch the tender eagerness in his voice, nor to see the happy + flush in her cheek as she called after him: + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow night!" + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII — THE TELEGRAM + </h2> + <p> + Bobby Rigby and Graydon Bansemer were bosom friends in Chicago; they had + been classmates at Yale. It had been a question of money with Bobby from + the beginning. According to his own admission, his money was a source of + great annoyance to him. He was not out of debt but once, and then, before + he fully realised it. So unusual was the condition, that he could not + sleep; the first thing he did in the morning was to borrow right and left + for fear another attack of insomnia might interfere with his training for + the football eleven. + </p> + <p> + Robertson Ray Rigby, immortalised as Bobby, had gone in for athletics, + where he learned to think and act quickly. He was called one of the + lightest, but headiest quarterbacks in the East. No gridiron idol ever + escaped his "Jimmy," or "Toppy," or "Pop," or "Johnny." When finally, he + hung out his shingle in Chicago: "Robertson R. Rigby, Attorney-at-Law," he + lost his identity even among his classmates. It was weeks before the fact + became generally known that it was Bobby who waited for clients behind the + deceptive shingle. + </p> + <p> + The indulgent aunt who had supplied him with funds in college was rich in + business blocks and apartment buildings; and now, Mr. Robertson R. Rigby + was her man of affairs. When he went in for business, the old push of the + football field did not desert him. He was very much alive and very + vigorous, and it did not take him long to "learn the signals." + </p> + <p> + With his aunt's unfaltering prosperity, his own ready wit and unbridled + versatility, he was not long in establishing himself safely in his + profession and in society. Everybody liked him, though no one took him + seriously except when they came to transact business with him. Then, the + wittiness of the drawing-room turned into shrewdness as it crossed the + office threshold. + </p> + <p> + The day after the Cable dinner, Bobby yawned and stretched through his + morning mail. He had slept but little the night before, and all on account + of a certain, or rather, uncertain Miss Clegg. That petite and aggravating + young woman had been especially exasperating at the Cable dinner. Mr. + Rigby, superbly confident of his standing with her, encountered + difficulties which put him very much out of temper. For the first time, + there was an apparent rift in her constancy; never before had she shown + such signs of fluctuating. He could not understand it—in fact, he + dared not understand it. "She was a most annoying young person," said Mr. + Rigby to himself wrathfully, more than once after he went to bed that + night. Anyhow, he could not see what there was about Howard Medford for + any girl to countenance, much less to admire. Mr. Medford certainly had + ruined the Cable dinner-party for Mr. Rigby, and he was full of + resentment. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Keating!" called Mr. Rigby for the third time; "may I interrupt your + conversation with Mr. Deever long enough to ask a question that has been + on my mind for twenty minutes?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Deever was the raw, young gentleman who read law in the office of + Judge Smith, next door. Bobby maintained that if he read law at all, it + was at night, for he wap too busy with other occupations during the day. + </p> + <p> + Miss Keating, startled, turned roundabout promptly. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir," at last, came from the pert, young woman near the window. + </p> + <p> + "I guess I'll be going," said Mr. Deever resentfully, rising slowly from + the side of her desk on which he had been lounging. + </p> + <p> + "Wait a minute, Eddie," protested Miss Keating; "what's your hurry?" and + then, she almost snapped out: "What is it, Mr. Rigby?" + </p> + <p> + "I merely wanted to ask if you have sufficient time to let me dictate a + few, short letters that ought to go out to-day," said Bobby, + sarcastically; and then added with mock apology: "Don't move, Mr. Deever; + if you're not in Miss Keating's way, you're certainly not in mine." + </p> + <p> + "A great josher!" that young woman was heard to comment, admiringly. + </p> + <p> + "You may wake up some morning to find that I'm not," said Bobby, soberly. + Whereupon, Miss Keating rose and strode to the other end of the room and + took her place beside Bobby's desk. + </p> + <p> + Bobby dictated half a dozen inconsequential letters before coming to the + one which troubled him most. For many minutes he stared reflectively at + the typewritten message from New York. Miss Keating frowned severely and + tapped her little foot somewhat impatiently on the floor; but Bobby would + not be hurried. His reflections were too serious. This letter from New + York had come with a force sufficient to drive out even the indignant + thoughts concerning one Miss Clegg. For the life of him, Bobby Rigby could + not immediately frame a reply to the startling missive. Eddie Deever + stirred restlessly on the window ledge. + </p> + <p> + "Don't hurry, Eddie!" called Miss Keating, distinctly and insinuatingly. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I guess I'll be going!" he called back, beginning to roll a + cigarette. "I have some reading to do to-day." Mr. Deever was tall, + awkward and homely, and a lot of other things that would have discouraged + a less self-satisfied "lady's man." Judge Smith said he was hopeless, but + that he might do better after he was twenty-one. + </p> + <p> + "What are you reading now, Eddie?" asked Miss Keating, complacently eyeing + Mr. Rigby. "Raffles?" + </p> + <p> + "Law, you idiot!" said Eddie, scornfully, going out of the door. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! Well, the law is never in a hurry, don't you know? It's like justice—the + slowest thing in town!" she called after him as his footsteps died away. + </p> + <p> + "Ready?" said Bobby, resolutely. "Take this, please; and slowly and + carefully he proceeded to dictate: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +"MR. DENIS HARBERT, + "NEW YORK, +</pre> + <p> + "DEAR DENIS: I cannot tell you how much your letter surprised me. What you + say seems preposterous. There must be a mistake. It cannot be this man. I + know him quite well, and seems as straight as a string and a gentleman, + too. His son, you know as well as I. There isn't a better fellow in the + world! Mr. B. has a fairly good business here; his transactions open and + aboveboard. I'm sure I have never heard a word said against him or his + methods. You are mistaken, that's all there is about it. + </p> + <p> + "You might investigate a little further and, assuring yourself, do all in + your power to check such stories as you relate. Of course, I'll do as you + suggest; but I'm positive I can find nothing discreditable in his dealings + here. + </p> + <p> + "Keep me posted on everything. + </p> + <p> + "As ever, yours," + </p> + <p> + Miss Keating's anxiety was aroused. After a very long silence, she took + the reins into her own hands. "Is Mr. Briggs in trouble?" she asked at a + venture. Mr. Briggs was the only client she could think of, whose name + began with a B. + </p> + <p> + "Briggs? What Briggs?" asked Bobby, relighting his pipe for the fourth + time. + </p> + <p> + "Why, our Mr. Briggs," answered Miss Keating, curtly. + </p> + <p> + "I'm sure I don't know, Miss Keating. Has he been around lately?" + </p> + <p> + "I thought you were referring to him in that letter," she said succinctly. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, dear me, no. Another party altogether, Miss Keating. Isn't the + typewriter in working order this morning?" he asked, eyeing her machine + innocently. She miffed and started to reply, but thought better of it. + Then she began pounding the keys briskly. + </p> + <p> + "It works like a charm," she shot back, genially. + </p> + <p> + The letter that caused Bobby such perturbation came in the morning mail. + His friend had laid bare some of the old stories concerning James + Bansemer, and cautioned him not to become involved in transactions with + the former New Yorker. Harbert's statements were positive in character, + and he seemed to know his case thoroughly well. While the charges as they + came to Rigby were general, Harbert had said that he was quite ready to be + specific. + </p> + <p> + All day long, the letter hung like a cloud over young Mr. Rigby. He was to + have lunched with Graydon, and was much relieved when young Bansemer + telephoned that he could not join him. Rigby found himself in a very + uncomfortable position. If the stories from New York were true, even + though he knew none of the inside facts, Graydon's father was pretty much + of a scalawag, to say the least. He was not well acquainted with the + lawyer, but he now recalled that he never had liked the man. Bansemer had + impressed him from the beginning as heartless, designing, utterly unlike + his clean-hearted son. + </p> + <p> + Bobby loved Graydon Bansemer in the way that one man loves a true friend. + He was certain that the son knew nothing of those shady transactions—if + they really existed as Harbert painted them—but an exposure of the + father would be a blow from which he could not recover. + </p> + <p> + It came at last to Rigby that he was not the only one in Chicago who held + the secret. Other members of the bar had been warned long before the news + came to him, and it was morally certain that if the facts were as bad as + intimated, the police also were in possession of them. + </p> + <p> + At the same time, Rigby felt a certain moral responsibility involving + himself. Bansemer, at any time, might apply his methods to people who were + near and dear to him. The new intimacy with the Cables came to Bobby's + mind. And then, there were Clegg, Groll, the Semesons and others who might + easily fall into the snare if James Bansemer set it for them. + </p> + <p> + Appreciating his responsibility in the matter, now that he was prepared to + hear the worst of James Bansemer, Rigby's heart stood almost still. It + meant that some day he might have to expose Graydon Bansemer's father; it + meant that he might have to cruelly hurt his friend; it meant that he + might lose a friendship that had been one of his best treasures since the + good, old college days. The mere fact that he would be compelled to watch + and mistrust James Bansemer seemed like darkest treachery to Graydon, even + though the son should not become aware of the situation. Later, in the + afternoon, Bobby went, guiltily, into a telegraph office and sent away a + carefully worded dispatch. The answer came to him at the club, that + evening, while he played billiards with young Bansemer, who, even then was + eager to be off to keep the promised appointment with pretty Miss Cable. + </p> + <p> + The telegram which he opened while Graydon impatiently chalked his cue and + waited for him to play was brief and convincing. It read: + </p> + <p> + "Watch him, by all means. He is not safe, my word for it. There is no + mistake." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX — THE PROPOSAL + </h2> + <p> + The little room off the library was Jane's "den." Her father had a better + name for it. He called it her "web," but only in secret conference. + Graydon Bansemer lounged there in blissful contemplation of a roseate + fate, all the more enjoyable because his very ease was the counterpoise of + doubt and uncertainty. No word of love had passed between the mistress of + the web and her loyal victim; but eyes and blood had translated the + mysterious, voiceless language of the heart into the simplest of + sentences. They loved and they knew it. + </p> + <p> + After leaving Rigby at the club Graydon drove to the North Side, thrilled + to the marrow with the prophecies of the night. His heart was in that + little room off the library—and had been there for months. It was + the abode of his thoughts. The stars out above the cold, glittering lake + danced merrily for him as he whirled up the Drive; the white carpet of + February crinkled and creaked with the chill of the air, but his heart was + hot and safe and sure. He knew that she knew what he was coming for that + night. The first kiss! + </p> + <p> + Jane's face was warm, her eyes had the tender glow of joy expectant, her + voice was soft with the promise of coming surrender. Their hands met and + clasped as she stood to welcome him in the red, seductive dimness of the + little throne room. His tall frame quivered; his lean, powerful, young + face betrayed the hunger of his heart; his voice turned husky. It was not + as he had planned. Her beauty—her mere presence—swept him past + the preliminary fears and doubts. His handclasp tightened and his face + drew resistlessly to hers. Then their hands went suddenly cold. + </p> + <p> + "You know, don't you, Jane, darling?" he murmured. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," she answered after a moment, softly, securely. He crushed her in + his strong arms; all the world seemed to have closed in about her. Her + eyes, suffused with happiness, looked sweetly into his until she closed + them with the coming of the first kiss. "I love you—oh, I love you!" + she whispered. + </p> + <p> + "I worship you, Jane!" he responded. "I have always worshipped you!" + </p> + <p> + It was all so natural, so normal. The love that had been silent from the + first had spoken, that was all—had put into words its untold story. + </p> + <p> + "Jane, I am the proudest being in the world!" he said, neither knew how + long afterward, for neither thought of time. They were sitting on the + couch in the corner, their turbulent hearts at rest. "To think, after all, + that such a beautiful being as you can be mine forever! It's—why, + it's inconceivable!" + </p> + <p> + "You were sure of me all the time, Graydon," she remonstrated. "I tried to + hide it, but I couldn't. You must have thought me a perfect fool all these + months." + </p> + <p> + "You are very much mistaken, if you please. You did hide it so + successfully at times, that I was sick with uncertainty." + </p> + <p> + "Well, it's all over now," she smiled, and he sighed with a great relief. + </p> + <p> + "All over but the—the wedding," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, that's a long way off. Let's not worry over that, Graydon." + </p> + <p> + "A long way off? Nonsense! I won't wait." + </p> + <p> + "Won't?" + </p> + <p> + "I should have said can't. Let's see; this is February. March, dearest?" + </p> + <p> + "Graydon, you are so much younger than I thought. A girl simply cannot be + hurried through a—an engagement. Next winter." + </p> + <p> + "Next what? That's nearly a year, Jane. It's absurd! I'm ready." + </p> + <p> + "I know. It's mighty noble of you, too. But I just can't, dearest. No one + ever docs." + </p> + <p> + "Don't—don't you think I'm prepared to take care of you?" he said, + straightening up a bit. + </p> + <p> + She looked at his strong figure and into his earnest eyes and laughed, so + adorably, that his resentment was only passing. + </p> + <p> + "I can't give you a home like this," he explained; "but you know I'll give + you the best I have all my life." + </p> + <p> + "You can't help succeeding, Graydon," she said earnestly. "Everyone says + that of you. I'm not afraid. I'm not thinking of that. It isn't the house + I care for. It's the home. You must let me choose the day." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose it's customary," he said at last. "June is the month for + brides, let me remind you." + </p> + <p> + "Before you came this evening I had decided on January next, but now I am + willing to—-" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, you decided before I came, eh?" laughingly. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly," she said unblushingly. "Just as you had decided on the early + spring. But, listen, dear, I am willing to say September of this year." + </p> + <p> + "One, two, three—seven months. They seem like years, Jane. You won't + say June?" + </p> + <p> + "Please, please let me have some of the perquisites," she pleaded. "It + hasn't seemed at all like a proposal. I've really been cheated of that, + you must remember, dear. Let me say, at least, as they all do, that I'll + give you an answer in three days." + </p> + <p> + "Granted. I'll admit it wasn't the sort of proposal one reads about in + novels—-" + </p> + <p> + "But it was precisely as they are in real life, I'm sure. No one has a + stereotyped proposal any more. The men always take it for granted and + begin planning things before a girl can say no." + </p> + <p> + "Ah, I see it has happened to you," he said, jealous at once. + </p> + <p> + "Well, isn't that the way men do nowadays?" she demanded. + </p> + <p> + "A fellow has to feel reasonably sure, I dare say, before he takes a + chance. No one wants to be refused, you know," he admitted. "Oh, by the + way, I brought this—er—this ring up with me, Jane." + </p> + <p> + "You darling!" she cried, as the ring slipped down over her finger. And + then, for the next hour, they planned and the future seemed a + thousand-fold brighter than the present, glorious as it was. + </p> + <p> + "You can't help succeeding," she repeated, "the same as your father has. + Isn't he wonderful? Oh, Graydon, I'm so proud of you!" she cried, + enthusiastically. + </p> + <p> + "I can never be the man that the governor is," said Graydon, loyally. "I + couldn't be as big as father if I lived to be a hundred and twenty-six. + He's the best ever! He's done everything for me, Jane," the son went on, + warmly. "Why, he even left dear, old New York and came to Chicago for my + sake, dear. It's the place for a young man, he says; and he gave up a + great practice so that we might be here together. Of course, HE could + succeed anywhere. Wasn't it bully of him to come to Chicago just—just + for me?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. Oh, if you'll only be as good-looking as he is when you are + fifty-five," she said, so plaintively that he laughed aloud. "You'll + probably be very fat and very bald by that time." + </p> + <p> + "And very healthy, if that can make it seem more horrible to you," he + added. For some time he sat pondering while she stared reflectively into + the fire opposite. Then squaring his shoulders as if preparing for a + trying task, he announced firmly: "I suppose I'd just as well see your + father to-night, dearest. He likes me, I'm sure, and I—I don't think + he'll refuse to let me have you. Do you?" + </p> + <p> + "My dad's just as fair as yours, Gray," she said with a smile. "He's + upstairs in his den. I'll go to mother. I know she'll be happy—oh, + so happy." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer found David Cable in his room upstairs—his smoking and + thinking room, as he called it. + </p> + <p> + "Come in, Graydon; don't stop to knock. How are you? Cigarette? Take a + cigar, then. Bad night outside, isn't it?" + </p> + <p> + "Is it? I hadn't—er—noticed," said Graydon, dropping into a + chair and nervously nipping the end from a cigar. "Have you been + downtown?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. Just got in a few minutes ago. The road expects to do a lot of work + West this year, and I've been talking with the ways and means gentlemen—a + polite and parliamentary way to put it." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose we'll all be congratulating you after the annual election, Mr. + Cable." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, that's just talk, my boy. Winemann is the logical man for president. + But where is Jane?" + </p> + <p> + "She's—ah—downstairs, I think," said the tall young man, + puffing vigorously. "I came up—er—to see you about Jane, Mr. + Cable. I have asked her to be my wife, sir." + </p> + <p> + For a full minute the keen eyes of the older man, sharpened by strife and + experience, looked straight into the earnest grey eyes of the young man + who now stood across the room with his hand on the mantlepiece. Cable's + cigar was held poised in his fingers, halfway to his lips. Graydon + Bansemer felt that the man aged a year in that brief moment. + </p> + <p> + "You know, Graydon, I love Jane myself," said Cable at last, arising + slowly. His voice shook. + </p> + <p> + "I know, Mr. Cable. She is everything to you. And yet I have come to ask + you to give her to me." + </p> + <p> + "It isn't that I have not suspected—aye, known—what the + outcome would be," said the other mechanically. "She will marry, I know. + It is right that she should. It is right that she should marry you, my + boy. You—you DO love her?" He asked the question almost fiercely. + </p> + <p> + "With all my soul, Mr. Cable. She loves me. I don't know how to convince + you that my whole life will be given to her happiness. I am sure I can—-" + </p> + <p> + "I know. It's all right, my boy. It—it costs a good deal to let her + go, but I'd rather give her to you than to any man I've ever known. I + believe in you." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Mr. Cable," said Graydon Bansemer. Two strong hands clasped + each other and there was no mistaking the integrity of the grasp. + </p> + <p> + "But this is a matter in which Jane's mother is far more deeply concerned + than I," added the older man. "She likes you, my boy—I know that to + be true, but we must both abide by her wishes. If she has not retired..." + </p> + <p> + "Jane is with her, Mr. Cable. She knows by this time." + </p> + <p> + "She is coming." Mrs. Cable's light footsteps were heard crossing the + hall, and an instant later Bansemer was holding open the den door for her + to enter. He had a fleeting glimpse of Jane as that tall young woman + turned down the stairway. + </p> + <p> + Frances Cable's face was white and drawn, and her eyes were wet. Her + husband started forward as she extended her hand to him. He clasped them + in his own and looked down into her face with the deepest tenderness and + wistfulness in his own. Her body swayed suddenly and his expression + changed to one of surprise and alarm. + </p> + <p> + "Don't—don't mind, dear," he said hoarsely. "It had to come. Sit + down, do. There! Good Lord, Frances, if you cry now I'll—I'll go all + to smash!" He sat down abruptly on the arm of the big leather chair into + which she had sunk limply. Something seemed to choke him and his fingers + went nervously to his collar. Before them stood the straight, strong + figure of the man who was to have Jane forever. + </p> + <p> + Neither of them—nor Jane—knew what Frances Cable had suffered + during the last hour. She accidentally had heard the words which passed + between the lovers in the den downstairs. She was prepared when Jane came + to her with the news later on, but that preparation had cost her more than + any of them ever could know. + </p> + <p> + Lying back in a chair, after she had almost crept to her room, she stared + white-faced and frightened at the ceiling until it became peopled with her + wretched thoughts. All along she had seen what was coming. The end was + inevitable. Love as it grew for them had known no regard for her misery. + She could not have prevented its growth; she could not now frustrate its + culmination. And yet, as she sat there and stared into the past and the + future, she knew that it was left for her to drink of the cup which they + were filling—the cup of their joy and of her bitterness. + </p> + <p> + Fear of exposure at the hand of Graydon Bansemer's father had kept her + purposely blind to the inevitable. Her woman's intuition long since had + convinced her that Graydon was not like his father. She knew him to be + honourable, noble, fair and worthy. Long and often had she wondered at + James Bansemer's design in permitting his son to go to the extreme point + in relation with Jane. As she sat there and suffered, it came to her that + the man perhaps had a purpose after all—an unfathomable, selfish + design which none could forestall. She knew him for all that he was. In + that knowledge she felt a slight, timid sense of power. He stood for + honour, so far as his son was concerned. In fair play, she could expose + him if he sought to expose her. + </p> + <p> + But all conjectures, all fears, paled into insignificance with the one + great terror: what would James Bansemer do in the end? What would he do at + the last minute to prevent the marriage of his son and this probable child + of love? What was to be his tribute to the final scene in the drama? + </p> + <p> + She knew that he was tightening his obnoxious coils about her all the + time. Even now she could feel his hand upon her arm, could hear his + sibilant whisper, could see his intense eyes full of suggestion and + threat. Now she found herself face to face with the crisis of all these + years. Her only hope lay in the thought that neither could afford the + scandal of an open declaration. Bansemer was merciless and he was no fool. + </p> + <p> + Knowing Graydon to be the son of a scoundrel, she could, under ordinary + circumstances, have forbidden her daughter to marry him. In this instance + she could not say him nay. The venom of James Bansemer in that event would + have no measure of pity. In her heart, she prayed that death might come to + her aid in the destruction of James Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + It was not until she heard Graydon coming up the stairs that the solution + flashed into her brain. If Jane became the wife of this cherished son, + James Bansemer's power was gone! His lips would be sealed forever. She + laughed aloud in the frenzy of hope. She laughed to think what a fool she + would have been to forbid the marriage. The marriage? Her salvation! Jane + found her almost hysterical, trembling like a leaf. She was obliged to + confess that she had heard part of their conversation below, in order to + account for her manner. When Jane confided to her that she had promised to + marry Graydon in September—or June—she urged her to avoid a + long engagement. She could say no more than that. + </p> + <p> + Now she sat limp before the two men, a wan smile straying from one to the + other, exhausted by her suppressed emotions. Suddenly, without a word, she + held out her hand to Graydon. In her deepest soul, she loved this manly, + strong-hearted young fellow. She knew, after all, he was worthy of the + best woman in the land. + </p> + <p> + "You know?" cried Graydon, clasping her hand, his eyes glistening. "Jane + has told you? And you—you think me worthy?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Graydon—you are worthy." She looked long into his eyes, + searching for a trace of the malevolence that glowed in those of his + father. They were fair and honest and sweet, and she smiled to herself. + She wondered what his mother had been like. + </p> + <p> + "Then I may have her?" he cried. She looked up at her husband and he + nodded his head. + </p> + <p> + "Our little girl," he murmured. It all came back to her like a flash. Her + deception, her imposition, her years of stealth—and she shuddered. + Her hand trembled and her eyes grew wide with repugnance as they turned + again upon Graydon Bansemer. Both men drew back in amazement. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no—it cannot, cannot be!" she moaned, without taking her eyes + from Graydon's face. In the same instant she recovered herself and craved + his pardon. "I am distressed—it is so hard to give her up. Graydon," + she panted, smiling again. The thought had come suddenly to her that James + Bansemer had a very strong purpose in letting his son marry Jane Cable. + She never had ceased to believe that Bansemer knew the parents of the + child she had adopted. It had dawned upon her in the flash of that moment + that the marriage might mean a great deal to this calculating father. + "David, won't you leave us for a few minutes? There is something I want to + say to Graydon." + </p> + <p> + David Cable hesitated for an instant and then slowly left the room, + closing the door behind him. He was strangely puzzled over that momentary + exposition of emotion on the part of his wife. He was a man of the world; + and he knew its vices from the dregs up, but it was many days before the + startling suspicion struck in to explain her uncalled-for display of + feeling. It did not strike in until after he noticed that James Bansemer + was paying marked attention to his wife. + </p> + <p> + Left alone with Graydon, Mrs. Cable nervously hurried to the point. She + was determined to satisfy herself that the son did not share her secret + with his father. + </p> + <p> + "Does your father know that you want to marry Jane?" she asked. + </p> + <p> + "Of course—er—I mean, he suspects, Mrs. Cable. He has teased + me not a little, you know. I'm going to tell him to-night." + </p> + <p> + "He has not known Jane very long, you know." + </p> + <p> + "Long enough to admire her above all others. He has often told me that she + is the finest girl he's ever met. Oh, I'm sure father will be pleased, + Mrs. Cable." + </p> + <p> + "I met your father in New York, of course—years ago. I presume he + has told you." + </p> + <p> + "I think not. Oh, yes, I believe he did tell me after we met you at + Hooley's that night. He had never seen Mr. Cable." + </p> + <p> + "Nor Jane, I dare say." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no. I knew Jane long before dad ever laid eyes on her." The look in + his eyes satisfied her over all that he knew nothing more. + </p> + <p> + "You love her enough to sacrifice anything on earth for her?" she asked + suddenly. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Mrs. Cable," he answered simply. + </p> + <p> + "You would renounce all else in the world for her sake?" + </p> + <p> + "I believe that's part of the service," he said, with a smile. "Jane is + worth all of that, and more. She shall be first in my heart, in my mind, + for all time, if that is what you mean, Mrs. Cable. Believe me, I mean + that." + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Bansemer says that you are like your mother," she mused, wistfully. + </p> + <p> + "That's why he loves me, he also says. I'm sorry I'm not like father," he + said earnestly. "He's great!" She turned her face away so that he might + not see the look in her eyes. "I think Jane is like—-" he paused in + confusion. "Like her father," he concluded. She arose abruptly and took + his hand in hers. + </p> + <p> + "Go to her, Graydon," she said. "Tell her that Mr. Cable and I want you to + be our son. Good-night and God bless you." She preceded him to the + stairway and again shook hands with him. David Cable was ascending. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon," said the latter, pausing halfway up as the other came down, + "you were ready to congratulate me in advance on the prospect of becoming + president of the P., L. & A. Do you know that I was once an ordinary + fireman?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, Mr. Cable. The rise of David Cable is known to everyone." + </p> + <p> + "That's all. I just wanted to be sure. Jane was not born with a silver + spoon, you know." + </p> + <p> + "And yet she is Jane Cable," said the young man proudly. Then he hurried + on down to the expectant, throbbing Jane. + </p> + <p> + Frances Cable sat at her escritoire for an hour, her brain working with + feverish energy. She was seeking out the right step to take in advance of + James Bansemer. Her husband sat alone in his den and smoked long after she + had taken her step and retired to rest—but not to sleep. On her desk + lay half a dozen invitations, two of them from the exclusive set to whose + inner circles her ambitious, vigorous aspirations were forcing her. She + pushed them aside and with narrowed eyes wrote to James Bansemer—wrote + the note of the diplomat who seeks to forestall: + </p> + <p> + "DEAR ME. BANSEMER: Doubtless Graydon will have told you his good news + before this reaches you, but Mr. Cable and I feel that we cannot permit + the hour to pass without assuring you of our own happiness and of our + complete approval. Will you dine with us this evening—en famille—at + seven-thirty? + </p> + <h3> + "FRANCES CABLE." + </h3> + <p> + David Cable read the note and sent it early the next morning by special + messenger to James Bansemer. The engagement of Jane Cable and Graydon + Bansemer was announced in the evening papers. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X — THE FOUR INITIALS + </h2> + <p> + The offices of James Bansemer were two floors above those of Robertson Ray + Rigby in the U__ Building. The morning after Graydon Bansemer's important + visit to the home of the Cables, Eddie Deever lounged into Rigby's + presence. He seemed relieved to find that the stenographer was ill and + would not be down that day. The lanky youngster studiously inspected the + array of law books in the cases for some time, occasionally casting a sly + glance at Bobby. At last he ventured a remark somewhat out of the ordinary—for + him: + </p> + <p> + "That old man up in Bansemer's office gets on my nerves," said he, + settling his long frame in a chair and breaking in upon Rigby's attention + so suddenly that the lawyer was startled into a quick look of interest. + </p> + <p> + "Old Droom? What do you know about him?" + </p> + <p> + "Nothing in particular, of course. Only he sort of jars me when he talks." + Rigby saw that the young man had something on his mind. + </p> + <p> + "I did not know that you were personal friends," ventured Rigby. + </p> + <p> + "Friends?" snorted Eddie. "Holy Mackerel! He scares the life out of me. I + know him in a business way, that's all. He came down here three weeks ago + and borrowed some books for Bansemer. I had to go up and get 'em + yesterday. I was smoking a cigarette. When I asked the old guy for the + books he said I'd go to hell if I smoked. I thought I'd be funny, so I + said back to him: "I'll smoke if I go to hell, so what's the diff?" It + went all right with him, too. He laughed—you ought to see him laugh!—and + told me to sit down while he looked up the books. I was there half an hour + and he talked all the time. By jing! He makes your blood run cold. He up + and said there was no such place as hell. "Why not?" says I. "Because," + says he, "God, with all His infinite power, could not conceive of a space + huge enough to hold all the hypocrites and sinners." Then he grinned and + said he had set aside in his will the sum of a hundred dollars to build a + church for the honest man. "That will be a pretty small church," says I. + "It will be a small congregation, my son," says he. "What few real honest + men we have will hesitate to attend for fear of being ostracised by + society." "Gee whiz, Mr. Droom, that's pretty hard on society," says I, + laughing. "Oh, for that matter, I have already delivered my eulogy on + society," says he. "But it ain't dead," says I. "Oh, yes; it's so rotten + it must surely be dead," says he in the nastiest way I ever heard. He's a + fearful old man, Mr. Rigby. He made a mean remark about that Mrs. David + Cable." + </p> + <p> + "What did he say?" quickly demanded Bobby. + </p> + <p> + "He said he'd been reading in the papers about how she was breaking into + society. "She's joined the Episcopal church," says he, sarcastic-like. + "Well, there's nothing wrong in that,' says I. 'I know, but she attends,' + says he, just as if she shouldn't. 'She wouldn't attend if the women in + that church wore Salvation Army clothes and played tambourines, let me + tell you. None of 'em would. I knew her in New York years ago. She wasn't + fashionable then. Now she's so swell that she'll soon be asking Cable to + build a mansion at Rose Lawn Cemetery, because all of the fashionables go + there.' Pretty raw, eh, Mr. Rigby?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, he's an old blatherskite, Eddie. They talk that way when they get old + and grouchy. So he knew Mrs. Cable in New York, eh? What else did he say + about her?" + </p> + <p> + "Nothing much. Oh, yes, he did say—in that nasty way of his—that + he saw her on the street the other day chatting with one of the richest + swells in Chicago. He didn't say who he was except that he was the man who + once made his wife sit up all night in the day coach while he slept in the + only berth to be had on the train. Do you know who that could be?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm afraid Droom was romancing," said Bobby, with a smile. + </p> + <p> + "Say, Mr. Rigby," said Eddie earnestly, "what sort of business does Mr. + Bansemer handle?" Rigby had difficulty in controlling his expression. "I + was wondering, because while I was there yesterday a girl I know came out + of the back room where she had been talking to Bansemer. She's no good." + </p> + <p> + "Very likely she was consulting him about something," said Rigby quietly. + </p> + <p> + "She soaked a friend of mine for a thousand when she was singing in the + chorus in one of the theatres here." + </p> + <p> + "Do you know her well?" + </p> + <p> + "I—er—did see something of her at one time. Say, don't mention + it to Rosie, will you? She's not strong for chorus girls," said Eddie + anxiously. "A few days ago I saw a woman come out of his office, heavily + veiled. She was crying, because I could hear the sobs. I don't go much on + Bansemer, Mr. Rigby. Darn him, he called me a pup one day when I took a + message up for Judge Smith." + </p> + <p> + "See here, Eddie," said Rigby, leaning forward suddenly, "I've heard two + or three queer things about Bansemer. I want you to tell me all you hear + from Droom and all that you see. Don't you think you could cultivate + Droom's acquaintance a bit? Keep this very quiet—not a word to + anybody. It may mean something in the end." + </p> + <p> + "Gee whiz!" murmured Eddie, his eyes wide with interest. From that day on + he and Bobby Rigby were allies—even conspirators. + </p> + <p> + Later in the day Rigby had a telephone message from Graydon Bansemer, + suggesting that they lunch together. All he would say over the wire was + that he would some day soon expect Rigby to perform a happy service for + him. Bobby understood and was troubled, He suspected that Graydon had + asked Jane Cable to marry him and that she had consented. He loved Graydon + Bansemer, but for the first time in their acquaintance he found himself + wondering if the son were not playing into the father's hands in this most + desirable matrimonial venture. With a shudder of repugnance he put the + thought from him, loyal to that good friend and comrade. + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer came into his office late that morning. He had not seen + Graydon the night before, but at breakfast the young man announced his + good fortune and asked for his blessing. To the son's surprise, the elder + man did not at once express his approval. For a long time he sat silent + and preoccupied to all appearance, narrowly studying his son's face until + the young man was constrained to laugh in his nervousness. + </p> + <p> + "You love her—you are very sure?" asked the father at last. + </p> + <p> + "Better than my life," cried Graydon warmly. + </p> + <p> + "She has good blood in her," said Bansemer, senior, slowly, almost + absently. + </p> + <p> + "I should say so. Her father is a wonderful man." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I daresay," agreed the other without taking his eyes from the son's + face. + </p> + <p> + "But you don't say whether you approve or disapprove," complained Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "Would it change matters if I disapproved?" + </p> + <p> + "Not in the least, father. I love her. I'd hate to displease you in—" + </p> + <p> + "Then, of course, I approve," said the other, with his warmest smile. + "Jane is a beauty and—I am proud of her." + </p> + <p> + "She is too good for me," lamented Graydon happily. + </p> + <p> + "I can't very well contradict her future husband," said the lawyer. There + was a hungry look in his eyes as he glanced from time to time at the face + of the boy who had his mother's unforgettable eyes. + </p> + <p> + A messenger brought Mrs. Cable's note to Bansemer soon after his arrival + at the office. He and Elias Droom were in the back office when the boy + came. They had been discussing the contents of a letter that came in the + early mail. The lawyer accepted the note and dismissed the boy with the + curt remark that he would telephone an answer in person. + </p> + <p> + "It looks to me as though this is going to be a rather ticklish affair," + Droom resumed after the boy had closed the outer door behind him. + Bansemer's mind was on Mrs. Cable's note; a queer smile hung on his lips. + </p> + <p> + "I'm rather touched by her astuteness," he said. "She's cleverer than I + thought. Oh," suddenly remembering that it was not Mrs. Cable's letter + they were discussing, "you always see the dreary side of things, Elias." + </p> + <p> + "I haven't forgotten New York," said the clerk drily. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, but Chicago isn't New York, you know." + </p> + <p> + "Well, I was just reminding you. This man is going to fight back, that is + plain." + </p> + <p> + "That's what Mrs. Norwood promised to do, also, Elias. But she was like a + lamb in the end." + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't be very proud of that affair, if I were you." + </p> + <p> + "See here, Droom, you're getting a trifle too familiar of late. I don't + like it," said Bansemer sharply. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon, Mr. Bansemer," said Droom, scraping his foot across + the floor and looking straight past his master's head. "It's for the good + of the cause, that's all. It wouldn't do, on Graydon's account, for you to + be driven from Chicago at this time. You see, he thinks you are beyond + reproach." + </p> + <p> + "Curse your impudence, Droom, I won't be spoken to in that way," exclaimed + Bansemer, white with sudden rage and loathing. + </p> + <p> + "Am I to expect my discharge, sir?" asked Droom, rubbing his hands + abjectly, but looking squarely into Bansemer's eyes for the first time in + their acquaintance. Bansemer glared back for an instant and then shrugged + his shoulders with a nervous laugh. + </p> + <p> + "We shan't quarrel, Elias," he said. "Speaking of Graydon, he is to be + married before long." + </p> + <p> + "I trust he is to do well, sir. Graydon is a fine boy." + </p> + <p> + "He is to marry David Cable's daughter." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed? I did not know that David Cable had a daughter." + </p> + <p> + "You know whom I mean—Jane Cable." He turned rather restlessly, + conscious that Droom's eyes were following him to the window. He glanced + again at Mrs. Cable's note and waited. + </p> + <p> + "I suppose you are pleased," said Droom, after a long pause. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly. Jane is a splendid girl. She's beautiful, accomplished and—well, + she's thoroughbred," said Bansemer steadily, turning to face the old man. + </p> + <p> + "It is not necessary to remind you that she is a child of love," said + Droom, "That's the genteel way to put it." + </p> + <p> + "It's not like you to be genteel, Elias. Still," and he sat down and + leaned forward eagerly, "she has good blood from both sides." + </p> + <p> + "Yes—the so-called best." + </p> + <p> + "You speak as if you know the truth." + </p> + <p> + "I think—yes, I'm sure I know. I have known for twenty years, Mr. + Bansemer. I had the same means as you of finding out whose child she was." + </p> + <p> + "That's more than Mrs. Cable knows." + </p> + <p> + "She did not take the trouble to investigate. It's too late now." + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe you really know the names of her father and mother," said + Bansemer shrewdly. "You are trying to trick me into telling you what I DO + know." + </p> + <p> + "There are portraits of her ancestors hanging in Fifth Avenue," said Droom + promptly. "Here," and he picked up a pencil, "I'll write the initials of + the two persons responsible for her existence. You do the same and we'll + see that they tally." He quickly scratched four letters on a pad of paper. + Bansemer hesitated and then slowly wrote the initials on the back of an + envelope. Without a word they exchanged the papers. After a moment they + both smiled in relief. Neither had been tricked. The initials were + identical. + </p> + <p> + "I imagine the ancestors hanging in Fifth Avenue would be amazed if they + knew the story of Jane," said Droom, with a chuckle. + </p> + <p> + "I doubt it, Droom. Ancestors have stories, too, and they hide them." + </p> + <p> + "Well, she isn't the only girl who doesn't know." + </p> + <p> + "I dare say. It isn't a wise world." + </p> + <p> + "It's a lucky one. That's why it assumes to be decent." + </p> + <p> + "You are quite a cynic, Elias." + </p> + <p> + "By the way, now that your son is to marry her, I'd like to know just what + your game is." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer turned on him like a tiger, his steely eyes blazing. + </p> + <p> + "Game? There is no game, damn you. Listen to me, Droom; we'll settle this + now. I'm a bad man, but I've tried to be a good father. People have called + me heartless. So be it. But I love that boy of mine. What little heart I + have belongs to him. There can be no game where he is concerned. Some day, + perhaps, he'll find out the kind of a man I've been to others, but can + always remember that I was fair and honest with him. He'll despise my + methods and he'll spurn my money, but he'll have to love me. Jane Cable is + not the girl I would have chosen for him, but she is good and true and he + loves her." + </p> + <p> + For the first time in his life Elias Droom shrank beneath the eyes of his + master. He hated James Bansemer from the bottom, of his wretched soul, but + he could not but feel, at this moment, a touch of admiration. + </p> + <p> + Through all the years of their association Elias Droom had hated Bansemer + because he was qualified to be the master, because he was successful and + forceful, because he had loved and been loved, because they had been + classmates but not equals. In the bitterness of his heart he had lain + awake on countless nights praying—but not to his God—that the + time would come when he could stand ascendant over this steely master. + Only his unswerving loyalty to a duty once assumed kept him from crushing + Bansemer with exposure years before. But Droom was not a traitor. He + remained standing, lifting his eyes after a brief, shifting study of his + bony hands. + </p> + <p> + "You have nothing to fear from me," he said. "Your boy is the only being + in the world that I care for. He hates me. Everybody hates me. But it + doesn't matter. I asked what your game was because we know Jane's father + and mother. That's all. Mrs. David Cable, I presume, can be preyed upon + with safety." + </p> + <p> + "Mrs. Cable has much to lose," significantly. + </p> + <p> + "And how much to pay?" with a meaning look. + </p> + <p> + "That is her affair, Droom." + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't press her too hard," cautioned Droom. "She's a woman." + </p> + <p> + "Never fear. I'm going there for dinner to-night. It's a family affair. By + the way, here's a letter from a distinguished political leader. He + suggests that I act on the city central committee for the coming year. + You've heard of him, I daresay. He says it will mean a great deal to me + here in Chicago." + </p> + <p> + "You are not going into politics?" scornfully. + </p> + <p> + "Elias, I'm pretty bad, but I'm not bad enough for local politics." + </p> + <p> + They heard someone at the outer door at that moment, and Droom glided + forth from the inner room to greet the visitor. It was Eddie Deever. + </p> + <p> + "Say, Mr. Droom, do you suppose Mr. Bansemer would object if I sat down + here for a few minutes to look over his books on Famous Crimes in History? + Old Smith hasn't got 'em." + </p> + <p> + "Go ahead," said Droom, taking his seat at the desk. "You are a great + reader, I perceive. A literary person like you ought to live in Boston. + Everybody reads in Boston." + </p> + <p> + "Boston?" sniffed Eddie, pulling a book from the shelf. "They're still + reading the Old Testament there." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI — AN EVENING WITH DROOM + </h2> + <p> + Several weeks later Eddie Deever announced, quite breathlessly, to Rigby + that he was going over to visit Droom in his Wells Street rooms. The two + had found a joint affinity in Napoleon, although it became necessary for + the law student to sit up late at night, neglecting other literature, in + order to establish anything like an adequate acquaintance with the + lamented Corsican. + </p> + <p> + Rigby was now morally certain that James Bansemer was all that Harbert had + painted. To his surprise, however, the man was not openly suspected by + other members of the bar. He had been accepted as a man of power and + ability. Certainly he was too clever to expose himself and too wary to + leave peepholes for others engaged in that business. Rigby was debating + the wisdom of going to Bansemer with his accusations and the secret advice + to leave the city before anything happened that might throw shame upon + Graydon. The courage to do the thing alone was lacking. + </p> + <p> + Graydon was full of his happiness. He had asked Rigby to act as his "best + man" in September, and Bobby had promised. On occasions when the two young + men discussed the coming event with Jane and Miss Clegg, Rigby's + preoccupied air was strangely in contrast with the animation of the + others. Graydon accused his liver and advised him to go to French Lick. + Far from that, the old quarterback was gradually preparing himself to go + to James Bansemer. To himself he was saying, as he put off the + disagreeable task from day to day: "He'll kick me out of the office and + that's all the reward I'll get for my pains. Graydon will hate me in the + end." + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer had proposed a trip to Europe as a wedding journey, a + present from himself, but Graydon declined. He would not take an extensive + leave of absence from the office of Clegg, Groll & Davidson at this + stage of his career. + </p> + <p> + The morning after his visit to the abode of Elias Droom, Eddie Deever + strolled into the office of Bobby Rigby. He looked as though he had spent + a sleepless night. Mr. Rigby was out, but Miss Keating was "at home." She + was scathingly polite to her delinquent admirer. Eddie's visits of late to + the office had not been of a social character. He devoted much of his time + to low-toned conversations with Rigby; few were the occasions when he + lounged affably upon her typewriting desk as of yore. + </p> + <p> + "You look as if you'd had a night of it," remarked Rosie. Eddie yawned + obligingly. "Don't sit on my desk. Can't you see those letters?" + </p> + <p> + "Gee, you're getting touchy of late. I'll move the letters." + </p> + <p> + "No, you won't," she objected. "Besides, it doesn't look well. What if + someone should come in—suddenly?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, it wouldn't be the first time I got out suddenly, would it?" He + retained his seat on the desk. "Say, where's Rigby?" + </p> + <p> + "You mean MR. Rigby? He's out." + </p> + <p> + "Gee, you're also snippy. Well, give him my regards. So long." + </p> + <p> + He was unwinding his long legs preparatory to a descent from his perch. + </p> + <p> + "Don't rush," she said quickly. He rewound his legs and yawned. "Goodness, + you're not affected with insomnia, are you?" + </p> + <p> + "I've got it the worst way. I got awake at eight o'clock this morning and + I couldn't go to sleep again to save my soul. It's an awful disease. Will + Rigby be back soon?" + </p> + <p> + "It won't matter. He's engaged," she snapped, cracking away at her + machine. + </p> + <p> + "I've heard there was some prospect. She's a fine looker." + </p> + <p> + "Rubber-neck!" + </p> + <p> + "Say, Rosie, I'm going to ask a girl to go to the theatre with me," said + Eddie complacently. + </p> + <p> + "Indeed! Well, ask her. I don't care." + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow night. Will you go?" + </p> + <p> + "Who? Me?" + </p> + <p> + "Sure. I—I wouldn't take anybody else, you know." + </p> + <p> + "What theatre?" she asked with her rarest smile. + </p> + <p> + At that instant Rigby came in. Without a word Eddie popped up, a bit red + in the face, and followed the lawyer into the private room, closing the + door behind him. Rosie's ears went very pink and she pounded the keys so + viciously that the machine trembled on the verge of collapse. + </p> + <p> + "Gee, Mr. Rigby, that old Droom's a holy terror. He kept me there till + after one o'clock. But I'm going back again soon some night. He's got an + awful joint. But that isn't what I wanted to see you about. I ran across + May Rosabel, that chorus girl I was telling you about. Saw her downtown in + a restaurant at one this morning. She wanted to buy the drinks and said + she had more money than a rabbit. There was a gang with her. I got her to + one side and she said an uncle had just died and left her a fortune. She + wouldn't say how much, but it must have been quite a bunch. I know all of + her uncles. She's got three. They work out at Pullman, Mr. Rigby, and they + couldn't leave thirty cents between them if they all died at once." + </p> + <p> + After hearing this, Rigby decided to confront Bansemer at once. It did not + occur to him until later that the easiest and most effective way to drive + Bansemer from Chicago without scandal was through Elias Droom. When the + thought came to him, however, he rejoiced. The new plan was to sow the + seeds of apprehension with Droom; Bansemer would not be long in reaping + their harvest—of dismay. Ten apparently innocent words from Eddie + Deever would open Droom's eyes to the dangers ahead. + </p> + <p> + Young Mr. Deever met with harsh disappointment when he came forth to renew + his conversation with Rosie Keating. She was chatting at the telephone, + her face wreathed in smiles. + </p> + <p> + "Thank you," she was saying, "it will be so nice. I was afraid I had an + engagement for to-morrow night, but I haven't. Everybody says it's a + perfectly lovely play. I'm crazy to see it. What? About seven-thirty. It + takes nearly half an hour down on the Clark Street cable. Slowest old + thing ever. All right. Good-bye." Then she hung up the receiver and turned + upon Eddie, who stood aghast near the desk. "Oh, I thought you'd gone." + </p> + <p> + "Say, what was that you were saying over the 'phone? Didn't I ask you—" + </p> + <p> + "I'm going to the theatre with Mr. Kempshall. Why?" + </p> + <p> + "WHY? Why, you know I asked you to—" + </p> + <p> + "You didn't specify, Eddie, that's all. I'll go some other night with you. + Good-bye." Clackety-clack went the machine, throwing insult into his very + face as it were. He tramped out of the office in high dudgeon. + </p> + <p> + "Confound this detective business, anyhow," he might have been heard to + remark. Three nights later, however, he took Rosie to the play, and on the + fourth night he was Droom's guest again in the rooms across the river. He + was well prepared to begin the campaign of insinuation which was to affect + Bansemer in the end. Sitting stiff and uncomfortable in the dingy + living-room overlooking Wells Street, he watched with awe the master of + the place at work on the finishing touches of a new "invention," the uses + of which he did not offer to explain. + </p> + <p> + He was without a coat and his shirt sleeves were rolled far above the + elbows, displaying long, sinewy arms, hairy and not unlike those of the + orang-outang Eddie had seen in Lincoln Park. + </p> + <p> + "I've got a new way of inflicting the death penalty," the gaunt old man + said, slipping into a heavy, quilted dressing-gown. "These rascals don't + mind hanging or the penitentiary. But if they thought their bodies would + be everlastingly destroyed by quicklime, they'd hesitate before killing + their fellow-men." + </p> + <p> + "But they already bury them in quicklime in England," said Eddie loftily. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, but not until after they're dead," said Droom with a cackle. He + grinned broadly at the sight of the youth's horror-struck face. "Go ahead + and smoke, my boy. I'll light my pipe. Make yourself at home. I keep the + window closed to keep out the sound of those Wells Street cars. It's good + of you to come over here and cheer up an old man's evenings. I'm—I'm + not used to it," he said with a wistful touch which was lost to Eddie. + </p> + <p> + "You ought to have a wife and a lot of children, Mr. Droom," said Eddie + with characteristic thoughtlessness. Droom stirred the fire and scowled. + "Were you ever married?" + </p> + <p> + "No. I don't believe in marriage," said Droom sullenly. + </p> + <p> + "Gee! Why not?" + </p> + <p> + "Why should I? It's the way I was brought up." + </p> + <p> + "You don't mean it!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. My father was a Catholic priest." + </p> + <p> + "But, Great Scott, Catholics believe in marriage." + </p> + <p> + "They don't believe in their priests marrying." + </p> + <p> + "Well, they DON'T marry, do they?" + </p> + <p> + "No, they don't," answered Droom with a laugh that sounded like a snarl. + It took Eddie two days to comprehend. "I saw the girl to-day that young + Graydon Bansemer is to marry—Miss Cable." + </p> + <p> + "Say, she's swell, isn't she?" said Eddie. The old man slunk into his + chair. + </p> + <p> + "She's very pretty. Mr. Graydon introduced me to her." + </p> + <p> + "Gee!" was all Eddie could say. + </p> + <p> + "They were crossing Wells Street down below here on the way home from a + nickel-plater's in Indiana Street. I saw her years ago, but she didn't + remember me. I didn't expect it, however." + </p> + <p> + "I—how could she have forgotten you?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, she'd have forgotten her mother at that age. She was but three months + old. I don't think she liked me to-day. I'm not what you call a ladies' + man," grinned Elias, puffing at his pipe as he picked up the volumes on + Napoleon. Eddie laughed politely but uncomfortably. + </p> + <p> + "How old are you, Mr. Droom?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm as old as Methuselah." + </p> + <p> + "Aw, go 'way!" + </p> + <p> + "When he was a boy," laughed Elias, enjoying his quip immensely. "Miss + Cable seems to be very fond of Graydon. That will last for a couple of + years and then she'll probably be like two-thirds of the rest of 'em. + Other men will be paying attention to her and she looking for admiration + everywhere. You'd be surprised to know how much of that is going on in + Chicago. Women can't seem to be satisfied with one husband. They must have + another one or two—usually somebody else's." + </p> + <p> + "You talk like a society man, Mr. Droom." "Well, I've met a few society + men—professionally. And women, too, for that matter. Look out for a + sensational divorce case within the next few weeks. It's bound to come + unless things change. Terribly nasty affair." + </p> + <p> + "Is Mr. Bansemer interested?" asked Eddie, holding tight to his chair. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no. We don't go in for that sort of thing." "I wonder if Mr. Bansemer + knows about the mistake that came near happening to him a week or two ago. + I got hold of it through a boy that works in the United States Marshal's + office," said Eddie, cold as ice now that he was making the test. Droom + turned upon him quickly. + </p> + <p> + "What mistake? What do you mean?" "It would have been a rich joke on Mr. + Bansemer. Seems that some lawyer is likely to be charged with blackmail, + and they got Mr. Bansemer's name mixed up in it some way. Of course, + nothing came of it, but—I just wondered if anybody had told him of + the close call he'd had." + </p> + <p> + Droom stared straight beyond the young liar and was silent for a full + minute. Then he deliberately opened the book on his knee and began to turn + the pages. + </p> + <p> + "That WOULD have been a joke on Mr. Bansemer," he said indifferently. + </p> + <p> + "I don't think he would have enjoyed it, do you?" + </p> + <p> + "No one enjoys jokes from the United States Marshal's office," said Droom + grimly. "By the way, who is the lawyer that really was wanted?" + </p> + <p> + "I never heard. I believe it was dropped. The young fellow I know said he + couldn't talk about it, so I didn't ask. Say, who was that swell woman I + saw coming out of your office to-day? I was up at Mr. Hornbrook's." + </p> + <p> + Droom hesitated a moment. He seemed to be weighing everything he said. + </p> + <p> + "I suspect it was young Bansemer's future mother-in-law," he said. "Mrs. + David Cable was there this afternoon about three." + </p> + <p> + "Gee," laughed Eddie. "Does she need a lawyer?" + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Bansemer transacted business for her some time ago. A very small + matter, if I remember correctly. Here, listen to this. Now here's a little + incident I found this evening that interests me immensely. It proves to my + mind one of two points I hold in regard to Marshal Ney. Listen," and he + read at length from his book, a dry, sepulchral monotone that grated on + the ear until it became almost unendurable. + </p> + <p> + The little clock on the mantelpiece clanged ten before they laid aside + Napoleon and began to talk about something that interested Eddie Deever + far more than all else—Elias Droom himself and such of his + experiences as he cared to relate. The rid man told stories about the dark + sides of New York life, tales of murder, thievery, rascality high and low, + and he told them with blood-curdling directness. The Walker wife-murder; + the inside facts of the De Pugh divorce scandal; the Harvey family's + skeleton—all food for the dime-novel producer. Eddie revelled in + these recitals even while he shuddered at the way in which the old man + gave them. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, this is a wicked old world," said Droom, refilling his pipe and + showing his teeth as he puffed. "That's why I have those pictures of the + Madonna on the wall—to keep me from forgetting that there are + beautiful things in the world in spite of its ugliness and hypocrisy. I + haven't much—-" + </p> + <p> + He stopped short and listened intently. The sounds of footsteps on the + stairs outside came to his ears. They clumped upward, paused for a moment + down the little hall and then approached Droom's doorway. Host and guest + looked at the clock instinctively. Eddie heard Droom's breath as it came + faster between puffs at his pipe. Then there was a resounding rap at the + panel of the door. Eddie Deever never forgot the look that swept over the + old man's face—the look of wonder, dread, desperation. It passed in + an instant, and he arose unsteadily, undecidedly, to admit the late + caller. His long frame seemed to shake like a reed as he stood cautiously + inside the bolted door and called out: + </p> + <p> + "Who's there?" + </p> + <p> + "Messenger," was the muffled response. Droom hesitated a moment, looking + first at Eddie and then toward the window. Slowly he unbolted the door. A + small A. D. T. boy stood beyond. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" almost gasped Elias Droom, drawing the boy into the room. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Droom? No answer, sir. Sign here." The boy, snow-covered, drew a + letter from his pocket and handed it to Droom. + </p> + <p> + "Where from?" demanded the old clerk, the paper rattling in his fingers. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know. I'm from Chicago Avenue," said the boy, with proper + impudence. He took one look at Droom's face as the man handed the slip + back to him and then hurried downstairs, far less impudent at heart than + he had been. + </p> + <p> + Droom recognised the handwriting on the envelope as James Bansemer's. It + was the first time his employer had communicated with him in this manner. + He tore open the envelope and anxiously read the brief missive. + </p> + <p> + "I've got to go to the office," he said, surprise still lingering in his + face. "It's important business—a consultation with—er—with + an Eastern client." + </p> + <p> + "Gee, it's tough to turn out this kind of a night. I'm going your way, Mr. + Droom. Come on, I'll take the car down with you." + </p> + <p> + "I—I won't be ready for some time." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, well, I'll say good-night, then." + </p> + <p> + Eddie Deever departed, chuckling to himself as he made his way to the U—— + Building, determined to learn what he could of this unusual summons. + </p> + <p> + But Droom was too crafty. Bansemer's letter had asked him to come to + Rector's restaurant and not to the U—— Building. The command + was imperative. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer had been spending the evening at the home of David Cable. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII — JAMES BANSEMER CALLS + </h2> + <p> + Following close upon Mrs. Cable's visit to his office in the afternoon, + Bansemer presented himself at her home in the evening, urbane, courtly, + but characteristically aggressive. Her action in bearding him in his den + was not surprising, even though it might have been considered unusual. He + had been well aware for some time that she was sorely uneasy and that it + was only a question of time when she would make the expected advances. + Since the announcement of Jane's engagement Bansemer had been + punctiliously considerate; and yet, underneath his faultless exterior, + Mrs. Cable felt that she could recognise the deadly poise of other + intentions. She lived in fear that they would spring upon her as if from + the dark and that she would be powerless to combat them. Something + stronger than words or even intuition told her that James Bansemer was not + to be turned aside by sentiment. + </p> + <p> + Driven at last to the point where she felt that she must know his + intentions, she boldly ventured into his consultation room, a trembling + but determined creature whose flesh quivered with chill despite the furs + that foiled the wintry winds. Elias Droom passed her on into the private + room with a polite grin that set her teeth on edge. + </p> + <p> + She left the building fifteen minutes later, nursing a wild but forlorn + hope that James Bansemer meant no evil, after all. Without hesitation she + told him plainly that she came to learn the precise nature of his attitude + toward herself and the girl. Bansemer's resentment appeared too real to + have been simulated. He was almost harsh in his response to the inference. + In the end, however, he was a little less than tender in his efforts to + convince her that she had cruelly misjudged him. She went away with a + chill in her heart dislodged, but not dissolved. When he asked if she and + Mr. Cable would be at home that night for a game of cards, she felt + obliged to urge him to come. It was not until she was in the carriage + below that she remembered that David Cable was to attend a big banquet at + the Auditorium that night, and that Jane would be at the theatre with + friends. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer smiled serenely as he escorted her to the door. "We will not + permit anything to happen which might bring misery to the two beings so + dear to us," he assured her at parting. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after eight he entered the Cable home. He had gone to Chicago + Avenue beforehand to send a telegram East. From the corner of Clark + Street, he walked across town toward the lake, facing the bitter gale with + poor grace. In Washington Place he passed two men going from their cab + into the Union Club. He did not look at them nor did he see that they + turned and stared after him as he buffeted his way across Dearborn Avenue. + One of the men was Bobby Rigby; the other, Denis Harbert of New York. + </p> + <p> + "It's the same Bansemer," said Harbert as they entered the club. "I'd know + him in a million." + </p> + <p> + At the Cables' a servant, on opening the door, announced that Mr. Cable + was not at home. + </p> + <p> + "Is Mrs. Cable at home?" asked Mr. Bansemer, making no effort to find his + cardcase. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir," responded the servant after a moment's hesitation. Bansemer + passed through the vestibule. + </p> + <p> + "Say Mr. Bansemer, if you please." + </p> + <p> + He removed his coat and was standing comfortably in front of the blazing + logs in the library when she came down. + </p> + <p> + "I thought the night was too dreadful for anyone to venture out unless—" + she was saying as she gave him her hand. + </p> + <p> + "A night indoors and alone is a thousandfold more dreadful than one + outdoors in quest of good company," interrupted Bansemer. He drew up + chairs in front of the fireplace and stood by waiting for her to be + seated. + </p> + <p> + "I had forgotten that Mr. Cable was to attend a banquet at the + Auditorium," she explained nervously, confident, however, that he felt she + had not forgotten. + </p> + <p> + "To be sure," he said. "This is the night of the banquet. I was not + invited." + </p> + <p> + "I tried to telephone to ask you to come to-morrow night. The storm has + played havoc with the wires. It is impossible to get connection with + anyone." A servant appeared in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + "You are wanted at the telephone, Mrs. Cable, Shall I say you will come?" + </p> + <p> + Flushing to the roots of her hair, the mistress of the house excused + herself and left the room. Bansemer leaned back in his chair and smiled. + She returned a few minutes later with a fluttering apology. + </p> + <p> + "What a terrible night it must be for those poor linemen," she said. "I + remember what it meant to be a railroad lineman in the West years ago. The + blizzards out there are a great deal more severe than those we have here, + Mr. Bansemer. Just think of the poor fellows who are repairing the lines + to-night. Doesn't it seem heartless?" + </p> + <p> + "It does, indeed. And yet, I daresay you've been scolding them bitterly + all evening. One seldom thinks it worth while to be merciful when the + telephone refuses to obey. It's only a true philanthropist who can forgive + the telephone. However, I am grateful to the blizzard and happy. Fair + weather would have deprived me of pleasure." + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry Mr. Cable is not at home," she said quickly. + </p> + <p> + "I doubt if I shall miss him greatly," said he. + </p> + <p> + "He expects to leave early—he isn't well," she hastened to say. + "Don't you want to smoke?" + </p> + <p> + "A cigarette, if you don't mind. By the way, where is my future + daughter-in-law? Surely I may see her to-night." + </p> + <p> + "She is at the theatre—with the Fernmores. Graydon is one of the + party. Didn't you know?" she asked suddenly. + </p> + <p> + "I do remember it now. He left the apartment quite early. Then I have + Fernmore to thank for—we are alone." He leaned forward in his chair + and flicked the cigarette ashes into the fire, his black eyes looking into + hers with unmistakable intentness. + </p> + <p> + "You assured me to-day that you would be fair," she said with strange + calmness, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. + </p> + <p> + "I am fair. What more can you ask?" with a light laugh. + </p> + <p> + "Why did you say to-day that I had nothing to fear from you?" she + demanded. + </p> + <p> + "You have nothing to fear. Why should you fear me? For twenty years your + face has not been out of my memory. Why should I seek to hurt you, then? + Why should I not rejoice in the tie that binds our interests—our + lives, for that matter? Come, I ask if I am not fair?" + </p> + <p> + Her face became pale, her heart cold. She understood. The mask was off. He + veiled his threat in the simplest words possible; the purpose looked + through with greedy disdain for grace. + </p> + <p> + "I can offer no more than I offered to-day," she said. + </p> + <p> + "Do you suppose I would accept money in payment for my son's peace of + mind?" declared Bansemer, with finely assumed scorn. "You offered me ten + thousand dollars. You will never know how that hurt me, coming from you. + Money? What is money to me in an affair like this? I care more for one + tender touch of your fingers than all the money in the world! You—and + you alone, can mould every impulse in me. For half my life I have been + hated. No one has given me a grain of love. I must have it. For years you + have not been out of my mind—I have not been out of yours." + </p> + <p> + "Stop!" she cried angrily. "You have no right to say such things to me. + You have been in my mind all these years, but oh, how I have hated you!" + </p> + <p> + Like a flash, his manner changed. He had her in his power, and it was not + in his nature to permit his subjects to dictate to him. Craft and coercion + always had been his allies; craft could not win a woman's heart, but + coercion might crush it into submission. It was not like James Bansemer to + play a waiting game after it had been fairly started. + </p> + <p> + "Now listen to me," he said distinctly. "You cannot afford to talk like + that. You cannot afford to make an enemy of me. I mean what I—" + </p> + <p> + "What would you do?" she cried. "You have promised that nothing shall + happen to mar the lives of our children. You have given me your pledge. Is + it worthless? Is it—" + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't speak so loud if I were you," said he slowly. "The walls have + ears. You have much to lose if ears other than those in the wall should + hear what could be said. It would mean disaster. I know, at least, that + you do not love David Cable—" + </p> + <p> + "What! I—I worship my husband," she cried, her eyes flashing, her + bosom heaving. "I love him better than anything else in all the world. How + dare you say that to me!" + </p> + <p> + "Control yourself," he cautioned calmly. "Permit me to say you love the + position he has given you. You love the pedestal on which you stand so + insecurely. You would rather hear his curse than to see the hand of social + ostracism raised against you. Wait! A word from me and not only David + Cable, but the whole world would turn against you." + </p> + <p> + "I have committed no crime," she flared back at him, "I have deceived my + husband, but I have not dishonoured him. Tell the world everything, if you + will." + </p> + <p> + "It would be a luscious tale," he said with an evil laugh. "The world, + which is wicked, might forget the fact that Jane is not David's daughter; + but David would not forget that she is yours." + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean?" starting from her chair. + </p> + <p> + "I think you understand," he said deliberately. + </p> + <p> + "My God, she is NOT my child!" she cried in horror. "You know she isn't. + You know the entire story. You—" + </p> + <p> + "I only know that you brought her to me and that I did you a service. + Don't ask me to be brutal and say more." She sank back and glared at him + like a helpless, wounded thing, the full force of his threat rushing in + upon her. + </p> + <p> + "You—you COULDN'T do THAT," she whispered tremulously. + </p> + <p> + "I could, but I don't see why I should," he said, leaning closer to her + shrinking figure. + </p> + <p> + "You know it isn't true," faintly. + </p> + <p> + "I only know that I am trying to save you from calamity." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, what a beast you are!" she cried, springing to her feet. "Go! I defy + you! Do and say what you will. Only go!" + </p> + <p> + He rose calmly, a satisfied smile on his face. + </p> + <p> + "I shall, of course, first of all, forbid my son to marry the young woman. + It will be necessary for me to explain the reason to Mr. Cable. I am sorry + to have distressed you. Really, I had expected quite a different evening, + after your invitation. You can't blame me for misunderstanding your motive + in asking me to come here when you expected to be utterly alone." His + laugh was a sneer. + </p> + <p> + "Poor—poor little Jane!" murmured the harassed woman, clasping her + hands over her eyes; then suddenly she cried out: "What a devil you are to + barter with your son's happiness!" + </p> + <p> + "I'll not mince matters," he said harshly. "You and I must understand each + other. To be perfectly frank, everything rests with you. Call me a beast + if you like. As a beast I can destroy you, and I will." + </p> + <p> + "You forget that I can go to my husband and tell him everything. He will + hate me, but he will believe me," she said, facing him once more. + </p> + <p> + "The world will believe me," he scoffed. + </p> + <p> + "Not after I tell the world that you tried to blackmail me—that you + have demanded fifty thousand dollars." + </p> + <p> + "But I haven't made such a demand." + </p> + <p> + "I can SWEAR that you have," she cried triumphantly. He glared at her for + a moment, his past coming up from behind with a rush that left him nothing + to stand on. + </p> + <p> + "I am willing to run the risk of scandal, if you are, my dear," he said + after a moment, his hands clenched behind him. "It will be very costly. + You have much to lose." + </p> + <p> + "I think," she said shrewdly, guessing his weakness even as he saw it, + "that we can talk sensibly of the situation from now on. I am not afraid + of you." + </p> + <p> + He looked at her steadily for a moment, reading her thoughts, seeing her + trembling heart. Then he said drily: + </p> + <p> + "I'll do nothing for a week, and then you'll send for me." + </p> + <p> + The door in the vestibule opened suddenly and someone—aye, more than + one—came in from the outside. Mrs. Cable started to her feet and + turned toward the library door. Bansemer was standing close by her side. + He turned to move away as David Cable stepped to the door to look in. + Cable's coat collar was about his ears and he was removing his gloves. For + a moment he stood motionless, gazing upon the occupants of the room. + </p> + <p> + Then, for the first time, there flashed before him the sharp point of + steel which was to pierce his brain later on with deadly suspicion and + doubt. There was no mistaking the confusion of Mrs. Cable and her visitor. + It was manifest that they had not expected him to appear so unexpectedly. + He remembered now that on two other occasions he had found Bansemer at his + house, and alone with Mrs. Cable, but he had not regarded it as + extraordinary. But there was a startled look in her eyes to-night, an + indecision in her greeting that caused him to knit his brows and lift his + hand unconsciously to his temple before speaking. He heard Bansemer say + that he was just going, but that he would stay for a short chat about the + banquet. Mrs. Cable turned to stir the fire with the poker, an unusual act + on her part he was not slow to observe. The seed was sown. + </p> + <p> + "I brought Bobby over from the club with me—and a friend, Frances," + he said, after asking Bansemer to sit down for a while. His keen eyes + noted that her hand shook as she put the poker back into its place. As he + walked into the hall to throw aside his coat, Frances Cable turned to + Bansemer with a significant look, shaking her head in mute appeal for + silence. + </p> + <p> + Bobby Rigby came into the room, followed by a tall stranger, whom he + presented to Mrs. Cable. Bansemer, standing near the library table, caught + a glimpse of the stranger's face as he took Mrs. Cable's hand. He started + violently, unable at first to believe his eyes. A chill ran through his + frame and his expression changed from wonder to consternation. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Bansemer, my friend, Mr. Harbert." + </p> + <p> + "I have met Mr. Bansemer," said Harbert, with a cold stare straight into + the other's eyes. They were on opposite sides of the table. + </p> + <p> + "In New York," said Bansemer firmly, his eyes unflinching in their return. + He noticed that Harbert's look was uncompromisingly antagonistic, but that + was to be expected. It troubled him, however, to see something like + unfriendliness in Rigby's greeting. + </p> + <p> + Harbert was the man who had fought him to rout in New York. This keen, + aggressive young barrister had driven him into a corner from which he + escaped only by merest chance. He knew James Bansemer for what he was. It + had not been his fault that the man crawled through a small avenue of + technicalities and avoided the punishment that had seemed so certain. He + had waged war bitterly against the blackmailer, and he missed complete + victory by a hair's breadth. + </p> + <p> + Feeling the strain of the situation, Rigby talked with earnest volubility. + He led the conversation into many lines—the war in the Philippines, + the banquet, the play which Jane and Graydon were seeing. The thought of + the play brought a shade of despair to his brow—pretty Miss Clegg + was in the party with that "mucker" Medford. + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer had been cold with speculation every instant of the time; + had felt that Harbert's condemning gaze had never left him. Apparently + listening to the others, he found himself wondering what Harbert's trip to + Chicago signified. Gradually it dawned upon him that his old-time foe was + not through with his fighting. The look in Rigby's eyes meant something, + after all—and Rigby was Graydon's best friend! Harbert was in + Chicago to act—and to act first! This thought shot into the man's + brain like burning metal. It set every nerve afire. His nemesis had + already begun his work. Before he left the Cable home that night he would + be asking his host and hostess what they knew of one James Bansemer's + past. + </p> + <p> + As Bansemer arose to say good-night to the others, Harbert's eyes met his + with deadly directness. + </p> + <p> + "Where are your offices, Mr. Bansemer?" asked the New Yorker. There was + something significant in the question. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Rigby and I have offices in the same building," he replied. "Will you + come in and see me?" + </p> + <p> + "I shall try," said the other. + </p> + <p> + To have saved his life, Bansemer could not meet David Cable's questioning + eyes as he shook hands with him. Cable's hands were like ice. + </p> + <p> + Outside the house, in the whirling gale, the tall lawyer breathed easier, + but not securely. His brain was clogged with doubts, fears, prophecies—all + whirling like mad around the ominous figure of Denis Harbert. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, he stopped stockstill, the bitter scowl deepening in his eyes. + With an oath he turned abruptly and hurried in the opposite direction. The + time had come to make ready for battle. A few minutes later, he was + writing the note which created so much commotion in the home of Elias + Droom. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII — JANE SEES WITH NEW EYES + </h2> + <p> + It was not until the hurrying Bansemer entered the door of Rector's that + the apprehension of having committed a senseless blunder came to him. + </p> + <p> + "Good heavens!" he muttered, stopping short. "What a fool I'm getting to + be-meeting old Elias, in a place like this! The theatre crowds—everybody + in town will be here by eleven! Curse me, for a hopeless ass! I must get + him away at once!" + </p> + <p> + Grumbling at himself, he passed into the restaurant. Gabe offered him the + choice of various tables; he selected one which commanded a view of the + entrances and ordered a perfunctory "Scotch." Nervous and anxious, he was + more troubled than he cared to admit even to himself. Fortunately, there + were not many people in the cafe; and his gaze, wandering about the place, + soon halted before the small alcove in the east end containing a table + with wine glasses, in waiting, set for a large party. The clock, back of + the cigarstand, said it was five minutes after eleven. Bansemer + impatiently watched the two doors leading to the street, and was beginning + to wonder whether the message had reached the old clerk, when presently, + the uncouth shape of Droom, appeared slinking through the so-called + ladies' entrance, with the shrinking attitude of one unaccustomed to + fashionable restaurants and doubtful of his reception. Bansemer motioned + to him. + </p> + <p> + "Just as soon as I can get my check," he was saying, at the same time, + beckoning to a waiter; "we'll move out of this. It will be crowded in—I + never thought, a stall at Chapin & Gore's will be better. Here, + waiter! My check! I'm in a hurry!—the devil!" + </p> + <p> + As the exclamation burst from his lips, there came down the narrow steps + and through a door quickly thrown open by a waiter, a number of gay, + fashionably dressed people, all smiling and trembling with the cold. + Immediately, this party attracted the attention of the room. Waiters + rushed hither and thither relieving the ladies of their costly lace and + fur wraps, and the men of their heavy overcoats. Of the expected + theatre-comers, these were the first to arrive; but presently others + followed, and soon the quiet cafe of the early evening became transformed + into one of bustle and excitement by the eager, animated throng. With + dismay Bansemer noticed that those to whom his attention had been + attracted were blocking his way to the doors; escape was out of the + question. Reluctantly, he returned to his seat and ordered the clerk to + take the one opposite him. Then, scanning the party making its passage to + the alcove, he perceived three or four men whom he knew, and presently, to + his surprise and consternation-his son. The recognition was mutual, + Graydon making his way around a small table in order to affectionately + greet him. As he approached, his eyes fastened themselves on his father's + companion. With amazement, he recognised the queer figure of the lanky, + gangling Droom; but too kind-hearted and well-bred to allow his features + in the slightest degree to express the astonishment which he felt at sight + of such a comic incongruity, the young man voiced a few kindly words to + the old man, while from the table in the alcove, where the smart, little + supper party were seating themselves, Miss Cable was smiling her cheery + recognition to her prospective father-in-law; then Graydon made his way + back to his seat by her side. + </p> + <p> + "Why did you come here?" asked Droom, feeling somewhat akin to the + proverbial fish out of water. + </p> + <p> + "Because I thought—I thought you couldn't find any other place," + replied Bansemer, confusedly. + </p> + <p> + The unexpected arrival of his son and party had disturbed his usual + coolness; but with his order for supper his equilibrium returned, and he + went on to explain: + </p> + <p> + "I supposed you knew only two streets in town—Wells and South + Water." + </p> + <p> + "Humph! I know every street in town," Droom resented, drawing himself up + in his chair; and then bluntly: "What's happened?" + </p> + <p> + "Not so loud! Harbert's here, but—-" + </p> + <p> + "Oho! Here?" + </p> + <p> + "In Chicago, yes—we'll talk about it later." + </p> + <p> + The present genial environment and convivial atmosphere were producing a + most inspiriting effect on the lawyer. The delightful consciousness that + the people with whom his son was supping were of the smartest set in town + for the moment had banished all fears of exposure. From time to time he + glanced proudly across to the alcove table where the men were engaged in + unfolding their napkins and toying with their glasses, in lively + anticipation of the enjoyment to come; while the women, with the hope of + eliciting admiration for their hands and the sparkle of their rings, were + taking off their gloves and spreading out their fingers on the table + cloth. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon seems to be right in the swim, eh, Droom?" he said. The irony of + it all appealed strongly to his sense of humour. "I don't suppose you know + those swells?" he added, patronisingly. Droom was listening intently to + the bursts of merriment which were enlivening the restaurant. Like a small + boy at a circus who fears that something will happen that he will not see, + he was continually turning his head and letting his eyes travel critically + over the company at the neighbouring table. + </p> + <p> + At this speech of Bansemer's the eyes of the old clerk returned; they + expressed no little resentment at the inference. + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, I do;" and leaning over the table and covertly indicating with + his long, bony finger the man at the head of the table, he answered + succinctly: "That's Fernmore—he's—" + </p> + <p> + A particularly loud burst of laughter cut him short. At the adjoining + tables conversation had abruptly ceased; heads were turned and inquisitive + eyes were fastened on the brilliant coterie at the alcove table. + </p> + <p> + Few men in Chicago were better known or better liked than the stout, + florid complexioned, jovial-looking Billy Fernmore, the host of this + entertainment. His social adventures and the headlong follies in which his + fun-loving proclivities invariably enmeshed him were only surpassed by his + fondness for ridding himself of his unlimited wealth. + </p> + <p> + To his inherited five millions marriage had added the colossal fortune of + a beautiful heiress, whose extravagances aggregated less than his own + solely through the limitations of her sex. Yet, were it not for the + self-imposed handicap of adhering strictly to the somewhat old-fashioned + precept that jewels should be acquired only through affectionate + beneficence, Mrs. Fernmore might have succeeded in surpassing the princely + prodigalities of her lord and master. + </p> + <p> + "It was this way," Billy was saying, in his own inimitable manner, and + awake to the realisation of having a "good one" to tell; "a few days ago + the lady of my house took wings for New York—a little spree of her + own, you understand. And, for Billy Fernmore, I kept out of mischief, for + a time, fairly well. After waiting days, lamb-like, for her return, + restlessness—;" and here Fernmore's shameless affectation of the + neglected husband became so irresistibly funny that it provoked prolonged + laughter from his listeners, even Droom showing his yellow snags and + stretching his mouth to the fullest extent of the law, as he joined in the + general chorus; "restlessness gave way to recklessness, and in desperation + I invited a half dozen of the oldest and most distinguished widowers in + town to dine with me, at the hotel, where they were informed they were to + be honoured by the presence of a bevy of the season's prettiest + debutantes. My stars, but they were a fine collection of old innocents!" + Fernmore threw himself back in his chair and roared at the recollection. + </p> + <p> + "Billy's a wonder when he's wound up!" Medford's whispered aside to the + lady on his right met with a simple nod of the head; for despite Miss + Clegg's well-feigned interest in Mr. Medford when Rigby was present, on + other occasions there was no pretence of enjoyment of his society. + </p> + <p> + "Among those present—to use the correct phrase," said Billy, after + having refreshed himself with sufficient champagne to proceed; "were two + retired merchants, a venerable logician, a doddering banker, and a + half-blind college professor. Of course, I had to make some excuse for + Mrs. Fermnore's absence. For the life of me I cannot now remember what + yarn I told them; but they were too anxious to be presented to the gay, + young women not to swallow it—whole. The old boys fairly swamped the + girls with their senile attentions. It was a lively supper party—my + word! And they went home unanimously declaring that the debutantes of the + present day discounted, at least in dash and go, the charmers of fifty + years ago." + </p> + <p> + Amidst the confusion of peals of merriment which greeted the genial + raconteur, Miss Cable, to whom the story did not especially appeal, + whispered in awed tones: + </p> + <p> + "Graydon, who on earth is that queer, spectacular looking man with your + father?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, that's Droom—isn't he a character? He's been with the governor + since I was a child. In those days his looks used to frighten me almost to + death. I fancy he's had a sad life, don't you know." + </p> + <p> + "There is something positively awful in his face," returned the girl, as + her eyes faltered and dropped to her plate on unexpectedly meeting those + of the subject of her remark. + </p> + <p> + "Sh-h!" came from Medford; and then: "Come, Billy—what's the point—or + the moral, as they say in novels?" + </p> + <p> + "Fernmore is a rattling good chap, at heart," Graydon was saying to Jane; + "but I can't stand that Med—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, go on, Mr. Fernmore," broke in several voices in eager + expectancy. + </p> + <p> + "The moral?" Billy's eyes were twinkling. "The joke, rather, is on me. + When Mrs. Fernmore reached home I thought it wise to say nothing about the + affair; but I had completely underestimated the persistency of these + rejuvenated venerables. They were not satisfied—wanted to know more + about the girls; and the next day in deep but joyous simplicity, half a + dozen old men asked their married daughters and close friends at the clubs + what family of Brown a certain debutante belonged to; who was the father + of Miss Jones; and how long had the family of Miss Robinson lived in the + city, together with a lot of amazing questions. And failing to derive even + the remotest satisfaction from the Social Register, the women members of + their families besieged my innocent wife with more or less shocked + inquiries as to an entertainment of mine at which their aged relations + were present. Well, the game was up! I owned up—confessed to the + girls being actresses and begged for mercy." + </p> + <p> + "And I forgave him," supplemented Mrs. Fernmore, smilingly. "Boys will be + boys." + </p> + <p> + "Whew!" whistled Billy, in conclusion. "It was no end of a lark! I would + not have missed it for the world; but the old chaps will never, never + forgive me." + </p> + <p> + As the gentleman finished, Bansemer was looking at Droom with amusement. + The old clerk was shaking his head in a manner that signified disapproval. + </p> + <p> + "How's that for doings in swagger society, eh, Droom? If anyone but Billy + Fernmore had done that, he would have been ostracised forever. Nothing + like millions—" + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe true aristocrats would do that," interrupted Droom, half + angrily. + </p> + <p> + "These are the aristocrats—money aristocrats; the others have lost + the name—forgotten. Come, let's go over yonder—we can talk + there." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer called for the bill and settled it; then slowly rising, + ostentatiously waved his adieus to the alcove and deserted the scene for + Chapin & Gore's Droom meekly followed him employer. + </p> + <p> + For some time, neither spoke. In their stall, each was busy with his own + thoughts and speculations. + </p> + <p> + "I think I've made a mess of it with Mr. Cable," began Banseemer. "She—-" + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't mention names," cautioned Droom, with a look at the top of the + partition. + </p> + <p> + "She's very likely to fight back, after all." + </p> + <p> + "What was your demand?" + </p> + <p> + "Money," said Bansemer, quietly. + </p> + <p> + "Humph!" was Broom's way of saying he lied. + </p> + <p> + "Harbert has a purpose in coming here, Elias. We must prepare for him." + </p> + <p> + "We are as well prepared as we can expect to be. I guess it means that + we'll have to get out of Chicago." + </p> + <p> + "Curse him!" snarled Bansemer. "I don't care a rap about myself; but it + will be all up with Graydon if anything—er—unpleasant should + happen to me," said Bansemer, with a wistful glance at his glass. Then, in + subdued tones, he told of the meeting with Harbert. Droom agreed that the + situation looked unpleasant, and all the more so in view of what Eddie + Deever had mentioned in connection with the Marshal's office. He repeated + the story as it had come from the babbling, youngster's lips, utterly + deceived by the guileless emissary from the office downstairs. + </p> + <p> + "What do you expect to do?" he asked, studying the tense face of his + employer. + </p> + <p> + "I'm going to stand my ground," said Bansemer, steadily drumming on the + table with his stiff fingers. "They can't prove anything, and the man who + makes a charge against me will have to substantiate it. I'll not run a + step." + </p> + <p> + "Then," said Droom, coarsely, "you must let Mrs. Cable alone. She is your + danger signal. I tell you, Mr. Bansemer, she'll fight if you drive her + into a corner. She's not a true aristocrat. She comes of a class that + doesn't give up." + </p> + <p> + "Bah! She's like the rest. If Harbert doesn't get in his nasty work, + she'll give in like all the others." + </p> + <p> + "I thought you said you'd do nothing to mar the happiness of Graydon," + sneered Droom. + </p> + <p> + "I don't intend to, you old fool. This affair is between Mrs. Cable and + me. If she wins, I'll give up. But, understand me, I'm perfectly capable + of knowing just when I'm beaten." + </p> + <p> + "I only know your financial valour," said Elias drily. + </p> + <p> + "That's all you're expected to know, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Then, we won't quarrel about it," said the other with his sweetest grin. + </p> + <p> + "Umph! Well, pleasantries aside, we must look ourselves over carefully + before we see our New York friend. He must not find us with unclean linen. + Elias, I'm worried, I'll confess, but I'm not afraid. Is there anything + that we have bungled?" + </p> + <p> + "I have always been afraid of the chorus-girl business. I don't like + chorus girls." Bansemer, at another time, would have smiled. + </p> + <p> + It was past midnight when the two left the stall and started in separate + ways for their North Side homes. The master felt more secure than when he + left the home of David Cable earlier in the night. Elias Droom said at + parting: + </p> + <p> + "I don't like your attitude toward Mrs. C. It's not very manly to make war + on a woman." + </p> + <p> + "My good Elias," said Bansemer, complacently surveying himself in the + small mirror across the stall, "all men make war on women, one way or + another." + </p> + <p> + He did not see Droom's ugly scowl as he preceded that worthy through the + doorway. + </p> + <p> + The next morning Bansemer walked down the Drive. It was a bright, crisp + day and the snow had been swept from the sidewalks. He felt that a visit + from Harbert during the day was not unlikely and he wanted to be fresh and + clear-headed. Halfway down he met Jane Cable coming from the home of a + friend. He never had seen her looking so beautiful, so full of the joy of + living. Her friendly, sparkling smile sent a momentary pang of shame into + his calloused heart, but it passed with the buoyant justification of his + decision to do nothing in the end that might mar his son's happiness. + </p> + <p> + She was walking to town and assured him that she rejoiced in his + distinguished company. They discussed the play and the supper party. + </p> + <p> + "Now that I'm engaged to Graydon, I'm positively beginning to grow sick of + people," Miss Cable declared and as they all declare at that age and + stage. + </p> + <p> + "Well, you'll soon recover," he smiled. "Marriage is the convalescence of + a love affair, you know." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, but most of the men one meets are so hopelessly silly-tiresome," she + went on. "It's strange, too. Nearly all of them have gone to college-Yale, + or Harvard." + </p> + <p> + "My dear Jane, they are the unfortunate sons of the rich. You can't blame + them. All Yale and Harvard men are not tiresome. You should not forget + that a large sprinkling of the young men you meet at the pink teas were + sent to Yale or Harvard for the sole purpose of becoming Yale and Harvard + men-nothing more. Their mothers never expected them to be anything else. + The poor man sends his son to be educated; the rich man usually does it to + get the boy away from home, so that he won't have to look at him all the + time. I'm happy to say that I was quite poor when Graydon got his + diploma." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Graydon isn't at all like the others. He is a man," cried Jane, her + eyes dancing. + </p> + <p> + "I don't mean to say that all rich men's sons are failures. Some of them + are really worth while. Give credit unlimited to the rich man's son who + goes to college and succeeds in life in spite of his environment. I must + not forget that Graydon's chief ambition at one time was to hunt Indians." + </p> + <p> + "He couldn't have got that from his mother," said she accusingly. Bansemer + looked at her sharply. He had half expected, on meeting her, to observe + the first sign that the Cable family had discussed him well but not + favourably. Her very brightness convinced him that she, at least, had not + been, taken into the consultation. + </p> + <p> + "I am afraid it came from his horrid father. But Graydon is a good boy. He + couldn't long follow the impulses of his father. I dare say he could be a + sinner if he tried, too. I' hate an imbecile. An imbecile to my mind is + the fellow without the capacity to err intentionally. God takes care of + the fellow who errs ignorantly. Give me the fellow who is bright enough to + do the bad things which might admit him to purgatory in good standing, and + I'll trust him to do the good things that will let him into heaven. I + often wonder where these chaps go after they die—I mean the Yale and + Harvard chaps who bore you. It takes a clever chap to have any standing at + all in purgatory. Where do they go, Jane? You are wise for your years and + sex. There surely must be a place for the plain asses?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh," said she, "I suppose they have a separate heaven, just as the dogs + have." + </p> + <p> + "No doubt you're right," he agreed, smiling, "but think how bright the + dogs are as a rule." + </p> + <p> + "Bobby Rigby says a dog is worth more than his master. People will steal a + dog, he says." + </p> + <p> + "I saw him at your house last night. Did you meet Mr. Harbert?" + </p> + <p> + "No. Mother said he came in with Bobby." + </p> + <p> + "How is Mrs. Cable this morning? I think she—er—complained of + a sick headache last night?" + </p> + <p> + "She has such a frightful headache that she couldn't get up this morning." + </p> + <p> + "Indeed? Will you carry my respects and sympathy to her?" + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, yes. But why don't you come in and see us, Mr. Bansemer?" + </p> + <p> + "In a day or so, gladly." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer was not approached by Harbert that day nor the next—nor any + other day soon, in fact. It was not until after the third day had expired + that he heard from Mrs. Cable. Her silence was gratifying and significant; + it meant that she was struggling with herself—that she had taken no + one as yet into her confidence. He was too wary to feel secure in his + position, however. He abandoned every case that could not be tried in the + cleanest light and he destroyed his footprints in those of the past more + completely than ever. David Cable was disposed to be agreeable when they + met, and Rigby's manner had lost the touch of aloofness. Altogether the + situation did not look so dark as it had on the night of the blizzard. + </p> + <p> + He guessed at Mrs. Cable's frame of mind during the three days just past + by the tenor of her message over the telephone. She did no more than to + ask him to drop in before five for a cup of tea; but he saw beyond the + depth of her invitation. + </p> + <p> + He went and had a few minutes alone with her because he was shrewd enough + to drop in before five. No one else came until after that hour had struck. + He was studiously reserved and considerate. There was nothing in his + manner to indicate that he was there as anything more than the most casual + sipper of the beverage that society brews. It was left for her to make the + advances. + </p> + <p> + "We must come to an understanding," she said abruptly. "I cannot endure + the suspense, the uncertainty—" + </p> + <p> + Bansemer raised his brows with grave condescension. + </p> + <p> + "Then you have not confessed to Mr. Cable?" he asked, with perfect + unconcern. "Do you know, I was rather hoping that you would have saved me + the trouble of doing so." + </p> + <p> + "It means so much to—" + </p> + <p> + "Ah, I see you find it hard to lose the ground you have gained socially." + He stirred his tea steadily. + </p> + <p> + "It isn't that—I don't care for that. It's for Jane and David. I can + only offer to buy your silence; nothing more," she said with hurried + words. "I own shares in the railroad; they're worth twenty thousand + dollars. Will you take them?" + </p> + <p> + "My dear," he said, leaning quite close to her, "I am not seeking to + blackmail you as you seem to imagine. I have only tried to tell you that I + love you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she exclaimed, with a shudder of disgust. His face was quite close + to hers; she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and she drew away + quickly. His hand hovered close to hers as it lay in her lap. + </p> + <p> + There was an eye-witness to this single picture in the brief scene. Jane + had started downstairs. From the upper steps she could look into the + drawing-room below. She could not help seeing Bansemer's fervent attitude; + she heard nothing that he said. The girl paused in surprise; a feeling as + of dread—she could not explain—crept over her. A chill struck + into her heart. + </p> + <p> + It was as if she had awakened from a sweet sleep to look out upon a bleak, + horrid morning. + </p> + <p> + Involuntarily she shrank back, quite beyond the actual vision but not free + from it. She stood straight and tense and silent at the top of the stairs, + her hand clasping the rail. She could hear her heart throbs plainly. There + was no mistaking the picture as it had burst upon her unsuspecting eyes. + With a quavering smile she tried to throw it from her. But cold and + damning there arose to support her apprehensions the horrid stories of + Mrs. Blanckton and her affair with Rellick. With her own eyes she had seen + Rellick talking to Mrs. Blanckton just as Bansemer was talking to her + mother in the dim doom below. The Blanckton scandal, as everyone knew, was + one of the most infamous the city had known. Jane, with other girls, had + been shocked by the boldness of the intrigue; she had loathed Rellick for + his unprincipled love-making; she had despised and denounced Mrs. + Blanckton. Here now was her own mother listening just as Mrs. Blanckton + had listened; here was James Bansemer talking just as Rellick had talked. + A great fear, a dark uncertainty, welled up in her heart. + </p> + <p> + It was not until the butler admitted other callers that she found the + courage to turn her eyes toward the drawing-room. She was never to forget + the dread that grew with the thought of what she might have seen had she + remained a voluntary witness during the minutes which followed her first + look below. That single vision effected a sharp, complete change in Jane + Cable's life. From that moment she never saw the world as it had appeared + to her before. + </p> + <p> + Although she succeeded in, hiding the fact, it was difficult to approach + and greet James Bansemer with the naturalness of the unsuspecting. His + manner was beyond reproach, and yet, for the first time, she saw the real + light in his black eyes. She talked to him as if nothing had happened to + make her distrustful, but no self-control in the world could have checked + the growth of that remorseless thing called suspicion. For her own sake, + for her mother's, for Graydon's, she tried to put it down. Instead, it + grew greater and stronger as she looked into his eyes, for in them she saw + the light that heretofore had escaped her notice. + </p> + <p> + And this was the father of the man whom she was to marry, the one whom she + loved with all her heart and soul! This, the man who would degrade her own + mother! Her mother—she looked at her with a new question in her + eyes. She looked for the thing which had marked Mrs. Blanckton. It was not + there, and she rejoiced in that discovery. Her mother did not possess the + bold, daring, defiant air of the other woman. Hers was tender, sweet, even + subdued; the girl clutched hopefully at this sign and began to build upon + it. + </p> + <p> + Half a dozen people came and went. James Bansemer was the last to leave. + He met the girl's tense, inquiring look from time to time, but he could + not have felt its meaning. There was nothing in her voice which might have + warned him, although it sounded strained and without warmth on her own + ears. In spite of herself she wondered how he would act in saying good-bye + to her mother. Although she tried with all the might of her will to look + away, she could not take her eyes from the pair as Bansemer arose to + depart. + </p> + <p> + His manner was most circumspect. The handclasp was brief, even formal and + there was no look in his eyes to indicate the presence of anything but the + most casual emotions. After his departure, Mrs. Cable turned to Jane and + complained of a frightful headache and went to her room to lie down for a + while before dinner. Jane's gaze followed her steadily as she ascended the + stairs. Then she walked to the window and looked out upon the street, a + hundred perplexities in her mind. + </p> + <p> + Her father was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, looking down the + darkening street. His cab was turning the corner below, showing that he + had been standing there for longer than a minute. She watched him with + interest. What had happened in the street to hold his interest so closely? + It was Jane who opened the door and let him in. As she kissed his cold + cheek she noticed the frown on his brow and caught the strange gleam in + his eyes. His greeting was less warm than usual, and he went to his room + upstairs without removing his hat or coat below. But not before he sent a + quick, keen glance about the drawing-room to find if James Bansemer had + been the single visitor of the afternoon. + </p> + <p> + "Where is your mother?" he asked from the stairs, without looking back. + </p> + <p> + "She has just gone to her room," Jane replied, a chill shooting through + her veins. Some strange, unnatural impulse compelled her to add, as if the + explanation were just and necessary: "We have had a lot of people in + drinking tea, and mother has a headache." + </p> + <p> + She watched him ascend the steps and turn into his smoking-room. The door + closed sharply and a wave of inexplicable relief rushed over her. Her + hands were cold. She went to the fireplace and held them out to the blaze. + Her ears were alert for sounds from above—alert with a strange fear + which choked her with its persistence. She dreaded the opening of her + father's door and his footsteps as they crossed to her mother's room. She + waited for these sounds, minute after minute, but they did not come. The + fire would not give warmth to her hands; the chill seemed to spread. In + her new consciousness she felt that a tragedy was just begun. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV — THE CANKER + </h2> + <p> + Cable saw Bansemer leave the house as he drove up to the curb in front. + The lawyer did not look back, but turned the nearest corner as if eager to + disappear from sight as quickly as possible. + </p> + <p> + Closing the door of his smoking-room behind him, David Cable dropped + wearily into a chair without removing his hat or coat. His blood was + running cold through his veins, his jaw was set and his eyes had the + appearance of one who has been dazed by a blow. For many minutes he sat + and stared at the andirons in the ember-lit grate. From time to time he + swallowed painfully and his jaw twitched. Things began growing black and + green before his eyes; he started up with an oath. + </p> + <p> + He was consumed by the fires of jealousy and suspicion. The doubt that had + found lodging in his mind so recently now became a cruel certainty. Into + his grim heart sprang the rage of the man who finds himself deceived, + despised, dishonoured. He was seeing with his own eyes, no doubt, just + what others had seen for months—had seen and had pitied or scorned + him as the unfortunate dupe. With the thought of it he actually ground his + teeth; tears of rage and mortification sprang to his eyes. He recalled his + own feelings in instances where shame had fallen upon other men; he + recalled his own easy indifference and the temptation to laugh at the + plight of the poor devils. It had never entered his mind that some day he + might be the object of like consideration in others more or less + fortunate, according to THEIR friends. + </p> + <p> + By the time dinner was announced he had succeeded in restoring himself to + a state of comparative calmness. He did not dress for dinner, as was his + custom, nor did he stop to ask Frances Cable if she were ready to go down. + He heard Jane playing the piano as he descended. She nodded to him, but + did not stop and he paused near the fireplace to look at her strangely. + Somewhere back in his brain there was struggling, unknown to him, the + old-time thought that this child bore him no likeness whatsoever. He only + knew he was crushing down the fear that evil or slander or pain might come + to her, if he were rash yet just. He was wondering if he could face his + wife without betraying himself. + </p> + <p> + Jane played softly, lifelessly. She, on the other hand, was wondering what + Graydon would think or say, if she spoke to him of what she had seen. She + wondered if he would blame her mother as she was beginning to blame his + father. + </p> + <p> + "Mother won't be down to dinner," she finally said. + </p> + <p> + "Is she ill?" he asked after a moment. + </p> + <p> + "She is lying down. Margaret will take some tea up to her." + </p> + <p> + Father and daughter had but little to say to each other during the meal. + Their efforts at conversation were perfunctory, commonplace, an unusual + state of affairs of which neither took notice. + </p> + <p> + "You look tired, father. Has it been a hard day?" + </p> + <p> + "A rather trying one, Jane. We're having some trouble with the blizzards + out West. Tying up everything that we are rushing to the Philippines." + </p> + <p> + "Is it settled that you are to be made president?" + </p> + <p> + "It looks like it." There followed a long silence. "By the way, I have + good news for you. Mr. Clegg told me to-day that they are going to take + Graydon into the firm. Isn't it great? Really, it is quite remarkable. You + are not the only person, it seems, who thinks a lot of that boy." + </p> + <p> + "A partner? Really? Oh, isn't it glorious? I knew he could—I told + him he'd be a partner before long." She waited a moment and then added: + "His father was here to-day for a cup of tea." Cable caught the slightly + altered tone and looked up. She was trifling with her fork, palpably + preoccupied. + </p> + <p> + "I'm—I'm sorry I missed him," said he, watching her closely. + </p> + <p> + "You like him very much, don't you, father?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly—and I'm sure your mother does." The fork shook in her + fingers and then dropped upon the plate. She looked up in confusion. + Cable's eyes were bent upon her intently and she had never seen so queer a + light in them. Scarcely more than the fraction of a second passed before + he lowered his gaze, but the mysterious telegraphy of the mind had shot + the message of comprehension from one to the other. He saw with horror + that the girl at least suspected the true situation. A moment later he + arose abruptly and announced that he would run up to see her mother before + settling down to some important work in his den. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon is coming over to-night," she said. "We'll be very quiet and try + not to disturb you. Don't work too hard, daddy dear." + </p> + <p> + Upstairs Frances Cable was battling with herself in supreme despair. + Confession was on her lips a dozen times, but courage failed her. When she + heard his footsteps in the hallway she was ready to cry out the truth to + him and end the suspense. As he opened the door to enter, the spirit of + fairness turned frail and fled before the appeal of procrastination. Wait! + Wait! Wait! cried the powerful weakness in her heart, and it conquered. + She could not tell him then. To-morrow—the next day, yes, but not + then. It was too much to demand of herself, after all. + </p> + <p> + He came in, but left a few minutes later. She was strangely unresponsive + to his tender inquiries. Her thoughts were of another, was his quick + conclusion as he fled from her presence before the harsh accusations could + break from his eyes. + </p> + <p> + In his den once more, with the door closed, he gave himself up completely + to black thoughts. He recalled his words to her, uttered years ago, half + in jest and half in earnest; he had horrified her beyond expression by + telling her how he would punish a wife if he were the husband she + deceived. With a grim, lurid smile he remembered the penalty. He had said + he would not kill; he would disfigure the woman frightfully and permit her + to live as a moral example to other wives. Slitting her mouth from ear to + ear or cutting off her nose—these were two of the penalties he would + inflict. He now felt less brutal. He might kill, but he would not + disfigure. For an hour he sat and wondered what had been the feelings of + his old friend George Driscoll just before he deliberately slew his + faithless wife. He remembered saying to other friends at the time that + Driscoll had "done right." + </p> + <p> + This night of black shadows—he did not sleep at all—was really + the beginning of the end. He forgot the presidency that was to be handed + out to him; he forgot everything but the horrid canker that gnawed into + his heart and brain. + </p> + <p> + Day and night he writhed in silent agony, a prey to the savage jealousy + that grew and grew until it absorbed all other emotions. Scandal, divorce, + dishonour, murder swept before the mind of this man who had been of the + people and who could not condone. The people kill. + </p> + <p> + For a week he waited and watched and suffered. What he knew of men told + him that they do not devote themselves to the wives of others with + honourable motives behind them. He convinced himself that he knew the + world; he had seen so much of it. The man aged years in that single week + of jealousy and suspense. His face went haggard, his eyes took on a + strange gleam, his manner was that of a man in grave trouble. + </p> + <p> + Day after day this piteous, frenzied man who swayed thousands with his + hand stooped to deal with the smallest movements of one man and one woman. + Despite his most intense desire to drive himself into other and higher + channels, he found himself skulking and spying and conniving with but one + low end in view. + </p> + <p> + He employed every acute sense in the effort to justify his suspicions. + Time and again he went home at unusual hours, fearing all the while that + he might incur the pain of finding Bansemer there. He even visited the man + in his office, always rejoicing in the fact that he found him there at the + time. He watched the mail in the morning; he planned to go out of nights + and then hurried home deliberately but unexpectedly. Through it all he + said no word to Frances Cable or Jane. He asked no questions, but he was + being beaten down by apprehensions all the while. + </p> + <p> + His wife's manner convinced him that all was not well with her. She + avoided being alone with him, keeping close to her room; he detected a + hundred pretexts by which she managed to escape his simplest advances. + </p> + <p> + At last, overwrought by the strain, he began to resort to cunning—this + man who was big enough to have gone from the engine cab to the president's + office. It required hours of struggle with his fairer, nobler nature to + bring himself low enough to do trickery, but the natal influence mastered. + He despised himself for the trick, but he WOULD KNOW THE TRUTH. + </p> + <p> + The late afternoon mail one day brought to Mrs. Cable a brief letter, + typewritten both inside and out. David Cable saw her open and read the + missive and he saw her trembling hand go to her throat and then to her + temple. Her back was towards him. He could not see her face until she + turned, a full minute later. Then it was calm and undisturbed, but her + eyes were brilliant. He ground his teeth and tore upstairs without a word. + David Cable had stooped low enough to write this letter and he was paying + for it. + </p> + <p> + He knew the contents far better than she knew them. The letter purported + to be an urgent appeal from James Bansemer, asking her to meet him at + eight o'clock that night. It said: "I must see you to-night. Leave your + home at 8:00 o'clock for a short call on Mrs. W—, just around the + corner. I will meet you across the Drive, near the sea wall. It is quite + dark there. J." + </p> + <p> + David Cable did not know that earlier in the afternoon James Bansemer had + called her up by 'phone to say that he intended to speak to his son the + following day, unless word came to him from her; nor, could he have + possibly known that she was now determined to tell the whole story to her + husband and to trust to his mercy. He only knew that he had written the + letter and that he had told her of his intention to go downtown + immediately after dinner. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV — THE TRAGEDY AT THE SEA WALL + </h2> + <p> + The dark, muffled figure of a man leaned against a section of the old wall + that edged the lake—the figure of a man who prayed with all his soul + that his vigil might be in vain. If she came, all was over. + </p> + <p> + He was not armed. He had thrown his revolver away a week before. His only + desire now was to learn the extent of her duplicity. If she obeyed the + call of the letter then there could be no doubt that she was coming at the + call of the lover. His hands twitched and he shivered as if with a + dreadful chill. His heart was shouting a warning to her, but his head was + urging her to come and have done with it all. + </p> + <p> + He was there early—long before the hour named in the decoy. His eyes + never left the sidewalk that ran past his own home, but a short distance + from the Drive. They stared without blinking across that dark border, + through the circle of light from the arc lamp and far into the shadows of + blackness beyond. It was very dark where he stood. The lake had battered + through the sea wall for many rods at this particular point and no one + ventured out beyond the bridle path for fear of slipping down into the + cavities that had been washed out by the waves. His station was on the + edge of the piles of stone and cement that had been tossed up to await the + pleasure of the park commissioners. + </p> + <p> + For a while, he tried to take Jane's future into consideration, but it was + impossible to substitute anything before his own wrongs. David Cable was + not the kind of man who would go on living with a faithless wife for the + sake of appearances. He was not an apologist. Time and circumstance and + the power of true love would adjust the affair of Jane and Graydon + Bansemer. This was HIS affair. Time could not adjust it for him. + </p> + <p> + At last he saw a woman's figure hurrying down the street. The wild, eager + hope that the light from the electric lamp would prove it to be other than + that of his wife was quickly dispelled. His worst fears were true, His + Frances—his wife of more than a score of years, his pretty + sweetheart through all those days, was false to him! As he fell back + against the wall something seemed to snap in his breast; a groan of misery + arose to his lips. + </p> + <p> + With eyes which saw red with rage and anguish, he watched the hesitating + approach of the woman. She stopped at the corner and looked up and down + the Drive, peering intently into the dark shadows by the lake. The sky was + overcast; no stars peeped through its blackness. With uncertain, halting + steps she crossed the boulevard, still glancing about as if in search of + someone. He moved forward unconsciously, almost blindly, and she caught a + glimpse of his tall, dark figure. He was not unlike Bansemer in height and + carriage. As she drew near, his legs trembled and tears of despair flooded + his eyes. + </p> + <p> + A savage desire to grasp her by the throat and hurl her into the waters + beyond the break came over him with irresistible power. Then came the + pitiable collapse which conquered the murderous impulses and left him weak + and broken for the moment. With a sob he turned and leaned upon the wall, + his back to her, his face buried in his tense arms—crushed, + despised, dishonoured! Kill her? The horror of it swept his brain clear + for an instant. Kill his pretty Frances? Kill Jane's mother? How could he + think of it? + </p> + <p> + It was a long time before the wretched man knew that she was standing + close behind him and was speaking to him. The sound of her voice came + through the noise of his pounding heart as if it were far away and gentle. + But what was it that she was saying? Her voice was angry, suppressed, + condemning. + </p> + <p> + "You may take it or refuse it, just as you please," were the first words + his turbulent senses distinguished. "I can pay no more than that for your + silence. The other is impossible. I will not discuss it again with you." + She paused as if waiting for him to respond. + </p> + <p> + "To-night I shall tell my husband everything—the whole story. I + cannot endure the suspense any longer. I will not live in fear of you + another hour. My only reason for coming out here to-night is to plead with + you to spare your son and Jane. I am not asking anything for myself. It + would break Jane's heart if Graydon should refuse to marry her. You must + have a heart somewhere in that—" But the words became jumbled in the + ears of her listener. From time to time his mind grasped such sentences as + these, paralysing in their bitterness: "I have the letters of adoption.... + David will not believe what you say.... He loves me and he loves Jane.... + I am willing to pay all that I have to keep it from Graydon and Jane.... + But I intend to tell my husband. I will not deceive him any longer.... He + will understand even though he should hate me for it. He will love Jane + although she is not his own child." + </p> + <p> + David Cable seemed frozen to the spot. His brain was clearing; he was + grasping the full importance of every sentence that rushed from her + impassioned lips. The last appalling words fell like the blow of a club in + the hands of a powerful man. He was dazed, stunned, senseless. It seemed + to him that his breath had ceased to come and that his whole body had + turned to stone. His wide staring eyes saw nothing ahead of him. + </p> + <p> + "Well, what have you to say?" she was demanding. "Why have you asked me to + come out here? You have my final answer. What have you to say? Are you + going to tell Graydon that Jane is not our child? I must know." + </p> + <p> + "Not our child?" came from the palsied lips of David Cable, so low and + lifeless that the sound was lost in the swish of the water below. The + intermittent red signal in the lighthouse far out in the lake blinked back + at him, but to him it was a steady, vivid glare. + </p> + <p> + "Do you hear me? I have lied to my husband for the last time!" There was + almost a tone of victory in the voice, now. "Do you hear me? You don't + dare! David will not believe you—he will believe my—" + </p> + <p> + A terrible oath choked back the hopeful words in the woman's throat. + Murder had come back into the man's heart. + </p> + <p> + "You lie!" + </p> + <p> + "David!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, it's David! Liar! Whose child is she? Tell me?" + </p> + <p> + "David! David! For God's sake, hear me! There was no wrong, I swear it!" + </p> + <p> + "She's not my child and there's no wrong!" The sardonic laugh that + followed was that of a raging maniac. "You've fooled me, you fiend! You + devil!" + </p> + <p> + At that word and with one look at her husband's terribly distorted + features, Frances Cable shrank back with a single terrified cry, turned + from him and fled madly for her life. With the spring of the wild beast, + Cable rushed after her, cursing her with every breath. In a few yards he + had almost reached her, his hands outstretched to grasp her neck. But, at + that instant, the frightened woman's strength suddenly gave way; her knees + received the fall of the limp body. For a second she seemed huddled in a + posture of prayer, then toppled over, slipped easily forward through a + fissure in the wall and plunged headforemost into the chugging waters + below. + </p> + <p> + In the lives even of the best of men there are moments when the human + instincts are annihilated and supplanted by those of the beast. Likewise, + have there been instances in which the bravest have been tried in the + furnace and found wanting, while conversely, the supposedly cowards have + proved to be heroes. Therefore, since no two situations can occur at a + different time and yet have precisely similar conditions, it behooves us + to forbear judging, lest we be judged, and to approach the following + incident in this man's career as if we ourselves dwelt under a covering of + glass. + </p> + <p> + From the time of his marriage up to this moment no man could have fought + better the bitter struggle of life than David Cable; yet, now, in this + hour—his hour of travail and temptation, he piteously succumbed. + Cowardice, the most despicable of all emotions, held him in her grasp. + </p> + <p> + He sank exhausted against the wall, his eyes fixed upon the black hole + through which his wife had disappeared; then, the stony glare changed + suddenly to a look of realisation—horrible, stupefying. He crept to + the edge and peered intently into the water, not six feet below, his eyes + starting from his head. + </p> + <p> + Black, sobbing water, darkness impenetrable! The instinctive fear of + apprehension caused him to look in every direction for possible + eye-witnesses. Every drop of blood in his body seemed turned to ice with + horror. Down there in that black, chill water lay the body of his wife, + the woman he had loved through all these trying years, and he her + murderer! + </p> + <p> + Terrified, trembling, panting, he tried to force himself into the water + with the vague hope of saving her, after all; but even as he looked wildly + about for help, a shout ready to spring from his dry throat, the natural + dread of the accused facing his accuser took possession of him. Fear, + abject fear, held him in grasp; he could not shout. + </p> + <p> + A man was running across the drive towards him—a long loping figure + that covered the ground rapidly. With a last horrified look in the water, + David Cable, craven for the moment, turned and fled through the night + along the broken sea wall—fled aimlessly, his eyes unseeing, his + feet possessed of wings. He knew not whither he ran, only that he was an + assassin fleeing from the horrors behind. + </p> + <p> + Over the narrow strip of ground sped the long, eager figure that had + darted from the shadow of the homes across the street. In hoarse, raucous + tones he shouted after the fleeing man: + </p> + <p> + "Stop! Wait! Halt!" + </p> + <p> + He dashed up to the spot where he had seen two figures but a moment + before, the full horror of what had happened striking him for the first + time. The man was Elias Droom, and he had been an eye-witness to the dim, + indistinct tragedy at the sea wall. + </p> + <p> + His presence is easily explained. He knew of Bansemer's telephone message + to Mrs. Cable, together with his threat to expose her on the following + morning. It was only natural that she should make a final plea—-that + night, of course. The old clerk realised the danger of an encounter + between his employer and his victim at a time so intense as this. He could + not know that Bansemer would visit the Cable home that evening, but he + suspected that such would be the case. It was his duty to prevent the + meeting, if possible. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer would go too far, argued the old man; he must be stopped. That is + why he lurked in the neighbourhood to turn Bansemer back before he could + enter the home of David Cable. + </p> + <p> + He saw Mrs. Cable leave the house and go towards the lake. Following some + distance behind he saw her cross the Drive and make her way to the sea + wall. Slinking along in the shadow of the buildings, cursing his luck and + Bansemer jointly, he saw the two forms come together out there by the + lake. + </p> + <p> + "Too late, curse him for a fool," Droom had muttered to himself. "He ought + to know this is bad business just now. She's come out to meet him, too. + Worse. It's my duty to look out for him as long as he employs me. I'm + doing my best and I can't help it if he betrays himself. I'd like to see + him—but I can't go back on him while I'm taking money from him. Look + at that!" + </p> + <p> + He chuckled softly as he saw the two figures approach each other. For all + that he knew they might be contemplating a fond and loving embrace, and he + was not undeceived until he saw one of the figures separate itself, run + from the other and go plunging to the earth. As he started up in surprise, + the other figure leaned forward and then straightened itself quickly. + Droom did not hesitate. He dashed across the street, conscious that + something dreadful had happened. His instant thought was that Bansemer had + lost his temper and had struck the woman down. + </p> + <p> + The flight of the man was proof positive. He called him to stop, certain + that it was Bansemer. The runner turned his face towards him for a moment. + The light from the street may have deceived Elias Droom's eyes, but the + face of the assailant was not that of James Bansemer. Droom stopped short + and looked after the man, paralysed with amazement. Then he gave a + snorting laugh at his own stupidity; of course, it was Bansemer. Who else + could it be? + </p> + <p> + Arriving at the spot where he had last seen the couple, he was amazed to + find no one there. He realised, with horror, that the woman must have been + struck down; had fallen or had been thrown into the lake. + </p> + <p> + The gaunt old clerk groaned bitterly as he threw himself upon the wall and + peered over into the water. He listened for the cries and struggles of the + woman. Gradually his eyes solved the situation. He saw the row of piles + beyond the break in the sea wall and the swishing pool inside. Every + incoming wave sent a flood of water between the sturdy posts and into the + cut of the wall. + </p> + <p> + Without a moment's hesitation he dropped into this seething prison, + confident that the woman's body could be found there. A single glance had + shown him that he could crawl upward through the break to safety and he + knew that the water below was not dangerously deep. + </p> + <p> + A minute later he was scrambling out of this angry, icy water, up through + the fissure, bearing in his long arms the inert form of Frances Cable. He + had found her half-submerged in the pool, every sweep of the waves through + the sieve-like posts covering her completely. + </p> + <p> + He dropped the body on the ground after reaching the level and took a + quick shuddering glance about. Two men had stopped on the opposite of the + Drive. He hesitated a second and then shouted to them. They stood + stockstill in alarm. Before they could respond to his second shout, Elias + Droom was tearing the woman's watch from her belt and the rings from her + fingers. His strong, nervous hands found the necklace that she wore and it + broke beneath their sudden jerk. Cunningly he tossed the necklace upon the + ground and trampled it with his heel. The watch and rings went flying + across the wall and far out into the lake. + </p> + <p> + "This woman has been slugged!" he shouted. He did not know how much of the + tragedy these men had witnessed. Boldness was his cue for the moment; + stealth could follow later. "She's been in the water. I'm afraid it's + murder. The man who did it went that way. Yell for the police!" + </p> + <p> + If the assailant was James Bansemer, Droom was doing his duty by him. If + it was another, he was doing his duty by society. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI — HOURS OF TERROR + </h2> + <p> + Droom's intentions were clear. It was not a tender heart nor was it + chivalry which prompted him to do the deed of valour just described. He + had started out to do his duty by James Bansemer because he was in his + hire; and he felt it still his duty to cover the tracks of his master as + best he could. He knew that he was jeopardising his own safety; the + obstinate cunning of his nature insisted that the man he had watched was + Bansemer, although his brief glimpse of the fugitive's face discouraged + that belief. + </p> + <p> + The gaunt clerk kept his chin well covered with his great muffler; the + broad collar of his ulster was turned up about his face. The rapid plan + that dashed into his mind comprehended but two things: the effort to + restore life to Frances Cable and the hope of escaping without being + recognised. He felt that she had not been in the water long enough to + drown; every hope depended upon the force of the blow that he imagined had + been delivered. + </p> + <p> + Chilled to the bone, his teeth chattering like castanets, the old man was + stooping over the inanimate form on the ground when the two men came up. + In answer to their startled questions, he merely said that he had seen the + struggle from across the street, but had been too late to prevent the + tragedy. + </p> + <p> + "We must get her into one of these houses quick," he grunted. "Take hold + of her, you. And YOU over there hurry and ring a doorbell. Get inside and + 'phone for a doctor—a doctor first and then the police. We may be + able to save her life." + </p> + <p> + The first of the rich men's homes denied them admission. The man of the + house said he would not "stand for the notoriety." Droom, supporting the + head of the wet, icy figure, made a remark which the man was never to + forget. At the second house they were admitted. + </p> + <p> + In an instant all was confusion. A card game was broken up and guests of + the house assisted their host and hostess in doing all manner of + unnecessary things. Droom gave the commands which sooner or later resolved + themselves into excited, wrathy demands upon the telephone operator, calls + for a certain near-by doctor, calls for the police, calls for stimulants, + maids, hot water bottles—everything. + </p> + <p> + "She's been robbed," said one of the men. "Her rings have been torn off. + Look at the blood!" + </p> + <p> + "She's well-dressed, too," said another. "Say, her face looks familiar—-" + </p> + <p> + To the amazement of everyone, the lips of the woman parted and a gasping, + choking sound issued from between them, a slight shudder swept over her + frame. + </p> + <p> + "She's alive!" exclaimed Droom. "Get these wet clothes off of her—quick!" + </p> + <p> + The men stood grouped in the hallway while the women tore the wet garments + from the reviving victim and prepared a warm bed for her. Elias Droom was + edging towards the door, bent on escape, when the awed, chattering voice + of the young fellow who had assisted in carrying her to the house arrested + him. A great sense of relief crept over him as he listened to the young + man's story; his eyes blinked with satisfaction. He was forgetting his own + remark of a minute ago that he was freezing and must get into some dry + clothes at once. The young man was saying: + </p> + <p> + "It happened right out there by the sea wall—where the big break is. + Harry and I were coming up the Drive and I called attention to a man + running south along the wall. Just then, this gentleman ran over from this + side of the street and, a minute or two later, we saw him jump into the + break over there. Suicide, I thought, but he wasn't a minute coming up. + There was the woman! He'd pulled her out! By thunder, it was the bravest + thing I ever saw! He—-" + </p> + <p> + And then it was that everybody began to shower praise upon the man who + only had tried to do his duty by the one who hired him to do ugly, not + gallant, deeds. + </p> + <p> + "Did you watch which way the robber ran?" demanded Droom eagerly. + </p> + <p> + "Lost him in the dark. He ran like fury. You must have scared him off," + said the second young man. "I wish we could have seen his face. Did you + see it?" + </p> + <p> + "Not distinctly," answered Droom. "He struck me as being a slim young + fellow, that's all." Of one thing he was assured: the evidence of these + two men would prove that he had acted as a valiant protector and not as a + thug—a fear which had not left his mind until now. They had seen the + fleeing assailant, but there was only one person who could identify him. + That person was Frances Cable, the victim. If it was not James Bansemer, + then who could it have been? + </p> + <p> + The door opened and an agitated young woman came out. + </p> + <p> + "It is Mrs. Cable," she cried in trembling tones. + </p> + <p> + The physician arrived at that moment, and a few minutes later came an + officer who had been hailed from the doorway. While the policeman was + listening to the voluble young eye-witnesses, Droom stood aloof, puzzling + himself vainly in the effort to solve an inside mystery. He had been + ready, a few minutes before, to curse himself for pulling the woman out of + the water, but now, as the belief grew stronger within him that her + assailant was not James Bansemer, his viewpoint changed. If such was the + case, there would be no need to fear Mrs. Cable's story if she revived + sufficiently to tell it. On the other hand, if it was Bansemer, he had + rescued her to an ill purpose. He was conscious finally that someone was + speaking to him. + </p> + <p> + "What do you know of this?" demanded the policeman. Droom repeated his + brief story. "What is your name and where do you live?" + </p> + <p> + "My name is Elias Droom and I live over in Wells Street." + </p> + <p> + "Could you identify the man?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't think so." + </p> + <p> + "What were you doing over in this part of town?" + </p> + <p> + "Walking up to see the skaters on the park lagoon. But what's that get to + do with it? You'd better be out looking for the thief instead of wasting + time on me here," snarled Droom. The officer gasped and there is no + telling what might have happened, if the captain and a swarm of bluecoats + had not appeared on the scene at that moment. Two minutes later they were + off scouring the lake front in search of the mysterious hold-up man. Two + plain-clothes men remained to question the witnesses and to inspect the + neighbourhood in which the crime was committed. + </p> + <p> + Word came from the inner room that Mrs. Cable was regaining consciousness. + </p> + <p> + "Does—can she throw any light on the affair?" asked Elias Droom. + </p> + <p> + "She has uttered no word except her husband's name. I think she is still + calling upon him for help, poor thing," said the young woman who bore the + news. + </p> + <p> + "Cable ought to be notified," said one of the men. + </p> + <p> + "Don't do it over the 'phone," said Droom quickly. "I'm going past his + house. I'll stop in and tell him. Let me out, officer; I must get out of + these wet garments. I'm an old man, you know." + </p> + <p> + The probable solution had come to Droom like a flash. As he hurried up the + street his mind was full of the theory. He scarcely could wait for the + door of David Cable's house to be opened in response to his vigorous + ringing. The maid announced that Mr. and Mrs. Cable were out. It was + enough for Droom. He put the puzzle together in that instant. David + Cable's face was the one he had seen; not James Bansemer's. The maid set + up a hysterical shrieking when he bluntly told her of the mishap to her + mistress, but he did not wait to answer questions. He was off to find + James Bansemer. The volcano he had been watching so long was about to + burst, and he knew it. + </p> + <p> + Forgetting his wet garments, he entered a drug store and telephoned to + Bansemer's home. His employer answered the call so readily that Droom knew + he had not been far from the instrument that evening. There was a note of + disappointment in his voice when Droom's hoarse tones replied to his + polite: "Hello!" + </p> + <p> + "I'll be over in half an hour," said Droom. "Very important business. Is + Graydon there?" + </p> + <p> + "He's just gone to Cable's. Someone telephoned for him a minute or so ago. + What's wrong? Do you know?" + </p> + <p> + "I'll be there in fifteen minutes," was all that Droom would say. + </p> + <p> + Elias' memory could not carry him back to the time when he had hired a + cab. A cab was one of the luxuries he had not cultivated. One can only + imagine his surprise, then, when he found himself hailing a passing + hansom; and greater the surprise he must have felt when he clambered in + and ordered the driver to go in a gallop to a certain place in Wells + Street. Ten minutes later he was attired in dry, warm clothes and in the + cab again, bound for Bansemer's home. What he said to James Bansemer on + that memorable occasion need not be repeated. It is only necessary to say + that his host was bitterly impressed and willing to admit that the + developments might prove serious. They could only speculate as to what had + transpired between David Cable and his wife out there by the sea wall, but + it was enough for them to know that a crisis was at hand. + </p> + <p> + "We'll see what the morning papers say about the affair," said Bansemer, + uneasy and cold. + </p> + <p> + The morning papers were full of the sensational robbery, the prominence of + the victim and the viciousness of the attack. Elias Droom read the + accounts eagerly as he breakfasted in the dingy little restaurant near his + home, bright and early. He grinned appreciably over the share of glory + that fell to him; and he actually cackled over the new developments in the + great mystery. + </p> + <p> + He had observed with relief that the name of James Bansemer was not + mentioned. The reports from the bedside of the robber's victim were most + optimistic. She was delirious from the effects of the shock, but no + serious results were expected. The great headlines on the first page of + the paper he was reading set his mind temporarily at rest. There was no + suggestion of truth in them. + </p> + <p> + The reader of this narrative, who knows the true facts in the case, is + doubtless more interested in the movements and emotions of David Cable + than in the surmises of others. It would be difficult, for a certainty, to + ask one to put himself in Cable's place and to experience the sensations + of that unhappy man as he fled along the dark shore of the lake. Perhaps + much will be taken on faith if the writer simply says that the fugitive + finally slunk from the weeds and refuse of what was then called "The + District of Lake Michigan"—"Streeterville," in local parlance—to + find himself panting and terror-struck in the bleak east end of Chicago + Avenue. It was not until then that he secured control of his nerves and + resorted to the stealth and cunning of the real criminal. + </p> + <p> + From that time until he stood shivering and white with dogged intention in + a theatre foyer, bent upon establishing an alibi, his movements are + scarcely worth the details. Between the acts he saw a dozen men whom he + knew and he took drinks with several of them. His tremendous will power + carried him through the ordeal in a way that could not have fallen to the + good fortunes of the ordinary lawbreaker. + </p> + <p> + Every second of the time his thoughts were of the thing which was being + buffeted by the icy waters of the lake. Where was that thing now? How far + out into the lake had it been carried? + </p> + <p> + His body was covered with the cold perspiration of dread and horror. His + soul was moaning; his whole being was aghast with the awfulness of the + deed; he could have shrieked aloud in his madness. How he lived through + the hour in that theatre he never could have told, nor could he believe + that he was sitting there with all those frightful thoughts piling + themselves upon him. Other people laughed and shouted with happiness; he + stared and wept in his heart, and shivered and cringed and groaned within + himself. + </p> + <p> + He had killed her! She had been true to him, and yet, he had taken her + life—the life she had given him! He gave no thought to Jane, no + thought to Bansemer; he thought only of himself as the slayer. + </p> + <p> + Would her body be recovered? What would be his excuse, what his + punishment? The gallows? A thousand horrors ran riot in his brain, a + thousand tremors with each. + </p> + <p> + But why dwell upon the feelings of this miserable wretch? Why say more of + his terror, his misery, his remorse? He held himself in the seat until the + middle of the last act of the play. At last, unable to restrain himself + longer, he arose and almost ran from the theatre. That instinct which no + slayer can control or explain, was overpowering him; it was the instinct + which attracts the murderer to the spot where his crime was committed. No + man can describe or define this resistless impulse, and yet all + criminology records it, clear and unmistakable. It is no less than a form + of curiosity. Driven by this irresistible force, David Cable, with bravado + that cost him dearly, worked his uninterrupted way to the scene of his + crime. By trolley car to Chicago Avenue and, then, like a homeless dog + scenting his way fearfully, to a corner not far from the break in the + wall. + </p> + <p> + His legs trembled and his eyes grew wide with dread. The swish of the + water came to his ears and he stood still for many minutes, listening for + a cry for help from off the shore, but none came; and again skulking + alongside the houses of his friends, he covered the blocks that lay + between him and the magnetic rift in the wall. Near the corner, he stopped + with a start of alarm. + </p> + <p> + The figure of a man could be seen standing like a statue on the very spot + where he had seen her disappear. While he stood there, his heart scarcely + beating, the solitary figure was joined by two others. Cable shrank back + into the dense shadows. Like a flash it occurred to him that they were + searching for the body. A shriek of agony arose to his lips; but he + checked it. + </p> + <p> + Far off on one of the crosstown streets a newsboy was calling an extra—hoarse, + unintelligible shouts that froze his blood. He bent his ear to catch the + far-away words of the boy: "All about de Nor' Side murder!" He cringed and + shook under the raucous shout. He knew what it meant. + </p> + <p> + A policeman suddenly turned the corner and came toward him. The first + impulse was to fly; the next was to stand and deliver himself. The + resolution came with shocking unexpectedness. He would give himself up! He + would admit that he had killed his wife! The words of anguish were on his + lips when the policeman spoke. + </p> + <p> + "Is it you, Mr. Cable? How is she, sir?" + </p> + <p> + Cable did not hear the man, for, as he opened his lips to cry out his own + guilt, a thought formed in his brain that almost staggered him with its + cunning savagery. Why not let the penalty fall on James Bansemer? She had + gone out to meet him! If she had not destroyed the note, it would hang + James Bansemer, and James Bansemer was worse than a murderer. But even as + this remarkable thought rushed into his brain, the last words of the + officer began to drive it out. + </p> + <p> + "Is she going to pull through, sir?" was the next question—and he + caught it vaguely. + </p> + <p> + "Pull through?" he mumbled inarticulately. He leaned against a great stone + rail suddenly. Everything was leaping before his eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Good Lord, Mr. Cable—I—I forgot. Don't you know about it?" + gasped the officer. + </p> + <p> + "Know what?" asked Cable, completely dazed. + </p> + <p> + "Go home at once, sir. I didn't mean to—oh, hurry, sir. Don't be + worried. They say she'll be all right. Sure! She's been hurt a little, + sir." + </p> + <p> + "My daughter?" demanded Cable, as keen as a razor in an instant. His heart + was trying to jump from his body. + </p> + <p> + "Your wife, sir. Nothin' serious, sir. She was held up along here + somewhere and robbed. They're sure to get the villain. She—-" + </p> + <p> + But Cable was off like a deer for his home, racing as though on air. + </p> + <p> + Nothing else mattered now. She was alive! He could have her with him again + to love as he never had loved her before. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII — DAVID CABLE'S DEBTS + </h2> + <p> + Two days passed before David Cable was permitted to see his wife. During + those trying hours he lived an age of agony in suspense. She had been + removed to her home late on the night of the "hold-up," as the newspapers + felt justified in calling it. He did not go to his office the next day—nor + the next—but haunted her door, sleepless, nervous, held close by + dread. A dozen times, at least, he sought admittance to her room, but was + always turned away, cursing the doctor and the nurses for their + interference. + </p> + <p> + His worst fear, however, was that his wife would not forgive him. Not the + dread of exposure, nor his own shame or remorse—not even the + punishment that the law might inflict, could be compared to the fear of + what might be her life-long hatred. He grew to feel that the doctor, the + nurses, the servants looked upon him with strange, unfriendly though + respectful eyes. In his heart he believed that his wife had cursed him in + their presence, laying bare his part in the unhappy transaction. + </p> + <p> + At last the suspense became unbearable. He had noticed a slight change in + Jane's manner and at once attributed it to something his wife had said, + for Jane had been allowed in the sick-room. The discovery that she was not + his child had not as yet struck deep into his understanding. In a vague + sort of way he realised that she was different, now that he knew, but it + was impossible for him to consider her in any other light than that of the + years gone by. The time would come when the full realisation would cut + into his heart more deeply than now, but at present a calamity of his own + making was forcing all other troubles into the background. His greatest + desire was to reach his wife's side, to know the worst that could come of + his suit for forgiveness. + </p> + <p> + The evening of the second day he swore that he would see her—and + alone. They admitted him and he entered trembling in every nerve. She was + lying, white and haggard, in her bed, her back toward him. He paused for + an instant and was certain that he saw her shudder violently. It was + significant. She feared and loathed him. + </p> + <p> + "Is it you, David?" he heard her ask weakly. "At last! Oh, I was afraid + that something had happened to you! That—-" + </p> + <p> + He threw himself on his knees beside the bed and wept with all the pent-up + bitterness and misery that was in him—and still he was afraid to + speak to her. Not a word left his lips until he felt her hand in his hair—a + tender, timid hand. It was then that he began pouring forth his cry for + forgiveness. With a groan, he checked her own appeal for mercy. + </p> + <p> + "We can talk about Jane another time, not now," he cried. "I must know + that you forgive me—I don't care for anything—nothing else in + the world." + </p> + <p> + When the nurse came in a few minutes later, he was sitting upon the edge + of the bed holding her hands in his. Their faces were radiant. + </p> + <p> + "Please stay out," he said, almost gruffly. + </p> + <p> + "For just a little while," his wife added gently. The nurse hesitated a + moment and then left the room. + </p> + <p> + Frances Cable told him Jane's history so far as it was known to her. He + listened dully. + </p> + <p> + "She will never know her true parents," said she in the end. + </p> + <p> + "No, I suppose not," said he, looking out of the window. + </p> + <p> + "You understand, don't you, David, dear," she said feebly; "how I dreaded + to have you learn the truth after all these years, and above all, how I + hoped that Jane might never know. I tried every means in my power to buy + James Bansemer's silence. It was not money that he wanted, it was..." she + buried her head shamefully in her arms; after a moment, she went on: "He + professes to love his son, but his is the love an animal gives the + offspring it would destroy. And yet Graydon worships him." + </p> + <p> + "Are you quite sure that Graydon is as unsuspecting as you think?" + </p> + <p> + "In regard to his father?" + </p> + <p> + "In regard to Jane." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I'm sure of it. He is not a party to his father's schemes. If James + Bansemer has not already told Graydon, he never will. It is not his plan + to do so; his only object has been to browbeat me into submission. David, + it will all come out right in the end, won't it? You'll forgive me?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, dear; but this man," and David Cable shook with emotion as he spoke, + "will have to answer to me. There will be no more to fear," he said + reassuringly; "I'll crush him as I would a snake." + </p> + <p> + "David, you must not—-" + </p> + <p> + "Don't worry," he broke in; "I'll attend to him and see that no harm comes + to anyone else. That man has no business among honest people." + </p> + <p> + "But, David, I was not honest with you," she confessed. + </p> + <p> + "That was a long time ago, and she's as much mine as she is yours. So, + what's the odds now? It's a facer, I'll admit, but it can't be helped." It + was thus that the man whose anger, only a few hours before had led him + almost to crime, now readily absolved her of any blame. + </p> + <p> + "Poor child, poor child!" she moaned; "it will break her heart. She is so + proud and so happy." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, she's proud. There is good blood in her. I don't wonder now that I + used to think she was such a marvel. She's—she's not just the same + sort of stock that we are, take it as you will." + </p> + <p> + "She never must know the truth, David." + </p> + <p> + "She's bound to find it out, dear. We'd better tell her. It will be easier + for her. Bansemer's fangs must be made harmless forever. He shan't bother + her. She'd better hear the story from us and not from him." + </p> + <p> + "But Graydon? She'll lose him, David." + </p> + <p> + "I'm not so sure of it. She's worthy of any man's love and we must know + that Graydon loves her. I'll trust to that. But, first of all, we must put + it beyond the power of James Bansemer to injure her in any shape or form. + Then, when I go after him—Graydon or no Graydon—he'll know + that there is such a place as hell." + </p> + <p> + "Be rational, David. Let us take our time and think well, dear. I can't + bear the thought of the story that will go out concerning me—how I + deceived you about Jane for years and years. What will people think of me? + What will they say?" she almost wailed. + </p> + <p> + "Frances," said he, his voice tense and earnest, "that is between you and + me. I intend to say to the world, if occasion demands, that I have known + from the first that Jane was not our child. That will be—-" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, David, you CAN'T say that," she cried joyously. + </p> + <p> + "I shall say it, dear old partner. I shall say that you took her from the + asylum with my consent. There is only James Bansemer to call me a liar, + and he will not dare!" + </p> + <p> + "That old man Droom, David—his clerk. The man who saved me—he + knows." + </p> + <p> + "He is in the boat with his master. He DID save you, though. I'll spare + him much for that. And I have more to fear from him than you think. + Frances, I am sure he saw me night before last down there at the sea wall. + He knows—I am morally certain—that you were not attacked by a + robber." + </p> + <p> + "But, David, I WAS robbed. My rings and my pendant were taken by someone. + If Droom was the first man at my side—after you—then he must + have taken them." + </p> + <p> + "I can't charge him with the theft," groaned Cable. "He saved your life + and he might ruin mine. I would give anything I have to know just how much + he saw of the affair. I can't account for his presence there. It seems + like fate." + </p> + <p> + "It is impossible for him to accuse you, David." + </p> + <p> + "It is not impossible, I'm afraid. He may have seen me plainly." + </p> + <p> + "But I have described my assailant to the police. You do not answer the + description in any particular." + </p> + <p> + In the next ten minutes the nurse came in twice to caution him against + overtaxing her nerves, politely hinting that he should depart at once. + There was no medicine, no nursing, no care that could have done her so + much good as this hour with her husband. + </p> + <p> + "It hurt me more than I can tell you, David, when I saw that you were + jealous of him. I could see it growing in you day after day, and yet I + could not find the courage to make everything clear to you. Oh, how could + you have suspected me of that?" + </p> + <p> + "Because I am a man and because I love you enough to care what becomes of + you. I was wrong, I am happy to confess. Forgive me, dear. I can't tell + you how terrible the last month has been to me. I can't tell you of the + bitter thoughts I have had, nor the vicious deeds I have planned. I was + almost insane. I was not accountable. I have much to pay to you in the + rest of the years that I live; I have much to pay to my own conscience; + and I also owe something to James Bansemer. I shall try to pay all these + different debts in the coin that they call for." + </p> + <p> + "We owe something, you and I, to Jane," said she, as he arose to leave the + room. + </p> + <p> + "A confession and more love than ever, Frances. I love her with all my + heart. When you are stronger, we will tell her that she is not our child. + We have loved her so long and so well that she can't ask for better proof + of our devotion. That terrible thing at the sea wall must remain our + secret, dear. To-morrow I shall begin pulling James Bansemer's fangs." + </p> + <p> + He found Graydon downstairs with Jane. A sharp look into the young man's + eyes convinced him that his questions concerning Mrs. Cable and the latest + news concerning the efforts to take the bandit were sincere. Cable held + his hand for a long time; the firm, warm grasp was that of an honest man. + As he stepped out into the night for a short walk over town he wondered, + with a great pain in his heart, if Graydon Bansemer would turn from Jane + when he heard the truth concerning her. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII — THE VISIT OF HARBERT + </h2> + <h3> + "It's Harbert," said Elias Droom. + </h3> + <p> + "Why didn't you say to him that I am busy? I don't want to see him," said + his employer in a sharp undertone. Droom's long finger was on his lips, + enjoining silence. + </p> + <p> + "He said that you wouldn't want to see him, but that it didn't make any + difference. He'll wait, he says." + </p> + <p> + They were in the private office, with the door closed. Bansemer's face was + whiter and more firmly set than ever. The ugly fighting light was in his + eyes again. + </p> + <p> + "If he has come here to threaten me, I'll kill him," he said savagely. + </p> + <p> + "You'll do nothing of the kind," said the clerk with what was meant to be + a conciliatory smile. "Meet him squarely and hear what he has to say." + </p> + <p> + "Do you suppose she has told Cable? He may have sent Harbert here." + </p> + <p> + "Cable's hands are tied. I know too much. If I were to tell the police + what I know he'd have a devil of a time getting the presidency of his + road. Besides, they both owe me a vote of thanks. Didn't I have sense + enough to make it look like robbery?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, but curse your stupidity, they may charge you with the job. Nobody + would believe that Cable would attempt to rob his own wife." + </p> + <p> + "But they would, in any event, decide that he had taken the rings to make + it appear like robbery." There was a hard rap on the glass panel. "He's + bound to see you, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Well, then, show him in!" snarled Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Bansemer will see you, sir," said Droom suavely, opening the door + suddenly. + </p> + <p> + "Thanks," said Harbert shortly. He entered the private office and faced + the lawyer, who was standing near his desk. "I've taken advantage of your + invitation to drop in and see you." + </p> + <p> + "This is one of my busy days, Mr. Harbert," said Bansemer, determined to + come to the point at once. "However, I hardly expected a social call from + you, so it must be of a business nature. What is it?" + </p> + <p> + "It concerns your son, Mr. Bansemer. I'm here in the capacity of a + physician. You must go away for his health." Harbert smiled as though he + thought it a good joke. Bansemer turned red and then white. + </p> + <p> + "I don't quite appreciate your wit, sir." + </p> + <p> + "My humour, I'd suggest as a substitute. Well, to be perfectly plain, sir, + your son does not know the true nature of the malady. He—" + </p> + <p> + "Do I understand you to say that he really has an ailment?" exclaimed + Bansemer seriously. + </p> + <p> + "It isn't hopeless, my dear sir. My only desire is to keep him from ever + finding out that he has a malady. He is sure to learn the truth if you + remain here." + </p> + <p> + "Damn you, Harbert, I understand you now, and I want to say this to you: + I'll not drag that boy away from this city. He's successful here and he's + one of the most promising young men in town. I'm not going to have him + hounded from town to town by—" + </p> + <p> + "You don't quite understand me, sir. On the contrary, he should remain + here. What I do mean to say is this: he won't feel like staying here if + the truth about his father is uttered. That's the brutal way to put it, + Bansemer, but you've GOT TO GET OUT." + </p> + <p> + The two glared at each other for a full minute. Bansemer was as white as a + sheet—but not with fear. + </p> + <p> + "Harbert," he said in low tones, "I've half a mind to kill you." + </p> + <p> + "Don't. You'd hang for it. There are at least a dozen members of the bar + who know that I have come here to see you, and they know why, too. See + here, Bansemer, you're a scoundrel to begin with. You've always been a + knave. How you happen to have a son like Graydon I can't imagine. If I did + not know that your wife was a noble, honest woman, it wouldn't be + difficult to supply a reason for—" + </p> + <p> + "Stop! By God, you shall not say a word against my wife! I'll brain you + with this weight! You—" + </p> + <p> + "I have not said a word against her—nor against your son. For her + and for him I have the deepest respect. I am trying to protect the memory + of one and the future of the other. Bansemer, I believe that I drove you + out of New York. You escaped without exposure simply because the witnesses + lost their nerve. That won't be the case here. You think you've covered + your tracks nicely. You haven't. You've tripped into half a dozen traps. I + don't know what your game is with the Cables, but you're base enough to + take advantage of your son's position in that home. Don't interrupt! I'll + soon be through. I'm a man of few words. If it were not for your son I'd + swear out the warrants for you to-day on five different charges. For his + sake I'm going to give you a chance. I've worked on you for three years. I + swore I'd get you some time. Well, I've got you, and I'm going to cheat + myself out of a whole lot of pleasure. I'm not going to smash you as I + intended. Your son's friends have prevailed. To show you that I'm not + bluffing, I have every bit of evidence in the Burkenday case, the Flossie + Bellamy job, the widow Hensmith affair—and it was a damnable one, + too—with two or three more. You broke that woman's heart. I don't + suppose you know that she died last month. You never noticed it, eh? Her + precious coachman is living like a lord on the money you and he took from + her. Old Burkenday's housemaid has bought a little home in Edgewater—but + not from her wages. The two jobs you now have on hand never will be pulled + off. The girl in the Banker Watts case has been cornered and has + confessed. She is ready to appear against you. McLennan's wife has had the + courage to defy your accomplice—that dastardly butler of theirs—and + he has left town, frightened out of his wits. Your time has come. The jig + is up. It won't be as it was in New York, because we have the proof. There + is a committee of three down in Rigby's office now waiting for me to + report. If I take word to them that you expect to sail for Europe next + week, never to return to this country, all well and good. It is for your + son's good health, bear in mind. If you go, the public may never learn the + truth about you; if you stay you will be in jail before you are a week + older. And, Mr. Bansemer, you've got to decide DAMNED QUICK." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer looked his accuser straight in the eye, a faint smile of derision + touching his lips, but not his eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Harbert, the first thing you have to learn in connection with your + patient's father is that he is not a coward. I refuse to run, sir. I am + innocent of any intentional wrong, and I'll stand my ground. My son will + stand beside me, too; he is that sort. Go back to your committee and tell + them that Bansemer will not go to Europe for his son's health. Good-day, + sir!" + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense, Bansemer," exploded Harbert. "You know we've got you fast + enough. Why be a fool as well as a knave? You haven't a ghost of a chance. + I'm trying to do you a good turn." + </p> + <p> + "A good turn? Mr. Harbert, I am neither a fool nor a knave. If I were a + fool I'd kill you where you stand. I would be justified in killing the man + who represents a crowd of blackmailers. That's what you are, sir. I refuse + to pay your price. If I were a knave I'd pay it. I want you to understand + one thing. I shall stand my ground here. If you persecute me, I'll not + stop flaying you until death ends my endeavours. We'll see what justice + can give me in exchange for your bulldozing. I will have restitution, + remember that. Now, you've nothing more to say to me. Get out!" + </p> + <p> + "Sir!" + </p> + <p> + "Get out!" + </p> + <p> + "By George, you're a wonderful bluffer." + </p> + <p> + "Do you expect me to throw you out, sir?" + </p> + <p> + "It isn't necessary. I've had a change of heart in the last minute, Mr. + Bansemer. I withdraw my proposition. By all that's holy, I intend to go + after you now without pity. Hang your son's feelings! You won't take my + advice. I didn't give it as a friend, because I detest you. It was done in + a weak spirit of fairness toward your son and toward the girl he is to + marry. Now, I put them out of my consideration. They—-" + </p> + <p> + "Get out!" + </p> + <p> + Harbert, very red in the face, slammed the door after him and strode + angrily through the outer office into the corridor. Droom immediately + entered the consultation room. + </p> + <p> + "Well? What is it?" demanded Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + "What did he want?" + </p> + <p> + "He invited me to go to Europe for an indefinite stay. I refused. We'll + fight it out, Droom. We have covered our trail better than he thinks. They + can't convict me. I'm sure of that. They have nothing but conjectures, and + they won't go in court." + </p> + <p> + "I'm afraid of him, just the same. You're bull-headed about it. Every + criminal thinks his tracks are covered until it is too late to cover them + properly." + </p> + <p> + "Curse you, Droom, I'm no criminal." + </p> + <p> + "A slip of the tongue on my part. Do you know who is down there in Rigby's + office with those fellows?" + </p> + <p> + "An officer, I daresay." + </p> + <p> + "No. David Cable." + </p> + <p> + "Cable? Then, his wife has told him everything. Well, I've something to + tell, too. By the Lord Harry, Elias, there will be several sensations in + high life." + </p> + <p> + "You don't mean that you'll tell all there is to tell about the girl?" + </p> + <p> + "No! That's just it! That is one thing I won't tell. If you tell whose + blood she has in her veins, I'll kill you like a dog. But, I'll see that + Miss Cable is dropped by Chicago society inside of a week. I'm mad, Droom—do + you understand?" + </p> + <p> + "But Graydon loves her." + </p> + <p> + "He won't love her long. I was a fool to let him go this far—a + blind, loving fool. But I'll end it now. He shan't marry her. He has no—-" + </p> + <p> + "I haven't much of a heart to boast of, Bansemer, but I beg of you not to + do this thing. I love Graydon. He doesn't deserve any pain or disgrace. + Take my advice and leave the city. Let me call Harbert back." + </p> + <p> + "No! They can't drive me out! Telephone over and ask Graydon to stop here + on his way up this afternoon." + </p> + <p> + The opening and closing of the outer door attracted their attention. Droom + peeped forth. In spite of himself, Bansemer started and his eyes widened + with sudden alarm. A glance of apprehension passed between the two men. + </p> + <p> + "It's that Deever boy from Judge Smith's," reported Droom. + </p> + <p> + "Tell him to get out," said Bansemer, with a breath of relief. + </p> + <p> + "I thought it might have been—-" began Droom with a wry grin. + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense!" + </p> + <p> + "It is a bit too soon. They haven't had time." + </p> + <p> + As Droom left the room, Bansemer crossed to the window and looked down + into the seething street far below. He saw that his hand trembled and he + tried to laugh at his weakness. For a long time he stood there, his + unseeing eyes focused on the hurrying masses, his ears alert for unusual + sounds from the outer office. + </p> + <p> + "If it were not for Graydon," he was muttering between set teeth. "God, + how I hate to have him know!" + </p> + <p> + Droom had told Eddie Deever to "get out," but Eddie was there to talk and + be talked to, so he failed to take the hint. + </p> + <p> + "Say, I haven't seen you since you played the hero up in the fashionable + part of town. Gee, that was a startler! I'll bet old man Cable rewards you + in some way. What's your theory about the hold-up?" + </p> + <p> + Droom looked up sharply. For the first time there shot into his mind the + thought that the breezy boy might be a spy. + </p> + <p> + "I haven't any," he replied shortly. He was trying to remember if he had + ever said anything incriminating to the boy. + </p> + <p> + "How d' you happen to be over there just at that time?" + </p> + <p> + "I haven't time to talk about it. Please don't bother me. It happened + three days ago and I've really forgotten about it. Don't throw that + cigarette into the wastebasket. Haven't you any sense?" + </p> + <p> + "Gee, you don't suppose I'm going to throw it away, do you? There's half + an inch of it left. Not me. Say, I've heard your boss has quite a case on + Mrs. Cable. How about it?" he almost whispered this. + </p> + <p> + "You shouldn't talk like that." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, you mean that gag about people living in glass houses? Gee, don't + worry about that. Chicago is a city of glass houses. A blind man could + throw rocks all day and smash a hole in somebody's house every crack. I + believe the hold-up man was one of those strikers who have been out of + jobs all winter. Smith thinks so." + </p> + <p> + "Who?" + </p> + <p> + "Judge Smith." + </p> + <p> + "That's better." + </p> + <p> + "Did you see his face?" + </p> + <p> + "What are you, bub—a detective?" + </p> + <p> + "Rosie Keating says I'd make a better policeman than lawyer. She's sore at + me for taking Miss Throckmorton to Mam' Galli's the other night. Fellow + stood on the piano and sang the derndest song I've ever heard. But, gee, I + don't think Miss Throck was on. She didn't seem to notice, I mean. Say, on + the dead, do you think you could identify that fellow?" + </p> + <p> + "Look here, boy, if anyone ever asks you whether I'd know that man's face + if I saw it again, you just say that I'd know it in a thousand. I saw it + plainly." + </p> + <p> + Eddie gulped suddenly and looked more interested than ever. + </p> + <p> + "Do you think they'll get him?" + </p> + <p> + "They will if he talks too much." + </p> + <p> + "I hope so. Say, how's that new patent coming on?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm not making a patent. I'm making a model. It's nearly completed. The + strike in the shops is holding me back with it. Curse these strikes." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, they bust 'em up mighty quick. There hasn't been a big one on since + Debs engineered his and Cleveland called out the troops." + </p> + <p> + "Boy, you wait a few years and you'll see a strike that will paralyse you. + Look at these teamsters. They're powerful now. They'll get licked, but + they'll come back. When the next big money panic comes—it'll be in + my day, too—you'll see the streets of Chicago running with blood. + These fellows will go after the rich, and they'll get 'em. You will live + to see the day when women who wear diamonds around their throats will have + harsh, horny ringers there instead. There will be rich men's blood on + every paving stone and beautiful necks will be slit with less mercy than + marked the French butchery years ago. That's my prophecy. Some day you'll + recall it to mind, especially if you happen to become very prosperous. + It's bound to come. Now get out. I have a lot of writing to do." Eddie + snickered. + </p> + <p> + "What will the law be doing all this time?" + </p> + <p> + "Bosh! The law can't even capture Mrs. Cable's assailant. Do you know what + the human lust for blood is? Take an enraged man, doesn't he hunger for + blood? He wants to kill and he does kill. Well, he is but an atom—an + individual. Now, can you imagine what it will mean when a whole class of + people, men and women, are forced to one common condition—the lust + for blood? The individual lusts, and so will the mass. The rage of the + mass will be the same as the fury of the individual. It will be just like + one tremendous man of many parts rioting for—-" + </p> + <p> + The outer door opened suddenly and an old gentleman entered. + </p> + <p> + "Is Mr. Bansemer here?" he asked, removing his silk hat nervously. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Mr. Watts. I'll tell him you are here." + </p> + <p> + Watts, the banker, confronted Bansemer a moment later, an anxious, hunted + look in his eyes. John Watts was known as one of the meanest men in the + city. No one had bested him in a transaction of any kind. As hard as nails + and as treacherous as a dog, he was feared alike by man and woman. + </p> + <p> + Watts, perhaps for the first time in his self-satisfied life, was ready to + bow knee to a fellow-man. A certain young woman had fallen into the + skilful hands of Counsellor James Bansemer, and Mr. Watts was jerked up + with a firmness that staggered him. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Bansemer, I have come in to see if this thing can't be settled + between us. I don't want to go into court. My wife and daughters won't + understand that it's a case of blackmail on the part of this woman. Let's + come to terms." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer smiled coolly. It was impossible to resist the temptation to toy + with him for a while, to humble and humiliate this man who had destroyed + hundreds in his juggernaut ride to riches. Skilfully he drew the old man + out. He saw the beads of perspiration on hit, brow and heard the whine + come from his voice. Then, in the end, he sharply changed his tactics. + </p> + <p> + "See here, Watts, you've got a wrong impression of this affair. I don't + like your inferences. I am not asking you for a cent. I wouldn't take it. + You have just offered me $25,000 to drop the affair. That's an insult to + my integrity. I've investigated this girl's claim pretty thoroughly and I + believe she is trying to fleece you. I have given up the case. None of + that sort of thing for me. She'll go to some unscrupulous lawyer, no + doubt, but I am out of it. I don't handle that kind of business. You have + insulted me. Get out of my office, sir, and never enter it again." + </p> + <p> + "Give me that in writing," began the wily banker, but Bansemer had called + to Droom. Eddie Deever was standing near the door, almost doggedly + curious. + </p> + <p> + "Show Mr. Watts the door, and if he ever comes here again call the police. + He has tried to bribe me." + </p> + <p> + Watts departed in a dazed sort of way and Droom closed the door. + </p> + <p> + "Are you still here?" he demanded of Eddie Deever in such a manner that + the young man lost no time in leaving. + </p> + <p> + "There goes twenty-five thousand," said Bansemer, with a cold grin. + </p> + <p> + "I guess you can afford to lose it," muttered Droom. "It was slick, I + suppose, but it's probably too late to help." + </p> + <p> + "Have you telephoned to Graydon?" + </p> + <p> + "Not yet." + </p> + <p> + "Don't." + </p> + <p> + "Change of heart?" + </p> + <p> + "Change of mind." + </p> + <p> + "That's so. You haven't any heart." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX — THE CRASH + </h2> + <p> + Bansemer was not losing his courage; it was only the dread of having + Graydon find out. He stuck close to his office, seeing but few people. + However, he did saunter into Rigby's office for a friendly chat, but + learned nothing from, the manner of that astute young man. With a boldness + that astonished himself—and he was at no time timid—he asked + if Harbert intended to remain in Chicago for any length of time. After he + had gone away, Rigby rubbed his forehead in a bewildered sort of way and + marvelled at the nerve of the man. + </p> + <p> + The day passed slowly; but late in the afternoon the suspense became so + keen that he found it difficult to keep himself from making inquiries of + the proper officials as to whether affidavits had been filed by Harbert or + any other person. His hand did not shake now, but there was a steady pain + at the back of his head. + </p> + <p> + "Droom, I think I'll go home. If I don't appear in the morning, you'll + know that I'm at some police station. Good-day!" + </p> + <p> + "Good-bye!" said Elias, with correcting emphasis. Bansemer laughed + heartily. + </p> + <p> + "I believe you'd like to see me jugged." + </p> + <p> + "Not unless you could be convicted. I'll have to remain in your employ + until then, I suppose." + </p> + <p> + "I've often wondered why you don't quit of your own accord—it seems + so distasteful to you." + </p> + <p> + "I'm working for you from force of habit." + </p> + <p> + "You'll turn State's evidence if I'm arrested, no doubt, curse you." + </p> + <p> + "If my word counted for anything," and he raised his hand; "I'd say—'So + help me-I shan't." + </p> + <p> + "I've never been able to understand you." + </p> + <p> + "I guess you've always understood my feelings towards you." + </p> + <p> + "You hate me?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm no exception to the rule." + </p> + <p> + "But hang you, you're faithful?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I'll pay for it, never fear. You won't hesitate to sacrifice me if it + will help you in any way. But, let me tell you something. Elias Droom has + been smart enough to cover every one of his tracks, even if he hasn't been + able to cover yours. I can't perform miracles. You don't seem as keen to + bring about the family explosion as you were, I observe." + </p> + <p> + "By heavens, I can't bear the thought of that boy—oh, well, close up + the office as soon as you like." + </p> + <p> + After he was safely out of the office Elias Droom glided into the private + office, drew forth his bunch of keys and opened his employer's desk. A big + revolver lay in the top drawer. The old clerk quickly removed the five + cartridges and as deftly substituted a new set of them in their stead. The + new ones were minus the explosive power. He grinned as he replaced the + weapon and closed the desk. Dropping the cartridges into his coat pocket, + he returned to his own desk, chuckling as he set to work on his papers. + </p> + <p> + "I won't betray him to the law, but I've fixed it so that he can't escape + it in that way." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer's man informed him upon his arrival home that Mr. Graydon would + not be in for dinner. He had left word that Mrs. Cable was very much + improved and that he and Miss Cable were going out for a long drive-in a + hansom. It was his intention to dine with Mr. and Miss Cable, very + informally. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer sat in surly silence for a long time, trying to read. A fierce + new jealousy was growing in his heart. It was gradually dawning upon him + that the Cables had alienated his son's affections to no small degree. The + fear grew upon him that Graydon ultimately would go over to them, + forgetting his father in the love for the girl. Resentment, strong and + savage, flooded his heart. He could eat no dinner. He was full of curses + for the fate which forced him to dine alone while his son was off + rejoicing with people whom he was beginning to hate with a fervour that + pained him. Jealousy, envy, malice, fired his blood. + </p> + <p> + He went out and bought the evening papers. The thought came to him that + Graydon had heard the stories and was deliberately staying away from him. + Perhaps the Cables had been talking to him. + </p> + <p> + "By Heaven," he grated as he paused in front of his home, "if she's turned + him against me I'll turn this city into anything but a paradise for her. + What a fool I've been to wait so long. I've given her the chance to tell + her side of the case first. She's made the first impression. What could I + have been thinking of? Droom was right. I should have demanded less of + her. A man is never too old to be a fool about women. Oh, if she's turned + that boy against me, I'll—-" + </p> + <p> + He did not finish the threat, but started off swiftly through the night + toward the Cable home. He had no especial object in view; it was simply + impossible for him to conquer the impulse to be near his son. Like a thief + he lurked about the street in the vicinity of Cable's house, standing in + the shadows, crossing and recrossing the street many times, always + watching the lighted windows with hateful eyes. It was after eight o'clock + and the night was damp with the first breath of spring. There was a slight + chill in the air, but he did not feel it, although he was without an + overcoat. + </p> + <p> + The lights on the second floor, he knew, were in Mrs. Cable's room. In his + mind's eye, he could see Graydon there with the others listening to the + story as it fell from prejudiced, condemning lips—the pathetic, + persuasive lips of a sick woman. He knew the effect on the chivalrous + nature of his son; he could feel the coldness that took root in his boy's + heart. + </p> + <p> + A light mist began to blow in his face as he paced back and forth along + the short block in which the Cables lived. He was working his imagination + up to a state bordering on frenzy. In his fancy he could hear Graydon + cursing him in the presence of his accusers. At the end of the street he + could see the break in the sea wall where Cable and his wife had met, and + he could not help wishing that Droom had not pulled her from the water. + Then he found himself wondering if they had told Jane the story of her + origin. The hope that she was still undeceived flashed through him; it + would give him a chance for sweet revenge. + </p> + <p> + He confessed to himself that he was reckless. The transactions of the past + few days had left him at the edge of the abyss; he recognised his peril, + but could not see beyond his own impulses. + </p> + <p> + "I believe I'll do it," he was muttering to himself as he paused across + the street from their door. "Graydon ought to hear both sides of the + story." + </p> + <p> + He crossed the street with hesitating steps. His thin coat collar was + buttoned close about his neck; his gloveless hands were wet and cold from + the mist. As he stopped at the foot of the stone steps a man came hurrying + along, glancing at the house numbers as he approached. + </p> + <p> + "Do you know whether this is David Cable's house?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer saw that he was a young man and an eager one. + </p> + <p> + "I think it is." + </p> + <p> + The other bounded up the steps and rang the bell. When the servant opened + the door Bansemer heard the new arrival ask for Cable, adding that he was + from one of the newspapers, and that he must see him at once. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer stood stark and dumb at the foot of the steps. The whole + situation had rushed upon him like an avalanche. Harbert had filed his + charges and the hasty visit of the reporter proved that David Cable was an + instrument in them. The blood surged to his head; he staggered under the + shock of increased rage. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon is against me! They've won him over! Open the door, damn you! I + want my son!" He shouted the demand in the face of the startled servant as + he pushed rudely past him. + </p> + <p> + "You stay here, young fellow, and you'll hear a story that will fill a + whole paper. I am James Bansemer. Where is Cable? You!" to the servant. + </p> + <p> + "Sh!" cried the frightened servant, recognising him. "Mrs. Cable is + resting, sir." + </p> + <p> + "What are you doing here?" Bansemer demanded of the reporter, exerting all + his crafty resourcefulness in the effort to calm himself. + </p> + <p> + "Cable has been elected president of the—-" began the young man just + as Cable himself started down the stairway. + </p> + <p> + "Cable, where is my son?" demanded Bansemer loudly, starting toward the + steps. He had not removed his hat and was, indeed, an ominous figure. + Cable clutched the stair rail and glared down at him in amazement. Before + he could pull himself together sufficiently to reply, Graydon Bansemer + hurried past him and stared in alarm at the unexpected figure below. + </p> + <p> + "What's the matter, dad?" he cried. "What has happened?" + </p> + <p> + "Aha? You think something could have happened, eh? Damn all of their + souls, you shan't be taken in by them. Come down here, boy!" + </p> + <p> + "Father, are you crazy?" gasped Graydon, rushing down the stairs. + </p> + <p> + "Get him away from here, Graydon, for God's sake," exclaimed Cable. "Take + him away! He's your father, but if he stays in this house a minute longer + I'll kill him!" + </p> + <p> + The man from the newspaper was shrewd enough to withdraw into a less + exposed spot. He saw a great "beat" in prospect. + </p> + <p> + Graydon stopped as if stunned by a blow. Bobby Rigby came running to the + head of the stairs, followed by Jane and another young woman. James + Bansemer could not have been expected to know it, but Rigby and Miss Clegg + had come to tell these friends that they were to be married in December. + </p> + <p> + "Kill me, eh? Not if you can't do a better job than you did the other + night. Here, you reporter, ask Mr. Cable to explain the mystery of that + affair on the lake front. Oh, I know all about it! You've started in to + ruin me, but I'll be in on it myself. We'll have a general cleaning up." + </p> + <p> + "Father! What are you talking about?" cried Graydon, aghast. + </p> + <p> + "They haven't told you about the lake front, eh? I should think not! See + him cringe!" + </p> + <p> + Cable had indeed fallen back against the wall, halfway up the steps, white + and trembling. His eyes were raised, and he was the first to see Mrs. + Cable as she came from her room. + </p> + <p> + "Go back!" he whispered hoarsely to her. She reached the banister and + leaned over, her eyes filling with terror after a swift glance at Jane. + </p> + <p> + "Take Jane away," she murmured, realising that the blow was to fall. + </p> + <p> + "I'll stop his infernal tongue!" shouted Cable, leaping down the steps, + his eyes blazing. James Bansemer laughed as he braced himself for the + shock. They did not come together, for Graydon threw his big frame in the + path of the assailant. For an instant there was a frightful uproar. Rigby + and the servant rushed to the young man's assistance. The women were + screaming with terror, the men were shouting and there was a. violent + struggle which played havoc in the hallway. + </p> + <p> + "Call the police!" shouted Rigby. + </p> + <p> + "You infernal traitor!" hissed James Bansemer. "You claim to be Graydon's + friend, and yet you are the one who has led the plot to ruin me." + </p> + <p> + "What does it all mean?" cried Graydon, holding; the shaking Cable + tightly. + </p> + <p> + There was a moment of intense silence, except for the heavy breathing of + the men. Graydon was staring wide-eyed at his father. He saw the cruel, + sardonic smile spread over his face and shuddered. + </p> + <p> + "I've simply come to take you out of the clutches of these people. I've + waited to see if that scheming woman, up there would tell you of her own + accord. She hasn't told you; so I will. You cannot marry that girl, for + your haughty Jane Cable is a child of shame, picked up on a doorstep, cast + off by the woman who conceived her!" + </p> + <p> + The crash had come. The heartless accuser stood like a tragic player in + the centre of his stage, pouring out his poison without a touch of pity + for the stricken girl who, after the first thrill of indignation and + horror, had shrunk back into her mother's arms, bewildered. + </p> + <p> + "Call the police, if you like," laughed Bansemer, at the end of his + tirade. "It isn't a criminal offence to tell the truth. It will sound just + as well in court, Mr. Rigby." + </p> + <p> + "Jane, Jane," Mrs Cable was murmuring, "I might have saved you all this, + but I couldn't—oh, I couldn't pay the price." + </p> + <p> + "You snake!" groaned Cable, weak and hoarse with rage. "Jane, he has lied! + There is not a word of truth in what he says. I swear it to you." + </p> + <p> + "Ho, ho! By Heaven, she hasn't told you, after all!" cried Bansemer. "You + still think she is yours!" + </p> + <p> + "Father!" exclaimed Graydon, standing straight before the other. David + Cable had dropped limply into a chair, his hand to his heart. "I won't + stand by and hear you any longer. Take back what you've said about her, + or, damn you, I'll forget that you are my father and—-" + </p> + <p> + "Graydon!" exclaimed Bansemer, falling back, his expression changing like + a flash. The smile of triumph left his face and his lip twitched. "You + forget I—I am doing this for your sake. My God, boy, you don't + understand. Don't turn from me to them. They have—-" + </p> + <p> + "That's enough, father! Don't say another word! You've talked like a + madman. See! Look what you've done! Oh, Jane!" he caught sight of the girl + on the landing and rushed up to her. + </p> + <p> + "Is it true, Graydon—is it true?" she wailed, beating her hands upon + his arm. + </p> + <p> + "No! It can't be true! He's gone mad, dearest." + </p> + <p> + "Is it true, mother? Tell me, tell me!" + </p> + <p> + Frances Cable's white lips moved stiffly, but no sound came forth. Her + eyes spoke the truth, however. The girl sank limp and helpless in + Graydon's arms and knew no more. At the foot of the steps Rigby was + pointing his trembling finger at James Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + "You'll pay for this to-morrow!" he was saying. "Your day has come! You + cutthroat! You blackmailer!" + </p> + <p> + "Graydon!" called the father. "Come, let us go home. Come, boy!" + </p> + <p> + "Not now—not now," answered the son hoarsely. "I'll—I'll try + to come home to-night, father. I'm not sure that I can. My place is here—with + her." + </p> + <p> + Without a word James Bansemer turned and rushed out into the street, tears + of rage and disappointment in his eyes. He had not expected the gall. + Until the break of day he sat in his chill room waiting for the rasp of + his son's night key—but Graydon did not come home. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX — FATHER AND SON + </h2> + <p> + Graydon sat with his chin in his hands, dull, stricken, crushed. He had + heard the story of his father's baseness from Frances Cable, and he had + been told the true story of Jane; from Rigby he learned of the vile + transactions in which his father had dealt. At first, he could scarcely + believe his own ears, but in the end lie saw that but—half the truth + could be told. + </p> + <p> + It was past midnight when he left David Cable's, not to go to his own + home, but to that of Elias Droom. He knew now that the newspapers would + devote columns to the "sensation in high life"; he knew that Jane would + suffer agonies untold, but he would not blame his father for that; he knew + that arrest and disgrace hung over the tall grey man who had shown his + true and amazing side at last; he knew that shame and humiliation were to + be his own share in the division. Down somewhere in his aching heart he + nourished the hope that Elias Droom could ease the pain of these wretched + disclosures. + </p> + <p> + As he traversed the dark streets across town he was vaguely wondering + whether Jane's eyes would ever lose the pained, hopeless expression he had + last seen in them. He wondered whether she would retract her avowal that + she could not be his wife with the shame upon her; he rejoiced in her + tearless, lifeless promise to hold him in no fault for what had happened. + </p> + <p> + Distressed and miserable, he spent the remainder of the night in Elias + Droom's squalid rooms, sitting before the little stove which his host + replenished from time to time during the weary hours. + </p> + <p> + Droom answered his questions with a direct tenderness that surprised even + himself. He kept much to himself, however, and advised the young man to + reserve judgment until after he had heard his father's side of the story. + </p> + <p> + "I've been loyal to James Bansemer, Graydon, and I'll still be loyal to + him. He's not done right by other people, but he has tried to do right by + you." + </p> + <p> + "If he wanted to do right by me, why did he not tell me of Jane's + misfortune?" exclaimed the young man bitterly. + </p> + <p> + "Because he really wanted you to marry her. She was born wrong, but + anybody can see she is without a flaw. That's the truth, Graydon. Your + father was wrong in his desire to make capital of it in connection with + Mrs. Cable. I told him so. I don't believe he knew just what he was doing. + He was so used to success, you see. Can't you go to sleep, boy? You need + to." + </p> + <p> + "God, no!" + </p> + <p> + "I'd advise you to go home and talk it over with your father." + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow will be time enough. After the newspapers are out. I can't bear + to think of the disgrace, Harbert has been interviewed, they say. He's + told everything." + </p> + <p> + "Talk to your father to-night, my boy. There may be—may be warrants + to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + The young man dropped his head on his arm and burst into tears. Old Droom + puffed vigorously at his pipe, his eyes shifting and uncomfortable. Twice + he attempted to speak, and could not. In both instances he arose and poked + the fire. At last the young man's choking sobs grew less violent. Droom + cleared his throat with raucous emphasis, took his snaky gaze from a print + on the wall representing "Dawn," and spoke: + </p> + <p> + "You wouldn't think it to look at me now—or any other time, for that + matter—but I loved a woman once. A long time ago. She never knew it. + I didn't expect her to love me. How could I? Don't cry, Graydon. You're + not like I was. The girl you love loves you. Cheer up. If I were you I'd + go ahead and make her my wife. She's good enough, I'll swear." + </p> + <p> + "She says she can't marry me. Good Heaven, Elias, you don't know what a + blow it was to her. It almost killed her. And my own father—oh, it + was terrible!" + </p> + <p> + Elias Droom did not tell him—nor had he ever told anyone but himself—that + the woman he loved was the boy's mother. He loved her before and after she + married James Bansemer. He never had faltered in his love and reverence + for her. + </p> + <p> + Graydon waited in his rooms until the old man returned with the morning + papers. As Droom placed them on the table beside him, he grinned + cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + "Big headlines, eh? But these are not a circumstance to what they will be. + These articles deal only with the great mystery concerning the birth of + one of the 'most beautiful and popular young women in Chicago.' Wait—wait + until the Bansemer smash comes to reinforce the story! Fine reading, eh!" + </p> + <p> + "Don't, Elias, for Heaven's sake, don't!" cried the young man. "Have you + no soft spot in your heart? God, I believe you enjoy all this. Look! Look + what it says about her! The whole shameful story of that scene last night! + There was a reporter there when it happened." + </p> + <p> + Together they read the papers. Their comments varied. The young man + writhed and groaned under the revelations that were going to the public; + the old clerk chuckled and philosophised. + </p> + <p> + Every one of these papers prophesied other and more sensational + developments before the day was over. It promised to be war to the knife + between David Cable, president of the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic, and + the man Bansemer. In each interview with Cable he was quoted as saying + emphatically that the adoption of Jane had been made with his knowledge + and consent. The supposed daughter was the only one to whom the startling + revelations were a surprise. There also was mention of the fact that the + young woman had immediately broken her engagement with James Bansemer's + son. There were pictures of the leading characters in the drama. + </p> + <p> + "I can't stay in Chicago after all this," exclaimed Graydon, springing to + his feet, his hands clenched in despair. "To be pointed out and talked + about! To be pitied and scorned! To see the degradation of my own father! + I'll go—anywhere, just so it is away from Chicago." + </p> + <p> + Droom forgot his desire to scoff. His sardonic smile dwindled into a + ludicrously, pathetic look of dismay. He begged the young man to think + twice before he did anything "foolish." "In any event," he implored, "let + me get you some breakfast, or at least, a cup of coffee." + </p> + <p> + In the end he helped Graydon into his coat and glided off down Wells + Street after him. It was seven o'clock, and every corner newsstand + glowered back at them with black frowns as they looked at the piles of + papers. Two rough-looking men walking ahead of them were discussing the + sensation in a lewd, brutal way. A saloon-keeper shouted to them: "It + don't always happen over on de West Side, does it?" + </p> + <p> + Graydon went to the office of Clegg, Groll & Davidson early and + arranged his affairs so that they could be taken up at once by another; + and then, avoiding his fellow-workers as much as possible, presented + himself to Mr. Clegg at ten o'clock. Without hesitation he announced his + intention to give up his place in the office. All argument put forth by + his old friend and employer went for naught. The cause of his action was + not discussed, but it was understood. + </p> + <p> + "If you ever want to come back to us, Graydon, we will welcome you with + open arms. It isn't as bad as you think." + </p> + <p> + "You don't understand, Mr. Clegg," was all that Graydon could say. + </p> + <p> + Then he hurried off to face his father. + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer, haggard from loss of sleep and from fury over the + alienation of his son, together with the fear of what the day might bring, + was pacing the floor of his private office. Droom had eased his mind but + little in regard to his son. When he heard Graydon's voice in the outer + room, his face brightened and he took several quick steps toward the door. + He checked himself suddenly with the remembrance that his son had turned + against him the night before, and his face hardened. + </p> + <p> + Graydon found him standing stern and unfriendly before the steam radiator + in the darkest corner of the room, his hands behind his back. The young + man plumped down heavily in his father's desk chair. + </p> + <p> + "Why didn't you come home last night?" demanded the other. + </p> + <p> + "I hated the thought of it," he answered dejectedly. + </p> + <p> + "You've listened to their side of the story. You're a splendid son, you + are!" sneered the father. + </p> + <p> + "There is nothing base and unprincipled in their side of the story. They + have tried to shield her; they have never harmed her. But you! Why, + father, you've blighted her life forever. They were going to tell her in a + day or so, and they could have made it easy for her. Not like this! Why, + in Heaven's name, did you strike her like that? She's—she's the talk + of the town. She's ostracised, that's what she is, and she's the best girl + that ever lived." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, you think they would have told her, eh? No! They would have let her + marry—-" + </p> + <p> + "Well, and what was your position? Why were you so considerate up to last + night? If you knew, why did you let me go on so blindly? The truth is, + father, if you must have it, you have acted like a damned scoundrel." + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer glared at his son with murder in his eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't have believed the other things they say of you if I hadn't + this to break down my faith. I heard this with my own ears. It was too + contemptible to forget in a lifetime. I did not come here to discuss it + with you. The thing is done. I came here to tell you that I am going to + leave Chicago. You WON'T go, so I will." Bansemer still glared at him, but + there was amazement mingling with rage in his eyes. "I can't look a soul + in the face. I am ashamed to meet the Cables. Good Lord, I'm afraid even + to think of Jane." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose you-you would marry her, like a fool, even now," muttered the + father. + </p> + <p> + "Marry her? Of course I would. I love her more than ever. I'd give my life + for her; I'd give my soul to ease the pain you have thrust upon her. But + it's over between us. Don't let our affairs worry you. She has ended it. I + don't blame her. How could she marry your son? Why, do you know that I + have hoped that I might not be your son, after all? I almost prayed that + my mother might have loved someone else instead of you. God, I'd like the + pain of knowing that." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer leaned heavily against the radiator, gasping for breath. Then he + staggered to the couch and dropped upon it, moaning. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon, Graydon! Don't say that! Don't! I'll make everything right. I'll + try to undo it all! My boy, you are the only thing on earth I love. I've + been heartless to all the rest of the world, but I love you. Don't turn + against me." + </p> + <p> + The son stood looking at him in dull wonder. His heart was touched. He had + not thought that this stern man could weep; he began to see the misery + that was breaking him. + </p> + <p> + "Dad, don't do that," he said, starting toward him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry + for you." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer leaped to his feet, his mood changing like a flash. + </p> + <p> + "I don't want your pity. I want your love and loyalty. I didn't mean to be + weak. Will you leave Chicago with me? I must go. We'll go at once—anywhere, + only together. We can escape if we start now. Come!" + </p> + <p> + "I won't go that way!" exclaimed Graydon. "Not like a criminal." + </p> + <p> + "No? You won't?" There was no answer. "Then, there's nothing more to say. + Go! Leave me alone. I had prayed that you might not have been like this. + Go! I have important business to attend to at once." He cast his gaze + toward the drawer in which the pistol lay. "I don't expect to see you + again. Take this message to the Cables. Say that I am the only living soul + who knows the names of that girl's father and mother. God alone can drag + them from me." + </p> + <p> + Graydon was silent, stunned, bewildered. His father was trembling before + him, and he opened his lips to utter the question that meant so much if + the answer came. + </p> + <p> + "Don't ask me!" cried Bansemer. "You would be the last I'd tell. Marry + her, and be dammed!" + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe you know," cried Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, you think I'll tell you?" triumphantly. + </p> + <p> + "I don't want to know." He sat down, his moody gaze upon his father. + Neither spoke for many minutes. Neither had the courage. James Bansemer + finally started up with a quick look at the door. Droom was speaking to + someone in the outer office. + </p> + <p> + "Go now," he said harshly; "I want to be alone." + </p> + <p> + "Father, are you—are you afraid of these charges?" His father + laughed shortly and extended his hand to the young man. + </p> + <p> + "Don't worry about me. They can't down James Bansemer. You may leave + Chicago; I'll stay! Goodbye, Graydon!" + </p> + <p> + "Good-bye, dad!" + </p> + <p> + They shook hands without flinching and the young man left the room. On the + threshold the father called after him: + </p> + <p> + "Where do you expect to go?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't know!" + </p> + <p> + Droom was talking to a youth who held a notebook in his hand and who + appeared frightened and embarrassed. Graydon shook hands with the old man. + Droom followed him into the hall. + </p> + <p> + "If you ever need a friend, Graydon," he said in a low voice, "call on me. + If I'm not in jail, I'll help you." + </p> + <p> + Half an hour later Graydon rang the Cables' doorbell. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Jane is not seeing anyone to-day, sir," said the servant. + </p> + <p> + "Say that I must see her," protested the young man, "I'm going away + to-night." + </p> + <p> + "So is she, sir." + </p> + <p> + "Where?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't know, sir. California, more than likely. Mrs. Cable and she will + be gone for some time." + </p> + <p> + "Did she tell you not to admit me?" he asked, white-faced and calm. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir. NOBODY, sir." + </p> + <p> + He turned down the steps and walked away. + </p> + <p> + That afternoon he enlisted, and the following morning was going westward + with a party of recruits, bound eventually for service with the Regulars + in the Philippines. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI — IN THE PHILIPPINES + </h2> + <p> + David Cable lost no time in hurrying away from Chicago with his wife and + Jane. They were whisked westward in his private car on the second day + after the Bansemer exposure. Broken-spirited, Jane acquiesced in all their + plans; she seemed as one in a stupor, comprehending, yet unresponsive to + the pain that enveloped her. + </p> + <p> + "I can't see anyone that I know here," she said listlessly. "Oh, the + thought of what they are saying!" + </p> + <p> + They did not tell her that Graydon had enlisted as a private soldier in + the United States Army; Jane only knew that she loved him and that the bar + sinister existed. + </p> + <p> + Cable's devotion to her was beautiful. He could not have been more tender + had she been his own daughter, instead of his wife's imposition. + </p> + <p> + Jane was ill in Pasadena for many weeks. Her depressed condition made her + recovery doubtful. It was plain to two persons, at least, that she did not + care whether she lived or died. The physicians were puzzled, but no + explanation was offered by the Cables. It was not until certain Chicago + sojourners generously spread the news, that the cause of her breakdown + became apparent to the good doctors. Before many days, the girl who sat, + wan and distrait, upon the flower-shaded piazza was an object of curiosity + to fashionable Pasadena. As soon as she was strong enough to endure the + trip, the hunted trio forsook Pasadena and fled northward. + </p> + <p> + San Francisco afforded relief in privacy. Jane's spirits began to revive. + There had not been, nor was there ever to be, any mention of that terrible + night and its revelations. What she may have felt and suffered in secret + could only be conjectured by those who loved her. Bansemer's name was + never uttered. His fate remained unknown to her. The far-away, unhappy + look in her eyes proved to them that Graydon was never out of her + thoughts. + </p> + <p> + David Cable was in Chicago when Mrs. Cable received word from her sister, + once Kate Coleman, that she soon would reach San Francisco with her + husband, bound for the Philippines. Kate was the wife of a West Pointer + who had achieved the rank of colonel in the volunteers, by virtue of + political necessity. His regiment had been ordered to the islands, and she + was accompanying him with their daughter, a girl of sixteen. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Harbin had seen pleasant service at the Eastern posts where his + wife had attained a certain kind of social distinction in the army fast + set. She was not especially enamoured of the prospect ahead of her in the + Philippines; but the new colonel was a strict disciplinarian on and off + the field. He expected to be a brigadier-general if fortune and + favouritism supported him long enough. Mrs. Harbin could never be anything + more than a private in the ranks, so far as his estimation of distinction + was concerned. His daughter Ethel had, by means of no uncertain + favouritism, advanced a few points ahead of her mother, and might have + ranked as sergeant in the family corps. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Harbin played cards, drank highballs, flirted with the younger + officers, got talked about with pleasing emphasis, and was as happy as any + subordinate could be. They had not even thought of such a thing as + divorce, and the whole army wondered and expressed disgust. The army's + appetite for scandal is surpassed only by its bravery in war. It is even + hinted that the latter is welcomed as a loophole for the former. War + brings peace. + </p> + <p> + The arrival of the Harbins and a staff of gay young cadets fresh from the + banks of the Hudson put new life into the recluses. The regiment was to + remain at the Presidio for several weeks before sailing. One of the + lieutenants was a Chicago boy and an acquaintance of Graydon Bansmer. It + was from him that Jane learned that her sweetheart was a soldier in the + service, doubtless now in Luzon. + </p> + <p> + A week before the sailing of Colonel Harbin's transport Jane suddenly + announced that she had but one desire on earth, and that was to go to + Manila with her aunt. She did not present her plea with the usual claim + that she wanted to be of service to her country; she was not asking to go + out as a heroine of the ordinary type; instead, she simply announced that + she wanted to go as a temporary member of Colonel Harbin's family, to + endure their hardships and to enjoy their enthusiasms. Mrs. Cable + recognised the true motive, however. + </p> + <p> + Her pleadings were in vain. The Harbins had lucklessly urged Jane to join + them. Telegrams flew back and forth across the continent and David Cable + came on to present his feeble objections. + </p> + <p> + When the great transport sailed away, Jane Cable was one of her + passengers, the ward of the regiment. + </p> + <p> + "It's just for a little while, dad," she said wistfully at the dock. "A + few months. I'll think of you every minute I'm away." + </p> + <p> + The blood of the man in the service was calling to her. The ocean was + between them; the longing to be near him, to tread the same soil, had + conquered in the eternal battle of love. After all, no matter how the end + was attained, she was a creature of life, brought into the world to love + and to be loved. She put the past behind her and began to build a new + future—a future in which the adoration of Graydon Bansemer was the + foundation. The hope that makes all human averages was at the work of + reconstruction; youth was the builder. The months of destruction had not + left a hopeless ruin as the heritage of dead impulses. + </p> + <p> + The world grew brighter as the ship forged westward. Each day sent warmer + blood into her veins and a deeper light into her eyes. The new life was + not inspired by the longing to be his wife, but to see him again and to + comfort him. She would be no man's wife. + </p> + <p> + At last, one hot, soft morning in early July, the great transport slipped + past Corregidor and turned its nose across Manila bay, past Cavite, toward + the anchorage which ended the long voyage. The city of Manila lay + stretched out before them—Manila, the new American capital. + </p> + <p> + The troops were marched off to quarters and the Harbins, with Jane Cable, + repaired at once to the Oriente, where they were to live prior to taking a + house in Ermita or San Miguel. The campaign was not being pushed + vigorously at this time; it was the rainy season. Desultory fighting was + going on between the troops and the insurgents; there were numerous + scouting and exploring expeditions into the enemy's country. The famous + round robin of the correspondents had been sent to the United States by + this time, taking severely to task the army censorship which prevented the + real condition of affairs from reaching the deluded public. The situation + was much worse on the island of Luzon than anyone at home could have + imagined. But little truth escaped the vigilant wisdom of the + arbitrarians. It was not until later on, however, that the effects of the + round robin were felt in headquarters at Manila; when that time came the + Ayuntamiento in the walled city was not a pleasant retreat for the + newspaper men who had dared. + </p> + <p> + A week elapsed before Jane could find the opportunity to make inquiries + concerning the whereabouts of Graydon Bansemer. Her thoughts had been of + nothing else; her eagerness had been tempered by the diffidence of the + over-zealous. She and pretty Ethel Harbin had made life endurable for the + gay young officers who came over on the ship; the pretty wives of certain + captains and lieutenants had small scope for their blandishments at close + range. Flirtations were hard to manage in space so small. The two girls + were therefore in a state of siege most of the time. The abject following + fell away perceptibly when the broader field of action on shore gave their + married sisters a chance to manoeuvre with some degree of security. A + faithful few remained in train, however. Ethel Harbin, like the ingenue in + the play, had each finger clumsily but tightly wrapped with a breathing + uniform of blue. It must be admitted in shame, however, that she changed + the bandages often and without conscience or ceremony. + </p> + <p> + Jane's admirers were in love with her. She was not the sort to inspire + idle fancies—either in married or unmarried men. In any event, it + looked a long time to these chaps before they could get back to the + States, and she was worth while. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps her most, devoted admirer was Lieutenant Bray. Good-looking and + coming from an excellent Southern family, he was a great favourite with + all. Jane liked him better than any of the rest; she would have liked him + still better had he been able to resist a tendency to boast of the stock + from which he had sprung. The knowledge of her disadvantages in life, the + contrast between their respective positions, all tended to emphasise the + irony of fate; and she often found herself wondering how this sprig of + true aristocracy would conduct himself if he discovered that, after all, + she was only a FOUNDLING. + </p> + <p> + It was Lieutenant Bray who made inquiries at general headquarters and + found, after considerable trouble, that Graydon Bansemer's company was in + the north, subject to the requirements of Young, chief of scouts. Irksome + were the lazy summer months for Jane. She tired of the attentions of men; + she sickened with longing and anxiety. Day after day she prayed that the + troops in the north might be relieved; she watched for the order that + would call for their return from the wet lands above. Sickness was + prevalent among the fighting corps; the wet season had undermined the + health of many. Constant news came down to Manila of the minor + engagements, and she looked at every report for news of Graydon. Colonel + Harbin, occasionally, had private advices from the north. She heard of + Graydon's bravery more than once and glowed with pride. Down in her tired, + anxious heart she was wondering if it were possible for her to go to the + front in any capacity. + </p> + <p> + At last, with October, came the waning of the rainy season. November + brought active fighting. A general movement of the troops was directed + against Aguinaldo. In his prime, as a leader, he controlled the north, and + his capture was imperative. Lawton and Young began operations on the + right; McArthur on the centre; with Wheaton pushing forward on the extreme + left. The insurgents fell back from Tarlac. There were many big fights at + San Jacinto and other places now famous in history. + </p> + <p> + The Red Cross society held forth at Malolos, reaching gradually into the + country north. Sick and wounded men came into the hospitals daily and in + larger numbers than one would have supposed. The villages or barrios all + along the line of advance saw their convents turned into hospitals; as + fast as possible the nurses were hurried up to them. Men and women in this + noble service did heroic, faithful work both for the white and the brown + men who went down. From the field hospitals the men were taken to the + convents and treated until they were able to be moved to Manila. + </p> + <p> + Further north fled Aguinaldo and the Filipinos. Wheaton was ordered to cut + off his retreat; Young was killed; Cunningham took charge of the scouts + who scoured the country. Parties of ten or fifteen picked men fell out in + advance of the main body, seeking to develop the enemy and his defences. + These brave fellows attracted the hidden fire of ambush, exposed + themselves to all the treacheries of warfare, and afterwards were mustered + out with a kind word from the department. They were the men who tested the + territory. It was with one of these scouting parties that Graydon Bansemer + ventured far into the enemy's country early in November. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII — THE CHASE OF PILAR + </h2> + <p> + Gregorio Del Pilar, the picturesque Filipino leader, about whom so much + has been written in praise, by the war correspondents, was leading his men + back into the dangerfields, inviting the American pursuers into every trap + which his crafty brain could devise. History tells of Pilar's call to + arms. He was attending a great ball in Dagupan, given in honour of his + approaching nuptials. In the midst of the festivities a messenger dashed + in with the news that the American troops were closing in on Tarlac, the + insurgents' seat of government. Pilar rushed from the ballroom and made + his way to the head of his command. His parting from the bride-to-be is + pathetically described by many of the writers who were in the islands at + the time. There was no more daring, romantic character in all the + Philippines than young Pilar. Educated, refined, clever and attractive, he + was a favourite with all, admired by friend and foe alike. + </p> + <p> + Captain Groce, with a company of infantry, was following him closely and + doggedly into the fastnesses far to the north. Village after village was + devastated by the white troops, always a few hours after the wily Pilar + had evacuated. Amigos laughed in their deceptive sleeves at the Americans + and misdirected them with impunity. In eight cases out of ten the amigo + wore arms underneath his garment of friendship and slew in the dark + whenever opportunity arose. Graydon Bansemer was one of this doughty, + eager company which blazed the way into the hills. Close behind came the + bigger and stronger forces, with guns and horse, and the hospital corps. + It was the hunt of death for Aguinaldo and Pilar. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after daybreak, one morning, a slim, black figure crept out from + among the trees and gave the countersign to the challenging sentry. He was + soon on his way to the Captain's headquarters bearing news of importance. + The brown-skinned scout had travelled all night over a hazardous route, + and he was more than welcome. He brought news that Pilar's men were off to + the east and the north, well intrenched and prepared to fall upon the + Americans when they advanced blindly into the trap laid for them. The + newspaper men pricked up their ears, and at once looked to a box of + carrier pigeons which formed a most important part of their pilgrimage. A + fight was at hand, doubtless an important meeting of the clashing forces. + The whole army was waiting for intelligence of Pilar—waiting with + little less anxiety than that which attached itself to the pursuit of + Aguinaldo. + </p> + <p> + Captain Groce ordered Sergeant Gonnell with a picked squad to reconnoitre. + They scurried off in advance of the company with instructions to locate + the elusive enemy, and open up the secret of his position. Supposedly, + Pilar was ten miles off among the rocky foothills which guarded the pass + through the mountains. As usual, Bansemer was one of the scouts. He + snatched his rations with the others and went forth eagerly to court the + danger and the excitement that was promised. For days they had had no + fighting worthy the name. Amigos everywhere, villages peopled only by + women and children, treacherous peacefulness on every side; this had been + their encounter: an occasional rifle shot from the rice fields, a crackle + of guns far ahead, a prisoner or two who had not been quick enough in + transforming himself from combatant to friend, that was all. Now, there + seemed to be real fighting ahead. + </p> + <p> + Pilar was known to have many men—good soldiers all of them. The + native scout gave close and accurate directions as to his position; it + remained for Connell's men to draw him out, if possible. Captain Groce and + the remainder of his eager company did not march until long after the + scouts were on their precarious way. + </p> + <p> + Two hours after the party of eleven left the village, a Mauser bullet from + the clump of trees far to the right cut through the hat of one of the + scouts who was some distance in advance of his fellows. As he saw the + scout stoop to pick up his hat, Rogers turned to the man nearest him and + remarked: + </p> + <p> + "They'll get him sure as shootin' some day if he hikes along in that damn + fool way." + </p> + <p> + It was no new experience for the scouts to find the quarry gone when they + reached the place where they expected to find him. Pilar's own scouts had + found that the ambuscade was destined to fail of its purpose, and the wily + leader drew back into the more accessible country. The scouting party did + not come in sight of the little brown soldiers. The occasional crack of a + Mauser broke the silence of the advance, keeping the Americans in active + touch with the dangers that surrounded them. + </p> + <p> + They found the deserted trenches and signs of recent occupation. The + insurgents had been gone from the position less than two hours. Treachery + faced the little squad of Americans on every side, but they did not + falter. Connell scattered his men and they stole carefully into the + fastnesses, finding on all sides evidences of hasty departure. Before noon + they were far up in the hills, everywhere met by the physical assurance + that the enemy was not far ahead of them. Behind them came Captain Groce + and his men and the two correspondents. + </p> + <p> + Amigos along the mountain road gave information that was not worth having. + A deserted village showed signs of the passage and finally there was proof + ahead that Pilar had stopped to give battle. He had reached his vantage + ground. Connell and his men drew back and waited. Nightfall came and with + it the spiteful crack of the Mauser rifle. A brawny trooper toppled over + with a great hole in his head. Pilar's pickets could see like cats in the + night. The native scout reported that the big village of Concepcion was + not far ahead; Pilar's men were making their stand before this rather + important stronghold. + </p> + <p> + "We'll get a scrap that is a scrap, boys," said Connell, exultingly. + "These fellows are going to put up a fight, at last. They're like bees up + yonder. We've got to fall back on the company; if we don't, they'll chew + us up before the little captain can get to us." + </p> + <p> + Too well did the men know the bellicose temperament of the big Irishman to + think of grumbling at such a command; yet, it was with a certain + reluctance which invariably accompanies a backward step that the men + retired to meet the advancing company. + </p> + <p> + Young Bansemer in his khaki uniform was not the immaculate, debonnaire man + of the drawing-room. Service, though short, had been hard and gruelling. + His face was even handsomer with its rugged lines and set features. He was + thinner and browner; his eyes were clearer and a darker grey; his hair + seemed thicker and fairer than before; his figure more erect and sinewy. + The wistful look in his eyes seemed to betray hunger for action; his + ever-ready eagerness to be on the move told of his strength and of his + weakness. He had the lean, active bearing of the panther and the restless + daring of that lithe animal. + </p> + <p> + No man in the company had stood fire as valiantly as he. He courted the + whiz of the bullet, scoffed at the rigours of the march, and instinctively + was a good shot with the rifle. He bore no grudge against the department + at home; he had no grievance. + </p> + <p> + The officers recognised in him a man of parts, a man of station far above + the position which he had chosen in the army. He was a source of mystery + to the men of his own rank in the line-the ploughboys, the teamsters, the + roustabouts, and the ne'erdowells who had gone into the army from choice + or discretion. At first they had called him the "dude," and had laughed at + his white hands and clean jaws. His indifference to their taunts annoyed + them. One day he knocked down the biggest bully of the lot and walked away + without even waiting to see whether he could arise after the blow. He + simply glared at the next man who chaffed. It was enough. The company held + him in a new respect that forbade the reporting of the incident to the + officer of the day. + </p> + <p> + Every night before he lay down to sleep, In the rice field or the barrios, + he took from his pocket a leather case and gazed at the small portrait it + sheltered. No one had been permitted to see him in his devotions, for that + was what he called these sacred moments. His lean face, full of fierce + energy all day long, softened as his eyes devoured the dainty miniature. + </p> + <p> + On meeting their company, Connell reported the situation ahead, to his + superior officer; orders were given for the men to bivouac for the night + in a small village close at hand. That evening Bansemer was discovered + leaning against the corner of a nipa shack some distance from his + comrades, smoking silently while they talked and made merry behind him. He + seldom joined in the ribald but suppressed conversations of the men. + </p> + <p> + "Have you fellows ever noticed that he don't get any letters from the + States-never seems to expect any?" asked Johnny Rogers, the one-time + foundry man, who sat watching him. Graydon had not been the subject of + conversation, but all knew whom Johnny meant by "he." + </p> + <p> + "I've noticed that, too," said Joe Adams. + </p> + <p> + "I got him sized up all right," said one of the Spurrier boys. "His people + don't know where he's at. That feller's a swell at home an' he's had to + skip out. I'll bet my breakfast his name ain't Bansemer. An' if his people + don't know where he's at, how in thunder can they write to him? See what I + mean?" + </p> + <p> + "Think he's a bank cashier?" asked Sim Relander. + </p> + <p> + "Naw; it ain't money, it's some girl. I know these swell guys," said + Rogers. "You're right about his people not knowin' where to write. He's a + mystery, that feller is. I'll tell what I think: his folks have fired him + out—won't recognise him. See? Disgraced 'em, an' all that. That's + why he ain't expectin' nothin' from home. He knows he won't get it." + </p> + <p> + "I feel kind o' sorry for a feller like that," mused Tom Reagan. "I had a + brother that had to skip once." + </p> + <p> + "That so? Did he ever come back?" + </p> + <p> + "I s'd say not. He ducked for good. Mother had a letter from him couple o' + months before I left home. He was in Milwaukee." + </p> + <p> + "Aw, this Bansemer's not that sort. He's made o' different stuff. + Milwaukee? Holy Moses, it's only eighty mile from Chicago!" + </p> + <p> + "Gee, I'd like to have a glass o' the goods that made Milwaukee famous," + sighed Joe Adams. + </p> + <p> + "I'd like a keg," said Jim Spurrier, with a wistful look in his eyes. + </p> + <p> + "S'pose we'll ever see a glass o' beer again?" asked the other Spurrier, + solemnly. + </p> + <p> + "I'll bet Bansemer's wonderin' if he'll ever taste champagne again." + </p> + <p> + "Ask him, Johnny." + </p> + <p> + "Hey, Bansemer. I've got a riddle for you. What 'u'd you sooner have right + now than a bottle of champagne?" + </p> + <p> + Graydon turned and sauntered slowly over to the group. He paused for a + moment in passing, a broad smile on his face. + </p> + <p> + "A pail of beer," said he. + </p> + <p> + "Good fer you!" shouted two or three vociferously. He strode off to make + ready for bed. + </p> + <p> + "He's all right," exclaimed Sim Relander feelingly, as if that laconic + reply had been the only thing necessary to establish the young man's + social standing. + </p> + <p> + "That feller's been out here only four months, an' I'll bet they ain't any + ten men in the Philippines what's had as many clost calls as he's had," + said Johnny Rogers. "I was thinkin' about it to-day. He's had more narrow + escapes in tight places than—-" + </p> + <p> + "Well, the darned fool rushes right into 'em, don't he? He ain't got no + sense. Nobody ought to git out where he can be shot at when there ain't no + need. Take that blamed fool trick o' his'n there at Tarlac. When he went + back all alone after the papers that Cap Groce dropped. I'll bet he was + shot at two hundred times." + </p> + <p> + "Well, he didn't get hit, did he? If he gets hit good 'n' proper once he + won't be so keen about showin' off," growled one of the men. + </p> + <p> + "Depends on where he's hit. Then, there was that time when he dumb the + hill back yonder and turned the fire o' the gugus so's we could get up + into the pass. He makes me think o' Lawton. There's the boy for me. If we + had a few more generals like Lawton we'd put a crimp in these niggers so + quick it would look like a spasm." Having delivered himself of this safe + prophecy, Mr. Rogers glared about him for opposition. None forthcoming, he + proceeded, with a satisfied snort, to refill his pipe. + </p> + <p> + "Lawton's makin' history, and don't you forget it," observed Luke Hardy. + </p> + <p> + "He's from Indiana," piped up a homesick ploughboy from the Hoosier State. + </p> + <p> + "Then, it'll be a historical novel," said the gaunt young recruit from + Grand Rapids. He was a cynic who had tried newspaper work, and who still + maintained that the generals did not have as much intelligence as the + privates. + </p> + <p> + "I'll never forget Bansemer when he first enlisted," reflected Joe Adams. + "He wanted to go out for a cold plunge and a morning stroll, and then + asked the sergeant where he could get a good riding horse. He's not so + keen about strolls these days." + </p> + <p> + "He don't turn up his nose at things like he used to, either." + </p> + <p> + "I don't see why the devil he keeps so clean," grumbled Adams. "I can't." + </p> + <p> + "I'll bet one thing," mused Rogers. "He'll be a captain or something + before this scrap is over." + </p> + <p> + "He'll be a corpse, that's what he'll be." + </p> + <p> + "It's my opinion he'd just as lief be shot as not," said Relander. "The + only trouble is that these measly niggers can't hit anything they shoot + at. If the darned fools would only try to miss him, they'd get him sure. + The devil and Tom Walker—what's that?" + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII — THE FIGHT IN THE CONVENT + </h2> + <h3> + "Halt! Who goes there!" + </h3> + <p> + A shot rang out in the stillness of the night; it was answered at once by + another closer in. More shots followed, gradually increasing to a + fusillade as the scouts and pickets came running back. Men sprang up from + the ground, but even as they did so another volley reached them, and three + men dropped with a groan and lay still. The alarm sounded clear from the + bugle and echoed back from the surrounding hills. A sharp command came + from the throat of the sergeant; the company seized the stacked rifles. + Captain Groce gave another order; the formation to repel attack was made + in an incredibly short space of time. There was no disorder; no confusion. + The little officer was as cool as if on dress parade. + </p> + <p> + "Steady, men! Wait until they're nearer!" They had not long to wait. From + all sides a horde of shouting, firing men were rushing on the little + square. "Steady, men!" was still his only command. + </p> + <p> + Then, when it seemed almost a physical impossibility to restrain their + itching fingers from pulling the triggers, the longed for word was given. + </p> + <p> + "Here they are! Now, then, boys, fire!" + </p> + <p> + Volley after volley rang out. The foremost of the enemy fell at their + feet. Hand to hand was the fighting; the bayonets lunged with deadly + effect, but seemed powerless to thrust the mass back on itself. Men shot, + hacked, stabbed and clubbed each other. It was a whirl of uplifting and + descending rifles and bolos. + </p> + <p> + Fierce oaths vied with the shrieks of the wounded for supremacy. The grunt + of men who slaughter; the gasps of the victims when the steel went home + were heard on all sides. At times the soldiers could not see on account of + the sweat and blood pouring from their faces; the very air was foul from + the steam from the living and the dead. They could not breathe; a sort of + vertigo overpowered them, and they only kept their feet by grappling with + the enemy. + </p> + <p> + To Bansemer, it seemed that all his life he had been doing nothing but + warding off and ring blows. Fighting side by side with Rogers, he saw, + with horror, that the soldier's rifle had been torn from his hands, and + that he had no weapon to defend himself; but before he could see just how + it happened, this individual combat had altered its aspect: Rogers had + grabbed a Filipino's gun and was doing the clubbing. With renewed zest + Bansemer finished with the bayonet his own assailant, and saw the man fall + on top of poor Adams and Relander. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly there was an exultant yell from the enemy. Instinctively Bansemer + knew that one side of the square had given way. Quickly turning, he rushed + to give his aid, and just in time caught the arm of a native about to + slash him with a huge knife. With the two gripped hands high in the air + struggling for mastery, the adversaries became separated a bit from the + rest of the chaotic mass of friend and foe, swaying out to one side of the + plaza, and under the walls of a convent. Bansemer was facing it; and just + at the moment that he felt his strength giving way and could see a grin of + triumph on the fiendish face, there carne a flash and a report, and his + adversary fell at his feet. Glancing up to ascertain who had fired the + shot that had saved his life, he thought he saw a figure disappearing from + one of the windows. The incident acted as an inspiration. Gathering + together a few men, he reached the Captain's side and communicated his + plan. The opportunity was not to be lost. Groce gave an order; Connell + repeated it. Then interpreting a temporary lull in the murderous struggle + as their vantage, the men with a cheer, and dragging the field piece, + broke for the building; and by bayoneting and clubbing the insurgents out + of the way accomplished the dash with slight loss. The soldiers hurled + themselves against the stoutly barred door; it fell with a crash. + </p> + <p> + Guards were stationed and all openings and windows manned. Singularly + enough, these defensive actions seemed at least, temporarily unnecessary, + for the watchers peering out of the windows reported that the dead alone + occupied the recent field of battle. Not a single Filipino was to be seen + on the plaza. + </p> + <p> + Every village has its convent or barrios. Generally speaking, their size + corresponds in a certain ratio with the population. But this particular + building was an exception. Dimly lighted, it gave the impression of + ranking in size with many of those in far larger villages Immediately the + thought came to the invaders that the church might have sheltered the + insurgent leaders. Aguinaldo or Filar might have directed the attack from + inside these walls. Orders were given to search every corner and crevice + to ferret out concealed foes. A rear window was open, proving that flight + could have been by that means of egress. Bansemer was almost positive that + the bullet which had killed his assailant had come from one of the upper + windows, but whether from friend or foe, was undeterminable. Was it + possible that he had been mistaken? Had his eyes been so blinded with the + smoke of battle that they had played him false? Were they not in a + cunningly planned trap of some kind? + </p> + <p> + Considerably perplexed, Bansemer decided to keep on his guard. He was + ruthlessly searching the chancel when a deep groan caught his attention. + Presently, as he paused to listen, a dark figure leaped towards him from a + recess back of the altar. The flash of a pistol blinded him, and + momentarily, a sharp pain shot through his arm; but he recovered in time + to throw his tall frame forward upon the slight, almost indistinguishable + figure. There was a short struggle, and before his comrades could reach + him his adversary was safely pinned to the floor. A moment later the + torches in the hands of his friends were burning brightly above the figure + of his captive—a slender boy who choked with terror and rage. + </p> + <p> + "Who the devil are you, my young friend?" asked Bansemer, holding the boy + at arm's length. + </p> + <p> + There was no answer from the tightly closed lips; and Bansemer shook him a + little roughly. Then, for the first time, he perceived that he was not a + Filipino. His skin was dark, but not the skin of the native; the handsome, + boyish face had regular features, European in character. + </p> + <p> + "Spaniard?" inquired Bansemer, a trifle more gently; and again the boy + flashed a look of hatred into his captor's eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Look here, my young spalpeen," said Connell, gruffly; "Filipino or + Spaniard, if you want to save your hide, you'd better answer questions—and + no lies, do you hear?" + </p> + <p> + At this threat, a deep groan was heard to come from somewhere back in the + recesses of the chancel. The men were startled. Involuntarily, the boy + cast a furtive glance in that direction. Connell noticed it, and leaving + the boy with Bansemer, hurried away and soon was looking down into the + face of a prostrate man, young, but aged with emaciation. + </p> + <p> + "You must not touch him! Don't you see that he is dying?" cried the boy + piteously in broken English. "He cannot fight you—he's dying;" and + then, in a perfect frenzy of rage to Bansemer: "Let me go—pig!" + </p> + <p> + Not until afterwards did Bansemer recall that in the general excitement it + was the boy who dragged him along to the spot. And in spite of the + solemnity of the scene, there was something in his manner of delivering + the insult that amused rather than angered the American. + </p> + <p> + "Plucky little devil!" he said, half-aloud. + </p> + <p> + Again the sick man groaned, tried to rise from the blankets and speak, but + only to fall back moaning. Connell cautioned him against exertion and + promised that no harm should come to either of them. While he reported the + discovery to Captain Groce, he had the man carried to another part of the + church and there made comfortable. For the first time now, Bansemer began + to notice the pain in his arm. Somewhat angrily, he turned to the boy: + </p> + <p> + "Come! Give an account of yourself! How came you here?" + </p> + <p> + "Prisoners," was the sullen answer. + </p> + <p> + "Of the Filipinos?" Bansemer asked, in surprise. + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + "Then why did you try to kill me?" + </p> + <p> + "I hate you both! We Spaniards, have we not as much to fear from you? What + difference does colour make in brutes?" + </p> + <p> + "By the holy apostles! you're a gritty, young 'un!" growled the returning + sergeant. "Who's the other chap?" + </p> + <p> + "My brother—he's dying," said the boy, his voice softening. "Holy + Virgin, save him! For weeks, we've been in the hands of Aguinaldo's men. + He's been so ill, all the time; have you a doctor?" + </p> + <p> + "A surgeon will probably be with us before long," was the sergeant's + evasive reply. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer looked searchingly at Connell. What he saw in the other's eyes + caused him a sharp pang of grief. Both men turned their faces away for a + moment and it was with a gulp that Connell continued: + </p> + <p> + "Your brother will have the best of care if we get out of this mess. You + are both safe. We are not fighting the Spaniards;" and then, pertinently: + "So these were Aguinaldo's men?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, he was here directing the fight," the boy answered. + </p> + <p> + "Aguinaldo here!" This and other ejaculations of surprise and anger burst + in chorus from every throat; but as suddenly they were followed by + expressions of chagrin. For, by contrasting the present situation with + that which they had anticipated, this information had succeeded in + intensifying their mortification. + </p> + <p> + But notwithstanding his share of the universal disappointment, a hasty + reflection of preceding events convinced Graydon that personally he had + little ground for complaint against the late occupants of the convent. For + unintentional as undoubtedly had been the act through which at the very + point of death his existence had been preserved, there was no evidence to + refute the hypothesis that the shot which had killed his assailant in the + plaza had been fired by one of the insurgents under cover. + </p> + <p> + "Great Scott!" was the exclamation to which he gave utterance. "Once more, + I suppose, I owe my life to the blundering marksmanship of a Filipino!" + </p> + <p> + This half-hearted acknowledgment of his strange indebtedness educed from + his companions no recognition other than a puzzled stare from the sergeant + and an enigmatical smile on the face of the young Spaniard. Connell + proceeded with his examination: + </p> + <p> + "Why did they leave you here?" + </p> + <p> + "They had no time to take us with them when you broke in," was the boy's + answer. "Aguinaldo was on his way to some village where his family is in + hiding. The scouts told him of your presence; then he determined not to + wait for Pilar, but to surprise you. We never rested day or night. My poor + brother—how he suffered!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, but why are they carrying you on a march like this?" + </p> + <p> + "My brother is the only man who knows where the Spanish gold was hidden + when our war was ended—I mean, the gold that came up with guns and + ammunition. Aguinaldo is looking for the hiding place. My father, a high + officer in the Spanish Army, died of the fever last winter. We were stolen + from our house in Manila by Aguinaldo's men, and have been going from + place to place ever since. We have not told of the hiding place. The + Americans do not need gold, no?" The boy laughed sarcastically. + </p> + <p> + "How many men has Aguinaldo?" + </p> + <p> + "Three hundred or more. I would advise you to look out for Pilar. He, too, + may come at any moment." + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had the words left his mouth when a storm of yells came from + outside the convent; and immediately the boy rushed to his brother's side. + </p> + <p> + "Great Caesar, there's a thousand of them!" cried Rogers. + </p> + <p> + Instantly every man made for the position assigned to him. The gun was in + readiness. Outside, the Mausers rattled, bullets coming from all quarters + and thumping sharply against the opposite walls with a patter that warned + the Americans against standing erect. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally, a scout would peep from a window and take a shot into the + darkness, but these ventures were few. All lights were extinguished; the + men fired at the spots from which burst the flames of rifles, then dropped + suddenly. After a while the firing of the Filipinos dwindled into a shot + now and them. + </p> + <p> + "Keep low! They don't dare risk a charge! Be ready to defend the door!" + Captain Groce commanded. + </p> + <p> + The night wore on, and, with the cessation of hostilities, confidence + increased. Reinforcements were not far off, and it did not seem possible + that the sounds of battle could not be heard. The men, worn out by the + exciting events of the day, were generally silent; Sergeant Connell, + however, was an exception. + </p> + <p> + "Get us I Not a bit of it!" he was saying. "The dirty, little cowards! + Major March will be here in the shake of a dead lamb's tail." + </p> + <p> + An hour later Bansemer, his rifle in hand, sitting near one of the + windows, suddenly felt someone tugging at his arm. Turning, he saw the + Spanish boy. + </p> + <p> + "Won't you come and help me to carry my brother behind the stone altar + wall?" he was saying. "He is exposed to the bullets and cannot move + himself." + </p> + <p> + "Willingly!" and Graydon followed his lead. As if he was a child, he + picked up the gaunt Spaniard and carefully bore him to the place of + shelter. But despite all that he could do to hide his suffering, the pain + in his arm, which the removal of the man had increased, was such, for a + moment, that he felt faint and staggered. The boy was quick to notice it, + and quickly asked: + </p> + <p> + "What is the matter? Wounded?" + </p> + <p> + "It's nothing—merely a scratch." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I know—why, it's your arm—and I—-" The boy's face + crimsoned with shame and contrition. Through the semi-darkness the blush + escaped Graydon's notice, but not so the truly feminine, little shriek of + dismay, as he touched and felt the wet sleeve. + </p> + <p> + "It was I who did it! Oh, how can you ever forgive me?" + </p> + <p> + Graydon, dumbfounded, stared in wonder. + </p> + <p> + "What?" he exclaimed; "you're a girl?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes—I'm his sister," pointing to the dying man; then, with some + embarrassment: "These clothes? They are the only ones they would give me. + You see a girl would have been a burden; a boy none at all. Do you think + that had I been a man you could so easily have overpowered me? No!" + </p> + <p> + The slim, little figure drew itself up straight and defiant before him. + Despite the loose, ugly garments of the Filipinos, Graydon noticed, for + the first time, that the figure was perfectly moulded and high-bred. She + swept off the wide hat she wore, and the man saw a mass of dark hair done + up tightly on her head. But even while he gazed her mood changed; she + became subserviently anxious and begged him to let her attend to his arm. + She pleaded so hard that, to please her, he yielded. Water was obtained + from somewhere; the slight flesh wound washed; and then, disappearing into + the darkness, to his amazement she returned almost instantly with some + bandages and dressed his arm. + </p> + <p> + While this surgical operation was going on, Graydon, for the life of him, + could not resist the temptation to ask her again why she had tried to + shoot him. At first, so terribly in earnest did she take the question and + beg for mercy, that he smiled at her; and then, seeing his amusement, she + said, coquettishly: + </p> + <p> + "How could I possibly have known that you were so nice? Besides, I had + always heard you Americans referred to as brutes." + </p> + <p> + Graydon laughed, then suddenly his face became very grave. The realisation + of her terrible situation had dawned upon him. A woman among a crowd of + rough soldiers! Her brother and protector dying! And all surrounded by + hordes of savage enemies who at any moment might kill them! The thought + dismissed all pleasantry from his mind. Something must be done, and at + once. Presently, he asked: + </p> + <p> + "What is your name?" + </p> + <p> + "My father was Colonel Ramos Jose Velasquez; that also is my brother's + name, except that he is not an officer. I am Teresa Fortune Velasquez. My + mother was English—a sister of Sir William Fortune. She is dead. For + ten years we have lived in Manila." + </p> + <p> + "You won't mind if I call the sergeant, will you?" + </p> + <p> + The girl nodded a slightly bewildered assent as Graydon moved rapidly + towards the others. Shortly, he returned with the gallant Irishman. + </p> + <p> + "Senorita," began Connell, mopping his forehead and assuming his most + polite manner; "you are perfectly safe with us, and as quickly as possible + your brother and yourself shall be sent back to Manila. You are a brave + slip of a girl, and we boys respect bravery in whatever dress—boy or + girl." + </p> + <p> + She looked at him in grateful surprise and her lips trembled. + </p> + <p> + "But I am not your friend?" + </p> + <p> + "Possibly, senorita;" he bowed low with almost Chesterfieldian grace; "but + we are your friends." + </p> + <p> + Outside, once more the Mausers were rattling, and Connell, with a word of + parting hastily took his leave. Graydon, on the point of returning to his + post, was prevented by the girl. + </p> + <p> + "You were gentle with me even when I tried to—-Don't risk your life + there. Shoot from that narrow gate," pointing aloft; "it's not so + exposed." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer dragged an altar chair up to the grated window and perched + himself upon it. The girl sat below him, holding her brother's head in her + lap. He was groaning and crying out to the soldiers to kill him rather + than permit him to fall into the hands of the natives again. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly there was a great commotion, and crashing of timbers in the front + part of the church, followed by shouts and the rushing of feet. Graydon + dropped from his perch and ran forth into the chancel. As he did so the + banging of rifles close at hand deafened him. In an instant he saw what + had happened. The Filipinos had charged the door and had forced it. They + were crowding their way into the church in the face of the deadly + Krag-Jorgensens. The chapel was lighted, but not from the inside. Cunning + insurgents, in the shelter of the walls, were holding great torches just + outside of the windows. Graydon could see his comrades firing at the door + from behind every conceivable barrier. Without hesitation he dashed down + the aisle and into the thick of the fray near the door. + </p> + <p> + The struggle was brief but fierce. The merciless fire of many Mausers on + the outside opened a way through the small band of defenders, and the rush + of the besiegers was successful. Through the door and windows they came, + swarming like bees. Many of them fell to rise no more, but their comrades + took an eye for an eye. Once confident soldiers toppled over dead until + but few were left. Bansemer led them in a quick dash for the chancel, + hoping that the enemy would not dare attack a place so sacred. + </p> + <p> + Captain Groce and other officers had fallen; Connell became the leader of + the remnant. Bansemer stood squarely in front of the altar and blazed away + at the horde of Filipinos as they advanced. They shot at him wildly and + without effect; bullets crashed into the altar decorations behind him. He + stood there as one protected by God, unharmed in the shelter of the cross. + </p> + <p> + Behind him his comrades cowered and cursed in their dread of certain + death. He heard the shrill cries of the girl urging him to protect her + brother. She was calling upon God and the Holy Virgin to aid and shield + him. And he stood there with a crazy joy in his heart, savagely pulling + the trigger of the Krag-Jorgensen. Finally the hammer snapped with no + report. As he turned back in consternation, a small figure leaped to his + side with a fresh weapon. + </p> + <p> + He shouted a word of warning to her and wheeled again to confront the foe. + Even as he raised the gun a great shout arose above the noise of conflict. + There was a mighty rush, a new banging of guns, a sudden stampede and—the + chapel was filled with men in khaki! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV — TERESA VELASQUEZ + </h2> + <p> + Great was the disappointment of Major March and his men when they found + that neither Aguinaldo nor Pilar had fallen into their hands. Although + they had come just in time to prevent the complete annihilation of the + little company, the leaders had escaped with the remnant of their + surprised forces. Scores of Filipinos were captured, dozens were killed + and wounded. Eight of the dashing scouts who went out with Jerry Connell + gave up their lives in exchange for the final victory. + </p> + <p> + A small guard was left at the convent to care for the wounded, the bulk of + the command hurrying off at dawn to search for the routed Filipinos. + Graydon Bansemer was put in charge of the convent guard. A surgeon and the + application of "first aid to the injured" principles soon transformed the + convent into a well arranged hospital. Uncle Sam's benevolence was also + cheerfully extended to the wounded Filipinos. The days of the "water cure" + and "ungodly butchery" had not yet come. + </p> + <p> + Young Velasquez died soon after daybreak. He had been dying for days. His + sister's grief was pathetic in the extreme—aye, demoralising, for it + struck deep into the hearts of soldiers who had scoffed at the life-blood + of man, but could not brave the tears of a woman. + </p> + <p> + Bansemer did all in his power to comfort and console her. It was to him + that she clung in her despair. He had been her captor; and yet it had been + he who stood forth in his might to defend her and the loved one who was + dead. At nightfall the dead were buried in that far-off wilderness, their + humble graves marked and recorded before the time when the government + could come to give other graves in other lands to these who had given + their lives. Velasquez was laid beside the Americans. Teresa, a shivering, + sobbing little figure in the garb of an insurgent soldier, was supported + by big Graydon Bansemer. There was no service except the short army + ritual; there was no priest or pastor; there was but one real mourner—a + pretty, heart-broken girl who lay for hours beside the rude mound on the + hillside. + </p> + <p> + Word came back at nightfall that the detachments were to form a junction + at one of the big villages westward in two days. The instructions were + that the wounded Filipinos should be left in the village, where native + women and doctors would care for them. + </p> + <p> + "What in thunder are we to do with the girl?" was the question that came + from the officer in command. More than one man scratched his head + thoughtfully and looked toward the disturbing element that had come into + the army. She was sitting alone and disconsolate in front of the church. + </p> + <p> + "There's no way to send her back to her friends, and we can't leave her + here," said Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + "But, gee whiz, we can't take her on a hike like this," protested the + sergeant. "She'll be in the way, and she'll give out, and all that. + Besides, what would we do with a woman around all the time?" + </p> + <p> + "I fancy she can hike all right," said Graydon. "Major March wouldn't + expect us to leave her behind. That would be heartless." + </p> + <p> + By the time the party and guides was ready to start on its forced march, + the opinion, unanimously expressed was that Teresa Velasquez should go + forward also, come what might. She had pleaded so hard and so effectually + that the men were fairly swept off their feet in a storm of sympathy. + </p> + <p> + "If she gives out we'll carry her," roared a deeply impressed young man + with long red whiskers. + </p> + <p> + "And when we get up to the command we'll make them derned correspondents + take turn about walkin', so she can ride a pony all the time. They've got + no business ridin', anyhow." + </p> + <p> + And so with rosy confidence in the fitness of things and a just belief in + the charity of Major March, the detachment marched out into the hills, the + ward of the company trudging bravely beside the tall and envied Mr. + Bansemer—who, by the way, aside from being politely attentive, did + not exhibit any undue signs of exaltation. + </p> + <p> + The presence of a woman—and a very pretty one at that, with a + sadness in her eyes that was appealing—served only to send his + thoughts bounding back to the girl he had left behind. He grew more and + more morose and silent as the day wore on; at times the tired, lonely girl + at his side lagged and cast wondering, piteous glances at him. Her woman's + intuition told her that this man did not belong where he was; it told her + also that he had a secret and that one of her sex was deeply involved. + </p> + <p> + The events of the next two weeks are of small consequence in this + narrative, which deals not so much with the history and mystery of the + campaign in the fall of '99 as with the welfare and emotions of a single + soldier at the front. Aguinaldo and Pilar had become refugees by this + time, hunted and hounded from place to place with relentless fervour. + Pilar was somewhere in the hills with his men, the pride of the insurgent + forces; Aguinaldo's remnant had scurried off in another direction, and + General Tono was on the coast with what was left of the scattered force. + </p> + <p> + The net about Gregorio del Pilar was being drawn in and tightened. The + closing week in November saw him driven to the last extremity. The tragedy + of Tilad Pass was near at hand. + </p> + <p> + Teresa Velasquez never faltered, never tired. She proved herself to be no + incumbrance. Day after day, the officer in command expected the expedition + which would take her back to Manila; forces came up from the south, but + none were ready to go back. + </p> + <p> + She was an inspiration to the camp. Men who had forgotten their manners + completely brushed them up and danced attendance upon the girl in the + Filipino uniform. + </p> + <p> + Every man prayed for opportunity to do brave deeds, and when chance came + she was permitted to witness heroism that savoured of the boyhood malady + known as "showing off." + </p> + <p> + The reserved, but considerate Bansemer was her closest friend and + confidant. One evening, as they sat side by side watching the preparations + for supper, she turned suddenly and announced that she knew he was dying + of love for someone. He started and his hand trembled. + </p> + <p> + "Tell me about her," she commanded. There was a piquancy, a gay impelling + force in this girl that grief and hardship had not been strong enough to + conquer. Her hours of sadness were spent alone—hours when she was + supposed to sleep, but instead, lay awake and sobbed without tears. + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense!" said Graydon. "Why do you think that of me?" + </p> + <p> + "Because everybody else thinks it," she said; "and because I am a very + wise person. The men are not so charitable as I, senor. They say that you + joined the army because of some woman whom you could not marry. I agree + with them, except that it is she who would not marry you. Forgive me, if I + have hurt you." + </p> + <p> + Impulsively, she put her hand upon his, her dark eyes full of pleading. + The touch of her hand did not send a thrill through him; such contact, + however, caused the blood to tingle in the quick veins of the girl. He + merely sat and stared into space. After a moment, she drew her hand away. + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry," she said. + </p> + <p> + "There is a girl, Teresa," he said shortly. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I know. Tell me about her." + </p> + <p> + "I can't," he exclaimed, bitterly. He arose and walked quickly away. + Teresa's dark eyes followed him in pity and wonder, aye, affection. Then + she shook her head sadly and turned her attention elsewhere—not + piqued, much to her own amazement. + </p> + <p> + Reinforcements came up two days later with the word that the commander in + chief expected the campaign against Pilar to end within a week, and that + hard fighting was ahead. The Red Cross people were following hard upon the + heels of the regiment and field hospitals were to be established. This + information was so suggestive of fierce and final combat that the men felt + their sluggish blood leap wildly into life. + </p> + <p> + Every man in the band of newcomers was singing the praises of a + wonderfully beautiful Red Cross nurse. The stories told of her charms were + varied, but none lacked enthusiasm. Some said she was the daughter of a + rich magnate come to do service in the cause of humanity; others were sure + she was a great and beautiful actress who was sacrificing everything to + conspicuous advertising. All, however, were agreed in the praise of her + noble beauty. + </p> + <p> + The little detachment on guard turned up its collective nose and proudly + pointed to Teresa Velasquez. + </p> + <p> + "Look at that," said Bob Spurrier. "Can she stack up with the hiking + queen? Our girl is real quality. She's no common American. She's a + grandee's daughter. There's royal blood in her. By thunder, gentlemen, + she's blood kin to little Alfonso." + </p> + <p> + Teresa sought shelter from the curious though admiring eyes of the fresh + arrivals. + </p> + <p> + "I don't like these new soldiers," she complained to Graydon. "I wish they + had not come. They talk of this beautiful nurse and they laugh at me. Oh, + I wish I had something else to wear." + </p> + <p> + "Don't worry, little girl, you're worth ten nurses," said he. + </p> + <p> + "Alas, though I am dressed as a man, I do not feel as bold as one," she + lamented. + </p> + <p> + The next day reinforcements came up and the whole command advanced upon + Tilad Pass, where Pilar, at last, had been cornered. On the second of + December a desperate conflict took place. Pilar was intrenched in the Pass + near the celebrated rock known as El Obispo—"the Bishop." His + resistance for a time was valorous and deadly. Corporal Parry saw him + mount his horse behind the barricade, six hundred yards away. Parry was + the best marksman in the regiment, and turning to his chief officer, asked + if he should take a shot at him. + </p> + <p> + He fired and Pilar fell, face downward; and the Americans crushed the + little band of insurgents. Gregorio Del Pilar was dead. His death in the + great hills, after a most courageous battle against an overwhelming force, + brought to an end a life that would have been worth much to the islands in + after years. In his pockets were found valuable papers, letters and + keepsakes. The letters were from his sweetheart, Dolores Jose, who lived + at Dagupan, and they were tender in the extreme. Her lace handkerchief + rested over his heart. + </p> + <p> + When the Americans, victorious and jubilant, fell back to camp, they had + no small number of wounded to turn over to the tender mercies of the + little company of Red Cross nurses and the surgeons. + </p> + <p> + One of the most dangerously injured was Graydon Bansemer. He was one of + the first to cross the danger line; a Mauser ball from a distant hill tore + through his side, leaving an ugly gaping wound that foretold certain + death. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV — THE BEAUTIFUL NURSE + </h2> + <p> + When the beautiful and mysterious nurse whose fame had gone up with the + soldiers into Tilad Pass, arrived with others to take charge of the Red + Cross hospital, on the day following the battle, she found the man she had + been longing to see for many weary, heartsick months. She found him dying. + </p> + <p> + To the surprise of the enthralled command, she fell in a dead swoon when + she looked upon the pallid face of Graydon Bansemer. She had gone eagerly + from one pallet to another, coming upon his near the last. One glance was + enough. His face had been in her mind for months—just as she was + seeing it now; she had lived in the horror of finding him cold in death. + </p> + <p> + It was Teresa Velasquez who first understood. She knew that Bansemer's one + woman had found him at last. Her heart leaped with hatred for one brief + instant, then turned soft and contrite. If she had learned to care for the + big American herself during the hard days when he had been so tender, she + also had learned that her worship was hopeless. She had felt his yearning + love for another; now she was looking upon that other. While the + attendants were bending over their unconscious companion, the Spanish girl + stood guard over the man who had been her guardian, the man whose life was + going out before her miserable, exhausted eyes. + </p> + <p> + Jane Cable stirred with returning life; Teresa was quick to see that words + not medicine would act as the restorative. She went swiftly to the + American girl's side and, clasping her hands, cried sharply into her half + conscious ears: + </p> + <p> + "He is not dead! He is alive! He needs you!" + </p> + <p> + The effect was magical. Life leaped into Jane's eyes, vigour into her + body. She recovered from the swoon as mysteriously as she had succumbed to + it. Her sudden breakdown had puzzled her companions. It is true that she + was new in the service; she had seen but little of death and suffering; + but, with all that, she was known to possess remarkable strength of + purpose and fortitude. That she should collapse almost at the outset of + her opportunities was the source of wonder and no little contempt among + her fellow workers. The words of the strange girl in men's clothing opened + the way to smart surmises. It was not long before everyone in the command + knew that the "beautiful Red Cross nurse" was not wearing the garb of the + vocation for the sake of humanity alone—in fact, it was soon + understood that she did not care a straw for the rest of mankind so long + as Graydon Bansemer needed her ministrations. + </p> + <p> + Ignoring the principles of the cause she served, she implored the doctors + to confine their efforts to one man among all of them who suffered; she + pleaded and stormed in turn, finally offering fabulous bribes in support + of her demands. For the time being, she was half crazed with fear and + dread, woefully unworthy of her station, partially divorced from reason. + </p> + <p> + The more desperately wounded were left in the village with an adequate + guard, the rest of the command departing with Major March. A temporary + hospital was established in the convent. There were two doctors and four + or five nurses, with a dozen soldiers under command of Lieutenant Bray. It + was while the apparently dead Bansemer was being moved to the improvised + hospital that Jane presented herself, distraught with fear, to the young + Southerner who had so plainly shown his love for her. She pleaded with him + to start at once for Manila with the wounded, supporting her extraordinary + request with the opinion that they could not receive proper care from the + two young surgeons. Bray was surprised and distressed; he could not + misunderstand her motive. + </p> + <p> + He had gone on caring for her without suspecting that there was or had + been another man; she had not confided in him during those weary, pleasant + months since they left San Francisco behind them. To learn the true + situation so suddenly and unexpectedly stunned his sensibilities; he found + difficulty in grasping the importance of the change an hour or two had + made. He had fought valiantly, even exultantly, in the Pass that morning, + her face ever before him, her words of praise the best spoils of the + victory, should they win. He had come down to the village with joy and + confidence in his heart, only to find that he was not, and could never be, + anything to her, while the life or memory of this fallen comrade stood as + a barrier. + </p> + <p> + Bray's hour following the discovery that she had deliberately sought out + and found this stricken private was the most bitter in his life. His pride + suffered a shock that appalled him; his unconscious egotism, born of + hereditary conquests, revolted against the thought that his progress + toward her heart was to be turned aside by the intervention of a common + soldier in the ranks. Gentleman though he was, he could not subdue the + feeling of exultation that came over him when she approached with her + plea. He knew that it was a base sense of power that made him feel that he + could punish his pride's offender by either denying or granting her + appeal. The attitude of self-sacrifice appealed to his wounded vanity; he + was tempted to profit by an exhibition of his own pain and generosity. + </p> + <p> + He went with her into the convent and to the pallet on which was stretched + the long, still figure of Graydon Bansemer. A surgeon was standing near + by, studying the grey face with thoughtful eyes. Bray's first glance at + the suffering face sent a thrill of encouragement through his veins. The + man was beyond all human help; the grip of death was already upon his + heart. + </p> + <p> + Then, the true manhood that had been his, through all generations, + revolted against the thought that was in his mind. The man should not die + if it was in his power to prevent; no matter what the cost to him, he + would give his aid to her and hers. He tried to put aside the feeling that + death was certain—and very soon, at that; he sought honestly to + justify himself in the hope that Bansemer's life could be saved, after + all. + </p> + <p> + "Leave me alone with the doctor, Miss Cable," he said. She was kneeling + beside the man on the cot. Without a word, but with a dark appealing look + into the Virginian's eyes, she arose and went swiftly away. "What chance + has this poor fellow, doctor?" + </p> + <p> + "None whatever, sir. He'll be dead in an hour. I'm sorry, on her account. + Strange case. I've heard she belongs to a fine family in the East. Poor + devil, he's got an awful hole in his side." + </p> + <p> + "Have you made a careful examination? Is it possible that no vital spot + has been touched?" + </p> + <p> + "We haven't had time for a thorough examination; it was better not to + waste the time on him when there were others whom we have a chance to + save." + </p> + <p> + "You will oblige me, doctor, by giving him the quickest and most careful + attention. There may be a chance. He is one of the bravest men in the + army. Don't let him die if there is a chance for him. Miss—er—the + nurse—has asked if he can be moved to-day." + </p> + <p> + "No. But wait; I don't see why, if it will satisfy her. He will die + anyhow, so why not tell her that we will start south with him to-morrow?" + </p> + <p> + "It isn't fair. She should be told the truth." + </p> + <p> + "He'd die, that's all—any way you put it." + </p> + <p> + "You will make the examination?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, in—at once." + </p> + <p> + "But you—you feel that it is hopeless?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, sir." + </p> + <p> + "I'm-I'm sorry," said Bray, walking away. The doctor looked after him with + a queer expression in his eyes and then called his confrere to the pallet. + </p> + <p> + Bray found Jane waiting for him outside the door; Teresa Velasquez was + standing beside her, holding her hand. + </p> + <p> + "What does he say?" cried Jane, grey with anguish. + </p> + <p> + "He cannot be moved. There is no—but little hope, Miss Cable. They + are to make another examination." + </p> + <p> + "He must be saved! He must! Let me go to him now. I will help. I will give + my life to save his," she cried. Bray stood between her and the door, his + arms extended. + </p> + <p> + "Don't go in now, I implore. Wait! There may be good news." + </p> + <p> + "He is everything in the world to me!" she moaned. + </p> + <p> + "Come with me," whispered Teresa. Bray looked at the Spanish girl, and a + new light broke in upon his understanding. What was this refugee to + Bansemer? The answer shot into his brain like a flash and he turned cold. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Cable, I think I understand your anxiety," he said, his voice + trembling. "Won't you let this young lady take you away for half an hour + or—-" + </p> + <p> + "But I am a nurse! Why should I be kept from him? I am here to care for + all of them," she protested. + </p> + <p> + "You are not fit to do duty just now," he said. "Miss Cable, I understand + why you are here. It is noble of you. I am truly sorry that there is so + little hope." He was leading her away from the building, leaving Teresa + standing there with her eyes fastened upon the door with a look that could + not be mistaken. "I would give my own life to have his spared for your + sake, Jane. Forgive me. I would willingly give all I have in life for you. + But I am afraid it is impossible to save him." + </p> + <p> + "Don't say that," she whispered. + </p> + <p> + "You—you would be his wife?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "No, that cannot be. I COULD not be his wife." + </p> + <p> + "You mean—he is married?" + </p> + <p> + "No, no! not that. You can't understand. I can never marry him—never!" + </p> + <p> + Bray struggled for a moment with the puzzle; his eyes went slowly to + Teresa. Then he suddenly understood why Jane Cable would not marry the man + she had come to find. He asked no questions of himself, but Teresa would + have been the result of every conjecture had he done so. + </p> + <p> + "He might better be dead," he thought, his eyes hardening. "She's found + him out. Gad, I hope—-" but he put it from him. + </p> + <p> + Graydon Bansemer did not die within the hour, nor that day. The careful + examination of the surgeons gave little additional hope; it did, however, + reveal the fact that no vital organ had been destroyed or injured. The + ball had torn a great hole in his left side and had gone through the body. + Probing was not necessary. The flow of blood was frightful. There was a + spark of life left on which to build a frail hope, and they worked with + new interest. + </p> + <p> + The attention of everyone was directed to this tragic struggle; the + efforts of all were lent to the successful end. Jane Cable, dogged and + tireless, came to be his nurse, now that the life thread still held + together. It is not the purpose of this narrative to dwell upon the + wretched, harrowing scenes and incidents of the wilderness hospital. The + misery of those who watched and waited for death; the dread and suffering + of those who gave this anxiety; the glow of spiritual light which hovered + above the forms of men who had forgotten their God until now. + </p> + <p> + The first night passed. There were sleepless eyes to keep company with the + faint moans and the scent of chloroform. Over the figure of Graydon + Bansemer hung the eager, tense face of Jane Cable. Her will and mind were + raised against the hand of death; down in her soul she was crying! "You + shall not die!" and he was living, living on in spite of death. The still, + white face gave back no sign of life; a faint pulse and an almost + imperceptible respiration told of the unbroken thread. Hoping against + hope! + </p> + <p> + Dawn came, and night again, and still the almost breathless girl urged her + will against the inevitable. She had not slept, nor had she eaten of the + food they brought to her. Two persons, a soldier and a girl, stood back + and marvelled at her endurance and devotion; the harassed surgeons, new in + experience themselves, found time to minister to the seeming dead man, + their interest not only attracted by his remarkable vitality but by the + romance attached to his hope of living. + </p> + <p> + That night he moved, and a low moan came from his lips. The Goddess of + Good Luck had turned her face from the rest of the world for a brief + instant to smile upon this isolated supplicant for favour. Jane's eyes and + ears had served her well at last; she caught the change in him and her + will grasped the hope with more dogged tenacity than before. The word went + out that there was a chance for him. Her vigil ended when Bray came to + lead her away—ended because she dropped from exhaustion. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, after a dead sleep of hours, she returned to his side. + The surgeon smiled and the nurse clasped her hands with tears in her eyes. + Bansemer was breathing thickly and tossing in delirium. It was as if he + had been lifted from the grave. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Bray was seated in front of the convent late that evening, + moodily studying his own emotions. Teresa, still attired as she had been + for weeks, hung about the chapel with the persistance of a friendless dog. + He watched her and pitied her, even as he pitied himself for the wound he + was nursing. What was to become of her? He called her to him. + </p> + <p> + "Senorita, they say he is better. Tell me, does it mean much to you?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, senor, he has been noble and good and honourable. If he lives I shall + always hold these weeks with him in absolute reverence." + </p> + <p> + "Then she does not understand?" + </p> + <p> + "She? What is there for her to understand? She loves him and he loves her. + That is enough." + </p> + <p> + "She says she will not marry him. There must be a reason." + </p> + <p> + The girl's face darkened instantly and her breath came quickly. + </p> + <p> + "You—you think that I am the reason? Is it so? Because I am here in + these hateful clothes? You would say that to me? How dare you!" + </p> + <p> + She burst out with tears of rage and shame and fled from his sight. + </p> + <p> + Jane came rapidly through the church door, out of the gloom and odour into + the warm sunshine and the green glow of the world, her face bright, her + eyes gleaming. + </p> + <p> + "He is conscious!" she cried. "He knows me!" + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI — THE SEPARATION OF HEARTS + </h2> + <p> + When Graydon Bansemer opened his eyes upon the world for the second time—it + was as if he had been born again—he looked up into the eager, + wistful face of Jane Cable. It was too much for her to expect that he + could see and understand at once; he would not know what had gone before, + nor why she was there. His feeble glance took in her face with lifeless + interest. Perhaps it was because he had seen her in that death-like dream; + perhaps his weakness kept him from true realisation. In any event, he did + no more than to allow the flicker of a smile to come into his eyes before + he closed them again. Breathlessly, she waited for the lids to lift once + more. She uttered his name softly, tenderly, time and again. As if hearing + someone calling from a great distance, he moved and again looked upward, + the consciousness of pain in his grey eyes. This time he stared hard at + her; his eyes grew brighter and then darkened with wonder. At last she saw + the look of surprise and joy and relief that she had been hungering for; + he knew her and he was beginning to understand. + </p> + <p> + If he heard her while she knelt and thanked Ged for this first great ray + of hope, he gave forth no sign. When she turned her eyes to his face again + he was asleep. But she went forth into the day with a song in her heart. + </p> + <p> + She looked about for Teresa. The girl was gone, no one knew whither. Bray + alone could say that she had started toward the thicket. He pointed out + the direction, but did not offer to accompany Jane when she hurried away + to carry the good news to the Spanish girl who had been her staunch helper + during the long vigil. Bray shook his puzzled head as he followed her with + his gaze. It had come to him suddenly that the Spanish girl was not the + solution to the puzzle, after all. + </p> + <p> + Jane found the slim boyish figure lying on the ground, deep in the wood. + She had been crying and made no attempt to subdue her emotions when the + American girl came up to her; instead, she bitterly poured out her woe + into the ears of the other. She told her of Bray's insult—as she + termed his unfortunate speculation—and she told how it came about. + </p> + <p> + "I am a good girl, Miss Cable," she cried. "I am of a noble family-not of + the canaille. You do not believe it of me? No! He had no right to accuse + me. I was a prisoner; Senor Bansemer was my rescuer. I loved him for it. + See, I cannot help it, I cannot hide it from you. But he is yours. I have + no claim. I do not ask it. Oh!" and here her voice rose to a wail of + anguish, "can you not procure something else for me to wear? These rags + are intolerable. I hate them! I cannot go back there unless I have—-" + </p> + <p> + "We can give you a few garments, dear," said Jane. "Come! You shall wear + the nurse's uniform. We are to start on the long march to the coast + to-morrow. They say that ALL of the wounded can be moved by that time." + </p> + <p> + It was three days, however, before the little company left the village and + began its slow, irksome march across the country toward the coast where + the ship was to pick up the wounded men and convey them to Manila, Native + carriers, cheerful amigos since the disaster to Pilar, went forward with + the stretchers, the hospital wagons and guard following. Travelling was + necessarily slow and the halts were frequent. There were occasional shots + from hidden riflemen, but there were no casualties. Food had been scarce; + the commissary was thinly supplied for the hard trip. Lieutenant Bray grew + strangely morose and indifferent. He was taciturn, almost unfriendly in + his attitude toward everyone. + </p> + <p> + The little company stopped to rest in a beautiful; valley, beside the + banks of a swift stream. He watched Jane as she moved away from the + stretcher which held Bansemer, following her to the edge of the stream + where she had come to gaze pensively into the future. + </p> + <p> + "How is he?" he asked. She started and a warm glow came into her cheek. + </p> + <p> + "He is doing nicely. If he can bear up until we reach Manila, he will + surely live. Are we going as rapidly as we should, Lieutenant Bray?" + </p> + <p> + "Quite, Miss Cable. It isn't an easy march, you must: remember." After a + long silence, he suddenly remarked: "Miss Cable, I've got a rather + shameful confession to make. I've had some very base thoughts to contend + with. You may have guessed it or not, but I care a great deal for you—more + than for anyone else I've ever known. You say he is to get well. For days + I wished that he might die. Don't look like that, please. I couldn't help + it. I went so far, at one stage, as to contemplate a delay in marching + that might have proved fatal to him. I thought of that way and others of + which I can't tell you. Thank God, I was man enough to put them away from + me! Wait, please! Let me finish. You have said you will not marry him. I + don't ask why you will not. I love you. Will you be my wife?" + </p> + <p> + She stared at him with consternation in her eyes. He had gone on so + rapidly that she could not check his rapid speech. Her hand went to her + brow and a piteous smile tried to force itself to her lips. + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry," she said at last. "I am sorry you have spoken to me of it. I + have felt for some time that you—you cared for me. No, Lieutenant + Bray, I cannot be your wife." + </p> + <p> + "I know you love him," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, it is plain. I have not tried to hide it." + </p> + <p> + "You must understand why I asked you to be my wife, knowing that you love + him. It was to hear it from your own lips, so that I would not go through + life with the feeling, after all, that it might have been. Will you tell + me the reason why you cannot marry him? He must love you." + </p> + <p> + "Lieutenant Bray, he would marry me to-morrow, I think, if I were to + consent. It isn't that. It would not be right for me to consent. You + profess to love me. I have seen it in your eyes—oh, I have learned + much of men in the past few months—and I determined, if you ever + asked me to marry you, to ask a question in return. Do you really know who + I am?" + </p> + <p> + He looked his surprise. "Why, the daughter of David Cable, of course." + </p> + <p> + "No, I am not his daughter." + </p> + <p> + "His stepdaughter?" + </p> + <p> + "Not even that. You come from a proud Southern family. I do not know who + my parents were." + </p> + <p> + "Good Heaven, you-you don't mean you were waif?" + </p> + <p> + "A waif without a name, Lieutenant Bray. This is not self-abasement; it is + not the parading of misfortune. It is because you have made the mistake of + loving me. If you care less for me now than you did before, you will + spread this information throughout the army." + </p> + <p> + "Believe me, I am not that sort." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you. Knowing what you now do, could you ask me to be your wife?" + </p> + <p> + "Don't put it just that way," he stammered. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, I see. It was a cruel question. And yet it proves that you do not + love as Graydon Bansemer loves." + </p> + <p> + "Some day you may find out all about your parents and be happy. You may + have been abducted and—-" he was saying, his face white and wet. + Somehow he felt that he was chastening himself. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps," she said quietly. "I might not have told you this had not the + story been printed in every newspaper in the States just before I left. + You see, I did not know it until just a few months ago. I thought you + might have read of me. I—I am so notorious." + </p> + <p> + "Jane, dear Jane, you must not feel that way!" he cried, as she started + quickly away. "It's—-" But she turned and motioned for him to cease. + There were tears in her eyes. He stood stock still. "She's wonderful!" he + said to himself, as she walked away. "Even now, I believe I could—Pshaw! + It ought not to make any difference! If it wasn't for my family—What's + in a name, anyway? A name—-" He started to answer his own question, + but halted abruptly, squared his shoulders and then with true Southern, + military bearing strode away, murmuring: + </p> + <p> + "A name is something; yes, family is everything." + </p> + <p> + Jane went at once to Graydon. His great grey eyes smiled a glad welcome. + She took his hand in hers and sat upon the ground beside him, watching his + face until they were ready to resume the journey. + </p> + <p> + "Would it not be better if he were to die?" she found herself wondering, + with strange inconstancy to her purpose. "Why could it not have been I + instead of he? How hard it will be for us to live after this. Dear, dear + Graydon, if—if I only were different from what I am." + </p> + <p> + Not a word of his father's conduct toward her, not a word of blame for the + blow his father had struck. She held him to no account for the baseness of + that father; only did she hold herself unfit to be his wife. All of the + ignominy and shame fell to her lot, none to the well-born son of the + traducer. + </p> + <p> + Fortune and strength went hand in hand for the next two days and the + famished, worn-out company came to the coast. The wounded men were + half-delirious once more for lack of proper attention, and the hardships + of travel. But the ill-wind had spent its force. Bray's instructions were + to place his charges on board ship at San Fernando de Union, and then + await further orders in the little coast town. It meant good-bye to Jane, + and that meant more to him than, he was willing to admit, despite all that + she had said to him. He went to her when the ship was ready to leave port. + </p> + <p> + "Good-bye!" he said. "I'm more grieved than I can tell you, because I + believe you think I am a cad." + </p> + <p> + "Lieutenant Bray, a cad never would have helped me as you have helped me, + in spite of yourself. Good-bye!" + </p> + <p> + He went out of her life in that moment. + </p> + <p> + There were vexatious delays, however, before sailings Almost at the last + moment Jane was approached by Teresa Velasquez, now partly dressed as a + Red Cross nurse. The Spanish girl was nervous and uneasy. Her dark eyes + held two ever changing lights—one sombre, the other bright and + piercing. + </p> + <p> + "I have decided to wait for the next ship," she announced briefly. + </p> + <p> + "You are not going with us?" cried Jane in surprise and distress. "What + has happened?" + </p> + <p> + "It is impossible; I cannot go with you. Pray do not ask for my reason. + Good-bye. Will you say good-bye to—to him for me?" + </p> + <p> + Jane was silent for a long time, studying the eyes of the Spanish girl. + </p> + <p> + "I think I understand," she said at last, taking Teresa's hands in hers. + </p> + <p> + "It is better that it be ended here," said Teresa, "I have endured it as + long as I can. You have been good to me, and I want to say good-bye while + there is love for you in my heart. I am afraid to stay near you—and + him. Don't you see? I cannot go on in this way." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Teresa!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, I know it is wrong, but how can I help it? I've loved him ever + since I first saw him—saved his life." Jane was astounded. The + thrust pierced her to the quick. + </p> + <p> + "Saved his life?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, though he does not know it. It was when we were prisoners of the + Filipinos. My poor brother was dying. From the convent Aguinaldo and his + men were watching and directing the fight on the plaza. They paid no + attention to me—a girl. The noise of the fighting men was terrible, + and I climbed up to a window where I could see. Suddenly, below me, I saw + two men fighting apart from the struggling mass. In an instant it flashed + through my mind that the Filipino was overpowering the other—was + going to kill him. Although I hated them equally, there was something in + the young soldier's face—I could not see him murdered. I seized a + pistol that was lying near me and fired; the Filipino fell. In terror of + the deed and fear of discovery, I ran to my brother. In a moment the + Americans broke into the convent. You know the rest." + </p> + <p> + Jane was suffering the keenest pangs of jealousy, and asked, excitedly: + </p> + <p> + "You—you did that?" + </p> + <p> + "And finally, when I had learned to care for him and he was wounded, to + have been denied the right of nursing him back to life—my place + usurped by you. Surely, I have as much to be proud of as you and I love + him a great deal more!" + </p> + <p> + "As much to be proud of—-" Jane was saying, for the moment all the + warmth gone from her voice, the flame from her cheeks; but her meaning + could not have been understood by the other who proudly, defiantly tossed + back her head. Beautiful indeed was this brown-skinned, black-eyed girl, + as she stood there pleading her rights to an unrequited love—a heart + already tenanted by another, and that other, the woman before her. + </p> + <p> + "Now, can you imagine," the girl went on, "how it has hurt me to see you + caring for him, to see his eyes forever searching for you? No?" They were + silent a moment. A wistful look was in her eyes now, and her voice + unmistakably reconcilable when she resumed: "Ah, he was so good and true + when I was alone with them—before you came! I pray God, now, that he + may be well and that you may make him happy." + </p> + <p> + "Alas, I am afraid that can never be! You cannot understand, and I cannot + explain." + </p> + <p> + "Your family objects because he is poor and a common soldier? Yes?" She + laughed bitterly, a green light in her eyes. "If it were I, no one could + keep me from belonging to him—I would—-" + </p> + <p> + "Don't! Don't say it! You don't understand!" Jane reiterated. + </p> + <p> + "Dios, how I loved him! I would have gone through my whole life with him! + He must have known it, too." + </p> + <p> + "He was true to me," said Jane, her figure straightening involuntarily, a + new gleam in her eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, you are lucky, senorita! I love you, and I could hate you so easily! + Go! Go! Take him with you and give him life! Forget me as I shall forget + you both!" And impulsively taking from round her neck an Agnus Dei which + she was wearing, she placed it in Jane's hands, and added: "Give this to + him, please, and do not forget to tell him that I sent good-bye and good + luck." + </p> + <p> + Jane would have kissed her had not the blazing eyes of the other forbade. + They merely clasped hands, and Teresa turned away. + </p> + <p> + "My uncle lives in Manila. He will take me to Madrid. We cannot live here + with these pigs of Americans about us," she said shortly. A moment later + she was lost in the crowd. + </p> + <p> + Jane's heart was heavy when the ship moved away. Her eyes searched through + the throng for the slight figure of the girl who had abandoned a lost + cause. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII — "IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU" + </h2> + <p> + Jane had been a nurse in the Red Cross society for a little more than six + weeks. She was inexperienced but willing and there was such urgent need + for nurses that the army accepted any and all who seemed capable of + development under the training of experts. There had been tremendous + opposition on the part of the Harbins, but in the end, finding her + unalterably determined, the colonel permitted her to go out in the + service. She was sent forth on the special expedition in the wake of Major + March's forces, her secret desire being to be near Graydon Bansemer in + event of his injury. She gave no heed to their protest that the name of + Bansemer should be hateful to her; she ignored the ugly remarks of her + aunt and the angry reproaches of the colonel. It was more the spirit of + spite than any other motive which at last compelled him to accept the + situation; he even went so far as to growl to his wife: "Cursed good + riddance, that's what I say. I didn't want her to come in the first + place." + </p> + <p> + But when, after a month, she brought Bansemer back to the city, wounded + almost to death, the heart, of the soldier was touched. It was Colonel + Harbin who wrestled with the hospital authorities and, after two or three + days, had her installed regularly as a nurse for Bansemer, a concession + not willingly granted. Those days were like years to her. She was thin and + worn when she came down from the north, but she was haggard with anxiety + and despair when the two days of suspense were ended. + </p> + <p> + Ethel Harbin was her ablest ally. This rather lawless young person laid + aside the hearts with which she was toying and bent her every endeavour to + the cause of romance. It was not long before every young officer in the + city was more or less interested in the welfare of Graydon Bansemer. She + threw a fine cloak of mystery about the "millionaire's son" and the great + devotion of her cousin, The youth of the army followed Ethel to and from + the hospital for days and days; without Ethel it is quite doubtful if + anybody could have known what a monstrous important personage Private + Bansemer really was. + </p> + <p> + At the end of a fortnight he was able to sit up and converse with his + nurse and the occasional Ethel, Dr. G—-, chief of the ward, remarked + to Colonel Harbin: + </p> + <p> + "He'll get well, of course. He can't help it. I never knew before what + society could do for a fellow. He's got a society nurse and he is visited + by a society despot. It beats Christian Science all to pieces." + </p> + <p> + "Do you think he will be able to do any more fighting? Will he be strong + enough?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't see why. The government won't let him do it, that's all. He can + claim a pension and get out of service with an honourable discharge—and + maybe a medal. He'll be strong enough, however. That fellow could go on a + hike inside of a month." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose we'll all be going home before long. This war is about over," + growled Harbin. + </p> + <p> + "No sirree! We'll be fighting these fellows for ten years. Ah, there's + your daughter, Colonel. Good-day." + </p> + <p> + With the first returning strength, freed from lassitude and stupor, + Graydon began whispering joyous words of love to Jane. His eyes were + bright with the gladness that his pain had brought. She checked his weak + outbursts at first, but before many days had passed she was obliged to + resort to a firmness that shocked him into a resentful silence. She was + even harsh in her command. It cut her to the quick to hurt him, but she + was steeling herself against the future. + </p> + <p> + When he was able to walk out in the grounds, she withdrew farther into the + background of their daily life. He hungered for her, but she began to + avoid him with a strange aloofness that brought starvation to his heart. + While she was ever attentive to his wants, her smile lacked the tenderness + he had known in the days of danger, and her face was strangely sombre and + white. + </p> + <p> + "Jane," he said to her one day as he came in from his walk and laid down + his crutches, "this can't go on any longer. What is the matter? Don't you + love me—not at all?" + </p> + <p> + She stood straight and serious before him, white to the lips, her heart as + cold as ice. + </p> + <p> + "I love you, Graydon, with all my soul. I shall always love you. Please, + please, don't ask any more of me. You understand, don't you? We cannot be + as we once were—never. That is ended. But, you—you must know + that I love you." + </p> + <p> + "It is sheer madness, dearest, to take that attitude. What else in the + world matters so long as we love one another? I felt at first that I could + not ask you to be my wife after what my father did that night. That was as + silly of me as this is of you. I did not contend long against my love. You + have never been out of my mind, night or day. I was tempted more than once + to desert-but that was impossible, you know. It was the terrible eagerness + to go back to you and compel you to be mine. My father did you a grave + wrong. He—-" + </p> + <p> + "But my father did me a graver wrong, Graydon. I have thought it all out. + I have no right to be alive, so what right have I to be any man's wife?" + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense, dearest. You are alive, and you live for me, as I do for you. + You have saved my life; you must save my love. These last few weeks have + knit our lives together so completely that neither of us has the right to + change God's evident purpose. I love you for yourself, Jane. That is + enough. There has not been an instant in which I have felt that any + circumstance could alter my hope to marry you. You say; you have no name. + You forget that you may have mine, dearest—and it is not much to be + proud of, I fear, in the light of certain things. You must be my wife, + Jane." + </p> + <p> + "I cannot, Graydon. That is final. Don't! Don't plead, dear. It will not + avail. Look into my eyes. Don't you see that I mean it, Graydon?" + </p> + <p> + "By Heaven, Jane, your eyes are lying to me. You can't mean what is back + of them. It's cruel—it's wrong." + </p> + <p> + "Hush! you must not become excited. You are far from strong, and I am + still your nurse. Be—-" + </p> + <p> + "You are my life—you are everything. I can't give you up It's + ridiculous to take this stand. Be sensible. Look at it from my point of + view." + </p> + <p> + "There is only one point of view and love has nothing to do with it. Come, + let us talk of something else. Have you heard from your—your father? + Does he know you've been injured?" + </p> + <p> + He looked long into her tense face and then muttered, with the sullen + despair of the sick: "I don't know. I've had no word from anyone." + </p> + <p> + "The despatches have doubtless given your name. One of the Chicago + correspondents was talking about you recently. Your father will surely + write to you now." + </p> + <p> + "Are you eager to have him do so? I should think you'd hate his name. I + can't help caring for dad, Jane. I tried to curse him one time, but he + really has been good to me. I don't see how he can have done the things + they say he's done." + </p> + <p> + "There may be a mistake." + </p> + <p> + "That's good of you, dear, but you forget your mother's statements and all + that Rigby says—all that. Oh, I've gone over all of it, and I am + convinced. I wonder what has become of him. He was afraid of—of—well, + there was talk of an arrest before I left. I have not looked at a + newspaper since I saw the headlines that awful morning. God, how they must + have hurt you!" + </p> + <p> + "I, too, have not looked at a newspaper since then, Graydon," she said + simply. He smiled wearily and there was response in her eyes. + </p> + <p> + He took her hand in his and they sat silently side by side on the bench + for half an hour, their thoughts far away but of one another. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon," she said at last, "are you going to remain in the army?" + </p> + <p> + "No, I am through with it. My discharge is to be recommended. I'm + disabled." + </p> + <p> + "You will be as strong as ever, dear." + </p> + <p> + "Do you want me to stick to the army? I am only a private." + </p> + <p> + "You can do greater things out in the world, I know. You will be a great + man if you don't lose heart, Graydon." + </p> + <p> + "I can't be a soldier, dear, and support a wife on the pay I get," he said + with a smile. + </p> + <p> + "You shouldn't marry," + </p> + <p> + "But I am going to marry," he said. + </p> + <p> + "I have decided to become a nurse. It is my intention to give my whole + life to—-" + </p> + <p> + "The Red Cross?" + </p> + <p> + "No. The hospitals at home—the hospitals for the poor and homeless." + </p> + <p> + Ethel Harbin was coming through the grounds toward them. Her face was + clouded by a dark frown and she was visibly excited. + </p> + <p> + "It's all off," she announced as she came up. + </p> + <p> + "Where is the usual hero?" asked Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "I'm through with the real army. They've dismissed me. That is father and + mother have. They are driving me into the Salvation Army," she exclaimed, + seating herself beside Graydon. "I wish I were Jane and my own mistress." + </p> + <p> + "Dear me, Ethel, what an ambition!" said Jane. "What has happened to upset + you so?" + </p> + <p> + "Father has." + </p> + <p> + "I should have asked who, not what." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose they expect me to marry a Salvation Army man. They say Harry + isn't good enough. I think he is a very moral young man." + </p> + <p> + "Harry? Who is Harry?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, haven't you heard? Harry Soper. I'm engaged to him." + </p> + <p> + "The lieutenant?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly. He's going to be promoted, though, if he ever gets on the + firing line. It's not his fault that he has to do duty in the walled city. + He's aching to get out and fight. But father—-" Here she paused, her + lips coming together with a firmness that boded ill. + </p> + <p> + "Colonel Harbin doesn't approve?" + </p> + <p> + "No—he says Harry is a 'little pup.' It's outrageous, Jane." + </p> + <p> + "Don't cry, dear. The world is full of men." + </p> + <p> + "Not for me," said Ethel dolefully. "I've picked Harry out of a hundred or + more and I think my discrimination ought to be considered. I'm the one to + be satisfied. Father has no—-" + </p> + <p> + "But how about that young fellow back in New York? You used to say he was + the only one." + </p> + <p> + "He is the only one in New York. But look how far off he is! It takes + weeks for his letters to get to me." + </p> + <p> + "But he writes every day." + </p> + <p> + "Harry telephones every day. I tell you, Jane, the voice has a good deal + to do with it. You like to HEAR a fellow say nice things. It beats ink all + to pieces. It will go hard with him, perhaps, but he's young. He'll get + over it." + </p> + <p> + "You are young, too. That is why you have gotten over George." + </p> + <p> + "I'm not as young as I was. But I've decided on Harry. If father doesn't + let us get married right away, I'm liable to get over him, too. It's silly + doing that all the time; one might never get married, you know. But father + is firm. He says I can't, and he says he'll kick Harry into the middle of + next summer. Father says I shall not marry into the regular army. He says + they don't make good husbands. I've got the joke on him, though. He + appealed to mother, and she forgot herself and said the same thing. They + were quarrelling about it when I left the hotel. It was an awful jar to + father. For two cents I'd elope with Harry." + </p> + <p> + "It would be pretty difficult for an officer on duty to elope, don't you + think?" asked Graydon, amused. + </p> + <p> + "Not if he loved the girl. He does, too. But I haven't told you the worst. + Mother says I am being absolutely spoiled out here in Manila, and she says + flatly, that she's going to take me back to the States. Isn't it awful?" + </p> + <p> + "Back to the fellow in New York?" smiled Jane encouragingly. + </p> + <p> + Ethel thought for a moment and a dear little smile came into her troubled + eyes. + </p> + <p> + "I hope he hasn't gone and fallen in love with some other girl," she said. + </p> + <p> + It was true, as Jane soon learned, that Mrs. Harbin had concluded to + return to the United States with Ethel. Jane's aunt had grown immeasurably + tired of Manila—and perhaps a little more tired of the Colonel. It + was she who aroused the Colonel's antipathy to little Lieutenant Soper. + She dwelt upon the dire misfortune that was possible if Ethel continued to + bask in the society of "those young ninnies." The Colonel developed a + towering rage and a great fear that Ethel might become fatally + contaminated before she could be whisked off of the island. It was decided + that Mrs. Harbin and Ethel should return to the United States soon after + the first of March, to take up their residence in New York City. + </p> + <p> + "Mother wants to be a soldier's widow—on parole," sniffed Ethel, + almost audibly enough for her father's ears. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Harbin at once informed Jane that she was expected to return with + them. She demurred at first, purely for the sake of appearances, but in + the end agreed to tender her resignation to the Red Cross society. The + knowledge that Graydon Bansemer's discharge was soon forthcoming and that + he intended to return to America in the spring had more to do with this + decision than she was willing to admit. She therefore announced her + ambition to become a trained nurse and gave no heed to Mrs. Harbin's + insinuating smile. + </p> + <p> + Letters, of late, from Mrs. Cable, had been urging her to return to + Chicago; David Cable was far from well—breaking fast—and he + was wearing out his heart in silent longing for her return. He wrote to + her himself that he expected to retire from active business early in the + year, and that his time and fortune from that day on would be devoted to + his family. He held out attractive visions of travel, of residence abroad, + of endless pleasure which they could enjoy together. + </p> + <p> + Jane had written to them that she would not live in Chicago—any + place else in the world, she said—and they understood. There was no + word of James Bansemer in all these letters. She was always daughter to + them and they were father and mother. + </p> + <p> + Graydon Bansemer one day received three letters—all from Chicago. He + knew the handwriting on the envelope of each. Three men had written to + him, his father, Elias Droom, and Rigby. A dark scowl came over his face + as he looked at the Rigby envelope. It was the first letter that he opened + and read. Jane was sitting near by watching the expression on his face. + </p> + <p> + "It's from Rigby," he said as he finished. + </p> + <p> + "What does he say?" she asked anxiously. + </p> + <p> + "He says he is my devoted friend for life," replied Graydon bitterly. "I + can't forget, though, Jane. He is not the sort of friend I want." + </p> + <p> + "He thought it was for the best, Graydon." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, and he may have thought he was my friend, too. This letter says as + much. But I like an enemy better, dear. You know what to expect of an + enemy at all times. Here's one from Elias Droom—old Elias." Droom + scrawled a few words of cheer to the young soldier, urging him not to + re-enlist, but to come home, at the end of his two years. He enclosed a + letter from Mr. Clegg, in which that gentleman promised to put Graydon in + charge of their New York office, if he would take the place. This news + sent his spirits bounding. Tears of a gratefulness he never expected to + feel sprang to his eyes. Jane's happiness was a reflection of his own. + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer's letter was not read aloud to Jane. When he had finished + the perusal of the long epistle he folded it and stuck it away in his + pocket. His eyes seemed a bit wistful and his face drawn, but there was no + word to let her know what had been written by the man who had denounced + her. + </p> + <p> + "He is well," was all he said. He did not tell her that his father had + urged him to go into business in the Philippines, saying that he would + provide ample means with which to begin and carry on any enterprise he + cared to exploit. One paragraph cut Graydon to the quick: + </p> + <p> + "I'd advise you to steer clear of Chicago. If they don't kill you in the + Philippines, you're better off there. They hate us here." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII — HOMEWARD BOUND + </h2> + <p> + Early in March a great transport sailed from Manila Bay, laden with sick + and disabled soldiers—the lame, the healthless and the mad. It was + not a merry shipload, although hundreds were rejoicing in the escape from + the hardships of life in the islands. Graydon Bansemer was among them, + weak and distrustful of his own future—albeit a medal of honour and + the prospect of an excellent position were ahead of him. His discharge was + assured. He had served his country briefly, but well, and he was not loath + to rest on his insignificant laurels and to respect the memory of the + impulse which had driven him into service. In his heart he felt that time + would make him as strong as ever, despite the ugly scar in his side. It + was a question with him, however, whether time could revive the ambition + that had been smothered during the first days of despair. He looked ahead + with keen inquiry, speculating on the uncertain whirl of fortune's wheel. + </p> + <p> + Jane was obduracy itself in respect to his pleadings. A certain light in + her eyes had, at last, brought conviction to his soul. He began to fear—with + a mighty pain—that she would not retreat from the stand she had + taken. + </p> + <p> + She went on board with Mrs. Harbin and Ethel. There were other wives on + board who had found temporary release from irksome but voluntary + enlistment. Jane's resignation from the Red Cross society deprived her of + the privileges which would have permitted her to see much of Graydon. They + were kept separated by the transport's regulations; he was a common + soldier, she of the officer's mess. The restrictions were cruel and + relentless. They saw but little of one another during the thirty days; but + their thoughts were busy with the days to come. Graydon grew stronger and + more confident as the ship forged nearer to the Golden Gate; Jane more + wistful and resigned to the new purpose which was to give life another + colouring, if possible. They were but one day out from San Francisco when + he found the opportunity to converse with her as she passed through the + quarters of the luckless ones. + </p> + <p> + "Jane, I won't take no for an answer this time," he whispered eagerly; + "you must consent. Do you want to ruin both of our lives?" + </p> + <p> + "Why will you persist, Graydon? You know I cannot—" + </p> + <p> + "You can. Consider me as well as yourself. I want you. Isn't that enough? + You can't ask for more love than I will give. To-morrow we'll be on shore. + I have many things to do before I am at liberty to go my way. Won't you + wait for me? It won't be long. We can be married in San Francisco. Mr. and + Mrs. Cable are to meet you. Tell them, dearest, that you want to go home + with me. The home won't be in Chicago; but it will be home just the same." + </p> + <p> + "Dear Graydon, I am sorry—I am heartsick. But I cannot—I dare + not." + </p> + <p> + Graydon Bansemer was a man as well as a lover. He gave utterance to a + perfectly man-like expression, coming from the bottom of his tried soul: + </p> + <p> + "It's damned nonsense, Jane!" He said it so feelingly that she smiled even + as she shook her head and moved away. "I'll see you to-morrow on shore?" + he called, repentant and anxious. + </p> + <p> + "Yes!" + </p> + <p> + The next day they landed. Graydon waved an anxious farewell to her as he + was hurried off with the lame, the halt, and the blind. He saw David Cable + and his wife on the pier and, in spite of himself, he could not repel an + eager, half-fearful glance through the crowd of faces. Although he did not + expect his father to meet him, he dreaded the thought that he might be + there, after all. To his surprise, as he stood waiting with his comrades, + he saw David Cable turn suddenly, and, after a moment's hesitation, wave + his hand to him, the utmost friendship in his now haggard face. His heart + thumped joyously at this sign of amity. + </p> + <p> + As the soldiers moved away, Cable paused and looked after him, a grim + though compassionate expression in his eyes. He and Jane were ready to + confront the customs officers. + </p> + <p> + "I wonder if he knows about his father," mused he. Jane caught her breath + and looked at him with something like terror in her eyes. He abruptly + changed the subject, deploring his lapse into the past from which they + were trying to shield her. + </p> + <p> + The following morning Graydon received a note from Cable, a frank but + carefully worded message, in which he was invited to take the trip East in + the private car of the President of the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic. + Mrs. Cable joined her husband in the invitation; one of the sore spots in + Graydon's conscience was healed by this exhibition of kindness. Moreover, + Cable stated that his party would delay departure until Graydon's papers + were passed upon and he was free from red tape restrictions. + </p> + <p> + The young man, on landing, sent telegrams to his father and Elias Droom, + the latter having asked him to notify him as soon as he reached San + Francisco. Graydon was not a little puzzled by the fact that the old clerk + seemed strangely at variance with his father, in respect to the future. In + both telegrams, he announced that he would start East as soon as possible. + </p> + <p> + There was a letter from Droom awaiting him at headquarters. It was brief, + but it specifically urged him to accept the place proposed by Mr. Clegg, + and reiterated his pressing command to the young man to stop for a few + days in Chicago. In broad and characteristically uncouth sentences, he + assured him that while the city held no grudge against him, and that the + young men would welcome him with open arms—his groundless fears to + the contrary—he would advise him to choose New York. There was one + rather sentimental allusion to "old Broadway" and another to "Grennitch," + as he wrote it. In conclusion, he asked him to come to the office, which + was still in the U——Building, adding that if he wished to + avoid the newspaper men he could find seclusion at the old rooms in Wells + Street. "Your father," he said, "has given up his apartment and has taken + lodgings. I doubt very much if he will be willing to share them with you, + in view of the position he has assumed in regard to your future; although + he says you may always call upon him for pecuniary assistance." A draft + for five hundred dollars was enclosed with the letter. + </p> + <p> + Graydon was relieved to find that there would be no irksome delay + attending his official discharge. When he walked out a "free man," as he + called it, a gentlemanly pension attorney locked arms with him, and hung + on like a leech, until the irritated soldier shook him off with less + consideration than vigour. + </p> + <p> + He went directly to the Palace Hotel, where he knew the Cables were + stopping. David Cable came down in response to his card. The two men shook + hands, each eyeing the other inquiringly for an instant. + </p> + <p> + "I want you to understand, Graydon, that I am your friend. Nothing has + altered my esteem for you." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Mr. Cable. I hardly expected it." + </p> + <p> + "I don't see why, my boy. But, we'll let all that pass. Mrs. Cable wants + to see you." + </p> + <p> + "Before we go any farther I want to make myself clear to you. I still hope + to marry Jane. She says she cannot become my wife. You understand why, + sir. I only want to tell you that her objections are not objections to me. + She is Jane and I love her, sir, because she is." + </p> + <p> + "I hope you can win her over, Graydon. She seems determined, however, and + she is unhappy. You can't blame her, either. If there were base or common + blood in her, it wouldn't make much difference to her pride. But she's + made of other material. She's serious about it and I am sensible enough to + get her point of view. She wouldn't want to marry you with the prospect of + an eternal shadow that neither of you could get off of your minds. I + sometimes wish that I knew who were her parents." + </p> + <p> + "It doesn't matter, so far as I am concerned." + </p> + <p> + "I know, my boy, but she is thinking of the heritage that comes down from + her mother to her. You'll never know how it hurt me to find that I had no + daughter. It hurts her worse a thousandfold to learn that she has no + mother. I trust it may not happen that you will lose her as a wife." + </p> + <p> + "If I really thought I couldn't win her, sir, it would ruin my ambition in + life. She loves me, I'm sure." + </p> + <p> + "By the way, Clegg tells me he has offered you the New York office. It is + a splendid chance for you. You will take it, of course." + </p> + <p> + "I expect to talk it over with Mr. Clegg when I get to Chicago." + </p> + <p> + "Come up to our apartments. Oh, pardon me, Graydon, I want to ask you if + you have sufficient money to carry you through? I know the pay of a + private is not great—" + </p> + <p> + "Thank you. I have saved nearly all of it. My father has sent me a draft + for five hundred. I don't expect to use it, of course." + </p> + <p> + "Your father?" asked Cable, with a quick, searching look. + </p> + <p> + "And then I did save something in Chicago, strange as it may seem," said + Bansemer, with a smile. "I have a few of your five per cents. I trust the + road is all right?" + </p> + <p> + The Cables left San Francisco on the following day, accompanied by the + Harbins and Graydon Bansemer. There was no mistaking the joy which lay + under restraint in the faces and attitude of the Cables. David Cable had + grown younger and less grey, it seemed, and his wife was glowing with a + new and subdued happiness. Graydon, sitting with the excited Ethel—who + was rejoicing in the prospect of New York and the other young man—studied + the faces of the three people who sat at the other end of the coach. + </p> + <p> + Time had wrought its penalties. Cable was thin and his face had lost its + virility, but not its power. His eyes never left the face of Jane, who was + talking in an earnest, impassioned manner, as was her wont in these days. + Frances Cable's face was a study in transition. She had lost the colour + and vivacity of a year ago, although the change was not apparent to the + casual observer. Graydon could see that she had suffered in many ways. The + keen, eager appeal for appreciation was gone from her eyes; in its stead + was the appeal for love and contentedness. Happiness, now struggling + against the smarting of a sober pain, was giving a sweetness to her eyes + that had been lost in the ambitious glitter of other days. Ethel bored him—a + most unusual condition. He longed to be under the tender, quieting + influences at the opposite end of the car. He even resented his temporary + exile. + </p> + <p> + "Jane," Cable was saying with gentle insistence; "it is not just to him. + He loves you and you are not doing the right thing by him." + </p> + <p> + "You'll find I am right in the end," she said stubbornly. + </p> + <p> + "I can't bear the thought of your going out as a trained nurse, dear," + protested Frances Cable. "There is no necessity. You can have the best of + homes and in any place you like. Why waste your life in—" + </p> + <p> + "Waste, mother? It would be wasting my life if I did not find an + occupation for it. I can't be idle. I can't exist forever in your love and + devotion." + </p> + <p> + "Good Lord, child, don't be foolish," exclaimed Cable. "That hurts me more + than you think. Everything we have is yours." + </p> + <p> + "I'm sorry I said it, daddy. I did not mean it in that way. It isn't the + money, you know, and it isn't the home, either. No, you must let me choose + my own way of living the rest of my life. I came from a foundling + hospital. A good and tender nurse found me there and gave me the happiest + years of my life. I shall go back there and give the rest of my years to + children who are less fortunate than I was. I want to help them, mother, + just as you did—only it is different with me." + </p> + <p> + "You'll see it differently some day," said Mrs. Cable earnestly. + </p> + <p> + "I don't object to your helping the foundlings, Jane," said Cable, "but I + don't see why you have to be a nurse to do it. Other women support such + causes and not as nurses, either. It's—" + </p> + <p> + "It's my way, daddy, that's all," she said firmly. + </p> + <p> + "Then why, in the name of Heaven, were you so unkind as to keep that poor + boy over there alive when he might have died and ended his misery? You + nursed him back to life only to give him a wound that cannot be healed. + You would ruin his life, Jane. Is it fair? Damn me, I'm uncouth and hard + in many ways—I had a hard, unkind beginning—but I really + believe I've got more heart in me than you have." + </p> + <p> + "David!" exclaimed his wife. Jane looked at the exasperated man in + surprise. + </p> + <p> + "Now here's what I intend you to do: you owe me something for the love + that I give to you; you owe Graydon something for keeping him from dying. + If you want to go into the nursing business, all right. But I'm going to + demand some of your devotion for my own sake before that time comes. I've + loved you all of your life—" + </p> + <p> + "And I've loved you, daddy," she gasped. + </p> + <p> + "And I'm going to ask you to begin your nursing career by attending to me. + I'm sick for want of your love. I'm giving up business for the sake of + enjoying it unrestrained. Your mother and I expect it. We are going abroad + for our health and we are going to take you with us. Right now is where + you begin your career as a nurse. You've got to begin by taking care of + the love that is sick and miserable. We want it to live, my dear. Now, I + want a direct decision—at once: will you take charge of two patients + on a long-contemplated trip in search of love and rest—wages paid in + advance?" + </p> + <p> + She looked at him, white-faced and stunned. He was putting it before her + fluently and in a new light. She saw what it was that he considered that + she owed them—the love of a daughter, after all. + </p> + <p> + An hour later she stood with Graydon on the rear platform of the car. He + was trying to talk calmly of the country through which they were rushing + and she was looking pensively down the rails that slipped out behind them. + </p> + <p> + "We'll be in Chicago in three days," he remarked. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon, I have decided to go abroad for five or six months before + starting upon my work. They want me so much, you see," she said, her voice + a trifle uncertain. + </p> + <p> + "I wish I could have some power to persuade you," he said. Changing his + tone to one of brisk interest, he went on. "It is right, dear. It will do + you great good and it will be a joy to them. I'll miss you." + </p> + <p> + "And I shall miss you, Graydon," she said, her eyes very solemn and + wistful. + </p> + <p> + "Won't you—won't you give me the promise I want, Jane?" he asked + eagerly. She placed her hand upon his and shook her head. + </p> + <p> + "Won't you be good to me, Graydon? Don't make it so hard for me. Please, + please don't tell me again that you love me." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX — THE WRECKAGE + </h2> + <p> + The spring floods delayed the Eastern Express, bringing the party to + Chicago nearly a day late. The Cables and the Harbins went at once to the + Annex, where David Cable had taken rooms. They had given up their North + Side home some months before, both he and his wife retiring into the + seclusion that a great hotel can afford when necessary. + </p> + <p> + Graydon hurried off to his father's office, eager, yet half fearing to + meet the man who was responsible for the broken link in his life—this + odd year. He recalled, as he drove across town, that a full year had + elapsed since he spent that unforgettable night in Elias Droom's uncanny + home. Was he never to forget that night—that night when his soul + seemed even more squalid than the home of the recluse? + </p> + <p> + All of his baggage, except a suit case, had been left at the station. He + did not know what had become of his belongings in the former home of his + father. Nor, for that matter, did he care. + </p> + <p> + At the U—— Building he ventured a diffident greeting to the + elevator boy, whom he remembered. The boy looked at him quizzically and + nodded with customary aloofness. Graydon found himself hoping that he + would not meet Bobby Rigby. He also wondered, as the car shot up, how his + father had managed to escape from the meshes that were drawn about him on + the eve of his departure. His chances had looked black and hopeless enough + then; yet, he still maintained the same old offices in the building. His + name was on the directory board downstairs. Graydon's heart gave a quick + bound with the thought that his father had proved the charges false after + all. + </p> + <p> + Elias Droom was busy directing the labours of two able-bodied men and a + charwoman, all of whom were toiling as they had never toiled before. The + woman was dusting law books and the men were packing them away in boxes. + The front room of the suite was in a state of devastation. A dozen boxes + stood about the floor; rugs and furniture were huddled in the most remote + corner awaiting the arrival of the "second-hand man"; the floor was + littered with paper. Droom was directing operations with a broken + umbrella. It seemed like a lash to the toilers. + </p> + <p> + "Now, let's get through with this room," he was saying in his most + impelling way. "The men will be here for the boxes at four. I don't want + 'em to wait. This back room stuff we'll put in the trunks. Look out there! + Don't you see that nail?" + </p> + <p> + Eddie Deever, with his usual indolence, was seated upon the edge of the + writing table in the corner, smoking his cigarette, and commenting with + rash freedom upon the efforts of the perspiring slaves. + </p> + <p> + "How long are you going to keep these things in the warehouse?" he asked + of Droom. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not going to keep them there at all. They belong to Mr. Bansemer. + He'll take them out when he has the time." + </p> + <p> + "He's getting all the time he wants now, I guess." commented Eddie. "Say, + talking about time, I'll be twenty-one next Tuesday." + </p> + <p> + "Old enough to marry." + </p> + <p> + "I don't know about that. I'm getting pretty wise. Do you know, I've just + found out how old Rosie Keating is? She's twenty-nine. Gee, it's funny how + a fellow always gets stuck on a girl older than himself! Still, she's all + right. I'm not saying a word against her. She wouldn't be twenty-nine if + she could help it." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose it's off between you, then." + </p> + <p> + "I don't know about that, either. We lunched at Rector's to-day. That + don't look like it's off, does it? Four sixty-five, including the tip. She + don't look twenty-nine, does she?" + </p> + <p> + "I've never noticed her." + </p> + <p> + "Never—well, holy mackerel! You must be blind then. She says she's + seen you in the elevator a thousand times. Never noticed HER? Gee!" + </p> + <p> + "I mean, I've never noticed anyone who looked less than twenty-nine. By + the way, do you ever see Mr. Rigby? I believe she is in his office." + </p> + <p> + "I don't go to Rigby's any more," said Eddie, with sudden stiffness. "He's + a cheap skate." + </p> + <p> + "I HEARD he threw you out of the office one day," with a dry cackle. + </p> + <p> + "He did not! We couldn't agree in certain things regarding the Bansemer + affair, that's all. I told him to go to the devil, or words to that + effect." + </p> + <p> + "Something loose about your testimony, I believe, wasn't there?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, the whole thing doesn't amount to a whoop. I'm trying to get Rosie + another job. She oughtn't to write in there with that guy." + </p> + <p> + "Well, you're twenty-one. Why don't you open an office of your own? Your + mother's got plenty of money. She can buy you a library and a sign, and + that is all a young lawyer needs in Chicago." + </p> + <p> + "Mother wants me to run for alderman in our ward, next spring. I'll be + able to vote at that election." + </p> + <p> + "You've got as much right in the council as some others, I suppose." + </p> + <p> + "Sure, mother owns property. The West Side ought to be as well represented + as the North Side. Property interests is what we need in the council. + That's—" + </p> + <p> + "I don't care to hear a political speech, boy. Are you busy this + afternoon?" + </p> + <p> + "No. I wouldn't be here if I was." + </p> + <p> + "Then get up there and hand those books down to me. Nobody loafs in this + office to-day." + </p> + <p> + "Well, doggone, if that isn't the limit! All right. Don't get mad. I'll do + it." The young gentleman leisurely ascended to the top of the stepladder + and fell into line under the lash. + </p> + <p> + "Young Mr. Graydon Bansemer will be here this afternoon," said Droom. "I + want to get things cleaned up a bit beforehand." + </p> + <p> + "How does he feel about his father?" + </p> + <p> + "He doesn't know about him, I'm afraid." + </p> + <p> + "Gee! Well, it'll jar him a bit, won't it?" + </p> + <p> + The office door was opened suddenly and a tall young man strode into the + room, only to stop aghast at the sight before him. Droom's lank figure + swayed uncertainly and his eyes wavered. + </p> + <p> + "What's all this?" cried Graydon, dropping his bag and coming toward the + old man, his hand outstretched. Droom's clammy fingers rested lifelessly + in the warm clasp. + </p> + <p> + "How are you, Graydon? I'm—I'm very glad to see you. You are looking + well. Oh, this? We—we are moving," said the old man. The helpers + looked on with interest. "Come into the back office. It isn't so torn up. + I didn't expect you so soon. They said it was twenty-four hours late. + Well, well, how are you, my boy?" + </p> + <p> + "I'm quite well again, Elias. Hard siege of it, I tell you. Moving, eh? + What's that for?" + </p> + <p> + "Never mind those books, Eddie. Thank you for helping me. Come in some + other time. You fellows—I mean you—pack the rest of these and + then I'll tell you what to do next. Come in, Graydon." + </p> + <p> + Eddie Deever took his departure, deeply insulted because he had not been + introduced to the newcomer. Graydon, somewhat bewildered, followed Droom + into his father's consultation room. He looked around inquiringly. + </p> + <p> + "Where is father? I telegraphed to him." + </p> + <p> + An incomprehensible grin came into Droom's face. He twirled the umbrella + in his fingers a moment before replying. His glance at the closed door was + no more significant than his lowered tones. + </p> + <p> + "It didn't go very well with him, Graydon. He isn't here any more." + </p> + <p> + "What do you mean?" + </p> + <p> + "I mean the trial. There was a trial, you see. Haven't you heard + anything?" + </p> + <p> + "Trial? He—he was arrested?" came numbly from the young man's lips. + </p> + <p> + "I can't mince matters, Graydon. I'll get it over as quickly as possible. + Your father was tried for blackmail and was convicted. He is in—he's + in the penitentiary." + </p> + <p> + The son's face became absolutely bloodless; his eyes were full of + comprehension and horror, and his body stiffened as if he were turning to + stone. The word penitentiary fell slowly, mechanically from his lips. He + looked into Droom's eyes, hoping it might be a joke of the calloused old + clerk. + </p> + <p> + "You—it—it can't be true," he murmured, his trembling hands + going to his temples. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my boy, it is true. I didn't write to you about it, because I wanted + to put it off as long as I could. It's for five years." + </p> + <p> + "God!" burst from the wretched son. A wave of shame and grief sent the + tears flooding to his eyes. "Poor old dad!" He turned and walked to the + window, his shoulders heaving. Droom stood silent for a long time, + watching Bansemer's son, pity and triumph in his face. + </p> + <p> + "Do you want to hear about it?" he asked at last. Graydon's head was bent + in assent. + </p> + <p> + "It came the day after you left Chicago with the recruits. I knew you + would not read the newspapers. So did he. Harbert swore out the papers and + he was arrested here in this office. I believe he would have killed + himself if he had been given time. His revolver was—er—not + loaded. Before the officers came he discharged me. I was at liberty to go + or to testify against him. I did neither. Of course, I was arrested, but + they could only prove that I was a clerk who knew absolutely nothing about + the inside workings of the office. I offered to go on his bond but he + would not have me. He made some arrangement, through his attorney, and + bail was secured. In spite of the fact that he was charged with crime, he + insisted on keeping these offices and trying to do business. It wasn't + because he needed money, Graydon, but because he wanted to lead an honest + life, he said. He has a great deal of money, let me tell you. The grand + jury indicted him last spring but the trial did not come up until last + month—nearly a year later—so swift is justice in this city. In + the meantime, I saw but little of him. I was working on an invention and, + besides, there were detectives watching every movement I made. I stuck + close to my rooms. By the way, I want to show you a couple of models I + have perfected. Don't let me forget it. They—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes—but father? Go on!" + </p> + <p> + "Well, the trial came up at last. That man Harbert is a devil. He had + twenty witnesses, any one of whom could have convicted your father. How he + got onto them, I can't imagine. He uncovered every deal we've—er—he + had in Chicago and—" + </p> + <p> + "Then he really was guilty!" groaned Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, my boy, I knew it, of course. They could not force me to testify + against him, however. I was too smart for them. Well, to make it short, he + was sentenced five weeks ago. The motion for a new trial was overruled. He + went to Joliet. If he had been a popular alderman or ward boss he would + have been out yet on continuances, spending most of his sentence in some + fashionable hotel, to say the least." + </p> + <p> + "Is he—wearing stripes?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, it's the fashion there." + </p> + <p> + "For God's sake, don't jest. For five years!" The young man sank into a + chair and covered his face with his hands. + </p> + <p> + "There'll be something off for good behaviour, my boy. He wanted to behave + well before he went there, so I suppose he'll keep it up. The whole town + was against him. He didn't have a friend." + </p> + <p> + "How did you escape?" demanded Graydon, looking up suddenly. "State's + evidence?" + </p> + <p> + "No, not even after he tried to put most of the blame upon me. He tried + that, my boy. I just let him talk. It saved me from prison. Usually the + case with the man who keeps his mouth closed." + </p> + <p> + "But, Elias—Elias, why have I been kept in the dark? Why did he not + tell me about it? Why has—" + </p> + <p> + "You forget, Graydon, that you turned from him first. You were really the + first to condemn him. He wanted you to stay away from this country until + he is free. That was his plan. He didn't want to see you. Now he wants you + to come to him. He wants you to bring Jane Cable to see him." + </p> + <p> + "What!" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, that's it. I believe he intends to tell her the names of her father + and mother. I think he wants her to forgive him and he wants to hear both + of you say it to him." + </p> + <p> + Graydon stared blankly from the window. The old clerk was smiling to + himself, an evil, gloating smile that would have shocked Bansemer had he + turned suddenly. + </p> + <p> + "He wants both of us to—to come to the penitentiary?" muttered the + son. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, as soon as possible. Do you think she'll go?" demanded Droom + anxiously. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know. I'm afraid not." + </p> + <p> + "Not even to learn who her parents are?" + </p> + <p> + "It might tempt her. But she hates father." + </p> + <p> + "Well, she can gloat over him, can't she? That ought to be some + satisfaction. Talk it over with her. She's here, isn't she?" + </p> + <p> + "Elias, do you know who her parents were?" asked Graydon quickly. "I've + thought you knew as much about it as father." + </p> + <p> + The old man's eyes shifted. + </p> + <p> + "It's a silly question to ask of me. I was not a member of the Four + Hundred, my boy." + </p> + <p> + "Nor was my father. Yet you think he knows." + </p> + <p> + "He's a much smarter man than I, Graydon. You'll go with me to see him?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes. I can't speak for Miss Cable." + </p> + <p> + "See her to-morrow. Come out to my place to-night, where the reporters + can't find you. Maybe you won't care to sleep with me—I've but one + bed, you see—but you can go to a quiet hotel downtown. I'm packing + these things to store them for your father. Then I'm going back to New + York to live on my income. It's honest money, too." + </p> + <p> + "Who sent me the draft for five hundred?" + </p> + <p> + "I did, Graydon. Forgive me. It was just a loan, you know. I thought you'd + need something—" + </p> + <p> + "I haven't touched it, Elias. Here it is. Thank you. No, I won't accept + it." + </p> + <p> + "I'm sorry," muttered the old man, taking the slip of paper. + </p> + <p> + Graydon resumed his seat near the window and watched Droom with leaden + eyes as he turned suddenly to resume charge of the packing. "We'll soon be + through," he said shortly. + </p> + <p> + For an hour the work went on, and then Droom dismissed the workers with + their pay. The storage van men were there to carry the boxes away. Graydon + sat still and saw the offices divested. Secondhand dealers hurried off + with the furniture, the pictures and the rugs; an expressman came in for + the things that belonged to Elias Droom. + </p> + <p> + "There," said the clerk, tossing the umbrella into a corner. "It's + finished. There's nothing left to do but remove ourselves." + </p> + <p> + "Elias, did Mr. Clegg know about father's conviction when he offered me + the place in New York?" asked Graydon as they started away. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, that's the beauty of it. He admires you. You'll take the place?" + </p> + <p> + "Not until I've talked it all over with him—to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + Droom called a cab and the two drove over to the Wells Street rooms, + Graydon relinquishing himself completely to the will of the old man. + During the supper, which Droom prepared with elaborate care, and far into + the night, the young man sat and listened without interest to the + garrulous talk of his host, who explained the mechanism and purpose of two + models. + </p> + <p> + One was in the nature of a guillotine by which a person could chop his own + head off neatly without chance of failure, and the other had to do with + the improvement of science in respect to shoelaces. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX — THE DRINK OF GALL + </h2> + <p> + Mr. Clegg was not long in convincing Graydon that his proposition to him + was sincere and not the outgrowth of sentiment. A dozen men in the office + greeted Graydon with a warmth that had an uplifting effect. He went away + with a heart lighter than he had once imagined it could ever be again. In + two weeks he was to be in absolute control of the New York branch; he + assured the firm that his physical condition was such that he could go to + work at once, if necessary. + </p> + <p> + As he hastened to the Annex, misgivings again entered into his soul. The + newspapers had heralded his return and had hinted broadly at romantic + developments in connection with Miss Cable, "who is at the Annex with Mr. + and Mrs. Cable." There were brief references to the causes which sent both + of them to the Philippines, find that was all. + </p> + <p> + Without hesitation, he came to the point by asking if she knew what had + befallen his father. Jane had heard the news the night before. He + thereupon put the whole situation before her just as it had been suggested + in Droom's ironical remark. It was not until after the question had been + passed upon by Mr. and Mrs. Cable that she reluctantly consented to visit + Graydon's father—solely for the purpose of gleaning what information + she could regarding her parentage. + </p> + <p> + They left the next day with Elias Droom, depressed, nervous, dreading the + hour ahead of them. Neither was in the mood to respond to the eager, + excited remarks of the old clerk. The short railroad trip was one never to + be forgotten; impressions were left in their lives that could not be + effaced. + </p> + <p> + James Bansemer, shorn and striped, was not expecting visitors. He was + surprised and angry when he was told that visitors were waiting to see + him. For four weeks he had laboured clumsily and sourly in the shoe + factory of the great prison, a hauler and carrier. His tall figure was + bent with unusual toil, his hands were sore and his heart was full of the + canker of rebellion. Already, in that short time, his face had taken on + the look of the convict. All the viciousness in his nature had gone to his + face and settled there. He had the sullen, dogged, patient look of the man + who has a number but no name. + </p> + <p> + The once dignified, aggressive walk had degenerated into a slouch; he + shuffled as he came to the bars where he was to meet his first visitors. + He was not pleased but he was curious. Down in his heart he found a hope + that his attorney had come with good news. It was not until he was almost + face to face with his son that he realised who it was; not until then that + he felt the full force of shame, ignominy, loathing for himself. + </p> + <p> + He started back with an involuntary oath and would have slunk away had not + Graydon called out to him—called out in a voice full of pain and + misery. The convict's face was ashen and his jaw hung loose with the + paralysis of dismay; his heart dropped like a chunk of ice, his feet were + as leaden weights. A look of utter despair came into his hard eyes as he + slowly advanced to the bars. + </p> + <p> + "My God, Graydon, why did you come? Why did you come here?" he muttered. + Then he caught sight of Jane and Elias Droom. His eyes dropped and his + fingers twitched; to save his life he could not have kept his lower lip + from trembling nor the burning tears from his eyes. His humiliation was + complete. + </p> + <p> + A malevolent grin was on Droom's face; his staring blue eyes looked with a + great joy upon the shamed, beaten man in the stripes. The one thing that + he had longed for and cherished had come to pass; he had lived to see + James Bansemer utterly destroyed even in his own eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Father, I can't believe it. I can't tell you how it hurts me. I would + willingly take your place if it were possible. Forgive me for deserting + you—" Graydon was saying incoherently when his father lifted his + face suddenly, a fierce, horrified look of understanding in the eyes that + flashed upon Elias Droom. Even as he clasped his son's hand in the + bitterness of small joy, his lips curled into a snarl of fury. Droom's + eyes shifted instantly, his uneasy gaze directing itself as usual above + the head of its victim. + </p> + <p> + "You did this, curse you!" came from the convict's livid lips. "And this + girl, too! Good God, you knew I would rather have died than to meet + Graydon as I am now. You knew it and you brought him here. I hope you will + rot in hell for this, Elias Droom. She comes here, too, to gloat—to + rejoice—to see how I look before my son in prison stripes!" He went + on violently for a long stretch, ending with a sob of rage. "I suppose you + are satisfied," he said hoarsely to Droom. + </p> + <p> + Graydon and Jane looked on in surprise and distress. Droom's gaze did not + swerve nor his expression change. + </p> + <p> + "Father, didn't you expect me to come?" asked Graydon. "Don't you want to + see me?" + </p> + <p> + "Not here. Why should I have tried to keep you from returning to this + country? God knows how I hoped and prayed that you'd not see me here. + Elias Droom knew it. That's why he brought you here. Don't lie to me, + Droom. I know it!" + </p> + <p> + "What could you expect?" mumbled Droom. "Down in your heart you wanted to + see him. I've done you a kindness." + </p> + <p> + "For which I'll repay you some day," cried the prisoner, a steady look in + his eyes. "Now go away, all of you! I'm through with you. You've seen me. + The girl is satisfied. Go—" + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense, father," cried Graydon, visibly distressed by his father's + anguish. "Elias said that you wanted to see us. Jane did not come out of + curiosity. She is here to ask justice of you; she's not seeking + vengeance." + </p> + <p> + "I'll talk to you alone," said the prisoner shortly. "Send her away. I've + nothing to say to her or Droom." + </p> + <p> + Jane turned and walked swiftly away, followed by Droom, who rubbed his + long fingers together and tried to look sympathetic. The interview that + ensued between father and son was never to be forgotten by either. Graydon + heard his father's bitter story in awed silence; heard him curse deeply + and vindictively; heard all this and marvelled at the new and heretofore + unexposed side of his nature. + </p> + <p> + There was something pathetic in the haggard face and the expressions of + impotent rage. His heart softened when his father bared his shame to him + and cried out against the fate which had brought them together on this + day. + </p> + <p> + "It doesn't matter, father," said Graydon hoarsely. "I deserted you and + I'm sorry. No matter what you've done to bring you here, I'm glad I've + come to see you. I don't blame Elias. For a while I'm afraid I rather held + out against coming. Now, I am glad for my own sake. I won't desert you + now. I am going to work for a pardon, if your appeal does not go through." + </p> + <p> + "Don't! I won't have it!" exclaimed the other. "I'm going to stay it out. + It will give me time to forget, so that I can be a better man. If they let + me out now I'd do something I'd always regret. I want to serve my time and + start all over again. Don't worry about me. I won't hamper you. I'll go + away—abroad, as Harbert suggested. Damn him, his advice was good, + after all. Understand, Graydon, I do not want parole or pardon. You must + not undertake it. I am guilty and I ought to be punished the same as these + other fellows in here. Don't shudder. It's true. I'm no better than they." + </p> + <p> + "I hate to think of you in this awful place—" began Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "Don't think of me." + </p> + <p> + "But, my God, I've seen you here, father," cried the son. + </p> + <p> + "A pretty spectacle for a son," laughed the father bitterly. "Why did you + bring that girl here? That was cruel—heartless." + </p> + <p> + Graydon tried to convince him that Jane had not come to gloat but to ask a + favour of him. + </p> + <p> + "A favour, eh? She expects me to tell all I know about her, eh? That's + good!" laughed Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + "Father, she has done you no wrong. Why are you so bitter against her? + It's not right—it's not like you." + </p> + <p> + Bansemer looked steadily at him for a full minute. + </p> + <p> + "Is she going to marry you, Graydon?" + </p> + <p> + "She refuses, absolutely." + </p> + <p> + "Then, she's better than I thought. Perhaps I'm wrong in hating her as I + do. It's because she took you away from me. Give me time, Graydon. Some + day I may tell you all I know. Don't urge me now; I can't do it now. I + don't want to see her again. Don't think I'm a fool about it, boy, and + don't speak of it again. Give me time." + </p> + <p> + "She is the gentlest woman in the world." + </p> + <p> + "You love her?" + </p> + <p> + "Better than my life." + </p> + <p> + "Graydon, I—I hope she will change her mind and become your wife." + </p> + <p> + "You do? I don't understand." + </p> + <p> + "That's why I'd rather she never could know who her parents are. The + shadow is invisible now; it wouldn't help matters for her if it were + visible. She's better off by not knowing. Has Droom intimated that he + knows?" + </p> + <p> + "He says he does not." + </p> + <p> + "He lies, but at the same time he won't tell her. It's not in him to do + it. God, he has served me ill to-day. He has always hated me, but he was + always true to me. He did me a vile trick when he changed the cartridges + in my revolver. By God, I discharged him for that. I told him to appear + against me if he would. He was free to do so. But, curse him, he would not + give me the satisfaction of knowing that he was a traitor. He knew I'd go + over the road, anyhow. He's been waiting for this day to come. He has + finally given me the unhappiest hour in my life." + </p> + <p> + After a few moments he quieted down and asked Graydon what his plans were + for the future. In a strained uncertain way the two talked of the young + man's prospects and the advantages they promised. + </p> + <p> + "Go ahead, Graydon, and don't let the shadow of your father haunt you. + Don't forget me, boy, because I love you better than all the world. These + are strange words for a man who has fallen as I have fallen, but they are + true. Listen to this: you will be a rich man some day; I have a fortune to + give you, my boy. They can't take my money from me, you know. It's all to + be yours—every cent of it. You see—" + </p> + <p> + "Father—I—let us not talk about it now," said Graydon hastily, + a shadow of repugnance in his eyes. Bansemer studied his face for a moment + and a deep red mounted to his brow. + </p> + <p> + "You mean, Graydon," he stammered, "that you—you do not want my + money?" + </p> + <p> + "Why should we talk about it now?" + </p> + <p> + "Because it suggests my death?" + </p> + <p> + "No, no, father. I—" + </p> + <p> + "You need not say it. I understand. It's enough. You feel that my money + was not honestly made. Well, we won't discuss it. I'll not offer it to you + again." + </p> + <p> + "It won't make any difference, dad. I love you. I don't love your money." + </p> + <p> + "Or the way I earned it. Some day, my boy, you'll learn that very few make + money by dealing squarely with their fellow men. It's not the custom. My + methods were a little broader than common, that's all. I now notify you + that I intend to leave all I have to sweet charity. I earned most of my + ill-gotten wealth in New York and Chicago, and I'm going to give it back + to these cities. Charity will take anything that is offered, but it + doesn't always give in return." + </p> + <p> + At the expiration of the time allotted to the visitor, Graydon took his + departure. + </p> + <p> + "Graydon, ask her to think kindly of me if she can." + </p> + <p> + "I'll come down again, father before I go East." + </p> + <p> + "No!" almost shouted James Bansemer. "I won't have it! For my sake, + Graydon, don't ever come here again. Don't shame me more than you have + to-day. I'll never forget this hour. Stay away and you'll be doing me the + greatest kindness in the world. Promise me, boy!" + </p> + <p> + "I can't promise that, dad. It isn't a sane request. I am your son—" + </p> + <p> + "My God, boy, don't you see that I can't bear to look at you through these + bars? Go! Please go! Good-bye! Write to me, but don't come here again. + Don't! It's only a few years." + </p> + <p> + He turned away abruptly, his shoulder drawn upward as if in pain, and + Graydon left the place, weakened and sick at heart. + </p> + <p> + Jane and Droom were awaiting him in an outer office. The former looked + into his eyes searchingly, tenderly. + </p> + <p> + "I'm so sorry, Graydon," she said as she took his hand in hers. + </p> + <p> + All the way back to Chicago Elias Droom sat and watched them from under + lowered brows, wondering why it was that he felt so much lonelier than he + ever had felt before,—wondering, too, in a vague sort of way, why he + was not able to exult, after all. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI — THE TRANSFORMING OF DROOM + </h2> + <p> + Jane was ill and did not leave her room during the two days following the + visit to the penitentiary. She was haunted by the face of James Bansemer, + the convict. It was beyond her powers of imagination to recall him as the + well-groomed, distinguished man she once had known. Graydon was deeply + distressed over the pain and humiliation he had subjected her to through + Droom's unfortunate efforts. The fact that she could not or would not see + him for two days hurt him more than he could express, even to himself. The + day before he left for New York, however, she saw him in their parlour. + She was pale and very quiet. + </p> + <p> + Neither mentioned the visit to the prison; there was nothing to say. + </p> + <p> + "You will be in New York next week?" he asked as he arose to leave. His + spirit was sore. She again had told him that he must not hope. With an + hysterical attempt to lead him on to other topics, she repeated her + conversations with Teresa Valesquez, urging him with a hopeless attempt at + bravado, to seek out the Spanish girl and marry her. He laughed lifelessly + at the jest. + </p> + <p> + "We will leave Chicago on Monday. Father will have his business affairs + arranged by that time. I would not let him resign the presidency. It would + seem as if I were taking it away from him. We expect to be in Europe for + six or eight months. Then, I am coming back to New York, where I was born, + Graydon—to work!" + </p> + <p> + He went away with the feeling in his heart that he was not to see her + again. A single atom of determination lingered in his soul, however, and + he tried to build upon it for the future. Rigby's wedding invitation had + come to him that morning—almost as a mockery. He tore it to pieces + with a scowl of recollection. + </p> + <p> + Droom's effects were on the way to New York. He hung back, humbly waiting + for Graydon to suggest that they should travel East on the same train. His + grim, friendless old heart gave a bound of pure joy—the first he had + known—when the young man made the suggestion that night. + </p> + <p> + Together they travelled eastward and homeward, leaving behind them the + grey man in stripes. + </p> + <p> + Jane's six months in Europe grew into a year—and longer. It was a + long but a profitable year for Graydon Bansemer; he had been enriched not + only in wealth but in the hope of ultimate happiness. Not that Jane + encouraged him. Far from it, she was more obdurate than ever with an ocean + between them. But his atom of determination had grown to a purpose. His + face was thinner and his eyes were of a deeper, more wistful grey; they + were full of longing for the girl across the sea, and of pity and yearning + for the man back there in the West. + </p> + <p> + He had toiled hard and well; he had won. The shadow of '99 was still over + him, but the year and a new ambition had lessened its blackness. Friends + were legion in the great metropolis; he won his way into the hearts and + confidence of new associates and renewed fellowship with the old. + Invitations came thickly upon him, but he resolutely turned his back upon + most of them. He was not socially hungry in these days. + </p> + <p> + Once a week he wrote to his father, but there never was a reply. He did + not expect one, for James Bansemer, in asking him to write, had vowed that + his son should never hear from him again until he could speak as a free + man and a chastened one. True to his promise, Graydon instituted no + movement to secure a pardon. He did, by a strong personal appeal, persuade + Denis Harbert to drop further prosecution. There were enough indictments + against his father to have kept him behind the bars for life. + </p> + <p> + Elias Droom had rooms in Eighth Avenue not a great distance from Herald + Square. He was quite proud of his new quarters. They had many of the + unpleasant features of the old ones in Wells Street, but they were less + garish in their affront to an aesthetic eye. The incongruous pictures were + there and the oddly assorted books, but the new geraniums had a chance for + life in the broader windows; the cook stove was in the rear and there was + a venerable Chinaman in charge of it; the bedroom was kept so neat and + clean that Droom quite feared to upset it with his person. But, most + strange of all, was the change in Droom himself. + </p> + <p> + "I've retired from active work," he informed Graydon one day, when that + young man stared in astonishment at him. "What's the use, my boy, in Elias + Droom dressing like a dog of a workingman, when he is a gentleman of + leisure and affluence? It surprises you to see me in an evening suit, eh? + Well, by Jove, my boy, I've got a dinner jacket, a Prince Albert and a + silk hat. There are four new suits of clothes hanging up in that closet," + he said, adding, with a sarcastic laugh. "That ought to make a perfect + gentleman of me, oughtn't it? What are you laughing at?" + </p> + <p> + "I can't help it, Elias. Who would have dreamed that you'd go in for good + clothes!" + </p> + <p> + "I used to dream about it, long ago. I swore if I ever got back to New + York I'd dress as New Yorkers dress—even if I was a hundred years + old. I've got a servant, too. What d'ye think of that? He can't understand + a word I say, nor can I understand him. That's why he stays on with me. He + doesn't know when I'm discharging him, and I don't know when he's + threatening to leave. What do you think of my rooms?" + </p> + <p> + It was Graydon's first visit to the place, weeks after their return to New + York. He had not felt friendly to Droom since the day at the prison; but + now he was forgetting his resentment, in the determination to wrest from + him the names of Jane's father and mother. He was confident that the old + man knew. + </p> + <p> + "Better than Wells Street, eh? Well, you see, I was in trade then. + Different now. I'm getting to be quite a fop. Do you notice that I say 'By + Jove' occasionally?" He gave his raucous laugh of derision. "Dined at + Sherry's the other night, old chap," he went on with raw mimicry. "They + thought I was a Christian and let me in. I used to look like the devil, + you know." + </p> + <p> + "By the Lord Harry, Elias," cried Graydon, "you look like the devil now." + </p> + <p> + "I've got these carpet slippers on because my shoes hurt my feet," + explained Droom sourly. "My collar rubbed my neck, so I took it off. + Otherwise, I'm just as I was when I got in at Sherry's. Funny what a + difference a little thing like a collar makes, isn't it?" + </p> + <p> + "I should say so. I never gave it a thought until now. But, Elias, I want + to ask a great favour of you. You can—" + </p> + <p> + "My boy, if your father wouldn't tell you who her parents are, don't + expect me to do so. He knows; I only suspect." + </p> + <p> + "You must be a mind reader," gasped Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "It isn't hard to read your mind these days. What do you hear from her?" + Graydon went back to the subject after a few moments. "I am morally + certain that I know who her father and mother were, but it won't do any + good to tell her. It didn't make me any better to learn who my father was. + It made me wiser, that's all. How's your father?" + </p> + <p> + After this night Graydon saw the old man often. They dined together + occasionally in the small cafes on the West Side. Droom could not, for + some reason known only to himself, be induced to go to Sherry's again. + </p> + <p> + "When Jane comes back, I'll give you both a quiet little supper there + after the play maybe. It'll be my treat, my boy." + </p> + <p> + The old man worked patiently and fruitlessly over his "inventions." They + came to naught, but they lightened his otherwise barren existence. There + was not a day or night in which his mind was wholly free from thoughts of + James Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + He counted the weeks and days until the man would be free, and his eyes + narrowed with these furtive glances into the future. He felt in his heart + that James Bansemer would come to him at once, and that the reckoning for + his single hour of triumph would be a heavy one to pay. Sometimes he would + sit for hours with his eyes staring at the Napoleon above the bookcase, + something like dread in their depths. Then again he would laugh with glee, + pound the table with his bony hand—much to the consternation of + Chang—and exclaim as if addressing a multitude: + </p> + <p> + "I hope I'll be dead when he gets out of there! I hope I won't live to see + him, free again. That would spoil everything. Let me see, I'm seventy-one + now; I surely can't live much longer. I want to die seeing him as I saw + him that day. The last thing I think of on earth must be James Bansemer's + face behind the bars. Ha, ha, ha! It was worth all the years, that one + hour! It was even worth while being his slave. I'm not afraid of him! No! + That's ridiculous. Of course, I'm not afraid of him. I only want to know + he's lying in a cell when I die out here in the great, free world! By my + soul, he'll know that a handsome face isn't always the best. He laughed at + my face, curse him. His face won her—his good looks! Well, well, + well, I only hope she's where she can see his face now!" + </p> + <p> + He would work himself into a frenzy of torment and glee combined, usually + collapsing at the end of his harangue. It disgusted him to think that his + health was so good that he might be expected to live beyond the limit of + James Bansemer's imprisonment. + </p> + <p> + At the end of eighteen months, Jane was coming home. She had written to + Graydon from London, and the newspapers announced the sailing of the + Cables on one of the White Star steamers. + </p> + <p> + "I am coming home to end all of this idleness," she wrote to him. "I mean + to find pleasure in toil, in doing good, in lifting the burdens of those + who are helpless. You will see how I can work, Graydon. You will love me + more than ever when you see how I can do so much good for my fellow + creatures. I want you to love me more and more, because I shall love you + to the end of my life." + </p> + <p> + The night before the ship was to arrive Graydon was dining with the Jack + Percivals. There were a dozen in the party—a blase, bored collection + of human beings who had dined out so incessantly that eating was a + punishment. They had come to look upon food as a foe to comfort and a + grievous obstacle in the path of pleasure. Bridge was just beginning to + take hold of them; its grip was tightening with new coils as each night + went by. Nobody thought of dinner; the thought was of the delay in getting + at the game; an instinct that was not even a thought urged them to abhor + the food that had come into their lives so abundantly. + </p> + <p> + Night after night they dined out; night after night they toyed with their + forks, ate nothing, drank to hide their yawns, took black coffee and said + they enjoyed the food tremendously. + </p> + <p> + Graydon Bansemer was new to this attitude. He was vigorous and he was not + surfeited with food; he had an appetite. Just before six o'clock his host + called him up by 'phone, and, in a most genial way, advised him to eat a + hearty meal before coming up to dinner. Graydon made the mistake of not + following this surprising bit of advice. + </p> + <p> + He sat next to Mrs. Percival. She appeared agitated and uncertain. + Servants came in with the dishes and almost immediately took them away + again. No one touched a mouthful of the food; no one except Graydon + noticed the celerity with which the plates and their contents were + removed; no one felt that he was expected to eat. Graydon, after his first + attempt to really eat of the third course, subsided with a look of + amazement at his hostess. She smiled and whispered something into his ear. + He grew very red and choked with—was it confusion or mirth? + </p> + <p> + Everybody gulped black coffee and everybody puffed violently at cigars and + cigarettes and then everybody bolted for the card tables. + </p> + <p> + Jack Percival grasped Graydon's arm and drew him back into the + dining-room. He was grinning like an ape. + </p> + <p> + "It worked, by George—worked like a charm. Great Scott, what a money + and time saver! I was a little worried about you, Bansemer, but I knew the + others wouldn't catch on. Great, wasn't it?" + </p> + <p> + "What the dickens does it mean?" demanded Graydon. "Mean! Why, good Lord, + man, nobody ever eats at these damned dinners. They CAN'T eat. They're + sick of dinners. That crowd out there takes tea and things at five or six + o'clock. They wouldn't any more think of eating anything at a dinner after + the caviar and oysters than you'd think of flying. It's a waste of time + and money to give 'em real food. This is the second time I've tried my + scheme and it's worked both times. I can serve this same dinner twenty + times. Everything's made of wax and papier mache. See what I mean? And + I'll leave it to you that there isn't a soul out there who is any the + wiser. By George, it's a great invention. I'm going to patent it. Come on; + let's get in there. They're howling for us to begin." + </p> + <p> + Graydon, his mind full of Jane, played at a table with Colonel Sedgwick, a + blase old Knickerbocker whose sole occupation in life was saying rude + things about other people. To-night he was particularly attentive to his + profession. He kept Graydon and the two women sitting straight and + uncomfortable in their chairs between hands and positively chilled while + the game went on. + </p> + <p> + Graydon's game was a poor one at best, but he was playing abominably on + this occasion. He could not tear his thoughts from the ship that was + drawing nearer and nearer to New York harbour with each succeeding minute. + In his mind's eye he could look far out over the black waters and see the + lonely vessel as it rushed on through the night. He wondered if Jane were + asleep or awake and thinking of him. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel's irascibility finally drove him from the game. He apologised + for his wretched playing, but the Colonel did not apologise for the + disagreeable things he had said. + </p> + <p> + It was one o'clock when Graydon reached his rooms. There he found a note + from Elias Droom. + </p> + <p> + "I have an especial reason," he wrote, "for asking you and Miss Cable to + dine with me on Monday night. We will go to Sherry's. Let me know as soon + as you have seen her." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII — ELIAS DROOM'S DINNER PARTY + </h2> + <p> + He was mystified and not a little upset by this almost peremptory summons + from the old man. He hurried over to Droom's quarters the next morning, + after ascertaining that the steamer would not reach the dock until two or + three o'clock. Droom was at work on one of his amazing models. + </p> + <p> + "Hello," he said ungraciously. "I thought I invited you for to-night." + </p> + <p> + "I want to know something about it, Elias," said Graydon, sitting upon the + end of the workbench. "She'll not get in before the middle of the + afternoon, and she may not feel like going to Sherry's to-night." + </p> + <p> + "Just as she likes," said Droom pettishly. "You mean that she would not + like to be seen there with me unless there is to be something in it for + her, eh?" + </p> + <p> + "Nonsense. You've got something on your mind, Elias. What is it? Why do + you insist on going to-night?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't. It's to-night or not at all, however. I'm not in the habit of + letting people decide when I shall dine at Sherry's. If she doesn't want + to come, let her say so." That was all Graydon could get out of him, so he + left in a more perplexed frame of mind than before. + </p> + <p> + He was at the dock long before the steamer came to a stop after its eight + days of ceaseless throbbing. She was waving to him from the rail, her face + beaming with happiness. It was just as he had seen it in his dreams of + this day. More than ever he arrayed his love against her principle; more + than ever was he determined to overcome the obstacles which she had thrown + up in her self-arraignment. + </p> + <p> + There was a cold, biting wind blowing, with the suggestion of snow in the + skies. The passengers came down with rosy cheeks, coloured by the + frost-laden hours on deck. After the tedious, disagreeable hour with the + customs officials, the Cables were driven to the Holland House. Graydon + Bansemer, sitting opposite to Jane in the carriage, was almost speechless + with joy and eagerness. The old restraint was still upon him, but it was + being worn down by degrees as he gathered encouragement from the clear, + inviting eyes of the girl he worshipped. The love in those happy, glowing + eyes could not be mistaken for loyal indifference. + </p> + <p> + She was more beautiful than ever to his hungry, patient eyes; she was more + desirable, more priceless. David Cable and his wife had been immensely + benefited in every way by their months abroad. Jane had found the sunshine + for them and it had been her purpose in all these months to keep them free + from the shadows. They had travelled Europe over and they had lived in the + full warmth of pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Cable took Graydon aside as they entered the hotel. The latter had + implored Jane to give him a few minutes alone at the earliest possible + moment. + </p> + <p> + "Tell me about your father, Graydon," said David Cable. + </p> + <p> + "He is still in—in Joliet," replied the young man quietly. + </p> + <p> + "He has not offered to help us in clearing up the mystery?" + </p> + <p> + "I have had no word from him, Mr. Cable. He seems to be in his tomb. I am + afraid he will not help us, sir. He has said he would not; that means a + great deal, I am sorry to say." + </p> + <p> + He then told him of Elias Droom's strange invitation, adding that he + believed the old man was ready to reveal all that he knew. + </p> + <p> + "She must go with you to-night, then," said Cable. "It is necessary. She + wants to know the truth. She has said so." + </p> + <p> + "It won't matter, sir, so far as I am concerned. She—" + </p> + <p> + "She has come back, my boy, determined to go on with her plans. I am + sorry, Graydon, but I am at last convinced that she means to give her life + to the work." + </p> + <p> + "By Heaven, Mr. Cable, she shall not do it! I can't live without her," + cried Graydon miserably. Cable smiled sadly as he shook his head. + </p> + <p> + At half past seven o'clock Jane Cable and Graydon met Droom at Sherry's. + She was paler than usual and there was a queer chill in her heart. + Bansemer was more nervous than he had ever been before in his life. + </p> + <p> + Elias Droom, the strangest creature in the big restaurant, arose to greet + them as they entered the doors. He had been waiting inside and out for + half an hour, and his welcome was quite in keeping with his character, He + uttered a few gruff words of greeting to her, accompanied by a perfunctory + smile that gave out no warmth; then he started off with rude haste toward + the table he had reserved. Not a word concerning her welfare, her health, + her return to the homeland—no sign of interest or consideration. + They followed him silently, anxiously. + </p> + <p> + The old man was conspicuously repulsive in his finery. It is unnecessary + to say that his clothes did not fit his lank figure: tailors cannot + perform miracles. His long chin was carefully shaven, but the razor could + not remove the ruts and creases that hid the thick stubble of grey and + black. Not one but one hundred diners looked with curiosity upon the + nervous, uncouth old man. There was a buzz of interest and a craning of + necks when the crowd saw the handsome couple join him at the table in the + corner. + </p> + <p> + "I wish you'd order the dinner for me, Graydon," he said, rather + plaintively. "I can pay for it, Miss Cable," he added with an attempt at + joviality, "but I'm no good at ordering. These young swells know all about + it. Get champagne, Graydon. Order something nice for Miss Cable. Anywhere + up to twenty dollars. I'm not a millionaire, Miss Cable. Tell the waiter + I'll pay for it, Graydon. This is a swell place, isn't it, Miss Cable? + I've never been in Europe, but they say they can't touch our restaurants + over there. Get oysters, Graydon." + </p> + <p> + "By Jove, Elias, you are giving us a treat," laughed Graydon. The old + man's mood had changed suddenly. He was beaming in his effort to be + agreeable. A glance around the room had convinced him that the prettiest + woman there was sitting at his table. He felt a new sense of pride. + </p> + <p> + "I am proud of myself," said Droom—and he meant it. + </p> + <p> + "It's very good of you to ask me to come, Mr. Droom," said Jane, her + bright eyes meeting his before they could lift themselves into the + customary stare above her head. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not so sure about that," said Elias. From time to time he glanced + uneasily toward a table at his left. It was set for six persons, none of + whom had arrived. "I trust it will not be the last time you will honour + me, Miss Cable. I am getting very hospitable in my old age. If you don't + mind, Graydon, I won't drink this cocktail. I may take the champagne. I'm + quite a teetotaler, you see. Milk, always. By the way, Graydon," he said, + turning suddenly to the young man, "I suppose you've led her to believe + that I had a motive in asking her to dine to-night—I mean other than + the pleasure it would give to me." + </p> + <p> + "I—I rather thought something of the sort," stammered Graydon. + </p> + <p> + "Well, there is a motive. I've decided at last to tell all I knew. Don't + look like that, Miss Cable. You'll attract attention. Calm yourself. It + will be some time before the story is forthcoming. Besides, I doubt very + much whether you'll get any great satisfaction out of it, although it may + clear things up a bit for you. If you've been hoping that your father and + mother—well, we'll take our time. Here are the oysters. Oysters make + me think of your father, Graydon. Don't choke, my boy," he chuckled as + Graydon stiffened quickly. "He had a woman arrested at her own dinner + party one night—right over there in Fifth Avenue, too. Search + warrant, and all that. The oysters were being served when the papers were + served. Ah, he was a great man for effective revenge. She had dared him, + you see. Did you ever hear of the other time when he permitted an ignorant + host to invite two deadly enemies to the same dinner? One fellow had + robbed the other fellow of his wife. Terrible scandal. Your father knew + that they expected to kill one another on sight. And yet when the host + told him whom he expected to invite he let him ask the two men. He told me + about it afterward. It amused him. Everybody but the host knew of the row + and there was a panic in the drawing-room." + </p> + <p> + "Good Lord," gasped Graydon, helplessly pushing the oysters away. "Why are + you telling me this?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, it was a great joke. It's a good dinner story. The joke comes in at + the end. Both those fellows got tight and went home with their arms about + one another. By the way, Graydon, what do you hear from your father?" + </p> + <p> + Graydon looked uncomfortably at Jane, whose face was set with distress. + </p> + <p> + "Elias, you've got no right to—" began the young man coldly. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon if I've offended," said Droom abjectly. "I—I + don't know the etiquette of small talk—forgive me. I was interested, + that is all." + </p> + <p> + "It may interest you to know that I had a long talk with Mr. Clegg this + afternoon. He says there is a movement on foot to secure a pardon for + father. Father hasn't asked anyone to intercede. It is known that he will + go to England to live as soon as he is released. That's an inducement, you + see," he said bitterly. + </p> + <p> + Droom's face turned a frozen white; his steely eyes took on a peculiar + glaze, and his hand grasped his leg as if it were a vise intended to hold + him in his chair. + </p> + <p> + "I haven't told you about it, Jane," went on Graydon. "Mr. Clegg has seen + father and he says he is indifferent about it. He intends to leave the + country in any event. I am going to write to him to-night, asking him to + let them apply for the pardon. It may save him from three years more of + servitude. Mr. Clegg is sure he can get his release—what's the + matter, Elias?" + </p> + <p> + The old clerk's body had stiffened and the look in his face was something + horrible to behold. Terror was visible in every lineament. His companions + started from their chairs in alarm. With a mighty effort the old man + succeeded in regaining a semblance of self-control. His body relaxed, and + his jaw dropped; his voice was trembling and weak as he responded, an + apologetic grin on his face. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing—nothing at all. A momentary pain. Don't mind me. Don't mind + me," he mumbled. "I have them often. I think it's my heart. What were you + saying, Graydon? Oh, yes, the pardon. I-I hope you'll mention me in + writing to your father. Tell him I hope to—to see him if he comes to + New York." + </p> + <p> + "I don't believe he likes you, Elias," said Graydon, half jestingly. + </p> + <p> + "Wha—what has he said to you?" demanded Droom sharply. + </p> + <p> + "He rather resented your taking Jane and me to Joliet that day." The old + man's grin was malicious. "He won't forgive you that." + </p> + <p> + "I shall never forget how he looked at you, Mr. Droom," said Jane with a + shudder. Droom trembled with a new spasm of fear. + </p> + <p> + Attention was diverted by the arrival of the party of six. The men were + distinguished in appearance, the women aristocratic but spirited. That + they were well known to many of the diners in those days at Sherry's was + at once apparent; they were bowing right and left to near-by + acquaintances. After much ado they finally relapsed into the chairs + obsequiously drawn back for them and the buzz of conversation throughout + the place was resumed. + </p> + <p> + Graydon, lowering his voice, named the newcomers to Jane, who looked at + them with fresh interest. The names were well known to New York and + European society. For the moment Elias Droom was unnoticed. He took the + opportunity to collect his nerves and to subdue his too apparent emotion. + Jane was recalled from her polite scrutiny of the women at the next table + by hearing her name mentioned in Droom's hoarsest voice, modified into + something like a whisper. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Cable, I not only asked you to come here in order to tell you the + name of your father, but to point him out to you." + </p> + <p> + There was an instant of breathless silence at the table. So startling was + his announcement that every other sound in the room escaped the ears of + his two listeners. + </p> + <p> + "There was a new hundred dollar bill found in the basket with you. Your + grandfather's signature was on that bill. He was the president of the bank + which issued it. Your mother was—" Here he leaned forward and + whispered a name that fairly stunned his hearers. Graydon caught his + breath and a new light appeared in his eyes. He was beginning to believe + that the old man's brain was affected. Jane leaned forward in her chair, + an incredulous smile on her lips. + </p> + <p> + "Don't jest, Elias," began Graydon, somewhat roughly. + </p> + <p> + "I am not jesting. It is the truth, I swear it," snapped Elias. + </p> + <p> + "But, great Heaven, man, consider what you've said. It's one of the best + families in this country-it's preposterous to say—" + </p> + <p> + "Of course, her family is one of the best. She was a blue stocking. That's + where Miss Cable gets most of her good blood." + </p> + <p> + "My God, Elias, I can't believe it!" cried Graydon. + </p> + <p> + Jane was staring blankly at the old man's face. + </p> + <p> + "Your father will tell you the same. For more than twenty years I have + known the secret. There is no documentary proof, but this much I do know: + James Bansemer received fifty thousand dollars for keeping his mouth + closed. He found out the truth and he profited by it as usual. Oh, he knew + that hundred dollar bills are not left with pauper babes. I don't know how + he unearthed the truth about Miss—" + </p> + <p> + "Sh! Don't mention the name aloud!" + </p> + <p> + "But he did unearth it, beyond all possible chance of mistake. Your + father, Miss Cable, is sitting at that table. Don't look up just yet. He + is staring at you. He doesn't know you, but he does know you are a pretty + woman. The gentleman with the grey hair, Graydon. See? That man is her + father." + </p> + <p> + Graydon half started up in his chair, his lips apart, his eyes riveted on + the man designated. Every drop of blood seemed to have frozen in his + veins. + </p> + <p> + "Good God, Elias!" he whispered. "Why, that is—" The name stuck in + his throat. + </p> + <p> + "The son of the man who signed the banknote. He is Jane's father. There's + blue blood in him—there has been since King Henry's day—but he + is a villain for all that. Now, Miss Cable, I've done my duty. I've told + you the absolute truth. You could not have expected more—you could + not have asked a greater climax. The name of Vanderbilt or Astor is no + better known than that man's name, and no ancestry is better than that of + your mother. I will now give to you one of the articles of proof that + connects you with their history." He handed to her a small package. "It is + the letter written to James Bansemer by your paternal grandfather, + agreeing to an appointment to discuss a question of grave moment. I found + the letter that same day, and I've kept it all these years. It bears your + grandfather's signature. That is all. I heard part of that interview, and + I stake my soul that what I've told you is true." + </p> + <p> + Jane sat looking at him as if paralysed. Her mind was quite incapable of + grasping the full import of his words—the words she had craved for + so many months, and yet dreaded. + </p> + <p> + "I knew he was coming here to-night. He gives a theatre party. To-morrow + he goes abroad. That is all." + </p> + <p> + "He's living in Paris," muttered Graydon mechanically. Jane spoke for the + first time, as in a daze. + </p> + <p> + "I—I have seen him many times in Paris. My father? Oh, oh, it can't + be true." + </p> + <p> + "Jane, let me take you away from here—" began Graydon, observing her + pallor. + </p> + <p> + "No. Let me stay. It can't matter, Graydon. I want to look at him again + and again," she said, shrinking back as if the whole world were staring at + her. By the most prodigious effort she regained control of her fleeing + composure. It was a trying moment. + </p> + <p> + "He's worth millions," said Droom. "It will be worth while for YOU to—" + </p> + <p> + "No!" she exclaimed passionately. "Do you think I will present myself to + him after he has cast me off! No! a thousand times, no!" + </p> + <p> + At that instant the party of six hurriedly arose to leave the place. The + tall man with the grey hair—the handsomest man of all—was + staring boldly at Jane's averted face, now red with consciousness. As he + passed her in going out of the room, his look grew more insistent. She + glanced up and a faint smile crossed his face. + </p> + <p> + "Devilish handsome girl," he remarked to the man behind him and then he + passed out of her sight, perhaps forever. + </p> + <p> + "The woman with him?" cried Jane, her eyes following the beautiful + creature at his side, "is she my mother?" + </p> + <p> + "No," said Graydon, averting his eyes to avoid her expression; "she is his + wife." + </p> + <p> + Droom waited until the party was out of the restaurant before uttering a + word. + </p> + <p> + "Inside of two years I have pointed out two fathers to their children—yours + and his, Jane. Your mothers are dead. There isn't much choice as to + fathers. If I were you, I'd say I had the better of the bargain. Take an + old man's advice, both of you, and let bygones be bygones. Start life now, + just as if nothing had happened before, and get every atom of happiness + out of it that you can. Don't you two pay for the sins of your fathers." + </p> + <p> + "I couldn't live in New York if he were living here," murmured Jane. + </p> + <p> + "Hey, waiter, your bill," said Droom, with sudden harshness. + </p> + <p> + It was snowing and the wind was blowing a gale when they emerged from the + place. Jane hung heavily upon Graydon's arm; he could feel that she was + sobbing. He did not dare to look into her face, but he felt something + cruelly triumphant surging in his heart. Elias Droom waited until their + cab came up. Then he offered his hand to both, hesitatingly, even timidly. + </p> + <p> + "Good-night. Be happy. There is nothing else left for you but that. + Graydon, when you write to your father, give him my love." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIII — DROOM TRIUMPHS OVER DEATH + </h2> + <p> + Droom stood for a few moments in the hurtling snowstorm, abstractedly + gazing toward Longacre Square. The chill in his marrow was not from the + blizzard that swept down upon him; the gaunt grey look in his face was not + that of hunger or want. There was fever in his brain and chill in his + heart. He had forgotten Jane's trivial tragedy; his one overwhelming + thought was of James Bansemer. + </p> + <p> + The heavy ulster was unbuttoned and the snowflakes pelted in against his + neglected shirt front. A doorman called his attention to the oversight. He + came to himself, drew the coat close about his long frame, and hurried off + down Fifth Avenue. The storm was so vicious that he boarded a crosstown + car at Forty-second Street. A man elbowed him in the narrow vestibule. He + looked up and gasped aloud in sudden terror. An instant later he laughed + at his fears; the man was not James Bansemer. A cold perspiration started + out over his body, however. Through his brain there went racing the + ever-revolving cry: + </p> + <p> + "He'll come straight to me-straight to me!" + </p> + <p> + The hour was not late, but the blizzard had driven the crowds from the + streets. Eighth avenue sidewalks were deserted except for the people who + were obliged to brave the storm. As Droom hurried south to his lodgings he + became possessed of a racking belief that someone was following close upon + his heels—someone who was rushing up to deal him a murderous blow in + the back. The old man actually broke into a frantic run in covering the + last half block. + </p> + <p> + It was not until he was in his rooms, with the door bolted that he could + rid himself of the dread. The fire had gone out and the light was low. His + teeth chattered and his hand shook as he raised the wick in the lamp. The + palsy of inexplicable fear was upon him. Kneeling before the stove he + began to rebuild the fire. His back was toward the door and he turned an + anxious face in that direction from time to time. Footsteps on the + stairway sent a new chill through his gaunt frame. They passed on up the + next flight, but he waited breathlessly until he heard the door of the + apartment above slam noisily. + </p> + <p> + For half an hour he sat huddled in front of the stove without removing his + hat and ulster. + </p> + <p> + "Curse the luck," he was saying over and over again to himself, sometimes + aloud. "Why should he have a pardon? What are the laws for? Curse that + meddling old fool Clegg! They'll set him free, and he'll hunt me out, I + know he will. He won't forgive me for that day's work. He may be free + now-it may have been he who followed me. But no! That's a silly thing to + think. It takes weeks and months to get a pardon. Maybe—maybe they + won't get it, after all." + </p> + <p> + He tried to throw off his desperate feeling of apprehension, chattering + all sorts of comforting reasons and excuses to himself as he scurried + about the rooms with aimless haste. Try as he would, however, when the + time came, he could not read—not even of his courage-inspiring + Napoleon. The howl of the wind annoyed and appalled him; he caught himself + listening intently for sounds above and not of the storm. A nervous, + intermittent laugh broke from his lips as he went on cursing himself for a + fool to be so disturbed by Graydon's report. + </p> + <p> + "What have I to fear from him? Why should I let that look of his unnerve + me so? Why can't I forget it? It—it didn't mean anything. I'm a fool + to think of it. Nearly two years ago, that was. Why, he may be—" A + new thought chased the old one out before it was formed. His eyes caught + sight of one of his completed models, standing in the corner. It was the + model for the guillotine. + </p> + <p> + For a long time he sat staring at the thing, a hundred impressions forming + and reforming in his brain. + </p> + <p> + "I wonder if I'll really die before he is liberated," he was saying dumbly + to himself. "I wonder if I will. There's no sign of it now. I'm strong and + well enough to live for years. Suppose he is freed inside of a month or + two, what then? By Heaven, I'd be losing the dearest hope of my whole + life. My last sight of him—that beautiful vision behind the bars—would + be spoiled, undone, wiped out. He'd be as free as I. I won't die inside of + a month, I'm sure. He'd come here and laugh at me and he'd kill me in the + end. God! I know he would. He'd have the joy of seeing my pain and terror + and defeat—he'd see me LAST! I'd be bloody and crushed and—" + </p> + <p> + He checked himself in the midst of these dire forebodings to rise suddenly + and cross to the ghastly looking frame with the cords, the hinges, and the + great broadaxe that lay harmlessly in the grooves at the top. For many + minutes he stood and gazed at the axe, his flesh as cold as ice. Then he + tested the cords. The axe dropped heavily to the block below. He smiled + with cunning triumph at his own skill. + </p> + <p> + The odour of geranium leaves assailed his nostrils. With an ugly impulse + he turned and swept the pots from the window box, scattering them over the + floor. + </p> + <p> + "I'm in a devil of a humour," he laughed as he surveyed the wreck. + "Something's gone wrong with me. I've never mistreated my flowers before." + He lifted the broadaxe to its place, tenderly, almost lovingly. "By my + soul, it's a beautiful piece of work. It's as sure as the grave itself." + </p> + <p> + Again he stood off and looked at the infernal bit of his own handiwork, + his eyes glistening with dread of the thing. He turned and fled to the + opposite side of the room, keeping his back toward the silent guillotine + which seemed to be calling to him with mocking yet fascinating + persistency. + </p> + <p> + "Curse the thing," he groaned. "Damn it, I didn't make it for my own use. + What is the matter with me?" He glanced slyly, fearfully over his shoulder + and then faced the thing deliberately, his jaws set, his eyes staring. + </p> + <p> + "It is a quick way—a sure way," he muttered. "I haven't anything to + live for and but a few years at most. Nobody cares whether I live or die—not + even I. James Bansemer could not batter me down, as he surely will, if I—" + </p> + <p> + He crossed to an old chest and unlocked its lid with feverish haste. A + bundle of papers came up in the grasp of his tense fingers. Casting + dreadful glances at the insistent axe, he seated himself at the table and + began looking over the papers. + </p> + <p> + "He won't take his father's rotten money, but he'll take mine. It's + honest. It represents wages honestly, bitterly earned. There's more than + twenty thousand to give him. He'll be surprised. Twenty thousand." He laid + the first paper, his will drawn in favour of Graydon Bansemer, signed and + addressed; upon the table, and then carelessly tossed the other documents + into the chest. "By the Lord Harry, I'll have the best of James Bansemer + yet. His boy will take my money even though he spurns his. God, I wish I + could see him when he knows all this. It would be glorious." + </p> + <p> + He fingered the document for a tense moment, and then arose to remove his + coat and vest. These he hung away in his closet with all his customary + carefulness. In the middle of the room he stopped, his quivering face + turned toward the gaunt thing of execution. His feet seemed nailed to the + floor; his brain was urging him to go on with the horrid deed, his body + was rebelling. The torture of terror was overpowering him. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he found his strength of limb. With a guttural howl he clasped + his hands to his eyes and fled blindly into his bedroom. Hurling his long, + shivering frame upon the bed, he tried to shut out the enticing call of + the thing of death. How long he quivered there, shuddering and struggling, + he could not have told. In the end—and as suddenly as he had fled—he + leaped up and with a shrill laugh dashed back into the other room. + </p> + <p> + There was no hesitation in his body now. With a maniacal glee he rushed + upon the devilish contrivance in the corner, tearing the axe from its + place with ruthless hands. Throughout the building rang the sounds of + smashing wood, furious blows of steel upon wood, and high above the din + arose the laugh of Elias Droom. In two minutes, the guillotine lay in + chips and splinters about the room—destroyed even as it was on the + point of destroying him. + </p> + <p> + Dropping back against the wall, wet with perspiration, a triumphant grin + upon his face, Elias surveyed the wreckage. His muscles relaxed and his + eyes lost the dread that had filled them. The smile actually grew into an + expression of sweetness and peace that his face had never known before. + </p> + <p> + As he staggered to a chair close by, a great sigh of relief broke from his + lips. + </p> + <p> + "There!" he gasped. "It's over! it's over! My head is on my shoulders—it + really is after all! It is not rolling into the corner—no! no! By my + head—my own head, too—it was a close call for you, Elias + Droom. Now, I'll take what comes. I'll wait for James Bansemer! I'll stick + it out to the end. If he comes, he'll find me here. I've conquered the + infernal death that stood waiting so long for me in that corner—and + I never suspected it, either. God, how near it was to me! It stood there + and waited for me to come. It knew that I would come sooner or later! But + I've smashed it—it's gone! It's not there!" + </p> + <p> + With eager hands he gathered up the pieces of wood and cast them into the + stove. As the remains of that frightful minister of death crackled and + spit with defeated venom, Elias Droom calmly pulled on his worn dressing + gown, lighted his pipe and cocked his feet upon the stove rail, a serene + look in his eyes, a chuckle in his throat. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIV — TO-MORROW + </h2> + <p> + Jane Cable, upon entering the cab, offered no resistance when Graydon drew + her head over against his shoulder. His strong right hand clasped her + listless fingers and the warmth of his heart came bounding into her veins + as if by magic. He did not speak to her, but she knew that he was claiming + her then for all time; she knew that nothing could stand in the way of his + purpose. The sobs grew less despairing, her understanding of things less + vague and uncertain. A few moments before she had felt that she was no kin + to the world; now there was a new appreciation of love and its greatness + in her soul. + </p> + <p> + This man had loved her, and he would take her up and shield her against + the hate of the world. There had not been a moment when her own love for + him wavered; she worshipped him now as she had in the beginning. The + revelation of Droom, the theatric scenes in the cafe, the crushing of the + small hope she had cherished, all conspired in this secure moment to waken + her into a realisation of what an overbalancing power love is. + </p> + <p> + Unconsciously her fingers tightened upon his and her body drew closer; she + was arraying herself against the fear that she might lose this haven of + rest and joy, after all—the haven she had been willing to scourge + and destroy in the bitterness of her heart. A great wave of pity for + herself came sweeping over her. It grew out of the dread that he might, + after all, deny her the place that no one else in the world could give. + </p> + <p> + Graydon's cold face was suddenly illumined; the incomprehensible sweetness + of pain rushed through his blood. He had given up his hope as blighted + after the harsh hour with Droom; he could not believe his newfound + success. Doubt, unbelief, enveloped him as he raised her head, a kiss + crying for its kind. His arm crept behind her shoulders. She did not offer + a repulse; her wet cheek touched his in submission. It was the first time + his hungry arms had held her in centuries it seemed to him—and to + her; it was the first time their lips had met—except in dreams—since + that horrid night so long ago. + </p> + <p> + "Jane, Jane!" he was whispering in her ear; her plans, her purposes, her + sacrifices, were running away from her in riotous disorder. She could not + hold them in check; they fled like weaklings before the older and stronger + hopes and desires. + </p> + <p> + They did not know of the blockade of cabs at the corner of Forty-second + Street, nor how long they stood there. Shouting cabmen and police officers + tried to rival the white blizzard in profuseness, but they did not hear + them. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Graydon, I cannot, I must not," she was crying, holding his hand with + almost frenzied disdain for the words so plaintively loyal. "It is out of + the question, dearest. You know it is. I love you, oh, how I love you. But + I—I must not be your wife. I—I—" + </p> + <p> + "I've had enough of this, Jane," he said so firmly that she stiffened + perceptibly in his arms. "It's all confounded rot. Excuse me, but it is. I + know you think you're right, but you're not. Old Elias gave the best + advice in the world. You know what it was. We've just got to make our own + happiness. Nobody else will do it for us, and it's just as easy to be + happy as it is to be the other way. I'm tired of pleading. I've waited as + long as I intend to. We're going to be married to-morrow." + </p> + <p> + "Graydon!" + </p> + <p> + "Don't refuse! It's no use, dearest. We've lost a year or two. I don't + intend to lose another day. What do I care about your father and mother? + What did they care about you? You owe all the rest of your life to + yourself and to me. Come! will you consent willingly or—" He paused. + She was very still in his arms for a long time. + </p> + <p> + "I do so want to be happy," she said at last, reflectively. "No, no! don't + say anything yet. I am only wondering how it will be after we've been + married for a few years. When I'm growing old and plain, and you begin to + tire of me as most men grow weary of their wives—what then? Ah, + Graydon, I—I have thought about all that, too. You'll never reproach + me openly—you couldn't do that, I know. But you may secretly nourish + the scorn which—" + </p> + <p> + "Jane," he said, dropping the tone of confident authority and speaking + very tenderly, "you forget that my father is a convict. You forget that he + has done things which will forever keep me a beggar at your feet. I am + asking YOU to forget and overlook much more than you could ever ask of me. + Old Elias, wretch that he is, has pointed out our ways for us; they run + together in spite of what may conspire to divide them. Jane, I love my + soul, but I love you ten thousand times better than my soul." + </p> + <p> + "I did not believe I could ever be so happy again," she murmured, putting + her hands to his face. + </p> + <p> + "To-morrow, dear?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes." + </p> + <p> + Graydon, rejoicing in his final victory, hurried to his rooms later in the + evening. As he was about to enter the elevator he noticed a grey-suited + boy in brass buttons, who stood near by, an inquiring look in his face. + </p> + <p> + "This is Mr. Bansemer," observed the laconic youth who ran the single + elevator in the apartment building. + </p> + <p> + "Something for me?" demanded Graydon, turning to the boy in grey. + </p> + <p> + "Special delivery letter, sir. Sign here." + </p> + <p> + Graydon took the thick envelope from the boy's hand. With a start, he + recognised his father's handwriting. Curiously he turned the letter over + in his fingers as he ascended in the car, wonder growing in his brain. He + did not wait to remove his overcoat on entering his rooms, but strode to + the light and nervously tore open the envelope. Dread, hope, anxiety, + conspired tu make his fingers tremble. There were many closely written + pages. How well he remembered his father's writing! + </p> + <p> + As he read, his eyes grew wide with wonder and unbelief. They raced + through the pages, wonder giving way to joy and exultation as he neared + the end of the astounding message from the far-away prisoner. + </p> + <p> + A shout forged to his lips; he hugged the letter to his heart; tears came + into his eyes, a sob broke in, his throat. + </p> + <p> + "Thank God!" he cried, throwing himself into a chair to eagerly read and + reread the contents of the letter. Suddenly he sprang to his feet and + dashed across the room to the telephone. + </p> + <p> + "She will die of joy!" he half sobbed, in the transports of exhilaration. + Five minutes later he was on his way to her hotel, clutching the priceless + letter in his bare fingers, deep down in his overcoat pocket. He had + shouted over the 'phone that the good news would not keep till morning, + and she was waiting up for him with Mr. and Mrs. Cable, consumed by + curiosity. + </p> + <p> + "This letter"—he gasped, as he entered the room—"from father. + He's written, Jane—everything. I knew he would. Elias didn't know it + all. He knew half of the truth, that's all. Good Lord, I—I can't + read it, Mr. Cable. You—please." + </p> + <p> + David Cable, white-faced and trembling, read aloud the letter from James + Bansemer. It was to "My beloved son." The first appealing sentences were + given to explanation and apology for the determined silence he had + maintained for so many months. He spoke casually of his utter indifference + to the success of certain friends who were working for his pardon. "If + they secure my release," he wrote, "I shall find happiness if you clasp my + hand but once before I leave America forever." Farther on he said: "I will + not accept parole. It is a poor premium on virtue, and, as you know, my + stock of that commodity has been miserably low." + </p> + <p> + "I may be required to serve my full term," read David Cable. "In that + case, we should not see one another for years, my son. You have much to + forgive and I have much more to forget. We can best see our ways to the + end if we seek them apart. The dark places won't seem so black.... My sole + purpose in writing this letter to you, my son, is to give back to you as + much happiness as I can possibly extract from this pile of misery. I am + not pleading for anything; I am simply surrendering to the good impulses + that are once more coming into their own, after all these years of + subjection.... I am not apologising to the Cables. I am doing this for + your sake and for the girl who has wronged no one and to whom I have acted + with a baseness which amazes me as I reflect upon it inside these narrow + walls. + </p> + <p> + "You will recall that I would have permitted you to marry her—I + mean, in the beginning. Perhaps it was spite which interposed later on. At + least, be charitable enough to call it that. Clegg has been here to see + me. He says you are bound to make Jane Cable your wife. I knew you would. + For a long time I have held out, unreasonably, I admit, against having her + as my daughter. I could not endure the thought of giving you up + altogether. Don't you comprehend my thought? I cannot bring myself to look + again into her eyes after what she saw in this accursed prison.... She was + born in wedlock.... The story is not a long one. Elias Droom knows the + names of her father and mother, but I am confident that he does not know + all of the circumstances. For once, I was too shrewd for him. The story of + my dealings in connection with Jane Cable is a shameful one, and I cannot + hope for pardon, either from you or from her." + </p> + <p> + Here he related, as concisely as possible, the incidents attending Mrs. + Cable's first visit to his office and the subsequent adoption of the babe. + </p> + <p> + "I knew that there was wealth and power behind the mystery. There was a + profitable scandal in the background. Unknown to Mrs. Cable, I began + investigations of my own. She had made little or no effort to discover the + parents of the child. She could have had no purpose in doing so, I'll + admit.... [Here he gave in detail the progress of his investigations at + the Foundlings' Home, at the health office, at certain unsavory hospitals + and in other channels of possibility.] ...At last, I found the doctor, and + then the nurse. After that, it was easy to unearth the records of a + child's birth and of a mother's death—all in New York City.... Droom + can tell you the names of Jane's parents, substantiating the names I have + just given to you. He did not know that they had been married nearly two + years prior to the birth of the child. It was a clandestine marriage.... I + went straight to the father of the foundling. He was then but little more + than twenty-one years of age—a wild, ruthless, overbearing, + heartless scoundrel, who had more money but a much smaller conscience than + I.... To-day he is a great and, I believe, respected gentleman, for he + comes of good stock.... I had him trembling on his knees before me. He + told me the truth. Egad, my son, I am rather proud of that hour with him. + </p> + <p> + "It seems that this young scion of a wealthy house had lost his insecure + heart to the daughter of a real aristocrat. I say real, because her father + was a pure Knickerbocker of the old school. He was, naturally, as poor as + poverty itself. With his beautiful daughter he was living in lower New + York—barely subsisting, I may say, on the meagre income that found + its way to him through the upstairs lodgers in the old home. Here lived + Jane's mother, cherishing the traditions of her blood, while her father, + sick and feeble, brooded over the days when he was a king in Babylon. The + handsome, wayward lover came into her life when she was nineteen. They + were married secretly in the city of Boston. + </p> + <p> + "The young husband imposed silence until after he had attained his + majority. There was a vast fortune at stake. In plain words, his father + had forbidden the marriage. He had selected another one to be the wife of + his son.... Jane was born in the second year of their wedded life. It was, + of course, important that the fact should be kept secret. I am inclosing a + slip of paper containing the names of the minister, the doctor and the + nurse who afterwards attended her, together with the record of death. It + is more convenient to handle than this bulky letter—which I trust + you will destroy. You will also find the name of the hospital in which + Jane was born and where her mother died, ten days later. I may say, in + this connection, that not one of the persons mentioned knew the true name + of the young mother, nor were they sure of the fact that she was a wife. + Her gravestone in the old cemetery bears the name of the maiden, not the + wife. Her father never knew the truth.... + </p> + <p> + "What I did in the premises need not be told. That is a part of my past. I + learned how the cowardly young father, glad to be out of the affair so + easily, hired the nurse to leave the baby on the doorstep. Then I went to + the banker whose son he was. I had absolute proof of the marriage. He paid + me well to keep the true story from reaching the public. The son was + whisked abroad and he afterwards married the girl of his father's choice. + I do not believe that he has ever given a thought to the whereabouts or + welfare of his child. It was her heritage of caste! + </p> + <p> + "If Jane cares to claim her rights as this man's lawful daughter, proof is + ample and undeniable. I fancy, however, she will find greater joy as the + daughter of David Cable. Her own father has less of a heart than yours, + for, after all, my son, I love you because you are mine. Love me, if you + can; I have nothing else left that I care for. Remember that I am always + </p> + <p> + Your loving father, + </p> + <h3> + JAMES BANSEMER." + </h3> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of June Cable, by George Barr McCutcheon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JUNE CABLE *** + +***** This file should be named 5971-h.htm or 5971-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/5/9/7/5971/ + +Etext produced by Charles Franks, Charles Aldarondo and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +HTML file produced by David Widger + +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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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: June Cable + +Author: George Barr McCutcheon + +Posting Date: April 12, 2013 [EBook #5971] +Release Date: June, 2004 +First Posted: October 2, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JUNE CABLE *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Franks, Charles Aldarondo and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "HIS FEEBLE GLANCE TOOK IN HER FACE WITH LIFELESS +INTEREST"] + +Jane Cable + +By George Barr McCutcheon + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I When Jane Goes Driving + II The Cables + III James Bansemer + IV The Foundling + V The Bansemer Crash + VI In Sight of the Fangs + VII Mrs. Cable Entertains + VIII The Telegram + IX The Proposal + X The Four Initials + XI An Evening with Droom + XII James Bansemer Calls + XIII Jane Sees with New Eyes + XIV The Canker + XV The Tragedy of the Sea Wall + XVI Hours of Terror + XVII David Cable's Debts + XVIII The Visit of Harbert + XIX The Crash + XX Father and Son + XXI In the Philippines + XXII The Chase of Pilar + XXIII The Fight in the Convent + XXIV Teresa Velasquez + XXV The Beautiful Nurse + XXVI The Separation of Hearts + XXVII "If They Don't Kill You" + XXVIII Homeward Bound + XXIX The Wreckage + XXX The Drink of Gall + XXXI The Transforming of Droom + XXXII Elias Droom's Dinner Party + XXXIII Droom Triumphs over Death + XXXIV To-morrow + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +WHEN JANE GOES DRIVING + + +It was a bright, clear afternoon in the late fall that pretty Miss +Cable drove up in her trap and waited at the curb for her father to +come forth from his office in one of Chicago's tallest buildings. +The crisp, caressing wind that came up the street from the lake put +the pink into her smooth cheeks, but it did not disturb the brown +hair that crowned her head. Well-groomed and graceful, she sat +straight and sure upon the box, her gloved hand grasping the yellow +reins firmly and confidently. Miss Cable looked neither to right +nor to left, but at the tips of her thoroughbred's ears. Slender +and tall and very aristocratic she appeared, her profile alone +visible to the passers-by. + +After a very few moments, waiting in her trap, the smart young +woman became impatient. A severe, little pucker settled upon her +brow, and not once, but many times her eyes turned to the broad +entrance across the sidewalk. She had telephoned to her father +earlier in the afternoon; and he had promised faithfully to be +ready at four o'clock for a spin up the drive behind Spartan. At +three minutes past four the pucker made its first appearance; and +now, several minutes later, it was quite distressing. Never before +had he kept her waiting like this. She was conscious of the fact +that at least a hundred men had stared at her in the longest ten +minutes she had ever known. From the bottom of a very hot heart +she was beginning to resent this scrutiny, when a tall young fellow +swung around a near-by corner, and came up with a smile so full of +delight, that the dainty pucker left her brow, as the shadow flees +from the sunshine. His hat was off and poised gallantly above his +head, his right hand reaching up to clasp the warm, little tan one +outstretched to meet it. + +"I knew it was you long before I saw you," said he warmly. + +"Truly? How interesting!" she responded, with equal warmth. +"Something psychic in the atmosphere today?" + +"Oh, no," he said, reluctantly releasing her hand. "I can't see +through these huge buildings, you know---it's impossible to look +over their tops--I simply knew you were here, that's all." + +"You're romantic, even though you are a bit silly," she cried gaily. +"Pray, how could you know?" + +"Simplest thing in the world. Rigby told me he had seen you, and +that you seemed to be in a great rage. He dared me to venture into +your presence, and--that's why I'm here." + +"What a hopelessly, commonplace explanation! Why did you not leave +me to think that there was really something psychic about it? Logic +is so discouraging to one's conceit. I'm in a very disagreeable +humour to-day," she said, in fine despair. + +"I don't believe it," he disputed graciously. + +"But I am," she insisted, smiling brightly. His heart was leaping +high--so high, that it filled his eyes. "Everything has gone wrong +with me to-day. It's pretty trying to have to wait in front of a +big office building for fifteen minutes. Every instant, I expect +a policeman to come up and order me to move on. Don't they arrest +people for blocking the street?" + +"Yes, and put them in awful, rat-swarming dungeons over in Dearborn +Avenue. Poor Mr. Cable, he should be made to suffer severely for +his wretched conduct. The idea of--" + +"Don't you dare to say anything mean about dad," she warned. + +"But he's the cause of all the trouble--he's never done anything +to make you happy, or--" + +"Stop!--I take it all back--I'm in a perfectly adorable humour. +It was dreadfully mean of me to be half-angry with him, wasn't it? +He's in there, now, working his dear old brain to pieces, and I'm +out here with no brain at all," she said ruefully. + +To the ingenuous youth, such an appeal to his gallantry was well-nigh +irresistible, and for a moment it seemed as if he would yield to +the temptation to essay a brilliant contradiction; but his wits +came to his rescue, for quickly realising that not only were the +frowning rocks of offence to be avoided, but likewise the danger of +floundering helplessly about in the inviting quicksands of inanity, he +preserved silence--wise young man that he was, and trusted to his +eyes to express an eloquent refutation. At last, however, something +seemed to occur to him. A smile broke on his face. + +"You had a stupid time last night?" he hazarded. + +"What makes you think so?" + +"I know who took you in to dinner." + +The eyes of the girl narrowed slightly at the corners. + +"Did he tell you?" + +"No, I have neither seen nor heard from anyone present." She opened +her eyes wide, now. + +"Well, Mr. S. Holmes, who was it?" + +"That imbecile, Medford." + +Miss Cable sat up very straight in the trap; her little chin went +up in the air; she even went so far as to make a pretence of curbing +the impatience of her horse. + +"Mr. Medford was most entertaining--he was the life of the dinner," +she returned somewhat severely. + +"He's a professional!" + +"An actor!" she cried incredulously. + +"No, a professional diner-out. Wasn't that rich young Jackson +there?" + +"Why, yes; but do tell me how you knew?" The girl was softening a +little, her curiosity aroused. + +"Of course I will," he said boyishly, at once pleased with himself +and his sympathetic audience. "About five-thirty I happened to be +in the club. Medford was there, and as usual catering to Jackson, +when the latter was called to the 'phone. Naturally, I put two +and two together." He paused to more thoroughly enjoy the look of +utter mystification that hovered on the girl's countenance. It was +very apparent that this method of deduction through addition was +unsatisfying. "What Jackson said to Medford, on his return," the +young man continued, "I did not hear; but from the expression on +the listener's face I could have wagered that an invitation had been +extended and accepted. Oh, we boys have got it down fine! Garrison +is---" + +"And who is Garrison?" + +"Garrison is the head door man at the club. It's positively amazing +the number of telephone calls he receives every afternoon from +well-known society women!" + +"What about? And what's that got to do with Mr. Medford taking me +in to dinner?" + +"Just this: Suppose Mrs. Rowden..." + +"Mrs. Rowden!" The girl was nonplussed. + +"Yes--wants to find out who's in the club? She 'phones Garrison. +Instantly, after ascertaining which set--younger or older is wanted, +from a small card upon which he has written a few but choice names +of club members, he submits a name to her." + +"Really, you don't mean to tell me that such a thing is actually +done?" exclaimed Miss Cable, who as yet was socially so unsophisticated +as to be horrified; "you're joking, of course!" + +"But nine time out of ten," ignoring the interruption; "it is met +with: 'Don't want him!' Another: 'Makes a bad combination!' A third: +'Oh, no, my dear, not a dollar to his name--hopelessly ineligible!' +This last exclamation though intended solely for the visitor at +her home, elicits from Garrison a low chuckle of approval of the +speaker's discrimination; and presently, he hears: 'Goodness me, +Garrison, there must be someone else!' Then, to her delights she +is informed that Mr. Jackson has just come in; and he is requested +to come to the 'phone, Garrison being dismissed with thanks and +the expectation of seeing her butler in the morning." + +"How perfectly delicious!" came from the girl. "I can almost hear +Mrs. Rowden telling Jackson that he will be the dearest boy in the +world if he will dine with her." + +"And bring someone with him, as she is one man short," laughed +Graydon, as he wound up lightly; "and here is where the professional +comes in. We're all onto Medford! Why, Garrison has half a dozen +requests a night--six times five--thirty dollars. Not bad--but +then the man's a 'who's who' that never makes mistakes. I won't be +positive that he does not draw pay from both ends. For, men like +Medford, outside of the club, probably tip him to give them the +preference. It would be good business." + +There was so much self-satisfaction in the speaker's manner +of uttering these last words, that it would not have required the +wisdom of one older than Miss Cable to detect that he was thoroughly +enjoying his pose of man of the world. He was indeed young! For, he +had yet to learn that not to disillusion the girl, but to conform +as much as possible to her ideals, was the surest way to win her +favour; and his vanity surely would have received a blow had not David +Cable at that moment come out of the doorway across the sidewalk, +pausing for a moment to converse with the man who accompanied him. +The girl's face lighted with pleasure and relief; but the young +man regarding uneasily the countenance of the General Manager of +the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic R.R. Company, saw that he was white, +tired and drawn. It was not the keen, alert expression that had been +the admiration of everyone; something vital seemed to be missing, +although he could not have told what it was. A flame seemed to have +died somewhere in his face, leaving behind a faint suggestion of +ashes; and through the young man's brain there flashed the remark +of his fair companion: 'He's in there now, working his dear, old +brain to pieces.' + +"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Jane," said Cable, crossing +to the curb. "Hello, Graydon; how are you?" His voice was sharp, +crisp, and louder than the occasion seemed to demand, but it was +natural with him. Years of life in an engine cab do not serve to +mellow the tone of the human voice, and the habit is too strong to +be overcome. There was no polish to the tones as they issued from +David Cable's lips. He spoke with more than ordinary regard for the +Queen's English, but it was because he never had neglected it. It +was characteristic of the man to do a thing as nearly right as he +knew how in the beginning, and to do it the same way until a better +method presented itself. + +"Very well, thank you, Mr. Cable, except that Jane has been abusing +me because you were not here to---" + +"Don't you believe a word he says, dad," she cried. + +"Oh, if the truth isn't in me, I'll subside," laughed Graydon. +"Nevertheless, you've kept her waiting, and it's only reasonable +that she should abuse somebody." + +"I am glad you were here to receive it; it saves my grey hairs." + +"Rubbish!" was Miss Cable's simple comment, as her father took his +place beside her. + +"Oh, please drive on, Jane," said the young man, his admiring eyes +on the girl who grasped the reins afresh and straightened like a +soldier for inspection. "I must run around to the University Club +and watch the score of the Yale-Harvard game at Cambridge. It looks +like Harvard, hang it all! Great game, they say---" + +"There he goes on football. We must be off, or it will be dark +before we get away from him. Good-bye!" cried Miss Cable. + +"How's your father, Gray? He wasn't feeling the best in the world, +yesterday," said Cable, tucking in the robe. + +"A case of liver, Mr. Cable; he's all right to-day. Good-bye!" + +As Jane and her father whirled away, the latter gave utterance +to a remark that brought a new brightness to her eyes and a proud +throbbing to her heart; but he did not observe the effect. + +"Bright, clever chap--that Graydon Bansemer," he said comfortably. + + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE CABLES + + +The General Manager of the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic Railroad +System had had a hard struggle of it. He who begins his career with +a shovel in a locomotive cab usually has something of that sort +to look back upon. There are no roses along the pathway he has +traversed. In the end, perhaps, he wonders if it has been worth +while. David Cable was a General Manager; he had been a fireman. +It had required twenty-five years of hard work on his part to break +through the chrysalis. Packed away in a chest upstairs in his house +there was a grimy, greasy, unwholesome suit of once-blue overalls. +The garments were just as old as his railroad career, for he had worn +them on his first trip with the shovel. When his wife implored him +to throw away the "detestable things," he said, with characteristic +humour, that he thought he would keep them for a rainy day. It was +much simpler to go from General Manager to fireman than vice versa, +and it might be that he would need the suit again. It pleased him +to hear his wife sniff contemptuously. + +David Cable had been a wayward, venturesome youth. His father and +mother had built their hopes high with him as a foundation, and he +had proved a decidedly insecure basis; for one night, in the winter +of 1863, he stole away from his home in New York; before spring +he was fighting in the far Southland, a boy of sixteen carrying a +musket in the service of his country. + +At the close of the Civil War Private Cable, barely eighteen, returned +to his home only to find that death had destroyed its happiness: +his father had died, leaving his widowed mother a dependant upon +him. It was then, philosophically, he realised that labour alone +could win for him; and he stuck to it with rigid integrity. In +turn, he became brakeman and fireman; finally his determination +and faithfulness won him a fireman's place on one of the fast New +York Central "runs." If ever he was dissatisfied with the work, no +one was the wiser. + +Railroading in those days was not what it is in these advanced times. +Then, it meant that one was possessed of all the evil habits that +fall to the lot of man. David Cable was more or less contaminated +by contact with his rough, ribald companions of the rail, and +he glided moderately into the bad habits of his kind. He drank +and "gamboled" with the rest of the boys; but by nature not being +vicious and low, the influences were not hopelessly deadening to +the better qualities of his character. To his mother, he was always +the strong, good-hearted, manly boy, better than all the other +sons in the world. She believed in him; he worshipped her; and it +was not until he was well up in the twenties that he stopped to +think that she was not the only good woman in the world who deserved +respect. + +Up in Albany lived the Widow Coleman and her two pretty daughters. +Mrs. Coleman's husband died on the battlefield, and she, like many +women in the North and the South, after years of moderate prosperity, +was compelled to support herself and her family. She had been +a pretty woman, and one readily could see where her daughters got +their personal attractiveness. Not many doors from the boisterous +little eating-house in which the railroad men snatched their meals +as they went through, the widow opened a book and newsstand. Her +home was on the floor above the stand, and it was there she brought +her little girls to womanhood. Good-looking, harum-scarum Dave +Cable saw Frances Coleman one evening as he dropped in to purchase +a newspaper. It was at the end of June, in 1876, and the country +was in the throes of excitement over the first news of the Custer +massacre on the Little Big Horn River. + +Cable was deeply interested, for he had seen Custer fighting at +the front in the sixties. Frances Coleman, the prettiest girl he +had ever seen, sold him the newspaper. After that, he seldom went +through Albany without visiting the little book shop. + +Tempestuous, even arrogant in love, Cable, once convinced that he +cared for her, lost no time in claiming her, whether or no. In less +than three months after the Custer massacre they were married. + +Defeated rivals unanimously and enviously observed that the +handsomest fireman on the road had conquered the mo&t outrageous +little coquette between New York and Buffalo. As a matter of fact, +she had loved him from the start; the others served as thorns with +which she delightedly pricked his heart into subjection. + +The young husband settled down, renounced all of his undesirable +habits and became a new man with such surprising suddenness that +his friends marvelled and--derided. A year of happiness followed. +He grew accustomed to her frivolous ways, overlooked her merry +whimsicalities and gave her the "full length of a free rope," as he +called it. He was contented and consequently careless. She chafed +under the indifference, and in her resentment believed the worst +of him. Turmoil succeeded peace and contentment, and in the end, +David Cable, driven to distraction, weakly abandoned the domestic +battlefield and fled to the Far West, giving up home, good wages, +and all for the sake of freedom, such as it was. He ignored her +letters and entreaties, but in all those months that he was away +from her he never ceased to regret the impulse that had defeated +him. Nevertheless, he could not make up his mind to go back and +resume the life of torture her jealousy had begotten. + +Then, the unexpected happened. A letter was received containing +the command to come home and care for his wife and baby. At once, +David Cable called a halt in his demoralising career and saw the +situation plainly. He forgot that she had "nagged" him to the point +where endurance rebelled; he forgot everything but the fact that +he cared for her in spite of all. Sobered and conscience-stricken, +he knew only that she was alone and toiling; that she had suffered +uncomplainingly until the babe was some months old before appealing +to him for help. In abject humiliation, he hastened back to New +York, reproaching himself every mile of the way. Had he but known +the true situation, he would have been spared the pangs of remorse, +and this narrative never would have been written. + + + + + + +CHAPTER III + +JAMES BANSEMER + + + + + +In the City of New York there was practising, at that time, a +lawyer by the name of Bansemer. His office, on the topmost floor +of a dingy building in the lower section of the city, was not +inviting. On leaving the elevator, one wound about through narrow +halls and finally peered, with more or less uncertainty and misgiving, +at the half-obliterated sign which said that James Bansemer held +forth on the other side of the glass panel. + +It was whispered in certain circles and openly avowed in others +that Bansemer's business was not the kind which elevates the law; +in plain words, his methods were construed to debase the good and +honest statutes of the land. Once inside the door of his office--and +a heavy spring always closed it behind one--there was quick evidence +that the lawyer lamentably disregarded the virtues of prosperity, +no matter how they had been courted and won. Although his transactions +in and out of the courts of that great city bore the mark of +dishonour, he was known to have made money during the ten years +of his career as a member of the bar. Possibly he kept his office +shabby and unclean that it might be in touch with the transactions +which had their morbid birth inside the grimy walls. There was no +spot or corner in the two small rooms that comprised his "chambers" +to which he could point with pride. The floors were littered with +papers; the walls were greasy and bedecked with malodorous notations, +documents and pictures; the windows were smoky and useless; the +clerk's desk bore every suggestion of dissoluteness. + +But little less appalling to one's aesthetic sense was the clerk +himself. Squatting behind his wretched desk, Elias Droom peered +across the litter of papers and books with snaky but polite eyes, +almost as inviting as the spider who, with wily but insidious +decorum, draws the guileless into his web. + +If one passed muster in the estimation of the incomprehensible +Droom, he was permitted, in due season, to pass through a second +oppressive-looking door and into the private office of Mr. James +Bansemer, attorney-at-law and solicitor. It may be remarked at +this early stage that, no matter how long or how well one may have +known Droom, one seldom lingered to engage in commonplaces with +him. His was the most repellent personality imaginable. When he +smiled, one was conscious of a shock to the nervous system; when +he so far forgot himself as to laugh aloud, there was a distinct +illustration of the word "crunching"; when he spoke, one was almost +sorry that he had ears. + +Bansemer knew but little of this freakish individual's history; no +one else had the temerity to inquire into his past--or to separate +it from his future, for that matter. Once, Bansemer ironically +asked him why he had never married. It was a full minute before +the other lifted his eyes from the sheet of legal cap, and by that +time he was in full control of his passion. + +"Look at me! Would any woman marry a thing like me?" + +This was said with such terrible earnestness that Bansemer took +care never to broach the subject again. He saw that Droom's heart +was not all steel and brass. + +Droom was middle-aged. His lank body and cadaverous face were +constructed on principles not generally accredited to nature as it +applies to men. When erect, his body swayed as if it were a stubborn +reed determined to maintain its dignity in the face of the wind; he +did not walk, he glided. His long square chin, rarely clean-shaven, +protruded far beyond its natural orbit; indeed, the attitude of +the chin gave one an insight to the greedy character of the man. +At first glance, one felt that Droom was reaching forth with his +lower jaw to give greeting with his teeth, instead of his hand. + +His neck was long and thin, and his turndown collar was at least +two sizes too large. The nose was hooked and of abnormal length, +the tip coming well down over the short, upper lip and broad mouth. +His eyes were light blue, and so intense that he was never known to +blink the lashes. Topping them were deep, wavering, black eyebrows +that met above the nose, forming an ominous, cloudy line across +the base of his thin, high forehead. The crown of his head, covered +by long, scant strands of black hair, was of the type known as +"retreating and pointed." The forehead ran upward and back from the +brows almost to a point, and down from the pinnacle hung the veil +of hair, just as if he had draped it there with the same care +he might have used in placing his best hat upon a peg. His back +was stooped, and the high, narrow shoulders were hunched forward +eagerly. Long arms and ridiculously thin legs, with big hands and +feet, tell the story of his extremities. When he was on his feet +Droom was more than six feet tall; as he sat in the low-backed, +office chair he looked to be less than five feet, over all. What +became of that lank expanse of bone and cuticle when he sat down +was one of the mysteries that not even James Bansemer could fathom. + +The men had been classmates in an obscure law school down in +Pennsylvania. Bansemer was good-looking, forceful and young; while +Droom was distinctly his opposite. Where he came from no one knew +and no one cared. He was past thirty-five when he entered the +school-at least twelve years the senior of Bansemer. + +His appearance and attire proclaimed him to be from the country; +but his sophistry, his knowledge of the world and his wonderful +insight into human nature contradicted his looks immeasureably. +A conflict or two convinced his fellow students that he was more +than a match for them in stealth and cunning, if not in dress and +deportment. + +Elias Droom had not succeeded as a lawyer. He repelled people, +growing more and more bitter against the world as his struggles +became harder. What little money he had accumulated--Heaven alone +knew how: he came by it--dwindled to nothing, and he was in actual +squalor when, later, Bansemer found him in an attic in Baltimore. +Even as he engaged the half-starved wretch to become his confidential +clerk the lawyer shuddered and almost repented of his action. + +But Elias Droom was worth his weight in gold to James Bansemer from +that day forth. His employer's sole aim in life was to get rich +and thereby to achieve power. His ambition was laudable, if one +accepts the creed of morals, but his methods were not so praise-worthy. +After a year of two of starvation struggles to get on with the +legitimate, he packed up his scruples and laid them away--temporarily, +he said. He resorted to sharp practice, knavery, and all the forms +of legal blackmail; it was not long before his bank account began +to swell. His business thrived. He was so clever that not one of his +shady proceedings reacted. It is safe to venture that ninety-nine +per cent, of the people who were bilked through his manipulations +promised, in the heat of virtuous wrath, to expose him, but he had +learned to smile in security. He knew that exposure for him meant +humiliation for the instigator, and he continued to rest easy while +he worked hard. + +"You're getting rich at this sort of thing," observed Droom one +day, after the lawyer had closed a particularly nauseous deal to +his own satisfaction, "but what are you going to do when the tide +turns?" + +Bansemer, irritated on perceiving that the other was engaged in his +exasperating habit of rubbing his hands together, did not answer, +but merely thundered out: "Will you stop that!" + +There was a faint suggestion of the possibility of a transition of +the hands to claws, as Droom abruptly desisted, but smilingly went +on: + +"Some day, the other shark will get the better of you and you'll +have nothing to fall back on. You've been building on mighty slim +foundations. There isn't a sign of support if the worst comes to +the worst," he chuckled. + +"It's a large world, Droom," said his employer easily. + +"And small also, according to another saying," supplemented Droom. +"When a man's down, everybody kicks him--I'm afraid you could not +survive the kicking." + +Droom grinned so diabolically as again he resumed the rubbing of +his hands that the other turned away with an oath and closed the +door to the inside office. Bansemer was alone and where Droom's +eyes could not see him, but something told him that the grin hung +outside the door for many minutes, as if waiting for a chance to +pop in and tantalise him. + +Bansemer was a good-looking man of the coarser mould--the kind of +man that merits a second look in passing, and the second look is not +always in his favour. He was thirty-five years of age, but looked +older. His face was hard and deeply marked with the lines of +intensity. The black eyes were fascinating in their brilliancy, +but there was a cruel, savage light in their depths. The nose and +mouth were clean-cut and pitiless in their very symmetry. Shortly +after leaving college to hang out his shingle, he had married the +daughter of a minister. For two years her sweet influence kept his +efforts along the righteous path, but he writhed beneath the yoke +of poverty. His pride suffered because he was unable to provide +her with more of the luxuries of life; in his selfish way, he loved +her. Failure to advance made him surly and ill-tempered, despite +her amiable efforts to lighten the shadows around their little +home. When the baby boy was born to them, and she suffered more +and more from the unkindness of privation, James Bansemer, by nature +an aggressor, threw off restraint and plunged into the traffic that +soon made him infamously successful. She died, however, before the +taint of his duplicity touched her, and he, even in his grief, felt +thankful that she never was to know the truth. + +At this time Bansemer lived in comfort at one of the middle-class +boarding houses uptown, and the boy was just leaving the kindergarten +for a private school. Bansemer's calloused heart had one tender +chamber, and in it dwelt the little lad with the fair hair and grey +eyes of the woman who had died. + +Late one November afternoon just before Bansemer put on his light +topcoat to leave the office for the day, Droom tapped on the +glass panel of the door to his private office. Usually, the clerk +communicated with him by signal--a floor button by which he could +acquaint his master with much that he ought to know, and the +visitor in the outer office would be none the wiser. The occasions +were rare when he went so far as to tap on the door. Bansemer was +puzzled, and stealthily listened for sounds from the other side. +Suddenly, there came to his ears the voices of women, mingled with +Broom's suppressed but always raucous tones. + +Bansemer opened the door; looking into the outer office, he saw +Droom swaying before two women, rubbing his hands and smiling. One +of the women carried a small babe in her arms. Neither she nor her +companion seemed quite at ease in the presence of the lank guardian +of the outer office. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FOUNDLING + + + + + +"Lady to see you!" announced Droom. The shrewd, fearless genius of +the inner room glanced up quickly and met the prolonged, uncanny +gaze of his clerk; unwillingly, his eyes fell. + +"Confound it, Lias! will you ever quit looking at me like that! +There's something positively creepy in that stare of yours!" + +"Lady to see you!" repeated the clerk, shifting about uneasily, +and then gliding away to take his customary look at the long row +of books in the wall cases. He had performed this act a dozen times +a day for more than five years; the habit had become so strong that +chains could not have restrained him. It was what he considered +a graceful way of dropping out of notice, at the same time giving +the impression that he was constantly busy. + +"Are you Mr. Bansemer?" asked the woman with the babe in her arms, +as he crossed into the outer office. + +For a moment Bansemer purposely remained absorbed in the contemplation +of his finger nails; then he shot a sudden comprehensive glance +which took in the young woman, her burden and all the supposed +conditions. There was no doubt in his mind that here was another +"paternity case," as he catalogued them in his big, black book. + +"I am," he replied shortly, for he usually made short, quick work +of such cases. There was not much money in them at best. They spring +from the lower and poorer classes. The rich ones who are at fault +in such matters never permit them to go to the point where a lawyer +is consulted. "Would you mind coming in to-morrow? I'm just leaving +for the day." + +"It will take but a few minutes, sir, and it would be very hard for +me to get away again to-morrow," said the young woman nervously. +"I'm a governess in a family 'way uptown and my days are not very +free." + +"Is this your baby?" asked Bansemer, more interested. The word +governess appealed to him; it meant that she had to do with wealthy +people, at least. + +"No--that is--well, not exactly," she replied confusedly. The +lawyer looked at her so sharply that she flinched under his gaze. +A kidnapper, thought he, with the quick cunning of one who deals in +stratagems. Instinctively he looked about as if to make sure that +there were no unnecessary witnesses to share the secret. + +"Come into this room," said he suddenly. "Both of you. See that we +are not disturbed," he added, to Droom. "I think I can give you a +few minutes, madam, and perhaps some very good advice. Be seated," +he went on, closing the door after them. His eyes rested on Broom's +face for an instant as the door closed, and he saw a particularly +irritating grin struggling on his thin lips. "Now, what is it? Be +as brief as possible, please. I'm in quite a hurry." + +It occurred to him at this juncture that the young woman was not +particularly distressed. Instead, her rather pretty face was full +of eagerness and there was a certain lightness in her manner that +puzzled him for the moment. Her companion was the older of the +two and quite as prepossessing. Both were neatly dressed and both +looked as though they were or had been bread-winners. If they had +a secret, it was now quite evident to this shrewd, quick thinker +that it was not a dark one. In truth, he was beginning to feel that +something mischievous lurked in the attitude of the two visitors. + +"I want to ask how a person has to proceed to adopt a baby," was +the blunt and surprising remark that came from the one who held +the infant. Bansemer felt himself getting angry. + +"Who wants to adopt it?" he asked shortly. + +"I do, of course," she answered, so readily that the lawyer stared. +He scanned her from head to foot, critically; her face reddened +perceptibly. It surprised him to find that she was more than merely +good-looking; she was positively attractive! + +"Are you a married woman?" he demanded. + +"Yes," she answered, with a furtive glance at her companion. "This +is my sister," she added. + +"I see. Where is your husband?" + +"He is at home--or rather, at his mother's home. We are living +there now." + +"I thought you said you were a governess?" + +"That doesn't prevent me from having a home, does it?" she explained +easily. "I'm not a nurse, you know." + +"This isn't your child, then?" he asked impatiently. + +"I don't know whose child it is." There was a new softness in her +voice that made him look hard at her while she passed a hand tenderly +over the sleeping babe. "She comes from a foundling's home, sir." + +"You cannot adopt a child unless supported by some authority," he +said. "How does she happen to be in your possession; and what papers +have you from the foundling's home to show that the authorities +are willing that you should have her? There is a lot of red tape +about such matters, madam." + +"I thought perhaps you could manage it for me, Mr. Bansemer," +she said, plaintively. "They say you never fail at anything you +undertake." He was not sure there was a compliment in her remark, +so he treated it with indifference. + +"I'm afraid I can't help you." The tone was final. + +"Can't you tell me how I'll have to proceed? I must adopt the +child, sir, one way or another." Her manner was more subdued and +there was a touch of supplication in her voice. + +"Oh, you go into the proper court and make application, that's all," +he volunteered carelessly. "The judge will do the rest. Does your +husband approve of the plans?" + +"He doesn't know anything about it?" + +"What's that?" + +"I can't tell him; it would spoil everything." + +"My dear madam, I don't believe I understand you quite clearly. You +want to adopt the child and keep the matter dark so far as your +husband is concerned? May I inquire the reason?" Bansemer, naturally, +was interested by this time. + +"If you have time to listen, I'd like to tell you how it all comes +about. It won't take long. I want someone to tell me just what +to do and I'll pay for the advice, if it isn't too expensive. I'm +very poor, Mr. Bansemer; perhaps you won't care to help me after +you know that I can't afford to pay very much." + +"We'll see about that later," he said brusquely; "go ahead with +the story." + +The young woman hesitated, glanced nervously at her sister as if +for support, and finally faced the expectant lawyer with a flash of +determination in her dark eyes. As she proceeded, Bansemer silently +and somewhat disdainfully made a study of the speaker. He concluded +that she was scarcely of common origin and was the possessor of +a superficial education that had been enlarged by conceitedness; +furthermore, she was a person of selfish instincts, but without +the usual cruel impulses. There was little if any sign of true +refinement in the features, and yet, there was a strange strength +of purpose that puzzled him. As her story progressed, he solved +the puzzle. She had the strength to carry out a purpose that might +further her own personal interests; but not the will to endure +sacrifice for the sake of another. Her sister was larger and possessed +a reserve that might have been mistaken for deepness. He felt that +she was hardly in sympathy with the motives of the younger, more +volatile woman. + +"My husband is a railroad engineer and is ten years older than I," +the narrator said in the beginning. "I wasn't quite nineteen when +we were married--two years ago. For some time, we got along all +right; then we began to quarrel. He commenced to---" + +"Mr. Bansemer is in a hurry, Fan," broke in the older sister, +sharply; and then, repeating the lawyer's words: "Be as brief as +possible." + +There was a world of reproach in the look which greeted the speaker. +Evidently, it was a grievous disappointment not to be allowed to +linger over the details. + +"Well," she continued half pettishly; "it all ended by his leaving +home, job and everything. I had told him that I was going to apply +for a divorce. For three months I never heard from him." + +"Did you apply for a divorce?" asked the lawyer, stifling a yawn. + +"No, sir, I did not, although he did nothing towards my support." +The woman could not resist a slightly coquettish attempt to enlist +Bansemer's sympathy. "I obtained work at St. Luke's Hospital for +Foundlings, and after that, as a governess. But, once a week I went +back to the asylum to see the little ones. One day, they brought +in a beautifully dressed baby--a girl. She was found on a doorstep, +and in the basket was a note asking that she be well cared for; with +it, was a hundred dollar bill. The moment I saw the little thing, +I fell in love with her. I made application and they gave me +the child with the understanding that I was to adopt it. You see, +I was lonely--I had been living alone for nine or ten months. The +authorities knew nothing of my trouble with Mr. Cable--that's my +husband, David Cable. The child was about a month old when I took +her to his mother, whom I hadn't seen in months. I told Mrs. Cable +that she was mine. The dear old lady believed me; half the battle +was won." She paused out of breath, her face full of excitement. + +"And then?" he asked, once more interested. + +"We both wrote to David asking him to come home to his wife and +baby." She looked away guiltily. For a full minute, Bansemer did +not speak. + +"The result?" he demanded. + +"He came back last month." + +"Does he know the truth?" + +"No, and with God's help, he never shall! It's my only salvation!" +she exclaimed emotionally. "He thinks she is his baby and--and---" +The tears were on her cheeks, now. "I worship him, Mr. Bansemer! +Oh, how good and sweet he has been to me since he came back! Now, +don't you see why I must adopt this child, and why he must never +know? If he learned that I had deceived him in this way, he would +hate me to my dying day." + +The infant was awake and staring at him with wide, blue eyes. + +"And you want me to handle this matter so that your husband will +be none the wiser?" + +"Oh, Mr. Bansemer," she cried; "it means everything to me! All +depends on this baby. I must adopt her, or the asylum people won't +let me keep her. Can't it be done so quickly that he'll never find +it out?" + +"How many people know that the child is not yours?" + +"My sister and the authorities at the asylum; not another soul." + +"It is possible to arrange the adoption, Mrs. Cable, but I can't +guarantee that Mr. Cable will not find it out. The records will +show the fact, you know. There is but one way to avoid discovery." + +"And that, please?" + +"Leave New York and make your home in some distant city. That's +the safe way. If you remain here, there is always a chance that he +may find out. I see the position you're in and I'll help you. It +can be done quite regularly and there is only one thing you'll have +to fear--you own tongue," he concluded, pointedly. + +"I hate New York, Mr. Bansemer. David likes the West and I'll go +anywhere on earth, if it will keep him from finding out. Oh, if +you knew how he adores her!" she cried, regret and ecstasy mingling +in her voice. "I'd give my soul if she were only mine!" Bansemer's +heart was too roughly calloused to be touched by the wistful longing +in these words. + +Before the end of the week the adoption of the foundling babe was +a matter of record; and the unsuspecting David Cable was awaiting +a reply from the train-master of a big Western railroad, to whom, +at the earnest, even eager, solicitation of his wife, he had applied +for work. Elias Droom made a note of the fee in the daybook at the +office, but asked no questions. Bansemer had told him nothing of +the transaction, but he was confident that the unspeakable Droom +knew all about it, even though he had not been nearer than the +outer office during any of the consultations. + + + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BANSEMER CRASH + + + + + +Twenty long years had passed since David and Frances Cable took +their hasty departure--virtually fleeing from New York City, their +migrations finally ending in that thriving Western city--Denver. +Then, the grime of the engine was on Cable's hands and deep beneath +his skin; the roar of iron and steel and the rush of wind was ever +in his ears; the quest of danger in his eye; but there was love, +pride and a new ambition in his heart. Now, in 1898, David Cable's +hands were white and strong; the grime was gone; the engineer's +cap had given way to the silk tile of the magnate; and the shovel +was a memory. + +But his case was not unique in that day and age of pluck and luck. +Many another man had gone from the bottom to the top with the speed +and security of the elevator car in the lofty "sky-scrapers." In +the heartless revolution of a few years, he became the successor +of his Western benefactor. The turn that had been kind to him, +was unkind to his friend and predecessor; the path that led upward +for David Cable, ran the other way for the train-master, who years +afterward died in his greasy overalls and the close-fitting cap of +an engineer. One night Cable read the news of the wreck with all +the joy gone from his heart. + +From the cheap, squalid section of town known as "railroad end," +Cable's rising influence carried him to the well-earned luxury. The +lines of care and toil mellowed in the face of his pretty wife, as +the years rolled by; her comely figure shed the cheap raiment of +"hard, old days," and took on the plumage of prosperity. Trouble, +resentment, and worry disappeared as if by magic, smoothed out by +the satiny touch of comfort's fingers. She went upward much faster +than her husband, for her ambitions were less exacting. She longed +to shine socially--he loathed the thought of it. But Cable was +proud of his wife. He enjoyed the transition that lifted her up with +steady strength to the plane which fitted her best--as he regarded +it. She had stuck by him nobly and uncomplainingly through the +vicissitudes; it delighted him to give her the pleasures. + +Frances Cable was proud; but she had not been too proud to stand +beside the man with the greasy overalls and to bend her fine, young +strength to work in unison with his. Together, facing the task, +cheerfully, they had battled and won. + +There were days when it was hard to smile; but the next day always +brought with it a fresh sign of hope. The rough, hard, days in +the Far West culminated in his elevation to the office of General +Manager of the great railroad system, whose headquarters and home +were in the city of Chicago. Attaining this high place two years +prior to the opening of this narrative, he was regarded now as one +of the brainiest railroad men and slated to be president of the +road at the next meeting. + +Barely past fifty years of age, David Cable was in the prime of +life and usefulness. Age and prosperity had improved him greatly. +The iron grey of his hair, the keen brightness of his face, the +erect, and soldierly carriage of his person made him a striking +figure. His wife, ten years his junior, was one of the most attractive +women in Chicago. Her girlish beauty had refined under the blasts +of adversity; years had not been unkind to her. In a way, she was +the leader of a certain set, but her social ambitions were not +content. There was a higher altitude in fashion's realm. Money, +influence and perseverance were her allies; social despotism her +only adversary. + +The tall, beautiful and accomplished daughter of the Cables was +worshipped by her father with all the warmth and ardour of his +soul. Times there were when he looked in wonder upon this arbiter +of not a few manly destinies; and for his life could not help asking +himself how the Creator had given him such a being for a child, +commenting on the fact that she bore resemblance to neither parent. + +For years, Mrs. Cable had lived in no little terror of some day +being found out. As the child grew to womanhood, the fears gradually +diminished and a sense of security that would not be disturbed +replaced them. Then, just as she was reaching out for the chief +prizes of her ambition, she came face to face with a man, whose +visage she never had forgotten--Elias Droom! And Frances Cable +looked again into the old and terrifying shadows! + +It was late in the afternoon, and she was crossing the sidewalk to +her carriage waiting near Field's, when a man brushed against her. +She was conscious of a strange oppressiveness. Before she turned +to look at him she knew that a pair of staring eyes were upon her +face. Something seemed to have closed relentlessly upon her heart. + +One glance was sufficient. The tall, angular form stood almost over +her; the two, wide, blue eyes looked down in feigned surprise; the +never-to-be-forgotten voice greeted her, hoarsely: + +"Good afternoon, Mrs. Cable! And how is the baby?" + +"The baby!" she faltered. Struggle against it as she would, a sort +of fascination drew her gaze toward the remarkable face of the old +clerk. "Why--why--she's very well, thank you," she finally stammered. +Her face was as white as a ghost; with a shudder she started to +pass him. Droom, blocked the way. + +"She was such a pretty little thing, I remember;" and then, +insinuatingly: "Where is her father, now?" + +"He--Mr. Cable," answered Mrs. Cable, feeling very much as a bird +feels when it is charmed by a snake, "why, he's at home, of course." + +"Indeed!" was all that Elias Droom said; for she had fled to escape +the grin that writhed in and out among the wrinkles of his face. + +As her carriage struggled through crowded Washington Street, +an irresistible something compelled Frances Cable to glance back. +Droom stood on the curb, his eyes following her almost hungrily. +Half an hour later, when she reached home, she was in a state of +collapse. Although there was no physical proof of the fact, she +was positive that Elias Droom had followed her to the very doorstep. + +In suspense and dread, she waited for days before there was a +second manifestation of Droom. There was rarely a day when she did +not expect her husband to stand before her and ask her to explain +the story that had been carried to him by a demon in the form of +man. + +But Droom did not go to David Cable. He went to James Bansemer with +the news. + +James Bansemer's law and loan offices were not far from the river +and, it is sufficient to say, not much farther from State Street. +He who knows Chicago well cannot miss the location more than three +blocks, either way, if he takes City Hall as a focal point. The +office building in which they were located is not a pretentious +structure, but its tenants were then and still are regarded as +desirable. It may be well to announce that Bansemer, on reaching +Chicago, was clever enough to turn over a new leaf and begin work +on a clear, white page, but it is scarcely necessary to add that +the black, besmirched lines on the opposite side of the sheet could +be traced through every entry that went down on the fresh white +surface. Bansemer was just as nefarious in his transactions, but +he was a thousandfold more cautious. Droom sarcastically reminded +him that he had a reputation to protect, in his new field and, +besides, as his son was "going in society" through the influence of +a coterie of Yale men, it would be worse than criminal to deteriorate. + +Bansemer loathed Droom, but he also feared him. He was the only living +creature that inspired fear in the heart of this bold schemer. It +is true that he feared the effect an exposure might have on the +mind of his stalwart son, the boy with his mother's eyes; but he +had succeeded so well in blinding the youth in the years gone by, +that the prospects of discovery now seemed too remote for concern. +The erstwhile New York "shark" was now an eel, wily and elusive, +but he was an eel with a shark's teeth and a shark's voraciousness. +He had grown old in the study of this particular branch of natural +history. Bansemer was fifty-five years old in this year of 1898. +He was thinner than in the old New York days, but the bull-like +vigour had given way to the wiry strength of the leopard. The once +black hair was almost white, and grew low and thick on his forehead. +Immaculately dressed, ever straight and aggressive in carriage, +he soon became a figure of whom all eyes took notice, even in the +most crowded of Chicago thoroughfares. + +Graydon Bansemer, on leaving Yale with a diploma and some of +the honours of his class, urged his father to take him into his +office, and ultimately to make him a partner in the business. James +Bansemer never forgot the malicious grin that crossed the face of +Elias Droom when the young fellow made the proposition not more +than a fortnight before the Bansemer establishment picked itself +up and hastily deserted New York. That grin spoke plainer than all +the words in language. Take him into the office? Make this honest, +grey-eyed boy a partner? It was no wonder that Droom grinned and +it is no wonder that he forgot to cover his mouth with his huge +hand, as was his custom. + +The proposition, while sincere and earnest, was too impossible +for words. For once in his life, James Bansemer was at a loss for +subterfuge. He stammered, flushed and writhed in the effort to +show the young man that the step would be unprofitable, and he was +sorely conscious that he had not convinced the eager applicant. +He even urged him to abandon the thought of becoming a lawyer, and +was ably seconded by Elias Droom, whose opinion of the law, as he +had come to know it, was far from flattering. + +Just at this time Bansemer was engaged in the most daring as well +as the most prodigious "deal" of his long career. With luck, it was +bound to enrich him to the extent of $50,000. The plans had been +so well prepared and the execution had been so faultless that there +seemed to be no possibility of failure. To take his fair-minded +son--with the mother's eyes--into the game would be suicidal. The +young fellow would turn from him forever. Bansemer never went so +far as to wonder whence came the honest blood in the boy's veins, +nor to speculate on the origin of the unquestioned integrity. He +had but to recall the woman who bore him, the woman whose love was +the only good thing he ever knew, the wife he had worshipped while +he sinned. + +For years and years he had plied his unwholesome trade in reputations, +sometimes evading exposure by the narrowest of margins, and he had +come to believe that he was secure for all time to come. But it +was the "big job" that brought disaster. Just when it looked as +though success was assured, the crash came. He barely had time to +cover his tracks, throw the figurative pepper into the eyes of his +enemies, and get away from the scene of danger. But, he had been +clever and resourceful enough to avoid the penalty that looked +inevitable and came off with colours trailing but uncaptured. + +Perhaps no other man could have escaped; but James Bansemer was +cleverest when in a corner. He backed away, held them at bay until +he could recover his breath, and then defied them to their teeth. +Despite their proof, he baffled them, and virtue was not its own +reward--at least in this instance. + +In leaving New York, he hoped that Ellas Droom--who knew too much--might +refuse to go into the new territory with him, but the gaunt, old +clerk took an unnatural and malevolent delight in clinging to his +employer. He declined to give up his place in the office, and, +although he hated James Bansemer, he came like an accusing shadow +into the new offices near the Chicago River, and there he toiled, +grinned and scowled with the same old faithfulness. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +IN SIGHT OF THE FANGS + + + + + +At first, it was hard for James Bansemer to believe that his henchman +had not been mistaken. Droom's description of the lady certainly +did not correspond to what his memory recalled. Investigation, +however, assured him that the Cables in the mansion near the lake +were the people he had known in New York. Bansemer took no one into +his confidence, not even Droom. Once convinced that the erstwhile +fireman was now the rich and powerful magnate, he set to work upon +the machinery which was to extract personal gain from the secret +in his possession. He soon learned that the child was a young woman +of considerable standing in society, but there was no way for him +to ascertain whether Frances Cable had told the truth to her husband +in those dreary Far West days. + +Bansemer was rich enough, but avarice had become a habit. The flight +from New York had deprived him of but little in worldly goods. His +ill-gotten gains came with him; and investments were just as easy +and just as safe in Chicago as in New York. Now, he saw a chance +to wring a handsome sum from the rich woman whose only possession +had been love when he first knew her. If the secret of Jane's +origin still remained locked up in her heart, the effort would be +an easy one. He learned enough of David Cable, however, to know that +if he shared the secret, the plan would be profitless and dangerous. + +It was this uncertainty that kept him from calling at the Cable home; +likewise, from writing a note which might prove a most disastrous +folly. Time and circumstance could be his only friends, and he +was accustomed to the whims of both. He read of the dinners and +entertainments given by the Cables, and smiled grimly. Time had +worked wonders for them! Scandal, he knew, could undo all that +ambition and pride had wrought. He could well afford to wait. + +However, he did not have long to wait, for his opportunity came +one night in Hooley's Theatre. Graydon and he occupied seats in +the orchestra, near the stage and not far from the lower right-hand +boxes. It was during the busy Christmas holidays, but the "star" +was of sufficient consequence to pack the house. The audience was +no end of a fashionable one. Time and again, some strange influence +drew his gaze to the gay party in one of the lower boxes. The face +of the woman nearest to him was not visible; but the two girls who +sat forward, turned occasionally to look over the audience; and he +saw that they were pretty, one exceptionally so. One of the men +was grey-haired and strong-featured; the others were quite too +insignificant to be of interest to him. The woman whose back he +could see did not look out over the audience. Her indifference was +so marked that it seemed deliberate. + +At last, he felt that her eyes were upon him; he turned quickly. +True enough, for with lips slightly parted, her whole attitude +suggestive of intense restraint, Mrs. Cable was staring helplessly +into the eyes of the man who could destroy her with a word. + +The one thing that flashed through Bansemer's brain was the +realisation that she was far more beautiful than he had expected +her to be. There was a truly aristocratic loveliness in the rather +piquant face, and she undeniably possessed "manner." Maturity had +improved her vastly, he confessed with strange exultation; age had +been kinder than youth. He forgot the play, seldom taking his eyes +from the back which again had been turned to him. Calculating, he +reached the conclusion that she was not more than forty years of +age. More than once he made some remark to his son, only to surprise +that young man glancing surreptitiously at the face of the more +beautiful of the two girls. Even in this early stage, James Bansemer +began to gloat over the beauty of this new-found, old acquaintance. + +In the lobby of the theatre, as they were leaving, he deliberately +doffed his hat and extended a pleasant hand to the wife of David +Cable. She turned deathly pale and there was a startled, piteous +look in her eyes that convinced him beyond all shadow of a doubt. +There was nothing for her to do but introduce him to her husband. +Two minutes later Graydon Bansemer and Jane Cable, strangers until +then, were asking each other how they liked the play, and Fate was +at work. + +A few weeks after this scene at the theatre young Mr. Bansemer +dashed across the hall from the elevator and entered his father's +office just as Elias Droom was closing up. + +"Where's the governor, Mr. Droom?" he asked, deliberately brushing +past the old clerk in the outer office. + +"Left some time ago," replied Droom, somewhat ungraciously, his blue +eyes staring past the young man with a steadiness that suggested +reproach because he was out of the direct line of vision. "It is +nearly six o'clock--he's never here after five." + +"I know that he--I asked you if you knew of his whereabouts. Do +you--or not?" The self-confident, athletic youth did not stand in +physical awe of the clerk. + +"No," was the simple and sufficient answer. + +"Well then--I'm off," said Graydon a trifle less airily. + +Droom's overcoat was on and buttoned up to his chin; his long feet +were encased in rubbers of enormous size and uncertain age. There +must have been no blood in the veins of this grim old man, for the +weather was far from cold and the streets were surprisingly dry +for Chicago. + +"I am closing the office for the day," said Droom. For no apparent +reason a smile spread over the lower part of his face and Graydon, +bold as he was, turned his eyes away. + +"I thought I'd stop in and pick up the governor for a ride home in +my motor," said he, turning to the door. + +"Yours is one of the first out here, I suppose," came from the thin +lips of the old clerk. + +Graydon laughed. + +"Possibly. The company charges a nickel a ride--half a dime--Going +down, sir?" Graydon had rung for the elevator and was waiting in +front of the grating. + +A look containing a curious compound of affectionate reproach and +a certain senile gratification at being made the object of the +boy's condescending raillery crossed Droom's countenance. Without, +however, answering his question, he slowly and carefully closed the +door, tried it vigorously, and joined Bansemer at the shaft. With +Droom, words were unnecessary when actions could speak for themselves. + +"Still living over in Wells Street, Mr. Droom?" went on Graydon, +thoroughly at home with the man whom he had feared and despised by +stages from childhood up. + +"It's good enough for me," said Droom shortly. "'Tisn't Michigan +Avenue, the Drive or Lincoln Park Boulevard, but it's just as swell +as I am--or ever hope to be." + +"There's nothing against Wells Street but--it got ashamed of itself +when it crossed the river." + +"They call it Fifth Avenue," sneered Droom, "but it isn't THE Avenue, +is it?" Bansemer was surprised to note a tone of affectionate pride +in the question. + +"No indeed!" + +"Oh, there's only one, Mr. Graydon," said the old clerk, quite +warmly; "our own Fifth Avenue." + +"I had no idea you cared so much for swagger things, Mr. Droom," +observed the other, genuinely surprised. + +"Even Broadway is heaven to me," said Droom, some of the rasp +gone from his voice. "Good-bye; I go this way," he said when they +reached the sidewalk a little later. The young man watched his +gaunt figure as it slouched away in the semi-darkness. + +"By George, the old chap is actually homesick!" muttered he. "I +didn't think it was in him." + +Droom had rooms over a millinery shop in Wells Street. There was a +bedroom at the back and a "living-room" in front, overlooking the +street from the third story of the building. Of the bedchamber there +is but little to say, except that it contained a bed, a washstand, +a mirror, two straight-backed chairs and a clothes-press. Droom +went out for his bath--every Saturday night. The "living-room," +however, was queer in more ways than one. In one corner, on a chest +of drawers, stood his oil stove, while in the opposite corner, a +big sheet-iron heater made itself conspicuous. Firewood was piled +behind the stove winter and summer, Droom lamenting that one could +not safely discriminate between the seasons in Chicago. The chest +of drawers contained his stock of provisions, his cooking and table +utensils, his medicine and a small assortment of carpenter's tools. +He had no use for an icebox. + +A bookcase, old enough to warm the heart of the most ardent antiquarian, +held his small and unusual collection of books. Standing side by +side, on the same shelf, were French romances, unexpurgated, and the +Holy Bible, much bethumbed and pencilled. There were schoolbooks +alongside of sentimental love tales, Greek lexicons and quaint +old fairy stories, law books and works on criminology; books on +botany, geology, anatomy, and physics. In all, perhaps, there were +two hundred volumes. A life of Napoleon revealed signs of almost +constant usage. There were three portraits of the Corsican on the +dingy green walls. + +The strange character of the man was best shown by the pictures +that adorned--or rather disfigured the walls. Vulgar photographs +and prints were to be seen on all sides. Mingled with these cheap +creations were excellent copies of famous Madonnas, quaint Scriptural +drawings, engravings of the Saviour, and an allegorical coloured +print which emphasised the joys of heaven. There was also a badly +drawn but idealised portrait of Droom, done in crayon at the age of +twenty. This portrait was one of his prized possessions. He loved +it best because it was a bust and did not expose his longitudinal +defects. If Droom ever had entertained a feminine visitor in his +apartments, there is no record of the fact. But few men had seen +the interior of his home, and they had gone away with distressed, +perplexed sensibilities. + +He cooked his own meals on the oil stove, and, alone, ate them from +the little table that stood near the heater. Occasionally, he went +out to a near-by eating house for a lonely feast. His rooms usually +reeked with the odour of boiled coffee, burnt cabbage and grease, +pungent chemicals and long-suffering bed linen. Of his "front" room, +it may be said that it was kitchen, dining-room, parlour, library, +workshop, laboratory and conservatory. Four flower-pots in which +as many geraniums existed with difficulty, despite Droom's constant +and unswerving care, occupied a conspicuous place on the window-sills +overlooking the street. He watched aver them with all the tender +solicitude of a lover, surprising as it may appear when one pauses +to consider the vicious exterior of the man. + +Droom was frugal. He was, in truth, a miser. If anyone had asked him +what he expected to do with the money he was putting away in the +bank, he could not have answered, calculating as he was by nature. +He had no relative to whom he would leave it and he had no inclination +to give up the habit of active employment. His salary was small, +but he managed to save more than half of it--for a "rainy day," as +he said. He did his reading and experimenting by kerosene light, +and went to bed by candle light, saving a few pennies a week in +that way. The windows in his apartment were washed not oftener than +once a year. He was seldom obliged to look through them during the +day, and their only duty at night was to provide ventilation--and +even that was characteristically meagre. + +He was a man of habit--not habits. A pipe at night was his only +form of dissipation. It was not too far for him to walk home from +the office of evenings, and he invariably did so unless the weather +was extremely unpleasant. So methodical was he that he never had +walked over any other bridge than the one in Wells Street, coming +and going. + +Past sixty-five years of age. Broom's hair still was black and snaky; +his teeth were as yellow and jagged as they were in the seventies, +and his eyes were as blue and ugly as ever. He had not aged with +James Bansemer. In truth, he looked but little older then when we +made his acquaintance. The outside world knew no more of Droom's +private transactions than it knew of Bansemer's. Up in the horrid +little apartment in Wells Street the queer old man could do as he +willed, unobserved and unannoyed. He could pursue his experiments +with strange chemicals, he could construct odd devices with his +kit of tools, and he could let off an endless amount of inventive +energy that no one knew he possessed. + +When he left Graydon Bansemer on the sidewalk in front of the +office building, he swung off with his long strides towards the +Wells Street bridge. His brain had laid aside everything that had +occupied its attention during office hours and had given itself +over to the project that hastened his steps homeward. His supper +that night was a small one and hurriedly eaten in order that he +might get to work on his new device. Droom grinned and cackled to +himself all alone up there in the lamplight, for he was perfecting +an "invention" by which the honest citizen could successfully put +to rout the "hold-up" man that has made Chicago famous. + +Elias Droom's inventive genius unfailingly led him toward devices +that could inflict pain and discomfiture. His plan to get the +better of the wretched, hard-working hold-up man was unique, if not +entirely practical. He was constructing the models for two little +bulbs, made of rubber and lined with a material that would resist +the effects of an acid, no matter how powerful. On one end of each +bulb, which was capable of holding at least an ounce of liquid, +there was a thin syringe attachment, also proof against acids. These +little bulbs were made so that they could be held in the palm of +the hand. By squeezing them suddenly a liquid could be shot from +the tube with considerable force. + +The bulbs were to contain vitriol. + +When the hold-up man gave the command to "hold up your hands," the +victim had only to squeeze the bulb as the hands went up, and, if +accurately aimed, the miscreant would get the stream of the deadly +vitriolic fluid in his eyes and--here endeth the first lesson. +Experience alone could do the rest. + +Young Bansemer hurried to their apartments on the North Side. He +found his father dressed and ready to go out to dinner. + +"Well, how was everything to-day?" asked James Bansemer from his +easy chair in the library. Graydon threw his hat and gloves on the +table. + +"Terribly dull market, governor," he said. "It's been that way for +a week. How are you feeling?" + +"Fit to dine with a queen," answered the older man, with a smile. +"How soon can you dress for dinner, Gray?" + +"That depends on who is giving the dinner." + +"Some people you like. I found the note here when I came in a little +after five. We have an hour in which to get over there. Can you be +ready?" + +"Do you go security for the affair?" asked Graydon. + +"Certainly. You have been there, my boy, and I've not heard you +complain." + +"You mean over at---" + +"Yes, that's where I mean," said the other, breaking in quietly. + +"I think I can be ready in ten minutes, father." + +While he was dressing, his father sat alone and stared reflectively +at the small blue gas blaze in the grate. A dark, grim smile +unconsciously came over his face, the inspiration of a triumphant +joy. Twice he read the dainty note that met him on his return from +the office. + +"What changes time can make in woman!" he mused; "and what changes +a woman can make in time! For nearly a year I've waited for this +note. I knew it would come--it was bound to come. Graydon has had +everything up to this time, while I have waited patiently in the +background. Now, it is my turn." + +"All right, father," called Graydon from the hall. "The cab is at +the door." + +Together they went down the steps, arm in arm, strong figures. + +"To Mr. David Cable's," ordered Bansemer, the father, complacently, +as he stepped into the carriage after his son. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +MRS. CABLE ENTERTAINS + + + + + +James Bansemer had not recklessly rushed into Mrs. Cable's presence +with threats of exposure; but on the contrary, he had calmly, craftily +waited. It suited his purpose to let her wonder, dread and finally +develop the trust that her secret was safe with him. Occasionally, +he had visited the Cable box in the theatre; not infrequently he +had dined with them in the downtown cafes and at the homes of mutual +acquaintances; but this was the first time that James Bansemer had +enjoyed the hospitality of Frances Cable's home. His son, on the +best of terms with their daughter, was a frequent visitor there. + +There was a rare bump of progressiveness in the character of Graydon +Bansemer. He was good-looking enough beyond doubt, and there was a +vast degree of personal magnetism about him. It seemed but natural +that he should readily establish himself as a friend and a favourite +of the fair Miss Cable. For some time, James Bansemer had watched +his son's progress with the Cable family, not once allowing his +personal interest to manifest itself. It was but a question of time +until Mrs. Cable's suspense and anxiety would bring her to him, +one way or another. Every word that fell from the lips of his son +regarding the Cables held his attention, and it was not long before +he saw the family history as clearly as though it were an open +book--and he knew far more than the open book revealed. + +Frances Cable was not deluded by his silence and aloofness; but +she was unable to devise means to circumvent him. Constant fear +of his power to crush lurked near her day and night. Conscious of +her weakness, but eager to have done with the strife, sometimes +she longed for the enemy to advance. At first, she distrusted and +despised the son, but his very fairness battered down the barriers +of prejudice, and real admiration succeeded. Her husband liked +him immensely, and Jane was his ablest ally. David Cable regarded +him as one of the brightest, young men on the Stock Exchange, and +predicted that some day he would be an influential member of the +great brokerage firm for which he now acted as confidential clerk. +Mr. Clegg, the senior member of the firm of Clegg, Groll & Davidson, +his employers, personally had commended young Bansemer to Cable, +and he was properly impressed. + +Graydon's devotion to Jane did not go unnoticed. This very condition +should have assured Mrs. Cable that James Bansemer had kept her +secret zealously. There was nothing to indicate that the young man +knew the story of the foundling. + +It was not until some weeks after the chance meeting in Hooley's +Theatre that Mrs. Cable came into direct contact with James Bansemer's +designs. She had met him at two or three formal affairs, but their +conversations had been of the most conventional character; on the +other hand, her husband had lunched and dined at the club with the +lawyer. At first, she dreaded the outcome of these meetings, but +as Cable's attitude towards her remained unchanged, she began to +realise that Bansemer, whatever his purpose, was loyal. + +They met at last, quite informally, at Mrs. Clegg's dinner, a small +and congenial affair. When the men came into the drawing-room, after +the cigars, Mrs. Cable, with not a little trepidation, motioned to +Mr. Bansemer to draw up his chair beside her. + +"I have been looking forward with pleasure to this opportunity, +Mr. Bansemer," she said, in a courteously acidulated way. "It has +been so long in coming." + +"Better late than never," he returned, with marked emphasis. +Fortunately, for her, the challenging significance of his words was +quickly nullified by the smile with which she was almost instantly +favoured. "Twenty years, I believe--it certainly came very near +being 'never,'" he went on, abruptly changing from harsh to the +sweetest of tones. "No one could believe that you--you're simply +wonderful!" and added, pointedly, "But your daughter is even more +beautiful, if such is possible, than her--her mother." + +Apparently, the innuendo passed unnoticed; in reality, it required +all her courage to appear calm. + +"How very nice of you," she said softly; and looking him full in +the face: "Her mother thanks you for the compliment." + +It was a brave little speech; such bravery would have softened a +man of another mould--changed his purpose. Not so with Bansemer. +A sinister gleam came into his eyes and his attack became more +brutally direct. + +"But the husband--has he never mistrusted?" + +The blow told, though her reply was given with rippling laughter +and for the benefit of any chance listeners. + +"For shame, Mr. Bansemer!" she cried lightly; "after flattering me +so delightfully, you're surely not going to spoil it all?" + +Despite his growing annoyance, admiration shone clearly from +Bansemer's eyes. His memory carried him, back some twenty years to +the scene in his office. Was it possible, he was thinking, that the +charming woman before him exercising so cleverly all the arts of +society, as if born to the purple, and the light-headed, frivolous, +little wife of the Central's engineer were one and the same person? +The metamorphosis seemed incredible. + +Unwittingly, his manner lost some of its aggressiveness; and the +woman perceiving the altered conditions, quick to take advantage, +resolved to learn, if possible his intentions. Presently, going +right to the point, she asked: + +"Is that extraordinary looking creature you had in your office +still with you, Mr. Bansemer?" + +"Extraordinary!" He laughed loudly. "He is certainly that, and more. +Indeed, the English language does not supply us with an adjective +that adequately describes the man." + +The people nearest to them, by this time, had moved away to another +part of the large drawing-room; practically, the couple were by +themselves. She had been thinking, for a moment, reasoning with +a woman's logic that it was always well to know one's enemy. When +she next spoke, it was almost in a whisper. + +"How much does that terrible man know?" + +"He is not supposed to know anything;" and then, with an enigmatical +smile, promptly admitted: "However, I'm afraid that he does." + +"You have told him? And yet, you promised nobody should know. How +could---" + +"My dear Mrs. Cable, he was not told; if he has found out--I could +not prevent his discovering the truth through his own efforts," he +interrupted in a tone more assuaging than convincing to her; and +then, hitching his chair closer, and lowering his voice a note, he +continued: "The papers had to be taken out--but you must not worry +about him--you can depend on me." + +"Promise me that you will make him--I am so fearful of that +awful---" she broke off abruptly. Her fears were proving too much +for her, and she was in imminent danger of a complete breakdown; +all the veneer with which she had bravely commenced the interview +had disappeared. + +Bansemer endeavoured to soothe her with promises; but the poor +woman saw only his teeth in the reassuring smile that he presented +to her, together with the warnings that they were likely to +be observed. With the hardest kind of an effort, she succeeded +in pulling herself together sufficiently to bid good-night to her +hostess. + +When Mrs. Cable reached home that night, it was a full realisation +that she was irrevocably committed into the custody of these +cold-blooded men. + +They met again and again at the homes of mutual friends, and she +had come to loathe the pressure of his hand when it clasped hers. +The undeniable caress in his low, suggestive voice disturbed her; +his manner was unmistakable. One night he held her hand long and +firmly in his, and while she shrank helplessly before him he even +tenderly asked why she had not invited him into her home. It was +what she had expected and feared. Her cup of bitterness was filling +rapidly--too rapidly. His invitation to dinner a fortnight later, +followed. + +Jane Cable was radiant as she entered the drawing-room shortly +after the arrival of the two Bansemers. + +"It's quite like a family party! How splendid!" she said to Graydon +with a quick glance in the direction of James Bansemer and David +Cable, who stood conversing together, and withdrawing her soft, +white hand, which she had put forth to meet his in friendly clasp. +"It's too good to be true!" she went on in a happy, spontaneous, +almost confiding manner. + +The two fathers looked on in amused silence, the one full of +admiration and pride for the clean, vigorous manhood of his son +awaiting to receive welcome from the adorable Jane; the other, long +since conscious of the splendid beauty of his daughter, mentally +declaring that she never had appeared so well as when standing +beside this gallant figure. + +Other guests arrived before Mrs. Cable made her appearance in the +drawing-room. She had taken more time than usual with her toilet. +It was impossible for her to hide the fact that the strain was +telling on her perceptibly. The face that looked back into her eyes +from the mirror on her dressing-table was not the fresh, warm one +that had needed so little care a few short months before. There +was a heaviness about the eyes and there were strange, persistent +lines gathering under the soft, white tissues of her skin. But when +she at last stepped into the presence of her guests, with ample +apologies for her tardiness, she was the picture of life and nerve. +So much for the excellent resources of her will. + +Bansemer was the last to present himself for her welcome, lingering +in the background until the others had passed. + +"I'm so glad you could come. Indeed, it's a pleasure to---" She +spoke clearly and distinctly as she extended her hand; but as she +looked squarely into his eyes she thought him the ugliest man she +ever had seen. Every other woman in the party was saying to herself +that James Bansemer was strikingly handsome. + +"Most pleasures come late in life to some of us," he returned, +gallantly, and even Graydon Bansemer wished that he could have said +it. + +"Your father is a perfect dear," Jane said to him, softly. "It was +not what he said just then that pleased me, but what he left unsaid." + +"Father's no end of a good fellow, Jane. I'm glad you admire him." + +"You are not a bit like him," she said reflectively. + +"Thanks," he exclaimed. "You are not very flattering." + +"But you are a different sort of a good fellow, that's what I mean. +Don't be absurd," she cried in some little confusion. + +"I'm like my mother, they say, though I don't remember her at all." + +"Oh, how terrible it must be never to have known one's mother," +said she tenderly. + +"Or one's father," added James Bansemer, who was passing at that +instant with Mrs. Cable. "Please include the father, Miss Cable," +he pleaded with mock seriousness. Turning to Mrs. Cable, who had +stopped beside him, he added: "You, the most charming of mothers, +will defend the fathers, won't you?" + +"With all my heart," she answered so steadily that he was surprised. + +"I will include the father, Mr. Bansemer," said Jane, "if it +is guaranteed that he possibly could be as nice and dear as one's +mother. In that case, I think it would be--oh, dreadfully terrible +never to have known him." + +"And to think, Miss Cable, of the unfortunates who have known neither +father nor mother," said Bansemer, senior, slowly, relentlessly. +"How much they have missed of life and love!" + +"That can be offset somewhat by the thought of the poor parents +who never have known a son or a daughter," said Jane. + +"How can they be parents, then?" demanded Bobby Rigby, coming up +in time. + +"Go away, Bobby," she said scornfully. + +"That's a nice way to treat logic," he grumbled, ambling on in +quest of Miss Clegg. + +"The debate will become serious if you continue," said Mrs. Cable +lightly. "Come along, Mr. Bansemer; Mrs. Craven is waiting." + +When they were across the room and alone, she turned a white face +to him and remonstrated bitterly: "Oh, that was cowardly of you +after your promise to me!" + +"I forgot myself," he said quietly. "Don't believe me to be utterly +heartless." His hand touched her arm. Instantly her assumed calm +gave way to her deep agitation, and with a swift change of manner, +she turned on him, her passion alight. + +"You---!" she stammered; then her fears found voice. "What do you +mean?" she demanded in smothered, alarmed tones. + +He desisted savagely and shrank away, the colour flaming into his +disgusted, saturnine face. He did not speak to her again until he +said good-bye long afterward. + +As he had expected, his place at the dinner-table was some distance +from hers. He was across the table from Jane and Graydon, and several +seats removed from. David Cable. He smiled grimly and knowingly +when he saw that he had been cut off cleverly from the Cables. + +"To-morrow night, then, Jane!" said Graydon at parting. No one was +near enough to catch the tender eagerness in his voice, nor to see +the happy flush in her cheek as she called after him: + +"To-morrow night!" + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE TELEGRAM + + + + + +Bobby Rigby and Graydon Bansemer were bosom friends in Chicago; +they had been classmates at Yale. It had been a question of money +with Bobby from the beginning. According to his own admission, his +money was a source of great annoyance to him. He was not out of +debt but once, and then, before he fully realised it. So unusual +was the condition, that he could not sleep; the first thing he did +in the morning was to borrow right and left for fear another attack +of insomnia might interfere with his training for the football +eleven. + +Robertson Ray Rigby, immortalised as Bobby, had gone in for athletics, +where he learned to think and act quickly. He was called one of the +lightest, but headiest quarterbacks in the East. No gridiron idol +ever escaped his "Jimmy," or "Toppy," or "Pop," or "Johnny." When +finally, he hung out his shingle in Chicago: "Robertson R. Rigby, +Attorney-at-Law," he lost his identity even among his classmates. +It was weeks before the fact became generally known that it was +Bobby who waited for clients behind the deceptive shingle. + +The indulgent aunt who had supplied him with funds in college +was rich in business blocks and apartment buildings; and now, Mr. +Robertson R. Rigby was her man of affairs. When he went in for +business, the old push of the football field did not desert him. +He was very much alive and very vigorous, and it did not take him +long to "learn the signals." + +With his aunt's unfaltering prosperity, his own ready wit and unbridled +versatility, he was not long in establishing himself safely in his +profession and in society. Everybody liked him, though no one took +him seriously except when they came to transact business with him. +Then, the wittiness of the drawing-room turned into shrewdness as +it crossed the office threshold. + +The day after the Cable dinner, Bobby yawned and stretched through +his morning mail. He had slept but little the night before, and +all on account of a certain, or rather, uncertain Miss Clegg. That +petite and aggravating young woman had been especially exasperating +at the Cable dinner. Mr. Rigby, superbly confident of his standing +with her, encountered difficulties which put him very much out +of temper. For the first time, there was an apparent rift in her +constancy; never before had she shown such signs of fluctuating. +He could not understand it--in fact, he dared not understand it. +"She was a most annoying young person," said Mr. Rigby to himself +wrathfully, more than once after he went to bed that night. Anyhow, +he could not see what there was about Howard Medford for any girl +to countenance, much less to admire. Mr. Medford certainly had ruined +the Cable dinner-party for Mr. Rigby, and he was full of resentment. + +"Miss Keating!" called Mr. Rigby for the third time; "may I interrupt +your conversation with Mr. Deever long enough to ask a question +that has been on my mind for twenty minutes?" + +Mr. Deever was the raw, young gentleman who read law in the office +of Judge Smith, next door. Bobby maintained that if he read law at +all, it was at night, for he wap too busy with other occupations +during the day. + +Miss Keating, startled, turned roundabout promptly. + +"Yes, sir," at last, came from the pert, young woman near the +window. + +"I guess I'll be going," said Mr. Deever resentfully, rising slowly +from the side of her desk on which he had been lounging. + +"Wait a minute, Eddie," protested Miss Keating; "what's your hurry?" +and then, she almost snapped out: "What is it, Mr. Rigby?" + +"I merely wanted to ask if you have sufficient time to let me +dictate a few, short letters that ought to go out to-day," said +Bobby, sarcastically; and then added with mock apology: "Don't move, +Mr. Deever; if you're not in Miss Keating's way, you're certainly +not in mine." + +"A great josher!" that young woman was heard to comment, admiringly. + +"You may wake up some morning to find that I'm not," said Bobby, +soberly. Whereupon, Miss Keating rose and strode to the other end +of the room and took her place beside Bobby's desk. + +Bobby dictated half a dozen inconsequential letters before coming +to the one which troubled him most. For many minutes he stared +reflectively at the typewritten message from New York. Miss Keating +frowned severely and tapped her little foot somewhat impatiently on +the floor; but Bobby would not be hurried. His reflections were too +serious. This letter from New York had come with a force sufficient +to drive out even the indignant thoughts concerning one Miss Clegg. +For the life of him, Bobby Rigby could not immediately frame a +reply to the startling missive. Eddie Deever stirred restlessly on +the window ledge. + +"Don't hurry, Eddie!" called Miss Keating, distinctly and insinuatingly. + +"Oh, I guess I'll be going!" he called back, beginning to roll +a cigarette. "I have some reading to do to-day." Mr. Deever was +tall, awkward and homely, and a lot of other things that would have +discouraged a less self-satisfied "lady's man." Judge Smith said +he was hopeless, but that he might do better after he was twenty-one. + +"What are you reading now, Eddie?" asked Miss Keating, complacently +eyeing Mr. Rigby. "Raffles?" + +"Law, you idiot!" said Eddie, scornfully, going out of the door. + +"Oh! Well, the law is never in a hurry, don't you know? It's like +justice--the slowest thing in town!" she called after him as his +footsteps died away. + +"Ready?" said Bobby, resolutely. "Take this, please; and slowly +and carefully he proceeded to dictate: + +"MR. DENIS HARBERT, + "NEW YORK, + +"DEAR DENIS: I cannot tell you how much your letter surprised me. +What you say seems preposterous. There must be a mistake. It cannot +be this man. I know him quite well, and seems as straight as a +string and a gentleman, too. His son, you know as well as I. There +isn't a better fellow in the world! Mr. B. has a fairly good business +here; his transactions open and aboveboard. I'm sure I have never +heard a word said against him or his methods. You are mistaken, +that's all there is about it. + +"You might investigate a little further and, assuring yourself, do +all in your power to check such stories as you relate. Of course, +I'll do as you suggest; but I'm positive I can find nothing +discreditable in his dealings here. + +"Keep me posted on everything. + +"As ever, yours," + +Miss Keating's anxiety was aroused. After a very long silence, she +took the reins into her own hands. "Is Mr. Briggs in trouble?" she +asked at a venture. Mr. Briggs was the only client she could think +of, whose name began with a B. + +"Briggs? What Briggs?" asked Bobby, relighting his pipe for the +fourth time. + +"Why, our Mr. Briggs," answered Miss Keating, curtly. + +"I'm sure I don't know, Miss Keating. Has he been around lately?" + +"I thought you were referring to him in that letter," she said +succinctly. + +"Oh, dear me, no. Another party altogether, Miss Keating. Isn't +the typewriter in working order this morning?" he asked, eyeing her +machine innocently. She miffed and started to reply, but thought +better of it. Then she began pounding the keys briskly. + +"It works like a charm," she shot back, genially. + +The letter that caused Bobby such perturbation came in the morning +mail. His friend had laid bare some of the old stories concerning +James Bansemer, and cautioned him not to become involved in +transactions with the former New Yorker. Harbert's statements were +positive in character, and he seemed to know his case thoroughly +well. While the charges as they came to Rigby were general, Harbert +had said that he was quite ready to be specific. + +All day long, the letter hung like a cloud over young Mr. Rigby. +He was to have lunched with Graydon, and was much relieved when +young Bansemer telephoned that he could not join him. Rigby found +himself in a very uncomfortable position. If the stories from +New York were true, even though he knew none of the inside facts, +Graydon's father was pretty much of a scalawag, to say the least. +He was not well acquainted with the lawyer, but he now recalled +that he never had liked the man. Bansemer had impressed him from the +beginning as heartless, designing, utterly unlike his clean-hearted +son. + +Bobby loved Graydon Bansemer in the way that one man loves a true +friend. He was certain that the son knew nothing of those shady +transactions--if they really existed as Harbert painted them--but +an exposure of the father would be a blow from which he could not +recover. + +It came at last to Rigby that he was not the only one in Chicago +who held the secret. Other members of the bar had been warned long +before the news came to him, and it was morally certain that if the +facts were as bad as intimated, the police also were in possession +of them. + +At the same time, Rigby felt a certain moral responsibility involving +himself. Bansemer, at any time, might apply his methods to people +who were near and dear to him. The new intimacy with the Cables came +to Bobby's mind. And then, there were Clegg, Groll, the Semesons +and others who might easily fall into the snare if James Bansemer +set it for them. + +Appreciating his responsibility in the matter, now that he was +prepared to hear the worst of James Bansemer, Rigby's heart stood +almost still. It meant that some day he might have to expose Graydon +Bansemer's father; it meant that he might have to cruelly hurt his +friend; it meant that he might lose a friendship that had been one +of his best treasures since the good, old college days. The mere +fact that he would be compelled to watch and mistrust James Bansemer +seemed like darkest treachery to Graydon, even though the son should +not become aware of the situation. Later, in the afternoon, Bobby +went, guiltily, into a telegraph office and sent away a carefully +worded dispatch. The answer came to him at the club, that evening, +while he played billiards with young Bansemer, who, even then was +eager to be off to keep the promised appointment with pretty Miss +Cable. + +The telegram which he opened while Graydon impatiently chalked his +cue and waited for him to play was brief and convincing. It read: + +"Watch him, by all means. He is not safe, my word for it. There is +no mistake." + + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE PROPOSAL + + + + + +The little room off the library was Jane's "den." Her father had +a better name for it. He called it her "web," but only in secret +conference. Graydon Bansemer lounged there in blissful contemplation +of a roseate fate, all the more enjoyable because his very ease +was the counterpoise of doubt and uncertainty. No word of love had +passed between the mistress of the web and her loyal victim; but +eyes and blood had translated the mysterious, voiceless language +of the heart into the simplest of sentences. They loved and they +knew it. + +After leaving Rigby at the club Graydon drove to the North Side, +thrilled to the marrow with the prophecies of the night. His heart +was in that little room off the library--and had been there for +months. It was the abode of his thoughts. The stars out above the +cold, glittering lake danced merrily for him as he whirled up the +Drive; the white carpet of February crinkled and creaked with the +chill of the air, but his heart was hot and safe and sure. He knew +that she knew what he was coming for that night. The first kiss! + +Jane's face was warm, her eyes had the tender glow of joy expectant, +her voice was soft with the promise of coming surrender. Their hands +met and clasped as she stood to welcome him in the red, seductive +dimness of the little throne room. His tall frame quivered; his +lean, powerful, young face betrayed the hunger of his heart; his +voice turned husky. It was not as he had planned. Her beauty--her +mere presence--swept him past the preliminary fears and doubts. His +handclasp tightened and his face drew resistlessly to hers. Then +their hands went suddenly cold. + +"You know, don't you, Jane, darling?" he murmured. + +"Yes," she answered after a moment, softly, securely. He crushed +her in his strong arms; all the world seemed to have closed in +about her. Her eyes, suffused with happiness, looked sweetly into +his until she closed them with the coming of the first kiss. "I +love you--oh, I love you!" she whispered. + +"I worship you, Jane!" he responded. "I have always worshipped +you!" + +It was all so natural, so normal. The love that had been silent from +the first had spoken, that was all--had put into words its untold +story. + +"Jane, I am the proudest being in the world!" he said, neither knew +how long afterward, for neither thought of time. They were sitting +on the couch in the corner, their turbulent hearts at rest. "To +think, after all, that such a beautiful being as you can be mine +forever! It's--why, it's inconceivable!" + +"You were sure of me all the time, Graydon," she remonstrated. "I +tried to hide it, but I couldn't. You must have thought me a perfect +fool all these months." + +"You are very much mistaken, if you please. You did hide it so +successfully at times, that I was sick with uncertainty." + +"Well, it's all over now," she smiled, and he sighed with a great +relief. + +"All over but the--the wedding," he said. + +"Oh, that's a long way off. Let's not worry over that, Graydon." + +"A long way off? Nonsense! I won't wait." + +"Won't?" + +"I should have said can't. Let's see; this is February. March, +dearest?" + +"Graydon, you are so much younger than I thought. A girl simply +cannot be hurried through a--an engagement. Next winter." + +"Next what? That's nearly a year, Jane. It's absurd! I'm ready." + +"I know. It's mighty noble of you, too. But I just can't, dearest. +No one ever docs." + +"Don't--don't you think I'm prepared to take care of you?" he said, +straightening up a bit. + +She looked at his strong figure and into his earnest eyes and +laughed, so adorably, that his resentment was only passing. + +"I can't give you a home like this," he explained; "but you know +I'll give you the best I have all my life." + +"You can't help succeeding, Graydon," she said earnestly. "Everyone +says that of you. I'm not afraid. I'm not thinking of that. It +isn't the house I care for. It's the home. You must let me choose +the day." + +"I suppose it's customary," he said at last. "June is the month +for brides, let me remind you." + +"Before you came this evening I had decided on January next, but +now I am willing to---" + +"Oh, you decided before I came, eh?" laughingly. + +"Certainly," she said unblushingly. "Just as you had decided on the +early spring. But, listen, dear, I am willing to say September of +this year." + +"One, two, three--seven months. They seem like years, Jane. You +won't say June?" + +"Please, please let me have some of the perquisites," she pleaded. +"It hasn't seemed at all like a proposal. I've really been cheated +of that, you must remember, dear. Let me say, at least, as they +all do, that I'll give you an answer in three days." + +"Granted. I'll admit it wasn't the sort of proposal one reads about +in novels---" + +"But it was precisely as they are in real life, I'm sure. No one +has a stereotyped proposal any more. The men always take it for +granted and begin planning things before a girl can say no." + +"Ah, I see it has happened to you," he said, jealous at once. + +"Well, isn't that the way men do nowadays?" she demanded. + +"A fellow has to feel reasonably sure, I dare say, before he takes +a chance. No one wants to be refused, you know," he admitted. "Oh, +by the way, I brought this--er--this ring up with me, Jane." + +"You darling!" she cried, as the ring slipped down over her finger. +And then, for the next hour, they planned and the future seemed a +thousand-fold brighter than the present, glorious as it was. + +"You can't help succeeding," she repeated, "the same as your father +has. Isn't he wonderful? Oh, Graydon, I'm so proud of you!" she +cried, enthusiastically. + +"I can never be the man that the governor is," said Graydon, +loyally. "I couldn't be as big as father if I lived to be a hundred +and twenty-six. He's the best ever! He's done everything for me, +Jane," the son went on, warmly. "Why, he even left dear, old New +York and came to Chicago for my sake, dear. It's the place for +a young man, he says; and he gave up a great practice so that we +might be here together. Of course, HE could succeed anywhere. Wasn't +it bully of him to come to Chicago just--just for me?" + +"Yes. Oh, if you'll only be as good-looking as he is when you are +fifty-five," she said, so plaintively that he laughed aloud. "You'll +probably be very fat and very bald by that time." + +"And very healthy, if that can make it seem more horrible to you," +he added. For some time he sat pondering while she stared reflectively +into the fire opposite. Then squaring his shoulders as if preparing +for a trying task, he announced firmly: "I suppose I'd just as well +see your father to-night, dearest. He likes me, I'm sure, and I--I +don't think he'll refuse to let me have you. Do you?" + +"My dad's just as fair as yours, Gray," she said with a smile. "He's +upstairs in his den. I'll go to mother. I know she'll be happy--oh, +so happy." + +Bansemer found David Cable in his room upstairs--his smoking and +thinking room, as he called it. + +"Come in, Graydon; don't stop to knock. How are you? Cigarette? +Take a cigar, then. Bad night outside, isn't it?" + +"Is it? I hadn't--er--noticed," said Graydon, dropping into a chair +and nervously nipping the end from a cigar. "Have you been downtown?" + +"Yes. Just got in a few minutes ago. The road expects to do a lot +of work West this year, and I've been talking with the ways and +means gentlemen--a polite and parliamentary way to put it." + +"I suppose we'll all be congratulating you after the annual election, +Mr. Cable." + +"Oh, that's just talk, my boy. Winemann is the logical man for +president. But where is Jane?" + +"She's--ah--downstairs, I think," said the tall young man, puffing +vigorously. "I came up--er--to see you about Jane, Mr. Cable. I +have asked her to be my wife, sir." + +For a full minute the keen eyes of the older man, sharpened by +strife and experience, looked straight into the earnest grey eyes +of the young man who now stood across the room with his hand on the +mantlepiece. Cable's cigar was held poised in his fingers, halfway +to his lips. Graydon Bansemer felt that the man aged a year in that +brief moment. + +"You know, Graydon, I love Jane myself," said Cable at last, arising +slowly. His voice shook. + +"I know, Mr. Cable. She is everything to you. And yet I have come +to ask you to give her to me." + +"It isn't that I have not suspected--aye, known--what the outcome +would be," said the other mechanically. "She will marry, I know. +It is right that she should. It is right that she should marry you, +my boy. You--you DO love her?" He asked the question almost fiercely. + +"With all my soul, Mr. Cable. She loves me. I don't know how to +convince you that my whole life will be given to her happiness. I +am sure I can---" + +"I know. It's all right, my boy. It--it costs a good deal to let +her go, but I'd rather give her to you than to any man I've ever +known. I believe in you." + +"Thank you, Mr. Cable," said Graydon Bansemer. Two strong hands +clasped each other and there was no mistaking the integrity of the +grasp. + +"But this is a matter in which Jane's mother is far more deeply +concerned than I," added the older man. "She likes you, my boy--I +know that to be true, but we must both abide by her wishes. If she +has not retired..." + +"Jane is with her, Mr. Cable. She knows by this time." + +"She is coming." Mrs. Cable's light footsteps were heard crossing +the hall, and an instant later Bansemer was holding open the den +door for her to enter. He had a fleeting glimpse of Jane as that +tall young woman turned down the stairway. + +Frances Cable's face was white and drawn, and her eyes were wet. Her +husband started forward as she extended her hand to him. He clasped +them in his own and looked down into her face with the deepest +tenderness and wistfulness in his own. Her body swayed suddenly +and his expression changed to one of surprise and alarm. + +"Don't--don't mind, dear," he said hoarsely. "It had to come. Sit +down, do. There! Good Lord, Frances, if you cry now I'll--I'll go +all to smash!" He sat down abruptly on the arm of the big leather +chair into which she had sunk limply. Something seemed to choke +him and his fingers went nervously to his collar. Before them stood +the straight, strong figure of the man who was to have Jane forever. + +Neither of them--nor Jane--knew what Frances Cable had suffered +during the last hour. She accidentally had heard the words which +passed between the lovers in the den downstairs. She was prepared +when Jane came to her with the news later on, but that preparation +had cost her more than any of them ever could know. + +Lying back in a chair, after she had almost crept to her room, she +stared white-faced and frightened at the ceiling until it became +peopled with her wretched thoughts. All along she had seen what +was coming. The end was inevitable. Love as it grew for them had +known no regard for her misery. She could not have prevented its +growth; she could not now frustrate its culmination. And yet, as +she sat there and stared into the past and the future, she knew that +it was left for her to drink of the cup which they were filling--the +cup of their joy and of her bitterness. + +Fear of exposure at the hand of Graydon Bansemer's father had kept +her purposely blind to the inevitable. Her woman's intuition long +since had convinced her that Graydon was not like his father. She +knew him to be honourable, noble, fair and worthy. Long and often +had she wondered at James Bansemer's design in permitting his son +to go to the extreme point in relation with Jane. As she sat there +and suffered, it came to her that the man perhaps had a purpose after +all--an unfathomable, selfish design which none could forestall. +She knew him for all that he was. In that knowledge she felt a +slight, timid sense of power. He stood for honour, so far as his +son was concerned. In fair play, she could expose him if he sought +to expose her. + +But all conjectures, all fears, paled into insignificance with the +one great terror: what would James Bansemer do in the end? What +would he do at the last minute to prevent the marriage of his son +and this probable child of love? What was to be his tribute to the +final scene in the drama? + +She knew that he was tightening his obnoxious coils about her all +the time. Even now she could feel his hand upon her arm, could hear +his sibilant whisper, could see his intense eyes full of suggestion +and threat. Now she found herself face to face with the crisis +of all these years. Her only hope lay in the thought that neither +could afford the scandal of an open declaration. Bansemer was +merciless and he was no fool. + +Knowing Graydon to be the son of a scoundrel, she could, under +ordinary circumstances, have forbidden her daughter to marry him. +In this instance she could not say him nay. The venom of James +Bansemer in that event would have no measure of pity. In her heart, +she prayed that death might come to her aid in the destruction of +James Bansemer. + +It was not until she heard Graydon coming up the stairs that the +solution flashed into her brain. If Jane became the wife of this +cherished son, James Bansemer's power was gone! His lips would be +sealed forever. She laughed aloud in the frenzy of hope. She laughed +to think what a fool she would have been to forbid the marriage. +The marriage? Her salvation! Jane found her almost hysterical, +trembling like a leaf. She was obliged to confess that she had +heard part of their conversation below, in order to account for her +manner. When Jane confided to her that she had promised to marry +Graydon in September--or June--she urged her to avoid a long +engagement. She could say no more than that. + +Now she sat limp before the two men, a wan smile straying from +one to the other, exhausted by her suppressed emotions. Suddenly, +without a word, she held out her hand to Graydon. In her deepest +soul, she loved this manly, strong-hearted young fellow. She knew, +after all, he was worthy of the best woman in the land. + +"You know?" cried Graydon, clasping her hand, his eyes glistening. +"Jane has told you? And you--you think me worthy?" + +"Yes, Graydon--you are worthy." She looked long into his eyes, +searching for a trace of the malevolence that glowed in those of +his father. They were fair and honest and sweet, and she smiled to +herself. She wondered what his mother had been like. + +"Then I may have her?" he cried. She looked up at her husband and +he nodded his head. + +"Our little girl," he murmured. It all came back to her like +a flash. Her deception, her imposition, her years of stealth--and +she shuddered. Her hand trembled and her eyes grew wide with repugnance +as they turned again upon Graydon Bansemer. Both men drew back in +amazement. + +"Oh, no--it cannot, cannot be!" she moaned, without taking her eyes +from Graydon's face. In the same instant she recovered herself and +craved his pardon. "I am distressed--it is so hard to give her up. +Graydon," she panted, smiling again. The thought had come suddenly +to her that James Bansemer had a very strong purpose in letting his +son marry Jane Cable. She never had ceased to believe that Bansemer +knew the parents of the child she had adopted. It had dawned upon +her in the flash of that moment that the marriage might mean a +great deal to this calculating father. "David, won't you leave us +for a few minutes? There is something I want to say to Graydon." + +David Cable hesitated for an instant and then slowly left the room, +closing the door behind him. He was strangely puzzled over that +momentary exposition of emotion on the part of his wife. He was a +man of the world; and he knew its vices from the dregs up, but it +was many days before the startling suspicion struck in to explain +her uncalled-for display of feeling. It did not strike in until +after he noticed that James Bansemer was paying marked attention +to his wife. + +Left alone with Graydon, Mrs. Cable nervously hurried to the point. +She was determined to satisfy herself that the son did not share +her secret with his father. + +"Does your father know that you want to marry Jane?" she asked. + +"Of course--er--I mean, he suspects, Mrs. Cable. He has teased me +not a little, you know. I'm going to tell him to-night." + +"He has not known Jane very long, you know." + +"Long enough to admire her above all others. He has often told me +that she is the finest girl he's ever met. Oh, I'm sure father will +be pleased, Mrs. Cable." + +"I met your father in New York, of course--years ago. I presume he +has told you." + +"I think not. Oh, yes, I believe he did tell me after we met you +at Hooley's that night. He had never seen Mr. Cable." + +"Nor Jane, I dare say." + +"Oh, no. I knew Jane long before dad ever laid eyes on her." The +look in his eyes satisfied her over all that he knew nothing more. + +"You love her enough to sacrifice anything on earth for her?" she +asked suddenly. + +"Yes, Mrs. Cable," he answered simply. + +"You would renounce all else in the world for her sake?" + +"I believe that's part of the service," he said, with a smile. "Jane +is worth all of that, and more. She shall be first in my heart, +in my mind, for all time, if that is what you mean, Mrs. Cable. +Believe me, I mean that." + +"Mr. Bansemer says that you are like your mother," she mused, +wistfully. + +"That's why he loves me, he also says. I'm sorry I'm not like +father," he said earnestly. "He's great!" She turned her face away +so that he might not see the look in her eyes. "I think Jane is +like---" he paused in confusion. "Like her father," he concluded. +She arose abruptly and took his hand in hers. + +"Go to her, Graydon," she said. "Tell her that Mr. Cable and I want +you to be our son. Good-night and God bless you." She preceded him +to the stairway and again shook hands with him. David Cable was +ascending. + +"Graydon," said the latter, pausing halfway up as the other came +down, "you were ready to congratulate me in advance on the prospect +of becoming president of the P., L. & A. Do you know that I was +once an ordinary fireman?" + +"Certainly, Mr. Cable. The rise of David Cable is known to everyone." + +"That's all. I just wanted to be sure. Jane was not born with a +silver spoon, you know." + +"And yet she is Jane Cable," said the young man proudly. Then he +hurried on down to the expectant, throbbing Jane. + +Frances Cable sat at her escritoire for an hour, her brain working +with feverish energy. She was seeking out the right step to take +in advance of James Bansemer. Her husband sat alone in his den and +smoked long after she had taken her step and retired to rest--but +not to sleep. On her desk lay half a dozen invitations, two of +them from the exclusive set to whose inner circles her ambitious, +vigorous aspirations were forcing her. She pushed them aside and +with narrowed eyes wrote to James Bansemer--wrote the note of the +diplomat who seeks to forestall: + +"DEAR ME. BANSEMER: Doubtless Graydon will have told you his good +news before this reaches you, but Mr. Cable and I feel that we cannot +permit the hour to pass without assuring you of our own happiness +and of our complete approval. Will you dine with us this evening--en +famille--at seven-thirty? + +"FRANCES CABLE." + +David Cable read the note and sent it early the next morning by +special messenger to James Bansemer. The engagement of Jane Cable +and Graydon Bansemer was announced in the evening papers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE FOUR INITIALS + + + + + +The offices of James Bansemer were two floors above those of +Robertson Ray Rigby in the U__ Building. The morning after Graydon +Bansemer's important visit to the home of the Cables, Eddie Deever +lounged into Rigby's presence. He seemed relieved to find that +the stenographer was ill and would not be down that day. The lanky +youngster studiously inspected the array of law books in the cases +for some time, occasionally casting a sly glance at Bobby. At last +he ventured a remark somewhat out of the ordinary--for him: + +"That old man up in Bansemer's office gets on my nerves," said he, +settling his long frame in a chair and breaking in upon Rigby's +attention so suddenly that the lawyer was startled into a quick +look of interest. + +"Old Droom? What do you know about him?" + +"Nothing in particular, of course. Only he sort of jars me when he +talks." Rigby saw that the young man had something on his mind. + +"I did not know that you were personal friends," ventured Rigby. + +"Friends?" snorted Eddie. "Holy Mackerel! He scares the life out +of me. I know him in a business way, that's all. He came down here +three weeks ago and borrowed some books for Bansemer. I had to go +up and get 'em yesterday. I was smoking a cigarette. When I asked +the old guy for the books he said I'd go to hell if I smoked. I +thought I'd be funny, so I said back to him: "I'll smoke if I go +to hell, so what's the diff?" It went all right with him, too. He +laughed--you ought to see him laugh!--and told me to sit down while +he looked up the books. I was there half an hour and he talked all +the time. By jing! He makes your blood run cold. He up and said there +was no such place as hell. "Why not?" says I. "Because," says he, +"God, with all His infinite power, could not conceive of a space +huge enough to hold all the hypocrites and sinners." Then he grinned +and said he had set aside in his will the sum of a hundred dollars +to build a church for the honest man. "That will be a pretty small +church," says I. "It will be a small congregation, my son," says +he. "What few real honest men we have will hesitate to attend for +fear of being ostracised by society." "Gee whiz, Mr. Droom, that's +pretty hard on society," says I, laughing. "Oh, for that matter, +I have already delivered my eulogy on society," says he. "But it +ain't dead," says I. "Oh, yes; it's so rotten it must surely be +dead," says he in the nastiest way I ever heard. He's a fearful old +man, Mr. Rigby. He made a mean remark about that Mrs. David Cable." + +"What did he say?" quickly demanded Bobby. + +"He said he'd been reading in the papers about how she was +breaking into society. "She's joined the Episcopal church," says +he, sarcastic-like. "Well, there's nothing wrong in that,' says I. +'I know, but she attends,' says he, just as if she shouldn't. 'She +wouldn't attend if the women in that church wore Salvation Army +clothes and played tambourines, let me tell you. None of 'em would. +I knew her in New York years ago. She wasn't fashionable then. Now +she's so swell that she'll soon be asking Cable to build a mansion +at Rose Lawn Cemetery, because all of the fashionables go there.' +Pretty raw, eh, Mr. Rigby?" + +"Oh, he's an old blatherskite, Eddie. They talk that way when they +get old and grouchy. So he knew Mrs. Cable in New York, eh? What +else did he say about her?" + +"Nothing much. Oh, yes, he did say--in that nasty way of his--that +he saw her on the street the other day chatting with one of the +richest swells in Chicago. He didn't say who he was except that +he was the man who once made his wife sit up all night in the day +coach while he slept in the only berth to be had on the train. Do +you know who that could be?" + +"I'm afraid Droom was romancing," said Bobby, with a smile. + +"Say, Mr. Rigby," said Eddie earnestly, "what sort of business +does Mr. Bansemer handle?" Rigby had difficulty in controlling his +expression. "I was wondering, because while I was there yesterday +a girl I know came out of the back room where she had been talking +to Bansemer. She's no good." + +"Very likely she was consulting him about something," said Rigby +quietly. + +"She soaked a friend of mine for a thousand when she was singing +in the chorus in one of the theatres here." + +"Do you know her well?" + +"I--er--did see something of her at one time. Say, don't mention +it to Rosie, will you? She's not strong for chorus girls," said +Eddie anxiously. "A few days ago I saw a woman come out of his +office, heavily veiled. She was crying, because I could hear the +sobs. I don't go much on Bansemer, Mr. Rigby. Darn him, he called +me a pup one day when I took a message up for Judge Smith." + +"See here, Eddie," said Rigby, leaning forward suddenly, "I've +heard two or three queer things about Bansemer. I want you to tell +me all you hear from Droom and all that you see. Don't you think +you could cultivate Droom's acquaintance a bit? Keep this very +quiet--not a word to anybody. It may mean something in the end." + +"Gee whiz!" murmured Eddie, his eyes wide with interest. From that +day on he and Bobby Rigby were allies--even conspirators. + +Later in the day Rigby had a telephone message from Graydon Bansemer, +suggesting that they lunch together. All he would say over the wire +was that he would some day soon expect Rigby to perform a happy +service for him. Bobby understood and was troubled, He suspected +that Graydon had asked Jane Cable to marry him and that she had +consented. He loved Graydon Bansemer, but for the first time in +their acquaintance he found himself wondering if the son were not +playing into the father's hands in this most desirable matrimonial +venture. With a shudder of repugnance he put the thought from him, +loyal to that good friend and comrade. + +James Bansemer came into his office late that morning. He had +not seen Graydon the night before, but at breakfast the young man +announced his good fortune and asked for his blessing. To the son's +surprise, the elder man did not at once express his approval. For +a long time he sat silent and preoccupied to all appearance, narrowly +studying his son's face until the young man was constrained to +laugh in his nervousness. + +"You love her--you are very sure?" asked the father at last. + +"Better than my life," cried Graydon warmly. + +"She has good blood in her," said Bansemer, senior, slowly, almost +absently. + +"I should say so. Her father is a wonderful man." + +"Yes, I daresay," agreed the other without taking his eyes from +the son's face. + +"But you don't say whether you approve or disapprove," complained +Graydon. + +"Would it change matters if I disapproved?" + +"Not in the least, father. I love her. I'd hate to displease you +in--" + +"Then, of course, I approve," said the other, with his warmest +smile. "Jane is a beauty and--I am proud of her." + +"She is too good for me," lamented Graydon happily. + +"I can't very well contradict her future husband," said the lawyer. +There was a hungry look in his eyes as he glanced from time to time +at the face of the boy who had his mother's unforgettable eyes. + +A messenger brought Mrs. Cable's note to Bansemer soon after his +arrival at the office. He and Elias Droom were in the back office +when the boy came. They had been discussing the contents of a +letter that came in the early mail. The lawyer accepted the note +and dismissed the boy with the curt remark that he would telephone +an answer in person. + +"It looks to me as though this is going to be a rather ticklish +affair," Droom resumed after the boy had closed the outer door behind +him. Bansemer's mind was on Mrs. Cable's note; a queer smile hung +on his lips. + +"I'm rather touched by her astuteness," he said. "She's cleverer +than I thought. Oh," suddenly remembering that it was not Mrs. +Cable's letter they were discussing, "you always see the dreary +side of things, Elias." + +"I haven't forgotten New York," said the clerk drily. + +"Ah, but Chicago isn't New York, you know." + +"Well, I was just reminding you. This man is going to fight back, +that is plain." + +"That's what Mrs. Norwood promised to do, also, Elias. But she was +like a lamb in the end." + +"I wouldn't be very proud of that affair, if I were you." + +"See here, Droom, you're getting a trifle too familiar of late. I +don't like it," said Bansemer sharply. + +"I beg your pardon, Mr. Bansemer," said Droom, scraping his foot +across the floor and looking straight past his master's head. "It's +for the good of the cause, that's all. It wouldn't do, on Graydon's +account, for you to be driven from Chicago at this time. You see, +he thinks you are beyond reproach." + +"Curse your impudence, Droom, I won't be spoken to in that way," +exclaimed Bansemer, white with sudden rage and loathing. + +"Am I to expect my discharge, sir?" asked Droom, rubbing his hands +abjectly, but looking squarely into Bansemer's eyes for the first +time in their acquaintance. Bansemer glared back for an instant +and then shrugged his shoulders with a nervous laugh. + +"We shan't quarrel, Elias," he said. "Speaking of Graydon, he is +to be married before long." + +"I trust he is to do well, sir. Graydon is a fine boy." + +"He is to marry David Cable's daughter." + +"Indeed? I did not know that David Cable had a daughter." + +"You know whom I mean--Jane Cable." He turned rather restlessly, +conscious that Droom's eyes were following him to the window. He +glanced again at Mrs. Cable's note and waited. + +"I suppose you are pleased," said Droom, after a long pause. + +"Certainly. Jane is a splendid girl. She's beautiful, accomplished +and--well, she's thoroughbred," said Bansemer steadily, turning to +face the old man. + +"It is not necessary to remind you that she is a child of love," +said Droom, "That's the genteel way to put it." + +"It's not like you to be genteel, Elias. Still," and he sat down +and leaned forward eagerly, "she has good blood from both sides." + +"Yes--the so-called best." + +"You speak as if you know the truth." + +"I think--yes, I'm sure I know. I have known for twenty years, Mr. +Bansemer. I had the same means as you of finding out whose child +she was." + +"That's more than Mrs. Cable knows." + +"She did not take the trouble to investigate. It's too late now." + +"I don't believe you really know the names of her father and +mother," said Bansemer shrewdly. "You are trying to trick me into +telling you what I DO know." + +"There are portraits of her ancestors hanging in Fifth Avenue," +said Droom promptly. "Here," and he picked up a pencil, "I'll write +the initials of the two persons responsible for her existence. You +do the same and we'll see that they tally." He quickly scratched +four letters on a pad of paper. Bansemer hesitated and then slowly +wrote the initials on the back of an envelope. Without a word they +exchanged the papers. After a moment they both smiled in relief. +Neither had been tricked. The initials were identical. + +"I imagine the ancestors hanging in Fifth Avenue would be amazed +if they knew the story of Jane," said Droom, with a chuckle. + +"I doubt it, Droom. Ancestors have stories, too, and they hide +them." + +"Well, she isn't the only girl who doesn't know." + +"I dare say. It isn't a wise world." + +"It's a lucky one. That's why it assumes to be decent." + +"You are quite a cynic, Elias." + +"By the way, now that your son is to marry her, I'd like to know +just what your game is." + +Bansemer turned on him like a tiger, his steely eyes blazing. + +"Game? There is no game, damn you. Listen to me, Droom; we'll settle +this now. I'm a bad man, but I've tried to be a good father. People +have called me heartless. So be it. But I love that boy of mine. +What little heart I have belongs to him. There can be no game where +he is concerned. Some day, perhaps, he'll find out the kind of a +man I've been to others, but can always remember that I was fair +and honest with him. He'll despise my methods and he'll spurn +my money, but he'll have to love me. Jane Cable is not the girl I +would have chosen for him, but she is good and true and he loves +her." + +For the first time in his life Elias Droom shrank beneath the eyes +of his master. He hated James Bansemer from the bottom, of his +wretched soul, but he could not but feel, at this moment, a touch +of admiration. + +Through all the years of their association Elias Droom had hated +Bansemer because he was qualified to be the master, because he +was successful and forceful, because he had loved and been loved, +because they had been classmates but not equals. In the bitterness +of his heart he had lain awake on countless nights praying--but not +to his God--that the time would come when he could stand ascendant +over this steely master. Only his unswerving loyalty to a duty +once assumed kept him from crushing Bansemer with exposure years +before. But Droom was not a traitor. He remained standing, lifting +his eyes after a brief, shifting study of his bony hands. + +"You have nothing to fear from me," he said. "Your boy is the only +being in the world that I care for. He hates me. Everybody hates me. +But it doesn't matter. I asked what your game was because we know +Jane's father and mother. That's all. Mrs. David Cable, I presume, +can be preyed upon with safety." + +"Mrs. Cable has much to lose," significantly. + +"And how much to pay?" with a meaning look. + +"That is her affair, Droom." + +"I wouldn't press her too hard," cautioned Droom. "She's a woman." + +"Never fear. I'm going there for dinner to-night. It's a family +affair. By the way, here's a letter from a distinguished political +leader. He suggests that I act on the city central committee for +the coming year. You've heard of him, I daresay. He says it will +mean a great deal to me here in Chicago." + +"You are not going into politics?" scornfully. + +"Elias, I'm pretty bad, but I'm not bad enough for local politics." + +They heard someone at the outer door at that moment, and Droom glided +forth from the inner room to greet the visitor. It was Eddie Deever. + +"Say, Mr. Droom, do you suppose Mr. Bansemer would object if I sat +down here for a few minutes to look over his books on Famous Crimes +in History? Old Smith hasn't got 'em." + +"Go ahead," said Droom, taking his seat at the desk. "You are a +great reader, I perceive. A literary person like you ought to live +in Boston. Everybody reads in Boston." + +"Boston?" sniffed Eddie, pulling a book from the shelf. "They're +still reading the Old Testament there." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +AN EVENING WITH DROOM + + + + + +Several weeks later Eddie Deever announced, quite breathlessly, +to Rigby that he was going over to visit Droom in his Wells Street +rooms. The two had found a joint affinity in Napoleon, although +it became necessary for the law student to sit up late at night, +neglecting other literature, in order to establish anything like +an adequate acquaintance with the lamented Corsican. + +Rigby was now morally certain that James Bansemer was all that +Harbert had painted. To his surprise, however, the man was not +openly suspected by other members of the bar. He had been accepted as +a man of power and ability. Certainly he was too clever to expose +himself and too wary to leave peepholes for others engaged in that +business. Rigby was debating the wisdom of going to Bansemer with +his accusations and the secret advice to leave the city before +anything happened that might throw shame upon Graydon. The courage +to do the thing alone was lacking. + +Graydon was full of his happiness. He had asked Rigby to act as +his "best man" in September, and Bobby had promised. On occasions +when the two young men discussed the coming event with Jane and +Miss Clegg, Rigby's preoccupied air was strangely in contrast with +the animation of the others. Graydon accused his liver and advised +him to go to French Lick. Far from that, the old quarterback was +gradually preparing himself to go to James Bansemer. To himself he +was saying, as he put off the disagreeable task from day to day: +"He'll kick me out of the office and that's all the reward I'll +get for my pains. Graydon will hate me in the end." + +James Bansemer had proposed a trip to Europe as a wedding journey, +a present from himself, but Graydon declined. He would not take +an extensive leave of absence from the office of Clegg, Groll & +Davidson at this stage of his career. + +The morning after his visit to the abode of Elias Droom, Eddie +Deever strolled into the office of Bobby Rigby. He looked as though +he had spent a sleepless night. Mr. Rigby was out, but Miss Keating +was "at home." She was scathingly polite to her delinquent admirer. +Eddie's visits of late to the office had not been of a social +character. He devoted much of his time to low-toned conversations +with Rigby; few were the occasions when he lounged affably upon +her typewriting desk as of yore. + +"You look as if you'd had a night of it," remarked Rosie. Eddie yawned +obligingly. "Don't sit on my desk. Can't you see those letters?" + +"Gee, you're getting touchy of late. I'll move the letters." + +"No, you won't," she objected. "Besides, it doesn't look well. What +if someone should come in--suddenly?" + +"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I got out suddenly, would it?" +He retained his seat on the desk. "Say, where's Rigby?" + +"You mean MR. Rigby? He's out." + +"Gee, you're also snippy. Well, give him my regards. So long." + +He was unwinding his long legs preparatory to a descent from his +perch. + +"Don't rush," she said quickly. He rewound his legs and yawned. +"Goodness, you're not affected with insomnia, are you?" + +"I've got it the worst way. I got awake at eight o'clock this +morning and I couldn't go to sleep again to save my soul. It's an +awful disease. Will Rigby be back soon?" + +"It won't matter. He's engaged," she snapped, cracking away at her +machine. + +"I've heard there was some prospect. She's a fine looker." + +"Rubber-neck!" + +"Say, Rosie, I'm going to ask a girl to go to the theatre with me," +said Eddie complacently. + +"Indeed! Well, ask her. I don't care." + +"To-morrow night. Will you go?" + +"Who? Me?" + +"Sure. I--I wouldn't take anybody else, you know." + +"What theatre?" she asked with her rarest smile. + +At that instant Rigby came in. Without a word Eddie popped up, a +bit red in the face, and followed the lawyer into the private room, +closing the door behind him. Rosie's ears went very pink and she +pounded the keys so viciously that the machine trembled on the +verge of collapse. + +"Gee, Mr. Rigby, that old Droom's a holy terror. He kept me there +till after one o'clock. But I'm going back again soon some night. +He's got an awful joint. But that isn't what I wanted to see you +about. I ran across May Rosabel, that chorus girl I was telling +you about. Saw her downtown in a restaurant at one this morning. +She wanted to buy the drinks and said she had more money than a +rabbit. There was a gang with her. I got her to one side and she +said an uncle had just died and left her a fortune. She wouldn't +say how much, but it must have been quite a bunch. I know all of +her uncles. She's got three. They work out at Pullman, Mr. Rigby, +and they couldn't leave thirty cents between them if they all died +at once." + +After hearing this, Rigby decided to confront Bansemer at once. It +did not occur to him until later that the easiest and most effective +way to drive Bansemer from Chicago without scandal was through +Elias Droom. When the thought came to him, however, he rejoiced. The +new plan was to sow the seeds of apprehension with Droom; Bansemer +would not be long in reaping their harvest--of dismay. Ten apparently +innocent words from Eddie Deever would open Droom's eyes to the +dangers ahead. + +Young Mr. Deever met with harsh disappointment when he came forth +to renew his conversation with Rosie Keating. She was chatting at +the telephone, her face wreathed in smiles. + +"Thank you," she was saying, "it will be so nice. I was afraid +I had an engagement for to-morrow night, but I haven't. Everybody +says it's a perfectly lovely play. I'm crazy to see it. What? About +seven-thirty. It takes nearly half an hour down on the Clark Street +cable. Slowest old thing ever. All right. Good-bye." Then she hung +up the receiver and turned upon Eddie, who stood aghast near the +desk. "Oh, I thought you'd gone." + +"Say, what was that you were saying over the 'phone? Didn't I ask +you--" + +"I'm going to the theatre with Mr. Kempshall. Why?" + +"WHY? Why, you know I asked you to--" + +"You didn't specify, Eddie, that's all. I'll go some other night +with you. Good-bye." Clackety-clack went the machine, throwing +insult into his very face as it were. He tramped out of the office +in high dudgeon. + +"Confound this detective business, anyhow," he might have been +heard to remark. Three nights later, however, he took Rosie to the +play, and on the fourth night he was Droom's guest again in the +rooms across the river. He was well prepared to begin the campaign +of insinuation which was to affect Bansemer in the end. Sitting +stiff and uncomfortable in the dingy living-room overlooking Wells +Street, he watched with awe the master of the place at work on the +finishing touches of a new "invention," the uses of which he did +not offer to explain. + +He was without a coat and his shirt sleeves were rolled far above +the elbows, displaying long, sinewy arms, hairy and not unlike +those of the orang-outang Eddie had seen in Lincoln Park. + +"I've got a new way of inflicting the death penalty," the gaunt +old man said, slipping into a heavy, quilted dressing-gown. "These +rascals don't mind hanging or the penitentiary. But if they thought +their bodies would be everlastingly destroyed by quicklime, they'd +hesitate before killing their fellow-men." + +"But they already bury them in quicklime in England," said Eddie +loftily. + +"Yes, but not until after they're dead," said Droom with a cackle. +He grinned broadly at the sight of the youth's horror-struck face. +"Go ahead and smoke, my boy. I'll light my pipe. Make yourself at +home. I keep the window closed to keep out the sound of those Wells +Street cars. It's good of you to come over here and cheer up an old +man's evenings. I'm--I'm not used to it," he said with a wistful +touch which was lost to Eddie. + +"You ought to have a wife and a lot of children, Mr. Droom," said +Eddie with characteristic thoughtlessness. Droom stirred the fire +and scowled. "Were you ever married?" + +"No. I don't believe in marriage," said Droom sullenly. + +"Gee! Why not?" + +"Why should I? It's the way I was brought up." + +"You don't mean it!" + +"Yes. My father was a Catholic priest." + +"But, Great Scott, Catholics believe in marriage." + +"They don't believe in their priests marrying." + +"Well, they DON'T marry, do they?" + +"No, they don't," answered Droom with a laugh that sounded like a +snarl. It took Eddie two days to comprehend. "I saw the girl to-day +that young Graydon Bansemer is to marry--Miss Cable." + +"Say, she's swell, isn't she?" said Eddie. The old man slunk into +his chair. + +"She's very pretty. Mr. Graydon introduced me to her." + +"Gee!" was all Eddie could say. + +"They were crossing Wells Street down below here on the way home +from a nickel-plater's in Indiana Street. I saw her years ago, but +she didn't remember me. I didn't expect it, however." + +"I--how could she have forgotten you?" + +"Oh, she'd have forgotten her mother at that age. She was but +three months old. I don't think she liked me to-day. I'm not what +you call a ladies' man," grinned Elias, puffing at his pipe as +he picked up the volumes on Napoleon. Eddie laughed politely but +uncomfortably. + +"How old are you, Mr. Droom?" + +"I'm as old as Methuselah." + +"Aw, go 'way!" + +"When he was a boy," laughed Elias, enjoying his quip immensely. +"Miss Cable seems to be very fond of Graydon. That will last for +a couple of years and then she'll probably be like two-thirds of +the rest of 'em. Other men will be paying attention to her and she +looking for admiration everywhere. You'd be surprised to know how +much of that is going on in Chicago. Women can't seem to be satisfied +with one husband. They must have another one or two--usually somebody +else's." + +"You talk like a society man, Mr. Droom." "Well, I've met a few +society men--professionally. And women, too, for that matter. Look +out for a sensational divorce case within the next few weeks. It's +bound to come unless things change. Terribly nasty affair." + +"Is Mr. Bansemer interested?" asked Eddie, holding tight to his +chair. + +"Oh, no. We don't go in for that sort of thing." "I wonder if Mr. +Bansemer knows about the mistake that came near happening to him a +week or two ago. I got hold of it through a boy that works in the +United States Marshal's office," said Eddie, cold as ice now that +he was making the test. Droom turned upon him quickly. + +"What mistake? What do you mean?" "It would have been a rich joke +on Mr. Bansemer. Seems that some lawyer is likely to be charged +with blackmail, and they got Mr. Bansemer's name mixed up in it +some way. Of course, nothing came of it, but--I just wondered if +anybody had told him of the close call he'd had." + +Droom stared straight beyond the young liar and was silent for a +full minute. Then he deliberately opened the book on his knee and +began to turn the pages. + +"That WOULD have been a joke on Mr. Bansemer," he said indifferently. + +"I don't think he would have enjoyed it, do you?" + +"No one enjoys jokes from the United States Marshal's office," +said Droom grimly. "By the way, who is the lawyer that really was +wanted?" + +"I never heard. I believe it was dropped. The young fellow I know +said he couldn't talk about it, so I didn't ask. Say, who was that +swell woman I saw coming out of your office to-day? I was up at +Mr. Hornbrook's." + +Droom hesitated a moment. He seemed to be weighing everything he +said. + +"I suspect it was young Bansemer's future mother-in-law," he said. +"Mrs. David Cable was there this afternoon about three." + +"Gee," laughed Eddie. "Does she need a lawyer?" + +"Mr. Bansemer transacted business for her some time ago. A very +small matter, if I remember correctly. Here, listen to this. Now +here's a little incident I found this evening that interests me +immensely. It proves to my mind one of two points I hold in regard +to Marshal Ney. Listen," and he read at length from his book, a dry, +sepulchral monotone that grated on the ear until it became almost +unendurable. + +The little clock on the mantelpiece clanged ten before they laid +aside Napoleon and began to talk about something that interested +Eddie Deever far more than all else--Elias Droom himself and such +of his experiences as he cared to relate. The rid man told stories +about the dark sides of New York life, tales of murder, thievery, +rascality high and low, and he told them with blood-curdling +directness. The Walker wife-murder; the inside facts of the De +Pugh divorce scandal; the Harvey family's skeleton--all food for +the dime-novel producer. Eddie revelled in these recitals even +while he shuddered at the way in which the old man gave them. + +"Ah, this is a wicked old world," said Droom, refilling his pipe and +showing his teeth as he puffed. "That's why I have those pictures +of the Madonna on the wall--to keep me from forgetting that there +are beautiful things in the world in spite of its ugliness and +hypocrisy. I haven't much---" + +He stopped short and listened intently. The sounds of footsteps +on the stairs outside came to his ears. They clumped upward, paused +for a moment down the little hall and then approached Droom's +doorway. Host and guest looked at the clock instinctively. Eddie +heard Droom's breath as it came faster between puffs at his pipe. +Then there was a resounding rap at the panel of the door. Eddie +Deever never forgot the look that swept over the old man's face--the +look of wonder, dread, desperation. It passed in an instant, and he +arose unsteadily, undecidedly, to admit the late caller. His long +frame seemed to shake like a reed as he stood cautiously inside +the bolted door and called out: + +"Who's there?" + +"Messenger," was the muffled response. Droom hesitated a moment, +looking first at Eddie and then toward the window. Slowly he unbolted +the door. A small A. D. T. boy stood beyond. + +"What is it?" almost gasped Elias Droom, drawing the boy into the +room. + +"Mr. Droom? No answer, sir. Sign here." The boy, snow-covered, drew +a letter from his pocket and handed it to Droom. + +"Where from?" demanded the old clerk, the paper rattling in his +fingers. + +"I don't know. I'm from Chicago Avenue," said the boy, with proper +impudence. He took one look at Droom's face as the man handed the +slip back to him and then hurried downstairs, far less impudent at +heart than he had been. + +Droom recognised the handwriting on the envelope as James Bansemer's. +It was the first time his employer had communicated with him in +this manner. He tore open the envelope and anxiously read the brief +missive. + +"I've got to go to the office," he said, surprise still lingering +in his face. "It's important business--a consultation with--er--with +an Eastern client." + +"Gee, it's tough to turn out this kind of a night. I'm going your +way, Mr. Droom. Come on, I'll take the car down with you." + +"I--I won't be ready for some time." + +"Oh, well, I'll say good-night, then." + +Eddie Deever departed, chuckling to himself as he made his way +to the U---- Building, determined to learn what he could of this +unusual summons. + +But Droom was too crafty. Bansemer's letter had asked him to come +to Rector's restaurant and not to the U---- Building. The command +was imperative. + +Bansemer had been spending the evening at the home of David Cable. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +JAMES BANSEMER CALLS + + + + + +Following close upon Mrs. Cable's visit to his office in the +afternoon, Bansemer presented himself at her home in the evening, +urbane, courtly, but characteristically aggressive. Her action in +bearding him in his den was not surprising, even though it might +have been considered unusual. He had been well aware for some time +that she was sorely uneasy and that it was only a question of time +when she would make the expected advances. Since the announcement +of Jane's engagement Bansemer had been punctiliously considerate; +and yet, underneath his faultless exterior, Mrs. Cable felt that she +could recognise the deadly poise of other intentions. She lived in +fear that they would spring upon her as if from the dark and that +she would be powerless to combat them. Something stronger than +words or even intuition told her that James Bansemer was not to be +turned aside by sentiment. + +Driven at last to the point where she felt that she must know +his intentions, she boldly ventured into his consultation room, a +trembling but determined creature whose flesh quivered with chill +despite the furs that foiled the wintry winds. Elias Droom passed +her on into the private room with a polite grin that set her teeth +on edge. + +She left the building fifteen minutes later, nursing a wild but +forlorn hope that James Bansemer meant no evil, after all. Without +hesitation she told him plainly that she came to learn the precise +nature of his attitude toward herself and the girl. Bansemer's +resentment appeared too real to have been simulated. He was almost +harsh in his response to the inference. In the end, however, he was +a little less than tender in his efforts to convince her that she +had cruelly misjudged him. She went away with a chill in her heart +dislodged, but not dissolved. When he asked if she and Mr. Cable +would be at home that night for a game of cards, she felt obliged +to urge him to come. It was not until she was in the carriage below +that she remembered that David Cable was to attend a big banquet +at the Auditorium that night, and that Jane would be at the theatre +with friends. + +Bansemer smiled serenely as he escorted her to the door. "We will +not permit anything to happen which might bring misery to the two +beings so dear to us," he assured her at parting. + +Shortly after eight he entered the Cable home. He had gone to +Chicago Avenue beforehand to send a telegram East. From the corner +of Clark Street, he walked across town toward the lake, facing the +bitter gale with poor grace. In Washington Place he passed two men +going from their cab into the Union Club. He did not look at them +nor did he see that they turned and stared after him as he buffeted +his way across Dearborn Avenue. One of the men was Bobby Rigby; +the other, Denis Harbert of New York. + +"It's the same Bansemer," said Harbert as they entered the club. +"I'd know him in a million." + +At the Cables' a servant, on opening the door, announced that Mr. +Cable was not at home. + +"Is Mrs. Cable at home?" asked Mr. Bansemer, making no effort to +find his cardcase. + +"Yes, sir," responded the servant after a moment's hesitation. +Bansemer passed through the vestibule. + +"Say Mr. Bansemer, if you please." + +He removed his coat and was standing comfortably in front of the +blazing logs in the library when she came down. + +"I thought the night was too dreadful for anyone to venture out +unless--" she was saying as she gave him her hand. + +"A night indoors and alone is a thousandfold more dreadful than one +outdoors in quest of good company," interrupted Bansemer. He drew +up chairs in front of the fireplace and stood by waiting for her +to be seated. + +"I had forgotten that Mr. Cable was to attend a banquet at the +Auditorium," she explained nervously, confident, however, that he +felt she had not forgotten. + +"To be sure," he said. "This is the night of the banquet. I was +not invited." + +"I tried to telephone to ask you to come to-morrow night. The storm +has played havoc with the wires. It is impossible to get connection +with anyone." A servant appeared in the doorway. + +"You are wanted at the telephone, Mrs. Cable, Shall I say you will +come?" + +Flushing to the roots of her hair, the mistress of the house excused +herself and left the room. Bansemer leaned back in his chair and +smiled. She returned a few minutes later with a fluttering apology. + +"What a terrible night it must be for those poor linemen," she said. +"I remember what it meant to be a railroad lineman in the West +years ago. The blizzards out there are a great deal more severe than +those we have here, Mr. Bansemer. Just think of the poor fellows +who are repairing the lines to-night. Doesn't it seem heartless?" + +"It does, indeed. And yet, I daresay you've been scolding them bitterly +all evening. One seldom thinks it worth while to be merciful when +the telephone refuses to obey. It's only a true philanthropist who +can forgive the telephone. However, I am grateful to the blizzard +and happy. Fair weather would have deprived me of pleasure." + +"I am sorry Mr. Cable is not at home," she said quickly. + +"I doubt if I shall miss him greatly," said he. + +"He expects to leave early--he isn't well," she hastened to say. +"Don't you want to smoke?" + +"A cigarette, if you don't mind. By the way, where is my future +daughter-in-law? Surely I may see her to-night." + +"She is at the theatre--with the Fernmores. Graydon is one of the +party. Didn't you know?" she asked suddenly. + +"I do remember it now. He left the apartment quite early. Then +I have Fernmore to thank for--we are alone." He leaned forward in +his chair and flicked the cigarette ashes into the fire, his black +eyes looking into hers with unmistakable intentness. + +"You assured me to-day that you would be fair," she said with +strange calmness, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. + +"I am fair. What more can you ask?" with a light laugh. + +"Why did you say to-day that I had nothing to fear from you?" she +demanded. + +"You have nothing to fear. Why should you fear me? For twenty years +your face has not been out of my memory. Why should I seek to hurt +you, then? Why should I not rejoice in the tie that binds our +interests--our lives, for that matter? Come, I ask if I am not +fair?" + +Her face became pale, her heart cold. She understood. The mask +was off. He veiled his threat in the simplest words possible; the +purpose looked through with greedy disdain for grace. + +"I can offer no more than I offered to-day," she said. + +"Do you suppose I would accept money in payment for my son's peace of +mind?" declared Bansemer, with finely assumed scorn. "You offered +me ten thousand dollars. You will never know how that hurt me, +coming from you. Money? What is money to me in an affair like this? +I care more for one tender touch of your fingers than all the money +in the world! You--and you alone, can mould every impulse in me. +For half my life I have been hated. No one has given me a grain of +love. I must have it. For years you have not been out of my mind--I +have not been out of yours." + +"Stop!" she cried angrily. "You have no right to say such things +to me. You have been in my mind all these years, but oh, how I have +hated you!" + +Like a flash, his manner changed. He had her in his power, and it +was not in his nature to permit his subjects to dictate to him. +Craft and coercion always had been his allies; craft could not win +a woman's heart, but coercion might crush it into submission. It +was not like James Bansemer to play a waiting game after it had +been fairly started. + +"Now listen to me," he said distinctly. "You cannot afford to talk +like that. You cannot afford to make an enemy of me. I mean what +I--" + +"What would you do?" she cried. "You have promised that nothing +shall happen to mar the lives of our children. You have given me +your pledge. Is it worthless? Is it--" + +"I wouldn't speak so loud if I were you," said he slowly. "The +walls have ears. You have much to lose if ears other than those in +the wall should hear what could be said. It would mean disaster. +I know, at least, that you do not love David Cable--" + +"What! I--I worship my husband," she cried, her eyes flashing, her +bosom heaving. "I love him better than anything else in all the +world. How dare you say that to me!" + +"Control yourself," he cautioned calmly. "Permit me to say you love +the position he has given you. You love the pedestal on which you +stand so insecurely. You would rather hear his curse than to see +the hand of social ostracism raised against you. Wait! A word from +me and not only David Cable, but the whole world would turn against +you." + +"I have committed no crime," she flared back at him, "I have +deceived my husband, but I have not dishonoured him. Tell the world +everything, if you will." + +"It would be a luscious tale," he said with an evil laugh. "The +world, which is wicked, might forget the fact that Jane is not +David's daughter; but David would not forget that she is yours." + +"What do you mean?" starting from her chair. + +"I think you understand," he said deliberately. + +"My God, she is NOT my child!" she cried in horror. "You know she +isn't. You know the entire story. You--" + +"I only know that you brought her to me and that I did you a service. +Don't ask me to be brutal and say more." She sank back and glared +at him like a helpless, wounded thing, the full force of his threat +rushing in upon her. + +"You--you COULDN'T do THAT," she whispered tremulously. + +"I could, but I don't see why I should," he said, leaning closer +to her shrinking figure. + +"You know it isn't true," faintly. + +"I only know that I am trying to save you from calamity." + +"Oh, what a beast you are!" she cried, springing to her feet. "Go! +I defy you! Do and say what you will. Only go!" + +He rose calmly, a satisfied smile on his face. + +"I shall, of course, first of all, forbid my son to marry the +young woman. It will be necessary for me to explain the reason to +Mr. Cable. I am sorry to have distressed you. Really, I had expected +quite a different evening, after your invitation. You can't blame +me for misunderstanding your motive in asking me to come here when +you expected to be utterly alone." His laugh was a sneer. + +"Poor--poor little Jane!" murmured the harassed woman, clasping +her hands over her eyes; then suddenly she cried out: "What a devil +you are to barter with your son's happiness!" + +"I'll not mince matters," he said harshly. "You and I must understand +each other. To be perfectly frank, everything rests with you. Call +me a beast if you like. As a beast I can destroy you, and I will." + +"You forget that I can go to my husband and tell him everything. +He will hate me, but he will believe me," she said, facing him once +more. + +"The world will believe me," he scoffed. + +"Not after I tell the world that you tried to blackmail me--that +you have demanded fifty thousand dollars." + +"But I haven't made such a demand." + +"I can SWEAR that you have," she cried triumphantly. He glared at +her for a moment, his past coming up from behind with a rush that +left him nothing to stand on. + +"I am willing to run the risk of scandal, if you are, my dear," +he said after a moment, his hands clenched behind him. "It will be +very costly. You have much to lose." + +"I think," she said shrewdly, guessing his weakness even as he saw +it, "that we can talk sensibly of the situation from now on. I am +not afraid of you." + +He looked at her steadily for a moment, reading her thoughts, seeing +her trembling heart. Then he said drily: + +"I'll do nothing for a week, and then you'll send for me." + +The door in the vestibule opened suddenly and someone--aye, more +than one--came in from the outside. Mrs. Cable started to her feet +and turned toward the library door. Bansemer was standing close +by her side. He turned to move away as David Cable stepped to the +door to look in. Cable's coat collar was about his ears and he was +removing his gloves. For a moment he stood motionless, gazing upon +the occupants of the room. + +Then, for the first time, there flashed before him the sharp +point of steel which was to pierce his brain later on with deadly +suspicion and doubt. There was no mistaking the confusion of Mrs. +Cable and her visitor. It was manifest that they had not expected +him to appear so unexpectedly. He remembered now that on two other +occasions he had found Bansemer at his house, and alone with Mrs. +Cable, but he had not regarded it as extraordinary. But there was +a startled look in her eyes to-night, an indecision in her greeting +that caused him to knit his brows and lift his hand unconsciously +to his temple before speaking. He heard Bansemer say that he was just +going, but that he would stay for a short chat about the banquet. +Mrs. Cable turned to stir the fire with the poker, an unusual act +on her part he was not slow to observe. The seed was sown. + +"I brought Bobby over from the club with me--and a friend, Frances," +he said, after asking Bansemer to sit down for a while. His keen +eyes noted that her hand shook as she put the poker back into its +place. As he walked into the hall to throw aside his coat, Frances +Cable turned to Bansemer with a significant look, shaking her head +in mute appeal for silence. + +Bobby Rigby came into the room, followed by a tall stranger, whom +he presented to Mrs. Cable. Bansemer, standing near the library +table, caught a glimpse of the stranger's face as he took Mrs. +Cable's hand. He started violently, unable at first to believe his +eyes. A chill ran through his frame and his expression changed from +wonder to consternation. + +"Mr. Bansemer, my friend, Mr. Harbert." + +"I have met Mr. Bansemer," said Harbert, with a cold stare straight +into the other's eyes. They were on opposite sides of the table. + +"In New York," said Bansemer firmly, his eyes unflinching in +their return. He noticed that Harbert's look was uncompromisingly +antagonistic, but that was to be expected. It troubled him, however, +to see something like unfriendliness in Rigby's greeting. + +Harbert was the man who had fought him to rout in New York. This +keen, aggressive young barrister had driven him into a corner from +which he escaped only by merest chance. He knew James Bansemer +for what he was. It had not been his fault that the man crawled +through a small avenue of technicalities and avoided the punishment +that had seemed so certain. He had waged war bitterly against the +blackmailer, and he missed complete victory by a hair's breadth. + +Feeling the strain of the situation, Rigby talked with earnest +volubility. He led the conversation into many lines--the war in +the Philippines, the banquet, the play which Jane and Graydon were +seeing. The thought of the play brought a shade of despair to his +brow--pretty Miss Clegg was in the party with that "mucker" Medford. + +James Bansemer had been cold with speculation every instant of the +time; had felt that Harbert's condemning gaze had never left him. +Apparently listening to the others, he found himself wondering what +Harbert's trip to Chicago signified. Gradually it dawned upon him +that his old-time foe was not through with his fighting. The look +in Rigby's eyes meant something, after all--and Rigby was Graydon's +best friend! Harbert was in Chicago to act--and to act first! This +thought shot into the man's brain like burning metal. It set every +nerve afire. His nemesis had already begun his work. Before he left +the Cable home that night he would be asking his host and hostess +what they knew of one James Bansemer's past. + +As Bansemer arose to say good-night to the others, Harbert's eyes +met his with deadly directness. + +"Where are your offices, Mr. Bansemer?" asked the New Yorker. There +was something significant in the question. + +"Mr. Rigby and I have offices in the same building," he replied. +"Will you come in and see me?" + +"I shall try," said the other. + +To have saved his life, Bansemer could not meet David Cable's +questioning eyes as he shook hands with him. Cable's hands were +like ice. + +Outside the house, in the whirling gale, the tall lawyer breathed +easier, but not securely. His brain was clogged with doubts, fears, +prophecies--all whirling like mad around the ominous figure of +Denis Harbert. + +Suddenly, he stopped stockstill, the bitter scowl deepening in his +eyes. With an oath he turned abruptly and hurried in the opposite +direction. The time had come to make ready for battle. A few minutes +later, he was writing the note which created so much commotion in +the home of Elias Droom. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +JANE SEES WITH NEW EYES + + + + + +It was not until the hurrying Bansemer entered the door of Rector's +that the apprehension of having committed a senseless blunder came +to him. + +"Good heavens!" he muttered, stopping short. "What a fool I'm +getting to be-meeting old Elias, in a place like this! The theatre +crowds--everybody in town will be here by eleven! Curse me, for a +hopeless ass! I must get him away at once!" + +Grumbling at himself, he passed into the restaurant. Gabe offered +him the choice of various tables; he selected one which commanded +a view of the entrances and ordered a perfunctory "Scotch." Nervous +and anxious, he was more troubled than he cared to admit even to +himself. Fortunately, there were not many people in the cafe; and +his gaze, wandering about the place, soon halted before the small +alcove in the east end containing a table with wine glasses, in +waiting, set for a large party. The clock, back of the cigarstand, +said it was five minutes after eleven. Bansemer impatiently watched +the two doors leading to the street, and was beginning to wonder +whether the message had reached the old clerk, when presently, the +uncouth shape of Droom, appeared slinking through the so-called +ladies' entrance, with the shrinking attitude of one unaccustomed +to fashionable restaurants and doubtful of his reception. Bansemer +motioned to him. + +"Just as soon as I can get my check," he was saying, at the same +time, beckoning to a waiter; "we'll move out of this. It will be +crowded in--I never thought, a stall at Chapin & Gore's will be +better. Here, waiter! My check! I'm in a hurry!--the devil!" + +As the exclamation burst from his lips, there came down the narrow +steps and through a door quickly thrown open by a waiter, a number +of gay, fashionably dressed people, all smiling and trembling with +the cold. Immediately, this party attracted the attention of the +room. Waiters rushed hither and thither relieving the ladies of their +costly lace and fur wraps, and the men of their heavy overcoats. +Of the expected theatre-comers, these were the first to arrive; +but presently others followed, and soon the quiet cafe of the early +evening became transformed into one of bustle and excitement by +the eager, animated throng. With dismay Bansemer noticed that those +to whom his attention had been attracted were blocking his way to +the doors; escape was out of the question. Reluctantly, he returned +to his seat and ordered the clerk to take the one opposite him. Then, +scanning the party making its passage to the alcove, he perceived +three or four men whom he knew, and presently, to his surprise and +consternation-his son. The recognition was mutual, Graydon making +his way around a small table in order to affectionately greet him. +As he approached, his eyes fastened themselves on his father's +companion. With amazement, he recognised the queer figure of the +lanky, gangling Droom; but too kind-hearted and well-bred to allow +his features in the slightest degree to express the astonishment +which he felt at sight of such a comic incongruity, the young man +voiced a few kindly words to the old man, while from the table +in the alcove, where the smart, little supper party were seating +themselves, Miss Cable was smiling her cheery recognition to her +prospective father-in-law; then Graydon made his way back to his +seat by her side. + +"Why did you come here?" asked Droom, feeling somewhat akin to the +proverbial fish out of water. + +"Because I thought--I thought you couldn't find any other place," +replied Bansemer, confusedly. + +The unexpected arrival of his son and party had disturbed his usual +coolness; but with his order for supper his equilibrium returned, +and he went on to explain: + +"I supposed you knew only two streets in town--Wells and South +Water." + +"Humph! I know every street in town," Droom resented, drawing +himself up in his chair; and then bluntly: "What's happened?" + +"Not so loud! Harbert's here, but---" + +"Oho! Here?" + +"In Chicago, yes--we'll talk about it later." + +The present genial environment and convivial atmosphere were +producing a most inspiriting effect on the lawyer. The delightful +consciousness that the people with whom his son was supping were +of the smartest set in town for the moment had banished all fears +of exposure. From time to time he glanced proudly across to the +alcove table where the men were engaged in unfolding their napkins +and toying with their glasses, in lively anticipation of the enjoyment +to come; while the women, with the hope of eliciting admiration for +their hands and the sparkle of their rings, were taking off their +gloves and spreading out their fingers on the table cloth. + +"Graydon seems to be right in the swim, eh, Droom?" he said. The +irony of it all appealed strongly to his sense of humour. "I don't +suppose you know those swells?" he added, patronisingly. Droom was +listening intently to the bursts of merriment which were enlivening +the restaurant. Like a small boy at a circus who fears that something +will happen that he will not see, he was continually turning his +head and letting his eyes travel critically over the company at +the neighbouring table. + +At this speech of Bansemer's the eyes of the old clerk returned; +they expressed no little resentment at the inference. + +"Certainly, I do;" and leaning over the table and covertly indicating +with his long, bony finger the man at the head of the table, he +answered succinctly: "That's Fernmore--he's--" + +A particularly loud burst of laughter cut him short. At the adjoining +tables conversation had abruptly ceased; heads were turned and +inquisitive eyes were fastened on the brilliant coterie at the +alcove table. + +Few men in Chicago were better known or better liked than the stout, +florid complexioned, jovial-looking Billy Fernmore, the host of +this entertainment. His social adventures and the headlong follies +in which his fun-loving proclivities invariably enmeshed him were +only surpassed by his fondness for ridding himself of his unlimited +wealth. + +To his inherited five millions marriage had added the colossal +fortune of a beautiful heiress, whose extravagances aggregated less +than his own solely through the limitations of her sex. Yet, were +it not for the self-imposed handicap of adhering strictly to the +somewhat old-fashioned precept that jewels should be acquired only +through affectionate beneficence, Mrs. Fernmore might have succeeded +in surpassing the princely prodigalities of her lord and master. + +"It was this way," Billy was saying, in his own inimitable manner, +and awake to the realisation of having a "good one" to tell; "a +few days ago the lady of my house took wings for New York--a little +spree of her own, you understand. And, for Billy Fernmore, I kept +out of mischief, for a time, fairly well. After waiting days, +lamb-like, for her return, restlessness--;" and here Fernmore's +shameless affectation of the neglected husband became so irresistibly +funny that it provoked prolonged laughter from his listeners, even +Droom showing his yellow snags and stretching his mouth to the +fullest extent of the law, as he joined in the general chorus; +"restlessness gave way to recklessness, and in desperation I invited +a half dozen of the oldest and most distinguished widowers in town +to dine with me, at the hotel, where they were informed they were +to be honoured by the presence of a bevy of the season's prettiest +debutantes. My stars, but they were a fine collection of old +innocents!" Fernmore threw himself back in his chair and roared at +the recollection. + +"Billy's a wonder when he's wound up!" Medford's whispered aside +to the lady on his right met with a simple nod of the head; for +despite Miss Clegg's well-feigned interest in Mr. Medford when Rigby +was present, on other occasions there was no pretence of enjoyment +of his society. + +"Among those present--to use the correct phrase," said Billy, after +having refreshed himself with sufficient champagne to proceed; "were +two retired merchants, a venerable logician, a doddering banker, +and a half-blind college professor. Of course, I had to make some +excuse for Mrs. Fermnore's absence. For the life of me I cannot +now remember what yarn I told them; but they were too anxious to +be presented to the gay, young women not to swallow it--whole. The +old boys fairly swamped the girls with their senile attentions. It +was a lively supper party--my word! And they went home unanimously +declaring that the debutantes of the present day discounted, at +least in dash and go, the charmers of fifty years ago." + +Amidst the confusion of peals of merriment which greeted the genial +raconteur, Miss Cable, to whom the story did not especially appeal, +whispered in awed tones: + +"Graydon, who on earth is that queer, spectacular looking man with +your father?" + +"Oh, that's Droom--isn't he a character? He's been with the governor +since I was a child. In those days his looks used to frighten me +almost to death. I fancy he's had a sad life, don't you know." + +"There is something positively awful in his face," returned the +girl, as her eyes faltered and dropped to her plate on unexpectedly +meeting those of the subject of her remark. + +"Sh-h!" came from Medford; and then: "Come, Billy--what's the +point--or the moral, as they say in novels?" + +"Fernmore is a rattling good chap, at heart," Graydon was saying +to Jane; "but I can't stand that Med--" + +"Yes, yes, go on, Mr. Fernmore," broke in several voices in eager +expectancy. + +"The moral?" Billy's eyes were twinkling. "The joke, rather, is on +me. When Mrs. Fernmore reached home I thought it wise to say nothing +about the affair; but I had completely underestimated the persistency +of these rejuvenated venerables. They were not satisfied--wanted +to know more about the girls; and the next day in deep but joyous +simplicity, half a dozen old men asked their married daughters and +close friends at the clubs what family of Brown a certain debutante +belonged to; who was the father of Miss Jones; and how long had +the family of Miss Robinson lived in the city, together with a +lot of amazing questions. And failing to derive even the remotest +satisfaction from the Social Register, the women members of their +families besieged my innocent wife with more or less shocked inquiries +as to an entertainment of mine at which their aged relations were +present. Well, the game was up! I owned up--confessed to the girls +being actresses and begged for mercy." + +"And I forgave him," supplemented Mrs. Fernmore, smilingly. "Boys +will be boys." + +"Whew!" whistled Billy, in conclusion. "It was no end of a lark! +I would not have missed it for the world; but the old chaps will +never, never forgive me." + +As the gentleman finished, Bansemer was looking at Droom with +amusement. The old clerk was shaking his head in a manner that +signified disapproval. + +"How's that for doings in swagger society, eh, Droom? If anyone +but Billy Fernmore had done that, he would have been ostracised +forever. Nothing like millions--" + +"I don't believe true aristocrats would do that," interrupted Droom, +half angrily. + +"These are the aristocrats--money aristocrats; the others have lost +the name--forgotten. Come, let's go over yonder--we can talk there." + +Bansemer called for the bill and settled it; then slowly rising, +ostentatiously waved his adieus to the alcove and deserted the +scene for Chapin & Gore's Droom meekly followed him employer. + +For some time, neither spoke. In their stall, each was busy with +his own thoughts and speculations. + +"I think I've made a mess of it with Mr. Cable," began Banseemer. +"She---" + +"I wouldn't mention names," cautioned Droom, with a look at the +top of the partition. + +"She's very likely to fight back, after all." + +"What was your demand?" + +"Money," said Bansemer, quietly. + +"Humph!" was Broom's way of saying he lied. + +"Harbert has a purpose in coming here, Elias. We must prepare for +him." + +"We are as well prepared as we can expect to be. I guess it means +that we'll have to get out of Chicago." + +"Curse him!" snarled Bansemer. "I don't care a rap about myself; but +it will be all up with Graydon if anything--er--unpleasant should +happen to me," said Bansemer, with a wistful glance at his glass. +Then, in subdued tones, he told of the meeting with Harbert. Droom +agreed that the situation looked unpleasant, and all the more +so in view of what Eddie Deever had mentioned in connection with +the Marshal's office. He repeated the story as it had come from +the babbling, youngster's lips, utterly deceived by the guileless +emissary from the office downstairs. + +"What do you expect to do?" he asked, studying the tense face of +his employer. + +"I'm going to stand my ground," said Bansemer, steadily drumming +on the table with his stiff fingers. "They can't prove anything, +and the man who makes a charge against me will have to substantiate +it. I'll not run a step." + +"Then," said Droom, coarsely, "you must let Mrs. Cable alone. She +is your danger signal. I tell you, Mr. Bansemer, she'll fight if +you drive her into a corner. She's not a true aristocrat. She comes +of a class that doesn't give up." + +"Bah! She's like the rest. If Harbert doesn't get in his nasty +work, she'll give in like all the others." + +"I thought you said you'd do nothing to mar the happiness of +Graydon," sneered Droom. + +"I don't intend to, you old fool. This affair is between Mrs. +Cable and me. If she wins, I'll give up. But, understand me, I'm +perfectly capable of knowing just when I'm beaten." + +"I only know your financial valour," said Elias drily. + +"That's all you're expected to know, sir." + +"Then, we won't quarrel about it," said the other with his sweetest +grin. + +"Umph! Well, pleasantries aside, we must look ourselves over +carefully before we see our New York friend. He must not find us +with unclean linen. Elias, I'm worried, I'll confess, but I'm not +afraid. Is there anything that we have bungled?" + +"I have always been afraid of the chorus-girl business. I don't +like chorus girls." Bansemer, at another time, would have smiled. + +It was past midnight when the two left the stall and started +in separate ways for their North Side homes. The master felt more +secure than when he left the home of David Cable earlier in the +night. Elias Droom said at parting: + +"I don't like your attitude toward Mrs. C. It's not very manly to +make war on a woman." + +"My good Elias," said Bansemer, complacently surveying himself in +the small mirror across the stall, "all men make war on women, one +way or another." + +He did not see Droom's ugly scowl as he preceded that worthy through +the doorway. + +The next morning Bansemer walked down the Drive. It was a bright, +crisp day and the snow had been swept from the sidewalks. He felt +that a visit from Harbert during the day was not unlikely and he +wanted to be fresh and clear-headed. Halfway down he met Jane Cable +coming from the home of a friend. He never had seen her looking so +beautiful, so full of the joy of living. Her friendly, sparkling +smile sent a momentary pang of shame into his calloused heart, +but it passed with the buoyant justification of his decision to do +nothing in the end that might mar his son's happiness. + +She was walking to town and assured him that she rejoiced in his +distinguished company. They discussed the play and the supper party. + +"Now that I'm engaged to Graydon, I'm positively beginning to grow +sick of people," Miss Cable declared and as they all declare at +that age and stage. + +"Well, you'll soon recover," he smiled. "Marriage is the convalescence +of a love affair, you know." + +"Oh, but most of the men one meets are so hopelessly silly-tiresome," +she went on. "It's strange, too. Nearly all of them have gone to +college-Yale, or Harvard." + +"My dear Jane, they are the unfortunate sons of the rich. You can't +blame them. All Yale and Harvard men are not tiresome. You should +not forget that a large sprinkling of the young men you meet at +the pink teas were sent to Yale or Harvard for the sole purpose +of becoming Yale and Harvard men-nothing more. Their mothers never +expected them to be anything else. The poor man sends his son to +be educated; the rich man usually does it to get the boy away from +home, so that he won't have to look at him all the time. I'm happy +to say that I was quite poor when Graydon got his diploma." + +"Oh, Graydon isn't at all like the others. He is a man," cried +Jane, her eyes dancing. + +"I don't mean to say that all rich men's sons are failures. Some +of them are really worth while. Give credit unlimited to the rich +man's son who goes to college and succeeds in life in spite of his +environment. I must not forget that Graydon's chief ambition at +one time was to hunt Indians." + +"He couldn't have got that from his mother," said she accusingly. +Bansemer looked at her sharply. He had half expected, on meeting +her, to observe the first sign that the Cable family had discussed +him well but not favourably. Her very brightness convinced him that +she, at least, had not been, taken into the consultation. + +"I am afraid it came from his horrid father. But Graydon is a good +boy. He couldn't long follow the impulses of his father. I dare +say he could be a sinner if he tried, too. I' hate an imbecile. +An imbecile to my mind is the fellow without the capacity to err +intentionally. God takes care of the fellow who errs ignorantly. +Give me the fellow who is bright enough to do the bad things which +might admit him to purgatory in good standing, and I'll trust him +to do the good things that will let him into heaven. I often wonder +where these chaps go after they die--I mean the Yale and Harvard +chaps who bore you. It takes a clever chap to have any standing +at all in purgatory. Where do they go, Jane? You are wise for your +years and sex. There surely must be a place for the plain asses?" + +"Oh," said she, "I suppose they have a separate heaven, just as +the dogs have." + +"No doubt you're right," he agreed, smiling, "but think how bright +the dogs are as a rule." + +"Bobby Rigby says a dog is worth more than his master. People will +steal a dog, he says." + +"I saw him at your house last night. Did you meet Mr. Harbert?" + +"No. Mother said he came in with Bobby." + +"How is Mrs. Cable this morning? I think she--er--complained of a +sick headache last night?" + +"She has such a frightful headache that she couldn't get up this +morning." + +"Indeed? Will you carry my respects and sympathy to her?" + +"Thank you, yes. But why don't you come in and see us, Mr. Bansemer?" + +"In a day or so, gladly." + +Bansemer was not approached by Harbert that day nor the next--nor +any other day soon, in fact. It was not until after the third day had +expired that he heard from Mrs. Cable. Her silence was gratifying +and significant; it meant that she was struggling with herself--that +she had taken no one as yet into her confidence. He was too wary +to feel secure in his position, however. He abandoned every case +that could not be tried in the cleanest light and he destroyed his +footprints in those of the past more completely than ever. David +Cable was disposed to be agreeable when they met, and Rigby's manner +had lost the touch of aloofness. Altogether the situation did not +look so dark as it had on the night of the blizzard. + +He guessed at Mrs. Cable's frame of mind during the three days +just past by the tenor of her message over the telephone. She did +no more than to ask him to drop in before five for a cup of tea; +but he saw beyond the depth of her invitation. + +He went and had a few minutes alone with her because he was shrewd +enough to drop in before five. No one else came until after that +hour had struck. He was studiously reserved and considerate. There +was nothing in his manner to indicate that he was there as anything +more than the most casual sipper of the beverage that society brews. +It was left for her to make the advances. + +"We must come to an understanding," she said abruptly. "I cannot +endure the suspense, the uncertainty--" + +Bansemer raised his brows with grave condescension. + +"Then you have not confessed to Mr. Cable?" he asked, with perfect +unconcern. "Do you know, I was rather hoping that you would have +saved me the trouble of doing so." + +"It means so much to--" + +"Ah, I see you find it hard to lose the ground you have gained +socially." He stirred his tea steadily. + +"It isn't that--I don't care for that. It's for Jane and David. I +can only offer to buy your silence; nothing more," she said with +hurried words. "I own shares in the railroad; they're worth twenty +thousand dollars. Will you take them?" + +"My dear," he said, leaning quite close to her, "I am not seeking +to blackmail you as you seem to imagine. I have only tried to tell +you that I love you." + +"Oh," she exclaimed, with a shudder of disgust. His face was quite +close to hers; she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and she +drew away quickly. His hand hovered close to hers as it lay in her +lap. + +There was an eye-witness to this single picture in the brief scene. +Jane had started downstairs. From the upper steps she could look +into the drawing-room below. She could not help seeing Bansemer's +fervent attitude; she heard nothing that he said. The girl paused +in surprise; a feeling as of dread--she could not explain--crept +over her. A chill struck into her heart. + +It was as if she had awakened from a sweet sleep to look out upon +a bleak, horrid morning. + +Involuntarily she shrank back, quite beyond the actual vision but +not free from it. She stood straight and tense and silent at the +top of the stairs, her hand clasping the rail. She could hear her +heart throbs plainly. There was no mistaking the picture as it had +burst upon her unsuspecting eyes. With a quavering smile she tried +to throw it from her. But cold and damning there arose to support +her apprehensions the horrid stories of Mrs. Blanckton and her +affair with Rellick. With her own eyes she had seen Rellick talking +to Mrs. Blanckton just as Bansemer was talking to her mother in +the dim doom below. The Blanckton scandal, as everyone knew, was +one of the most infamous the city had known. Jane, with other girls, +had been shocked by the boldness of the intrigue; she had loathed +Rellick for his unprincipled love-making; she had despised and +denounced Mrs. Blanckton. Here now was her own mother listening +just as Mrs. Blanckton had listened; here was James Bansemer talking +just as Rellick had talked. A great fear, a dark uncertainty, welled +up in her heart. + +It was not until the butler admitted other callers that she found +the courage to turn her eyes toward the drawing-room. She was never +to forget the dread that grew with the thought of what she might +have seen had she remained a voluntary witness during the minutes +which followed her first look below. That single vision effected a +sharp, complete change in Jane Cable's life. From that moment she +never saw the world as it had appeared to her before. + +Although she succeeded in, hiding the fact, it was difficult +to approach and greet James Bansemer with the naturalness of the +unsuspecting. His manner was beyond reproach, and yet, for the +first time, she saw the real light in his black eyes. She talked +to him as if nothing had happened to make her distrustful, but no +self-control in the world could have checked the growth of that +remorseless thing called suspicion. For her own sake, for her +mother's, for Graydon's, she tried to put it down. Instead, it grew +greater and stronger as she looked into his eyes, for in them she +saw the light that heretofore had escaped her notice. + +And this was the father of the man whom she was to marry, the one +whom she loved with all her heart and soul! This, the man who would +degrade her own mother! Her mother--she looked at her with a new +question in her eyes. She looked for the thing which had marked Mrs. +Blanckton. It was not there, and she rejoiced in that discovery. +Her mother did not possess the bold, daring, defiant air of the +other woman. Hers was tender, sweet, even subdued; the girl clutched +hopefully at this sign and began to build upon it. + +Half a dozen people came and went. James Bansemer was the last to +leave. He met the girl's tense, inquiring look from time to time, +but he could not have felt its meaning. There was nothing in her +voice which might have warned him, although it sounded strained and +without warmth on her own ears. In spite of herself she wondered +how he would act in saying good-bye to her mother. Although she +tried with all the might of her will to look away, she could not +take her eyes from the pair as Bansemer arose to depart. + +His manner was most circumspect. The handclasp was brief, even +formal and there was no look in his eyes to indicate the presence +of anything but the most casual emotions. After his departure, +Mrs. Cable turned to Jane and complained of a frightful headache +and went to her room to lie down for a while before dinner. Jane's +gaze followed her steadily as she ascended the stairs. Then she +walked to the window and looked out upon the street, a hundred +perplexities in her mind. + +Her father was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, looking +down the darkening street. His cab was turning the corner below, +showing that he had been standing there for longer than a minute. +She watched him with interest. What had happened in the street to +hold his interest so closely? It was Jane who opened the door and +let him in. As she kissed his cold cheek she noticed the frown on +his brow and caught the strange gleam in his eyes. His greeting +was less warm than usual, and he went to his room upstairs without +removing his hat or coat below. But not before he sent a quick, +keen glance about the drawing-room to find if James Bansemer had +been the single visitor of the afternoon. + +"Where is your mother?" he asked from the stairs, without looking +back. + +"She has just gone to her room," Jane replied, a chill shooting +through her veins. Some strange, unnatural impulse compelled her +to add, as if the explanation were just and necessary: "We have +had a lot of people in drinking tea, and mother has a headache." + +She watched him ascend the steps and turn into his smoking-room. +The door closed sharply and a wave of inexplicable relief rushed +over her. Her hands were cold. She went to the fireplace and held +them out to the blaze. Her ears were alert for sounds from above--alert +with a strange fear which choked her with its persistence. She +dreaded the opening of her father's door and his footsteps as they +crossed to her mother's room. She waited for these sounds, minute +after minute, but they did not come. The fire would not give warmth +to her hands; the chill seemed to spread. In her new consciousness +she felt that a tragedy was just begun. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE CANKER + + + + + +Cable saw Bansemer leave the house as he drove up to the curb in +front. The lawyer did not look back, but turned the nearest corner +as if eager to disappear from sight as quickly as possible. + +Closing the door of his smoking-room behind him, David Cable dropped +wearily into a chair without removing his hat or coat. His blood +was running cold through his veins, his jaw was set and his eyes +had the appearance of one who has been dazed by a blow. For many +minutes he sat and stared at the andirons in the ember-lit grate. +From time to time he swallowed painfully and his jaw twitched. +Things began growing black and green before his eyes; he started +up with an oath. + +He was consumed by the fires of jealousy and suspicion. The doubt +that had found lodging in his mind so recently now became a cruel +certainty. Into his grim heart sprang the rage of the man who +finds himself deceived, despised, dishonoured. He was seeing with +his own eyes, no doubt, just what others had seen for months--had +seen and had pitied or scorned him as the unfortunate dupe. With +the thought of it he actually ground his teeth; tears of rage and +mortification sprang to his eyes. He recalled his own feelings in +instances where shame had fallen upon other men; he recalled his +own easy indifference and the temptation to laugh at the plight +of the poor devils. It had never entered his mind that some day he +might be the object of like consideration in others more or less +fortunate, according to THEIR friends. + +By the time dinner was announced he had succeeded in restoring +himself to a state of comparative calmness. He did not dress for +dinner, as was his custom, nor did he stop to ask Frances Cable if +she were ready to go down. He heard Jane playing the piano as he +descended. She nodded to him, but did not stop and he paused near +the fireplace to look at her strangely. Somewhere back in his brain +there was struggling, unknown to him, the old-time thought that +this child bore him no likeness whatsoever. He only knew he was +crushing down the fear that evil or slander or pain might come to +her, if he were rash yet just. He was wondering if he could face +his wife without betraying himself. + +Jane played softly, lifelessly. She, on the other hand, was wondering +what Graydon would think or say, if she spoke to him of what she +had seen. She wondered if he would blame her mother as she was +beginning to blame his father. + +"Mother won't be down to dinner," she finally said. + +"Is she ill?" he asked after a moment. + +"She is lying down. Margaret will take some tea up to her." + +Father and daughter had but little to say to each other during the +meal. Their efforts at conversation were perfunctory, commonplace, +an unusual state of affairs of which neither took notice. + +"You look tired, father. Has it been a hard day?" + +"A rather trying one, Jane. We're having some trouble with the +blizzards out West. Tying up everything that we are rushing to the +Philippines." + +"Is it settled that you are to be made president?" + +"It looks like it." There followed a long silence. "By the way, +I have good news for you. Mr. Clegg told me to-day that they are +going to take Graydon into the firm. Isn't it great? Really, it is +quite remarkable. You are not the only person, it seems, who thinks +a lot of that boy." + +"A partner? Really? Oh, isn't it glorious? I knew he could--I told +him he'd be a partner before long." She waited a moment and then +added: "His father was here to-day for a cup of tea." Cable caught +the slightly altered tone and looked up. She was trifling with her +fork, palpably preoccupied. + +"I'm--I'm sorry I missed him," said he, watching her closely. + +"You like him very much, don't you, father?" + +"Certainly--and I'm sure your mother does." The fork shook in her +fingers and then dropped upon the plate. She looked up in confusion. +Cable's eyes were bent upon her intently and she had never seen so +queer a light in them. Scarcely more than the fraction of a second +passed before he lowered his gaze, but the mysterious telegraphy +of the mind had shot the message of comprehension from one to the +other. He saw with horror that the girl at least suspected the true +situation. A moment later he arose abruptly and announced that he +would run up to see her mother before settling down to some important +work in his den. + +"Graydon is coming over to-night," she said. "We'll be very quiet +and try not to disturb you. Don't work too hard, daddy dear." + +Upstairs Frances Cable was battling with herself in supreme despair. +Confession was on her lips a dozen times, but courage failed her. +When she heard his footsteps in the hallway she was ready to cry +out the truth to him and end the suspense. As he opened the door +to enter, the spirit of fairness turned frail and fled before the +appeal of procrastination. Wait! Wait! Wait! cried the powerful +weakness in her heart, and it conquered. She could not tell him +then. To-morrow--the next day, yes, but not then. It was too much +to demand of herself, after all. + +He came in, but left a few minutes later. She was strangely +unresponsive to his tender inquiries. Her thoughts were of another, +was his quick conclusion as he fled from her presence before the +harsh accusations could break from his eyes. + +In his den once more, with the door closed, he gave himself up +completely to black thoughts. He recalled his words to her, uttered +years ago, half in jest and half in earnest; he had horrified her +beyond expression by telling her how he would punish a wife if he +were the husband she deceived. With a grim, lurid smile he remembered +the penalty. He had said he would not kill; he would disfigure the +woman frightfully and permit her to live as a moral example to +other wives. Slitting her mouth from ear to ear or cutting off her +nose--these were two of the penalties he would inflict. He now felt +less brutal. He might kill, but he would not disfigure. For an hour +he sat and wondered what had been the feelings of his old friend +George Driscoll just before he deliberately slew his faithless wife. +He remembered saying to other friends at the time that Driscoll +had "done right." + +This night of black shadows--he did not sleep at all--was really +the beginning of the end. He forgot the presidency that was to be +handed out to him; he forgot everything but the horrid canker that +gnawed into his heart and brain. + +Day and night he writhed in silent agony, a prey to the savage +jealousy that grew and grew until it absorbed all other emotions. +Scandal, divorce, dishonour, murder swept before the mind of this +man who had been of the people and who could not condone. The people +kill. + +For a week he waited and watched and suffered. What he knew of men +told him that they do not devote themselves to the wives of others +with honourable motives behind them. He convinced himself that he +knew the world; he had seen so much of it. The man aged years in +that single week of jealousy and suspense. His face went haggard, +his eyes took on a strange gleam, his manner was that of a man in +grave trouble. + +Day after day this piteous, frenzied man who swayed thousands with +his hand stooped to deal with the smallest movements of one man and +one woman. Despite his most intense desire to drive himself into +other and higher channels, he found himself skulking and spying +and conniving with but one low end in view. + +He employed every acute sense in the effort to justify his +suspicions. Time and again he went home at unusual hours, fearing +all the while that he might incur the pain of finding Bansemer +there. He even visited the man in his office, always rejoicing in +the fact that he found him there at the time. He watched the mail +in the morning; he planned to go out of nights and then hurried +home deliberately but unexpectedly. Through it all he said no word +to Frances Cable or Jane. He asked no questions, but he was being +beaten down by apprehensions all the while. + +His wife's manner convinced him that all was not well with her. She +avoided being alone with him, keeping close to her room; he detected +a hundred pretexts by which she managed to escape his simplest +advances. + +At last, overwrought by the strain, he began to resort to +cunning--this man who was big enough to have gone from the engine +cab to the president's office. It required hours of struggle with +his fairer, nobler nature to bring himself low enough to do trickery, +but the natal influence mastered. He despised himself for the trick, +but he WOULD KNOW THE TRUTH. + +The late afternoon mail one day brought to Mrs. Cable a brief +letter, typewritten both inside and out. David Cable saw her open +and read the missive and he saw her trembling hand go to her throat +and then to her temple. Her back was towards him. He could not see +her face until she turned, a full minute later. Then it was calm +and undisturbed, but her eyes were brilliant. He ground his teeth +and tore upstairs without a word. David Cable had stooped low enough +to write this letter and he was paying for it. + +He knew the contents far better than she knew them. The letter +purported to be an urgent appeal from James Bansemer, asking her +to meet him at eight o'clock that night. It said: "I must see you +to-night. Leave your home at 8:00 o'clock for a short call on Mrs. +W--, just around the corner. I will meet you across the Drive, near +the sea wall. It is quite dark there. J." + +David Cable did not know that earlier in the afternoon James Bansemer +had called her up by 'phone to say that he intended to speak to +his son the following day, unless word came to him from her; nor, +could he have possibly known that she was now determined to tell +the whole story to her husband and to trust to his mercy. He only +knew that he had written the letter and that he had told her of +his intention to go downtown immediately after dinner. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE TRAGEDY AT THE SEA WALL + + + + + +The dark, muffled figure of a man leaned against a section of the +old wall that edged the lake--the figure of a man who prayed with +all his soul that his vigil might be in vain. If she came, all was +over. + +He was not armed. He had thrown his revolver away a week before. His +only desire now was to learn the extent of her duplicity. If she +obeyed the call of the letter then there could be no doubt that +she was coming at the call of the lover. His hands twitched and +he shivered as if with a dreadful chill. His heart was shouting a +warning to her, but his head was urging her to come and have done +with it all. + +He was there early--long before the hour named in the decoy. His +eyes never left the sidewalk that ran past his own home, but a short +distance from the Drive. They stared without blinking across that +dark border, through the circle of light from the arc lamp and far +into the shadows of blackness beyond. It was very dark where he +stood. The lake had battered through the sea wall for many rods +at this particular point and no one ventured out beyond the bridle +path for fear of slipping down into the cavities that had been +washed out by the waves. His station was on the edge of the piles +of stone and cement that had been tossed up to await the pleasure +of the park commissioners. + +For a while, he tried to take Jane's future into consideration, +but it was impossible to substitute anything before his own wrongs. +David Cable was not the kind of man who would go on living with a +faithless wife for the sake of appearances. He was not an apologist. +Time and circumstance and the power of true love would adjust the +affair of Jane and Graydon Bansemer. This was HIS affair. Time +could not adjust it for him. + +At last he saw a woman's figure hurrying down the street. The wild, +eager hope that the light from the electric lamp would prove it +to be other than that of his wife was quickly dispelled. His worst +fears were true, His Frances--his wife of more than a score of +years, his pretty sweetheart through all those days, was false to +him! As he fell back against the wall something seemed to snap in +his breast; a groan of misery arose to his lips. + +With eyes which saw red with rage and anguish, he watched +the hesitating approach of the woman. She stopped at the corner +and looked up and down the Drive, peering intently into the dark +shadows by the lake. The sky was overcast; no stars peeped through +its blackness. With uncertain, halting steps she crossed the boulevard, +still glancing about as if in search of someone. He moved forward +unconsciously, almost blindly, and she caught a glimpse of his tall, +dark figure. He was not unlike Bansemer in height and carriage. As +she drew near, his legs trembled and tears of despair flooded his +eyes. + +A savage desire to grasp her by the throat and hurl her into the +waters beyond the break came over him with irresistible power. Then +came the pitiable collapse which conquered the murderous impulses +and left him weak and broken for the moment. With a sob he turned +and leaned upon the wall, his back to her, his face buried in his +tense arms--crushed, despised, dishonoured! Kill her? The horror of +it swept his brain clear for an instant. Kill his pretty Frances? +Kill Jane's mother? How could he think of it? + +It was a long time before the wretched man knew that she was standing +close behind him and was speaking to him. The sound of her voice +came through the noise of his pounding heart as if it were far +away and gentle. But what was it that she was saying? Her voice +was angry, suppressed, condemning. + +"You may take it or refuse it, just as you please," were the first +words his turbulent senses distinguished. "I can pay no more than +that for your silence. The other is impossible. I will not discuss +it again with you." She paused as if waiting for him to respond. + +"To-night I shall tell my husband everything--the whole story. I +cannot endure the suspense any longer. I will not live in fear of +you another hour. My only reason for coming out here to-night is to +plead with you to spare your son and Jane. I am not asking anything +for myself. It would break Jane's heart if Graydon should refuse +to marry her. You must have a heart somewhere in that--" But the +words became jumbled in the ears of her listener. From time to time +his mind grasped such sentences as these, paralysing in their +bitterness: "I have the letters of adoption.... David will not believe +what you say.... He loves me and he loves Jane.... I am willing +to pay all that I have to keep it from Graydon and Jane.... But +I intend to tell my husband. I will not deceive him any longer.... +He will understand even though he should hate me for it. He will +love Jane although she is not his own child." + +David Cable seemed frozen to the spot. His brain was clearing; he +was grasping the full importance of every sentence that rushed from +her impassioned lips. The last appalling words fell like the blow +of a club in the hands of a powerful man. He was dazed, stunned, +senseless. It seemed to him that his breath had ceased to come and +that his whole body had turned to stone. His wide staring eyes saw +nothing ahead of him. + +"Well, what have you to say?" she was demanding. "Why have you +asked me to come out here? You have my final answer. What have you +to say? Are you going to tell Graydon that Jane is not our child? +I must know." + +"Not our child?" came from the palsied lips of David Cable, so +low and lifeless that the sound was lost in the swish of the water +below. The intermittent red signal in the lighthouse far out in the +lake blinked back at him, but to him it was a steady, vivid glare. + +"Do you hear me? I have lied to my husband for the last time!" +There was almost a tone of victory in the voice, now. "Do you hear +me? You don't dare! David will not believe you--he will believe +my--" + +A terrible oath choked back the hopeful words in the woman's throat. +Murder had come back into the man's heart. + +"You lie!" + +"David!" + +"Yes, it's David! Liar! Whose child is she? Tell me?" + +"David! David! For God's sake, hear me! There was no wrong, I swear +it!" + +"She's not my child and there's no wrong!" The sardonic laugh that +followed was that of a raging maniac. "You've fooled me, you fiend! +You devil!" + +At that word and with one look at her husband's terribly distorted +features, Frances Cable shrank back with a single terrified cry, +turned from him and fled madly for her life. With the spring of the +wild beast, Cable rushed after her, cursing her with every breath. +In a few yards he had almost reached her, his hands outstretched +to grasp her neck. But, at that instant, the frightened woman's +strength suddenly gave way; her knees received the fall of the limp +body. For a second she seemed huddled in a posture of prayer, then +toppled over, slipped easily forward through a fissure in the wall +and plunged headforemost into the chugging waters below. + +In the lives even of the best of men there are moments when the +human instincts are annihilated and supplanted by those of the +beast. Likewise, have there been instances in which the bravest +have been tried in the furnace and found wanting, while conversely, +the supposedly cowards have proved to be heroes. Therefore, since +no two situations can occur at a different time and yet have precisely +similar conditions, it behooves us to forbear judging, lest we be +judged, and to approach the following incident in this man's career +as if we ourselves dwelt under a covering of glass. + +From the time of his marriage up to this moment no man could have +fought better the bitter struggle of life than David Cable; yet, +now, in this hour--his hour of travail and temptation, he piteously +succumbed. Cowardice, the most despicable of all emotions, held +him in her grasp. + +He sank exhausted against the wall, his eyes fixed upon the black +hole through which his wife had disappeared; then, the stony glare +changed suddenly to a look of realisation--horrible, stupefying. +He crept to the edge and peered intently into the water, not six +feet below, his eyes starting from his head. + +Black, sobbing water, darkness impenetrable! The instinctive fear +of apprehension caused him to look in every direction for possible +eye-witnesses. Every drop of blood in his body seemed turned to ice +with horror. Down there in that black, chill water lay the body of +his wife, the woman he had loved through all these trying years, +and he her murderer! + +Terrified, trembling, panting, he tried to force himself into the +water with the vague hope of saving her, after all; but even as +he looked wildly about for help, a shout ready to spring from his +dry throat, the natural dread of the accused facing his accuser +took possession of him. Fear, abject fear, held him in grasp; he +could not shout. + +A man was running across the drive towards him--a long loping figure +that covered the ground rapidly. With a last horrified look in the +water, David Cable, craven for the moment, turned and fled through +the night along the broken sea wall--fled aimlessly, his eyes +unseeing, his feet possessed of wings. He knew not whither he ran, +only that he was an assassin fleeing from the horrors behind. + +Over the narrow strip of ground sped the long, eager figure that had +darted from the shadow of the homes across the street. In hoarse, +raucous tones he shouted after the fleeing man: + +"Stop! Wait! Halt!" + +He dashed up to the spot where he had seen two figures but a moment +before, the full horror of what had happened striking him for the +first time. The man was Elias Droom, and he had been an eye-witness +to the dim, indistinct tragedy at the sea wall. + +His presence is easily explained. He knew of Bansemer's telephone +message to Mrs. Cable, together with his threat to expose her on +the following morning. It was only natural that she should make a +final plea---that night, of course. The old clerk realised the danger +of an encounter between his employer and his victim at a time so +intense as this. He could not know that Bansemer would visit the +Cable home that evening, but he suspected that such would be the +case. It was his duty to prevent the meeting, if possible. + +Bansemer would go too far, argued the old man; he must be stopped. +That is why he lurked in the neighbourhood to turn Bansemer back +before he could enter the home of David Cable. + +He saw Mrs. Cable leave the house and go towards the lake. Following +some distance behind he saw her cross the Drive and make her way +to the sea wall. Slinking along in the shadow of the buildings, +cursing his luck and Bansemer jointly, he saw the two forms come +together out there by the lake. + +"Too late, curse him for a fool," Droom had muttered to himself. +"He ought to know this is bad business just now. She's come out to +meet him, too. Worse. It's my duty to look out for him as long as +he employs me. I'm doing my best and I can't help it if he betrays +himself. I'd like to see him--but I can't go back on him while I'm +taking money from him. Look at that!" + +He chuckled softly as he saw the two figures approach each other. +For all that he knew they might be contemplating a fond and loving +embrace, and he was not undeceived until he saw one of the figures +separate itself, run from the other and go plunging to the earth. +As he started up in surprise, the other figure leaned forward and +then straightened itself quickly. Droom did not hesitate. He dashed +across the street, conscious that something dreadful had happened. +His instant thought was that Bansemer had lost his temper and had +struck the woman down. + +The flight of the man was proof positive. He called him to stop, +certain that it was Bansemer. The runner turned his face towards +him for a moment. The light from the street may have deceived Elias +Droom's eyes, but the face of the assailant was not that of James +Bansemer. Droom stopped short and looked after the man, paralysed +with amazement. Then he gave a snorting laugh at his own stupidity; +of course, it was Bansemer. Who else could it be? + +Arriving at the spot where he had last seen the couple, he was +amazed to find no one there. He realised, with horror, that the +woman must have been struck down; had fallen or had been thrown +into the lake. + +The gaunt old clerk groaned bitterly as he threw himself upon the +wall and peered over into the water. He listened for the cries and +struggles of the woman. Gradually his eyes solved the situation. +He saw the row of piles beyond the break in the sea wall and the +swishing pool inside. Every incoming wave sent a flood of water +between the sturdy posts and into the cut of the wall. + +Without a moment's hesitation he dropped into this seething prison, +confident that the woman's body could be found there. A single +glance had shown him that he could crawl upward through the break +to safety and he knew that the water below was not dangerously +deep. + +A minute later he was scrambling out of this angry, icy water, up +through the fissure, bearing in his long arms the inert form of +Frances Cable. He had found her half-submerged in the pool, every +sweep of the waves through the sieve-like posts covering her +completely. + +He dropped the body on the ground after reaching the level and +took a quick shuddering glance about. Two men had stopped on the +opposite of the Drive. He hesitated a second and then shouted to +them. They stood stockstill in alarm. Before they could respond to +his second shout, Elias Droom was tearing the woman's watch from +her belt and the rings from her fingers. His strong, nervous hands +found the necklace that she wore and it broke beneath their sudden +jerk. Cunningly he tossed the necklace upon the ground and trampled +it with his heel. The watch and rings went flying across the wall +and far out into the lake. + +"This woman has been slugged!" he shouted. He did not know how +much of the tragedy these men had witnessed. Boldness was his cue +for the moment; stealth could follow later. "She's been in the +water. I'm afraid it's murder. The man who did it went that way. +Yell for the police!" + +If the assailant was James Bansemer, Droom was doing his duty by +him. If it was another, he was doing his duty by society. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +HOURS OF TERROR + + + + + +Droom's intentions were clear. It was not a tender heart nor was it +chivalry which prompted him to do the deed of valour just described. +He had started out to do his duty by James Bansemer because he was +in his hire; and he felt it still his duty to cover the tracks of +his master as best he could. He knew that he was jeopardising his +own safety; the obstinate cunning of his nature insisted that the +man he had watched was Bansemer, although his brief glimpse of the +fugitive's face discouraged that belief. + +The gaunt clerk kept his chin well covered with his great muffler; +the broad collar of his ulster was turned up about his face. The +rapid plan that dashed into his mind comprehended but two things: +the effort to restore life to Frances Cable and the hope of escaping +without being recognised. He felt that she had not been in the +water long enough to drown; every hope depended upon the force of +the blow that he imagined had been delivered. + +Chilled to the bone, his teeth chattering like castanets, the old +man was stooping over the inanimate form on the ground when the +two men came up. In answer to their startled questions, he merely +said that he had seen the struggle from across the street, but had +been too late to prevent the tragedy. + +"We must get her into one of these houses quick," he grunted. "Take +hold of her, you. And YOU over there hurry and ring a doorbell. +Get inside and 'phone for a doctor--a doctor first and then the +police. We may be able to save her life." + +The first of the rich men's homes denied them admission. The man +of the house said he would not "stand for the notoriety." Droom, +supporting the head of the wet, icy figure, made a remark which +the man was never to forget. At the second house they were admitted. + +In an instant all was confusion. A card game was broken up and +guests of the house assisted their host and hostess in doing all +manner of unnecessary things. Droom gave the commands which sooner +or later resolved themselves into excited, wrathy demands upon the +telephone operator, calls for a certain near-by doctor, calls for +the police, calls for stimulants, maids, hot water bottles--everything. + +"She's been robbed," said one of the men. "Her rings have been torn +off. Look at the blood!" + +"She's well-dressed, too," said another. "Say, her face looks +familiar---" + +To the amazement of everyone, the lips of the woman parted and a +gasping, choking sound issued from between them, a slight shudder +swept over her frame. + +"She's alive!" exclaimed Droom. "Get these wet clothes off of +her--quick!" + +The men stood grouped in the hallway while the women tore the wet +garments from the reviving victim and prepared a warm bed for her. +Elias Droom was edging towards the door, bent on escape, when the +awed, chattering voice of the young fellow who had assisted in +carrying her to the house arrested him. A great sense of relief +crept over him as he listened to the young man's story; his eyes +blinked with satisfaction. He was forgetting his own remark of a +minute ago that he was freezing and must get into some dry clothes +at once. The young man was saying: + +"It happened right out there by the sea wall--where the big break +is. Harry and I were coming up the Drive and I called attention to +a man running south along the wall. Just then, this gentleman ran +over from this side of the street and, a minute or two later, we +saw him jump into the break over there. Suicide, I thought, but +he wasn't a minute coming up. There was the woman! He'd pulled her +out! By thunder, it was the bravest thing I ever saw! He---" + +And then it was that everybody began to shower praise upon the man +who only had tried to do his duty by the one who hired him to do +ugly, not gallant, deeds. + +"Did you watch which way the robber ran?" demanded Droom eagerly. + +"Lost him in the dark. He ran like fury. You must have scared him +off," said the second young man. "I wish we could have seen his +face. Did you see it?" + +"Not distinctly," answered Droom. "He struck me as being a slim young +fellow, that's all." Of one thing he was assured: the evidence of +these two men would prove that he had acted as a valiant protector +and not as a thug--a fear which had not left his mind until now. +They had seen the fleeing assailant, but there was only one person +who could identify him. That person was Frances Cable, the victim. +If it was not James Bansemer, then who could it have been? + +The door opened and an agitated young woman came out. + +"It is Mrs. Cable," she cried in trembling tones. + +The physician arrived at that moment, and a few minutes later came +an officer who had been hailed from the doorway. While the policeman +was listening to the voluble young eye-witnesses, Droom stood aloof, +puzzling himself vainly in the effort to solve an inside mystery. +He had been ready, a few minutes before, to curse himself for pulling +the woman out of the water, but now, as the belief grew stronger +within him that her assailant was not James Bansemer, his viewpoint +changed. If such was the case, there would be no need to fear Mrs. +Cable's story if she revived sufficiently to tell it. On the other +hand, if it was Bansemer, he had rescued her to an ill purpose. He +was conscious finally that someone was speaking to him. + +"What do you know of this?" demanded the policeman. Droom repeated +his brief story. "What is your name and where do you live?" + +"My name is Elias Droom and I live over in Wells Street." + +"Could you identify the man?" + +"I don't think so." + +"What were you doing over in this part of town?" + +"Walking up to see the skaters on the park lagoon. But what's +that get to do with it? You'd better be out looking for the thief +instead of wasting time on me here," snarled Droom. The officer +gasped and there is no telling what might have happened, if the +captain and a swarm of bluecoats had not appeared on the scene +at that moment. Two minutes later they were off scouring the lake +front in search of the mysterious hold-up man. Two plain-clothes men +remained to question the witnesses and to inspect the neighbourhood +in which the crime was committed. + +Word came from the inner room that Mrs. Cable was regaining +consciousness. + +"Does--can she throw any light on the affair?" asked Elias Droom. + +"She has uttered no word except her husband's name. I think she is +still calling upon him for help, poor thing," said the young woman +who bore the news. + +"Cable ought to be notified," said one of the men. + +"Don't do it over the 'phone," said Droom quickly. "I'm going past +his house. I'll stop in and tell him. Let me out, officer; I must +get out of these wet garments. I'm an old man, you know." + +The probable solution had come to Droom like a flash. As he hurried +up the street his mind was full of the theory. He scarcely could +wait for the door of David Cable's house to be opened in response +to his vigorous ringing. The maid announced that Mr. and Mrs. Cable +were out. It was enough for Droom. He put the puzzle together in +that instant. David Cable's face was the one he had seen; not James +Bansemer's. The maid set up a hysterical shrieking when he bluntly +told her of the mishap to her mistress, but he did not wait to +answer questions. He was off to find James Bansemer. The volcano +he had been watching so long was about to burst, and he knew it. + +Forgetting his wet garments, he entered a drug store and telephoned +to Bansemer's home. His employer answered the call so readily that +Droom knew he had not been far from the instrument that evening. +There was a note of disappointment in his voice when Droom's hoarse +tones replied to his polite: "Hello!" + +"I'll be over in half an hour," said Droom. "Very important business. +Is Graydon there?" + +"He's just gone to Cable's. Someone telephoned for him a minute or +so ago. What's wrong? Do you know?" + +"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," was all that Droom would say. + +Elias' memory could not carry him back to the time when he had +hired a cab. A cab was one of the luxuries he had not cultivated. +One can only imagine his surprise, then, when he found himself +hailing a passing hansom; and greater the surprise he must have +felt when he clambered in and ordered the driver to go in a gallop +to a certain place in Wells Street. Ten minutes later he was attired +in dry, warm clothes and in the cab again, bound for Bansemer's +home. What he said to James Bansemer on that memorable occasion +need not be repeated. It is only necessary to say that his host +was bitterly impressed and willing to admit that the developments +might prove serious. They could only speculate as to what had +transpired between David Cable and his wife out there by the sea +wall, but it was enough for them to know that a crisis was at hand. + +"We'll see what the morning papers say about the affair," said +Bansemer, uneasy and cold. + +The morning papers were full of the sensational robbery, the +prominence of the victim and the viciousness of the attack. Elias +Droom read the accounts eagerly as he breakfasted in the dingy little +restaurant near his home, bright and early. He grinned appreciably +over the share of glory that fell to him; and he actually cackled +over the new developments in the great mystery. + +He had observed with relief that the name of James Bansemer was +not mentioned. The reports from the bedside of the robber's victim +were most optimistic. She was delirious from the effects of the +shock, but no serious results were expected. The great headlines on +the first page of the paper he was reading set his mind temporarily +at rest. There was no suggestion of truth in them. + +The reader of this narrative, who knows the true facts in the +case, is doubtless more interested in the movements and emotions of +David Cable than in the surmises of others. It would be difficult, +for a certainty, to ask one to put himself in Cable's place and +to experience the sensations of that unhappy man as he fled along +the dark shore of the lake. Perhaps much will be taken on faith if +the writer simply says that the fugitive finally slunk from the +weeds and refuse of what was then called "The District of Lake +Michigan"--"Streeterville," in local parlance--to find himself +panting and terror-struck in the bleak east end of Chicago Avenue. +It was not until then that he secured control of his nerves and +resorted to the stealth and cunning of the real criminal. + +From that time until he stood shivering and white with dogged +intention in a theatre foyer, bent upon establishing an alibi, his +movements are scarcely worth the details. Between the acts he saw +a dozen men whom he knew and he took drinks with several of them. +His tremendous will power carried him through the ordeal in a way +that could not have fallen to the good fortunes of the ordinary +lawbreaker. + +Every second of the time his thoughts were of the thing which was +being buffeted by the icy waters of the lake. Where was that thing +now? How far out into the lake had it been carried? + +His body was covered with the cold perspiration of dread and horror. +His soul was moaning; his whole being was aghast with the awfulness +of the deed; he could have shrieked aloud in his madness. How he +lived through the hour in that theatre he never could have told, +nor could he believe that he was sitting there with all those +frightful thoughts piling themselves upon him. Other people laughed +and shouted with happiness; he stared and wept in his heart, and +shivered and cringed and groaned within himself. + +He had killed her! She had been true to him, and yet, he had taken +her life--the life she had given him! He gave no thought to Jane, +no thought to Bansemer; he thought only of himself as the slayer. + +Would her body be recovered? What would be his excuse, what his +punishment? The gallows? A thousand horrors ran riot in his brain, +a thousand tremors with each. + +But why dwell upon the feelings of this miserable wretch? Why say +more of his terror, his misery, his remorse? He held himself in +the seat until the middle of the last act of the play. At last, +unable to restrain himself longer, he arose and almost ran from +the theatre. That instinct which no slayer can control or explain, +was overpowering him; it was the instinct which attracts the murderer +to the spot where his crime was committed. No man can describe or +define this resistless impulse, and yet all criminology records +it, clear and unmistakable. It is no less than a form of curiosity. +Driven by this irresistible force, David Cable, with bravado that +cost him dearly, worked his uninterrupted way to the scene of his +crime. By trolley car to Chicago Avenue and, then, like a homeless +dog scenting his way fearfully, to a corner not far from the break +in the wall. + +His legs trembled and his eyes grew wide with dread. The swish of +the water came to his ears and he stood still for many minutes, +listening for a cry for help from off the shore, but none came; +and again skulking alongside the houses of his friends, he covered +the blocks that lay between him and the magnetic rift in the wall. +Near the corner, he stopped with a start of alarm. + +The figure of a man could be seen standing like a statue on the +very spot where he had seen her disappear. While he stood there, +his heart scarcely beating, the solitary figure was joined by two +others. Cable shrank back into the dense shadows. Like a flash it +occurred to him that they were searching for the body. A shriek of +agony arose to his lips; but he checked it. + +Far off on one of the crosstown streets a newsboy was calling an +extra--hoarse, unintelligible shouts that froze his blood. He bent +his ear to catch the far-away words of the boy: "All about de Nor' +Side murder!" He cringed and shook under the raucous shout. He knew +what it meant. + +A policeman suddenly turned the corner and came toward him. The +first impulse was to fly; the next was to stand and deliver himself. +The resolution came with shocking unexpectedness. He would give +himself up! He would admit that he had killed his wife! The words +of anguish were on his lips when the policeman spoke. + +"Is it you, Mr. Cable? How is she, sir?" + +Cable did not hear the man, for, as he opened his lips to cry out +his own guilt, a thought formed in his brain that almost staggered +him with its cunning savagery. Why not let the penalty fall on James +Bansemer? She had gone out to meet him! If she had not destroyed +the note, it would hang James Bansemer, and James Bansemer was +worse than a murderer. But even as this remarkable thought rushed +into his brain, the last words of the officer began to drive it +out. + +"Is she going to pull through, sir?" was the next question--and he +caught it vaguely. + +"Pull through?" he mumbled inarticulately. He leaned against a +great stone rail suddenly. Everything was leaping before his eyes. + +"Good Lord, Mr. Cable--I--I forgot. Don't you know about it?" gasped +the officer. + +"Know what?" asked Cable, completely dazed. + +"Go home at once, sir. I didn't mean to--oh, hurry, sir. Don't +be worried. They say she'll be all right. Sure! She's been hurt a +little, sir." + +"My daughter?" demanded Cable, as keen as a razor in an instant. +His heart was trying to jump from his body. + +"Your wife, sir. Nothin' serious, sir. She was held up along here +somewhere and robbed. They're sure to get the villain. She---" + +But Cable was off like a deer for his home, racing as though on +air. + +Nothing else mattered now. She was alive! He could have her with +him again to love as he never had loved her before. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +DAVID CABLE'S DEBTS + + + + + +Two days passed before David Cable was permitted to see his wife. +During those trying hours he lived an age of agony in suspense. She +had been removed to her home late on the night of the "hold-up," as +the newspapers felt justified in calling it. He did not go to his +office the next day--nor the next--but haunted her door, sleepless, +nervous, held close by dread. A dozen times, at least, he sought +admittance to her room, but was always turned away, cursing the +doctor and the nurses for their interference. + +His worst fear, however, was that his wife would not forgive him. +Not the dread of exposure, nor his own shame or remorse--not even +the punishment that the law might inflict, could be compared to the +fear of what might be her life-long hatred. He grew to feel that +the doctor, the nurses, the servants looked upon him with strange, +unfriendly though respectful eyes. In his heart he believed that +his wife had cursed him in their presence, laying bare his part in +the unhappy transaction. + +At last the suspense became unbearable. He had noticed a slight +change in Jane's manner and at once attributed it to something +his wife had said, for Jane had been allowed in the sick-room. The +discovery that she was not his child had not as yet struck deep +into his understanding. In a vague sort of way he realised that she +was different, now that he knew, but it was impossible for him to +consider her in any other light than that of the years gone by. +The time would come when the full realisation would cut into his +heart more deeply than now, but at present a calamity of his own +making was forcing all other troubles into the background. His +greatest desire was to reach his wife's side, to know the worst +that could come of his suit for forgiveness. + +The evening of the second day he swore that he would see her--and +alone. They admitted him and he entered trembling in every nerve. +She was lying, white and haggard, in her bed, her back toward him. +He paused for an instant and was certain that he saw her shudder +violently. It was significant. She feared and loathed him. + +"Is it you, David?" he heard her ask weakly. "At last! Oh, I was +afraid that something had happened to you! That---" + +He threw himself on his knees beside the bed and wept with all the +pent-up bitterness and misery that was in him--and still he was +afraid to speak to her. Not a word left his lips until he felt her +hand in his hair--a tender, timid hand. It was then that he began +pouring forth his cry for forgiveness. With a groan, he checked +her own appeal for mercy. + +"We can talk about Jane another time, not now," he cried. "I must +know that you forgive me--I don't care for anything--nothing else +in the world." + +When the nurse came in a few minutes later, he was sitting upon the +edge of the bed holding her hands in his. Their faces were radiant. + +"Please stay out," he said, almost gruffly. + +"For just a little while," his wife added gently. The nurse hesitated +a moment and then left the room. + +Frances Cable told him Jane's history so far as it was known to +her. He listened dully. + +"She will never know her true parents," said she in the end. + +"No, I suppose not," said he, looking out of the window. + +"You understand, don't you, David, dear," she said feebly; "how +I dreaded to have you learn the truth after all these years, and +above all, how I hoped that Jane might never know. I tried every +means in my power to buy James Bansemer's silence. It was not money +that he wanted, it was..." she buried her head shamefully in her +arms; after a moment, she went on: "He professes to love his son, +but his is the love an animal gives the offspring it would destroy. +And yet Graydon worships him." + +"Are you quite sure that Graydon is as unsuspecting as you think?" + +"In regard to his father?" + +"In regard to Jane." + +"Oh, I'm sure of it. He is not a party to his father's schemes. If +James Bansemer has not already told Graydon, he never will. It is +not his plan to do so; his only object has been to browbeat me into +submission. David, it will all come out right in the end, won't +it? You'll forgive me?" + +"Yes, dear; but this man," and David Cable shook with emotion as he +spoke, "will have to answer to me. There will be no more to fear," +he said reassuringly; "I'll crush him as I would a snake." + +"David, you must not---" + +"Don't worry," he broke in; "I'll attend to him and see that no +harm comes to anyone else. That man has no business among honest +people." + +"But, David, I was not honest with you," she confessed. + +"That was a long time ago, and she's as much mine as she is yours. +So, what's the odds now? It's a facer, I'll admit, but it can't +be helped." It was thus that the man whose anger, only a few hours +before had led him almost to crime, now readily absolved her of +any blame. + +"Poor child, poor child!" she moaned; "it will break her heart. +She is so proud and so happy." + +"Yes, she's proud. There is good blood in her. I don't wonder now +that I used to think she was such a marvel. She's--she's not just +the same sort of stock that we are, take it as you will." + +"She never must know the truth, David." + +"She's bound to find it out, dear. We'd better tell her. It will +be easier for her. Bansemer's fangs must be made harmless forever. +He shan't bother her. She'd better hear the story from us and not +from him." + +"But Graydon? She'll lose him, David." + +"I'm not so sure of it. She's worthy of any man's love and we must +know that Graydon loves her. I'll trust to that. But, first of +all, we must put it beyond the power of James Bansemer to injure +her in any shape or form. Then, when I go after him--Graydon or no +Graydon--he'll know that there is such a place as hell." + +"Be rational, David. Let us take our time and think well, dear. +I can't bear the thought of the story that will go out concerning +me--how I deceived you about Jane for years and years. What will +people think of me? What will they say?" she almost wailed. + +"Frances," said he, his voice tense and earnest, "that is between +you and me. I intend to say to the world, if occasion demands, that +I have known from the first that Jane was not our child. That will +be---" + +"Oh, David, you CAN'T say that," she cried joyously. + +"I shall say it, dear old partner. I shall say that you took her +from the asylum with my consent. There is only James Bansemer to +call me a liar, and he will not dare!" + +"That old man Droom, David--his clerk. The man who saved me--he +knows." + +"He is in the boat with his master. He DID save you, though. I'll +spare him much for that. And I have more to fear from him than you +think. Frances, I am sure he saw me night before last down there +at the sea wall. He knows--I am morally certain--that you were not +attacked by a robber." + +"But, David, I WAS robbed. My rings and my pendant were taken by +someone. If Droom was the first man at my side--after you--then he +must have taken them." + +"I can't charge him with the theft," groaned Cable. "He saved your +life and he might ruin mine. I would give anything I have to know +just how much he saw of the affair. I can't account for his presence +there. It seems like fate." + +"It is impossible for him to accuse you, David." + +"It is not impossible, I'm afraid. He may have seen me plainly." + +"But I have described my assailant to the police. You do not answer +the description in any particular." + +In the next ten minutes the nurse came in twice to caution him +against overtaxing her nerves, politely hinting that he should +depart at once. There was no medicine, no nursing, no care that +could have done her so much good as this hour with her husband. + +"It hurt me more than I can tell you, David, when I saw that you +were jealous of him. I could see it growing in you day after day, +and yet I could not find the courage to make everything clear to +you. Oh, how could you have suspected me of that?" + +"Because I am a man and because I love you enough to care what +becomes of you. I was wrong, I am happy to confess. Forgive me, +dear. I can't tell you how terrible the last month has been to me. +I can't tell you of the bitter thoughts I have had, nor the vicious +deeds I have planned. I was almost insane. I was not accountable. +I have much to pay to you in the rest of the years that I live; +I have much to pay to my own conscience; and I also owe something +to James Bansemer. I shall try to pay all these different debts in +the coin that they call for." + +"We owe something, you and I, to Jane," said she, as he arose to +leave the room. + +"A confession and more love than ever, Frances. I love her with +all my heart. When you are stronger, we will tell her that she is +not our child. We have loved her so long and so well that she can't +ask for better proof of our devotion. That terrible thing at the +sea wall must remain our secret, dear. To-morrow I shall begin +pulling James Bansemer's fangs." + +He found Graydon downstairs with Jane. A sharp look into the young +man's eyes convinced him that his questions concerning Mrs. Cable +and the latest news concerning the efforts to take the bandit were +sincere. Cable held his hand for a long time; the firm, warm grasp +was that of an honest man. As he stepped out into the night for a +short walk over town he wondered, with a great pain in his heart, +if Graydon Bansemer would turn from Jane when he heard the truth +concerning her. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE VISIT OF HARBERT + + + + + +"It's Harbert," said Elias Droom. + +"Why didn't you say to him that I am busy? I don't want to see +him," said his employer in a sharp undertone. Droom's long finger +was on his lips, enjoining silence. + +"He said that you wouldn't want to see him, but that it didn't make +any difference. He'll wait, he says." + +They were in the private office, with the door closed. Bansemer's +face was whiter and more firmly set than ever. The ugly fighting +light was in his eyes again. + +"If he has come here to threaten me, I'll kill him," he said +savagely. + +"You'll do nothing of the kind," said the clerk with what was meant +to be a conciliatory smile. "Meet him squarely and hear what he +has to say." + +"Do you suppose she has told Cable? He may have sent Harbert here." + +"Cable's hands are tied. I know too much. If I were to tell the police +what I know he'd have a devil of a time getting the presidency of +his road. Besides, they both owe me a vote of thanks. Didn't I +have sense enough to make it look like robbery?" + +"Yes, but curse your stupidity, they may charge you with the job. +Nobody would believe that Cable would attempt to rob his own wife." + +"But they would, in any event, decide that he had taken the rings +to make it appear like robbery." There was a hard rap on the glass +panel. "He's bound to see you, sir." + +"Well, then, show him in!" snarled Bansemer. + +"Mr. Bansemer will see you, sir," said Droom suavely, opening the +door suddenly. + +"Thanks," said Harbert shortly. He entered the private office +and faced the lawyer, who was standing near his desk. "I've taken +advantage of your invitation to drop in and see you." + +"This is one of my busy days, Mr. Harbert," said Bansemer, determined +to come to the point at once. "However, I hardly expected a social +call from you, so it must be of a business nature. What is it?" + +"It concerns your son, Mr. Bansemer. I'm here in the capacity +of a physician. You must go away for his health." Harbert smiled +as though he thought it a good joke. Bansemer turned red and then +white. + +"I don't quite appreciate your wit, sir." + +"My humour, I'd suggest as a substitute. Well, to be perfectly +plain, sir, your son does not know the true nature of the malady. +He--" + +"Do I understand you to say that he really has an ailment?" exclaimed +Bansemer seriously. + +"It isn't hopeless, my dear sir. My only desire is to keep him +from ever finding out that he has a malady. He is sure to learn +the truth if you remain here." + +"Damn you, Harbert, I understand you now, and I want to say this +to you: I'll not drag that boy away from this city. He's successful +here and he's one of the most promising young men in town. I'm not +going to have him hounded from town to town by--" + +"You don't quite understand me, sir. On the contrary, he should +remain here. What I do mean to say is this: he won't feel like +staying here if the truth about his father is uttered. That's the +brutal way to put it, Bansemer, but you've GOT TO GET OUT." + +The two glared at each other for a full minute. Bansemer was as +white as a sheet--but not with fear. + +"Harbert," he said in low tones, "I've half a mind to kill you." + +"Don't. You'd hang for it. There are at least a dozen members of +the bar who know that I have come here to see you, and they know +why, too. See here, Bansemer, you're a scoundrel to begin with. +You've always been a knave. How you happen to have a son like +Graydon I can't imagine. If I did not know that your wife was a +noble, honest woman, it wouldn't be difficult to supply a reason +for--" + +"Stop! By God, you shall not say a word against my wife! I'll brain +you with this weight! You--" + +"I have not said a word against her--nor against your son. For her +and for him I have the deepest respect. I am trying to protect the +memory of one and the future of the other. Bansemer, I believe that +I drove you out of New York. You escaped without exposure simply +because the witnesses lost their nerve. That won't be the case +here. You think you've covered your tracks nicely. You haven't. +You've tripped into half a dozen traps. I don't know what your +game is with the Cables, but you're base enough to take advantage +of your son's position in that home. Don't interrupt! I'll soon be +through. I'm a man of few words. If it were not for your son I'd +swear out the warrants for you to-day on five different charges. +For his sake I'm going to give you a chance. I've worked on you for +three years. I swore I'd get you some time. Well, I've got you, and +I'm going to cheat myself out of a whole lot of pleasure. I'm not +going to smash you as I intended. Your son's friends have prevailed. +To show you that I'm not bluffing, I have every bit of evidence +in the Burkenday case, the Flossie Bellamy job, the widow Hensmith +affair--and it was a damnable one, too--with two or three more. You +broke that woman's heart. I don't suppose you know that she died +last month. You never noticed it, eh? Her precious coachman is living +like a lord on the money you and he took from her. Old Burkenday's +housemaid has bought a little home in Edgewater--but not from +her wages. The two jobs you now have on hand never will be pulled +off. The girl in the Banker Watts case has been cornered and has +confessed. She is ready to appear against you. McLennan's wife +has had the courage to defy your accomplice--that dastardly butler +of theirs--and he has left town, frightened out of his wits. Your +time has come. The jig is up. It won't be as it was in New York, +because we have the proof. There is a committee of three down in +Rigby's office now waiting for me to report. If I take word to them +that you expect to sail for Europe next week, never to return to +this country, all well and good. It is for your son's good health, +bear in mind. If you go, the public may never learn the truth about +you; if you stay you will be in jail before you are a week older. +And, Mr. Bansemer, you've got to decide DAMNED QUICK." + +Bansemer looked his accuser straight in the eye, a faint smile of +derision touching his lips, but not his eyes. + +"Mr. Harbert, the first thing you have to learn in connection with +your patient's father is that he is not a coward. I refuse to run, +sir. I am innocent of any intentional wrong, and I'll stand my +ground. My son will stand beside me, too; he is that sort. Go back +to your committee and tell them that Bansemer will not go to Europe +for his son's health. Good-day, sir!" + +"Nonsense, Bansemer," exploded Harbert. "You know we've got you +fast enough. Why be a fool as well as a knave? You haven't a ghost +of a chance. I'm trying to do you a good turn." + +"A good turn? Mr. Harbert, I am neither a fool nor a knave. If +I were a fool I'd kill you where you stand. I would be justified +in killing the man who represents a crowd of blackmailers. That's +what you are, sir. I refuse to pay your price. If I were a knave +I'd pay it. I want you to understand one thing. I shall stand my +ground here. If you persecute me, I'll not stop flaying you until +death ends my endeavours. We'll see what justice can give me in +exchange for your bulldozing. I will have restitution, remember +that. Now, you've nothing more to say to me. Get out!" + +"Sir!" + +"Get out!" + +"By George, you're a wonderful bluffer." + +"Do you expect me to throw you out, sir?" + +"It isn't necessary. I've had a change of heart in the last minute, +Mr. Bansemer. I withdraw my proposition. By all that's holy, I +intend to go after you now without pity. Hang your son's feelings! +You won't take my advice. I didn't give it as a friend, because I +detest you. It was done in a weak spirit of fairness toward your +son and toward the girl he is to marry. Now, I put them out of my +consideration. They---" + +"Get out!" + +Harbert, very red in the face, slammed the door after him and +strode angrily through the outer office into the corridor. Droom +immediately entered the consultation room. + +"Well? What is it?" demanded Bansemer. + +"What did he want?" + +"He invited me to go to Europe for an indefinite stay. I refused. +We'll fight it out, Droom. We have covered our trail better than he +thinks. They can't convict me. I'm sure of that. They have nothing +but conjectures, and they won't go in court." + +"I'm afraid of him, just the same. You're bull-headed about it. +Every criminal thinks his tracks are covered until it is too late +to cover them properly." + +"Curse you, Droom, I'm no criminal." + +"A slip of the tongue on my part. Do you know who is down there in +Rigby's office with those fellows?" + +"An officer, I daresay." + +"No. David Cable." + +"Cable? Then, his wife has told him everything. Well, I've something +to tell, too. By the Lord Harry, Elias, there will be several +sensations in high life." + +"You don't mean that you'll tell all there is to tell about the +girl?" + +"No! That's just it! That is one thing I won't tell. If you tell +whose blood she has in her veins, I'll kill you like a dog. But, +I'll see that Miss Cable is dropped by Chicago society inside of +a week. I'm mad, Droom--do you understand?" + +"But Graydon loves her." + +"He won't love her long. I was a fool to let him go this far--a +blind, loving fool. But I'll end it now. He shan't marry her. He +has no---" + +"I haven't much of a heart to boast of, Bansemer, but I beg of you +not to do this thing. I love Graydon. He doesn't deserve any pain +or disgrace. Take my advice and leave the city. Let me call Harbert +back." + +"No! They can't drive me out! Telephone over and ask Graydon to +stop here on his way up this afternoon." + +The opening and closing of the outer door attracted their attention. +Droom peeped forth. In spite of himself, Bansemer started and his +eyes widened with sudden alarm. A glance of apprehension passed +between the two men. + +"It's that Deever boy from Judge Smith's," reported Droom. + +"Tell him to get out," said Bansemer, with a breath of relief. + +"I thought it might have been---" began Droom with a wry grin. + +"Nonsense!" + +"It is a bit too soon. They haven't had time." + +As Droom left the room, Bansemer crossed to the window and looked +down into the seething street far below. He saw that his hand +trembled and he tried to laugh at his weakness. For a long time +he stood there, his unseeing eyes focused on the hurrying masses, +his ears alert for unusual sounds from the outer office. + +"If it were not for Graydon," he was muttering between set teeth. +"God, how I hate to have him know!" + +Droom had told Eddie Deever to "get out," but Eddie was there to +talk and be talked to, so he failed to take the hint. + +"Say, I haven't seen you since you played the hero up in the +fashionable part of town. Gee, that was a startler! I'll bet old +man Cable rewards you in some way. What's your theory about the +hold-up?" + +Droom looked up sharply. For the first time there shot into his +mind the thought that the breezy boy might be a spy. + +"I haven't any," he replied shortly. He was trying to remember if +he had ever said anything incriminating to the boy. + +"How d' you happen to be over there just at that time?" + +"I haven't time to talk about it. Please don't bother me. It +happened three days ago and I've really forgotten about it. Don't +throw that cigarette into the wastebasket. Haven't you any sense?" + +"Gee, you don't suppose I'm going to throw it away, do you? There's +half an inch of it left. Not me. Say, I've heard your boss has quite +a case on Mrs. Cable. How about it?" he almost whispered this. + +"You shouldn't talk like that." + +"Oh, you mean that gag about people living in glass houses? Gee, +don't worry about that. Chicago is a city of glass houses. A blind +man could throw rocks all day and smash a hole in somebody's house +every crack. I believe the hold-up man was one of those strikers +who have been out of jobs all winter. Smith thinks so." + +"Who?" + +"Judge Smith." + +"That's better." + +"Did you see his face?" + +"What are you, bub--a detective?" + +"Rosie Keating says I'd make a better policeman than lawyer. She's +sore at me for taking Miss Throckmorton to Mam' Galli's the other +night. Fellow stood on the piano and sang the derndest song I've +ever heard. But, gee, I don't think Miss Throck was on. She didn't +seem to notice, I mean. Say, on the dead, do you think you could +identify that fellow?" + +"Look here, boy, if anyone ever asks you whether I'd know that +man's face if I saw it again, you just say that I'd know it in a +thousand. I saw it plainly." + +Eddie gulped suddenly and looked more interested than ever. + +"Do you think they'll get him?" + +"They will if he talks too much." + +"I hope so. Say, how's that new patent coming on?" + +"I'm not making a patent. I'm making a model. It's nearly completed. +The strike in the shops is holding me back with it. Curse these +strikes." + +"Oh, they bust 'em up mighty quick. There hasn't been a big one on +since Debs engineered his and Cleveland called out the troops." + +"Boy, you wait a few years and you'll see a strike that will +paralyse you. Look at these teamsters. They're powerful now. They'll +get licked, but they'll come back. When the next big money panic +comes--it'll be in my day, too--you'll see the streets of Chicago +running with blood. These fellows will go after the rich, and +they'll get 'em. You will live to see the day when women who wear +diamonds around their throats will have harsh, horny ringers there +instead. There will be rich men's blood on every paving stone and +beautiful necks will be slit with less mercy than marked the French +butchery years ago. That's my prophecy. Some day you'll recall it +to mind, especially if you happen to become very prosperous. It's +bound to come. Now get out. I have a lot of writing to do." Eddie +snickered. + +"What will the law be doing all this time?" + +"Bosh! The law can't even capture Mrs. Cable's assailant. Do you +know what the human lust for blood is? Take an enraged man, doesn't +he hunger for blood? He wants to kill and he does kill. Well, he +is but an atom--an individual. Now, can you imagine what it will +mean when a whole class of people, men and women, are forced to one +common condition--the lust for blood? The individual lusts, and so +will the mass. The rage of the mass will be the same as the fury +of the individual. It will be just like one tremendous man of many +parts rioting for---" + +The outer door opened suddenly and an old gentleman entered. + +"Is Mr. Bansemer here?" he asked, removing his silk hat nervously. + +"Yes, Mr. Watts. I'll tell him you are here." + +Watts, the banker, confronted Bansemer a moment later, an anxious, +hunted look in his eyes. John Watts was known as one of the meanest +men in the city. No one had bested him in a transaction of any kind. +As hard as nails and as treacherous as a dog, he was feared alike +by man and woman. + +Watts, perhaps for the first time in his self-satisfied life, was +ready to bow knee to a fellow-man. A certain young woman had fallen +into the skilful hands of Counsellor James Bansemer, and Mr. Watts +was jerked up with a firmness that staggered him. + +"Mr. Bansemer, I have come in to see if this thing can't be settled +between us. I don't want to go into court. My wife and daughters +won't understand that it's a case of blackmail on the part of this +woman. Let's come to terms." + +Bansemer smiled coolly. It was impossible to resist the temptation +to toy with him for a while, to humble and humiliate this man who +had destroyed hundreds in his juggernaut ride to riches. Skilfully +he drew the old man out. He saw the beads of perspiration on hit, +brow and heard the whine come from his voice. Then, in the end, he +sharply changed his tactics. + +"See here, Watts, you've got a wrong impression of this affair. +I don't like your inferences. I am not asking you for a cent. +I wouldn't take it. You have just offered me $25,000 to drop the +affair. That's an insult to my integrity. I've investigated this +girl's claim pretty thoroughly and I believe she is trying to fleece +you. I have given up the case. None of that sort of thing for me. +She'll go to some unscrupulous lawyer, no doubt, but I am out of +it. I don't handle that kind of business. You have insulted me. +Get out of my office, sir, and never enter it again." + +"Give me that in writing," began the wily banker, but Bansemer had +called to Droom. Eddie Deever was standing near the door, almost +doggedly curious. + +"Show Mr. Watts the door, and if he ever comes here again call the +police. He has tried to bribe me." + +Watts departed in a dazed sort of way and Droom closed the door. + +"Are you still here?" he demanded of Eddie Deever in such a manner +that the young man lost no time in leaving. + +"There goes twenty-five thousand," said Bansemer, with a cold grin. + +"I guess you can afford to lose it," muttered Droom. "It was slick, +I suppose, but it's probably too late to help." + +"Have you telephoned to Graydon?" + +"Not yet." + +"Don't." + +"Change of heart?" + +"Change of mind." + +"That's so. You haven't any heart." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE CRASH + + + + + +Bansemer was not losing his courage; it was only the dread of having +Graydon find out. He stuck close to his office, seeing but few +people. However, he did saunter into Rigby's office for a friendly +chat, but learned nothing from, the manner of that astute young +man. With a boldness that astonished himself--and he was at no +time timid--he asked if Harbert intended to remain in Chicago for +any length of time. After he had gone away, Rigby rubbed his forehead +in a bewildered sort of way and marvelled at the nerve of the man. + +The day passed slowly; but late in the afternoon the suspense became +so keen that he found it difficult to keep himself from making +inquiries of the proper officials as to whether affidavits had been +filed by Harbert or any other person. His hand did not shake now, +but there was a steady pain at the back of his head. + +"Droom, I think I'll go home. If I don't appear in the morning, +you'll know that I'm at some police station. Good-day!" + +"Good-bye!" said Elias, with correcting emphasis. Bansemer laughed +heartily. + +"I believe you'd like to see me jugged." + +"Not unless you could be convicted. I'll have to remain in your +employ until then, I suppose." + +"I've often wondered why you don't quit of your own accord--it +seems so distasteful to you." + +"I'm working for you from force of habit." + +"You'll turn State's evidence if I'm arrested, no doubt, curse +you." + +"If my word counted for anything," and he raised his hand; "I'd +say--'So help me-I shan't." + +"I've never been able to understand you." + +"I guess you've always understood my feelings towards you." + +"You hate me?" + +"I'm no exception to the rule." + +"But hang you, you're faithful?" + +"Oh, I'll pay for it, never fear. You won't hesitate to sacrifice +me if it will help you in any way. But, let me tell you something. +Elias Droom has been smart enough to cover every one of his tracks, +even if he hasn't been able to cover yours. I can't perform miracles. +You don't seem as keen to bring about the family explosion as you +were, I observe." + +"By heavens, I can't bear the thought of that boy--oh, well, close +up the office as soon as you like." + +After he was safely out of the office Elias Droom glided into the +private office, drew forth his bunch of keys and opened his employer's +desk. A big revolver lay in the top drawer. The old clerk quickly +removed the five cartridges and as deftly substituted a new set of +them in their stead. The new ones were minus the explosive power. +He grinned as he replaced the weapon and closed the desk. Dropping +the cartridges into his coat pocket, he returned to his own desk, +chuckling as he set to work on his papers. + +"I won't betray him to the law, but I've fixed it so that he can't +escape it in that way." + +Bansemer's man informed him upon his arrival home that Mr. Graydon +would not be in for dinner. He had left word that Mrs. Cable was +very much improved and that he and Miss Cable were going out for a +long drive-in a hansom. It was his intention to dine with Mr. and +Miss Cable, very informally. + +Bansemer sat in surly silence for a long time, trying to read. +A fierce new jealousy was growing in his heart. It was gradually +dawning upon him that the Cables had alienated his son's affections +to no small degree. The fear grew upon him that Graydon ultimately +would go over to them, forgetting his father in the love for the +girl. Resentment, strong and savage, flooded his heart. He could +eat no dinner. He was full of curses for the fate which forced him +to dine alone while his son was off rejoicing with people whom he +was beginning to hate with a fervour that pained him. Jealousy, +envy, malice, fired his blood. + +He went out and bought the evening papers. The thought came to him +that Graydon had heard the stories and was deliberately staying +away from him. Perhaps the Cables had been talking to him. + +"By Heaven," he grated as he paused in front of his home, "if +she's turned him against me I'll turn this city into anything but +a paradise for her. What a fool I've been to wait so long. I've +given her the chance to tell her side of the case first. She's made +the first impression. What could I have been thinking of? Droom +was right. I should have demanded less of her. A man is never too +old to be a fool about women. Oh, if she's turned that boy against +me, I'll---" + +He did not finish the threat, but started off swiftly through the +night toward the Cable home. He had no especial object in view; +it was simply impossible for him to conquer the impulse to be near +his son. Like a thief he lurked about the street in the vicinity +of Cable's house, standing in the shadows, crossing and recrossing +the street many times, always watching the lighted windows with +hateful eyes. It was after eight o'clock and the night was damp +with the first breath of spring. There was a slight chill in the +air, but he did not feel it, although he was without an overcoat. + +The lights on the second floor, he knew, were in Mrs. Cable's room. +In his mind's eye, he could see Graydon there with the others +listening to the story as it fell from prejudiced, condemning lips--the +pathetic, persuasive lips of a sick woman. He knew the effect on +the chivalrous nature of his son; he could feel the coldness that +took root in his boy's heart. + +A light mist began to blow in his face as he paced back and forth +along the short block in which the Cables lived. He was working +his imagination up to a state bordering on frenzy. In his fancy he +could hear Graydon cursing him in the presence of his accusers. At +the end of the street he could see the break in the sea wall where +Cable and his wife had met, and he could not help wishing that Droom +had not pulled her from the water. Then he found himself wondering +if they had told Jane the story of her origin. The hope that she +was still undeceived flashed through him; it would give him a chance +for sweet revenge. + +He confessed to himself that he was reckless. The transactions of +the past few days had left him at the edge of the abyss; he recognised +his peril, but could not see beyond his own impulses. + +"I believe I'll do it," he was muttering to himself as he paused +across the street from their door. "Graydon ought to hear both +sides of the story." + +He crossed the street with hesitating steps. His thin coat collar +was buttoned close about his neck; his gloveless hands were wet and +cold from the mist. As he stopped at the foot of the stone steps +a man came hurrying along, glancing at the house numbers as he +approached. + +"Do you know whether this is David Cable's house?" he asked. + +Bansemer saw that he was a young man and an eager one. + +"I think it is." + +The other bounded up the steps and rang the bell. When the servant +opened the door Bansemer heard the new arrival ask for Cable, adding +that he was from one of the newspapers, and that he must see him +at once. + +Bansemer stood stark and dumb at the foot of the steps. The whole +situation had rushed upon him like an avalanche. Harbert had filed +his charges and the hasty visit of the reporter proved that David +Cable was an instrument in them. The blood surged to his head; he +staggered under the shock of increased rage. + +"Graydon is against me! They've won him over! Open the door, damn +you! I want my son!" He shouted the demand in the face of the +startled servant as he pushed rudely past him. + +"You stay here, young fellow, and you'll hear a story that will +fill a whole paper. I am James Bansemer. Where is Cable? You!" to +the servant. + +"Sh!" cried the frightened servant, recognising him. "Mrs. Cable +is resting, sir." + +"What are you doing here?" Bansemer demanded of the reporter, exerting +all his crafty resourcefulness in the effort to calm himself. + +"Cable has been elected president of the---" began the young man +just as Cable himself started down the stairway. + +"Cable, where is my son?" demanded Bansemer loudly, starting toward +the steps. He had not removed his hat and was, indeed, an ominous +figure. Cable clutched the stair rail and glared down at him in +amazement. Before he could pull himself together sufficiently to +reply, Graydon Bansemer hurried past him and stared in alarm at +the unexpected figure below. + +"What's the matter, dad?" he cried. "What has happened?" + +"Aha? You think something could have happened, eh? Damn all of +their souls, you shan't be taken in by them. Come down here, boy!" + +"Father, are you crazy?" gasped Graydon, rushing down the stairs. + +"Get him away from here, Graydon, for God's sake," exclaimed Cable. +"Take him away! He's your father, but if he stays in this house a +minute longer I'll kill him!" + +The man from the newspaper was shrewd enough to withdraw into a +less exposed spot. He saw a great "beat" in prospect. + +Graydon stopped as if stunned by a blow. Bobby Rigby came running +to the head of the stairs, followed by Jane and another young woman. +James Bansemer could not have been expected to know it, but Rigby +and Miss Clegg had come to tell these friends that they were to be +married in December. + +"Kill me, eh? Not if you can't do a better job than you did +the other night. Here, you reporter, ask Mr. Cable to explain the +mystery of that affair on the lake front. Oh, I know all about it! +You've started in to ruin me, but I'll be in on it myself. We'll +have a general cleaning up." + +"Father! What are you talking about?" cried Graydon, aghast. + +"They haven't told you about the lake front, eh? I should think +not! See him cringe!" + +Cable had indeed fallen back against the wall, halfway up the steps, +white and trembling. His eyes were raised, and he was the first to +see Mrs. Cable as she came from her room. + +"Go back!" he whispered hoarsely to her. She reached the banister +and leaned over, her eyes filling with terror after a swift glance +at Jane. + +"Take Jane away," she murmured, realising that the blow was to +fall. + +"I'll stop his infernal tongue!" shouted Cable, leaping down the +steps, his eyes blazing. James Bansemer laughed as he braced himself +for the shock. They did not come together, for Graydon threw his +big frame in the path of the assailant. For an instant there was a +frightful uproar. Rigby and the servant rushed to the young man's +assistance. The women were screaming with terror, the men were +shouting and there was a. violent struggle which played havoc in +the hallway. + +"Call the police!" shouted Rigby. + +"You infernal traitor!" hissed James Bansemer. "You claim to be +Graydon's friend, and yet you are the one who has led the plot to +ruin me." + +"What does it all mean?" cried Graydon, holding; the shaking Cable +tightly. + +There was a moment of intense silence, except for the heavy +breathing of the men. Graydon was staring wide-eyed at his father. +He saw the cruel, sardonic smile spread over his face and shuddered. + +"I've simply come to take you out of the clutches of these people. +I've waited to see if that scheming woman, up there would tell +you of her own accord. She hasn't told you; so I will. You cannot +marry that girl, for your haughty Jane Cable is a child of shame, +picked up on a doorstep, cast off by the woman who conceived her!" + +The crash had come. The heartless accuser stood like a tragic +player in the centre of his stage, pouring out his poison without +a touch of pity for the stricken girl who, after the first thrill +of indignation and horror, had shrunk back into her mother's arms, +bewildered. + +"Call the police, if you like," laughed Bansemer, at the end of +his tirade. "It isn't a criminal offence to tell the truth. It will +sound just as well in court, Mr. Rigby." + +"Jane, Jane," Mrs Cable was murmuring, "I might have saved you all +this, but I couldn't--oh, I couldn't pay the price." + +"You snake!" groaned Cable, weak and hoarse with rage. "Jane, he +has lied! There is not a word of truth in what he says. I swear it +to you." + +"Ho, ho! By Heaven, she hasn't told you, after all!" cried Bansemer. +"You still think she is yours!" + +"Father!" exclaimed Graydon, standing straight before the other. +David Cable had dropped limply into a chair, his hand to his heart. +"I won't stand by and hear you any longer. Take back what you've +said about her, or, damn you, I'll forget that you are my father +and---" + +"Graydon!" exclaimed Bansemer, falling back, his expression +changing like a flash. The smile of triumph left his face and his +lip twitched. "You forget I--I am doing this for your sake. My God, +boy, you don't understand. Don't turn from me to them. They have---" + +"That's enough, father! Don't say another word! You've talked like +a madman. See! Look what you've done! Oh, Jane!" he caught sight +of the girl on the landing and rushed up to her. + +"Is it true, Graydon--is it true?" she wailed, beating her hands +upon his arm. + +"No! It can't be true! He's gone mad, dearest." + +"Is it true, mother? Tell me, tell me!" + +Frances Cable's white lips moved stiffly, but no sound came forth. +Her eyes spoke the truth, however. The girl sank limp and helpless +in Graydon's arms and knew no more. At the foot of the steps Rigby +was pointing his trembling finger at James Bansemer. + +"You'll pay for this to-morrow!" he was saying. "Your day has come! +You cutthroat! You blackmailer!" + +"Graydon!" called the father. "Come, let us go home. Come, boy!" + +"Not now--not now," answered the son hoarsely. "I'll--I'll try to +come home to-night, father. I'm not sure that I can. My place is +here--with her." + +Without a word James Bansemer turned and rushed out into the street, +tears of rage and disappointment in his eyes. He had not expected +the gall. Until the break of day he sat in his chill room waiting +for the rasp of his son's night key--but Graydon did not come home. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +FATHER AND SON + + + + + +Graydon sat with his chin in his hands, dull, stricken, crushed. +He had heard the story of his father's baseness from Frances Cable, +and he had been told the true story of Jane; from Rigby he learned +of the vile transactions in which his father had dealt. At first, +he could scarcely believe his own ears, but in the end lie saw that +but--half the truth could be told. + +It was past midnight when he left David Cable's, not to go to his +own home, but to that of Elias Droom. He knew now that the newspapers +would devote columns to the "sensation in high life"; he knew that +Jane would suffer agonies untold, but he would not blame his father +for that; he knew that arrest and disgrace hung over the tall grey +man who had shown his true and amazing side at last; he knew that +shame and humiliation were to be his own share in the division. +Down somewhere in his aching heart he nourished the hope that Elias +Droom could ease the pain of these wretched disclosures. + +As he traversed the dark streets across town he was vaguely wondering +whether Jane's eyes would ever lose the pained, hopeless expression +he had last seen in them. He wondered whether she would retract her +avowal that she could not be his wife with the shame upon her; he +rejoiced in her tearless, lifeless promise to hold him in no fault +for what had happened. + +Distressed and miserable, he spent the remainder of the night in +Elias Droom's squalid rooms, sitting before the little stove which +his host replenished from time to time during the weary hours. + +Droom answered his questions with a direct tenderness that surprised +even himself. He kept much to himself, however, and advised the +young man to reserve judgment until after he had heard his father's +side of the story. + +"I've been loyal to James Bansemer, Graydon, and I'll still be loyal +to him. He's not done right by other people, but he has tried to +do right by you." + +"If he wanted to do right by me, why did he not tell me of Jane's +misfortune?" exclaimed the young man bitterly. + +"Because he really wanted you to marry her. She was born wrong, but +anybody can see she is without a flaw. That's the truth, Graydon. +Your father was wrong in his desire to make capital of it in +connection with Mrs. Cable. I told him so. I don't believe he knew +just what he was doing. He was so used to success, you see. Can't +you go to sleep, boy? You need to." + +"God, no!" + +"I'd advise you to go home and talk it over with your father." + +"To-morrow will be time enough. After the newspapers are out. I +can't bear to think of the disgrace, Harbert has been interviewed, +they say. He's told everything." + +"Talk to your father to-night, my boy. There may be--may be warrants +to-morrow." + +The young man dropped his head on his arm and burst into tears. +Old Droom puffed vigorously at his pipe, his eyes shifting and +uncomfortable. Twice he attempted to speak, and could not. In both +instances he arose and poked the fire. At last the young man's +choking sobs grew less violent. Droom cleared his throat with raucous +emphasis, took his snaky gaze from a print on the wall representing +"Dawn," and spoke: + +"You wouldn't think it to look at me now--or any other time, for +that matter--but I loved a woman once. A long time ago. She never +knew it. I didn't expect her to love me. How could I? Don't cry, +Graydon. You're not like I was. The girl you love loves you. Cheer +up. If I were you I'd go ahead and make her my wife. She's good +enough, I'll swear." + +"She says she can't marry me. Good Heaven, Elias, you don't know what +a blow it was to her. It almost killed her. And my own father--oh, +it was terrible!" + +Elias Droom did not tell him--nor had he ever told anyone but +himself--that the woman he loved was the boy's mother. He loved her +before and after she married James Bansemer. He never had faltered +in his love and reverence for her. + +Graydon waited in his rooms until the old man returned with the +morning papers. As Droom placed them on the table beside him, he +grinned cheerfully. + +"Big headlines, eh? But these are not a circumstance to what they +will be. These articles deal only with the great mystery concerning +the birth of one of the 'most beautiful and popular young women in +Chicago.' Wait--wait until the Bansemer smash comes to reinforce +the story! Fine reading, eh!" + +"Don't, Elias, for Heaven's sake, don't!" cried the young man. "Have +you no soft spot in your heart? God, I believe you enjoy all this. +Look! Look what it says about her! The whole shameful story of that +scene last night! There was a reporter there when it happened." + +Together they read the papers. Their comments varied. The young +man writhed and groaned under the revelations that were going to +the public; the old clerk chuckled and philosophised. + +Every one of these papers prophesied other and more sensational +developments before the day was over. It promised to be war +to the knife between David Cable, president of the Pacific, Lakes +& Atlantic, and the man Bansemer. In each interview with Cable he +was quoted as saying emphatically that the adoption of Jane had +been made with his knowledge and consent. The supposed daughter was +the only one to whom the startling revelations were a surprise. There +also was mention of the fact that the young woman had immediately +broken her engagement with James Bansemer's son. There were pictures +of the leading characters in the drama. + +"I can't stay in Chicago after all this," exclaimed Graydon, springing +to his feet, his hands clenched in despair. "To be pointed out and +talked about! To be pitied and scorned! To see the degradation of +my own father! I'll go--anywhere, just so it is away from Chicago." + +Droom forgot his desire to scoff. His sardonic smile dwindled into +a ludicrously, pathetic look of dismay. He begged the young man to +think twice before he did anything "foolish." "In any event," he +implored, "let me get you some breakfast, or at least, a cup of +coffee." + +In the end he helped Graydon into his coat and glided off down Wells +Street after him. It was seven o'clock, and every corner newsstand +glowered back at them with black frowns as they looked at the +piles of papers. Two rough-looking men walking ahead of them were +discussing the sensation in a lewd, brutal way. A saloon-keeper +shouted to them: "It don't always happen over on de West Side, does +it?" + +Graydon went to the office of Clegg, Groll & Davidson early and +arranged his affairs so that they could be taken up at once by +another; and then, avoiding his fellow-workers as much as possible, +presented himself to Mr. Clegg at ten o'clock. Without hesitation +he announced his intention to give up his place in the office. All +argument put forth by his old friend and employer went for naught. +The cause of his action was not discussed, but it was understood. + +"If you ever want to come back to us, Graydon, we will welcome you +with open arms. It isn't as bad as you think." + +"You don't understand, Mr. Clegg," was all that Graydon could say. + +Then he hurried off to face his father. + +James Bansemer, haggard from loss of sleep and from fury over the +alienation of his son, together with the fear of what the day might +bring, was pacing the floor of his private office. Droom had eased +his mind but little in regard to his son. When he heard Graydon's +voice in the outer room, his face brightened and he took several +quick steps toward the door. He checked himself suddenly with the +remembrance that his son had turned against him the night before, +and his face hardened. + +Graydon found him standing stern and unfriendly before the steam +radiator in the darkest corner of the room, his hands behind his +back. The young man plumped down heavily in his father's desk chair. + +"Why didn't you come home last night?" demanded the other. + +"I hated the thought of it," he answered dejectedly. + +"You've listened to their side of the story. You're a splendid son, +you are!" sneered the father. + +"There is nothing base and unprincipled in their side of the story. +They have tried to shield her; they have never harmed her. But you! +Why, father, you've blighted her life forever. They were going to +tell her in a day or so, and they could have made it easy for her. +Not like this! Why, in Heaven's name, did you strike her like that? +She's--she's the talk of the town. She's ostracised, that's what +she is, and she's the best girl that ever lived." + +"Oh, you think they would have told her, eh? No! They would have +let her marry---" + +"Well, and what was your position? Why were you so considerate up +to last night? If you knew, why did you let me go on so blindly? +The truth is, father, if you must have it, you have acted like a +damned scoundrel." + +James Bansemer glared at his son with murder in his eyes. + +"I wouldn't have believed the other things they say of you if I +hadn't this to break down my faith. I heard this with my own ears. +It was too contemptible to forget in a lifetime. I did not come +here to discuss it with you. The thing is done. I came here to tell +you that I am going to leave Chicago. You WON'T go, so I will." +Bansemer still glared at him, but there was amazement mingling with +rage in his eyes. "I can't look a soul in the face. I am ashamed +to meet the Cables. Good Lord, I'm afraid even to think of Jane." + +"I suppose you-you would marry her, like a fool, even now," muttered +the father. + +"Marry her? Of course I would. I love her more than ever. I'd give +my life for her; I'd give my soul to ease the pain you have thrust +upon her. But it's over between us. Don't let our affairs worry +you. She has ended it. I don't blame her. How could she marry your +son? Why, do you know that I have hoped that I might not be your +son, after all? I almost prayed that my mother might have loved +someone else instead of you. God, I'd like the pain of knowing +that." + +Bansemer leaned heavily against the radiator, gasping for breath. +Then he staggered to the couch and dropped upon it, moaning. + +"Graydon, Graydon! Don't say that! Don't! I'll make everything +right. I'll try to undo it all! My boy, you are the only thing on +earth I love. I've been heartless to all the rest of the world, +but I love you. Don't turn against me." + +The son stood looking at him in dull wonder. His heart was touched. +He had not thought that this stern man could weep; he began to see +the misery that was breaking him. + +"Dad, don't do that," he said, starting toward him. "I'm sorry. +I'm sorry for you." + +Bansemer leaped to his feet, his mood changing like a flash. + +"I don't want your pity. I want your love and loyalty. I didn't +mean to be weak. Will you leave Chicago with me? I must go. We'll +go at once--anywhere, only together. We can escape if we start now. +Come!" + +"I won't go that way!" exclaimed Graydon. "Not like a criminal." + +"No? You won't?" There was no answer. "Then, there's nothing more +to say. Go! Leave me alone. I had prayed that you might not have +been like this. Go! I have important business to attend to at +once." He cast his gaze toward the drawer in which the pistol lay. +"I don't expect to see you again. Take this message to the Cables. +Say that I am the only living soul who knows the names of that +girl's father and mother. God alone can drag them from me." + +Graydon was silent, stunned, bewildered. His father was trembling +before him, and he opened his lips to utter the question that meant +so much if the answer came. + +"Don't ask me!" cried Bansemer. "You would be the last I'd tell. +Marry her, and be dammed!" + +"I don't believe you know," cried Graydon. + +"Ah, you think I'll tell you?" triumphantly. + +"I don't want to know." He sat down, his moody gaze upon his +father. Neither spoke for many minutes. Neither had the courage. +James Bansemer finally started up with a quick look at the door. +Droom was speaking to someone in the outer office. + +"Go now," he said harshly; "I want to be alone." + +"Father, are you--are you afraid of these charges?" His father +laughed shortly and extended his hand to the young man. + +"Don't worry about me. They can't down James Bansemer. You may +leave Chicago; I'll stay! Goodbye, Graydon!" + +"Good-bye, dad!" + +They shook hands without flinching and the young man left the room. +On the threshold the father called after him: + +"Where do you expect to go?" + +"I don't know!" + +Droom was talking to a youth who held a notebook in his hand and +who appeared frightened and embarrassed. Graydon shook hands with +the old man. Droom followed him into the hall. + +"If you ever need a friend, Graydon," he said in a low voice, "call +on me. If I'm not in jail, I'll help you." + +Half an hour later Graydon rang the Cables' doorbell. + +"Miss Jane is not seeing anyone to-day, sir," said the servant. + +"Say that I must see her," protested the young man, "I'm going away +to-night." + +"So is she, sir." + +"Where?" + +"I don't know, sir. California, more than likely. Mrs. Cable and +she will be gone for some time." + +"Did she tell you not to admit me?" he asked, white-faced and calm. + +"Yes, sir. NOBODY, sir." + +He turned down the steps and walked away. + +That afternoon he enlisted, and the following morning was going +westward with a party of recruits, bound eventually for service +with the Regulars in the Philippines. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +IN THE PHILIPPINES + + + + + +David Cable lost no time in hurrying away from Chicago with his +wife and Jane. They were whisked westward in his private car on +the second day after the Bansemer exposure. Broken-spirited, Jane +acquiesced in all their plans; she seemed as one in a stupor, +comprehending, yet unresponsive to the pain that enveloped her. + +"I can't see anyone that I know here," she said listlessly. "Oh, +the thought of what they are saying!" + +They did not tell her that Graydon had enlisted as a private soldier +in the United States Army; Jane only knew that she loved him and +that the bar sinister existed. + +Cable's devotion to her was beautiful. He could not have been +more tender had she been his own daughter, instead of his wife's +imposition. + +Jane was ill in Pasadena for many weeks. Her depressed condition +made her recovery doubtful. It was plain to two persons, at least, +that she did not care whether she lived or died. The physicians +were puzzled, but no explanation was offered by the Cables. It was +not until certain Chicago sojourners generously spread the news, +that the cause of her breakdown became apparent to the good doctors. +Before many days, the girl who sat, wan and distrait, upon the +flower-shaded piazza was an object of curiosity to fashionable +Pasadena. As soon as she was strong enough to endure the trip, the +hunted trio forsook Pasadena and fled northward. + +San Francisco afforded relief in privacy. Jane's spirits began to +revive. There had not been, nor was there ever to be, any mention +of that terrible night and its revelations. What she may have felt +and suffered in secret could only be conjectured by those who loved +her. Bansemer's name was never uttered. His fate remained unknown +to her. The far-away, unhappy look in her eyes proved to them that +Graydon was never out of her thoughts. + +David Cable was in Chicago when Mrs. Cable received word from her +sister, once Kate Coleman, that she soon would reach San Francisco +with her husband, bound for the Philippines. Kate was the wife of +a West Pointer who had achieved the rank of colonel in the volunteers, +by virtue of political necessity. His regiment had been ordered +to the islands, and she was accompanying him with their daughter, +a girl of sixteen. + +Colonel Harbin had seen pleasant service at the Eastern posts where +his wife had attained a certain kind of social distinction in the +army fast set. She was not especially enamoured of the prospect +ahead of her in the Philippines; but the new colonel was a strict +disciplinarian on and off the field. He expected to be a brigadier-general +if fortune and favouritism supported him long enough. Mrs. Harbin +could never be anything more than a private in the ranks, so far +as his estimation of distinction was concerned. His daughter Ethel +had, by means of no uncertain favouritism, advanced a few points +ahead of her mother, and might have ranked as sergeant in the family +corps. + +Mrs. Harbin played cards, drank highballs, flirted with the younger +officers, got talked about with pleasing emphasis, and was as happy +as any subordinate could be. They had not even thought of such a +thing as divorce, and the whole army wondered and expressed disgust. +The army's appetite for scandal is surpassed only by its bravery +in war. It is even hinted that the latter is welcomed as a loophole +for the former. War brings peace. + +The arrival of the Harbins and a staff of gay young cadets fresh +from the banks of the Hudson put new life into the recluses. The +regiment was to remain at the Presidio for several weeks before +sailing. One of the lieutenants was a Chicago boy and an acquaintance +of Graydon Bansmer. It was from him that Jane learned that her +sweetheart was a soldier in the service, doubtless now in Luzon. + +A week before the sailing of Colonel Harbin's transport Jane +suddenly announced that she had but one desire on earth, and that +was to go to Manila with her aunt. She did not present her plea with +the usual claim that she wanted to be of service to her country; +she was not asking to go out as a heroine of the ordinary type; +instead, she simply announced that she wanted to go as a temporary +member of Colonel Harbin's family, to endure their hardships and +to enjoy their enthusiasms. Mrs. Cable recognised the true motive, +however. + +Her pleadings were in vain. The Harbins had lucklessly urged Jane +to join them. Telegrams flew back and forth across the continent +and David Cable came on to present his feeble objections. + +When the great transport sailed away, Jane Cable was one of her +passengers, the ward of the regiment. + +"It's just for a little while, dad," she said wistfully at the +dock. "A few months. I'll think of you every minute I'm away." + +The blood of the man in the service was calling to her. The ocean +was between them; the longing to be near him, to tread the same +soil, had conquered in the eternal battle of love. After all, no +matter how the end was attained, she was a creature of life, brought +into the world to love and to be loved. She put the past behind her +and began to build a new future--a future in which the adoration +of Graydon Bansemer was the foundation. The hope that makes all +human averages was at the work of reconstruction; youth was the +builder. The months of destruction had not left a hopeless ruin +as the heritage of dead impulses. + +The world grew brighter as the ship forged westward. Each day sent +warmer blood into her veins and a deeper light into her eyes. The +new life was not inspired by the longing to be his wife, but to +see him again and to comfort him. She would be no man's wife. + +At last, one hot, soft morning in early July, the great transport +slipped past Corregidor and turned its nose across Manila bay, past +Cavite, toward the anchorage which ended the long voyage. The city +of Manila lay stretched out before them--Manila, the new American +capital. + +The troops were marched off to quarters and the Harbins, with Jane +Cable, repaired at once to the Oriente, where they were to live +prior to taking a house in Ermita or San Miguel. The campaign was +not being pushed vigorously at this time; it was the rainy season. +Desultory fighting was going on between the troops and the insurgents; +there were numerous scouting and exploring expeditions into the +enemy's country. The famous round robin of the correspondents had +been sent to the United States by this time, taking severely to task +the army censorship which prevented the real condition of affairs +from reaching the deluded public. The situation was much worse +on the island of Luzon than anyone at home could have imagined. +But little truth escaped the vigilant wisdom of the arbitrarians. +It was not until later on, however, that the effects of the round +robin were felt in headquarters at Manila; when that time came the +Ayuntamiento in the walled city was not a pleasant retreat for the +newspaper men who had dared. + +A week elapsed before Jane could find the opportunity to make +inquiries concerning the whereabouts of Graydon Bansemer. Her +thoughts had been of nothing else; her eagerness had been tempered +by the diffidence of the over-zealous. She and pretty Ethel Harbin +had made life endurable for the gay young officers who came over +on the ship; the pretty wives of certain captains and lieutenants +had small scope for their blandishments at close range. Flirtations +were hard to manage in space so small. The two girls were therefore +in a state of siege most of the time. The abject following fell +away perceptibly when the broader field of action on shore gave +their married sisters a chance to manoeuvre with some degree of +security. A faithful few remained in train, however. Ethel Harbin, +like the ingenue in the play, had each finger clumsily but tightly +wrapped with a breathing uniform of blue. It must be admitted in +shame, however, that she changed the bandages often and without +conscience or ceremony. + +Jane's admirers were in love with her. She was not the sort to +inspire idle fancies--either in married or unmarried men. In any +event, it looked a long time to these chaps before they could get +back to the States, and she was worth while. + +Perhaps her most, devoted admirer was Lieutenant Bray. Good-looking +and coming from an excellent Southern family, he was a great +favourite with all. Jane liked him better than any of the rest; +she would have liked him still better had he been able to resist +a tendency to boast of the stock from which he had sprung. The +knowledge of her disadvantages in life, the contrast between their +respective positions, all tended to emphasise the irony of fate; +and she often found herself wondering how this sprig of true +aristocracy would conduct himself if he discovered that, after all, +she was only a FOUNDLING. + +It was Lieutenant Bray who made inquiries at general headquarters +and found, after considerable trouble, that Graydon Bansemer's +company was in the north, subject to the requirements of Young, +chief of scouts. Irksome were the lazy summer months for Jane. +She tired of the attentions of men; she sickened with longing and +anxiety. Day after day she prayed that the troops in the north +might be relieved; she watched for the order that would call for +their return from the wet lands above. Sickness was prevalent among +the fighting corps; the wet season had undermined the health of +many. Constant news came down to Manila of the minor engagements, +and she looked at every report for news of Graydon. Colonel Harbin, +occasionally, had private advices from the north. She heard of +Graydon's bravery more than once and glowed with pride. Down in +her tired, anxious heart she was wondering if it were possible for +her to go to the front in any capacity. + +At last, with October, came the waning of the rainy season. +November brought active fighting. A general movement of the troops +was directed against Aguinaldo. In his prime, as a leader, he +controlled the north, and his capture was imperative. Lawton and +Young began operations on the right; McArthur on the centre; with +Wheaton pushing forward on the extreme left. The insurgents fell +back from Tarlac. There were many big fights at San Jacinto and +other places now famous in history. + +The Red Cross society held forth at Malolos, reaching gradually +into the country north. Sick and wounded men came into the hospitals +daily and in larger numbers than one would have supposed. The villages +or barrios all along the line of advance saw their convents turned +into hospitals; as fast as possible the nurses were hurried up +to them. Men and women in this noble service did heroic, faithful +work both for the white and the brown men who went down. From the +field hospitals the men were taken to the convents and treated +until they were able to be moved to Manila. + +Further north fled Aguinaldo and the Filipinos. Wheaton was ordered +to cut off his retreat; Young was killed; Cunningham took charge +of the scouts who scoured the country. Parties of ten or fifteen +picked men fell out in advance of the main body, seeking to +develop the enemy and his defences. These brave fellows attracted +the hidden fire of ambush, exposed themselves to all the treacheries +of warfare, and afterwards were mustered out with a kind word from +the department. They were the men who tested the territory. It was +with one of these scouting parties that Graydon Bansemer ventured +far into the enemy's country early in November. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE CHASE OF PILAR + + + + + +Gregorio Del Pilar, the picturesque Filipino leader, about whom +so much has been written in praise, by the war correspondents, was +leading his men back into the dangerfields, inviting the American +pursuers into every trap which his crafty brain could devise. +History tells of Pilar's call to arms. He was attending a great +ball in Dagupan, given in honour of his approaching nuptials. In +the midst of the festivities a messenger dashed in with the news +that the American troops were closing in on Tarlac, the insurgents' +seat of government. Pilar rushed from the ballroom and made his +way to the head of his command. His parting from the bride-to-be +is pathetically described by many of the writers who were in the +islands at the time. There was no more daring, romantic character +in all the Philippines than young Pilar. Educated, refined, clever +and attractive, he was a favourite with all, admired by friend and +foe alike. + +Captain Groce, with a company of infantry, was following him closely +and doggedly into the fastnesses far to the north. Village after +village was devastated by the white troops, always a few hours after +the wily Pilar had evacuated. Amigos laughed in their deceptive +sleeves at the Americans and misdirected them with impunity. In +eight cases out of ten the amigo wore arms underneath his garment +of friendship and slew in the dark whenever opportunity arose. +Graydon Bansemer was one of this doughty, eager company which blazed +the way into the hills. Close behind came the bigger and stronger +forces, with guns and horse, and the hospital corps. It was the +hunt of death for Aguinaldo and Pilar. + +Shortly after daybreak, one morning, a slim, black figure crept out +from among the trees and gave the countersign to the challenging +sentry. He was soon on his way to the Captain's headquarters +bearing news of importance. The brown-skinned scout had travelled +all night over a hazardous route, and he was more than welcome. He +brought news that Pilar's men were off to the east and the north, +well intrenched and prepared to fall upon the Americans when +they advanced blindly into the trap laid for them. The newspaper +men pricked up their ears, and at once looked to a box of carrier +pigeons which formed a most important part of their pilgrimage. A +fight was at hand, doubtless an important meeting of the clashing +forces. The whole army was waiting for intelligence of Pilar--waiting +with little less anxiety than that which attached itself to the +pursuit of Aguinaldo. + +Captain Groce ordered Sergeant Gonnell with a picked squad +to reconnoitre. They scurried off in advance of the company with +instructions to locate the elusive enemy, and open up the secret of +his position. Supposedly, Pilar was ten miles off among the rocky +foothills which guarded the pass through the mountains. As usual, +Bansemer was one of the scouts. He snatched his rations with the +others and went forth eagerly to court the danger and the excitement +that was promised. For days they had had no fighting worthy the name. +Amigos everywhere, villages peopled only by women and children, +treacherous peacefulness on every side; this had been their encounter: +an occasional rifle shot from the rice fields, a crackle of guns +far ahead, a prisoner or two who had not been quick enough in +transforming himself from combatant to friend, that was all. Now, +there seemed to be real fighting ahead. + +Pilar was known to have many men--good soldiers all of them. The +native scout gave close and accurate directions as to his position; +it remained for Connell's men to draw him out, if possible. Captain +Groce and the remainder of his eager company did not march until +long after the scouts were on their precarious way. + +Two hours after the party of eleven left the village, a Mauser +bullet from the clump of trees far to the right cut through the +hat of one of the scouts who was some distance in advance of his +fellows. As he saw the scout stoop to pick up his hat, Rogers turned +to the man nearest him and remarked: + +"They'll get him sure as shootin' some day if he hikes along in +that damn fool way." + +It was no new experience for the scouts to find the quarry gone +when they reached the place where they expected to find him. Pilar's +own scouts had found that the ambuscade was destined to fail of +its purpose, and the wily leader drew back into the more accessible +country. The scouting party did not come in sight of the little +brown soldiers. The occasional crack of a Mauser broke the silence +of the advance, keeping the Americans in active touch with the +dangers that surrounded them. + +They found the deserted trenches and signs of recent occupation. +The insurgents had been gone from the position less than two hours. +Treachery faced the little squad of Americans on every side, +but they did not falter. Connell scattered his men and they stole +carefully into the fastnesses, finding on all sides evidences of hasty +departure. Before noon they were far up in the hills, everywhere +met by the physical assurance that the enemy was not far ahead +of them. Behind them came Captain Groce and his men and the two +correspondents. + +Amigos along the mountain road gave information that was not worth +having. A deserted village showed signs of the passage and finally +there was proof ahead that Pilar had stopped to give battle. He +had reached his vantage ground. Connell and his men drew back and +waited. Nightfall came and with it the spiteful crack of the Mauser +rifle. A brawny trooper toppled over with a great hole in his head. +Pilar's pickets could see like cats in the night. The native scout +reported that the big village of Concepcion was not far ahead; +Pilar's men were making their stand before this rather important +stronghold. + +"We'll get a scrap that is a scrap, boys," said Connell, exultingly. +"These fellows are going to put up a fight, at last. They're like +bees up yonder. We've got to fall back on the company; if we don't, +they'll chew us up before the little captain can get to us." + +Too well did the men know the bellicose temperament of the big +Irishman to think of grumbling at such a command; yet, it was with +a certain reluctance which invariably accompanies a backward step +that the men retired to meet the advancing company. + +Young Bansemer in his khaki uniform was not the immaculate, debonnaire +man of the drawing-room. Service, though short, had been hard and +gruelling. His face was even handsomer with its rugged lines and +set features. He was thinner and browner; his eyes were clearer +and a darker grey; his hair seemed thicker and fairer than before; +his figure more erect and sinewy. The wistful look in his eyes +seemed to betray hunger for action; his ever-ready eagerness to be +on the move told of his strength and of his weakness. He had the +lean, active bearing of the panther and the restless daring of that +lithe animal. + +No man in the company had stood fire as valiantly as he. He courted +the whiz of the bullet, scoffed at the rigours of the march, and +instinctively was a good shot with the rifle. He bore no grudge +against the department at home; he had no grievance. + +The officers recognised in him a man of parts, a man of station far +above the position which he had chosen in the army. He was a source +of mystery to the men of his own rank in the line-the ploughboys, +the teamsters, the roustabouts, and the ne'erdowells who had gone +into the army from choice or discretion. At first they had called +him the "dude," and had laughed at his white hands and clean jaws. +His indifference to their taunts annoyed them. One day he knocked +down the biggest bully of the lot and walked away without even +waiting to see whether he could arise after the blow. He simply +glared at the next man who chaffed. It was enough. The company held +him in a new respect that forbade the reporting of the incident to +the officer of the day. + +Every night before he lay down to sleep, In the rice field or the +barrios, he took from his pocket a leather case and gazed at the +small portrait it sheltered. No one had been permitted to see him +in his devotions, for that was what he called these sacred moments. +His lean face, full of fierce energy all day long, softened as his +eyes devoured the dainty miniature. + +On meeting their company, Connell reported the situation ahead, +to his superior officer; orders were given for the men to bivouac +for the night in a small village close at hand. That evening Bansemer +was discovered leaning against the corner of a nipa shack some +distance from his comrades, smoking silently while they talked and +made merry behind him. He seldom joined in the ribald but suppressed +conversations of the men. + +"Have you fellows ever noticed that he don't get any letters from +the States-never seems to expect any?" asked Johnny Rogers, the +one-time foundry man, who sat watching him. Graydon had not been the +subject of conversation, but all knew whom Johnny meant by "he." + +"I've noticed that, too," said Joe Adams. + +"I got him sized up all right," said one of the Spurrier boys. "His +people don't know where he's at. That feller's a swell at home an' +he's had to skip out. I'll bet my breakfast his name ain't Bansemer. +An' if his people don't know where he's at, how in thunder can they +write to him? See what I mean?" + +"Think he's a bank cashier?" asked Sim Relander. + +"Naw; it ain't money, it's some girl. I know these swell guys," +said Rogers. "You're right about his people not knowin' where to +write. He's a mystery, that feller is. I'll tell what I think: +his folks have fired him out--won't recognise him. See? Disgraced +'em, an' all that. That's why he ain't expectin' nothin' from home. +He knows he won't get it." + +"I feel kind o' sorry for a feller like that," mused Tom Reagan. +"I had a brother that had to skip once." + +"That so? Did he ever come back?" + +"I s'd say not. He ducked for good. Mother had a letter from him +couple o' months before I left home. He was in Milwaukee." + +"Aw, this Bansemer's not that sort. He's made o' different stuff. +Milwaukee? Holy Moses, it's only eighty mile from Chicago!" + +"Gee, I'd like to have a glass o' the goods that made Milwaukee +famous," sighed Joe Adams. + +"I'd like a keg," said Jim Spurrier, with a wistful look in his +eyes. + +"S'pose we'll ever see a glass o' beer again?" asked the other +Spurrier, solemnly. + +"I'll bet Bansemer's wonderin' if he'll ever taste champagne again." + +"Ask him, Johnny." + +"Hey, Bansemer. I've got a riddle for you. What 'u'd you sooner +have right now than a bottle of champagne?" + +Graydon turned and sauntered slowly over to the group. He paused +for a moment in passing, a broad smile on his face. + +"A pail of beer," said he. + +"Good fer you!" shouted two or three vociferously. He strode off +to make ready for bed. + +"He's all right," exclaimed Sim Relander feelingly, as if that +laconic reply had been the only thing necessary to establish the +young man's social standing. + +"That feller's been out here only four months, an' I'll bet they +ain't any ten men in the Philippines what's had as many clost calls +as he's had," said Johnny Rogers. "I was thinkin' about it to-day. +He's had more narrow escapes in tight places than---" + +"Well, the darned fool rushes right into 'em, don't he? He ain't +got no sense. Nobody ought to git out where he can be shot at when +there ain't no need. Take that blamed fool trick o' his'n there +at Tarlac. When he went back all alone after the papers that Cap +Groce dropped. I'll bet he was shot at two hundred times." + +"Well, he didn't get hit, did he? If he gets hit good 'n' proper +once he won't be so keen about showin' off," growled one of the +men. + +"Depends on where he's hit. Then, there was that time when he dumb +the hill back yonder and turned the fire o' the gugus so's we could +get up into the pass. He makes me think o' Lawton. There's the boy +for me. If we had a few more generals like Lawton we'd put a crimp +in these niggers so quick it would look like a spasm." Having +delivered himself of this safe prophecy, Mr. Rogers glared about +him for opposition. None forthcoming, he proceeded, with a satisfied +snort, to refill his pipe. + +"Lawton's makin' history, and don't you forget it," observed Luke +Hardy. + +"He's from Indiana," piped up a homesick ploughboy from the Hoosier +State. + +"Then, it'll be a historical novel," said the gaunt young recruit +from Grand Rapids. He was a cynic who had tried newspaper work, +and who still maintained that the generals did not have as much +intelligence as the privates. + +"I'll never forget Bansemer when he first enlisted," reflected Joe +Adams. "He wanted to go out for a cold plunge and a morning stroll, +and then asked the sergeant where he could get a good riding horse. +He's not so keen about strolls these days." + +"He don't turn up his nose at things like he used to, either." + +"I don't see why the devil he keeps so clean," grumbled Adams. "I +can't." + +"I'll bet one thing," mused Rogers. "He'll be a captain or something +before this scrap is over." + +"He'll be a corpse, that's what he'll be." + +"It's my opinion he'd just as lief be shot as not," said Relander. +"The only trouble is that these measly niggers can't hit anything +they shoot at. If the darned fools would only try to miss him, +they'd get him sure. The devil and Tom Walker--what's that?" + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE FIGHT IN THE CONVENT + + + + + +"Halt! Who goes there!" + +A shot rang out in the stillness of the night; it was answered at +once by another closer in. More shots followed, gradually increasing +to a fusillade as the scouts and pickets came running back. Men +sprang up from the ground, but even as they did so another volley +reached them, and three men dropped with a groan and lay still. +The alarm sounded clear from the bugle and echoed back from the +surrounding hills. A sharp command came from the throat of the +sergeant; the company seized the stacked rifles. Captain Groce +gave another order; the formation to repel attack was made in an +incredibly short space of time. There was no disorder; no confusion. +The little officer was as cool as if on dress parade. + +"Steady, men! Wait until they're nearer!" They had not long to +wait. From all sides a horde of shouting, firing men were rushing +on the little square. "Steady, men!" was still his only command. + +Then, when it seemed almost a physical impossibility to restrain +their itching fingers from pulling the triggers, the longed for +word was given. + +"Here they are! Now, then, boys, fire!" + +Volley after volley rang out. The foremost of the enemy fell +at their feet. Hand to hand was the fighting; the bayonets lunged +with deadly effect, but seemed powerless to thrust the mass back +on itself. Men shot, hacked, stabbed and clubbed each other. It +was a whirl of uplifting and descending rifles and bolos. + +Fierce oaths vied with the shrieks of the wounded for supremacy. +The grunt of men who slaughter; the gasps of the victims when the +steel went home were heard on all sides. At times the soldiers +could not see on account of the sweat and blood pouring from their +faces; the very air was foul from the steam from the living and the +dead. They could not breathe; a sort of vertigo overpowered them, +and they only kept their feet by grappling with the enemy. + +To Bansemer, it seemed that all his life he had been doing nothing +but warding off and ring blows. Fighting side by side with Rogers, +he saw, with horror, that the soldier's rifle had been torn from +his hands, and that he had no weapon to defend himself; but before +he could see just how it happened, this individual combat had altered +its aspect: Rogers had grabbed a Filipino's gun and was doing the +clubbing. With renewed zest Bansemer finished with the bayonet +his own assailant, and saw the man fall on top of poor Adams and +Relander. + +Suddenly there was an exultant yell from the enemy. Instinctively +Bansemer knew that one side of the square had given way. Quickly +turning, he rushed to give his aid, and just in time caught the +arm of a native about to slash him with a huge knife. With the two +gripped hands high in the air struggling for mastery, the adversaries +became separated a bit from the rest of the chaotic mass of friend +and foe, swaying out to one side of the plaza, and under the walls +of a convent. Bansemer was facing it; and just at the moment that +he felt his strength giving way and could see a grin of triumph on +the fiendish face, there carne a flash and a report, and his adversary +fell at his feet. Glancing up to ascertain who had fired the shot +that had saved his life, he thought he saw a figure disappearing +from one of the windows. The incident acted as an inspiration. +Gathering together a few men, he reached the Captain's side and +communicated his plan. The opportunity was not to be lost. Groce +gave an order; Connell repeated it. Then interpreting a temporary +lull in the murderous struggle as their vantage, the men with a +cheer, and dragging the field piece, broke for the building; and by +bayoneting and clubbing the insurgents out of the way accomplished +the dash with slight loss. The soldiers hurled themselves against +the stoutly barred door; it fell with a crash. + +Guards were stationed and all openings and windows manned. Singularly +enough, these defensive actions seemed at least, temporarily +unnecessary, for the watchers peering out of the windows reported +that the dead alone occupied the recent field of battle. Not a +single Filipino was to be seen on the plaza. + +Every village has its convent or barrios. Generally speaking, their +size corresponds in a certain ratio with the population. But this +particular building was an exception. Dimly lighted, it gave the +impression of ranking in size with many of those in far larger +villages Immediately the thought came to the invaders that the church +might have sheltered the insurgent leaders. Aguinaldo or Filar +might have directed the attack from inside these walls. Orders were +given to search every corner and crevice to ferret out concealed +foes. A rear window was open, proving that flight could have been +by that means of egress. Bansemer was almost positive that the +bullet which had killed his assailant had come from one of the upper +windows, but whether from friend or foe, was undeterminable. Was +it possible that he had been mistaken? Had his eyes been so blinded +with the smoke of battle that they had played him false? Were they +not in a cunningly planned trap of some kind? + +Considerably perplexed, Bansemer decided to keep on his guard. He +was ruthlessly searching the chancel when a deep groan caught his +attention. Presently, as he paused to listen, a dark figure leaped +towards him from a recess back of the altar. The flash of a pistol +blinded him, and momentarily, a sharp pain shot through his arm; +but he recovered in time to throw his tall frame forward upon the +slight, almost indistinguishable figure. There was a short struggle, +and before his comrades could reach him his adversary was safely +pinned to the floor. A moment later the torches in the hands of his +friends were burning brightly above the figure of his captive--a +slender boy who choked with terror and rage. + +"Who the devil are you, my young friend?" asked Bansemer, holding +the boy at arm's length. + +There was no answer from the tightly closed lips; and Bansemer shook +him a little roughly. Then, for the first time, he perceived that +he was not a Filipino. His skin was dark, but not the skin of the +native; the handsome, boyish face had regular features, European +in character. + +"Spaniard?" inquired Bansemer, a trifle more gently; and again the +boy flashed a look of hatred into his captor's eyes. + +"Look here, my young spalpeen," said Connell, gruffly; "Filipino +or Spaniard, if you want to save your hide, you'd better answer +questions--and no lies, do you hear?" + +At this threat, a deep groan was heard to come from somewhere back +in the recesses of the chancel. The men were startled. Involuntarily, +the boy cast a furtive glance in that direction. Connell noticed +it, and leaving the boy with Bansemer, hurried away and soon was +looking down into the face of a prostrate man, young, but aged with +emaciation. + +"You must not touch him! Don't you see that he is dying?" cried +the boy piteously in broken English. "He cannot fight you--he's +dying;" and then, in a perfect frenzy of rage to Bansemer: "Let me +go--pig!" + +Not until afterwards did Bansemer recall that in the general +excitement it was the boy who dragged him along to the spot. And +in spite of the solemnity of the scene, there was something in his +manner of delivering the insult that amused rather than angered +the American. + +"Plucky little devil!" he said, half-aloud. + +Again the sick man groaned, tried to rise from the blankets and +speak, but only to fall back moaning. Connell cautioned him against +exertion and promised that no harm should come to either of them. +While he reported the discovery to Captain Groce, he had the man +carried to another part of the church and there made comfortable. +For the first time now, Bansemer began to notice the pain in his +arm. Somewhat angrily, he turned to the boy: + +"Come! Give an account of yourself! How came you here?" + +"Prisoners," was the sullen answer. + +"Of the Filipinos?" Bansemer asked, in surprise. + +"Yes." + +"Then why did you try to kill me?" + +"I hate you both! We Spaniards, have we not as much to fear from +you? What difference does colour make in brutes?" + +"By the holy apostles! you're a gritty, young 'un!" growled the +returning sergeant. "Who's the other chap?" + +"My brother--he's dying," said the boy, his voice softening. "Holy +Virgin, save him! For weeks, we've been in the hands of Aguinaldo's +men. He's been so ill, all the time; have you a doctor?" + +"A surgeon will probably be with us before long," was the sergeant's +evasive reply. + +Bansemer looked searchingly at Connell. What he saw in the other's +eyes caused him a sharp pang of grief. Both men turned their faces +away for a moment and it was with a gulp that Connell continued: + +"Your brother will have the best of care if we get out of this +mess. You are both safe. We are not fighting the Spaniards;" and +then, pertinently: "So these were Aguinaldo's men?" + +"Yes, he was here directing the fight," the boy answered. + +"Aguinaldo here!" This and other ejaculations of surprise and +anger burst in chorus from every throat; but as suddenly they were +followed by expressions of chagrin. For, by contrasting the present +situation with that which they had anticipated, this information +had succeeded in intensifying their mortification. + +But notwithstanding his share of the universal disappointment, +a hasty reflection of preceding events convinced Graydon that +personally he had little ground for complaint against the late +occupants of the convent. For unintentional as undoubtedly had +been the act through which at the very point of death his existence +had been preserved, there was no evidence to refute the hypothesis +that the shot which had killed his assailant in the plaza had been +fired by one of the insurgents under cover. + +"Great Scott!" was the exclamation to which he gave utterance. "Once +more, I suppose, I owe my life to the blundering marksmanship of +a Filipino!" + +This half-hearted acknowledgment of his strange indebtedness educed +from his companions no recognition other than a puzzled stare from +the sergeant and an enigmatical smile on the face of the young +Spaniard. Connell proceeded with his examination: + +"Why did they leave you here?" + +"They had no time to take us with them when you broke in," was the +boy's answer. "Aguinaldo was on his way to some village where his +family is in hiding. The scouts told him of your presence; then +he determined not to wait for Pilar, but to surprise you. We never +rested day or night. My poor brother--how he suffered!" + +"Yes, yes, but why are they carrying you on a march like this?" + +"My brother is the only man who knows where the Spanish gold was +hidden when our war was ended--I mean, the gold that came up with +guns and ammunition. Aguinaldo is looking for the hiding place. My +father, a high officer in the Spanish Army, died of the fever last +winter. We were stolen from our house in Manila by Aguinaldo's +men, and have been going from place to place ever since. We have +not told of the hiding place. The Americans do not need gold, no?" +The boy laughed sarcastically. + +"How many men has Aguinaldo?" + +"Three hundred or more. I would advise you to look out for Pilar. +He, too, may come at any moment." + +Scarcely had the words left his mouth when a storm of yells came +from outside the convent; and immediately the boy rushed to his +brother's side. + +"Great Caesar, there's a thousand of them!" cried Rogers. + +Instantly every man made for the position assigned to him. The gun +was in readiness. Outside, the Mausers rattled, bullets coming from +all quarters and thumping sharply against the opposite walls with +a patter that warned the Americans against standing erect. + +Occasionally, a scout would peep from a window and take a shot +into the darkness, but these ventures were few. All lights were +extinguished; the men fired at the spots from which burst the flames +of rifles, then dropped suddenly. After a while the firing of the +Filipinos dwindled into a shot now and them. + +"Keep low! They don't dare risk a charge! Be ready to defend the +door!" Captain Groce commanded. + +The night wore on, and, with the cessation of hostilities, confidence +increased. Reinforcements were not far off, and it did not seem +possible that the sounds of battle could not be heard. The men, +worn out by the exciting events of the day, were generally silent; +Sergeant Connell, however, was an exception. + +"Get us I Not a bit of it!" he was saying. "The dirty, little cowards! +Major March will be here in the shake of a dead lamb's tail." + +An hour later Bansemer, his rifle in hand, sitting near one of the +windows, suddenly felt someone tugging at his arm. Turning, he saw +the Spanish boy. + +"Won't you come and help me to carry my brother behind the stone +altar wall?" he was saying. "He is exposed to the bullets and cannot +move himself." + +"Willingly!" and Graydon followed his lead. As if he was a child, +he picked up the gaunt Spaniard and carefully bore him to the place +of shelter. But despite all that he could do to hide his suffering, +the pain in his arm, which the removal of the man had increased, +was such, for a moment, that he felt faint and staggered. The boy +was quick to notice it, and quickly asked: + +"What is the matter? Wounded?" + +"It's nothing--merely a scratch." + +"Oh, I know--why, it's your arm--and I---" The boy's face crimsoned +with shame and contrition. Through the semi-darkness the blush +escaped Graydon's notice, but not so the truly feminine, little +shriek of dismay, as he touched and felt the wet sleeve. + +"It was I who did it! Oh, how can you ever forgive me?" + +Graydon, dumbfounded, stared in wonder. + +"What?" he exclaimed; "you're a girl?" + +"Yes--I'm his sister," pointing to the dying man; then, with some +embarrassment: "These clothes? They are the only ones they would +give me. You see a girl would have been a burden; a boy none at +all. Do you think that had I been a man you could so easily have +overpowered me? No!" + +The slim, little figure drew itself up straight and defiant before +him. Despite the loose, ugly garments of the Filipinos, Graydon +noticed, for the first time, that the figure was perfectly moulded +and high-bred. She swept off the wide hat she wore, and the man saw +a mass of dark hair done up tightly on her head. But even while +he gazed her mood changed; she became subserviently anxious and +begged him to let her attend to his arm. She pleaded so hard that, +to please her, he yielded. Water was obtained from somewhere; the +slight flesh wound washed; and then, disappearing into the darkness, +to his amazement she returned almost instantly with some bandages +and dressed his arm. + +While this surgical operation was going on, Graydon, for the life +of him, could not resist the temptation to ask her again why she +had tried to shoot him. At first, so terribly in earnest did she +take the question and beg for mercy, that he smiled at her; and +then, seeing his amusement, she said, coquettishly: + +"How could I possibly have known that you were so nice? Besides, +I had always heard you Americans referred to as brutes." + +Graydon laughed, then suddenly his face became very grave. The +realisation of her terrible situation had dawned upon him. A woman +among a crowd of rough soldiers! Her brother and protector dying! +And all surrounded by hordes of savage enemies who at any moment +might kill them! The thought dismissed all pleasantry from his +mind. Something must be done, and at once. Presently, he asked: + +"What is your name?" + +"My father was Colonel Ramos Jose Velasquez; that also is +my brother's name, except that he is not an officer. I am Teresa +Fortune Velasquez. My mother was English--a sister of Sir William +Fortune. She is dead. For ten years we have lived in Manila." + +"You won't mind if I call the sergeant, will you?" + +The girl nodded a slightly bewildered assent as Graydon moved +rapidly towards the others. Shortly, he returned with the gallant +Irishman. + +"Senorita," began Connell, mopping his forehead and assuming his +most polite manner; "you are perfectly safe with us, and as quickly +as possible your brother and yourself shall be sent back to Manila. +You are a brave slip of a girl, and we boys respect bravery in +whatever dress--boy or girl." + +She looked at him in grateful surprise and her lips trembled. + +"But I am not your friend?" + +"Possibly, senorita;" he bowed low with almost Chesterfieldian +grace; "but we are your friends." + +Outside, once more the Mausers were rattling, and Connell, with a +word of parting hastily took his leave. Graydon, on the point of +returning to his post, was prevented by the girl. + +"You were gentle with me even when I tried to---Don't risk your life +there. Shoot from that narrow gate," pointing aloft; "it's not so +exposed." + +Bansemer dragged an altar chair up to the grated window and perched +himself upon it. The girl sat below him, holding her brother's head +in her lap. He was groaning and crying out to the soldiers to kill +him rather than permit him to fall into the hands of the natives +again. + +Suddenly there was a great commotion, and crashing of timbers in +the front part of the church, followed by shouts and the rushing +of feet. Graydon dropped from his perch and ran forth into the +chancel. As he did so the banging of rifles close at hand deafened +him. In an instant he saw what had happened. The Filipinos had +charged the door and had forced it. They were crowding their way +into the church in the face of the deadly Krag-Jorgensens. The +chapel was lighted, but not from the inside. Cunning insurgents, in +the shelter of the walls, were holding great torches just outside +of the windows. Graydon could see his comrades firing at the door +from behind every conceivable barrier. Without hesitation he dashed +down the aisle and into the thick of the fray near the door. + +The struggle was brief but fierce. The merciless fire of many Mausers +on the outside opened a way through the small band of defenders, +and the rush of the besiegers was successful. Through the door and +windows they came, swarming like bees. Many of them fell to rise +no more, but their comrades took an eye for an eye. Once confident +soldiers toppled over dead until but few were left. Bansemer led +them in a quick dash for the chancel, hoping that the enemy would +not dare attack a place so sacred. + +Captain Groce and other officers had fallen; Connell became the +leader of the remnant. Bansemer stood squarely in front of the +altar and blazed away at the horde of Filipinos as they advanced. +They shot at him wildly and without effect; bullets crashed into +the altar decorations behind him. He stood there as one protected +by God, unharmed in the shelter of the cross. + +Behind him his comrades cowered and cursed in their dread of certain +death. He heard the shrill cries of the girl urging him to protect +her brother. She was calling upon God and the Holy Virgin to aid +and shield him. And he stood there with a crazy joy in his heart, +savagely pulling the trigger of the Krag-Jorgensen. Finally the +hammer snapped with no report. As he turned back in consternation, +a small figure leaped to his side with a fresh weapon. + +He shouted a word of warning to her and wheeled again to confront +the foe. Even as he raised the gun a great shout arose above the +noise of conflict. There was a mighty rush, a new banging of guns, +a sudden stampede and--the chapel was filled with men in khaki! + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +TERESA VELASQUEZ + + + + + +Great was the disappointment of Major March and his men when +they found that neither Aguinaldo nor Pilar had fallen into their +hands. Although they had come just in time to prevent the complete +annihilation of the little company, the leaders had escaped with +the remnant of their surprised forces. Scores of Filipinos were +captured, dozens were killed and wounded. Eight of the dashing scouts +who went out with Jerry Connell gave up their lives in exchange +for the final victory. + +A small guard was left at the convent to care for the wounded, the +bulk of the command hurrying off at dawn to search for the routed +Filipinos. Graydon Bansemer was put in charge of the convent +guard. A surgeon and the application of "first aid to the injured" +principles soon transformed the convent into a well arranged +hospital. Uncle Sam's benevolence was also cheerfully extended to +the wounded Filipinos. The days of the "water cure" and "ungodly +butchery" had not yet come. + +Young Velasquez died soon after daybreak. He had been dying for days. +His sister's grief was pathetic in the extreme--aye, demoralising, +for it struck deep into the hearts of soldiers who had scoffed at +the life-blood of man, but could not brave the tears of a woman. + +Bansemer did all in his power to comfort and console her. It was +to him that she clung in her despair. He had been her captor; and +yet it had been he who stood forth in his might to defend her and +the loved one who was dead. At nightfall the dead were buried in +that far-off wilderness, their humble graves marked and recorded +before the time when the government could come to give other graves +in other lands to these who had given their lives. Velasquez was +laid beside the Americans. Teresa, a shivering, sobbing little +figure in the garb of an insurgent soldier, was supported by big +Graydon Bansemer. There was no service except the short army ritual; +there was no priest or pastor; there was but one real mourner--a +pretty, heart-broken girl who lay for hours beside the rude mound +on the hillside. + +Word came back at nightfall that the detachments were to form +a junction at one of the big villages westward in two days. The +instructions were that the wounded Filipinos should be left in the +village, where native women and doctors would care for them. + +"What in thunder are we to do with the girl?" was the question that +came from the officer in command. More than one man scratched his +head thoughtfully and looked toward the disturbing element that +had come into the army. She was sitting alone and disconsolate in +front of the church. + +"There's no way to send her back to her friends, and we can't leave +her here," said Bansemer. + +"But, gee whiz, we can't take her on a hike like this," protested +the sergeant. "She'll be in the way, and she'll give out, and all +that. Besides, what would we do with a woman around all the time?" + +"I fancy she can hike all right," said Graydon. "Major March wouldn't +expect us to leave her behind. That would be heartless." + +By the time the party and guides was ready to start on its forced +march, the opinion, unanimously expressed was that Teresa Velasquez +should go forward also, come what might. She had pleaded so hard +and so effectually that the men were fairly swept off their feet +in a storm of sympathy. + +"If she gives out we'll carry her," roared a deeply impressed young +man with long red whiskers. + +"And when we get up to the command we'll make them derned +correspondents take turn about walkin', so she can ride a pony all +the time. They've got no business ridin', anyhow." + +And so with rosy confidence in the fitness of things and a just +belief in the charity of Major March, the detachment marched out +into the hills, the ward of the company trudging bravely beside +the tall and envied Mr. Bansemer--who, by the way, aside from being +politely attentive, did not exhibit any undue signs of exaltation. + +The presence of a woman--and a very pretty one at that, with +a sadness in her eyes that was appealing--served only to send his +thoughts bounding back to the girl he had left behind. He grew more +and more morose and silent as the day wore on; at times the tired, +lonely girl at his side lagged and cast wondering, piteous glances +at him. Her woman's intuition told her that this man did not belong +where he was; it told her also that he had a secret and that one +of her sex was deeply involved. + +The events of the next two weeks are of small consequence in this +narrative, which deals not so much with the history and mystery of +the campaign in the fall of '99 as with the welfare and emotions +of a single soldier at the front. Aguinaldo and Pilar had become +refugees by this time, hunted and hounded from place to place with +relentless fervour. Pilar was somewhere in the hills with his men, +the pride of the insurgent forces; Aguinaldo's remnant had scurried +off in another direction, and General Tono was on the coast with +what was left of the scattered force. + +The net about Gregorio del Pilar was being drawn in and tightened. +The closing week in November saw him driven to the last extremity. +The tragedy of Tilad Pass was near at hand. + +Teresa Velasquez never faltered, never tired. She proved herself to +be no incumbrance. Day after day, the officer in command expected +the expedition which would take her back to Manila; forces came up +from the south, but none were ready to go back. + +She was an inspiration to the camp. Men who had forgotten their +manners completely brushed them up and danced attendance upon the +girl in the Filipino uniform. + +Every man prayed for opportunity to do brave deeds, and when +chance came she was permitted to witness heroism that savoured of +the boyhood malady known as "showing off." + +The reserved, but considerate Bansemer was her closest friend +and confidant. One evening, as they sat side by side watching the +preparations for supper, she turned suddenly and announced that +she knew he was dying of love for someone. He started and his hand +trembled. + +"Tell me about her," she commanded. There was a piquancy, a gay +impelling force in this girl that grief and hardship had not been +strong enough to conquer. Her hours of sadness were spent alone--hours +when she was supposed to sleep, but instead, lay awake and sobbed +without tears. + +"Nonsense!" said Graydon. "Why do you think that of me?" + +"Because everybody else thinks it," she said; "and because I am a +very wise person. The men are not so charitable as I, senor. They +say that you joined the army because of some woman whom you could +not marry. I agree with them, except that it is she who would not +marry you. Forgive me, if I have hurt you." + +Impulsively, she put her hand upon his, her dark eyes full of +pleading. The touch of her hand did not send a thrill through him; +such contact, however, caused the blood to tingle in the quick veins +of the girl. He merely sat and stared into space. After a moment, +she drew her hand away. + +"I am sorry," she said. + +"There is a girl, Teresa," he said shortly. + +"Yes, I know. Tell me about her." + +"I can't," he exclaimed, bitterly. He arose and walked quickly +away. Teresa's dark eyes followed him in pity and wonder, aye, +affection. Then she shook her head sadly and turned her attention +elsewhere--not piqued, much to her own amazement. + +Reinforcements came up two days later with the word that the +commander in chief expected the campaign against Pilar to end within +a week, and that hard fighting was ahead. The Red Cross people were +following hard upon the heels of the regiment and field hospitals +were to be established. This information was so suggestive of fierce +and final combat that the men felt their sluggish blood leap wildly +into life. + +Every man in the band of newcomers was singing the praises of +a wonderfully beautiful Red Cross nurse. The stories told of her +charms were varied, but none lacked enthusiasm. Some said she was +the daughter of a rich magnate come to do service in the cause of +humanity; others were sure she was a great and beautiful actress +who was sacrificing everything to conspicuous advertising. All, +however, were agreed in the praise of her noble beauty. + +The little detachment on guard turned up its collective nose and +proudly pointed to Teresa Velasquez. + +"Look at that," said Bob Spurrier. "Can she stack up with the +hiking queen? Our girl is real quality. She's no common American. +She's a grandee's daughter. There's royal blood in her. By thunder, +gentlemen, she's blood kin to little Alfonso." + +Teresa sought shelter from the curious though admiring eyes of the +fresh arrivals. + +"I don't like these new soldiers," she complained to Graydon. "I +wish they had not come. They talk of this beautiful nurse and they +laugh at me. Oh, I wish I had something else to wear." + +"Don't worry, little girl, you're worth ten nurses," said he. + +"Alas, though I am dressed as a man, I do not feel as bold as one," +she lamented. + +The next day reinforcements came up and the whole command advanced +upon Tilad Pass, where Pilar, at last, had been cornered. On +the second of December a desperate conflict took place. Pilar was +intrenched in the Pass near the celebrated rock known as El +Obispo--"the Bishop." His resistance for a time was valorous and +deadly. Corporal Parry saw him mount his horse behind the barricade, +six hundred yards away. Parry was the best marksman in the regiment, +and turning to his chief officer, asked if he should take a shot +at him. + +He fired and Pilar fell, face downward; and the Americans crushed +the little band of insurgents. Gregorio Del Pilar was dead. His +death in the great hills, after a most courageous battle against an +overwhelming force, brought to an end a life that would have been +worth much to the islands in after years. In his pockets were found +valuable papers, letters and keepsakes. The letters were from his +sweetheart, Dolores Jose, who lived at Dagupan, and they were tender +in the extreme. Her lace handkerchief rested over his heart. + +When the Americans, victorious and jubilant, fell back to camp, they +had no small number of wounded to turn over to the tender mercies +of the little company of Red Cross nurses and the surgeons. + +One of the most dangerously injured was Graydon Bansemer. He was +one of the first to cross the danger line; a Mauser ball from a +distant hill tore through his side, leaving an ugly gaping wound +that foretold certain death. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE BEAUTIFUL NURSE + + + + + +When the beautiful and mysterious nurse whose fame had gone up with +the soldiers into Tilad Pass, arrived with others to take charge +of the Red Cross hospital, on the day following the battle, she +found the man she had been longing to see for many weary, heartsick +months. She found him dying. + +To the surprise of the enthralled command, she fell in a dead swoon +when she looked upon the pallid face of Graydon Bansemer. She had +gone eagerly from one pallet to another, coming upon his near the +last. One glance was enough. His face had been in her mind for +months--just as she was seeing it now; she had lived in the horror +of finding him cold in death. + +It was Teresa Velasquez who first understood. She knew that +Bansemer's one woman had found him at last. Her heart leaped with +hatred for one brief instant, then turned soft and contrite. If she +had learned to care for the big American herself during the hard +days when he had been so tender, she also had learned that her +worship was hopeless. She had felt his yearning love for another; +now she was looking upon that other. While the attendants were +bending over their unconscious companion, the Spanish girl stood +guard over the man who had been her guardian, the man whose life +was going out before her miserable, exhausted eyes. + +Jane Cable stirred with returning life; Teresa was quick to see that +words not medicine would act as the restorative. She went swiftly +to the American girl's side and, clasping her hands, cried sharply +into her half conscious ears: + +"He is not dead! He is alive! He needs you!" + +The effect was magical. Life leaped into Jane's eyes, vigour into +her body. She recovered from the swoon as mysteriously as she had +succumbed to it. Her sudden breakdown had puzzled her companions. +It is true that she was new in the service; she had seen but little +of death and suffering; but, with all that, she was known to possess +remarkable strength of purpose and fortitude. That she should +collapse almost at the outset of her opportunities was the source +of wonder and no little contempt among her fellow workers. The +words of the strange girl in men's clothing opened the way to smart +surmises. It was not long before everyone in the command knew +that the "beautiful Red Cross nurse" was not wearing the garb of +the vocation for the sake of humanity alone--in fact, it was soon +understood that she did not care a straw for the rest of mankind +so long as Graydon Bansemer needed her ministrations. + +Ignoring the principles of the cause she served, she implored the +doctors to confine their efforts to one man among all of them who +suffered; she pleaded and stormed in turn, finally offering fabulous +bribes in support of her demands. For the time being, she was +half crazed with fear and dread, woefully unworthy of her station, +partially divorced from reason. + +The more desperately wounded were left in the village with an +adequate guard, the rest of the command departing with Major March. +A temporary hospital was established in the convent. There were +two doctors and four or five nurses, with a dozen soldiers under +command of Lieutenant Bray. It was while the apparently dead Bansemer +was being moved to the improvised hospital that Jane presented +herself, distraught with fear, to the young Southerner who had +so plainly shown his love for her. She pleaded with him to start +at once for Manila with the wounded, supporting her extraordinary +request with the opinion that they could not receive proper care +from the two young surgeons. Bray was surprised and distressed; he +could not misunderstand her motive. + +He had gone on caring for her without suspecting that there was +or had been another man; she had not confided in him during those +weary, pleasant months since they left San Francisco behind them. +To learn the true situation so suddenly and unexpectedly stunned +his sensibilities; he found difficulty in grasping the importance +of the change an hour or two had made. He had fought valiantly, +even exultantly, in the Pass that morning, her face ever before +him, her words of praise the best spoils of the victory, should +they win. He had come down to the village with joy and confidence +in his heart, only to find that he was not, and could never be, +anything to her, while the life or memory of this fallen comrade +stood as a barrier. + +Bray's hour following the discovery that she had deliberately sought +out and found this stricken private was the most bitter in his +life. His pride suffered a shock that appalled him; his unconscious +egotism, born of hereditary conquests, revolted against the thought +that his progress toward her heart was to be turned aside by the +intervention of a common soldier in the ranks. Gentleman though he +was, he could not subdue the feeling of exultation that came over +him when she approached with her plea. He knew that it was a base +sense of power that made him feel that he could punish his pride's +offender by either denying or granting her appeal. The attitude of +self-sacrifice appealed to his wounded vanity; he was tempted to +profit by an exhibition of his own pain and generosity. + +He went with her into the convent and to the pallet on which was +stretched the long, still figure of Graydon Bansemer. A surgeon +was standing near by, studying the grey face with thoughtful +eyes. Bray's first glance at the suffering face sent a thrill of +encouragement through his veins. The man was beyond all human help; +the grip of death was already upon his heart. + +Then, the true manhood that had been his, through all generations, +revolted against the thought that was in his mind. The man should +not die if it was in his power to prevent; no matter what the cost +to him, he would give his aid to her and hers. He tried to put +aside the feeling that death was certain--and very soon, at that; +he sought honestly to justify himself in the hope that Bansemer's +life could be saved, after all. + +"Leave me alone with the doctor, Miss Cable," he said. She was +kneeling beside the man on the cot. Without a word, but with a +dark appealing look into the Virginian's eyes, she arose and went +swiftly away. "What chance has this poor fellow, doctor?" + +"None whatever, sir. He'll be dead in an hour. I'm sorry, on her +account. Strange case. I've heard she belongs to a fine family in +the East. Poor devil, he's got an awful hole in his side." + +"Have you made a careful examination? Is it possible that no vital +spot has been touched?" + +"We haven't had time for a thorough examination; it was better +not to waste the time on him when there were others whom we have +a chance to save." + +"You will oblige me, doctor, by giving him the quickest and most +careful attention. There may be a chance. He is one of the bravest +men in the army. Don't let him die if there is a chance for him. +Miss--er--the nurse--has asked if he can be moved to-day." + +"No. But wait; I don't see why, if it will satisfy her. He will +die anyhow, so why not tell her that we will start south with him +to-morrow?" + +"It isn't fair. She should be told the truth." + +"He'd die, that's all--any way you put it." + +"You will make the examination?" + +"Yes, in--at once." + +"But you--you feel that it is hopeless?" + +"Certainly, sir." + +"I'm-I'm sorry," said Bray, walking away. The doctor looked after +him with a queer expression in his eyes and then called his confrere +to the pallet. + +Bray found Jane waiting for him outside the door; Teresa Velasquez +was standing beside her, holding her hand. + +"What does he say?" cried Jane, grey with anguish. + +"He cannot be moved. There is no--but little hope, Miss Cable. They +are to make another examination." + +"He must be saved! He must! Let me go to him now. I will help. I +will give my life to save his," she cried. Bray stood between her +and the door, his arms extended. + +"Don't go in now, I implore. Wait! There may be good news." + +"He is everything in the world to me!" she moaned. + +"Come with me," whispered Teresa. Bray looked at the Spanish girl, +and a new light broke in upon his understanding. What was this +refugee to Bansemer? The answer shot into his brain like a flash +and he turned cold. + +"Miss Cable, I think I understand your anxiety," he said, his voice +trembling. "Won't you let this young lady take you away for half +an hour or---" + +"But I am a nurse! Why should I be kept from him? I am here to care +for all of them," she protested. + +"You are not fit to do duty just now," he said. "Miss Cable, I +understand why you are here. It is noble of you. I am truly sorry +that there is so little hope." He was leading her away from the +building, leaving Teresa standing there with her eyes fastened +upon the door with a look that could not be mistaken. "I would give +my own life to have his spared for your sake, Jane. Forgive me. I +would willingly give all I have in life for you. But I am afraid +it is impossible to save him." + +"Don't say that," she whispered. + +"You--you would be his wife?" he asked. + +"No, that cannot be. I COULD not be his wife." + +"You mean--he is married?" + +"No, no! not that. You can't understand. I can never marry him--never!" + +Bray struggled for a moment with the puzzle; his eyes went slowly +to Teresa. Then he suddenly understood why Jane Cable would not +marry the man she had come to find. He asked no questions of himself, +but Teresa would have been the result of every conjecture had he +done so. + +"He might better be dead," he thought, his eyes hardening. "She's +found him out. Gad, I hope---" but he put it from him. + +Graydon Bansemer did not die within the hour, nor that day. The +careful examination of the surgeons gave little additional hope; +it did, however, reveal the fact that no vital organ had been +destroyed or injured. The ball had torn a great hole in his left +side and had gone through the body. Probing was not necessary. +The flow of blood was frightful. There was a spark of life left on +which to build a frail hope, and they worked with new interest. + +The attention of everyone was directed to this tragic struggle; the +efforts of all were lent to the successful end. Jane Cable, dogged +and tireless, came to be his nurse, now that the life thread still +held together. It is not the purpose of this narrative to dwell +upon the wretched, harrowing scenes and incidents of the wilderness +hospital. The misery of those who watched and waited for death; +the dread and suffering of those who gave this anxiety; the glow +of spiritual light which hovered above the forms of men who had +forgotten their God until now. + +The first night passed. There were sleepless eyes to keep company +with the faint moans and the scent of chloroform. Over the figure +of Graydon Bansemer hung the eager, tense face of Jane Cable. Her +will and mind were raised against the hand of death; down in her +soul she was crying! "You shall not die!" and he was living, living +on in spite of death. The still, white face gave back no sign of +life; a faint pulse and an almost imperceptible respiration told +of the unbroken thread. Hoping against hope! + +Dawn came, and night again, and still the almost breathless girl +urged her will against the inevitable. She had not slept, nor had +she eaten of the food they brought to her. Two persons, a soldier +and a girl, stood back and marvelled at her endurance and devotion; +the harassed surgeons, new in experience themselves, found time to +minister to the seeming dead man, their interest not only attracted +by his remarkable vitality but by the romance attached to his hope +of living. + +That night he moved, and a low moan came from his lips. The Goddess +of Good Luck had turned her face from the rest of the world for a +brief instant to smile upon this isolated supplicant for favour. +Jane's eyes and ears had served her well at last; she caught the +change in him and her will grasped the hope with more dogged tenacity +than before. The word went out that there was a chance for him. +Her vigil ended when Bray came to lead her away--ended because she +dropped from exhaustion. + +The next morning, after a dead sleep of hours, she returned to +his side. The surgeon smiled and the nurse clasped her hands with +tears in her eyes. Bansemer was breathing thickly and tossing in +delirium. It was as if he had been lifted from the grave. + +Lieutenant Bray was seated in front of the convent late that +evening, moodily studying his own emotions. Teresa, still attired +as she had been for weeks, hung about the chapel with the persistance +of a friendless dog. He watched her and pitied her, even as he +pitied himself for the wound he was nursing. What was to become of +her? He called her to him. + +"Senorita, they say he is better. Tell me, does it mean much to +you?" + +"Oh, senor, he has been noble and good and honourable. If he lives +I shall always hold these weeks with him in absolute reverence." + +"Then she does not understand?" + +"She? What is there for her to understand? She loves him and he +loves her. That is enough." + +"She says she will not marry him. There must be a reason." + +The girl's face darkened instantly and her breath came quickly. + +"You--you think that I am the reason? Is it so? Because I am here +in these hateful clothes? You would say that to me? How dare you!" + +She burst out with tears of rage and shame and fled from his sight. + +Jane came rapidly through the church door, out of the gloom and +odour into the warm sunshine and the green glow of the world, her +face bright, her eyes gleaming. + +"He is conscious!" she cried. "He knows me!" + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE SEPARATION OF HEARTS + + + + + +When Graydon Bansemer opened his eyes upon the world for the second +time--it was as if he had been born again--he looked up into the +eager, wistful face of Jane Cable. It was too much for her to expect +that he could see and understand at once; he would not know what +had gone before, nor why she was there. His feeble glance took in +her face with lifeless interest. Perhaps it was because he had seen +her in that death-like dream; perhaps his weakness kept him from +true realisation. In any event, he did no more than to allow the +flicker of a smile to come into his eyes before he closed them +again. Breathlessly, she waited for the lids to lift once more. +She uttered his name softly, tenderly, time and again. As if hearing +someone calling from a great distance, he moved and again looked +upward, the consciousness of pain in his grey eyes. This time he +stared hard at her; his eyes grew brighter and then darkened with +wonder. At last she saw the look of surprise and joy and relief +that she had been hungering for; he knew her and he was beginning +to understand. + +If he heard her while she knelt and thanked Ged for this first +great ray of hope, he gave forth no sign. When she turned her eyes +to his face again he was asleep. But she went forth into the day +with a song in her heart. + +She looked about for Teresa. The girl was gone, no one knew whither. +Bray alone could say that she had started toward the thicket. +He pointed out the direction, but did not offer to accompany Jane +when she hurried away to carry the good news to the Spanish girl +who had been her staunch helper during the long vigil. Bray shook +his puzzled head as he followed her with his gaze. It had come +to him suddenly that the Spanish girl was not the solution to the +puzzle, after all. + +Jane found the slim boyish figure lying on the ground, deep in the +wood. She had been crying and made no attempt to subdue her emotions +when the American girl came up to her; instead, she bitterly poured +out her woe into the ears of the other. She told her of Bray's +insult--as she termed his unfortunate speculation--and she told +how it came about. + +"I am a good girl, Miss Cable," she cried. "I am of a noble family-not +of the canaille. You do not believe it of me? No! He had no right +to accuse me. I was a prisoner; Senor Bansemer was my rescuer. I +loved him for it. See, I cannot help it, I cannot hide it from you. +But he is yours. I have no claim. I do not ask it. Oh!" and here +her voice rose to a wail of anguish, "can you not procure something +else for me to wear? These rags are intolerable. I hate them! I +cannot go back there unless I have---" + +"We can give you a few garments, dear," said Jane. "Come! You shall +wear the nurse's uniform. We are to start on the long march to the +coast to-morrow. They say that ALL of the wounded can be moved by +that time." + +It was three days, however, before the little company left the +village and began its slow, irksome march across the country toward +the coast where the ship was to pick up the wounded men and convey +them to Manila, Native carriers, cheerful amigos since the disaster +to Pilar, went forward with the stretchers, the hospital wagons +and guard following. Travelling was necessarily slow and the halts +were frequent. There were occasional shots from hidden riflemen, +but there were no casualties. Food had been scarce; the commissary +was thinly supplied for the hard trip. Lieutenant Bray grew strangely +morose and indifferent. He was taciturn, almost unfriendly in his +attitude toward everyone. + +The little company stopped to rest in a beautiful; valley, beside +the banks of a swift stream. He watched Jane as she moved away +from the stretcher which held Bansemer, following her to the edge +of the stream where she had come to gaze pensively into the future. + +"How is he?" he asked. She started and a warm glow came into her +cheek. + +"He is doing nicely. If he can bear up until we reach Manila, he +will surely live. Are we going as rapidly as we should, Lieutenant +Bray?" + +"Quite, Miss Cable. It isn't an easy march, you must: remember." +After a long silence, he suddenly remarked: "Miss Cable, I've +got a rather shameful confession to make. I've had some very base +thoughts to contend with. You may have guessed it or not, but I care +a great deal for you--more than for anyone else I've ever known. +You say he is to get well. For days I wished that he might die. +Don't look like that, please. I couldn't help it. I went so far, +at one stage, as to contemplate a delay in marching that might have +proved fatal to him. I thought of that way and others of which I +can't tell you. Thank God, I was man enough to put them away from +me! Wait, please! Let me finish. You have said you will not marry +him. I don't ask why you will not. I love you. Will you be my wife?" + +She stared at him with consternation in her eyes. He had gone on +so rapidly that she could not check his rapid speech. Her hand went +to her brow and a piteous smile tried to force itself to her lips. + +"I am sorry," she said at last. "I am sorry you have spoken to me +of it. I have felt for some time that you--you cared for me. No, +Lieutenant Bray, I cannot be your wife." + +"I know you love him," he said. + +"Yes, it is plain. I have not tried to hide it." + +"You must understand why I asked you to be my wife, knowing that +you love him. It was to hear it from your own lips, so that I would +not go through life with the feeling, after all, that it might +have been. Will you tell me the reason why you cannot marry him? +He must love you." + +"Lieutenant Bray, he would marry me to-morrow, I think, if I were +to consent. It isn't that. It would not be right for me to consent. +You profess to love me. I have seen it in your eyes--oh, I have +learned much of men in the past few months--and I determined, if +you ever asked me to marry you, to ask a question in return. Do +you really know who I am?" + +He looked his surprise. "Why, the daughter of David Cable, of +course." + +"No, I am not his daughter." + +"His stepdaughter?" + +"Not even that. You come from a proud Southern family. I do not +know who my parents were." + +"Good Heaven, you-you don't mean you were waif?" + +"A waif without a name, Lieutenant Bray. This is not self-abasement; +it is not the parading of misfortune. It is because you have made +the mistake of loving me. If you care less for me now than you did +before, you will spread this information throughout the army." + +"Believe me, I am not that sort." + +"Thank you. Knowing what you now do, could you ask me to be your +wife?" + +"Don't put it just that way," he stammered. + +"Ah, I see. It was a cruel question. And yet it proves that you do +not love as Graydon Bansemer loves." + +"Some day you may find out all about your parents and be happy. +You may have been abducted and---" he was saying, his face white +and wet. Somehow he felt that he was chastening himself. + +"Perhaps," she said quietly. "I might not have told you this had +not the story been printed in every newspaper in the States just +before I left. You see, I did not know it until just a few months +ago. I thought you might have read of me. I--I am so notorious." + +"Jane, dear Jane, you must not feel that way!" he cried, as she +started quickly away. "It's---" But she turned and motioned for +him to cease. There were tears in her eyes. He stood stock still. +"She's wonderful!" he said to himself, as she walked away. "Even +now, I believe I could--Pshaw! It ought not to make any difference! +If it wasn't for my family--What's in a name, anyway? A name---" +He started to answer his own question, but halted abruptly, squared +his shoulders and then with true Southern, military bearing strode +away, murmuring: + +"A name is something; yes, family is everything." + +Jane went at once to Graydon. His great grey eyes smiled a glad +welcome. She took his hand in hers and sat upon the ground beside +him, watching his face until they were ready to resume the journey. + +"Would it not be better if he were to die?" she found herself +wondering, with strange inconstancy to her purpose. "Why could it +not have been I instead of he? How hard it will be for us to live +after this. Dear, dear Graydon, if--if I only were different from +what I am." + +Not a word of his father's conduct toward her, not a word of blame +for the blow his father had struck. She held him to no account for +the baseness of that father; only did she hold herself unfit to be +his wife. All of the ignominy and shame fell to her lot, none to +the well-born son of the traducer. + +Fortune and strength went hand in hand for the next two days and +the famished, worn-out company came to the coast. The wounded men +were half-delirious once more for lack of proper attention, and the +hardships of travel. But the ill-wind had spent its force. Bray's +instructions were to place his charges on board ship at San Fernando +de Union, and then await further orders in the little coast town. +It meant good-bye to Jane, and that meant more to him than, he was +willing to admit, despite all that she had said to him. He went to +her when the ship was ready to leave port. + +"Good-bye!" he said. "I'm more grieved than I can tell you, because +I believe you think I am a cad." + +"Lieutenant Bray, a cad never would have helped me as you have +helped me, in spite of yourself. Good-bye!" + +He went out of her life in that moment. + +There were vexatious delays, however, before sailings Almost at the +last moment Jane was approached by Teresa Velasquez, now partly +dressed as a Red Cross nurse. The Spanish girl was nervous and +uneasy. Her dark eyes held two ever changing lights--one sombre, +the other bright and piercing. + +"I have decided to wait for the next ship," she announced briefly. + +"You are not going with us?" cried Jane in surprise and distress. +"What has happened?" + +"It is impossible; I cannot go with you. Pray do not ask for my +reason. Good-bye. Will you say good-bye to--to him for me?" + +Jane was silent for a long time, studying the eyes of the Spanish +girl. + +"I think I understand," she said at last, taking Teresa's hands in +hers. + +"It is better that it be ended here," said Teresa, "I have endured +it as long as I can. You have been good to me, and I want to say +good-bye while there is love for you in my heart. I am afraid to +stay near you--and him. Don't you see? I cannot go on in this way." + +"Oh, Teresa!" + +"Yes, yes, I know it is wrong, but how can I help it? I've loved +him ever since I first saw him--saved his life." Jane was astounded. +The thrust pierced her to the quick. + +"Saved his life?" + +"Yes, though he does not know it. It was when we were prisoners of +the Filipinos. My poor brother was dying. From the convent Aguinaldo +and his men were watching and directing the fight on the plaza. +They paid no attention to me--a girl. The noise of the fighting +men was terrible, and I climbed up to a window where I could see. +Suddenly, below me, I saw two men fighting apart from the struggling +mass. In an instant it flashed through my mind that the Filipino +was overpowering the other--was going to kill him. Although I hated +them equally, there was something in the young soldier's face--I +could not see him murdered. I seized a pistol that was lying near +me and fired; the Filipino fell. In terror of the deed and fear +of discovery, I ran to my brother. In a moment the Americans broke +into the convent. You know the rest." + +Jane was suffering the keenest pangs of jealousy, and asked, +excitedly: + +"You--you did that?" + +"And finally, when I had learned to care for him and he was wounded, +to have been denied the right of nursing him back to life--my place +usurped by you. Surely, I have as much to be proud of as you and +I love him a great deal more!" + +"As much to be proud of---" Jane was saying, for the moment all +the warmth gone from her voice, the flame from her cheeks; but her +meaning could not have been understood by the other who proudly, +defiantly tossed back her head. Beautiful indeed was this +brown-skinned, black-eyed girl, as she stood there pleading her +rights to an unrequited love--a heart already tenanted by another, +and that other, the woman before her. + +"Now, can you imagine," the girl went on, "how it has hurt me to +see you caring for him, to see his eyes forever searching for you? +No?" They were silent a moment. A wistful look was in her eyes now, +and her voice unmistakably reconcilable when she resumed: "Ah, he +was so good and true when I was alone with them--before you came! I +pray God, now, that he may be well and that you may make him happy." + +"Alas, I am afraid that can never be! You cannot understand, and +I cannot explain." + +"Your family objects because he is poor and a common soldier? Yes?" +She laughed bitterly, a green light in her eyes. "If it were I, no +one could keep me from belonging to him--I would---" + +"Don't! Don't say it! You don't understand!" Jane reiterated. + +"Dios, how I loved him! I would have gone through my whole life +with him! He must have known it, too." + +"He was true to me," said Jane, her figure straightening involuntarily, +a new gleam in her eyes. + +"Ah, you are lucky, senorita! I love you, and I could hate you so +easily! Go! Go! Take him with you and give him life! Forget me as +I shall forget you both!" And impulsively taking from round her +neck an Agnus Dei which she was wearing, she placed it in Jane's +hands, and added: "Give this to him, please, and do not forget to +tell him that I sent good-bye and good luck." + +Jane would have kissed her had not the blazing eyes of the other +forbade. They merely clasped hands, and Teresa turned away. + +"My uncle lives in Manila. He will take me to Madrid. We cannot +live here with these pigs of Americans about us," she said shortly. +A moment later she was lost in the crowd. + +Jane's heart was heavy when the ship moved away. Her eyes searched +through the throng for the slight figure of the girl who had +abandoned a lost cause. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +"IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU" + + + + + +Jane had been a nurse in the Red Cross society for a little more +than six weeks. She was inexperienced but willing and there was +such urgent need for nurses that the army accepted any and all who +seemed capable of development under the training of experts. There +had been tremendous opposition on the part of the Harbins, but in +the end, finding her unalterably determined, the colonel permitted +her to go out in the service. She was sent forth on the special +expedition in the wake of Major March's forces, her secret desire +being to be near Graydon Bansemer in event of his injury. She +gave no heed to their protest that the name of Bansemer should be +hateful to her; she ignored the ugly remarks of her aunt and the +angry reproaches of the colonel. It was more the spirit of spite +than any other motive which at last compelled him to accept the +situation; he even went so far as to growl to his wife: "Cursed +good riddance, that's what I say. I didn't want her to come in the +first place." + +But when, after a month, she brought Bansemer back to the city, +wounded almost to death, the heart, of the soldier was touched. It +was Colonel Harbin who wrestled with the hospital authorities and, +after two or three days, had her installed regularly as a nurse +for Bansemer, a concession not willingly granted. Those days were +like years to her. She was thin and worn when she came down from +the north, but she was haggard with anxiety and despair when the +two days of suspense were ended. + +Ethel Harbin was her ablest ally. This rather lawless young person +laid aside the hearts with which she was toying and bent her every +endeavour to the cause of romance. It was not long before every +young officer in the city was more or less interested in the welfare +of Graydon Bansemer. She threw a fine cloak of mystery about the +"millionaire's son" and the great devotion of her cousin, The youth +of the army followed Ethel to and from the hospital for days and +days; without Ethel it is quite doubtful if anybody could have known +what a monstrous important personage Private Bansemer really was. + +At the end of a fortnight he was able to sit up and converse with +his nurse and the occasional Ethel, Dr. G---, chief of the ward, +remarked to Colonel Harbin: + +"He'll get well, of course. He can't help it. I never knew before +what society could do for a fellow. He's got a society nurse and +he is visited by a society despot. It beats Christian Science all +to pieces." + +"Do you think he will be able to do any more fighting? Will he be +strong enough?" + +"I don't see why. The government won't let him do it, that's all. +He can claim a pension and get out of service with an honourable +discharge--and maybe a medal. He'll be strong enough, however. That +fellow could go on a hike inside of a month." + +"I suppose we'll all be going home before long. This war is about +over," growled Harbin. + +"No sirree! We'll be fighting these fellows for ten years. Ah, +there's your daughter, Colonel. Good-day." + +With the first returning strength, freed from lassitude and stupor, +Graydon began whispering joyous words of love to Jane. His eyes +were bright with the gladness that his pain had brought. She checked +his weak outbursts at first, but before many days had passed she was +obliged to resort to a firmness that shocked him into a resentful +silence. She was even harsh in her command. It cut her to the quick +to hurt him, but she was steeling herself against the future. + +When he was able to walk out in the grounds, she withdrew farther +into the background of their daily life. He hungered for her, +but she began to avoid him with a strange aloofness that brought +starvation to his heart. While she was ever attentive to his wants, +her smile lacked the tenderness he had known in the days of danger, +and her face was strangely sombre and white. + +"Jane," he said to her one day as he came in from his walk and +laid down his crutches, "this can't go on any longer. What is the +matter? Don't you love me--not at all?" + +She stood straight and serious before him, white to the lips, her +heart as cold as ice. + +"I love you, Graydon, with all my soul. I shall always love you. +Please, please, don't ask any more of me. You understand, don't you? +We cannot be as we once were--never. That is ended. But, you--you +must know that I love you." + +"It is sheer madness, dearest, to take that attitude. What else in +the world matters so long as we love one another? I felt at first +that I could not ask you to be my wife after what my father did +that night. That was as silly of me as this is of you. I did not +contend long against my love. You have never been out of my mind, +night or day. I was tempted more than once to desert-but that was +impossible, you know. It was the terrible eagerness to go back to +you and compel you to be mine. My father did you a grave wrong. +He---" + +"But my father did me a graver wrong, Graydon. I have thought it +all out. I have no right to be alive, so what right have I to be +any man's wife?" + +"Nonsense, dearest. You are alive, and you live for me, as I do +for you. You have saved my life; you must save my love. These last +few weeks have knit our lives together so completely that neither +of us has the right to change God's evident purpose. I love you +for yourself, Jane. That is enough. There has not been an instant +in which I have felt that any circumstance could alter my hope to +marry you. You say; you have no name. You forget that you may have +mine, dearest--and it is not much to be proud of, I fear, in the +light of certain things. You must be my wife, Jane." + +"I cannot, Graydon. That is final. Don't! Don't plead, dear. It +will not avail. Look into my eyes. Don't you see that I mean it, +Graydon?" + +"By Heaven, Jane, your eyes are lying to me. You can't mean what +is back of them. It's cruel--it's wrong." + +"Hush! you must not become excited. You are far from strong, and +I am still your nurse. Be---" + +"You are my life--you are everything. I can't give you up It's +ridiculous to take this stand. Be sensible. Look at it from my +point of view." + +"There is only one point of view and love has nothing to do with +it. Come, let us talk of something else. Have you heard from +your--your father? Does he know you've been injured?" + +He looked long into her tense face and then muttered, with the +sullen despair of the sick: "I don't know. I've had no word from +anyone." + +"The despatches have doubtless given your name. One of the Chicago +correspondents was talking about you recently. Your father will +surely write to you now." + +"Are you eager to have him do so? I should think you'd hate his +name. I can't help caring for dad, Jane. I tried to curse him one +time, but he really has been good to me. I don't see how he can +have done the things they say he's done." + +"There may be a mistake." + +"That's good of you, dear, but you forget your mother's statements +and all that Rigby says--all that. Oh, I've gone over all of it, +and I am convinced. I wonder what has become of him. He was afraid +of--of--well, there was talk of an arrest before I left. I have not +looked at a newspaper since I saw the headlines that awful morning. +God, how they must have hurt you!" + +"I, too, have not looked at a newspaper since then, Graydon," she +said simply. He smiled wearily and there was response in her eyes. + +He took her hand in his and they sat silently side by side on the +bench for half an hour, their thoughts far away but of one another. + +"Graydon," she said at last, "are you going to remain in the army?" + +"No, I am through with it. My discharge is to be recommended. I'm +disabled." + +"You will be as strong as ever, dear." + +"Do you want me to stick to the army? I am only a private." + +"You can do greater things out in the world, I know. You will be +a great man if you don't lose heart, Graydon." + +"I can't be a soldier, dear, and support a wife on the pay I get," +he said with a smile. + +"You shouldn't marry," + +"But I am going to marry," he said. + +"I have decided to become a nurse. It is my intention to give my +whole life to---" + +"The Red Cross?" + +"No. The hospitals at home--the hospitals for the poor and homeless." + +Ethel Harbin was coming through the grounds toward them. Her face +was clouded by a dark frown and she was visibly excited. + +"It's all off," she announced as she came up. + +"Where is the usual hero?" asked Graydon. + +"I'm through with the real army. They've dismissed me. That is father +and mother have. They are driving me into the Salvation Army," she +exclaimed, seating herself beside Graydon. "I wish I were Jane and +my own mistress." + +"Dear me, Ethel, what an ambition!" said Jane. "What has happened +to upset you so?" + +"Father has." + +"I should have asked who, not what." + +"I suppose they expect me to marry a Salvation Army man. They say +Harry isn't good enough. I think he is a very moral young man." + +"Harry? Who is Harry?" + +"Why, haven't you heard? Harry Soper. I'm engaged to him." + +"The lieutenant?" + +"Certainly. He's going to be promoted, though, if he ever gets on +the firing line. It's not his fault that he has to do duty in the +walled city. He's aching to get out and fight. But father---" Here +she paused, her lips coming together with a firmness that boded +ill. + +"Colonel Harbin doesn't approve?" + +"No--he says Harry is a 'little pup.' It's outrageous, Jane." + +"Don't cry, dear. The world is full of men." + +"Not for me," said Ethel dolefully. "I've picked Harry out of a +hundred or more and I think my discrimination ought to be considered. +I'm the one to be satisfied. Father has no---" + +"But how about that young fellow back in New York? You used to say +he was the only one." + +"He is the only one in New York. But look how far off he is! It +takes weeks for his letters to get to me." + +"But he writes every day." + +"Harry telephones every day. I tell you, Jane, the voice has a good +deal to do with it. You like to HEAR a fellow say nice things. It +beats ink all to pieces. It will go hard with him, perhaps, but +he's young. He'll get over it." + +"You are young, too. That is why you have gotten over George." + +"I'm not as young as I was. But I've decided on Harry. If father +doesn't let us get married right away, I'm liable to get over +him, too. It's silly doing that all the time; one might never get +married, you know. But father is firm. He says I can't, and he +says he'll kick Harry into the middle of next summer. Father says +I shall not marry into the regular army. He says they don't make +good husbands. I've got the joke on him, though. He appealed to +mother, and she forgot herself and said the same thing. They were +quarrelling about it when I left the hotel. It was an awful jar to +father. For two cents I'd elope with Harry." + +"It would be pretty difficult for an officer on duty to elope, +don't you think?" asked Graydon, amused. + +"Not if he loved the girl. He does, too. But I haven't told you +the worst. Mother says I am being absolutely spoiled out here in +Manila, and she says flatly, that she's going to take me back to +the States. Isn't it awful?" + +"Back to the fellow in New York?" smiled Jane encouragingly. + +Ethel thought for a moment and a dear little smile came into her +troubled eyes. + +"I hope he hasn't gone and fallen in love with some other girl," +she said. + +It was true, as Jane soon learned, that Mrs. Harbin had concluded +to return to the United States with Ethel. Jane's aunt had grown +immeasurably tired of Manila--and perhaps a little more tired of the +Colonel. It was she who aroused the Colonel's antipathy to little +Lieutenant Soper. She dwelt upon the dire misfortune that was +possible if Ethel continued to bask in the society of "those young +ninnies." The Colonel developed a towering rage and a great fear +that Ethel might become fatally contaminated before she could +be whisked off of the island. It was decided that Mrs. Harbin and +Ethel should return to the United States soon after the first of +March, to take up their residence in New York City. + +"Mother wants to be a soldier's widow--on parole," sniffed Ethel, +almost audibly enough for her father's ears. + +Mrs. Harbin at once informed Jane that she was expected to return +with them. She demurred at first, purely for the sake of appearances, +but in the end agreed to tender her resignation to the Red Cross +society. The knowledge that Graydon Bansemer's discharge was soon +forthcoming and that he intended to return to America in the spring +had more to do with this decision than she was willing to admit. +She therefore announced her ambition to become a trained nurse and +gave no heed to Mrs. Harbin's insinuating smile. + +Letters, of late, from Mrs. Cable, had been urging her to return to +Chicago; David Cable was far from well--breaking fast--and he was +wearing out his heart in silent longing for her return. He wrote to +her himself that he expected to retire from active business early +in the year, and that his time and fortune from that day on would +be devoted to his family. He held out attractive visions of travel, +of residence abroad, of endless pleasure which they could enjoy +together. + +Jane had written to them that she would not live in Chicago--any +place else in the world, she said--and they understood. There was +no word of James Bansemer in all these letters. She was always +daughter to them and they were father and mother. + +Graydon Bansemer one day received three letters--all from Chicago. +He knew the handwriting on the envelope of each. Three men had +written to him, his father, Elias Droom, and Rigby. A dark scowl +came over his face as he looked at the Rigby envelope. It was the +first letter that he opened and read. Jane was sitting near by +watching the expression on his face. + +"It's from Rigby," he said as he finished. + +"What does he say?" she asked anxiously. + +"He says he is my devoted friend for life," replied Graydon bitterly. +"I can't forget, though, Jane. He is not the sort of friend I want." + +"He thought it was for the best, Graydon." + +"Yes, and he may have thought he was my friend, too. This letter +says as much. But I like an enemy better, dear. You know what to +expect of an enemy at all times. Here's one from Elias Droom--old +Elias." Droom scrawled a few words of cheer to the young soldier, +urging him not to re-enlist, but to come home, at the end of +his two years. He enclosed a letter from Mr. Clegg, in which that +gentleman promised to put Graydon in charge of their New York office, +if he would take the place. This news sent his spirits bounding. +Tears of a gratefulness he never expected to feel sprang to his +eyes. Jane's happiness was a reflection of his own. + +James Bansemer's letter was not read aloud to Jane. When he had +finished the perusal of the long epistle he folded it and stuck +it away in his pocket. His eyes seemed a bit wistful and his face +drawn, but there was no word to let her know what had been written +by the man who had denounced her. + +"He is well," was all he said. He did not tell her that his father +had urged him to go into business in the Philippines, saying that +he would provide ample means with which to begin and carry on any +enterprise he cared to exploit. One paragraph cut Graydon to the +quick: + +"I'd advise you to steer clear of Chicago. If they don't kill you +in the Philippines, you're better off there. They hate us here." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +HOMEWARD BOUND + + + + + +Early in March a great transport sailed from Manila Bay, laden with +sick and disabled soldiers--the lame, the healthless and the mad. +It was not a merry shipload, although hundreds were rejoicing in the +escape from the hardships of life in the islands. Graydon Bansemer +was among them, weak and distrustful of his own future--albeit +a medal of honour and the prospect of an excellent position were +ahead of him. His discharge was assured. He had served his country +briefly, but well, and he was not loath to rest on his insignificant +laurels and to respect the memory of the impulse which had driven +him into service. In his heart he felt that time would make him as +strong as ever, despite the ugly scar in his side. It was a question +with him, however, whether time could revive the ambition that had +been smothered during the first days of despair. He looked ahead +with keen inquiry, speculating on the uncertain whirl of fortune's +wheel. + +Jane was obduracy itself in respect to his pleadings. A certain +light in her eyes had, at last, brought conviction to his soul. He +began to fear--with a mighty pain--that she would not retreat from +the stand she had taken. + +She went on board with Mrs. Harbin and Ethel. There were other +wives on board who had found temporary release from irksome but +voluntary enlistment. Jane's resignation from the Red Cross society +deprived her of the privileges which would have permitted her to +see much of Graydon. They were kept separated by the transport's +regulations; he was a common soldier, she of the officer's mess. +The restrictions were cruel and relentless. They saw but little of +one another during the thirty days; but their thoughts were busy +with the days to come. Graydon grew stronger and more confident +as the ship forged nearer to the Golden Gate; Jane more wistful +and resigned to the new purpose which was to give life another +colouring, if possible. They were but one day out from San Francisco +when he found the opportunity to converse with her as she passed +through the quarters of the luckless ones. + +"Jane, I won't take no for an answer this time," he whispered +eagerly; "you must consent. Do you want to ruin both of our lives?" + +"Why will you persist, Graydon? You know I cannot--" + +"You can. Consider me as well as yourself. I want you. Isn't that +enough? You can't ask for more love than I will give. To-morrow +we'll be on shore. I have many things to do before I am at liberty +to go my way. Won't you wait for me? It won't be long. We can be +married in San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Cable are to meet you. Tell +them, dearest, that you want to go home with me. The home won't be +in Chicago; but it will be home just the same." + +"Dear Graydon, I am sorry--I am heartsick. But I cannot--I dare +not." + +Graydon Bansemer was a man as well as a lover. He gave utterance +to a perfectly man-like expression, coming from the bottom of his +tried soul: + +"It's damned nonsense, Jane!" He said it so feelingly that she +smiled even as she shook her head and moved away. "I'll see you +to-morrow on shore?" he called, repentant and anxious. + +"Yes!" + +The next day they landed. Graydon waved an anxious farewell to +her as he was hurried off with the lame, the halt, and the blind. +He saw David Cable and his wife on the pier and, in spite of +himself, he could not repel an eager, half-fearful glance through +the crowd of faces. Although he did not expect his father to meet +him, he dreaded the thought that he might be there, after all. To +his surprise, as he stood waiting with his comrades, he saw David +Cable turn suddenly, and, after a moment's hesitation, wave his +hand to him, the utmost friendship in his now haggard face. His +heart thumped joyously at this sign of amity. + +As the soldiers moved away, Cable paused and looked after him, a +grim though compassionate expression in his eyes. He and Jane were +ready to confront the customs officers. + +"I wonder if he knows about his father," mused he. Jane caught her +breath and looked at him with something like terror in her eyes. +He abruptly changed the subject, deploring his lapse into the past +from which they were trying to shield her. + +The following morning Graydon received a note from Cable, a frank +but carefully worded message, in which he was invited to take the +trip East in the private car of the President of the Pacific, Lakes +& Atlantic. Mrs. Cable joined her husband in the invitation; one of +the sore spots in Graydon's conscience was healed by this exhibition +of kindness. Moreover, Cable stated that his party would delay +departure until Graydon's papers were passed upon and he was free +from red tape restrictions. + +The young man, on landing, sent telegrams to his father and Elias +Droom, the latter having asked him to notify him as soon as he +reached San Francisco. Graydon was not a little puzzled by the fact +that the old clerk seemed strangely at variance with his father, +in respect to the future. In both telegrams, he announced that he +would start East as soon as possible. + +There was a letter from Droom awaiting him at headquarters. It was +brief, but it specifically urged him to accept the place proposed +by Mr. Clegg, and reiterated his pressing command to the young man +to stop for a few days in Chicago. In broad and characteristically +uncouth sentences, he assured him that while the city held no +grudge against him, and that the young men would welcome him with +open arms--his groundless fears to the contrary--he would advise +him to choose New York. There was one rather sentimental allusion +to "old Broadway" and another to "Grennitch," as he wrote it. In +conclusion, he asked him to come to the office, which was still in +the U----Building, adding that if he wished to avoid the newspaper +men he could find seclusion at the old rooms in Wells Street. +"Your father," he said, "has given up his apartment and has taken +lodgings. I doubt very much if he will be willing to share them +with you, in view of the position he has assumed in regard to your +future; although he says you may always call upon him for pecuniary +assistance." A draft for five hundred dollars was enclosed with +the letter. + +Graydon was relieved to find that there would be no irksome delay +attending his official discharge. When he walked out a "free man," +as he called it, a gentlemanly pension attorney locked arms with +him, and hung on like a leech, until the irritated soldier shook +him off with less consideration than vigour. + +He went directly to the Palace Hotel, where he knew the Cables were +stopping. David Cable came down in response to his card. The two +men shook hands, each eyeing the other inquiringly for an instant. + +"I want you to understand, Graydon, that I am your friend. Nothing +has altered my esteem for you." + +"Thank you, Mr. Cable. I hardly expected it." + +"I don't see why, my boy. But, we'll let all that pass. Mrs. Cable +wants to see you." + +"Before we go any farther I want to make myself clear to you. I +still hope to marry Jane. She says she cannot become my wife. You +understand why, sir. I only want to tell you that her objections +are not objections to me. She is Jane and I love her, sir, because +she is." + +"I hope you can win her over, Graydon. She seems determined, +however, and she is unhappy. You can't blame her, either. If there +were base or common blood in her, it wouldn't make much difference +to her pride. But she's made of other material. She's serious about +it and I am sensible enough to get her point of view. She wouldn't +want to marry you with the prospect of an eternal shadow that +neither of you could get off of your minds. I sometimes wish that +I knew who were her parents." + +"It doesn't matter, so far as I am concerned." + +"I know, my boy, but she is thinking of the heritage that comes +down from her mother to her. You'll never know how it hurt me to +find that I had no daughter. It hurts her worse a thousandfold to +learn that she has no mother. I trust it may not happen that you +will lose her as a wife." + +"If I really thought I couldn't win her, sir, it would ruin my +ambition in life. She loves me, I'm sure." + +"By the way, Clegg tells me he has offered you the New York office. +It is a splendid chance for you. You will take it, of course." + +"I expect to talk it over with Mr. Clegg when I get to Chicago." + +"Come up to our apartments. Oh, pardon me, Graydon, I want to ask +you if you have sufficient money to carry you through? I know the +pay of a private is not great--" + +"Thank you. I have saved nearly all of it. My father has sent me +a draft for five hundred. I don't expect to use it, of course." + +"Your father?" asked Cable, with a quick, searching look. + +"And then I did save something in Chicago, strange as it may seem," +said Bansemer, with a smile. "I have a few of your five per cents. +I trust the road is all right?" + +The Cables left San Francisco on the following day, accompanied by +the Harbins and Graydon Bansemer. There was no mistaking the joy +which lay under restraint in the faces and attitude of the Cables. +David Cable had grown younger and less grey, it seemed, and his +wife was glowing with a new and subdued happiness. Graydon, sitting +with the excited Ethel--who was rejoicing in the prospect of New +York and the other young man--studied the faces of the three people +who sat at the other end of the coach. + +Time had wrought its penalties. Cable was thin and his face had +lost its virility, but not its power. His eyes never left the face +of Jane, who was talking in an earnest, impassioned manner, as was +her wont in these days. Frances Cable's face was a study in transition. +She had lost the colour and vivacity of a year ago, although the +change was not apparent to the casual observer. Graydon could see +that she had suffered in many ways. The keen, eager appeal for +appreciation was gone from her eyes; in its stead was the appeal +for love and contentedness. Happiness, now struggling against the +smarting of a sober pain, was giving a sweetness to her eyes that +had been lost in the ambitious glitter of other days. Ethel bored +him--a most unusual condition. He longed to be under the tender, +quieting influences at the opposite end of the car. He even resented +his temporary exile. + +"Jane," Cable was saying with gentle insistence; "it is not just +to him. He loves you and you are not doing the right thing by him." + +"You'll find I am right in the end," she said stubbornly. + +"I can't bear the thought of your going out as a trained nurse, +dear," protested Frances Cable. "There is no necessity. You can +have the best of homes and in any place you like. Why waste your +life in--" + +"Waste, mother? It would be wasting my life if I did not find an +occupation for it. I can't be idle. I can't exist forever in your +love and devotion." + +"Good Lord, child, don't be foolish," exclaimed Cable. "That hurts +me more than you think. Everything we have is yours." + +"I'm sorry I said it, daddy. I did not mean it in that way. It +isn't the money, you know, and it isn't the home, either. No, you +must let me choose my own way of living the rest of my life. I came +from a foundling hospital. A good and tender nurse found me there +and gave me the happiest years of my life. I shall go back there +and give the rest of my years to children who are less fortunate +than I was. I want to help them, mother, just as you did--only it +is different with me." + +"You'll see it differently some day," said Mrs. Cable earnestly. + +"I don't object to your helping the foundlings, Jane," said Cable, +"but I don't see why you have to be a nurse to do it. Other women +support such causes and not as nurses, either. It's--" + +"It's my way, daddy, that's all," she said firmly. + +"Then why, in the name of Heaven, were you so unkind as to keep +that poor boy over there alive when he might have died and ended +his misery? You nursed him back to life only to give him a wound +that cannot be healed. You would ruin his life, Jane. Is it fair? +Damn me, I'm uncouth and hard in many ways--I had a hard, unkind +beginning--but I really believe I've got more heart in me than you +have." + +"David!" exclaimed his wife. Jane looked at the exasperated man in +surprise. + +"Now here's what I intend you to do: you owe me something for the +love that I give to you; you owe Graydon something for keeping him +from dying. If you want to go into the nursing business, all right. +But I'm going to demand some of your devotion for my own sake before +that time comes. I've loved you all of your life--" + +"And I've loved you, daddy," she gasped. + +"And I'm going to ask you to begin your nursing career by attending +to me. I'm sick for want of your love. I'm giving up business for +the sake of enjoying it unrestrained. Your mother and I expect it. +We are going abroad for our health and we are going to take you +with us. Right now is where you begin your career as a nurse. You've +got to begin by taking care of the love that is sick and miserable. +We want it to live, my dear. Now, I want a direct decision--at +once: will you take charge of two patients on a long-contemplated +trip in search of love and rest--wages paid in advance?" + +She looked at him, white-faced and stunned. He was putting it +before her fluently and in a new light. She saw what it was that he +considered that she owed them--the love of a daughter, after all. + +An hour later she stood with Graydon on the rear platform of the +car. He was trying to talk calmly of the country through which +they were rushing and she was looking pensively down the rails that +slipped out behind them. + +"We'll be in Chicago in three days," he remarked. + +"Graydon, I have decided to go abroad for five or six months before +starting upon my work. They want me so much, you see," she said, +her voice a trifle uncertain. + +"I wish I could have some power to persuade you," he said. Changing +his tone to one of brisk interest, he went on. "It is right, dear. +It will do you great good and it will be a joy to them. I'll miss +you." + +"And I shall miss you, Graydon," she said, her eyes very solemn +and wistful. + +"Won't you--won't you give me the promise I want, Jane?" he asked +eagerly. She placed her hand upon his and shook her head. + +"Won't you be good to me, Graydon? Don't make it so hard for me. +Please, please don't tell me again that you love me." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE WRECKAGE + + + + + +The spring floods delayed the Eastern Express, bringing the party +to Chicago nearly a day late. The Cables and the Harbins went +at once to the Annex, where David Cable had taken rooms. They had +given up their North Side home some months before, both he and his +wife retiring into the seclusion that a great hotel can afford when +necessary. + +Graydon hurried off to his father's office, eager, yet half fearing +to meet the man who was responsible for the broken link in his +life--this odd year. He recalled, as he drove across town, that a +full year had elapsed since he spent that unforgettable night in +Elias Droom's uncanny home. Was he never to forget that night--that +night when his soul seemed even more squalid than the home of the +recluse? + +All of his baggage, except a suit case, had been left at the +station. He did not know what had become of his belongings in the +former home of his father. Nor, for that matter, did he care. + +At the U---- Building he ventured a diffident greeting to the +elevator boy, whom he remembered. The boy looked at him quizzically +and nodded with customary aloofness. Graydon found himself hoping +that he would not meet Bobby Rigby. He also wondered, as the car +shot up, how his father had managed to escape from the meshes that +were drawn about him on the eve of his departure. His chances had +looked black and hopeless enough then; yet, he still maintained +the same old offices in the building. His name was on the directory +board downstairs. Graydon's heart gave a quick bound with the +thought that his father had proved the charges false after all. + +Elias Droom was busy directing the labours of two able-bodied men +and a charwoman, all of whom were toiling as they had never toiled +before. The woman was dusting law books and the men were packing +them away in boxes. The front room of the suite was in a state of +devastation. A dozen boxes stood about the floor; rugs and furniture +were huddled in the most remote corner awaiting the arrival of the +"second-hand man"; the floor was littered with paper. Droom was +directing operations with a broken umbrella. It seemed like a lash +to the toilers. + +"Now, let's get through with this room," he was saying in his most +impelling way. "The men will be here for the boxes at four. I don't +want 'em to wait. This back room stuff we'll put in the trunks. +Look out there! Don't you see that nail?" + +Eddie Deever, with his usual indolence, was seated upon the edge +of the writing table in the corner, smoking his cigarette, and +commenting with rash freedom upon the efforts of the perspiring +slaves. + +"How long are you going to keep these things in the warehouse?" he +asked of Droom. + +"I'm not going to keep them there at all. They belong to Mr. +Bansemer. He'll take them out when he has the time." + +"He's getting all the time he wants now, I guess." commented Eddie. +"Say, talking about time, I'll be twenty-one next Tuesday." + +"Old enough to marry." + +"I don't know about that. I'm getting pretty wise. Do you know, +I've just found out how old Rosie Keating is? She's twenty-nine. +Gee, it's funny how a fellow always gets stuck on a girl older than +himself! Still, she's all right. I'm not saying a word against her. +She wouldn't be twenty-nine if she could help it." + +"I suppose it's off between you, then." + +"I don't know about that, either. We lunched at Rector's to-day. +That don't look like it's off, does it? Four sixty-five, including +the tip. She don't look twenty-nine, does she?" + +"I've never noticed her." + +"Never--well, holy mackerel! You must be blind then. She says she's +seen you in the elevator a thousand times. Never noticed HER? Gee!" + +"I mean, I've never noticed anyone who looked less than twenty-nine. +By the way, do you ever see Mr. Rigby? I believe she is in his +office." + +"I don't go to Rigby's any more," said Eddie, with sudden stiffness. +"He's a cheap skate." + +"I HEARD he threw you out of the office one day," with a dry cackle. + +"He did not! We couldn't agree in certain things regarding the +Bansemer affair, that's all. I told him to go to the devil, or +words to that effect." + +"Something loose about your testimony, I believe, wasn't there?" + +"Oh, the whole thing doesn't amount to a whoop. I'm trying to get +Rosie another job. She oughtn't to write in there with that guy." + +"Well, you're twenty-one. Why don't you open an office of your own? +Your mother's got plenty of money. She can buy you a library and +a sign, and that is all a young lawyer needs in Chicago." + +"Mother wants me to run for alderman in our ward, next spring. I'll +be able to vote at that election." + +"You've got as much right in the council as some others, I suppose." + +"Sure, mother owns property. The West Side ought to be as well +represented as the North Side. Property interests is what we need +in the council. That's--" + +"I don't care to hear a political speech, boy. Are you busy this +afternoon?" + +"No. I wouldn't be here if I was." + +"Then get up there and hand those books down to me. Nobody loafs +in this office to-day." + +"Well, doggone, if that isn't the limit! All right. Don't get mad. +I'll do it." The young gentleman leisurely ascended to the top of +the stepladder and fell into line under the lash. + +"Young Mr. Graydon Bansemer will be here this afternoon," said +Droom. "I want to get things cleaned up a bit beforehand." + +"How does he feel about his father?" + +"He doesn't know about him, I'm afraid." + +"Gee! Well, it'll jar him a bit, won't it?" + +The office door was opened suddenly and a tall young man strode +into the room, only to stop aghast at the sight before him. Droom's +lank figure swayed uncertainly and his eyes wavered. + +"What's all this?" cried Graydon, dropping his bag and coming toward +the old man, his hand outstretched. Droom's clammy fingers rested +lifelessly in the warm clasp. + +"How are you, Graydon? I'm--I'm very glad to see you. You are +looking well. Oh, this? We--we are moving," said the old man. The +helpers looked on with interest. "Come into the back office. It +isn't so torn up. I didn't expect you so soon. They said it was +twenty-four hours late. Well, well, how are you, my boy?" + +"I'm quite well again, Elias. Hard siege of it, I tell you. Moving, +eh? What's that for?" + +"Never mind those books, Eddie. Thank you for helping me. Come in +some other time. You fellows--I mean you--pack the rest of these +and then I'll tell you what to do next. Come in, Graydon." + +Eddie Deever took his departure, deeply insulted because he had +not been introduced to the newcomer. Graydon, somewhat bewildered, +followed Droom into his father's consultation room. He looked around +inquiringly. + +"Where is father? I telegraphed to him." + +An incomprehensible grin came into Droom's face. He twirled the +umbrella in his fingers a moment before replying. His glance at +the closed door was no more significant than his lowered tones. + +"It didn't go very well with him, Graydon. He isn't here any more." + +"What do you mean?" + +"I mean the trial. There was a trial, you see. Haven't you heard +anything?" + +"Trial? He--he was arrested?" came numbly from the young man's +lips. + +"I can't mince matters, Graydon. I'll get it over as quickly as +possible. Your father was tried for blackmail and was convicted. +He is in--he's in the penitentiary." + +The son's face became absolutely bloodless; his eyes were full +of comprehension and horror, and his body stiffened as if he were +turning to stone. The word penitentiary fell slowly, mechanically +from his lips. He looked into Droom's eyes, hoping it might be a +joke of the calloused old clerk. + +"You--it--it can't be true," he murmured, his trembling hands going +to his temples. + +"Yes, my boy, it is true. I didn't write to you about it, because +I wanted to put it off as long as I could. It's for five years." + +"God!" burst from the wretched son. A wave of shame and grief sent +the tears flooding to his eyes. "Poor old dad!" He turned and walked +to the window, his shoulders heaving. Droom stood silent for a long +time, watching Bansemer's son, pity and triumph in his face. + +"Do you want to hear about it?" he asked at last. Graydon's head +was bent in assent. + +"It came the day after you left Chicago with the recruits. I knew +you would not read the newspapers. So did he. Harbert swore out +the papers and he was arrested here in this office. I believe he +would have killed himself if he had been given time. His revolver +was--er--not loaded. Before the officers came he discharged me. +I was at liberty to go or to testify against him. I did neither. +Of course, I was arrested, but they could only prove that I was a +clerk who knew absolutely nothing about the inside workings of the +office. I offered to go on his bond but he would not have me. He +made some arrangement, through his attorney, and bail was secured. +In spite of the fact that he was charged with crime, he insisted on +keeping these offices and trying to do business. It wasn't because +he needed money, Graydon, but because he wanted to lead an honest +life, he said. He has a great deal of money, let me tell you. The +grand jury indicted him last spring but the trial did not come up +until last month--nearly a year later--so swift is justice in this +city. In the meantime, I saw but little of him. I was working on +an invention and, besides, there were detectives watching every +movement I made. I stuck close to my rooms. By the way, I want to +show you a couple of models I have perfected. Don't let me forget +it. They--" + +"Yes, yes--but father? Go on!" + +"Well, the trial came up at last. That man Harbert is a devil. He +had twenty witnesses, any one of whom could have convicted your +father. How he got onto them, I can't imagine. He uncovered every +deal we've--er--he had in Chicago and--" + +"Then he really was guilty!" groaned Graydon. + +"Yes, my boy, I knew it, of course. They could not force me to +testify against him, however. I was too smart for them. Well, to +make it short, he was sentenced five weeks ago. The motion for a +new trial was overruled. He went to Joliet. If he had been a popular +alderman or ward boss he would have been out yet on continuances, +spending most of his sentence in some fashionable hotel, to say the +least." + +"Is he--wearing stripes?" + +"Yes, it's the fashion there." + +"For God's sake, don't jest. For five years!" The young man sank +into a chair and covered his face with his hands. + +"There'll be something off for good behaviour, my boy. He wanted +to behave well before he went there, so I suppose he'll keep it +up. The whole town was against him. He didn't have a friend." + +"How did you escape?" demanded Graydon, looking up suddenly. +"State's evidence?" + +"No, not even after he tried to put most of the blame upon me. He +tried that, my boy. I just let him talk. It saved me from prison. +Usually the case with the man who keeps his mouth closed." + +"But, Elias--Elias, why have I been kept in the dark? Why did he +not tell me about it? Why has--" + +"You forget, Graydon, that you turned from him first. You were +really the first to condemn him. He wanted you to stay away from +this country until he is free. That was his plan. He didn't want +to see you. Now he wants you to come to him. He wants you to bring +Jane Cable to see him." + +"What!" + +"Yes, that's it. I believe he intends to tell her the names of +her father and mother. I think he wants her to forgive him and he +wants to hear both of you say it to him." + +Graydon stared blankly from the window. The old clerk was smiling +to himself, an evil, gloating smile that would have shocked Bansemer +had he turned suddenly. + +"He wants both of us to--to come to the penitentiary?" muttered +the son. + +"Yes, as soon as possible. Do you think she'll go?" demanded Droom +anxiously. + +"I don't know. I'm afraid not." + +"Not even to learn who her parents are?" + +"It might tempt her. But she hates father." + +"Well, she can gloat over him, can't she? That ought to be some +satisfaction. Talk it over with her. She's here, isn't she?" + +"Elias, do you know who her parents were?" asked Graydon quickly. +"I've thought you knew as much about it as father." + +The old man's eyes shifted. + +"It's a silly question to ask of me. I was not a member of the Four +Hundred, my boy." + +"Nor was my father. Yet you think he knows." + +"He's a much smarter man than I, Graydon. You'll go with me to see +him?" + +"Yes. I can't speak for Miss Cable." + +"See her to-morrow. Come out to my place to-night, where the reporters +can't find you. Maybe you won't care to sleep with me--I've but +one bed, you see--but you can go to a quiet hotel downtown. I'm +packing these things to store them for your father. Then I'm going +back to New York to live on my income. It's honest money, too." + +"Who sent me the draft for five hundred?" + +"I did, Graydon. Forgive me. It was just a loan, you know. I thought +you'd need something--" + +"I haven't touched it, Elias. Here it is. Thank you. No, I won't +accept it." + +"I'm sorry," muttered the old man, taking the slip of paper. + +Graydon resumed his seat near the window and watched Droom with +leaden eyes as he turned suddenly to resume charge of the packing. +"We'll soon be through," he said shortly. + +For an hour the work went on, and then Droom dismissed the workers +with their pay. The storage van men were there to carry the boxes +away. Graydon sat still and saw the offices divested. Secondhand +dealers hurried off with the furniture, the pictures and the rugs; +an expressman came in for the things that belonged to Elias Droom. + +"There," said the clerk, tossing the umbrella into a corner. "It's +finished. There's nothing left to do but remove ourselves." + +"Elias, did Mr. Clegg know about father's conviction when he offered +me the place in New York?" asked Graydon as they started away. + +"Yes, that's the beauty of it. He admires you. You'll take the +place?" + +"Not until I've talked it all over with him--to-morrow." + +Droom called a cab and the two drove over to the Wells Street +rooms, Graydon relinquishing himself completely to the will of the +old man. During the supper, which Droom prepared with elaborate +care, and far into the night, the young man sat and listened +without interest to the garrulous talk of his host, who explained +the mechanism and purpose of two models. + +One was in the nature of a guillotine by which a person could chop +his own head off neatly without chance of failure, and the other +had to do with the improvement of science in respect to shoelaces. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE DRINK OF GALL + + + + + +Mr. Clegg was not long in convincing Graydon that his proposition +to him was sincere and not the outgrowth of sentiment. A dozen men +in the office greeted Graydon with a warmth that had an uplifting +effect. He went away with a heart lighter than he had once imagined +it could ever be again. In two weeks he was to be in absolute +control of the New York branch; he assured the firm that his physical +condition was such that he could go to work at once, if necessary. + +As he hastened to the Annex, misgivings again entered into his soul. +The newspapers had heralded his return and had hinted broadly at +romantic developments in connection with Miss Cable, "who is at +the Annex with Mr. and Mrs. Cable." There were brief references to +the causes which sent both of them to the Philippines, find that +was all. + +Without hesitation, he came to the point by asking if she knew what +had befallen his father. Jane had heard the news the night before. +He thereupon put the whole situation before her just as it had +been suggested in Droom's ironical remark. It was not until after +the question had been passed upon by Mr. and Mrs. Cable that +she reluctantly consented to visit Graydon's father--solely for +the purpose of gleaning what information she could regarding her +parentage. + +They left the next day with Elias Droom, depressed, nervous, dreading +the hour ahead of them. Neither was in the mood to respond to the +eager, excited remarks of the old clerk. The short railroad trip +was one never to be forgotten; impressions were left in their lives +that could not be effaced. + +James Bansemer, shorn and striped, was not expecting visitors. He +was surprised and angry when he was told that visitors were waiting +to see him. For four weeks he had laboured clumsily and sourly in +the shoe factory of the great prison, a hauler and carrier. His +tall figure was bent with unusual toil, his hands were sore and his +heart was full of the canker of rebellion. Already, in that short +time, his face had taken on the look of the convict. All the +viciousness in his nature had gone to his face and settled there. +He had the sullen, dogged, patient look of the man who has a number +but no name. + +The once dignified, aggressive walk had degenerated into a slouch; +he shuffled as he came to the bars where he was to meet his first +visitors. He was not pleased but he was curious. Down in his heart +he found a hope that his attorney had come with good news. It was +not until he was almost face to face with his son that he realised +who it was; not until then that he felt the full force of shame, +ignominy, loathing for himself. + +He started back with an involuntary oath and would have slunk +away had not Graydon called out to him--called out in a voice full +of pain and misery. The convict's face was ashen and his jaw hung +loose with the paralysis of dismay; his heart dropped like a chunk +of ice, his feet were as leaden weights. A look of utter despair +came into his hard eyes as he slowly advanced to the bars. + +"My God, Graydon, why did you come? Why did you come here?" he +muttered. Then he caught sight of Jane and Elias Droom. His eyes +dropped and his fingers twitched; to save his life he could not +have kept his lower lip from trembling nor the burning tears from +his eyes. His humiliation was complete. + +A malevolent grin was on Droom's face; his staring blue eyes looked +with a great joy upon the shamed, beaten man in the stripes. The +one thing that he had longed for and cherished had come to pass; +he had lived to see James Bansemer utterly destroyed even in his +own eyes. + +"Father, I can't believe it. I can't tell you how it hurts me. +I would willingly take your place if it were possible. Forgive me +for deserting you--" Graydon was saying incoherently when his father +lifted his face suddenly, a fierce, horrified look of understanding +in the eyes that flashed upon Elias Droom. Even as he clasped his +son's hand in the bitterness of small joy, his lips curled into +a snarl of fury. Droom's eyes shifted instantly, his uneasy gaze +directing itself as usual above the head of its victim. + +"You did this, curse you!" came from the convict's livid lips. "And +this girl, too! Good God, you knew I would rather have died than +to meet Graydon as I am now. You knew it and you brought him here. +I hope you will rot in hell for this, Elias Droom. She comes here, +too, to gloat--to rejoice--to see how I look before my son in +prison stripes!" He went on violently for a long stretch, ending +with a sob of rage. "I suppose you are satisfied," he said hoarsely +to Droom. + +Graydon and Jane looked on in surprise and distress. Droom's gaze +did not swerve nor his expression change. + +"Father, didn't you expect me to come?" asked Graydon. "Don't you +want to see me?" + +"Not here. Why should I have tried to keep you from returning to +this country? God knows how I hoped and prayed that you'd not see +me here. Elias Droom knew it. That's why he brought you here. Don't +lie to me, Droom. I know it!" + +"What could you expect?" mumbled Droom. "Down in your heart you +wanted to see him. I've done you a kindness." + +"For which I'll repay you some day," cried the prisoner, a steady +look in his eyes. "Now go away, all of you! I'm through with you. +You've seen me. The girl is satisfied. Go--" + +"Nonsense, father," cried Graydon, visibly distressed by his father's +anguish. "Elias said that you wanted to see us. Jane did not come +out of curiosity. She is here to ask justice of you; she's not +seeking vengeance." + +"I'll talk to you alone," said the prisoner shortly. "Send her +away. I've nothing to say to her or Droom." + +Jane turned and walked swiftly away, followed by Droom, who rubbed +his long fingers together and tried to look sympathetic. The interview +that ensued between father and son was never to be forgotten by +either. Graydon heard his father's bitter story in awed silence; +heard him curse deeply and vindictively; heard all this and marvelled +at the new and heretofore unexposed side of his nature. + +There was something pathetic in the haggard face and the expressions +of impotent rage. His heart softened when his father bared his +shame to him and cried out against the fate which had brought them +together on this day. + +"It doesn't matter, father," said Graydon hoarsely. "I deserted +you and I'm sorry. No matter what you've done to bring you here, +I'm glad I've come to see you. I don't blame Elias. For a while +I'm afraid I rather held out against coming. Now, I am glad for my +own sake. I won't desert you now. I am going to work for a pardon, +if your appeal does not go through." + +"Don't! I won't have it!" exclaimed the other. "I'm going to stay +it out. It will give me time to forget, so that I can be a better +man. If they let me out now I'd do something I'd always regret. I +want to serve my time and start all over again. Don't worry about +me. I won't hamper you. I'll go away--abroad, as Harbert suggested. +Damn him, his advice was good, after all. Understand, Graydon, I do +not want parole or pardon. You must not undertake it. I am guilty +and I ought to be punished the same as these other fellows in here. +Don't shudder. It's true. I'm no better than they." + +"I hate to think of you in this awful place--" began Graydon. + +"Don't think of me." + +"But, my God, I've seen you here, father," cried the son. + +"A pretty spectacle for a son," laughed the father bitterly. "Why +did you bring that girl here? That was cruel--heartless." + +Graydon tried to convince him that Jane had not come to gloat but +to ask a favour of him. + +"A favour, eh? She expects me to tell all I know about her, eh? +That's good!" laughed Bansemer. + +"Father, she has done you no wrong. Why are you so bitter against +her? It's not right--it's not like you." + +Bansemer looked steadily at him for a full minute. + +"Is she going to marry you, Graydon?" + +"She refuses, absolutely." + +"Then, she's better than I thought. Perhaps I'm wrong in hating +her as I do. It's because she took you away from me. Give me time, +Graydon. Some day I may tell you all I know. Don't urge me now; I +can't do it now. I don't want to see her again. Don't think I'm a +fool about it, boy, and don't speak of it again. Give me time." + +"She is the gentlest woman in the world." + +"You love her?" + +"Better than my life." + +"Graydon, I--I hope she will change her mind and become your wife." + +"You do? I don't understand." + +"That's why I'd rather she never could know who her parents are. +The shadow is invisible now; it wouldn't help matters for her if it +were visible. She's better off by not knowing. Has Droom intimated +that he knows?" + +"He says he does not." + +"He lies, but at the same time he won't tell her. It's not in him +to do it. God, he has served me ill to-day. He has always hated +me, but he was always true to me. He did me a vile trick when he +changed the cartridges in my revolver. By God, I discharged him for +that. I told him to appear against me if he would. He was free to +do so. But, curse him, he would not give me the satisfaction of +knowing that he was a traitor. He knew I'd go over the road, anyhow. +He's been waiting for this day to come. He has finally given me +the unhappiest hour in my life." + +After a few moments he quieted down and asked Graydon what his plans +were for the future. In a strained uncertain way the two talked of +the young man's prospects and the advantages they promised. + +"Go ahead, Graydon, and don't let the shadow of your father haunt +you. Don't forget me, boy, because I love you better than all the +world. These are strange words for a man who has fallen as I have +fallen, but they are true. Listen to this: you will be a rich man +some day; I have a fortune to give you, my boy. They can't take my +money from me, you know. It's all to be yours--every cent of it. +You see--" + +"Father--I--let us not talk about it now," said Graydon hastily, +a shadow of repugnance in his eyes. Bansemer studied his face for +a moment and a deep red mounted to his brow. + +"You mean, Graydon," he stammered, "that you--you do not want my +money?" + +"Why should we talk about it now?" + +"Because it suggests my death?" + +"No, no, father. I--" + +"You need not say it. I understand. It's enough. You feel that my +money was not honestly made. Well, we won't discuss it. I'll not +offer it to you again." + +"It won't make any difference, dad. I love you. I don't love your +money." + +"Or the way I earned it. Some day, my boy, you'll learn that very +few make money by dealing squarely with their fellow men. It's not +the custom. My methods were a little broader than common, that's +all. I now notify you that I intend to leave all I have to sweet +charity. I earned most of my ill-gotten wealth in New York and +Chicago, and I'm going to give it back to these cities. Charity +will take anything that is offered, but it doesn't always give in +return." + +At the expiration of the time allotted to the visitor, Graydon took +his departure. + +"Graydon, ask her to think kindly of me if she can." + +"I'll come down again, father before I go East." + +"No!" almost shouted James Bansemer. "I won't have it! For my sake, +Graydon, don't ever come here again. Don't shame me more than you +have to-day. I'll never forget this hour. Stay away and you'll be +doing me the greatest kindness in the world. Promise me, boy!" + +"I can't promise that, dad. It isn't a sane request. I am your +son--" + +"My God, boy, don't you see that I can't bear to look at you through +these bars? Go! Please go! Good-bye! Write to me, but don't come +here again. Don't! It's only a few years." + +He turned away abruptly, his shoulder drawn upward as if in pain, +and Graydon left the place, weakened and sick at heart. + +Jane and Droom were awaiting him in an outer office. The former +looked into his eyes searchingly, tenderly. + +"I'm so sorry, Graydon," she said as she took his hand in hers. + +All the way back to Chicago Elias Droom sat and watched them from +under lowered brows, wondering why it was that he felt so much +lonelier than he ever had felt before,--wondering, too, in a vague +sort of way, why he was not able to exult, after all. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE TRANSFORMING OF DROOM + + + + + +Jane was ill and did not leave her room during the two days following +the visit to the penitentiary. She was haunted by the face of James +Bansemer, the convict. It was beyond her powers of imagination +to recall him as the well-groomed, distinguished man she once had +known. Graydon was deeply distressed over the pain and humiliation +he had subjected her to through Droom's unfortunate efforts. The +fact that she could not or would not see him for two days hurt him +more than he could express, even to himself. The day before he left +for New York, however, she saw him in their parlour. She was pale +and very quiet. + +Neither mentioned the visit to the prison; there was nothing to +say. + +"You will be in New York next week?" he asked as he arose to leave. +His spirit was sore. She again had told him that he must not hope. +With an hysterical attempt to lead him on to other topics, she +repeated her conversations with Teresa Valesquez, urging him with +a hopeless attempt at bravado, to seek out the Spanish girl and +marry her. He laughed lifelessly at the jest. + +"We will leave Chicago on Monday. Father will have his business +affairs arranged by that time. I would not let him resign the +presidency. It would seem as if I were taking it away from him. We +expect to be in Europe for six or eight months. Then, I am coming +back to New York, where I was born, Graydon--to work!" + +He went away with the feeling in his heart that he was not to see +her again. A single atom of determination lingered in his soul, +however, and he tried to build upon it for the future. Rigby's wedding +invitation had come to him that morning--almost as a mockery. He +tore it to pieces with a scowl of recollection. + +Droom's effects were on the way to New York. He hung back, humbly +waiting for Graydon to suggest that they should travel East on the +same train. His grim, friendless old heart gave a bound of pure +joy--the first he had known--when the young man made the suggestion +that night. + +Together they travelled eastward and homeward, leaving behind them +the grey man in stripes. + +Jane's six months in Europe grew into a year--and longer. It was +a long but a profitable year for Graydon Bansemer; he had been +enriched not only in wealth but in the hope of ultimate happiness. +Not that Jane encouraged him. Far from it, she was more obdurate +than ever with an ocean between them. But his atom of determination +had grown to a purpose. His face was thinner and his eyes were of +a deeper, more wistful grey; they were full of longing for the girl +across the sea, and of pity and yearning for the man back there in +the West. + +He had toiled hard and well; he had won. The shadow of '99 was +still over him, but the year and a new ambition had lessened its +blackness. Friends were legion in the great metropolis; he won his +way into the hearts and confidence of new associates and renewed +fellowship with the old. Invitations came thickly upon him, but he +resolutely turned his back upon most of them. He was not socially +hungry in these days. + +Once a week he wrote to his father, but there never was a reply. +He did not expect one, for James Bansemer, in asking him to write, +had vowed that his son should never hear from him again until he +could speak as a free man and a chastened one. True to his promise, +Graydon instituted no movement to secure a pardon. He did, by +a strong personal appeal, persuade Denis Harbert to drop further +prosecution. There were enough indictments against his father to +have kept him behind the bars for life. + +Elias Droom had rooms in Eighth Avenue not a great distance from +Herald Square. He was quite proud of his new quarters. They had +many of the unpleasant features of the old ones in Wells Street, +but they were less garish in their affront to an aesthetic eye. +The incongruous pictures were there and the oddly assorted books, +but the new geraniums had a chance for life in the broader windows; +the cook stove was in the rear and there was a venerable Chinaman +in charge of it; the bedroom was kept so neat and clean that Droom +quite feared to upset it with his person. But, most strange of all, +was the change in Droom himself. + +"I've retired from active work," he informed Graydon one day, when +that young man stared in astonishment at him. "What's the use, my +boy, in Elias Droom dressing like a dog of a workingman, when he +is a gentleman of leisure and affluence? It surprises you to see +me in an evening suit, eh? Well, by Jove, my boy, I've got a dinner +jacket, a Prince Albert and a silk hat. There are four new suits +of clothes hanging up in that closet," he said, adding, with +a sarcastic laugh. "That ought to make a perfect gentleman of me, +oughtn't it? What are you laughing at?" + +"I can't help it, Elias. Who would have dreamed that you'd go in +for good clothes!" + +"I used to dream about it, long ago. I swore if I ever got back to +New York I'd dress as New Yorkers dress--even if I was a hundred +years old. I've got a servant, too. What d'ye think of that? He +can't understand a word I say, nor can I understand him. That's +why he stays on with me. He doesn't know when I'm discharging him, +and I don't know when he's threatening to leave. What do you think +of my rooms?" + +It was Graydon's first visit to the place, weeks after their return to +New York. He had not felt friendly to Droom since the day at the +prison; but now he was forgetting his resentment, in the determination +to wrest from him the names of Jane's father and mother. He was +confident that the old man knew. + +"Better than Wells Street, eh? Well, you see, I was in trade then. +Different now. I'm getting to be quite a fop. Do you notice that I +say 'By Jove' occasionally?" He gave his raucous laugh of derision. +"Dined at Sherry's the other night, old chap," he went on with raw +mimicry. "They thought I was a Christian and let me in. I used to +look like the devil, you know." + +"By the Lord Harry, Elias," cried Graydon, "you look like the devil +now." + +"I've got these carpet slippers on because my shoes hurt my feet," +explained Droom sourly. "My collar rubbed my neck, so I took it +off. Otherwise, I'm just as I was when I got in at Sherry's. Funny +what a difference a little thing like a collar makes, isn't it?" + +"I should say so. I never gave it a thought until now. But, Elias, +I want to ask a great favour of you. You can--" + +"My boy, if your father wouldn't tell you who her parents are, +don't expect me to do so. He knows; I only suspect." + +"You must be a mind reader," gasped Graydon. + +"It isn't hard to read your mind these days. What do you hear from +her?" Graydon went back to the subject after a few moments. "I am +morally certain that I know who her father and mother were, but +it won't do any good to tell her. It didn't make me any better to +learn who my father was. It made me wiser, that's all. How's your +father?" + +After this night Graydon saw the old man often. They dined together +occasionally in the small cafes on the West Side. Droom could not, +for some reason known only to himself, be induced to go to Sherry's +again. + +"When Jane comes back, I'll give you both a quiet little supper +there after the play maybe. It'll be my treat, my boy." + +The old man worked patiently and fruitlessly over his "inventions." +They came to naught, but they lightened his otherwise barren +existence. There was not a day or night in which his mind was wholly +free from thoughts of James Bansemer. + +He counted the weeks and days until the man would be free, and his +eyes narrowed with these furtive glances into the future. He felt +in his heart that James Bansemer would come to him at once, and +that the reckoning for his single hour of triumph would be a heavy +one to pay. Sometimes he would sit for hours with his eyes staring +at the Napoleon above the bookcase, something like dread in their +depths. Then again he would laugh with glee, pound the table with +his bony hand--much to the consternation of Chang--and exclaim as +if addressing a multitude: + +"I hope I'll be dead when he gets out of there! I hope I won't live +to see him, free again. That would spoil everything. Let me see, +I'm seventy-one now; I surely can't live much longer. I want to +die seeing him as I saw him that day. The last thing I think of on +earth must be James Bansemer's face behind the bars. Ha, ha, ha! +It was worth all the years, that one hour! It was even worth while +being his slave. I'm not afraid of him! No! That's ridiculous. Of +course, I'm not afraid of him. I only want to know he's lying in +a cell when I die out here in the great, free world! By my soul, +he'll know that a handsome face isn't always the best. He laughed +at my face, curse him. His face won her--his good looks! Well, +well, well, I only hope she's where she can see his face now!" + +He would work himself into a frenzy of torment and glee combined, +usually collapsing at the end of his harangue. It disgusted him +to think that his health was so good that he might be expected to +live beyond the limit of James Bansemer's imprisonment. + +At the end of eighteen months, Jane was coming home. She had written +to Graydon from London, and the newspapers announced the sailing +of the Cables on one of the White Star steamers. + +"I am coming home to end all of this idleness," she wrote to him. +"I mean to find pleasure in toil, in doing good, in lifting the +burdens of those who are helpless. You will see how I can work, +Graydon. You will love me more than ever when you see how I can do +so much good for my fellow creatures. I want you to love me more +and more, because I shall love you to the end of my life." + +The night before the ship was to arrive Graydon was dining with +the Jack Percivals. There were a dozen in the party--a blase, bored +collection of human beings who had dined out so incessantly that +eating was a punishment. They had come to look upon food as a foe +to comfort and a grievous obstacle in the path of pleasure. Bridge +was just beginning to take hold of them; its grip was tightening +with new coils as each night went by. Nobody thought of dinner; the +thought was of the delay in getting at the game; an instinct that +was not even a thought urged them to abhor the food that had come +into their lives so abundantly. + +Night after night they dined out; night after night they toyed with +their forks, ate nothing, drank to hide their yawns, took black +coffee and said they enjoyed the food tremendously. + +Graydon Bansemer was new to this attitude. He was vigorous and he +was not surfeited with food; he had an appetite. Just before six +o'clock his host called him up by 'phone, and, in a most genial +way, advised him to eat a hearty meal before coming up to dinner. +Graydon made the mistake of not following this surprising bit of +advice. + +He sat next to Mrs. Percival. She appeared agitated and uncertain. +Servants came in with the dishes and almost immediately took them +away again. No one touched a mouthful of the food; no one except +Graydon noticed the celerity with which the plates and their contents +were removed; no one felt that he was expected to eat. Graydon, +after his first attempt to really eat of the third course, subsided +with a look of amazement at his hostess. She smiled and whispered +something into his ear. He grew very red and choked with--was it +confusion or mirth? + +Everybody gulped black coffee and everybody puffed violently at +cigars and cigarettes and then everybody bolted for the card tables. + +Jack Percival grasped Graydon's arm and drew him back into the +dining-room. He was grinning like an ape. + +"It worked, by George--worked like a charm. Great Scott, what a +money and time saver! I was a little worried about you, Bansemer, +but I knew the others wouldn't catch on. Great, wasn't it?" + +"What the dickens does it mean?" demanded Graydon. "Mean! Why, good +Lord, man, nobody ever eats at these damned dinners. They CAN'T +eat. They're sick of dinners. That crowd out there takes tea and +things at five or six o'clock. They wouldn't any more think of +eating anything at a dinner after the caviar and oysters than you'd +think of flying. It's a waste of time and money to give 'em real +food. This is the second time I've tried my scheme and it's worked +both times. I can serve this same dinner twenty times. Everything's +made of wax and papier mache. See what I mean? And I'll leave it +to you that there isn't a soul out there who is any the wiser. By +George, it's a great invention. I'm going to patent it. Come on; +let's get in there. They're howling for us to begin." + +Graydon, his mind full of Jane, played at a table with Colonel +Sedgwick, a blase old Knickerbocker whose sole occupation in life was +saying rude things about other people. To-night he was particularly +attentive to his profession. He kept Graydon and the two women +sitting straight and uncomfortable in their chairs between hands +and positively chilled while the game went on. + +Graydon's game was a poor one at best, but he was playing abominably +on this occasion. He could not tear his thoughts from the ship +that was drawing nearer and nearer to New York harbour with each +succeeding minute. In his mind's eye he could look far out over +the black waters and see the lonely vessel as it rushed on through +the night. He wondered if Jane were asleep or awake and thinking +of him. + +The Colonel's irascibility finally drove him from the game. +He apologised for his wretched playing, but the Colonel did not +apologise for the disagreeable things he had said. + +It was one o'clock when Graydon reached his rooms. There he found +a note from Elias Droom. + +"I have an especial reason," he wrote, "for asking you and Miss +Cable to dine with me on Monday night. We will go to Sherry's. Let +me know as soon as you have seen her." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +ELIAS DROOM'S DINNER PARTY + + + + + +He was mystified and not a little upset by this almost peremptory +summons from the old man. He hurried over to Droom's quarters the +next morning, after ascertaining that the steamer would not reach +the dock until two or three o'clock. Droom was at work on one of +his amazing models. + +"Hello," he said ungraciously. "I thought I invited you for to-night." + +"I want to know something about it, Elias," said Graydon, sitting +upon the end of the workbench. "She'll not get in before the middle of +the afternoon, and she may not feel like going to Sherry's to-night." + +"Just as she likes," said Droom pettishly. "You mean that she would +not like to be seen there with me unless there is to be something +in it for her, eh?" + +"Nonsense. You've got something on your mind, Elias. What is it? +Why do you insist on going to-night?" + +"I don't. It's to-night or not at all, however. I'm not in the +habit of letting people decide when I shall dine at Sherry's. If +she doesn't want to come, let her say so." That was all Graydon +could get out of him, so he left in a more perplexed frame of mind +than before. + +He was at the dock long before the steamer came to a stop after +its eight days of ceaseless throbbing. She was waving to him from +the rail, her face beaming with happiness. It was just as he had +seen it in his dreams of this day. More than ever he arrayed his +love against her principle; more than ever was he determined to +overcome the obstacles which she had thrown up in her self-arraignment. + +There was a cold, biting wind blowing, with the suggestion of snow +in the skies. The passengers came down with rosy cheeks, coloured +by the frost-laden hours on deck. After the tedious, disagreeable +hour with the customs officials, the Cables were driven to the +Holland House. Graydon Bansemer, sitting opposite to Jane in the +carriage, was almost speechless with joy and eagerness. The old +restraint was still upon him, but it was being worn down by degrees +as he gathered encouragement from the clear, inviting eyes of the +girl he worshipped. The love in those happy, glowing eyes could +not be mistaken for loyal indifference. + +She was more beautiful than ever to his hungry, patient eyes; she +was more desirable, more priceless. David Cable and his wife had +been immensely benefited in every way by their months abroad. Jane +had found the sunshine for them and it had been her purpose in all +these months to keep them free from the shadows. They had travelled +Europe over and they had lived in the full warmth of pleasure. + +Cable took Graydon aside as they entered the hotel. The latter +had implored Jane to give him a few minutes alone at the earliest +possible moment. + +"Tell me about your father, Graydon," said David Cable. + +"He is still in--in Joliet," replied the young man quietly. + +"He has not offered to help us in clearing up the mystery?" + +"I have had no word from him, Mr. Cable. He seems to be in his +tomb. I am afraid he will not help us, sir. He has said he would +not; that means a great deal, I am sorry to say." + +He then told him of Elias Droom's strange invitation, adding that +he believed the old man was ready to reveal all that he knew. + +"She must go with you to-night, then," said Cable. "It is necessary. +She wants to know the truth. She has said so." + +"It won't matter, sir, so far as I am concerned. She--" + +"She has come back, my boy, determined to go on with her plans. +I am sorry, Graydon, but I am at last convinced that she means to +give her life to the work." + +"By Heaven, Mr. Cable, she shall not do it! I can't live without +her," cried Graydon miserably. Cable smiled sadly as he shook his +head. + +At half past seven o'clock Jane Cable and Graydon met Droom at +Sherry's. She was paler than usual and there was a queer chill in +her heart. Bansemer was more nervous than he had ever been before +in his life. + +Elias Droom, the strangest creature in the big restaurant, arose +to greet them as they entered the doors. He had been waiting inside +and out for half an hour, and his welcome was quite in keeping with +his character, He uttered a few gruff words of greeting to her, +accompanied by a perfunctory smile that gave out no warmth; then +he started off with rude haste toward the table he had reserved. +Not a word concerning her welfare, her health, her return to the +homeland--no sign of interest or consideration. They followed him +silently, anxiously. + +The old man was conspicuously repulsive in his finery. It is +unnecessary to say that his clothes did not fit his lank figure: +tailors cannot perform miracles. His long chin was carefully shaven, +but the razor could not remove the ruts and creases that hid the +thick stubble of grey and black. Not one but one hundred diners +looked with curiosity upon the nervous, uncouth old man. There was +a buzz of interest and a craning of necks when the crowd saw the +handsome couple join him at the table in the corner. + +"I wish you'd order the dinner for me, Graydon," he said, rather +plaintively. "I can pay for it, Miss Cable," he added with an +attempt at joviality, "but I'm no good at ordering. These young +swells know all about it. Get champagne, Graydon. Order something +nice for Miss Cable. Anywhere up to twenty dollars. I'm not a +millionaire, Miss Cable. Tell the waiter I'll pay for it, Graydon. +This is a swell place, isn't it, Miss Cable? I've never been in +Europe, but they say they can't touch our restaurants over there. +Get oysters, Graydon." + +"By Jove, Elias, you are giving us a treat," laughed Graydon. The +old man's mood had changed suddenly. He was beaming in his effort +to be agreeable. A glance around the room had convinced him that +the prettiest woman there was sitting at his table. He felt a new +sense of pride. + +"I am proud of myself," said Droom--and he meant it. + +"It's very good of you to ask me to come, Mr. Droom," said Jane, +her bright eyes meeting his before they could lift themselves into +the customary stare above her head. + +"I'm not so sure about that," said Elias. From time to time he +glanced uneasily toward a table at his left. It was set for six +persons, none of whom had arrived. "I trust it will not be the last +time you will honour me, Miss Cable. I am getting very hospitable +in my old age. If you don't mind, Graydon, I won't drink this +cocktail. I may take the champagne. I'm quite a teetotaler, you +see. Milk, always. By the way, Graydon," he said, turning suddenly +to the young man, "I suppose you've led her to believe that I had +a motive in asking her to dine to-night--I mean other than the +pleasure it would give to me." + +"I--I rather thought something of the sort," stammered Graydon. + +"Well, there is a motive. I've decided at last to tell all I knew. +Don't look like that, Miss Cable. You'll attract attention. Calm +yourself. It will be some time before the story is forthcoming. +Besides, I doubt very much whether you'll get any great satisfaction +out of it, although it may clear things up a bit for you. If +you've been hoping that your father and mother--well, we'll take +our time. Here are the oysters. Oysters make me think of your +father, Graydon. Don't choke, my boy," he chuckled as Graydon +stiffened quickly. "He had a woman arrested at her own dinner party +one night--right over there in Fifth Avenue, too. Search warrant, +and all that. The oysters were being served when the papers were +served. Ah, he was a great man for effective revenge. She had dared +him, you see. Did you ever hear of the other time when he permitted +an ignorant host to invite two deadly enemies to the same dinner? +One fellow had robbed the other fellow of his wife. Terrible scandal. +Your father knew that they expected to kill one another on sight. +And yet when the host told him whom he expected to invite he let +him ask the two men. He told me about it afterward. It amused +him. Everybody but the host knew of the row and there was a panic +in the drawing-room." + +"Good Lord," gasped Graydon, helplessly pushing the oysters away. +"Why are you telling me this?" + +"Oh, it was a great joke. It's a good dinner story. The joke comes +in at the end. Both those fellows got tight and went home with their +arms about one another. By the way, Graydon, what do you hear from +your father?" + +Graydon looked uncomfortably at Jane, whose face was set with +distress. + +"Elias, you've got no right to--" began the young man coldly. + +"I beg your pardon if I've offended," said Droom abjectly. "I--I +don't know the etiquette of small talk--forgive me. I was interested, +that is all." + +"It may interest you to know that I had a long talk with Mr. Clegg +this afternoon. He says there is a movement on foot to secure a +pardon for father. Father hasn't asked anyone to intercede. It is +known that he will go to England to live as soon as he is released. +That's an inducement, you see," he said bitterly. + +Droom's face turned a frozen white; his steely eyes took on a +peculiar glaze, and his hand grasped his leg as if it were a vise +intended to hold him in his chair. + +"I haven't told you about it, Jane," went on Graydon. "Mr. Clegg +has seen father and he says he is indifferent about it. He intends +to leave the country in any event. I am going to write to him +to-night, asking him to let them apply for the pardon. It may save +him from three years more of servitude. Mr. Clegg is sure he can +get his release--what's the matter, Elias?" + +The old clerk's body had stiffened and the look in his face was +something horrible to behold. Terror was visible in every lineament. +His companions started from their chairs in alarm. With a mighty +effort the old man succeeded in regaining a semblance of self-control. +His body relaxed, and his jaw dropped; his voice was trembling and +weak as he responded, an apologetic grin on his face. + +"Nothing--nothing at all. A momentary pain. Don't mind me. Don't +mind me," he mumbled. "I have them often. I think it's my heart. +What were you saying, Graydon? Oh, yes, the pardon. I-I hope you'll +mention me in writing to your father. Tell him I hope to--to see +him if he comes to New York." + +"I don't believe he likes you, Elias," said Graydon, half jestingly. + +"Wha--what has he said to you?" demanded Droom sharply. + +"He rather resented your taking Jane and me to Joliet that day." +The old man's grin was malicious. "He won't forgive you that." + +"I shall never forget how he looked at you, Mr. Droom," said Jane +with a shudder. Droom trembled with a new spasm of fear. + +Attention was diverted by the arrival of the party of six. The +men were distinguished in appearance, the women aristocratic but +spirited. That they were well known to many of the diners in those +days at Sherry's was at once apparent; they were bowing right and +left to near-by acquaintances. After much ado they finally relapsed +into the chairs obsequiously drawn back for them and the buzz of +conversation throughout the place was resumed. + +Graydon, lowering his voice, named the newcomers to Jane, who looked +at them with fresh interest. The names were well known to New York +and European society. For the moment Elias Droom was unnoticed. He +took the opportunity to collect his nerves and to subdue his too +apparent emotion. Jane was recalled from her polite scrutiny of the +women at the next table by hearing her name mentioned in Droom's +hoarsest voice, modified into something like a whisper. + +"Miss Cable, I not only asked you to come here in order to tell +you the name of your father, but to point him out to you." + +There was an instant of breathless silence at the table. So +startling was his announcement that every other sound in the room +escaped the ears of his two listeners. + +"There was a new hundred dollar bill found in the basket with you. +Your grandfather's signature was on that bill. He was the president +of the bank which issued it. Your mother was--" Here he leaned +forward and whispered a name that fairly stunned his hearers. +Graydon caught his breath and a new light appeared in his eyes. +He was beginning to believe that the old man's brain was affected. +Jane leaned forward in her chair, an incredulous smile on her lips. + +"Don't jest, Elias," began Graydon, somewhat roughly. + +"I am not jesting. It is the truth, I swear it," snapped Elias. + +"But, great Heaven, man, consider what you've said. It's one of +the best families in this country-it's preposterous to say--" + +"Of course, her family is one of the best. She was a blue stocking. +That's where Miss Cable gets most of her good blood." + +"My God, Elias, I can't believe it!" cried Graydon. + +Jane was staring blankly at the old man's face. + +"Your father will tell you the same. For more than twenty years +I have known the secret. There is no documentary proof, but this +much I do know: James Bansemer received fifty thousand dollars for +keeping his mouth closed. He found out the truth and he profited +by it as usual. Oh, he knew that hundred dollar bills are not left +with pauper babes. I don't know how he unearthed the truth about +Miss--" + +"Sh! Don't mention the name aloud!" + +"But he did unearth it, beyond all possible chance of mistake. Your +father, Miss Cable, is sitting at that table. Don't look up just +yet. He is staring at you. He doesn't know you, but he does know +you are a pretty woman. The gentleman with the grey hair, Graydon. +See? That man is her father." + +Graydon half started up in his chair, his lips apart, his eyes +riveted on the man designated. Every drop of blood seemed to have +frozen in his veins. + +"Good God, Elias!" he whispered. "Why, that is--" The name stuck +in his throat. + +"The son of the man who signed the banknote. He is Jane's father. +There's blue blood in him--there has been since King Henry's day--but +he is a villain for all that. Now, Miss Cable, I've done my duty. +I've told you the absolute truth. You could not have expected more--you +could not have asked a greater climax. The name of Vanderbilt or +Astor is no better known than that man's name, and no ancestry is +better than that of your mother. I will now give to you one of the +articles of proof that connects you with their history." He handed +to her a small package. "It is the letter written to James Bansemer +by your paternal grandfather, agreeing to an appointment to discuss +a question of grave moment. I found the letter that same day, and +I've kept it all these years. It bears your grandfather's signature. +That is all. I heard part of that interview, and I stake my soul +that what I've told you is true." + +Jane sat looking at him as if paralysed. Her mind was quite incapable +of grasping the full import of his words--the words she had craved +for so many months, and yet dreaded. + +"I knew he was coming here to-night. He gives a theatre party. +To-morrow he goes abroad. That is all." + +"He's living in Paris," muttered Graydon mechanically. Jane spoke +for the first time, as in a daze. + +"I--I have seen him many times in Paris. My father? Oh, oh, it +can't be true." + +"Jane, let me take you away from here--" began Graydon, observing +her pallor. + +"No. Let me stay. It can't matter, Graydon. I want to look at him +again and again," she said, shrinking back as if the whole world +were staring at her. By the most prodigious effort she regained +control of her fleeing composure. It was a trying moment. + +"He's worth millions," said Droom. "It will be worth while for YOU +to--" + +"No!" she exclaimed passionately. "Do you think I will present +myself to him after he has cast me off! No! a thousand times, no!" + +At that instant the party of six hurriedly arose to leave the place. +The tall man with the grey hair--the handsomest man of all--was +staring boldly at Jane's averted face, now red with consciousness. +As he passed her in going out of the room, his look grew more +insistent. She glanced up and a faint smile crossed his face. + +"Devilish handsome girl," he remarked to the man behind him and +then he passed out of her sight, perhaps forever. + +"The woman with him?" cried Jane, her eyes following the beautiful +creature at his side, "is she my mother?" + +"No," said Graydon, averting his eyes to avoid her expression; "she +is his wife." + +Droom waited until the party was out of the restaurant before +uttering a word. + +"Inside of two years I have pointed out two fathers to their +children--yours and his, Jane. Your mothers are dead. There isn't +much choice as to fathers. If I were you, I'd say I had the better +of the bargain. Take an old man's advice, both of you, and let +bygones be bygones. Start life now, just as if nothing had happened +before, and get every atom of happiness out of it that you can. +Don't you two pay for the sins of your fathers." + +"I couldn't live in New York if he were living here," murmured +Jane. + +"Hey, waiter, your bill," said Droom, with sudden harshness. + +It was snowing and the wind was blowing a gale when they emerged +from the place. Jane hung heavily upon Graydon's arm; he could +feel that she was sobbing. He did not dare to look into her face, +but he felt something cruelly triumphant surging in his heart. Elias +Droom waited until their cab came up. Then he offered his hand to +both, hesitatingly, even timidly. + +"Good-night. Be happy. There is nothing else left for you but that. +Graydon, when you write to your father, give him my love." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +DROOM TRIUMPHS OVER DEATH + + + + + +Droom stood for a few moments in the hurtling snowstorm, abstractedly +gazing toward Longacre Square. The chill in his marrow was not from +the blizzard that swept down upon him; the gaunt grey look in his +face was not that of hunger or want. There was fever in his brain +and chill in his heart. He had forgotten Jane's trivial tragedy; +his one overwhelming thought was of James Bansemer. + +The heavy ulster was unbuttoned and the snowflakes pelted in against +his neglected shirt front. A doorman called his attention to the +oversight. He came to himself, drew the coat close about his long +frame, and hurried off down Fifth Avenue. The storm was so vicious +that he boarded a crosstown car at Forty-second Street. A man +elbowed him in the narrow vestibule. He looked up and gasped aloud +in sudden terror. An instant later he laughed at his fears; the man +was not James Bansemer. A cold perspiration started out over his +body, however. Through his brain there went racing the ever-revolving +cry: + +"He'll come straight to me-straight to me!" + +The hour was not late, but the blizzard had driven the crowds from +the streets. Eighth avenue sidewalks were deserted except for the +people who were obliged to brave the storm. As Droom hurried south +to his lodgings he became possessed of a racking belief that someone +was following close upon his heels--someone who was rushing up to +deal him a murderous blow in the back. The old man actually broke +into a frantic run in covering the last half block. + +It was not until he was in his rooms, with the door bolted that +he could rid himself of the dread. The fire had gone out and the +light was low. His teeth chattered and his hand shook as he raised +the wick in the lamp. The palsy of inexplicable fear was upon him. +Kneeling before the stove he began to rebuild the fire. His back +was toward the door and he turned an anxious face in that direction +from time to time. Footsteps on the stairway sent a new chill through +his gaunt frame. They passed on up the next flight, but he waited +breathlessly until he heard the door of the apartment above slam +noisily. + +For half an hour he sat huddled in front of the stove without +removing his hat and ulster. + +"Curse the luck," he was saying over and over again to himself, +sometimes aloud. "Why should he have a pardon? What are the laws +for? Curse that meddling old fool Clegg! They'll set him free, and +he'll hunt me out, I know he will. He won't forgive me for that +day's work. He may be free now-it may have been he who followed me. +But no! That's a silly thing to think. It takes weeks and months +to get a pardon. Maybe--maybe they won't get it, after all." + +He tried to throw off his desperate feeling of apprehension, +chattering all sorts of comforting reasons and excuses to himself +as he scurried about the rooms with aimless haste. Try as he would, +however, when the time came, he could not read--not even of his +courage-inspiring Napoleon. The howl of the wind annoyed and appalled +him; he caught himself listening intently for sounds above and not +of the storm. A nervous, intermittent laugh broke from his lips +as he went on cursing himself for a fool to be so disturbed by +Graydon's report. + +"What have I to fear from him? Why should I let that look of his +unnerve me so? Why can't I forget it? It--it didn't mean anything. +I'm a fool to think of it. Nearly two years ago, that was. Why, +he may be--" A new thought chased the old one out before it was +formed. His eyes caught sight of one of his completed models, +standing in the corner. It was the model for the guillotine. + +For a long time he sat staring at the thing, a hundred impressions +forming and reforming in his brain. + +"I wonder if I'll really die before he is liberated," he was saying +dumbly to himself. "I wonder if I will. There's no sign of it now. +I'm strong and well enough to live for years. Suppose he is freed +inside of a month or two, what then? By Heaven, I'd be losing the +dearest hope of my whole life. My last sight of him--that beautiful +vision behind the bars--would be spoiled, undone, wiped out. He'd +be as free as I. I won't die inside of a month, I'm sure. He'd come +here and laugh at me and he'd kill me in the end. God! I know he +would. He'd have the joy of seeing my pain and terror and defeat--he'd +see me LAST! I'd be bloody and crushed and--" + +He checked himself in the midst of these dire forebodings to rise +suddenly and cross to the ghastly looking frame with the cords, the +hinges, and the great broadaxe that lay harmlessly in the grooves +at the top. For many minutes he stood and gazed at the axe, his +flesh as cold as ice. Then he tested the cords. The axe dropped +heavily to the block below. He smiled with cunning triumph at his +own skill. + +The odour of geranium leaves assailed his nostrils. With an ugly +impulse he turned and swept the pots from the window box, scattering +them over the floor. + +"I'm in a devil of a humour," he laughed as he surveyed the wreck. +"Something's gone wrong with me. I've never mistreated my flowers +before." He lifted the broadaxe to its place, tenderly, almost +lovingly. "By my soul, it's a beautiful piece of work. It's as sure +as the grave itself." + +Again he stood off and looked at the infernal bit of his own +handiwork, his eyes glistening with dread of the thing. He turned +and fled to the opposite side of the room, keeping his back toward +the silent guillotine which seemed to be calling to him with +mocking yet fascinating persistency. + +"Curse the thing," he groaned. "Damn it, I didn't make it for my +own use. What is the matter with me?" He glanced slyly, fearfully +over his shoulder and then faced the thing deliberately, his jaws +set, his eyes staring. + +"It is a quick way--a sure way," he muttered. "I haven't anything +to live for and but a few years at most. Nobody cares whether I +live or die--not even I. James Bansemer could not batter me down, +as he surely will, if I--" + +He crossed to an old chest and unlocked its lid with feverish haste. +A bundle of papers came up in the grasp of his tense fingers. +Casting dreadful glances at the insistent axe, he seated himself +at the table and began looking over the papers. + +"He won't take his father's rotten money, but he'll take mine. +It's honest. It represents wages honestly, bitterly earned. There's +more than twenty thousand to give him. He'll be surprised. Twenty +thousand." He laid the first paper, his will drawn in favour of +Graydon Bansemer, signed and addressed; upon the table, and then +carelessly tossed the other documents into the chest. "By the Lord +Harry, I'll have the best of James Bansemer yet. His boy will take +my money even though he spurns his. God, I wish I could see him +when he knows all this. It would be glorious." + +He fingered the document for a tense moment, and then arose to +remove his coat and vest. These he hung away in his closet with all +his customary carefulness. In the middle of the room he stopped, +his quivering face turned toward the gaunt thing of execution. His +feet seemed nailed to the floor; his brain was urging him to go on +with the horrid deed, his body was rebelling. The torture of terror +was overpowering him. + +Suddenly he found his strength of limb. With a guttural howl he +clasped his hands to his eyes and fled blindly into his bedroom. +Hurling his long, shivering frame upon the bed, he tried to shut +out the enticing call of the thing of death. How long he quivered +there, shuddering and struggling, he could not have told. In the +end--and as suddenly as he had fled--he leaped up and with a shrill +laugh dashed back into the other room. + +There was no hesitation in his body now. With a maniacal glee he +rushed upon the devilish contrivance in the corner, tearing the axe +from its place with ruthless hands. Throughout the building rang +the sounds of smashing wood, furious blows of steel upon wood, and +high above the din arose the laugh of Elias Droom. In two minutes, +the guillotine lay in chips and splinters about the room--destroyed +even as it was on the point of destroying him. + +Dropping back against the wall, wet with perspiration, a triumphant +grin upon his face, Elias surveyed the wreckage. His muscles relaxed +and his eyes lost the dread that had filled them. The smile actually +grew into an expression of sweetness and peace that his face had +never known before. + +As he staggered to a chair close by, a great sigh of relief broke +from his lips. + +"There!" he gasped. "It's over! it's over! My head is on +my shoulders--it really is after all! It is not rolling into the +corner--no! no! By my head--my own head, too--it was a close call +for you, Elias Droom. Now, I'll take what comes. I'll wait for +James Bansemer! I'll stick it out to the end. If he comes, he'll +find me here. I've conquered the infernal death that stood waiting +so long for me in that corner--and I never suspected it, either. +God, how near it was to me! It stood there and waited for me to +come. It knew that I would come sooner or later! But I've smashed +it--it's gone! It's not there!" + +With eager hands he gathered up the pieces of wood and cast them +into the stove. As the remains of that frightful minister of death +crackled and spit with defeated venom, Elias Droom calmly pulled on +his worn dressing gown, lighted his pipe and cocked his feet upon +the stove rail, a serene look in his eyes, a chuckle in his throat. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +TO-MORROW + + + + + +Jane Cable, upon entering the cab, offered no resistance when +Graydon drew her head over against his shoulder. His strong right +hand clasped her listless fingers and the warmth of his heart came +bounding into her veins as if by magic. He did not speak to her, but +she knew that he was claiming her then for all time; she knew that +nothing could stand in the way of his purpose. The sobs grew less +despairing, her understanding of things less vague and uncertain. +A few moments before she had felt that she was no kin to the world; +now there was a new appreciation of love and its greatness in her +soul. + +This man had loved her, and he would take her up and shield her +against the hate of the world. There had not been a moment when her +own love for him wavered; she worshipped him now as she had in the +beginning. The revelation of Droom, the theatric scenes in the cafe, +the crushing of the small hope she had cherished, all conspired +in this secure moment to waken her into a realisation of what an +overbalancing power love is. + +Unconsciously her fingers tightened upon his and her body drew +closer; she was arraying herself against the fear that she might +lose this haven of rest and joy, after all--the haven she had been +willing to scourge and destroy in the bitterness of her heart. A +great wave of pity for herself came sweeping over her. It grew out +of the dread that he might, after all, deny her the place that no +one else in the world could give. + +Graydon's cold face was suddenly illumined; the incomprehensible +sweetness of pain rushed through his blood. He had given up his hope +as blighted after the harsh hour with Droom; he could not believe +his newfound success. Doubt, unbelief, enveloped him as he raised +her head, a kiss crying for its kind. His arm crept behind her +shoulders. She did not offer a repulse; her wet cheek touched his +in submission. It was the first time his hungry arms had held her +in centuries it seemed to him--and to her; it was the first time +their lips had met--except in dreams--since that horrid night so +long ago. + +"Jane, Jane!" he was whispering in her ear; her plans, her purposes, +her sacrifices, were running away from her in riotous disorder. +She could not hold them in check; they fled like weaklings before +the older and stronger hopes and desires. + +They did not know of the blockade of cabs at the corner of Forty-second +Street, nor how long they stood there. Shouting cabmen and police +officers tried to rival the white blizzard in profuseness, but they +did not hear them. + +"Oh, Graydon, I cannot, I must not," she was crying, holding his +hand with almost frenzied disdain for the words so plaintively +loyal. "It is out of the question, dearest. You know it is. I love +you, oh, how I love you. But I--I must not be your wife. I--I--" + +"I've had enough of this, Jane," he said so firmly that she stiffened +perceptibly in his arms. "It's all confounded rot. Excuse me, but +it is. I know you think you're right, but you're not. Old Elias +gave the best advice in the world. You know what it was. We've just +got to make our own happiness. Nobody else will do it for us, and +it's just as easy to be happy as it is to be the other way. I'm +tired of pleading. I've waited as long as I intend to. We're going +to be married to-morrow." + +"Graydon!" + +"Don't refuse! It's no use, dearest. We've lost a year or two. I +don't intend to lose another day. What do I care about your father +and mother? What did they care about you? You owe all the rest of +your life to yourself and to me. Come! will you consent willingly +or--" He paused. She was very still in his arms for a long time. + +"I do so want to be happy," she said at last, reflectively. "No, +no! don't say anything yet. I am only wondering how it will be +after we've been married for a few years. When I'm growing old and +plain, and you begin to tire of me as most men grow weary of their +wives--what then? Ah, Graydon, I--I have thought about all that, +too. You'll never reproach me openly--you couldn't do that, I know. +But you may secretly nourish the scorn which--" + +"Jane," he said, dropping the tone of confident authority and +speaking very tenderly, "you forget that my father is a convict. +You forget that he has done things which will forever keep me a +beggar at your feet. I am asking YOU to forget and overlook much +more than you could ever ask of me. Old Elias, wretch that he is, +has pointed out our ways for us; they run together in spite of what +may conspire to divide them. Jane, I love my soul, but I love you +ten thousand times better than my soul." + +"I did not believe I could ever be so happy again," she murmured, +putting her hands to his face. + +"To-morrow, dear?" + +"Yes." + +Graydon, rejoicing in his final victory, hurried to his rooms later +in the evening. As he was about to enter the elevator he noticed a +grey-suited boy in brass buttons, who stood near by, an inquiring +look in his face. + +"This is Mr. Bansemer," observed the laconic youth who ran the +single elevator in the apartment building. + +"Something for me?" demanded Graydon, turning to the boy in grey. + +"Special delivery letter, sir. Sign here." + +Graydon took the thick envelope from the boy's hand. With a start, +he recognised his father's handwriting. Curiously he turned the +letter over in his fingers as he ascended in the car, wonder growing +in his brain. He did not wait to remove his overcoat on entering his +rooms, but strode to the light and nervously tore open the envelope. +Dread, hope, anxiety, conspired tu make his fingers tremble. There +were many closely written pages. How well he remembered his father's +writing! + +As he read, his eyes grew wide with wonder and unbelief. They raced +through the pages, wonder giving way to joy and exultation as he +neared the end of the astounding message from the far-away prisoner. + +A shout forged to his lips; he hugged the letter to his heart; +tears came into his eyes, a sob broke in, his throat. + +"Thank God!" he cried, throwing himself into a chair to eagerly +read and reread the contents of the letter. Suddenly he sprang to +his feet and dashed across the room to the telephone. + +"She will die of joy!" he half sobbed, in the transports of +exhilaration. Five minutes later he was on his way to her hotel, +clutching the priceless letter in his bare fingers, deep down in +his overcoat pocket. He had shouted over the 'phone that the good +news would not keep till morning, and she was waiting up for him +with Mr. and Mrs. Cable, consumed by curiosity. + +"This letter"--he gasped, as he entered the room--"from father. +He's written, Jane--everything. I knew he would. Elias didn't know +it all. He knew half of the truth, that's all. Good Lord, I--I +can't read it, Mr. Cable. You--please." + +David Cable, white-faced and trembling, read aloud the letter from +James Bansemer. It was to "My beloved son." The first appealing +sentences were given to explanation and apology for the determined +silence he had maintained for so many months. He spoke casually of +his utter indifference to the success of certain friends who were +working for his pardon. "If they secure my release," he wrote, "I +shall find happiness if you clasp my hand but once before I leave +America forever." Farther on he said: "I will not accept parole. +It is a poor premium on virtue, and, as you know, my stock of that +commodity has been miserably low." + +"I may be required to serve my full term," read David Cable. "In +that case, we should not see one another for years, my son. You +have much to forgive and I have much more to forget. We can best +see our ways to the end if we seek them apart. The dark places won't +seem so black.... My sole purpose in writing this letter to you, +my son, is to give back to you as much happiness as I can possibly +extract from this pile of misery. I am not pleading for anything; +I am simply surrendering to the good impulses that are once more +coming into their own, after all these years of subjection.... +I am not apologising to the Cables. I am doing this for your sake +and for the girl who has wronged no one and to whom I have acted +with a baseness which amazes me as I reflect upon it inside these +narrow walls. + +"You will recall that I would have permitted you to marry her--I +mean, in the beginning. Perhaps it was spite which interposed later +on. At least, be charitable enough to call it that. Clegg has been +here to see me. He says you are bound to make Jane Cable your wife. +I knew you would. For a long time I have held out, unreasonably, I +admit, against having her as my daughter. I could not endure the +thought of giving you up altogether. Don't you comprehend my thought? +I cannot bring myself to look again into her eyes after what she +saw in this accursed prison.... She was born in wedlock.... The +story is not a long one. Elias Droom knows the names of her father +and mother, but I am confident that he does not know all of the +circumstances. For once, I was too shrewd for him. The story of +my dealings in connection with Jane Cable is a shameful one, and +I cannot hope for pardon, either from you or from her." + +Here he related, as concisely as possible, the incidents attending +Mrs. Cable's first visit to his office and the subsequent adoption +of the babe. + +"I knew that there was wealth and power behind the mystery. There +was a profitable scandal in the background. Unknown to Mrs. Cable, +I began investigations of my own. She had made little or no effort +to discover the parents of the child. She could have had no purpose +in doing so, I'll admit.... [Here he gave in detail the progress of +his investigations at the Foundlings' Home, at the health office, +at certain unsavory hospitals and in other channels of possibility.] +...At last, I found the doctor, and then the nurse. After that, it +was easy to unearth the records of a child's birth and of a mother's +death--all in New York City.... Droom can tell you the names of +Jane's parents, substantiating the names I have just given to you. +He did not know that they had been married nearly two years prior +to the birth of the child. It was a clandestine marriage.... I went +straight to the father of the foundling. He was then but little +more than twenty-one years of age--a wild, ruthless, overbearing, +heartless scoundrel, who had more money but a much smaller conscience +than I.... To-day he is a great and, I believe, respected gentleman, +for he comes of good stock.... I had him trembling on his knees +before me. He told me the truth. Egad, my son, I am rather proud +of that hour with him. + +"It seems that this young scion of a wealthy house had lost his +insecure heart to the daughter of a real aristocrat. I say real, +because her father was a pure Knickerbocker of the old school. +He was, naturally, as poor as poverty itself. With his beautiful +daughter he was living in lower New York--barely subsisting, +I may say, on the meagre income that found its way to him through +the upstairs lodgers in the old home. Here lived Jane's mother, +cherishing the traditions of her blood, while her father, sick and +feeble, brooded over the days when he was a king in Babylon. The +handsome, wayward lover came into her life when she was nineteen. +They were married secretly in the city of Boston. + +"The young husband imposed silence until after he had attained his +majority. There was a vast fortune at stake. In plain words, his +father had forbidden the marriage. He had selected another one to +be the wife of his son.... Jane was born in the second year of their +wedded life. It was, of course, important that the fact should be +kept secret. I am inclosing a slip of paper containing the names +of the minister, the doctor and the nurse who afterwards attended +her, together with the record of death. It is more convenient to +handle than this bulky letter--which I trust you will destroy. You +will also find the name of the hospital in which Jane was born and +where her mother died, ten days later. I may say, in this connection, +that not one of the persons mentioned knew the true name of the +young mother, nor were they sure of the fact that she was a wife. +Her gravestone in the old cemetery bears the name of the maiden, +not the wife. Her father never knew the truth.... + +"What I did in the premises need not be told. That is a part of +my past. I learned how the cowardly young father, glad to be out +of the affair so easily, hired the nurse to leave the baby on the +doorstep. Then I went to the banker whose son he was. I had absolute +proof of the marriage. He paid me well to keep the true story from +reaching the public. The son was whisked abroad and he afterwards +married the girl of his father's choice. I do not believe that he +has ever given a thought to the whereabouts or welfare of his child. +It was her heritage of caste! + +"If Jane cares to claim her rights as this man's lawful daughter, +proof is ample and undeniable. I fancy, however, she will find +greater joy as the daughter of David Cable. Her own father has less +of a heart than yours, for, after all, my son, I love you because +you are mine. Love me, if you can; I have nothing else left that +I care for. Remember that I am always + +Your loving father, + +JAMES BANSEMER." + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of June Cable, by George Barr McCutcheon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JUNE CABLE *** + +***** This file should be named 5971.txt or 5971.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/5/9/7/5971/ + +Produced by Charles Franks, Charles Aldarondo and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +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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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Jane Cable + +Author: George Barr McCutcheon + +Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5971] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on October 2, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, JANE CABLE *** + + + + +Charles Franks, Charles Aldarondo and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + + +[Illustration: "HIS FEEBLE GLANCE TOOK IN HER FACE WITH LIFELESS +INTEREST"] + +Jane Cable + +By George Barr McCutcheon + + + + + + +CONTENTS + +I When Jane Goes Driving +II The Cables +III James Bansemer +IV The Foundling +V The Bansemer Crash +VI In Sight of the Fangs +VII Mrs. Cable Entertains +VIII The Telegram +IX The Proposal +X The Four Initials +XI An Evening with Droom +XII James Bansemer Calls +XIII Jane Sees with New Eyes +XIV The Canker +XV The Tragedy of the Sea Wall +XVI Hours of Terror +XVII David Cable's Debts +XVIII The Visit of Harbert +XIX The Crash +XX Father and Son +XXI In the Philippines +XXII The Chase of Pilar +XXIII The Fight in the Convent +XXIV Teresa Velasquez +XXV The Beautiful Nurse +XXVI The Separation of Hearts +XXVII "If They Don't Kill You" +XXVIII Homeward Bound +XXIX The Wreckage +XXX The Drink of Gall +XXXI The Transforming of Droom +XXXII Elias Droom's Dinner Party +XXXIII Droom Triumphs over Death +XXXIV To-morrow + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +WHEN JANE GOES DRIVING + + + + + +It was a bright, clear afternoon in the late fall that pretty Miss +Cable drove up in her trap and waited at the curb for her father to +come forth from his office in one of Chicago's tallest buildings. +The crisp, caressing wind that came up the street from the lake put +the pink into her smooth cheeks, but it did not disturb the brown +hair that crowned her head. Well-groomed and graceful, she sat +straight and sure upon the box, her gloved hand grasping the yellow +reins firmly and confidently. Miss Cable looked neither to right +nor to left, but at the tips of her thoroughbred's ears. Slender +and tall and very aristocratic she appeared, her profile alone +visible to the passers-by. + +After a very few moments, waiting in her trap, the smart young +woman became impatient. A severe, little pucker settled upon her +brow, and not once, but many times her eyes turned to the broad +entrance across the sidewalk. She had telephoned to her father +earlier in the afternoon; and he had promised faithfully to be +ready at four o'clock for a spin up the drive behind Spartan. At +three minutes past four the pucker made its first appearance; and +now, several minutes later, it was quite distressing. Never before +had he kept her waiting like this. She was conscious of the fact +that at least a hundred men had stared at her in the longest ten +minutes she had ever known. From the bottom of a very hot heart +she was beginning to resent this scrutiny, when a tall young fellow +swung around a near-by corner, and came up with a smile so full of +delight, that the dainty pucker left her brow, as the shadow flees +from the sunshine. His hat was off and poised gallantly above his +head, his right hand reaching up to clasp the warm, little tan one +outstretched to meet it. + +"I knew it was you long before I saw you," said he warmly. + +"Truly? How interesting!" she responded, with equal warmth. +"Something psychic in the atmosphere today?" + +"Oh, no," he said, reluctantly releasing her hand. "I can't see +through these huge buildings, you know---it's impossible to look +over their tops--I simply knew you were here, that's all." + +"You're romantic, even though you are a bit silly," she cried gaily. +"Pray, how could you know?" + +"Simplest thing in the world. Rigby told me he had seen you, and +that you seemed to be in a great rage. He dared me to venture into +your presence, and--that's why I'm here." + +"What a hopelessly, commonplace explanation! Why did you not leave +me to think that there was really something psychic about it? Logic +is so discouraging to one's conceit. I'm in a very disagreeable +humour to-day," she said, in fine despair. + +"I don't believe it," he disputed graciously. + +"But I am," she insisted, smiling brightly. His heart was leaping +high--so high, that it filled his eyes. "Everything has gone wrong +with me to-day. It's pretty trying to have to wait in front of a +big office building for fifteen minutes. Every instant, I expect +a policeman to come up and order me to move on. Don't they arrest +people for blocking the street?" + +"Yes, and put them in awful, rat-swarming dungeons over in Dearborn +Avenue. Poor Mr. Cable, he should be made to suffer severely for +his wretched conduct. The idea of--" + +"Don't you dare to say anything mean about dad," she warned. + +"But he's the cause of all the trouble--he's never done anything +to make you happy, or--" + +"Stop!--I take it all back--I'm in a perfectly adorable humour. +It was dreadfully mean of me to be half-angry with him, wasn't it? +He's in there, now, working his dear old brain to pieces, and I'm +out here with no brain at all," she said ruefully. + +To the ingenuous youth, such an appeal to his gallantry was well-nigh +irresistible, and for a moment it seemed as if he would yield to +the temptation to essay a brilliant contradiction; but his wits +came to his rescue, for quickly realising that not only were the +frowning rocks of offence to be avoided, but likewise the danger of +floundering helplessly about in the inviting quicksands of inanity, he +preserved silence--wise young man that he was, and trusted to his +eyes to express an eloquent refutation. At last, however, something +seemed to occur to him. A smile broke on his face. + +"You had a stupid time last night?" he hazarded. + +"What makes you think so?" + +"I know who took you in to dinner." + +The eyes of the girl narrowed slightly at the corners. + +"Did he tell you?" + +"No, I have neither seen nor heard from anyone present." She opened +her eyes wide, now. + +"Well, Mr. S. Holmes, who was it?" + +"That imbecile, Medford." + +Miss Cable sat up very straight in the trap; her little chin went +up in the air; she even went so far as to make a pretence of curbing +the impatience of her horse. + +"Mr. Medford was most entertaining--he was the life of the dinner," +she returned somewhat severely. + +"He's a professional!" + +"An actor!" she cried incredulously. + +"No, a professional diner-out. Wasn't that rich young Jackson +there?" + +"Why, yes; but do tell me how you knew?" The girl was softening a +little, her curiosity aroused. + +"Of course I will," he said boyishly, at once pleased with himself +and his sympathetic audience. "About five-thirty I happened to be +in the club. Medford was there, and as usual catering to Jackson, +when the latter was called to the 'phone. Naturally, I put two +and two together." He paused to more thoroughly enjoy the look of +utter mystification that hovered on the girl's countenance. It was +very apparent that this method of deduction through addition was +unsatisfying. "What Jackson said to Medford, on his return," the +young man continued, "I did not hear; but from the expression on +the listener's face I could have wagered that an invitation had been +extended and accepted. Oh, we boys have got it down fine! Garrison +is---" + +"And who is Garrison?" + +"Garrison is the head door man at the club. It's positively amazing +the number of telephone calls he receives every afternoon from +well-known society women!" + +"What about? And what's that got to do with Mr. Medford taking me +in to dinner?" + +"Just this: Suppose Mrs. Rowden..." + +"Mrs. Rowden!" The girl was nonplussed. + +"Yes--wants to find out who's in the club? She 'phones Garrison. +Instantly, after ascertaining which set--younger or older is wanted, +from a small card upon which he has written a few but choice names +of club members, he submits a name to her." + +"Really, you don't mean to tell me that such a thing is actually +done?" exclaimed Miss Cable, who as yet was socially so unsophisticated +as to be horrified; "you're joking, of course!" + +"But nine time out of ten," ignoring the interruption; "it is met +with: 'Don't want him!' Another: 'Makes a bad combination!' A third: +'Oh, no, my dear, not a dollar to his name--hopelessly ineligible!' +This last exclamation though intended solely for the visitor at +her home, elicits from Garrison a low chuckle of approval of the +speaker's discrimination; and presently, he hears: 'Goodness me, +Garrison, there must be someone else!' Then, to her delights she +is informed that Mr. Jackson has just come in; and he is requested +to come to the 'phone, Garrison being dismissed with thanks and +the expectation of seeing her butler in the morning." + +"How perfectly delicious!" came from the girl. "I can almost hear +Mrs. Rowden telling Jackson that he will be the dearest boy in the +world if he will dine with her." + +"And bring someone with him, as she is one man short," laughed +Graydon, as he wound up lightly; "and here is where the professional +comes in. We're all onto Medford! Why, Garrison has half a dozen +requests a night--six times five--thirty dollars. Not bad--but +then the man's a 'who's who' that never makes mistakes. I won't be +positive that he does not draw pay from both ends. For, men like +Medford, outside of the club, probably tip him to give them the +preference. It would be good business." + +There was so much self-satisfaction in the speaker's manner +of uttering these last words, that it would not have required the +wisdom of one older than Miss Cable to detect that he was thoroughly +enjoying his pose of man of the world. He was indeed young! For, he +had yet to learn that not to disillusion the girl, but to conform +as much as possible to her ideals, was the surest way to win her +favour; and his vanity surely would have received a blow had not David +Cable at that moment come out of the doorway across the sidewalk, +pausing for a moment to converse with the man who accompanied him. +The girl's face lighted with pleasure and relief; but the young +man regarding uneasily the countenance of the General Manager of +the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic R.R. Company, saw that he was white, +tired and drawn. It was not the keen, alert expression that had been +the admiration of everyone; something vital seemed to be missing, +although he could not have told what it was. A flame seemed to have +died somewhere in his face, leaving behind a faint suggestion of +ashes; and through the young man's brain there flashed the remark +of his fair companion: 'He's in there now, working his dear, old +brain to pieces.' + +"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Jane," said Cable, crossing +to the curb. "Hello, Graydon; how are you?" His voice was sharp, +crisp, and louder than the occasion seemed to demand, but it was +natural with him. Years of life in an engine cab do not serve to +mellow the tone of the human voice, and the habit is too strong to +be overcome. There was no polish to the tones as they issued from +David Cable's lips. He spoke with more than ordinary regard for the +Queen's English, but it was because he never had neglected it. It +was characteristic of the man to do a thing as nearly right as he +knew how in the beginning, and to do it. the same way until a better +method presented itself. + +"Very well, thank you, Mr. Cable, except that Jane has been abusing +me because you were not here to---" + +"Don't you believe a word he says, dad," she cried. + +"Oh, if the truth isn't in me, I'll subside," laughed Graydon. +"Nevertheless, you've kept her waiting, and it's only reasonable +that she should abuse somebody." + +"I am glad you were here to receive it; it saves my grey hairs." + +"Rubbish!" was Miss Cable's simple comment, as her father took his +place beside her. + +"Oh, please drive on, Jane," said the young man, his admiring eyes +on the girl who grasped the reins afresh and straightened like a +soldier for inspection. "I must run around to the University Club +and watch the score of the Yale-Harvard game at Cambridge. It looks +like Harvard, hang it all! Great game, they say---" + +"There he goes on football. We must be off, or it will be dark +before we get away from him. Good-bye!" cried Miss Cable. + +"How's your father, Gray? He wasn't feeling the best in the world, +yesterday," said Cable, tucking in the robe. + +"A case of liver, Mr. Cable; he's all right to-day. Good-bye!" + +As Jane and her father whirled away, the latter gave utterance +to a remark that brought a new brightness to her eyes and a proud +throbbing to her heart; but he did not observe the effect. + +"Bright, clever chap--that Graydon Bansemer," he said comfortably. + + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE CABLES + + + + + +The General Manager of the Pacific, Lakes & Atlantic Railroad +System had had a hard struggle of it. He who begins his career with +a shovel in a locomotive cab usually has something of that sort +to look back upon. There are no roses along the pathway he has +traversed. In the end, perhaps, he wonders if it has been worth +while. David Cable was a General Manager; he had been a fireman. +It had required twenty-five years of hard work on his part to break +through the chrysalis. Packed away in a chest upstairs in his house +there was a grimy, greasy, unwholesome suit of once-blue overalls. +The garments were just as old as his railroad career, for he had worn +them on his first trip with the shovel. When his wife implored him +to throw away the "detestable things," he said, with characteristic +humour, that he thought he would keep them for a rainy day. It was +much simpler to go from General Manager to fireman than vice versa, +and it might be that he would need the suit again. It pleased him +to hear his wife sniff contemptuously. + +David Cable had been a wayward, venturesome youth. His father and +mother had built their hopes high with him as a foundation, and he +had proved a decidedly insecure basis; for one night, in the winter +of 1863, he stole away from his home in New York; before spring +he was fighting in the far Southland, a boy of sixteen carrying a +musket in the service of his country. + +At the close of the Civil War Private Cable, barely eighteen, returned +to his home only to find that death had destroyed its happiness: +his father had died, leaving his widowed mother a dependant upon +him. It was then, philosophically, he realised that labour alone +could win for him; and he stuck to it with rigid integrity. In +turn, he became brakeman and fireman; finally his determination +and faithfulness won him a fireman's place on one of the fast New +York Central "runs." If ever he was dissatisfied with the work, no +one was the wiser. + +Railroading in those days was not what it is in these advanced times. +Then, it meant that one was possessed of all the evil habits that +fall to the lot of man. David Cable was more or less contaminated +by contact with his rough, ribald companions of the rail, and +he glided moderately into the bad habits of his kind. He drank +and "gamboled" with the rest of the boys; but by nature not being +vicious and low, the influences were not hopelessly deadening to +the better qualities of his character. To his mother, he was always +the strong, good-hearted, manly boy, better than all the other +sons in the world. She believed in him; he worshipped her; and it +was not until he was well up in the twenties that he stopped to +think that she was not the only good woman in the world who deserved +respect. + +Up in Albany lived the Widow Coleman and her two pretty daughters. +Mrs. Coleman's husband died on the battlefield, and she, like many +women in the North and the South, after years of moderate prosperity, +was compelled to support herself and her family. She had been +a pretty woman, and one readily could see where her daughters got +their personal attractiveness. Not many doors from the boisterous +little eating-house in which the railroad men snatched their meals +as they went through, the widow opened a book and newsstand. Her +home was on the floor above the stand, and it was there she brought +her little girls to womanhood. Good-looking, harum-scarum Dave +Cable saw Frances Coleman one evening as he dropped in to purchase +a newspaper. It was at the end of June, in 1876, and the country +was in the throes of excitement over the first news of the Custer +massacre on the Little Big Horn River. + +Cable was deeply interested, for he had seen Custer fighting at +the front in the sixties. Frances Coleman, the prettiest girl he +had ever seen, sold him the newspaper. After that, he seldom went +through Albany without visiting the little book shop. + +Tempestuous, even arrogant in love, Cable, once convinced that he +cared for her, lost no time in claiming her, whether or no. In less +than three months after the Custer massacre they were married. + +Defeated rivals unanimously and enviously observed that the +handsomest fireman on the road had conquered the mo&t outrageous +little coquette between New York and Buffalo. As a matter of fact, +she had loved him from the start; the others served as thorns with +which she delightedly pricked his heart into subjection. + +The young husband settled down, renounced all of his undesirable +habits and became a new man with such surprising suddenness that +his friends marvelled and--derided. A year of happiness followed. +He grew accustomed to her frivolous ways, overlooked her merry +whimsicalities and gave her the "full length of a free rope," as he +called it. He was contented and consequently careless. She chafed +under the indifference, and in her resentment believed the worst +of him. Turmoil succeeded peace and contentment, and in the end, +David Cable, driven to distraction, weakly abandoned the domestic +battlefield and fled to the Far West, giving up home, good wages, +and all for the sake of freedom, such as it was. He ignored her +letters and entreaties, but in all those months that he was away +from her he never ceased to regret the impulse that had defeated +him. Nevertheless, he could not make up his mind to go back and +resume the life of torture her jealousy had begotten. + +Then, the unexpected happened. A letter was received containing +the command to come home and care for his wife and baby. At once, +David Cable called a halt in his demoralising career and saw the +situation plainly. He forgot that she had "nagged" him to the point +where endurance rebelled; he forgot everything but the fact that +he cared for her in spite of all. Sobered and conscience-stricken, +he knew only that she was alone and toiling; that she had suffered +uncomplainingly until the babe was some months old before appealing +to him for help. In abject humiliation, he hastened back to New +York, reproaching himself every mile of the way. Had he but known +the true situation, he would have been spared the pangs of remorse, +and this narrative never would have been written. + + + + + + +CHAPTER III + +JAMES BANSEMER + + + + + +In the City of New York there was practising, at that time, a +lawyer by the name of Bansemer. His office, on the topmost floor +of a dingy building in the lower section of the city, was not +inviting. On leaving the elevator, one wound about through narrow +halls and finally peered, with more or less uncertainty and misgiving, +at the half-obliterated sign which said that James Bansemer held +forth on the other side of the glass panel. + +It was whispered in certain circles and openly avowed in others +that Bansemer's business was not the kind which elevates the law; +in plain words, his methods were construed to debase the good and +honest statutes of the land. Once inside the door of his office--and +a heavy spring always closed it behind one--there was quick evidence +that the lawyer lamentably disregarded the virtues of prosperity, +no matter how they had been courted and won. Although his transactions +in and out of the courts of that great city bore the mark of +dishonour, he was known to have made money during the ten years +of his career as a member of the bar. Possibly he kept his office +shabby and unclean that it might be in touch with the transactions +which had their morbid birth inside the grimy walls. There was no +spot or corner in the two small rooms that comprised his "chambers" +to which he could point with pride. The floors were littered with +papers; the walls were greasy and bedecked with malodorous notations, +documents and pictures; the windows were smoky and useless; the +clerk's desk bore every suggestion of dissoluteness. + +But little less appalling to one's aesthetic sense was the clerk +himself. Squatting behind his wretched desk, Elias Droom peered +across the litter of papers and books with snaky but polite eyes, +almost as inviting as the spider who, with wily but insidious +decorum, draws the guileless into his web. + +If one passed muster in the estimation of the incomprehensible +Droom, he was permitted, in due season, to pass through a second +oppressive-looking door and into the private office of Mr. James +Bansemer, attorney-at-law and solicitor. It may be remarked at +this early stage that, no matter how long or how well one may have +known Droom, one seldom lingered to engage in commonplaces with +him. His was the most repellent personality imaginable. When he +smiled, one was conscious of a shock to the nervous system; when +he so far forgot himself as to laugh aloud, there was a distinct +illustration of the word "crunching"; when he spoke, one was almost +sorry that he had ears. + +Bansemer knew but little of this freakish individual's history; no +one else had the temerity to inquire into his past--or to separate +it from his future, for that matter. Once, Bansemer ironically +asked him why he had never married. It was a full minute before +the other lifted his eyes from the sheet of legal cap, and by that +time he was in full control of his passion. + +"Look at me! Would any woman marry a thing like me?" + +This was said with such terrible earnestness that Bansemer took +care never to broach the subject again. He saw that Droom's heart +was not all steel and brass. + +Droom v/as middle-aged. His lank body and cadaverous face were +constructed on principles not generally accredited to nature as it +applies to men. When erect, his body swayed as if it were a stubborn +reed determined to maintain its dignity in the face of the wind; he +did not walk, he glided. His long square chin, rarely clean-shaven, +protruded far beyond its natural orbit; indeed, the attitude of +the chin gave one an insight to the greedy character of the man. +At first glance, one felt that Droom was reaching forth with his +lower jaw to give greeting with his teeth, instead of his hand. + +His neck was long and thin, and his turndown collar was at least +two sizes too large. The nose was hooked and of abnormal length, +the tip coming well down over the short, upper lip and broad mouth. +His eyes were light blue, and so intense that he was never known to +blink the lashes. Topping them were deep, wavering, black eyebrows +that met above the nose, forming an ominous, cloudy line across +the base of his thin, high forehead. The crown of his head, covered +by long, scant strands of black hair, was of the type known as +"retreating and pointed." The forehead ran upward and back from the +brows almost to a point, and down from the pinnacle hung the veil +of hair, just as if he had draped it there with the same care +he might have used in placing his best hat upon a peg. His back +was stooped, and the high, narrow shoulders were hunched forward +eagerly. Long arms and ridiculously thin legs, with big hands and +feet, tell the story of his extremities. When he was on his feet +Droom was more than six feet tall; as he sat in the low-backed, +office chair he looked to be less than five feet, over all. What +became of that lank expanse of bone and cuticle when he sat down +was one of the mysteries that not even James Bansemer could fathom. + +The men had been classmates in an obscure law school down in +Pennsylvania. Bansemer was good-looking, forceful and young; while +Droom was distinctly his opposite. Where he came from no one knew +and no one cared. He was past thirty-five when he entered the +school-at least twelve years the senior of Bansemer. + +His appearance and attire proclaimed him to be from the country; +but his sophistry, his knowledge of the world and his wonderful +insight into human nature contradicted his looks immeasureably. +A conflict or two convinced his fellow students that he was more +than a match for them in stealth and cunning, if not in dress and +deportment. + +Elias Droom had not succeeded as a lawyer. He repelled people, +growing more and more bitter against the world as his struggles +became harder. What little money he had accumulated--Heaven alone +knew how: he came by it--dwindled to nothing, and he was in actual +squalor when, later, Bansemer found him in an attic in Baltimore. +Even as he engaged the half-starved wretch to become his confidential +clerk the lawyer shuddered and almost repented of his action. + +But Elias Droom was worth his weight in gold to James Bansemer from +that day forth. His employer's sole aim in life was to get rich +and thereby to achieve power. His ambition was laudable, if one +accepts the creed of morals, but his methods were not so praise-worthy. +After a year of two of starvation struggles to get on with the +legitimate, he packed up his scruples and laid them away--temporarily, +he said. He resorted to sharp practice, knavery, and all the forms +of legal blackmail; it was not long before his bank account began +to swell. His business thrived. He was so clever that not one of his +shady proceedings reacted. It is safe to venture that ninety-nine +per cent, of the people who were bilked through his manipulations +promised, in the heat of virtuous wrath, to expose him, but he had +learned to smile in security. He knew that exposure for him meant +humiliation for the instigator, and he continued to rest easy while +he worked hard. + +"You're getting rich at this sort of thing," observed Droom one +day, after the lawyer had closed a particularly nauseous deal to +his own satisfaction, "but what are you going to do when the tide +turns?" + +Bansemer, irritated on perceiving that the other was engaged in his +exasperating habit of rubbing his hands together, did not answer, +but merely thundered out: "Will you stop that!" + +There was a faint suggestion of the possibility of a transition of +the hands to claws, as Droom abruptly desisted, but smilingly went +on: + +"Some day, the other shark will get the better of you and you'll +have nothing to fall back on. You've been building on mighty slim +foundations. There isn't a sign of support if the worst comes to +the worst," he chuckled. + +"It's a large world, Droom," said his employer easily. + +"And small also, according to another saying," supplemented Droom. +"When a man's down, everybody kicks him--I'm afraid you could not +survive the kicking." + +Droom grinned so diabolically as again he resumed the rubbing of +his hands that the other turned away with an oath and closed the +door to the inside office. Bansemer was alone and where Droom's +eyes could not see him, but something told him that the grin hung +outside the door for many minutes, as if waiting for a chance to +pop in and tantalise him. + +Bansemer was a good-looking man of the coarser mould--the kind of +man that merits a second look in passing, and the second look is not +always in his favour. He was thirty-five years of age, but looked +older. His face was hard and deeply marked with the lines of +intensity. The black eyes were fascinating in their brilliancy, +but there was a cruel, savage light in their depths. The nose and +mouth were clean-cut and pitiless in their very symmetry. Shortly +after leaving college to hang out his shingle, he had married the +daughter of a minister. For two years her sweet influence kept his +efforts along the righteous path, but he writhed beneath the yoke +of poverty. His pride suffered because he was unable to provide +her with more of the luxuries of life; in his selfish way, he loved +her. Failure to advance made him surly and ill-tempered, despite +her amiable efforts to lighten the shadows around their little +home. When the baby boy was born to them, and she suffered more +and more from the unkindness of privation, James Bansemer, by nature +an aggressor, threw off restraint and plunged into the traffic that +soon made him infamously successful. She died, however, before the +taint of his duplicity touched her, and he, even in his grief, felt +thankful that she never was to know the truth. + +At this time Bansemer lived in comfort at one of the middle-class +boarding houses uptown, and the boy was just leaving the kindergarten +for a private school. Bansemer's calloused heart had one tender +chamber, and in it dwelt the little lad with the fair hair and grey +eyes of the woman who had died. + +Late one November afternoon just before Bansemer put on his light +topcoat to leave the office for the day, Droom tapped on the +glass panel of the door to his private office. Usually, the clerk +communicated with him by signal--a floor button by which he could +acquaint his master with much that he ought to know, and the +visitor in the outer office would be none the wiser. The occasions +were rare when he went so far as to tap on the door. Bansemer was +puzzled, and stealthily listened for sounds from the other side. +Suddenly, there came to his ears the voices of women, mingled with +Broom's suppressed but always raucous tones. + +Bansemer opened the door; looking into the outer office, he saw +Droom swaying before two women, rubbing his hands and smiling. One +of the women carried a small babe in her arms. Neither she nor her +companion seemed quite at ease in the presence of the lank guardian +of the outer office. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FOUNDLING + + + + + +"Lady to see you!" announced Droom. The shrewd, fearless genius of +the inner room glanced up quickly and met the prolonged, uncanny +gaze of his clerk; unwillingly, his eyes fell. + +"Confound it, Lias! will you ever quit looking at me like that! +There's something positively creepy in that stare of yours!" + +"Lady to see you!" repeated the clerk, shifting about uneasily, +and then gliding away to take his customary look at the long row +of books in the wall cases. He had performed this act a dozen times +a day for more than five years; the habit had become so strong that +chains could not have restrained him. It was what he considered +a graceful way of dropping out of notice, at the same time giving +the impression that he was constantly busy. + +"Are you Mr. Bansemer?" asked the woman with the babe in her arms, +as he crossed into the outer office. + +For a moment Bansemer purposely remained absorbed in the contemplation +of his finger nails; then he shot a sudden comprehensive glance +which took in the young woman, her burden and all the supposed +conditions. There was no doubt in his mind that here was another +"paternity case," as he catalogued them in his big, black book. + +"I am," he replied shortly, for he usually made short, quick work +of such cases. There was not much money in them at best. They spring +from the lower and poorer classes. The rich ones who are at fault +in such matters never permit them to go to the point where a lawyer +is consulted. "Would you mind coming in to-morrow? I'm just leaving +for the day." + +"It will take but a few minutes, sir, and it would be very hard for +me to get away again to-morrow," said the young woman nervously. +"I'm a governess in a family 'way uptown and my days are not very +free." + +"Is this your baby?" asked Bansemer, more interested. The word +governess appealed to him; it meant that she had to do with wealthy +people, at least. + +"No--that is--well, not exactly," she replied confusedly. The +lawyer looked at her so sharply that she flinched under his gaze. +A kidnapper, thought he, with the quick cunning of one who deals in +stratagems. Instinctively he looked about as if to make sure that +there were no unnecessary witnesses to share the secret. + +"Come into this room," said he suddenly. "Both of you. See that we +are not disturbed," he added, to Droom. "I think I can give you a +few minutes, madam, and perhaps some very good advice. Be seated," +he went on, closing the door after them. His eyes rested on Broom's +face for an instant as the door closed, and he saw a particularly +irritating grin struggling on his thin lips. "Now, what is it? Be +as brief as possible, please. I'm in quite a hurry." + +It occurred to him at this juncture that the young woman was not +particularly distressed. Instead, her rather pretty face was full +of eagerness and there was a certain lightness in her manner that +puzzled him for the moment. Her companion was the older of the +two and quite as prepossessing. Both were neatly dressed and both +looked as though they were or had been bread-winners. If they had +a secret, it was now quite evident to this shrewd, quick thinker +that it was not a dark one. In truth, he was beginning to feel that +something mischievous lurked in the attitude of the two visitors. + +"I want to ask how a person has to proceed to adopt a baby," was +the blunt and surprising remark that came from the one who held +the infant. Bansemer felt himself getting angry. + +"Who wants to adopt it?" he asked shortly. + +"I do, of course," she answered, so readily that the lawyer stared. +He scanned her from head to foot, critically; her face reddened +perceptibly. It surprised him to find that she was more than merely +good-looking; she was positively attractive! + +"Are you a married woman?" he demanded. + +"Yes," she answered, with a furtive glance at her companion. "This +is my sister," she added. + +"I see. Where is your husband?" + +"He is at home--or rather, at his mother's home. We are living +there now." + +"I thought you said you were a governess?" + +"That doesn't prevent me from having a home, does it?" she explained +easily. "I'm not a nurse, you know." + +"This isn't your child, then?" he asked impatiently. + +"I don't know whose child it is." There was a new softness in her +voice that made him look hard at her while she passed a hand tenderly +over the sleeping babe. "She comes from a foundling's home, sir." + +"You cannot adopt a child unless supported by some authority," he +said. "How does she happen to be in your possession; and what papers +have you from the foundling's home to show that the authorities +are willing that you should have her? There is a lot of red tape +about such matters, madam." + +"I thought perhaps you could manage it for me, Mr. Bansemer," +she said, plaintively. "They say you never fail at anything you +undertake." He was not sure there was a compliment in her remark, +so he treated it with indifference. + +"I'm afraid I can't help you." The tone was final. + +"Can't you tell me how I'll have to proceed? I must adopt the +child, sir, one way or another." Her manner was more subdued and +there was a touch of supplication in her voice. + +"Oh, you go into the proper court and make application, that's all," +he volunteered carelessly. "The judge will do the rest. Does your +husband approve of the plans?" + +"He doesn't know anything about it?" + +"What's that?" + +"I can't tell him; it would spoil everything." + +"My dear madam, I don't believe I understand you quite clearly. You +want to adopt the child and keep the matter dark so far as your +husband is concerned? May I inquire the reason?" Bansemer, naturally, +was interested by this time. + +"If you have time to listen, I'd like to tell you how it all comes +about. It won't take long. I want someone to tell me just what +to do and I'll pay for the advice, if it isn't too expensive. I'm +very poor, Mr. Bansemer; perhaps you won't care to heip me after +you know that I can't afford to pay very much." + +"We'll see about that later," he said brusquely; "go ahead with +the story." + +The young woman hesitated, glanced nervously at her sister as if +for support, and finally faced the expectant lawyer with a flash of +determination in her dark eyes. As she proceeded, Bansemer silently +and somewhat disdainfully made a study of the speaker. He concluded +that she was scarcely of common origin and was the possessor of +a superficial education that had been enlarged by conceitedness; +furthermore, she was a person of selfish instincts, but without +the usual cruel impulses. There was little if any sign of true +refinement in the features, and yet, there was a strange strength +of purpose that puzzled him. As her story progressed, he solved +the puzzle. She had the strength to carry out a purpose that might +further her own personal interests; but not the will to endure +sacrifice for the sake of another. Her sister was larger and possessed +a reserve that might have been mistaken for deepness. He felt that +she was hardly in sympathy with the motives of the younger, more +volatile woman. + +"My husband is a railroad engineer and is ten years older than I," +the narrator said in the beginning. "I wasn't quite nineteen when +we were married--two years ago. For some time, we got along all +right; then we began to quarrel. He commenced to---" + +"Mr. Bansemer is in a hurry, Fan," broke in the older sister, +sharply; and then, repeating the lawyer's words: "Be as brief as +possible." + +There was a world of reproach in the look which greeted the speaker. +Evidently, it was a grievous disappointment not to be allowed to +linger over the details. + +"Well," she continued half pettishly; "it all ended by his leaving +home, job and everything. I had told him that I was going to apply +for a divorce. For three months I never heard from him." + +"Did you apply for a divorce?" asked the lawyer, stifling a yawn. + +"No, sir, I did not, although he did nothing towards my support." +The woman could not resist a slightly coquettish attempt to enlist +Bansemer's sympathy. "I obtained work at St. Luke's Hospital for +Foundlings, and after that, as a governess. But, once a week I went +back to the asylum to see the little ones. One day, they brought +in a beautifully dressed baby--a girl. She was found on a doorstep, +and in the basket was a note asking that she be well cared for; with +it, was a hundred dollar bill. The moment I saw the little thing, +I fell in love with her. I made application and they gave me +the child with the understanding that I was to adopt it. You see, +I was lonely--I had been living alone for nine or ten months. The +authorities knew nothing of my trouble with Mr. Cable--that's my +husband, David Cable. The child was about a month old when I took +her to his mother, whom I hadn't seen in months. I told Mrs. Cable +that she was mine. The dear old lady believed me; half the battle +was won." She paused out of breath, her face full of excitement. + +"And then?" he asked, once more interested. + +"We both wrote to David asking him to come home to his wife and +baby." She looked away guiltily. For a full minute, Bansemer did +not speak. + +"The result?" he demanded. + +"He came back last month." + +"Does he know the truth?" + +"No, and with God's help, he never shall! It's my only salvation!" +she exclaimed emotionally. "He thinks she is his baby and--and---" +The tears were on her cheeks, now. "I worship him, Mr. Bansemer! +Oh, how good and sweet he has been to me since he came back! Now, +don't you see why I must adopt this child, and why he must never +know? If he learned that I had deceived him in this way, he would +hate me to my dying day." + +The infant was awake and staring at him with wide, blue eyes. + +"And you want me to handle this matter so that your husband will +be none the wiser?" + +"Oh, Mr. Bansemer," she cried; "it means everything to me! All +depends on this baby. I must adopt her, or the asylum people won't +let me keep her. Can't it be done so quickly that he'll never find +it out?" + +"How many people know that the child is not yours?" + +"My sister and the authorities at the asylum; not another soul." + +"It is possible to arrange the adoption, Mrs. Cable, but I can't +guarantee that Mr. Cable will not find it out. The records will +show the fact, you know. There is but one way to avoid discovery." + +"And that, please?" + +"Leave New York and make your home in some distant city. That's +the safe way. If you remain here, there is always a chance that he +may find out. I see the position you're in and I'll help you. It +can be done quite regularly and there is only one thing you'll have +to fear--you own tongue," he concluded, pointedly. + +"I hate New York, Mr. Bansemer. David likes the West and I'll go +anywhere on earth, if it will keep him from finding out. Oh, if +you knew how he adores her!" she cried, regret and ecstasy mingling +in her voice. "I'd give my soul if she were only mine!" Bansemer's +heart was too roughly calloused to be touched by the wistful longing +in these words. + +Before the end of the week the adoption of the foundling babe was +a matter of record; and the unsuspecting David Cable was awaiting +a reply from the train-master of a big Western railroad, to whom, +at the earnest, even eager, solicitation of his wife, he had applied +for work. Elias Droom made a note of the fee in the daybook at the +office, but asked no questions. Bansemer had told him nothing of +the transaction, but he was confident that the unspeakable Droom +knew all about it, even though he had not been nearer than the +outer office during any of the consultations. + + + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BANSEMER CRASH + + + + + +Twenty long years had passed since David and Frances Cable took +their hasty departure--virtually fleeing from New York City, their +migrations finally ending in that thriving Western city--Denver. +Then, the grime of the engine was on Cable's hands and deep beneath +his skin; the roar of iron and steel and the rush of wind was ever +in his ears; the quest of danger in his eye; but there was love, +pride and a new ambition in his heart. Now, in 1898, David Cable's +hands were white and strong; the grime was gone; the engineer's +cap had given way to the silk tile of the magnate; and the shovel +was a memory. + +But his case was not unique in that day and age of pluck and luck. +Many another man had gone from the bottom to the top with the speed +and security of the elevator car in the lofty "sky-scrapers." In +the heartless revolution of a few years, he became the successor +of his Western benefactor. The turn that had been kind to him, +was unkind to his friend and predecessor; the path that led upward +for David Cable, ran the other way for the train-master, who years +afterward died in his greasy overalls and the close-fitting cap of +an engineer. One night Cable read the news of the wreck with all +the joy gone from his heart. + +From the cheap, squalid section of town known as "railroad end," +Cable's rising influence carried him to the well-earned luxury. The +lines of care and toil mellowed in the face of his pretty wife, as +the years rolled by; her comely figure shed the cheap raiment of +"hard, old days," and took on the plumage of prosperity. Trouble, +resentment, and worry disappeared as if by magic, smoothed out by +the satiny touch of comfort's fingers. She went upward much faster +than her husband, for her ambitions were less exacting. She longed +to shine socially--he loathed the thought of it. But Cable was +proud of his wife. He enjoyed the transition that lifted her up with +steady strength to the plane which fitted her best--as he regarded +it. She had stuck by him nobly and uncomplainingly through the +vicissitudes; it delighted him to give her the pleasures. + +Frances Cable was proud; but she had not been too proud to stand +beside the man with the greasy overalls and to bend her fine, young +strength to work in unison with his. Together, facing the task, +cheerfully, they had battled and won. + +There were days when it was hard to smile; but the next day always +brought with it a fresh sign of hope. The rough, hard, days in +the Far West culminated in his elevation to the office of General +Manager of the great railroad system, whose headquarters and home +were in the city of Chicago. Attaining this high place two years +prior to the opening of this narrative, he was regarded now as one +of the brainiest railroad men and slated to be president of the +road at the next meeting. + +Barely past fifty years of age, David Cable was in the prime of +life and usefulness. Age and prosperity had improved him greatly. +The iron grey of his hair, the keen brightness of his face, the +erect, and soldierly carriage of his person made him a striking +figure. His wife, ten years his junior, was one of the most attractive +women in Chicago. Her girlish beauty had refined under the blasts +of adversity; years had not been unkind to her. In a way, she was +the leader of a certain set, but her social ambitions were not +content. There was a higher altitude in fashion's realm. Money, +influence and perseverance were her allies; social despotism her +only adversary. + +The tall, beautiful and accomplished daughter of the Cables was +worshipped by her father with all the warmth and ardour of his +soul. Times there were when he looked in wonder upon this arbiter +of not a few manly destinies; and for his life could not help asking +himself how the Creator had given him such a being for a child, +commenting on the fact that she bore resemblance to neither parent. + +For years, Mrs. Cable had lived in no little terror of some day +being found out. As the child grew to womanhood, the fears gradually +diminished and a sense of security that would not be disturbed +replaced them. Then, just as she was reaching out for the chief +prizes of her ambition, she came face to face with a man, whose +visage she never had forgotten--Elias Droom! And Frances Cable +looked again into the old and terrifying shadows! + +It was late in the afternoon, and she was crossing the sidewalk to +her carriage waiting near Field's, when a man brushed against her. +She was conscious of a strange oppressiveness. Before she turned +to look at him she knew that a pair of staring eyes were upon her +face. Something seemed to have closed relentlessly upon her heart. + +One glance was sufficient. The tall, angular form stood almost over +her; the two, wide, blue eyes looked down in feigned surprise; the +never-to-be-forgotten voice greeted her, hoarsely: + +"Good afternoon, Mrs. Cable! And how is the baby?" + +"The baby!" she faltered. Struggle against it as she would, a sort +of fascination drew her gaze toward the remarkable face of the old +clerk. "Why--why--she's very well, thank you," she finally stammered. +Her face was as white as a ghost; with a shudder she started to +pass him. Droom, blocked the way. + +"She was such a pretty little thing, I remember;" and then, +insinuatingly: "Where is her father, now?" + +"He--Mr. Cable," answered Mrs. Cable, feeling very much as a bird +feels when it is charmed by a snake, "why, he's at home, of course." + +"Indeed!" was all that Elias Droom said; for she had fled to escape +the grin that writhed in and out among the wrinkles of his face. + +As her carriage struggled through crowded Washington Street, +an irresistible something compelled Frances Cable to glance back. +Droom stood on the curb, his eyes following her almost hungrily. +Half an hour later, when she reached home, she was in a state of +collapse. Although there was no physical proof of the fact, she +was positive that Elias Droom had followed her to the very doorstep. + +In suspense and dread, she waited for days before there was a +second manifestation of Droom. There was rarely a day when she did +not expect her husband to stand before her and ask her to explain +the story that had been carried to him by a demon in the form of +man. + +But Droom did not go to David Cable. He went to James Bansemer with +the news. + +James Bansemer's law and loan offices were not far from the river +and, it is sufficient to say, not much farther from State Street. +He who knows Chicago well cannot miss the location more than three +blocks, either way, if he takes City Hall as a focal point. The +office building in which they were located is not a pretentious +structure, but its tenants were then and still are regarded as +desirable. It may be well to announce that Bansemer, on reaching +Chicago, was clever enough to turn over a new leaf and begin work +on a clear, white page, but it is scarcely necessary to add that +the black, besmirched lines on the opposite side of the sheet could +be traced through every entry that went down on the fresh white +surface. Bansemer was just as nefarious in his transactions, but +he was a thousandfold more cautious. Droom sarcastically reminded +him that he had a reputation to protect, in his new field and, +besides, as his son was "going in society" through the influence of +a coterie of Yale men, it would be worse than criminal to deteriorate. + +Bansemer loathed Droom, but he also feared him. He was the only living +creature that inspired fear in the heart of this bold schemer. It +is true that he feared the effect an exposure might have on the +mind of his stalwart son, the boy with his mother's eyes; but he +had succeeded so well in blinding the youth in the years gone by, +that the prospects of discovery now seemed too remote for concern. +The erstwhile New York "shark" was now an eel, wily and elusive, +but he was an eel with a shark's teeth and a shark's voraciousness. +He had grown old in the study of this particular branch of natural +history. Bansemer was fifty-five years old in this year of 1898. +He was thinner than in the old New York days, but the bull-like +vigour had given way to the wiry strength of the leopard. The once +black hair was almost white, and grew low and thick on his forehead. +Immaculately dressed, ever straight and aggressive in carriage, +he soon became a figure of whom all eyes took notice, even in the +most crowded of Chicago thoroughfares. + +Graydon Bansemer, on leaving Yale with a diploma and some of +the honours of his class, urged his father to take him into his +office, and ultimately to make him a partner in the business. James +Bansemer never forgot the malicious grin that crossed the face of +Elias Droom when the young fellow made the proposition not more +than a fortnight before the Bansemer establishment picked itself +up and hastily deserted New York. That grin spoke plainer than all +the words in language. Take him into the office? Make this honest, +grey-eyed boy a partner? It was no wonder that Droom grinned and +it is no wonder that he forgot to cover his mouth with his huge +hand, as was his custom. + +The proposition, while sincere and earnest, was too impossible +for words. For once in his life, James Bansemer was at a loss for +subterfuge. He stammered, flushed and writhed in the effort to +show the young man that the step would be unprofitable, and he was +sorely conscious that he had not convinced the eager applicant. +He even urged him to abandon the thought of becoming a lawyer, and +was ably seconded by Elias Droom, whose opinion of the law, as he +had come to know it, was far from flattering. + +Just at this time Bansemer was engaged in the most daring as well +as the most prodigious "deal" of his long career. With luck, it was +bound to enrich him to the extent of $50,000. The plans had been +so well prepared and the execution had been so faultless that there +seemed to be no possibility of failure. To take his fair-minded +son--with the mother's eyes--into the game would be suicidal. The +young fellow would turn from him forever. Bansemer never went so +far as to wonder whence came the honest blood in the boy's veins, +nor to speculate on the origin of the unquestioned integrity. He +had but to recall the woman who bore him, the woman whose love was +the only good thing he ever knew, the wife he had worshipped while +he sinned. + +For years and years he had plied his unwholesome trade in reputations, +sometimes evading exposure by the narrowest of margins, and he had +come to believe that he was secure for all time to come. But it +was the "big job" that brought disaster. Just when it looked as +though success was assured, the crash came. He barely had time to +cover his tracks, throw the figurative pepper into the eyes of his +enemies, and get away from the scene of danger. But, he had been +clever and resourceful enough to avoid the penalty that looked +inevitable and came off with colours trailing but uncaptured. + +Perhaps no other man could have escaped; but James Bansemer was +cleverest when in a corner. He backed away, held them at bay until +he could recover his breath, and then defied them to their teeth. +Despite their proof, he baffled them, and virtue was not its own +reward--at least in this instance. + +In leaving New York, he hoped that Ellas Droom--who knew too much--might +refuse to go into the new territory with him, but the gaunt, old +clerk took an unnatural and malevolent delight in clinging to his +employer. He declined to give up his place in the office, and, +although he hated James Bansemer, he came like an accusing shadow +into the new offices near the Chicago River, and there he toiled, +grinned and scowled with the same old faithfulness. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +IN SIGHT OF THE FANGS + + + + + +At first, it was hard for James Bansemer to believe that his henchman +had not been mistaken. Droom's description of the lady certainly +did not correspond to what his memory recalled. Investigation, +however, assured him that the Cables in the mansion near the lake +were the people he had known in New York. Bansemer took no one into +his confidence, not even Droom. Once convinced that the erstwhile +fireman was now the rich and powerful magnate, he set to work upon +the machinery which was to extract personal gain from the secret +in his possession. He soon learned that the child was a young woman +of considerable standing in society, but there was no way for him +to ascertain whether Frances Cable had told the truth to her husband +in those dreary Far West days. + +Bansemer was rich enough, but avarice had become a habit. The flight +from New York had deprived him of but little in worldly goods. His +ill-gotten gains came with him; and investments were just as easy +and just as safe in Chicago as in New York. Now, he saw a chance +to wring a handsome sum from the rich woman whose only possession +had been love when he first knew her. If the secret of Jane's +origin still remained locked up in her heart, the effort would be +an easy one. He learned enough of David Cable, however, to know that +if he shared the secret, the plan would be profitless and dangerous. + +It was this uncertainty that kept him from calling at the Cable home; +likewise, from writing a note which might prove a most disastrous +folly. Time and circumstance could be his only friends, and he +was accustomed to the whims of both. He read of the dinners and +entertainments given by the Cables, and smiled grimly. Time had +worked wonders for them! Scandal, he knew, could undo all that +ambition and pride had wrought. He could well afford to wait. + +However, he did not have long to wait, for his opportunity came +one night in Hooley's Theatre. Graydon and he occupied seats in +the orchestra, near the stage and not far from the lower right-hand +boxes. It was during the busy Christmas holidays, but the "star" +was of sufficient consequence to pack the house. The audience was +no end of a fashionable one. Time and again, some strange influence +drew his gaze to the gay party in one of the lower boxes. The face +of the woman nearest to him was not visible; but the two girls who +sat forward, turned occasionally to look over the audience; and he +saw that they were pretty, one exceptionally so. One of the men +was grey-haired and strong-featured; the others were quite too +insignificant to be of interest to him. The woman whose back he +could see did not look out over the audience. Her indifference was +so marked that it seemed deliberate. + +At last, he felt that her eyes were upon him; he turned quickly. +True enough, for with lips slightly parted, her whole attitude +suggestive of intense restraint, Mrs. Cable was staring helplessly +into the eyes of the man who could destroy her with a word. + +The one thing that flashed through Bansemer's brain was the +realisation that she was far more beautiful than he had expected +her to be. There was a truly aristocratic loveliness in the rather +piquant face, and she undeniably possessed "manner." Maturity had +improved her vastly, he confessed with strange exultation; age had +been kinder than youth. He forgot the play, seldom taking his eyes +from the back which again had been turned to him. Calculating, he +reached the conclusion that she was not more than forty years of +age. More than once he made some remark to his son, only to surprise +that young man glancing surreptitiously at the face of the more +beautiful of the two girls. Even in this early stage, James Bansemer +began to gloat over the beauty of this new-found, old acquaintance. + +In the lobby of the theatre, as they were leaving, he deliberately +doffed his hat and extended a pleasant hand to the wife of David +Cable. She turned deathly pale and there was a startled, piteous +look in her eyes that convinced him beyond all shadow of a doubt. +There was nothing for her to do but introduce him to her husband. +Two minutes later Graydon Bansemer and Jane Cable, strangers until +then, were asking each other how they liked the play, and Fate was +at work. + +A few weeks after this scene at the theatre young Mr. Bansemer +dashed across the hall from the elevator and entered his father's +office just as Elias Droom was closing up. + +"Where's the governor, Mr. Droom?" he asked, deliberately brushing +past the old clerk in the outer office. + +"Left some time ago," replied Droom, somewhat ungraciously, his blue +eyes staring past the young man with a steadiness that suggested +reproach because he was out of the direct line of vision. "It is +nearly six o'clock--he's never here after five." + +"I know that he--I asked you if you knew of his whereabouts. Do +you--or not?" The self-confident, athletic youth did not stand in +physical awe of the clerk. + +"No," was the simple and sufficient answer. + +"Well then--I'm off," said Graydon a trifle less airily. + +Droom's overcoat was on and buttoned up to his chin; his long feet +were encased in rubbers of enormous size and uncertain age. There +must have been no blood in the veins of this grim old man, for the +weather was far from cold and the streets were surprisingly dry +for Chicago. + +"I am closing the office for the day," said Droom. For no apparent +reason a smile spread over the lower part of his face and Graydon, +bold as he was, turned his eyes away. + +"I thought I'd stop in and pick up the governor for a ride home in +my motor," said he, turning to the door. + +"Yours is one of the first out here, I suppose," came from the thin +lips of the old clerk. + +Graydon laughed. + +"Possibly. The company charges a nickel a ride--half a dime--Going +down, sir?" Graydon had rung for the elevator and was waiting in +front of the grating. + +A look containing a curious compound of affectionate reproach and +a certain senile gratification at being made the object of the +boy's condescending raillery crossed Droom's countenance. Without, +however, answering his question, he slowly and carefully closed the +door, tried it vigorously, and joined Bansemer at the shaft. With +Droom, words were unnecessary when actions could speak for themselves. + +"Still living over in Wells Street, Mr. Droom?" went on Graydon, +thoroughly at home with the man whom he had feared and despised by +stages from childhood up. + +"It's good enough for me," said Droom shortly. ''Tisn't Michigan +Avenue, the Drive or Lincoln Park Boulevard, but it's just as swell +as I am--or ever hope to be." + +"There's nothing against Wells Street but--it got ashamed of itself +when it crossed the river." + +"They call it Fifth Avenue," sneered Droom, "but it isn't THE Avenue, +is it?" Bansemer was surprised to oote a tone of affectionate pride +in the question. + +"No indeed!" + +"Oh, there's only one, Mr. Graydon," said the old clerk, quite +warmly; "our own Fifth Avenue." + +"I had no idea you cared so much for swagger things, Mr. Droom," +observed the other, genuinely surprised. + +"Even Broadway is heaven to me," said Droom, some of the rasp +gone from his voice. "Good-bye; I go this way," he said when they +reached the sidewalk a little later. The young man watched his +gaunt figure as it slouched away in the semi-darkness. + +"By George, the old chap is actually homesick!" muttered he. "I +didn't think it was in him." + +Droom had rooms over a millinery shop in Wells Street. There was a +bedroom at the back and a "living-room" in front, overlooking the +street from the third story of the building. Of the bedchamber there +is but little to say, except that it contained a bed, a washstand, +a mirror, two straight-backed chairs and a clothes-press. Droom +went out for his bath--every Saturday night. The "living-room," +however, was queer in more ways than one. In one corner, on a chest +of drawers, stood his oil stove, while in the opposite corner, a +big sheet-iron heater made itself conspicuous. Firewood was piled +behind the stove winter and summer, Droom lamenting that one could +not safely discriminate between the seasons in Chicago. The chest +of drawers contained his stock of provisions, his cooking and table +utensils, his medicine and a small assortment of carpenter's tools. +He had no use for an icebox. + +A bookcase, old enough to warm the heart of the most ardent antiquarian, +held his small and unusual collection of books. Standing side by +side, on the same shelf, were French romances, unexpurgated, and the +Holy Bible, much bethumbed and pencilled. There were schoolbooks +alongside of sentimental love tales, Greek lexicons and quaint +old fairy stories, law books and works on criminology; books on +botany, geology, anatomy, and physics. In all, perhaps, there were +two hundred volumes. A life of Napoleon revealed signs of almost +constant usage. There were three portraits of the Corsican on the +dingy green walls. + +The strange character of the man was best shown by the pictures +that adorned--or rather disfigured the walls. Vulgar photographs +and prints were to be seen on all sides. Mingled with these cheap +creations were excellent copies of famous Madonnas, quaint Scriptural +drawings, engravings of the Saviour, and an allegorical coloured +print which emphasised the joys of heaven. There was also a badly +drawn but idealised portrait of Droom, done in crayon at the age of +twenty. This portrait was one of his prized possessions. He loved +it best because it was a bust and did not expose his longitudinal +defects. If Droom ever had entertained a feminine visitor in his +apartments, there is no record of the fact. But few men had seen +the interior of his home, and they had gone away with distressed, +perplexed sensibilities. + +He cooked his own meals on the oil stove, and, alone, ate them from +the little table that stood near the heater. Occasionally, he went +out to a near-by eating house for a lonely feast. His rooms usually +reeked with the odour of boiled coffee, burnt cabbage and grease, +pungent chemicals and long-suffering bed linen. Of his "front" room, +it may be said that it was kitchen, dining-room, parlour, library, +workshop, laboratory and conservatory. Four flower-pots in which +as many geraniums existed with difficulty, despite Droom's constant +and unswerving care, occupied a conspicuous place on the window-sills +overlooking the street. He watched aver them with all the tender +solicitude of a lover, surprising as it may appear when one pauses +to consider the vicious exterior of the man. + +Drdom was frugal. He was, in truth, a miser. If anyone had asked him +what he expected to do with the money he was putting away in the +bank, he could not have answered, calculating as he was by nature. +He had no relative to whom he would leave it and he had no inclination +to give up the habit of active employment. His salary was small, +but he managed to save more than half of it--for a "rainy day," as +he said. He did his reading and experimenting by kerosene light, +and went to bed by candle light, saving a few pennies a week in +that way. The windows in his apartment were washed not oftener than +once a year. He was seldom obliged to look through them during the +day, and their only duty at night was to provide ventilation--and +even that was characteristically meagre. + +He was a man of habit--not habits. A pipe at night was his only +form of dissipation. It was not too far for him to walk home from +the office of evenings, and he invariably did so unless the weather +was extremely unpleasant. So methodical was he that he never had +walked over any other bridge than the one in Wells Street, coming +and going. + +Past sixty-five years of age. Broom's hair still was black and snaky; +his teeth were as yellow and jagged as they were in the seventies, +and his eyes were as blue and ugly as ever. He had not aged with +James Bansemer. In truth, he looked but little older then when we +made his acquaintance. The outside world knew no more of Droom's +private transactions than it knew of Bansemer's. Up in the horrid +little apartment in Wells Street the queer old man could do as he +willed, unobserved and unannoyed. He could pursue his experiments +with strange chemicals, he could construct odd devices with his +kit of tools, and he could let off an endless amount of inventive +energy that no one knew he possessed. + +When he left Graydon Bansemer on the sidewalk in front of the +office building, he swung off with his long strides towards the +Wells Street bridge. His brain had laid aside everything that had +occupied its attention during office hours and had given itself +over to the project that hastened his steps homeward. His supper +that night was a small one and hurriedly eaten in order that he +might get to work on his new device. Droom grinned and cackled to +himself all alone up there in the lamplight, for he was perfecting +an "invention" by which the honest citizen could successfully put +to rout the "hold-up" man that has made Chicago famous. + +Elias Droom's inventive genius unfailingly led him toward devices +that could inflict pain and discomfiture. His plan to get the +better of the wretched, hard-working hold-up man was unique, if not +entirely practical. He was constructing the models for two little +bulbs, made of rubber and lined with a material that would resist +the effects of an acid, no matter how powerful. On one end of each +bulb, which was capable of holding at least an ounce of liquid, +there was a thin syringe attachment, also proof against acids. These +little bulbs were made so that they could be held in the palm of +the hand. By squeezing them suddenly a liquid could be shot from +the tube with considerable force. + +The bulbs were to contain vitriol. + +When the hold-up man gave the command to "hold up your hands," the +victim had only to squeeze the bulb as the hands went up, and, if +accurately aimed, the miscreant would get the stream of the deadly +vitriolic fluid in his eyes and--here endeth the first lesson. +Experience alone could do the rest. + +Young Bansemer hurried to their apartments on the North Side. He +found his father dressed and ready to go out to dinner. + +"Well, how was everything to-day?" asked James Bansemer from his +easy chair in the library. Graydon threw his hat and gloves on the +table. + +"Terribly dull market, governor," he said. "It's been that way for +a week. How are you feeling?" + +"Fit to dine with a queen," answered the older man, with a smile. +"How soon can you dress for dinner, Gray?" + +"That depends on who is giving the dinner." + +"Some people you like. I found the note here when I came in a little +after five. We have an hour in which to get over there. Can you be +ready?" + +"Do you go security for the affair?" asked Graydon. + +"Certainly. You have been there, my boy, and I've not heard you +complain." + +"You mean over at---" + +"Yes, that's where I mean," said the other, breaking in quietly. + +"I think I can be ready in ten minutes, father." + +While he was dressing, his father sat alone and stared reflectively +at the small blue gas blaze in the grate. A dark, grim smile +unconsciously came over his face, the inspiration of a triumphant +joy. Twice he read the dainty note that met him on his return from +the office. + +"What changes time can make in woman!" he mused; "and what changes +a woman can make in time! For nearly a year I've waited for this +note. I knew it would come--it was bound to come. Graydon has had +everything up to this time, while I have waited patiently in the +background. Now, it is my turn." + +"All right, father," called Graydon from the hall. "The cab is at +the door." + +Together they went down the steps, arm in arm, strong figures. + +"To Mr. David Cable's," ordered Bansemer, the father, complacently, +as he stepped into the carriage after his son. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +MRS. CABLE ENTERTAINS + + + + + +James Bansemer had not recklessly rushed into Mrs. Cable's presence +with threats of exposure; but on the contrary, he had calmly, craftily +waited. It suited his purpose to let her wonder, dread and finally +develop the trust that her secret was safe with him. Occasionally, +he had visited the Cable box in the theatre; not infrequently he +had dined with them in the downtown cafes and at the homes of mutual +acquaintances; but this was the first time that James Bansemer had +enjoyed the hospitality of Frances Cable's home. His son, on the +best of terms with their daughter, was a frequent visitor there. + +There was a rare bump of progressiveness in the character of Graydon +Bansemer. He was good-looking enough beyond doubt, and there was a +vast degree of personal magnetism about him. It seemed but natural +that he should readily establish himself as a friend and a favourite +of the fair Miss Cable. For some time, James Bansemer had watched +his son's progress with the Cable family, not once allowing his +personal interest to manifest itself. It was but a question of time +until Mrs. Cable's suspense and anxiety would bring her to him, +one way or another. Every word that fell from the lips of his son +regarding the Cables held his attention, and it was not long before +he saw the family history as clearly as though it were an open +book--and he knew far more than the open book revealed. + +Frances Cable was not deluded by his silence and aloofness; but +she was unable to devise means to circumvent him. Constant fear +of his power to crush lurked near her day and night. Conscious of +her weakness, but eager to have done with the strife, sometimes +she longed for the enemy to advance. At first, she distrusted and +despised the son, but his very fairness battered down the barriers +of prejudice, and real admiration succeeded. Her husband liked +him immensely, and Jane was his ablest ally. David Cable regarded +him as one of the brightest, young men on the Stock Exchange, and +predicted that some day he would be an influential member of the +great brokerage firm for which he now acted as confidential clerk. +Mr. Clegg, the senior member of the firm of Clegg, Groll & Davidson, +his employers, personally had commended young Bansemer to Cable, +and he was properly impressed. + +Graydon's devotion to Jane did not go unnoticed. This very condition +should have assured Mrs. Cable that James Bansemer had kept her +secret zealously. There was nothing to indicate that the young man +knew the story of the foundling. + +It was not until some weeks after the chance meeting in Hooley's +Theatre that Mrs. Cable came into direct contact with James Bansemer's +designs. She had met him at two or three formal affairs, but their +conversations had been of the most conventional character; on the +other hand, her husband had lunched and dined at the club with the +lawyer. At first, she dreaded the outcome of these meetings, but +as Cable's attitude towards her remained unchanged, she began to +realise that Bansemer, whatever his purpose, was loyal. + +They met at last, quite informally, at Mrs. Clegg's dinner, a small +and congenial affair. When the men came into the drawing-room, after +the cigars, Mrs. Cable, with not a little trepidation, motioned to +Mr. Bansemer to draw up his chair beside her. + +"I have been looking forward with pleasure to this opportunity, +Mr. Bansemer," she said, in a courteously acidulated way. "It has +been so long in coming." + +"Better late than never," he returned, with marked emphasis. +Fortunately, for her, the challenging significance of his words was +quickly nullified by the smile with which she was almost instantly +favoured. "Twenty years, I believe--it certainly came very near +being 'never,'" he went on, abruptly changing from harsh to the +sweetest of tones. "No one could believe that you--you're simply +wonderful!" and added, pointedly, "But your daughter is even more +beautiful, if such is possible, than her--her mother." + +Apparently, the innuendo passed unnoticed; in reality, it required +all her courage to appear calm. + +"How very nice of you," she said softly; and looking him full in +the face: "Her mother thanks you for the compliment." + +It was a brave little speech; such bravery would have softened a +man of another mould--changed his purpose. Not so with Bansemer. +A sinister gleam came into his eyes and his attack became more +brutally direct. + +"But the husband--has he never mistrusted?" + +The blow told, though her reply was given with rippling laughter +and for the benefit of any chance listeners. + +"For shame, Mr. Bansemer!" she cried lightly; "after flattering me +so delightfully, you're surely not going to spoil it all?" + +Despite his growing annoyance, admiration shone clearly from +Bansemer's eyes. His memory carried him, back some twenty years to +the scene in his office. Was it possible, he was thinking, that the +charming woman before him exercising so cleverly all the arts of +society, as if born to the purple, and the light-headed, frivolous, +little wife of the Central's engineer were one and the same person? +The metamorphosis seemed incredible. + +Unwittingly, his manner lost some of its aggressiveness; and the +woman perceiving the altered conditions, quick to take advantage, +resolved to learn, if possible his intentions. Presently, going +right to the point, she asked: + +"Is that extraordinary looking creature you had in your office +still with you, Mr. Bansemer?" + +"Extraordinary!" He laughed loudly. "He is certainly that, and more. +Indeed, the English language does not supply us with an adjective +that adequately describes the man." + +The people nearest to them, by this time, had moved away to another +part of the large drawing-room; practically, the couple were by +themselves. She had been thinking, for a moment, reasoning with +a woman's logic that it was always well to know one's enemy. When +she next spoke, it was almost in a whisper. + +"How much does that terrible man know?" + +"He is not supposed to know anything;" and then, with an enigmatical +smile, promptly admitted: "However, I'm afraid that he does." + +"You have told him? And yet, you promised nobody should know. How +could---" + +"My dear Mrs. Cable, he was not told; if he has found out--I could +not prevent his discovering the truth through his own efforts," he +interrupted in a tone more assuaging than convincing to her; and +then, hitching his chair closer, and lowering his voice a note, he +continued: "The papers had to be taken out--but you must not worry +about him--you can depend on me." + +"Promise me that you will make him--I am so fearful of that +awful---" she broke off abruptly. Her fears were proving too much +for her, and she was in imminent danger of a complete breakdown; +all the veneer with which she had bravely commenced the interview +had disappeared. + +Bansemer endeavoured to soothe her with promises; but the poor +woman saw only his teeth in the reassuring smile that he presented +to her, together with the warnings that they were likely to +be observed. With the hardest kind of an effort, she succeeded +in pulling herself together sufficiently to bid good-night to her +hostess. + +When Mrs. Cable reached home that night, it was a full realisation +that she was irrevocably committed into the custody of these +cold-blooded men. + +They met again and again at the homes of mutual friends, and she +had come to loathe the pressure of his hand when it clasped hers. +The undeniable caress in his low, suggestive voice disturbed her; +his manner was unmistakable. One night he held her hand long and +firmly in his, and while she shrank helplessly before him he even +tenderly asked why she had not invited him into her home. It was +what she had expected and feared. Her cup of bitterness was filling +rapidly--too rapidly. His invitation to dinner a fortnight later, +followed. + +Jane Cable was radiant as she entered the drawing-room shortly +after the arrival of the two Bansemers. + +"It's quite like a family party! How splendid!" she said to Graydon +with a quick glance in the direction of James Bansemer and David +Cable, who stood conversing together, and withdrawing her soft, +white hand, which she had put forth to meet his in friendly clasp. +"It's too good to be true!" she went on in a happy, spontaneous, +almost confiding manner. + +The two fathers looked on in amused silence, the one full of +admiration and pride for the clean, vigorous manhood of his son +awaiting to receive welcome from the adorable Jane; the other, long +since conscious of the splendid beauty of his daughter, mentally +declaring that she never had appeared so well as when standing +beside this gallant figure. + +Other guests arrived before Mrs. Cable made her appearance in the +drawing-room. She had taken more time than usual with her toilet. +It was impossible for her to hide the fact that the strain was +telling on her perceptibly. The face that looked back into her eyes +from the mirror on her dressing-table was not the fresh, warm one +that had needed so little care a few short months before. There +was a heaviness about the eyes and there were strange, persistent +lines gathering under the soft, white tissues of her skin. But when +she at last stepped into the presence of her guests, with ample +apologies for her tardiness, she was the picture of life and nerve. +So much for the excellent resources of her will. + +Bansemer was the last to present himself for her welcome, lingering +in the background until the others had passed. + +"I'm so glad you could come. Indeed, it's a pleasure to---" She +spoke clearly and distinctly as she extended her hand; but as she +looked squarely into his eyes she thought him the ugliest man she +ever had seen. Every other woman in the party was saying to herself +that James Bansemer was strikingly handsome. + +"Most pleasures come late in life to some of us," he returned, +gallantly, and even Graydon Bansemer wished that he could have said +it. + +"Your father is a perfect dear," Jane said to him, softly. "It was +not what he said just then that pleased me, but what he left unsaid." + +"Father's no end of a good fellow, Jane. I'm glad you admire him." + +"You are not a bit like him," she said reflectively. + +"Thanks," he exclaimed. "You are not very flattering." + +"But you are a different sort of a good fellow, that's what I mean. +Don't be absurd," she cried in some little confusion. + +"I'm like my mother, they say, though I don't remember her at all." + +"Oh, how terrible it must be never to have known one's mother," +said she tenderly. + +"Or one's father," added James Bansemer, who was passing at that +instant with Mrs. Cable. "Please include the father, Miss Cable," +he pleaded with mock seriousness. Turning to Mrs. Cable, who had +stopped beside him, he added: "You, the most charming of mothers, +will defend the fathers, won't you?" + +"With all my heart," she answered so steadily that he was surprised. + +"I will include the father, Mr. Bansemer," said Jane, "if it +is guaranteed that he possibly could be as nice and dear as one's +mother. In that case, I think it would be--oh, dreadfully terrible +never to have known him." + +"And to think, Miss Cable, of the unfortunates who have known neither +father nor mother," said Bansemer, senior, slowly, relentlessly. +"How much they have missed of life and love!" + +"That can be offset somewhat by the thought of the poor parents +who never have known a son or a daughter," said Jane. + +"How can they be parents, then?" demanded Bobby Rigby, coming up +in time. + +"Go away, Bobby," she said scornfully. + +"That's a nice way to treat logic," he grumbled, ambling on in +quest of Miss Clegg. + +"The debate will become serious if you continue," said Mrs. Cable +lightly. "Come along, Mr. Bansemer; Mrs. Craven is waiting." + +When they were across the room and alone, she turned a white face +to him and remonstrated bitterly: "Oh, that was cowardly of you +after your promise to me!" + +"I forgot myself," he said quietly. "Don't believe me to be utterly +heartless." His hand touched her arm. Instantly her assumed calm +gave way to her deep agitation, and with a swift change of manner, +she turned on him, her passion alight. + +"You---!" she stammered; then her fears found voice. "What do you +mean?" she demanded in smothered, alarmed tones. + +He desisted savagely and shrank away, the colour flaming into his +disgusted, saturnine face. He did not speak to her again until he +said good-bye long afterward. + +As he had expected, his place at the dinner-table was some distance +from hers. He was across the table from Jane and Graydon, and several +seats removed from. David Cable. He smiled grimly and knowingly +when he saw that he had been cut off cleverly from the Cables. + +"To-morrow night, then, Jane!" said Graydon at parting. No one was +near enough to catch the tender eagerness in his voice, nor to see +the happy flush in her cheek as she called after him: + +"To-morrow night!" + + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE TELEGRAM + + + + + +Bobby Rigby and Graydon Bansemer were bosom friends in Chicago; +they had been classmates at Yale. It had been a question of money +with Bobby from the beginning. According to his own admission, his +money was a source of great annoyance to him. He was not out of +debt but once, and then, before he fully realised it. So unusual +was the condition, that he could not sleep; the first thing he did +in the morning was to borrow right and left for fear another attack +of insomnia might interfere with his training for the football +eleven. + +Robertson Ray Rigby, immortalised as Bobby, had gone in for athletics, +where he learned to think and act quickly. He was called one of the +lightest, but headiest quarterbacks in the East. No gridiron idol +ever escaped his "Jimmy," or "Toppy," or "Pop," or "Johnny." When +finally, he hung out his shingle in Chicago: "Robertson R. Rigby, +Attorney-at-Law," he lost his identity even among his classmates. +It was weeks before the fact became generally known that it was +Bobby who waited for clients behind the deceptive shingle. + +The indulgent aunt who had supplied him with funds in college +was rich in business blocks and apartment buildings; and now, Mr. +Robertson R. Rigby was her man of affairs. When he went in for +business, the old push of the football field did not desert him. +He was very much alive and very vigorous, and it did not take him +long to "learn the signals." + +With his aunt's unfaltering prosperity, his own ready wit and unbridled +versatility, he was not long in establishing himself safely in his +profession and in society. Everybody liked him, though no one took +him seriously except when they came to transact business with him. +Then, the wittiness of the drawing-room turned into shrewdness as +it crossed the office threshold. + +The day after the Cable dinner, Bobby yawned and stretched through +his morning mail. He had slept but little the night before, and +all on account of a certain, or rather, uncertain Miss Clegg. That +petite and aggravating young woman had been especially exasperating +at the Cable dinner. Mr, Rigby, superbly confident of his standing +with her, encountered difficulties which put him very much out +of temper. For the first time, there was an apparent rift in her +constancy; never before had she shown such signs of fluctuating. +He could not understand it--in fact, he dared not understand it. +"She was a most annoying young person," said Mr. Rigby to himself +wrathfully, more than once after he went to bed that night. Anyhow, +he could not see what there was about Howard Medford for any girl +to countenance, much less to admire. Mr. Medford certainly had ruined +the Cable dinner-party for Mr. Rigby, and he was full of resentment. + +"Miss Keating!" called Mr. Rigby for the third time; "may I interrupt +your conversation with Mr. Deever long enough to ask a question +that has been on my mind for twenty minutes?" + +Mr. Deever was the raw, young gentleman who read law in the office +of Judge Smith, next door. Bobby maintained that if he read law at +all, it was at night, for he wap too busy with other occupations +during the day. + +Miss Keating, startled, turned roundabout promptly. + +"Yes, sir," at last, came from the pert, young woman near the +window. + +"I guess I'll be going," said Mr. Deever resentfully, rising slowly +from the side of her desk on which he had been lounging. + +"Wait a minute, Eddie," protested Miss Keating; "what's your hurry?" +and then, she almost snapped out: "What is it, Mr. Rigby?" + +"I merely wanted to ask if you have sufficient time to let me +dictate a few, short letters that ought to go out to-day," said +Bobby, sarcastically; and then added with mock apology: "Don't move, +Mr. Deever; if you're not in Miss Keating's way, you're certainly +not in mine." + +"A great josher!" that young woman was heard to comment, admiringly. + +"You may wake up some morning to find that I'm not," said Bobby, +soberly. Whereupon, Miss Keating rose and strode to the other end +of the room and took her place beside Bobby's desk. + +Bobby dictated half a dozen inconsequential letters before coming +to the one which troubled him most. For many minutes he stared +reflectively at the typewritten message from New York. Miss Keating +frowned severely and tapped her little foot somewhat impatiently on +the floor; but Bobby would not be hurried. His reflections were too +serious. This letter from New York had come with a force sufficient +to drive out even the indignant thoughts concerning one Miss Clegg. +For the life of him, Bobby Rigby could not immediately frame a +reply to the startling missive. Eddie Deever stirred restlessly on +the window ledge. + +"Don't hurry, Eddie!" called Miss Keating, distinctly and insinuatingly. + +"Oh, I guess I'll be going!" he called back, beginning to roll +a cigarette. "I have some reading to do to-day." Mr. Deever was +tall, awkward and homely, and a lot of other things that would have +discouraged a less self-satisfied "lady's man." Judge Smith said +he was hopeless, but that he might do better after he was twenty-one. + +"What are you reading now, Eddie?" asked Miss Keating, complacently +eyeing Mr. Rigby. "Raffles?" + +"Law, you idiot!" said Eddie, scornfully, going out of the door. + +"Oh! Well, the law is never in a hurry, don't you know? It's like +justice--the slowest thing in town!" she called after him as his +footsteps died away. + +"Ready?" said Bobby, resolutely. "Take this, please; and slowly +and carefully he proceeded to dictate: + +"MR. DENIS HARBERT, "NEW YORK, + +"DEAR DENIS: I cannot tell you how much your letter surprised me. +What you say seems preposterous. There must be a mistake. It cannot +be this man. I know him quite well, and seems as straight as a +string and a gentleman, too. His son, you know as well as I. There +isn't a better fellow in the world! Mr. B. has a fairly good business +here; his transactions open and aboveboard. I'm sure I have never +heard a word said against him or his methods. You are mistaken, +that's all there is about it. + +"You might investigate a little further and, assuring yourself, do +all in your power to check such stories as you relate. Of course, +I'll do as you suggest; but I'm positive I can find nothing +discreditable in his dealings here. + +"Keep me posted on everything. + +"As ever, yours," + +Miss Keating's anxiety was aroused. After a very long silence, she +took the reins into her own hands. "Is Mr. Briggs in trouble?" she +asked at a venture. Mr. Briggs was the only client she could think +of, whose name began with a B. + +"Briggs? What Briggs?" asked Bobby, relighting his pipe for the +fourth time. + +"Why, our Mr. Briggs," answered Miss Keating, curtly. + +"I'm sure I don't know, Miss Keating. Has he been around lately?" + +"I thought you were referring to him in that letter," she said +succinctly. + +"Oh, dear me, no. Another party altogether, Miss Keating. Isn't +the typewriter in working order this morning?" he asked, eyeing her +machine innocently. She miffed and started to reply, but thought +better of it. Then she began pounding the keys briskly. + +"It works like a charm," she shot back, genially. + +The letter that caused Bobby such perturbation came in the morning +mail. His friend had laid bare some of the old stories concerning +James Bansemer, and cautioned him not to become involved in +transactions with the former New Yorker. Harbert's statements were +positive in character, and he seemed to know his case thoroughly +well. While the charges as they came to Rigby were general, Harbert +had said that he was quite ready to be specific. + +All day long, the letter hung like a cloud over young Mr. Rigby. +He was to have lunched with Graydon, and was much relieved when +young Bansemer telephoned that he could not join him. Rigby found +himself in a very uncomfortable position. If the stories from +New York were true, even though he knew none of the inside facts, +Graydon's father was pretty much of a scalawag, to say the least. +He was not well acquainted with the lawyer, but he now recalled +that he never had liked the man. Bansemer had impressed him from the +beginning as heartless, designing, utterly unlike his clean-hearted +son. + +Bobby loved Graydon Bansemer in the way that one man loves a true +friend. He was certain that the son knew nothing of those shady +transactions--if they really existed as Harbert painted them--but +an exposure of the father would be a blow from which he could not +recover. + +It came at last to Rigby that he was not the only one in Chicago +who held the secret. Other members of the bar had been warned long +before the news came to him, and it was morally certain that if the +facts were as bad as intimated, the police also were in possession +of them. + +At the same time, Rigby felt a certain moral responsibility involving +himself. Bansemer, at any time, might apply his methods to people +who were near and dear to him. The new intimacy with the Cables came +to Bobby's mind. And then, there were Clegg, Groll, the Semesons +and others who might easily fall into the snare if James Bansemer +set it for them. + +Appreciating his responsibility in the matter, now that he was +prepared to hear the worst of James Bansemer, Rigby's heart stood +almost still. It meant that some day he might have to expose Graydon +Bansemer's father; it meant that he might have to cruelly hurt his +friend; it meant that he might lose a friendship that had been one +of his best treasures since the good, old college days. The mere +fact that he would be compelled to watch and mistrust James Bansemer +seemed like darkest treachery to Graydon, even though the son should +not become aware of the situation. Later, in the afternoon, Bobby +went, guiltily, into a telegraph office and sent away a carefully +worded dispatch. The answer came to him at the club, that evening, +while he played billiards with young Bansemer, who, even then was +eager to be off to keep the promised appointment with pretty Miss +Cable. + +The telegram which he opened while Graydon impatiently chalked his +cue and waited for him to play was brief and convincing. It read: + +"Watch him, by all means. He is not safe, my word for it. There is +no mistake." + + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE PROPOSAL + + + + + +The little room off the library was Jane's "den." Her father had +a better name for it. He called it her "web," but only in secret +conference. Graydon Bansemer lounged there in blissful contemplation +of a roseate fate, all the more enjoyable because his very ease +was the counterpoise of doubt and uncertainty. No word of love had +passed between the mistress of the web and her loyal victim; but +eyes and blood had translated the mysterious, voiceless language +of the heart into the simplest of sentences. They loved and they +knew it. + +After leaving Rigby at the club Graydon drove to the North Side, +thrilled to the marrow with the prophecies of the night. His heart +was in that little room off the library--and had been there for +months. It was the abode of his thoughts. The stars out above the +cold, glittering lake danced merrily for him as he whirled up the +Drive; the white carpet of February crinkled and creaked with the +chill of the air, but his heart was hot and safe and sure. He knew +that she knew what he was coming for that night. The first kiss! + +Jane's face was warm, her eyes had the tender glow of joy expectant, +her voice was soft with the promise of coming surrender. Their hands +met and clasped as she stood to welcome him in the red, seductive +dimness of the little throne room. His tall frame quivered; his +lean, powerful, young face betrayed the hunger of his heart; his +voice turned husky. It was not as he had planned. Her beauty--her +mere presence--swept him past the preliminary fears and doubts. His +handclasp tightened and his face drew resistlessly to hers. Then +their hands went suddenly cold. + +"You know, don't you, Jane, darling?" he murmured. + +"Yes," she answered after a moment, softly, securely. He crushed +her in his strong arms; all the world seemed to have closed in +about her. Her eyes, suffused with happiness, looked sweetly into +his until she closed them with the coming of the first kiss. "I +love you--oh, I love you!" she whispered. + +"I worship you, Jane!" he responded. "I have always worshipped +you!" + +It was all so natural, so normal. The love that had been silent from +the first had spoken, that was all--had put into words its untold +story. + +"Jane, I am the proudest being in the world!" he said, neither knew +how long afterward, for neither thought of time. They were sitting +on the couch in the corner, their turbulent hearts at rest. "To +think, after all, that such a beautiful being as you can be mine +forever! It's--why, it's inconceivable!" + +"You were sure of me all the time, Graydon," she remonstrated. "I +tried to hide it, but I couldn't. You must have thought me a perfect +fool all these months." + +"You are very much mistaken, if you please. You did hide it so +successfully at times, that I was sick with uncertainty." + +"Well, it's all over now," she smiled, and he sighed with a great +relief. + +"All over but the--the wedding," he said. + +"Oh, that's a long way off. Let's not worry over that, Graydon." + +"A long way off? Nonsense! I won't wait." + +"Won't?" + +"I should have said can't. Let's see; this is February. March, +dearest?" + +"Graydon, you are so much younger than I thought. A girl simply +cannot be hurried through a--an engagement. Next winter." + +"Next what? That's nearly a year, Jane. It's absurd! I'm ready." + +"I know. It's mighty noble of you, too. But I just can't, dearest. +No one ever docs." + +"Don't--don't you think I'm prepared to take care of you?" he said, +straightening up a bit. + +She looked at his strong figure and into his earnest eyes and +laughed, so adorably, that his resentment was only passing. + +"I can't give you a home like this," he explained; "but you know +I'll give you the best I have all my life." + +"You can't help succeeding, Graydon," she said earnestly. "Everyone +says that of you. I'm not afraid. I'm not thinking of that. It +isn't the house I care for. It's the home. You must let me choose +the day." + +"I suppose it's customary," he said at last. "June is the month +for brides, let me remind you." + +"Before you came this evening I had decided on January next, but +now I am willing to---" + +"Oh, you decided before I came, eh?" laughingly. + +"Certainly," she said unblushingly. "Just as you had decided on the +early spring. But, listen, dear, I am willing to say September of +this year." + +"One, two, three--seven months. They seem like years, Jane. You +won't say June?" + +"Please, please let me have some of the perquisites," she pleaded. +"It hasn't seemed at all like a proposal. I've really been cheated +of that, you must remember, dear. Let me say, at least, as they +all do, that I'll give you an answer in three days." + +"Granted. I'll admit it wasn't the sort of proposal one reads about +in novels---" + +"But it was precisely as they are in real life, I'm sure. No one +has a stereotyped proposal any more. The men always take it for +granted and begin planning things before a girl can say no." + +"Ah, I see it has happened to you," he said, jealous at once. + +"Well, isn't that the way men do nowadays?" she demanded. + +"A fellow has to feel reasonably sure, I dare say, before he takes +a chance. No one wants to be refused, you know," he admitted. "Oh, +by the way, I brought this--er--this ring up with me, Jane." + +"You darling!" she cried, as the ring slipped down over her finger. +And then, for the next hour, they planned and the future seemed a +thousand-fold brighter than the present, glorious as it was. + +"You can't help succeeding," she repeated," the same as your father +has. Isn't he wonderful? Oh, Graydon, I'm so proud of you!" she +cried, enthusiastically. + +"I can never be the man that the governor is," said Graydon, +loyally. "I couldn't be as big as father if I lived to be a hundred +and twenty-six. He's the best ever! He's done everything for me, +Jane," the son went on, warmly. "Why, he even left dear, old New +York and came to Chicago for my sake, dear. It's the place for +a young man, he says; and he gave up a great practice so that we +might be here together. Of course, HE could succeed anywhere. Wasn't +it bully of him to come to Chicago just--just for me?" + +"Yes. Oh, if you'll only be as good-looking as he is when you are +fifty-five," she said, so plaintively that he laughed aloud. "You'll +probably be very fat and very bald by that time." + +"And very healthy, if that can make it seem more horrible to you," +he added. For some time he sat pondering while she stared reflectively +into the fire opposite. Then squaring his shoulders as if preparing +for a trying task, he announced firmly: "I suppose I'd just as well +see your father to-night, dearest. He likes me, I'm sure, and I--I +don't think he'll refuse to let me have you. Do you?" + +"My dad's just as fair as yours, Gray," she said with a smile. "He's +upstairs in his den. I'll go to mother. I know she'll be happy--oh, +so happy." + +Bansemer found David Cable in his room upstairs--his smoking and +thinking room, as he called it. + +"Come in, Graydon; don't stop to knock. How are you? Cigarette? +Take a cigar, then. Bad night outside, isn't it?" + +"Is it? I hadn't--er--noticed," said Graydon, dropping into a chair +and nervously nipping the end from a cigar. "Have you been downtown?" + +"Yes. Just got in a few minutes ago. The road expects to do a lot +of work West this year, and I've been talking with the ways and +means gentlemen--a polite and parliamentary way to put it." + +"I suppose we'll all be congratulating you after the annual election, +Mr. Cable." + +"Oh, that's just talk, my boy. Winemann is the logical man for +president. But where is Jane?" + +"She's--ah--downstairs, I think," said the tall young man, puffing +vigorously. "I came up--er--to see you about Jane, Mr. Cable. I +have asked her to be my wife, sir." + +For a full minute the keen eyes of the older man, sharpened by +strife and experience, looked straight into the earnest grey eyes +of the young man who now stood across the room with his hand on the +mantlepiece. Cable's cigar was held poised in his fingers, halfway +to his lips. Graydon Bansemer felt that the man aged a year in that +brief moment. + +"You know, Graydon, I love Jane myself," said Cable at last, arising +slowly. His voice shook. + +"I know, Mr. Cable. She is everything to you. And yet I have come +to ask you to give her to me." + +"It isn't that I have not suspected--aye, known--what the outcome +would be," said the other mechanically. "She will marry, I know. +It is right that she should. It is right that she should marry you, +my boy. You--you DO love her? "He asked the question almost fiercely. + +"With all my soul, Mr. Cable. She loves me. I don't know how to +convince you that my whole life will be given to her happiness. I +am sure I can---" + +"I know. It's all right, my boy. It--it costs a good deal to let +her go, but I'd rather give her to you than to any man I've ever +known. I believe in you." + +"Thank you, Mr. Cable," said Graydon Bansemer. Two strong hands +clasped each other and there was no mistaking the integrity of the +grasp. + +"But this is a matter in which Jane's mother is far more deeply +concerned than I," added the older man. "She likes you, my boy--I +know that to be true, but we must both abide by her wishes. If she +has not retired..." + +"Jane is with her, Mr. Cable. She knows by this time." + +"She is coming." Mrs. Cable's light footsteps were heard crossing +the hall, and an instant later Bansemer was holding open the den +door for her to enter. He had a fleeting glimpse of Jane as that +tall young woman turned down the stairway. + +Frances Cable's face was white and drawn, and her eyes were wet. Her +husband started forward as she extended her hand to him. He clasped +them in his own and looked down into her face with the deepest +tenderness and wistfulness in his own. Her body swayed suddenly +and his expression changed to one of surprise and alarm. + +"Don't--don't mind, dear," he said hoarsely. "It had to come. Sit +down, do. There! Good Lord, Frances, if you cry now I'll--I'll go +all to smash!" He sat down abruptly on the arm of the big leather +chair into which she had sunk limply. Something seemed to choke +him and his fingers went nervously to his collar. Before them stood +the straight, strong figure of the man who was to have Jane forever. + +Neither of them--nor Jane--knew what Frances Cable had suffered +during the last hour. She accidentally had heard the words which +passed between the lovers in the den downstairs. She was prepared +when Jane came to her with the news later on, but that preparation +had cost her more than any of them ever could know. + +Lying back in a chair, after she had almost crept to her room, she +stared white-faced and frightened at the ceiling until it became +peopled with her wretched thoughts. All along she had seen what +was coming. The end was inevitable. Love as it grew for them had +known no regard for her misery. She could not have prevented its +growth; she could not now frustrate its culmination. And yet, as +she sat there and stared into the past and the future, she knew that +it was left for her to drink of the cup which they were filling--the +cup of their joy and of her bitterness. + +Fear of exposure at the hand of Graydon Bansemer's father had kept +her purposely blind to the inevitable. Her woman's intuition long +since had convinced her that Graydon was not like his father. She +knew him to be honourable, noble, fair and worthy. Long and often +had she wondered at James Bansemer's design in permitting his son +to go to the extreme point in relation with Jane. As she sat there +and suffered, it came to her that the man perhaps had a purpose after +all--an unfathomable, selfish design which none could forestall. +She knew him for all that he was. In that knowledge she felt a +slight, timid sense of power. He stood for honour, so far as his +son was concerned. In fair play, she could expose him if he sought +to expose her. + +But all conjectures, all fears, paled into insignificance with the +one great terror: what would James Bansemer do in the end? What +would he do at the last minute to prevent the marriage of his son +and this probable child of love? What was to be his tribute to the +final scene in the drama? + +She knew that he was tightening his obnoxious coils about her all +the time. Even now she could feel his hand upon her arm, could hear +his sibilant whisper, could see his intense eyes full of suggestion +and threat. Now she found herself face to face with the crisis +of all these years. Her only hope lay in the thought that neither +could afford the scandal of an open declaration. Bansemer was +merciless and he was no fool. + +Knowing Graydon to be the son of a scoundrel, she could, under +ordinary circumstances, have forbidden her daughter to marry him. +In this instance she could not say him nay. The venom of James +Bansemer in that event would have no measure of pity. In her heart, +she prayed that death might come to her aid in the destruction of +James Bansemer. + +It was not until she heard Graydon coming up the stairs that the +solution flashed into her brain. If Jane became the wife of this +cherished son, James Bansemer's power was gone! His lips would be +sealed forever. She laughed aloud in the frenzy of hope. She laughed +to think what a fool she would have been to forbid the marriage. +The marriage? Her salvation! Jane found her almost hysterical, +trembling like a leaf. She was obliged to confess that she had +heard part of their conversation below, in order to account for her +manner. When Jane confided to her that she had promised to marry +Graydon in September--or June--she urged her to avoid a long +engagement. She could say no more than that. + +Now she sat limp before the two men, a wan smile straying from +one to the other, exhausted by her suppressed emotions. Suddenly, +without a word, she held out her hand to Graydon. In her deepest +soul, she loved this manly, strong-hearted young fellow. She knew, +after all, he was worthy of the best woman in the land. + +"You know?" cried Graydon, clasping her hand, his eyes glistening. +"Jane has told you? And you--you think me worthy?" + +"Yes, Graydon--you are worthy." She looked long into his eyes, +searching for a trace of the malevolence that glowed in those of +his father. They were fair and honest and sweet, and she smiled to +herself. She wondered what his mother had been like. + +"Then I may have her?" he cried. She looked up at her husband and +he nodded his head. + +"Our little girl," he murmured. It all came back to her like +a flash. Her deception, her imposition, her years of stealth--and +she shuddered. Her hand trembled and her eyes grew wide with repugnance +as they turned again upon Graydon Bansemer. Both men drew back in +amazement. + +"Oh, no--it cannot, cannot be!" she moaned, without taking her eyes +from Graydon's face. In the same instant she recovered herself and +craved his pardon. "I am distressed--it is so hard to give her up. +Graydon," she panted, smiling again. The thought had come suddenly +to her that James Bansemer had a very strong purpose in letting his +son marry Jane Cable. She never had ceased to believe that Bansemer +knew the parents of the child she had adopted. It had dawned upon +her in the flash of that moment that the marriage might mean a +great deal to this calculating father. "David, won't you leave us +for a few minutes? There is something I want to say to Graydon." + +David Cable hesitated for an instant and then slowly left the room, +closing the door behind him. He was strangely puzzled over that +momentary exposition of emotion on the part of his wife. He was a +man of the worldj and he knew its vices from the dregs up, but it +was many days before the startling suspicion struck in to explain +her uncalled-for display of feeling. It did not strike in until +after he noticed that James Bansemer was paying marked attention +to his wife. + +Left alone with Graydon, Mrs. Cable nervously hurried to the point. +She was determined to satisfy herself that the son did not share +her secret with his father. + +"Does your father know that you want to marry Jane?" she asked. + +"Of course--er--I mean, he suspects, Mrs. Cable. He has teased me +not a little, you know. I'm going to tell him to-night." + +"He has not known Jane very long, you know." + +"Long enough to admire her above all others. He has often told me +that she is the finest girl he's ever met. Oh, I'm sure father will +be pleased, Mrs. Cable." + +"I met your father in New York, of course--years ago. I presume he +has told you." + +"I think not. Oh, yes, I believe he did tell me after we met you +at Hooley's that night. He had never seen Mr. Cable." + +"Nor Jane, I dare say." + +"Oh, no. I knew Jane long before dad ever laid eyes on her." The +look in his eyes satisfied her over all that he knew nothing more. + +"You love her enough to sacrifice anything on earth for her?" she +asked suddenly. + +"Yes, Mrs. Cable," he answered simply. + +"You would renounce all else in the world for her sake?" + +"I believe that's part of the service," he said, with a smile. "Jane +is worth all of that, and more. She shall be first in my heart, +in my mind, for all time, if that is what you mean, Mrs. Cable. +Believe me, I mean that." + +"Mr. Bansemer says that you are like your mother," she mused, +wistfully. + +"That's why he loves me, he also says. I'm sorry I'm not like +father," he said earnestly. "He's great!" She turned her face away +so that he might not see the look in her eyes. "I think Jane is +like---" he paused in confusion. "Like her father," he concluded. +She arose abruptly and took his hand in hers. + +"Go to her, Graydon," she said. "Tell her that Mr. Cable and I want +you to be our son. Good-night and God bless you." She preceded him +to the stairway and again shook hands with him. David Cable was +ascending. + +"Graydon," said the latter, pausing halfway up as the other came +down, "you were ready to congratulate me in advance on the prospect +of becoming president of the P., L. & A. Do you know that I was +once an ordinary fireman?" + +"Certainly, Mr. Cable. The rise of David Cable is known to everyone." + +"That's all. I just wanted to be sure. Jane was not born with a +silver spoon, you know." + +"And yet she is Jane Cable," said the young man proudly. Then he +hurried on down to the expectant, throbbing Jane. + +Frances Cable sat at her escritoire for an hour, her brain working +with feverish energy. She was seeking out the right step to take +in advance of James Bansemer. Her husband sat alone in his den and +smoked long after she had taken her step and retired to rest--but +not to sleep. On her desk lay half a dozen invitations, two of +them from the exclusive set to whose inner circles her ambitious, +vigorous aspirations were forcing her. She pushed them aside and +with narrowed eyes wrote to James Bansemer--wrote the note of the +diplomat who seeks to forestall: + +"DEAR ME. BANSEMER: Doubtless Graydon will have told you his good +news before this reaches you, but Mr. Cable and I feel that we cannot +permit the hour to pass without assuring you of our own happiness +and of our complete approval. Will you dine with us this evening--en +famille--at seven-thirty? + +"FRANCES CABLE." + +David Cable read the note and sent it early the next morning by +special messenger to James Bansemer. The engagement of Jane Cable +and Graydon Bansemer was announced in the evening papers. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE FOUR INITIALS + + + + + +The offices of James Bansemer were two floors above those of +Robertson Ray Rigby in the U__ Building. The morning after Graydon +Bansemer's important visit to the home of the Cables, Eddie Deever +lounged into Rigby's presence. He seemed relieved to find that +the stenographer was ill and would not be down that day. The lanky +youngster studiously inspected the array of law books in the cases +for some time, occasionally casting a sly glance at Bobby. At last +he ventured a remark somewhat out of the ordinary--for him: + +"That old man up in Bansemer's office gets on my nerves," said he, +settling his long frame in a chair and breaking in upon Rigby's +attention so suddenly that the lawyer was startled into a quick +look of interest. + +"Old Droom? What do you know about him?" + +"Nothing in particular, of course. Only he sort of jars me when he +talks." Rigby saw that the young man had something on his mind. + +"I did not know that you were personal friends," ventured Rigby. + +"Friends?" snorted Eddie. "Holy Mackerel! He scares the life out +of me. I know him in a business way, that's all. He came down here +three weeks ago and borrowed some books for Bansemer. I had to go +up and get 'em yesterday. I was smoking a cigarette. When I asked +the old guy for the books he said I'd go to hell if I smoked. I +thought I'd be funny, so I said back to him: "I'll smoke if I go +to hell, so what's the diff?" It went all right with him, too. He +laughed--you ought to see him laugh!--and told me to sit down while +he looked up the books. I was there half an hour and he talked all +the time. By jing! He makes your blood run cold. He up and said there +was no such place as hell. "Why not?" says I. "Because," says he, +"God, with all His infinite power, could not conceive of a space +huge enough to hold all the hypocrites and sinners." Then he grinned +and said he had set aside in his will the sum of a hundred dollars +to build a church for the honest man. "That will be a pretty small +church," says I. "It will be a small congregation, my son," says +he. "What few real honest men we have will hesitate to attend for +fear of being ostracised by society." "Gee whiz, Mr. Droom, that's +pretty hard on society," says I, laughing. "Oh, for that matter, +I have already delivered my eulogy on society," says he. "But it +ain't dead," says I. "Oh, yes; it's so rotten it must surely be +dead," says he in the nastiest way I ever heard. He's a fearful old +man, Mr. Rigby. He made a mean remark about that Mrs. David Cable." + +"What did he say?" quickly demanded Bobby. + +"He said he'd been reading in the papers about how she was +breaking into society. "She's joined the Episcopal church," says +he, sarcastic-like. "Well, there's nothing wrong in that,' says I. +'I know, but she attends,' says he, just as if she shouldn't. 'She +wouldn't attend if the women in that church wore Salvation Army +clothes and played tambourines, let me tell you. None of 'em would. +I knew her in New York years ago. She wasn't fashionable then. Now +she's so swell that she'll soon be asking Cable to build a mansion +at Rose Lawn Cemetery, because all of the fashionables go there.' +Pretty raw, eh, Mr. Rigby?" + +"Oh, he's an old blatherskite, Eddie. They talk that way when they +get old and grouchy. So he knew Mrs. Cable in New York, eh? What +else did he say about her?" + +"Nothing much. Oh, yes, he did say--in that nasty way of his--that +he saw her on the street the other day chatting with one of the +richest swells in Chicago. He didn't say who he was except that +he was the man who once made his wife sit up all night in the day +coach while he slept in the only berth to be had on the train. Do +you know who that could be?" + +"I'm afraid Droom was romancing," said Bobby, with a smile. + +"Say, Mr. Rigby," said Eddie earnestly, "what sort of business +does Mr. Bansemer handle?" Rigby had difficulty in controlling his +expression. "I was wondering, because while I was there yesterday +a girl I know came out of the back room where she had been talking +to Bansemer. She's no good." + +"Very likely she was consulting him about something," said Rigby +quietly. + +"She soaked a friend of mine for a thousand when she was singing +in the chorus in one of the theatres here." + +"Do you know her well?" + +"I--er--did see something of her at one time. Say, don't mention +it to Rosie, will you? She's not strong for chorus girls," said +Eddie anxiously. "A few days ago I saw a woman come out of his +office, heavily veiled. She was crying, because I could hear the +sobs. I don't go much on Bansemer, Mr. Rigby. Darn him, he called +me a pup one day when I took a message up for Judge Smith." + +"See here, Eddie," said Rigby, leaning forward suddenly, "I've +heard two or three queer things about Bansemer. I want you to tell +me all you hear from Droom and all that you see. Don't you think +you could cultivate Droom's acquaintance a bit? Keep this very +quiet--not a word to anybody. It may mean something in the end." + +"Gee whiz!" murmured Eddie, his eyes wide with interest. From that +day on he and Bobby Rigby were allies--even conspirators. + +Later in the day Rigby had a telephone message from Graydon Bansemer, +suggesting that they lunch together. All he would say over the wire +was that he would some day soon expect Rigby to perform a happy +service for him. Bobby understood and was troubled, He suspected +that Graydon had asked Jane Cable to marry him and that she had +consented. He loved Graydon Bansemer, but for the first time in +their acquaintance he found himself wondering if the son were not +playing into the father's hands in this most desirable matrimonial +venture. With a shudder of repugnance he put the thought from him, +loyal to that good friend and comrade. + +James Bansemer came into his office late that morning. He had +not seen Graydon the night before, but at breakfast the young man +announced his good fortune and asked for his blessing. To the son's +surprise, the elder man did not at once express his approval. For +a long time he sat silent and preoccupied to all appearance, narrowly +studying his son's face until the young man was constrained to +laugh in his nervousness. + +"You love her--you are very sure?" asked the father at last. + +"Better than my life," cried Graydon warmly. + +"She has good blood in her," said Bansemer, senior, slowly, almost +absently. + +"I should say so. Her father is a wonderful man." + +"Yes, I daresay," agreed the other without taking his eyes from +the son's face. + +"But you don't say whether you approve or disapprove," complained +Graydon. + +"Would it change matters if I disapproved?" + +"Not in the least, father. I love her. I'd hate to displease you +in--" + +"Then, of course, I approve," said the other, with his warmest +smile. "Jane is a beauty and--I am proud of her." + +"She is too good for me," lamented Graydon happily. + +"I can't very well contradict her future husband," said the lawyer. +There was a hungry look in his eyes as he glanced from time to time +at the face of the boy who had his mother's unforgettable eyes. + +A messenger brought Mrs. Cable's note to Bansemer soon after his +arrival at the office. He and Elias Droom were in the back office +when the boy came. They had been discussing the contents of a +letter that came in the early mail. The lawyer accepted the note +and dismissed the boy with the curt remark that he would telephone +an answer in person. + +"It looks to me as though this is going to be a rather ticklish +affair," Droom resumed after the boy had closed the outer door behind +him. Bansemer's mind was on Mrs. Cable's note; a queer smile hung +on his lips. + +"I'm rather touched by her astuteness," he said. "She's cleverer +than I thought. Oh," suddenly remembering that it was not Mrs. +Cable's letter they were discussing, "you always see the dreary +side of things, Elias." + +"I haven't forgotten New York," said the clerk drily. + +"Ah, but Chicago isn't New York, you know." + +"Well, I was just reminding you. This man is going to fight back, +that is plain." + +"That's what Mrs. Norwood promised to do, also, Elias. But she was +like a lamb in the end." + +"I wouldn't be very proud of that affair, if I were you." + +"See here, Droom, you're getting a trifle too familiar of late. I +don't like it," said Bansemer sharply. + +"I beg your pardon, Mr. Bansemer," said Droom, scraping his foot +across the floor and looking straight past his master's head. "It's +for the good of the cause, that's all. It wouldn't do, on Graydon's +account, for you to be driven from Chicago at this time. You see, +he thinks you are beyond reproach." + +"Curse your impudence, Droom, I won't be spoken to in that way," +exclaimed Bansemer, white with sudden rage and loathing. + +"Am I to expect my discharge, sir?" asked Droom, rubbing his hands +abjectly, but looking squarely into Bansemer's eyes for the first +time in their acquaintance. Bansemer glared back for an instant +and then shrugged his shoulders with a nervous laugh. + +"We shan't quarrel, Elias," he said. "Speaking of Graydon, he is +to be married before long." + +"I trust he is to do well, sir. Graydon is a fine boy." + +"He is to marry David Cable's daughter." + +"Indeed? I did not know that David Cable had a daughter." + +"You know whom I mean--Jane Cable." He turned rather restlessly, +conscious that Droom's eyes were following him to the window. He +glanced again at Mrs. Cable's note and waited. + +"I suppose you are pleased," said Droom, after a long pause. + +"Certainly. Jane is a splendid girl. She's beautiful, accomplished +and--well, she's thoroughbred," said Bansemer steadily, turning to +face the old man. + +"It is not necessary to remind you that she is a child of love," +said Droom, "That's the genteel way to put it." + +"It's not like you to be genteel, Elias. Still," and he sat down +and leaned forward eagerly, "she has good blood from both sides." + +"Yes--the so-called best." + +"You speak as if you know the truth." + +"I think--yes, I'm sure I know. I have known for twenty years, Mr. +Bansemer. I had the same means as you of finding out whose child +she was." + +"That's more than Mrs. Cable knows." + +"She did not take the trouble to investigate. It's too late now." + +"I don't believe you really know the names of her father and +mother," said Bansemer shrewdly. "You are trying to trick me into +telling you what I DO know." + +"There are portraits of her ancestors hanging in Fifth Avenue," +said Droom promptly. "Here," and he picked up a pencil, "I'll write +the initials of the two persons responsible for her existence. You +do the same and we'll see that they tally." He quickly scratched +four letters on a pad of paper. Bansemer hesitated and then slowly +wrote the initials on the back of an envelope. Without a word they +exchanged the papers. After a moment they both smiled in relief. +Neither had been tricked. The initials were identical. + +"I imagine the ancestors hanging in Fifth Avenue would be amazed +if they knew the story of Jane," said Droom, with a chuckle. + +"I doubt it, Droom. Ancestors have stories, too, and they hide +them." + +"Well, she isn't the only girl who doesn't know." + +"I dare say. It isn't a wise world." + +"It's a lucky one. That's why it assumes to be decent." + +"You are quite a cynic, Elias." + +"By the way, now that your son is to marry her, I'd like to know +just what your game is." + +Bansemer turned on him like a tiger, his steely eyes blazing. + +"Game? There is no game, damn you. Listen to me, Droom; we'll settle +this now. I'm a bad man, but I've tried to be a good father. People +have called me heartless. So be it. But I love that boy of mine. +What little heart I have belongs to him. There can be no game where +he is concerned. Some day, perhaps, he'll find out the kind of a +man I've been to others, but can always remember that I was fair +and honest with him. He'll despise my methods and he'll spurn +my money, but he'll have to love me. Jane Cable is not the girl I +would have chosen for him, but she is good and true and he loves +her." + +For the first time in his life Elias Droom shrank beneath the eyes +of his master. He hated James Bansemer from the bottom, of his +wretched soul, but he could not but feel, at this moment, a touch +of admiration. + +Through all the years of their association Elias Droom had hated +Bansemer because he was qualified to be the master, because he +was successful and forceful, because he had loved and been loved, +because they had been classmates but not equals. In the bitterness +of his heart he had lain awake on countless nights praying--but not +to his God--that the time would come when he could stand ascendant +over this steely master. Only his unswerving loyalty to a duty +once assumed kept him from crushing Bansemer with exposure years +before. But Droom was not a traitor. He remained standing, lifting +his eyes after a brief, shifting study of his bony hands. + +"You have nothing to fear from me," he said. "Your boy is the only +being in the world that I care for. He hates me. Everybody hates me. +But it doesn't matter. I asked what your game was because we know +Jane's father and mother. That's all. Mrs. David Cable, I presume, +can be preyed upon with safety." + +"Mrs. Cable has much to lose," significantly. + +"And how much to pay?" with a meaning look. + +"That is her affair, Droom." + +"I wouldn't press her too hard," cautioned Droom. "She's a woman." + +"Never fear. I'm going there for dinner to-night. It's a family +affair. By the way, here's a letter from a distinguished political +leader. He suggests that I act on the city central committee for +the coming year. You've heard of him, I daresay. He says it will +mean a great deal to me here in Chicago." + +"You are not going into politics?" scornfully. + +"Elias, I'm pretty bad, but I'm not bad enough for local politics." + +They heard someone at the outer door at that moment, and Droom glided +forth from the inner room to greet the visitor. It was Eddie Deever. + +"Say, Mr. Droom, do you suppose Mr. Bansemer would object if I sat +down here for a few minutes to look over his books on Famous Crimes +in History? Old Smith hasn't got 'em." + +"Go ahead," said Droom, taking his seat at the desk. "You are a +great reader, I perceive. A literary person like you ought to live +in Boston. Everybody reads in Boston." + +"Boston?" sniffed Eddie, pulling a book from the shelf. "They're +still reading the Old Testament there." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +AN EVENING WITH DROOM + + + + + +Several weeks later Eddie Deever announced, quite breathlessly, +to Rigby that he was going over to visit Droom in his Wells Street +rooms. The two had found a joint affinity in Napoleon, although +it became necessary for the law student to sit up late at night, +neglecting other literature, in order to establish anything like +an adequate acquaintance with the lamented Corsican. + +Rigby was now morally certain that James Bansemer was all that +Harbert had painted. To his surprise, however, the man was not +openly suspected by other members of the bar. He had been accepted as +a man of power and ability. Certainly he was too clever to expose +himself and too wary to leave peepholes for others engaged in that +business. Rigby was debating the wisdom of going to Bansemer with +his accusations and the secret advice to leave the city before +anything happened that might throw shame upon Graydon. The courage +to do the thing alone was lacking. + +Graydon was full of his happiness. He had asked Rigby to act as +his "best man" in September, and Bobby had promised. On occasions +when the two young men discussed the coming event with Jane and +Miss Clegg, Rigby's preoccupied air was strangely in contrast with +the animation of the others. Graydon accused his liver and advised +him to go to French Lick. Far from that, the old quarterback was +gradually preparing himself to go to James Bansemer. To himself he +was saying, as he put off the disagreeable task from day to day: +"He'll kick me out of the office and that's all the reward I'll +get for my pains. Graydon will hate me in the end." + +James Bansemer had proposed a trip to Europe as a wedding journey, +a present from himself, but Graydon declined. He would not take +an extensive leave of absence from the office of Clegg, Groll & +Davidson at this stage of his career. + +The morning after his visit to the abode of Elias Droom, Eddie +Deever strolled into the office of Bobby Rigby. He looked as though +he had spent a sleepless night. Mr. Rigby was out, but Miss Keating +was "at home." She was scathingly polite to her delinquent admirer. +Eddie's visits of late to the office had not been of a social +character. He devoted much of his time to low-toned conversations +with Rigby; few were the occasions when he lounged affably upon +her typewriting desk as of yore. + +"You look as if you'd had a night of it," remarked Rosie. Eddie yawned +obligingly. "Don't sit on my desk. Can't you see those letters?" + +"Gee, you're getting touchy of late. I'll move the letters." + +"No, you won't," she objected. "Besides, it doesn't look well. What +if someone should come in--suddenly?" + +"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I got out suddenly, would it?" +He retained his seat on the desk. "Say, where's Rigby?" + +"You mean MR. Rigby? He's out." + +"Gee, you're also snippy. Well, give him my regards. So long." + +He was unwinding his long legs preparatory to a descent from his +perch. + +"Don't rush," she said quickly. He rewound his legs and yawned. +"Goodness, you're not affected with insomnia, are you?" + +"I've got it the worst way. I got awake at eight o'clock this +morning and I couldn't go to sleep again to save my soul. It's an +awful disease. Will Rigby be back soon?" + +"It won't matter. He's engaged," she snapped, cracking away at her +machine. + +"I've heard there was some prospect. She's a fine looker." + +"Rubber-neck!" + +"Say, Rosie, I'm going to ask a girl to go to the theatre with me," +said Eddie complacently. + +"Indeed! Well, ask her. I don't care." + +"To-morrow night. Will you go?" + +"Who? Me?" + +"Sure. I--I wouldn't take anybody else, you know." + +"What theatre?" she asked with her rarest smile. + +At that instant Rigby came in. Without a word Eddie popped up, a +bit red in the face, and followed the lawyer into the private room, +closing the door behind him. Rosie's ears went very pink and she +pounded the keys so viciously that the machine trembled on the +verge of collapse. + +"Gee, Mr. Rigby, that old Droom's a holy terror. He kept me there +till after one o'clock. But I'm going back again soon some night. +He's got an awful joint. But that isn't what I wanted to see you +about. I ran across May Rosabel, that chorus girl I was telling +you about. Saw her downtown in a restaurant at one this morning. +She wanted to buy the drinks and said she had more money than a +rabbit. There was a gang with her. I got her to one side and she +said an uncle had just died and left her a fortune. She wouldn't +say how much, but it must have been quite a bunch. I know all of +her uncles. She's got three. They work out at Pullman, Mr. Rigby, +and they couldn't leave thirty cents between them if they all died +at once." + +After hearing this, Rigby decided to confront Bansemer at once. It +did not occur to him until later that the easiest and most effective +way to drive Bansemer from Chicago without scandal was through +Elias Droom. When the thought came to him, however, he rejoiced. The +new plan was to sow the seeds of apprehension with Droom; Bansemer +would not be long in reaping their harvest--of dismay. Ten apparently +innocent words from Eddie Deever would open Droom's eyes to the +dangers ahead. + +Young Mr. Deever met with harsh disappointment when he came forth +to renew his conversation with Rosie Keating. She was chatting at +the telephone, her face wreathed in smiles. + +"Thank you," she was saying, "it will be so nice. I was afraid +I had an engagement for to-morrow night, but I haven't. Everybody +says it's a perfectly lovely play. I'm crazy to see it. What? About +seven-thirty. It takes nearly half an hour down on the Clark Street +cable. Slowest old thing ever. All right. Good-bye." Then she hung +up the receiver and turned upon Eddie, who stood aghast near the +desk. "Oh, I thought you'd gone." + +"Say, what was that you were saying over the 'phone? Didn't I ask +you--" + +"I'm going to the theatre with Mr. Kempshall. Why?" + +"WHY? Why, you know I asked you to--" + +"You didn't specify, Eddie, that's all. I'll go some other night +with you. Good-bye." Clackety-clack went the machine, throwing +insult into his very face as it were. He tramped out of the office +in high dudgeon. + +"Confound this detective business, anyhow," he might have been +heard to remark. Three nights later, however, he took Rosie to the +play, and on the fourth night he was Droom's guest again in the +rooms across the river. He was well prepared to begin the campaign +of insinuation which was to affect Bansemer in the end. Sitting +stiff and uncomfortable in the dingy living-room overlooking Wells +Street, he watched with awe the master of the place at work on the +finishing touches of a new "invention," the uses of which he did +not offer to explain. + +He was without a coat and his shirt sleeves were rolled far above +the elbows, displaying long, sinewy arms, hairy and not unlike +those of the orang-outang Eddie had seen in Lincoln Park. + +"I've got a new way of inflicting the death penalty," the gaunt +old man said, slipping into a heavy, quilted dressing-gown. "These +rascals don't mind hanging or the penitentiary. But if they thought +their bodies would be everlastingly destroyed by quicklime, they'd +hesitate before killing their fellow-men." + +"But they already bury them in quicklime in England," said Eddie +loftily. + +"Yes, but not until after they're dead," said Droom with a cackle. +He grinned broadly at the sight of the youth's horror-struck face. +"Go ahead and smoke, my boy. I'll light my pipe. Make yourself at +home. I keep the window closed to keep out the sound of those Wells +Street cars. It's good of you to come over here and cheer up an old +man's evenings. I'm--I'm not used to it," he said with a wistful +touch which was lost to Eddie. + +"You ought to have a wife and a lot of children, Mr. Droom," said +Eddie with characteristic thoughtlessness. Droom stirred the fire +and scowled. "Were you ever married?" + +"No. I don't believe in marriage," said Droom sullenly. + +"Gee! Why not?" + +"Why should I? It's the way I was brought up." + +"You don't mean it!" + +"Yes. My father was a Catholic priest." + +"But, Great Scott, Catholics believe in marriage." + +"They don't believe in their priests marrying." + +"Well, they DON'T marry, do they?" + +"No, they don't," answered Droom with a laugh that sounded like a +snarl. It took Eddie two days to comprehend. "I saw the girl to-day +that young Graydon Bansemer is to marry--Miss Cable." + +"Say, she's swell, isn't she?" said Eddie. The old man slunk into +his chair. + +"She's very pretty. Mr. Graydon introduced me to her." + +"Gee!" was all Eddie could say. + +"They were crossing Wells Street down below here on the way home +from a nickel-plater's in Indiana Street. I saw her years ago, but +she didn't remember me. I didn't expect it, however." + +"I--how could she have forgotten you?" + +"Oh, she'd have forgotten her mother at that age. She was but +three months old. I don't think she liked me to-day. I'm not what +you call a ladies' man," grinned Elias, puffing at his pipe as +he picked up the volumes on Napoleon. Eddie laughed politely but +uncomfortably. + +"How old are you, Mr. Droom?" + +"I'm as old as Methuselah." + +"Aw, go 'way!" + +"When he was a boy," laughed Elias, enjoying his quip immensely. +"Miss Cable seems to be very fond of Graydon. That will last for +a couple of years and then she'll probably be like two-thirds of +the rest of 'em. Other men will be paying attention to her and she +looking for admiration everywhere. You'd be surprised to know how +much of that is going on in Chicago. Women can't seem to be satisfied +with one husband. They must have another one or two--usually somebody +else's." + +"You talk like a society man, Mr. Droom." "Well, I've met a few +society men--professionally. And women, too, for that matter. Look +out for a sensational divorce case within the next few weeks. It's +bound to come unless things change. Terribly nasty affair." + +"Is Mr. Bansemer interested?" asked Eddie, holding tight to his +chair. + +"Oh, no. We don't go in for that sort of thing." "I wonder if Mr. +Bansemer knows about the mistake that came near happening to him a +week or two ago. I got hold of it through a boy that works in the +United States Marshal's office," said Eddie, cold as ice now that +he was making the test. Droom turned upon him quickly. + +"What mistake? What do you mean?" "It would have been a rich joke +on Mr. Bansemer. Seems that some lawyer is likely to be charged +with blackmail, and they got Mr. Bansemer's name mixed up in it +some way. Of course, nothing came of it, but--I just wondered if +anybody had told him of the close call he'd had." + +Droom stared straight beyond the young liar and was silent for a +full minute. Then he deliberately opened the book on his knee and +began to turn the pages. + +"That WOULD have been a joke on Mr. Bansemer," he said indifferently. + +"I don't think he would have enjoyed it, do you?" + +"No one enjoys j okes from the United States Marshal's office," +said Droom grimly. "By the way, who is the lawyer that really was +wanted?" + +"I never heard. I believe it was dropped. The young fellow I know +said he couldn't talk about it, so I didn't ask. Say, who was that +swell woman I saw coming out of your office to-day? I was up at +Mr. Hornbrook's." + +Droom hesitated a moment. He seemed to be weighing everything he +said. + +"I suspect it was young Bansemer's future mother-in-law," he said. +"Mrs. David Cable was there this afternoon about three." + +"Gee," laughed Eddie. "Does she need a lawyer?" + +"Mr. Bansemer transacted business for her some time ago. A very +small matter, if I remember correctly. Here, listen to this. Now +here's a little incident I found this evening that interests me +immensely. It proves to my mind one of two points I hold in regard +to Marshal Ney. Listen," and he read at length from his book, a dry, +sepulchral monotone that grated on the ear until it became almost +unendurable. + +The little clock on the mantelpiece clanged ten before they laid +aside Napoleon and began to talk about something that interested +Eddie Deever far more than all else--Elias Droom himself and such +of his experiences as he cared to relate. The rid man told stories +about the dark sides of New York life, tales of murder, thievery, +rascality high and low, and he told them with blood-curdling +directness. The Walker wife-murder; the inside facts of the De +Pugh divorce scandal; the Harvey family's skeleton--all food for +the dime-novel producer. Eddie revelled in these recitals even +while he shuddered at the way in which the old man gave them. + +"Ah, this is a wicked old world," said Droom, refilling his pipe and +showing his teeth as he puffed. "That's why I have those pictures +of the Madonna on the wall--to keep me from forgetting that there +are beautiful things in the world in spite of its ugliness and +hypocrisy. I haven't much---" + +He stopped short and listened intently. The sounds of footsteps +on the stairs outside came to his ears. They clumped upward, paused +for a moment down the little hall and then approached Droom's +doorway. Host and guest looked at the clock instinctively. Eddie +heard Droom's breath as it came faster between puffs at his pipe. +Then there was a resounding rap at the panel of the door. Eddie +Deever never forgot the look that swept over the old man's face--the +look of wonder, dread, desperation. It passed in an instant, and he +arose unsteadily, undecidedly, to admit the late caller. His long +frame seemed to shake like a reed as he stood cautiously inside +the bolted door and called out: + +"Who's there?" + +"Messenger," was the muffled response. Droom hesitated a moment, +looking first at Eddie and then toward the window. Slowly he unbolted +the door. A small A. D. T. boy stood beyond. + +"What is it?" almost gasped Elias Droom, drawing the boy into the +room. + +"Mr. Droom? No answer, sir. Sign here." The boy, snow-covered, drew +a letter from his pocket and handed it to Droom. + +"Where from?" demanded the old clerk, the paper rattling in his +fingers. + +"I don't know. I'm from Chicago Avenue," said the boy, with proper +impudence. He took one look at Droom's face as the man handed the +slip back to him and then hurried downstairs, far less impudent at +heart than he had been. + +Droom recognised the handwriting on the envelope as James Bansemer's. +It was the first time his employer had communicated with him in +this manner. He tore open the envelope and anxiously read the brief +missive. + +"I've got to go to the office," he said, surprise still lingering +in his face. "It's important business--a consultation with--er--with +an Eastern client." + +"Gee, it's tough to turn out this kind of a night. I'm going your +way, Mr. Droom. Come on, I'll take the car down with you." + +"I--I won't be ready for some time." + +"Oh, well, I'll say good-night, then." + +Eddie Deever departed, chuckling to himself as he made his way +to the U---- Building, determined to learn what he could of this +unusual summons. + +But Droom was too crafty. Bansemer's letter had asked him to come +to Rector's restaurant and not to the U---- Building. The command +was imperative. + +Bansemer had been spending the evening at the home of David Cable. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +JAMES BANSEMER CALLS + + + + + +Following close upon Mrs. Cable's visit to his office in the +afternoon, Bansemer presented himself at her home in the evening, +urbane, courtly, but characteristically aggressive. Her action in +bearding him in his den was not surprising, even though it might +have been considered unusual. He had been well aware for some time +that she was sorely uneasy and that it was only a question of time +when she would make the expected advances. Since the announcement +of Jane's engagement Bansemer had been punctiliously considerate; +and yet, underneath his faultless exterior, Mrs. Cable felt that she +could recognise the deadly poise of other intentions. She lived in +fear that they would spring upon her as if from the dark and that +she would be powerless to combat them. Something stronger than +words or even intuition told her that James Bansemer was not to be +turned aside by sentiment. + +Driven at last to the point where she felt that she must know +his intentions, she boldly ventured into his consultation room, a +trembling but determined creature whose flesh quivered with chill +despite the furs that foiled the wintry winds. Elias Droom passed +her on into the private room with a polite grin that set her teeth +on edge. + +She left the building fifteen minutes later, nursing a wild but +forlorn hope that James Bansemer meant no evil, after all. Without +hesitation she told him plainly that she came to learn the precise +nature of his attitude toward herself and the girl. Bansemer's +resentment appeared too real to have been simulated. He was almost +harsh in his response to the inference. In the end, however, he was +a little less than tender in his efforts to convince her that she +had cruelly misjudged him. She went away with a chill in her heart +dislodged, but not dissolved. When he asked if she and Mr. Cable +would be at home that night for a game of cards, she felt obliged +to urge him to come. It was not until she was in the carriage below +that she remembered that David Cable was to attend a big banquet +at the Auditorium that night, and that Jane would be at the theatre +with friends. + +Bansemer smiled serenely as he escorted her to the door. "We will +not permit anything to happen which might bring misery to the two +beings so dear to us," he assured her at parting. + +Shortly after eight he entered the Cable home. He had gone to +Chicago Avenue beforehand to send a telegram East. From the corner +of Clark Street, he walked across town toward the lake, facing the +bitter gale with poor grace. In Washington Place he passed two men +going from their cab into the Union Club. He did not look at them +nor did he see that they turned and stared after him as he buffeted +his way across Dearborn Avenue. One of the men was Bobby Rigby; +the other, Denis Harbert of New York. + +"It's the same Bansemer," said Harbert as they entered the club. +"I'd know him in a million." + +At the Cables' a servant, on opening the door, announced that Mr. +Cable was not at home. + +"Is Mrs. Cable at home?" asked Mr. Bansemer, making no effort to +find his cardcase. + +"Yes, sir," responded the servant after a moment's hesitation. +Bansemer passed through the vestibule. + +"Say Mr. Bansemer, if you please." + +He removed his coat and was standing comfortably in front of the +blazing logs in the library when she came down. + +"I thought the night was too dreadful for anyone to venture out +unless--" she was saying as she gave him her hand. + +"A night indoors and alone is a thousandfold more dreadful than one +outdoors in quest of good company," interrupted Bansemer. He drew +up chairs in front of the fireplace and stood by waiting for her +to be seated. + +"I had forgotten that Mr. Cable was to attend a banquet at the +Auditorium," she explained nervously, confident, however, that he +felt she had not forgotten. + +"To be sure," he said. "This is the night of the banquet. I was +not invited." + +"I tried to telephone to ask you to come to-morrow night. The storm +has played havoc with the wires. It is impossible to get connection +with anyone." A servant appeared in the doorway. + +"You are wanted at the telephone, Mrs. Cable, Shall I say you will +come?" + +Flushing to the roots of her hair, the mistress of the house excused +herself and left the room. Bansemer leaned back in his chair and +smiled. She returned a few minutes later with a fluttering apology. + +"What a terrible night it must be for those poor linemen," she said. +"I remember what it meant to be a railroad lineman in the West +years ago. The blizzards out there are a great deal more severe than +those we have here, Mr. Bansemer. Just think of the poor fellows +who are repairing the lines to-night. Doesn't it seem heartless?" + +"It does, indeed. And yet, I daresay you've been scolding them bitterly +all evening. One seldom thinks it worth while to be merciful when +the telephone refuses to obey. It's only a true philanthropist who +can forgive the telephone. However, I am grateful to the blizzard +and happy. Fair weather would have deprived me of pleasure." + +"I am sorry Mr. Cable is not at home," she said quickly. + +"I doubt if I shall miss him greatly," said he. + +"He expects to leave early--he isn't well," she hastened to say. +"Don't you want to smoke?" + +"A cigarette, if you don't mind. By the way, where is my future +daughter-in-law? Surely I may see her to-night." + +"She is at the theatre--with the Fernmores. Graydon is one of the +party. Didn't you know?" she asked suddenly. + +"I do remember it now. He left the apartment quite early. Then +I have Fernmore to thank for--we are alone." He leaned forward in +his chair and flicked the cigarette ashes into the fire, his black +eyes looking into hers with unmistakable intentness. + +"You assured me to-day that you would be fair," she said with +strange calmness, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. + +"I am fair. What more can you ask?" with a light laugh. + +"Why did you say to-day that I had nothing to fear from you?" she +demanded. + +"You have nothing to fear. Why should you fear me? For twenty years +your face has not been out of my memory. Why should I seek to hurt +you, then? Why should I not rejoice in the tie that binds our +interests--our lives, for that matter? Come, I ask if I am not +fair?" + +Her face became pale, her heart cold. She understood. The mask +was off. He veiled his threat in the simplest words possible; the +purpose looked through with greedy disdain for grace. + +"I can offer no more than I offered to-day," she said. + +"Do you suppose I would accept money in payment for my son's peace of +mind?" declared Bansemer, with finely assumed scorn. "You offered +me ten thousand dollars. You will never know how that hurt me, +coming from you. Money? What is money to me in an affair like this? +I care more for one tender touch of your fingers than all the money +in the world! You--and you alone, can mould every impulse in me. +For half my life I have been hated. No one has given me a grain of +love. I must have it. For years you have not been out of my mind--I +have not been out of yours." + +"Stop!" she cried angrily. "You have no right to say such things +to me. You have been in my mind all these years, but oh, how I have +hated you!" + +Like a flash, his manner changed. He had her in his power, and it +was not in his nature to permit his subjects to dictate to him. +Craft and coercion always had been his allies; craft could not win +a woman's heart, but coercion might crush it into submission. It +was not like James Bansemer to play a waiting game after it had +been fairly started. + +"Now listen to me," he said distinctly. "You cannot afford to talk +like that. You cannot afford to make an enemy of me. I mean what +I--" + +"What would you do?" she cried. "You have promised that nothing +shall happen to mar the lives of our children. You have given me +your pledge. Is it worthless? Is it--" + +"I wouldn't speak so loud if I were you," said he slowly. "The +walls have ears. You have much to lose if ears other than those in +the wall should hear what could be said. It would mean disaster. +I know, at least, that you do not love David Cable--" + +"What! I--I worship my husband," she cried, her eyes flashing, her +bosom heaving. "I love him better than anything else in all the +world. How dare you say that to me!" + +"Control yourself," he cautioned calmly. "Permit me to say you love +the position he has given you. You love the pedestal on which you +stand so insecurely. You would rather hear his curse than to see +the hand of social ostracism raised against you. Wait! A word from +me and not only David Cable, but the whole world would turn against +you." + +"I have committed no crime," she flared back at him, "I have +deceived my husband, but I have not dishonoured him. Tell the world +everything, if you will." + +"It would be a luscious tale," he said with an evil laugh. "The +world, which is wicked, might forget the fact that Jane is not +David's daughter; but David would not forget that she is yours." + +"What do you mean?" starting from her chair. + +"I think you understand," he said deliberately. + +"My God, she is NOT my child!" she cried in horror. "You know she +isn't. You know the entire story. You--" + +"I only know that you brought her to me and that I did you a service. +Don't ask me to be brutal and say more." She sank back and glared +at him like a helpless, wounded thing, the full force of his threat +rushing in upon her. + +"You--you COULDN'T do THAT," she whispered tremulously. + +"I could, but I don't see why I should," he said, leaning closer +to her shrinking figure. + +"You know it isn't true," faintly. + +"I only know that I am trying to save you from calamity." + +"Oh, what a beast you are!" she cried, springing to her feet. "Go! +I defy you! Do and say what you will. Only go!" + +He rose calmly, a satisfied smile on his face. + +"I shall, of course, first of all, forbid my son to marry the +young woman. It will be necessary for me to explain the reason to +Mr. Cable. I am sorry to have distressed you. Really, I had expected +quite a different evening, after your invitation. You can't blame +me for misunderstanding your motive in asking me to come here when +you expected to be utterly alone." His laugh was a sneer. + +"Poor--poor little Jane!" murmured the harassed woman, clasping +her hands over her eyes; then suddenly she cried out: "What a devil +you are to barter with your son's happiness!" + +"I'll not mince matters," he said harshly. "You and I must understand +each other. To be perfectly frank, everything rests with you. Call +me a beast if you like. As a beast I can destroy you, and I will." + +"You forget that I can go to my husband and tell him everything. +He will hate me, but he will believe me," she said, facing him once +more. + +"The world will believe me," he scoffed. + +"Not after I tell the world that you tried to blackmail me--that +you have demanded fifty thousand dollars." + +"But I haven't made such a demand." + +"I can SWEAR that you have," she cried triumphantly. He glared at +her for a moment, his past coming up from behind with a rush that +left him nothing to stand on. + +"I am willing to run the risk of scandal, if you are, my dear," +he said after a moment, his hands clenched behind him. "It will be +very costly. You have much to lose." + +"I think," she said shrewdly, guessing his weakness even as he saw +it, "that we can talk sensibly of the situation from now on. I am +not afraid of you." + +He looked at her steadily for a moment, reading her thoughts, seeing +her trembling heart. Then he said drily: + +"I'll do nothing for a week, and then you'll send for me." + +The door in the vestibule opened suddenly and someone--aye, more +than one--came in from the outside. Mrs. Cable started to her feet +and turned toward the library door. Bansemer was standing close +by her side. He turned to move away as David Cable stepped to the +door to look in. Cable's coat collar was about his ears and he was +removing his gloves. For a moment he stood motionless, gazing upon +the occupants of the room. + +Then, for the first time, there flashed before him the sharp +point of steel which was to pierce his brain later on with deadly +suspicion and doubt. There was no mistaking the confusion of Mrs. +Cable and her visitor. It was manifest that they had not expected +him to appear so unexpectedly. He remembered now that on two other +occasions he had found Bansemer at his house, and alone with Mrs. +Cable, but he had not regarded it as extraordinary. But there was +a startled look in her eyes to-night, an indecision in her greeting +that caused him to knit his brows and lift his hand unconsciously +to his temple before speaking. He heard Bansemer say that he was just +going, but that he would stay for a short chat about the banquet. +Mrs. Cable turned to stir the fire with the poker, an unusual act +on her part he was not slow to observe. The seed was sown. + +"I brought Bobby over from the club with me--and a friend, Frances," +he said, after asking Bansemer to sit down for a while. His keen +eyes noted that her hand shook as she put the poker back into its +place. As he walked into the hall to throw aside his coat, Frances +Cable turned to Bansemer with a significant look, shaking her head +in mute appeal for silence. + +Bobby Rigby came into the room, followed by a tall stranger, whom +he presented to Mrs. Cable. Bansemer, standing near the library +table, caught a glimpse of the stranger's face as he took Mrs. +Cable's hand. He started violently, unable at first to believe his +eyes. A chill ran through his frame and his expression changed from +wonder to consternation. + +"Mr. Bansemer, my friend, Mr. Harbert." + +"I have met Mr. Bansemer," said Harbert, with a cold stare straight +into the other's eyes. They were on opposite sides of the table. + +"In New York," said Bansemer firmly, his eyes unflinching in +their return. He noticed that Harbert's look was uncompromisingly +antagonistic, but that was to be expected. It troubled him, however, +to see something like unfriendliness in Rigby's greeting. + +Harbert was the man who had fought him to rout in New York. This +keen, aggressive young barrister had driven him into a corner from +which he escaped only by merest chance. He knew James Bansemer +for what he was. It had not been his fault that the man crawled +through a small avenue of technicalities and avoided the punishment +that had seemed so certain. He had waged war bitterly against the +blackmailer, and he missed complete victory by a hair's breadth. + +Feeling the strain of the situation, Rigby talked with earnest +volubility. He led the conversation into many lines--the war in +the Philippines, the banquet, the play which Jane and Graydon were +seeing. The thought of the play brought a shade of despair to his +brow--pretty Miss Clegg was in the party with that "mucker" Medford. + +James Bansemer had been cold with speculation every instant of the +time; had felt that Harbert's condemning gaze had never left him. +Apparently listening to the others, he found himself wondering what +Harbert's trip to Chicago signified. Gradually it dawned upon him +that his old-time foe was not through with his fighting. The look +in Rigby's eyes meant something, after all--and Rigby was Graydon's +best friend! Harbert was in Chicago to act--and to act first! This +thought shot into the man's brain like burning metal. It set every +nerve afire. His nemesis had already begun his work. Before he left +the Cable home that night he would be asking his host and hostess +what they knew of one James Bansemer's past. + +As Bansemer arose to say good-night to the others, Harbert's eyes +met his with deadly directness. + +"Where are your offices, Mr. Bansemer?" asked the New Yorker. There +was something significant in the question. + +"Mr. Rigby and I have offices in the same building," he replied. +"Will you come in and see me?" + +"I shall try," said the other. + +To have saved his life, Bansemer could not meet David Cable's +questioning eyes as he shook hands with him. Cable's hands were +like ice. + +Outside the house, in the whirling gale, the tall lawyer breathed +easier, but not securely. His brain was clogged with doubts, fears, +prophecies--all whirling like mad around the ominous figure of +Denis Harbert. + +Suddenly, he stopped stockstill, the bitter scowl deepening in his +eyes. With an oath he turned abruptly and hurried in the opposite +direction. The time had come to make ready for battle. A few minutes +later, he was writing the note which created so much commotion in +the home of Elias Droom. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +JANE SEES WITH NEW EYES + + + + + +It was not until the hurrying Bansemer entered the door of Rector's +that the apprehension of having committed a senseless blunder came +to him. + +"Good heavens!" he muttered, stopping short. "What a fool I'm +getting to be-meeting old Elias, in a place like this! The theatre +crowds--everybody in town will be here by eleven! Curse me, for a +hopeless ass! I must get him away at once!" + +Grumbling at himself, he passed into the restaurant. Gabe offered +him the choice of various tables; he selected one which commanded +a view of the entrances and ordered a perfunctory "Scotch." Nervous +and anxious, he was more troubled than he cared to admit even to +himself. Fortunately, there were not many people in the cafe; and +his gaze, wandering about the place, soon halted before the small +alcove in the east end containing a table with wine glasses, in +waiting, set for a large party. The clock, back of the cigarstand, +said it was five minutes after eleven. Bansemer impatiently watched +the two doors leading to the street, and was beginning to wonder +whether the message had reached the old clerk, when presently, the +uncouth shape of Droom, appeared slinking through the so-called +ladies' entrance, with the shrinking attitude of one unaccustomed +to fashionable restaurants and doubtful of his reception. Bansemer +motioned to him. + +"Just as soon as I can get my check," he was saying, at the same +time, beckoning to a waiter; "we'll move out of this. It will be +crowded in--I never thought, a stall at Chapin & Gore's will be +better. Here, waiter! My check! I'm in a hurry!--the devil!" + +As the exclamation burst from his lips, there came down the narrow +steps and through a door quickly thrown open by a waiter, a number +of gay, fashionably dressed people, all smiling and trembling with +the cold. Immediately, this party attracted the attention of the +room. Waiters rushed hither and thither relieving the ladies of their +costly lace and fur wraps, and the men of their heavy overcoats. +Of the expected theatre-comers, these were the first to arrive; +but presently others followed, and soon the quiet cafe of the early +evening became transformed into one of bustle and excitement by +the eager, animated throng. With dismay Bansemer noticed that those +to whom his attention had been attracted were blocking his way to +the doors; escape was out of the question. Reluctantly, he returned +to his seat and ordered the clerk to take the one opposite him. Then, +scanning the party making its passage to the alcove, he perceived +three or four men whom he knew, and presently, to his surprise and +consternation-his son. The recognition was mutual, Graydon making +his way around a small table in order to affectionately greet him. +As he approached, his eyes fastened themselves on his father's +companion. With amazement, he recognised the queer figure of the +lanky, gangling Droom; but too kind-hearted and well-bred to allow +his features in the slightest degree to express the astonishment +which he felt at sight of such a comic incongruity, the young man +voiced a few kindly words to the old man, while from the table +in the alcove, where the smart, little supper party were seating +themselves, Miss Cable was smiling her cheery recognition to her +prospective father-in-law; then Graydon made his way back to his +seat by her side. + +"Why did you come here?" asked Droom, feeling somewhat akin to the +proverbial fish out of water. + +"Because I thought--I thought you couldn't find any other place," +replied Bansemer, confusedly. + +The unexpected arrival of his son and party had disturbed his usual +coolness; but with his order for supper his equilibrium returned, +and he went on to explain: + +"I supposed you knew only two streets in town--Wells and South +Water." + +"Humph! I know every street in town," Droom resented, drawing +himself up in his chair; and then bluntly: "What's happened?" + +"Not so loud! Harbert's here, but---" + +"Oho! Here?" + +"In Chicago, yes--we'll talk about it later." + +The present genial environment and convivial atmosphere were +producing a most inspiriting effect on the lawyer. The delightful +consciousness that the people with whom his son was supping were +of the smartest set in town for the moment had banished all fears +of exposure. From time to time he glanced proudly across to the +alcove table where the men were engaged in unfolding their napkins +and toying with their glasses, in lively anticipation of the enjoyment +to come; while the women, with the hope of eliciting admiration for +their hands and the sparkle of their rings, were taking off their +gloves and spreading out their fingers on the table cloth. + +"Graydon seems to be right in the swim, eh, Droom?" he said. The +irony of it all appealed strongly to his sense of humour. "I don't +suppose you know those swells?" he added, patronisingly. Droom was +listening intently to the bursts of merriment which were enlivening +the restaurant. Like a small boy at a circus who fears that something +will happen that he will not see, he was continually turning his +head and letting his eyes travel critically over the company at +the neighbouring table. + +At this speech of Bansemer's the eyes of the old clerk returned; +they expressed no little resentment at the inference. + +"Certainly, I do;" and leaning over the table and covertly indicating +with his long, bony finger the man at the head of the table, he +answered succinctly: "That's Fernmore--he's--" + +A particularly loud burst of laughter cut him short. At the adjoining +tables conversation had abruptly ceased; heads were turned and +inquisitive eyes were fastened on the brilliant coterie at the +alcove table. + +Few men in Chicago were better known or better liked than the stout, +florid complexioned, jovial-looking Billy Fernmore, the host of +this entertainment. His social adventures and the headlong follies +in which his fun-loving proclivities invariably enmeshed him were +only surpassed by his fondness for ridding himself of his unlimited +wealth. + +To his inherited five millions marriage had added the colossal +fortune of a beautiful heiress, whose extravagances aggregated less +than his own solely through the limitations of her sex. Yet, were +it not for the self-imposed handicap of adhering strictly to the +somewhat old-fashioned precept that jewels should be acquired only +through affectionate beneficence, Mrs. Fernmore might have succeeded +in surpassing the princely prodigalities of her lord and master. + +"It was this way," Billy was saying, in his own inimitable manner, +and awake to the realisation of having a "good one" to tell; "a +few days ago the lady of my house took wings for New York--a little +spree of her own, you understand. And, for Billy Fernmore, I kept +out of mischief, for a time, fairly well. After waiting days, +lamb-like, for her return, restlessness--;" and here Fernmore's +shameless affectation of the neglected husband became so irresistibly +funny that it provoked prolonged laughter from his listeners, even +Droom showing his yellow snags and stretching his mouth to the +fullest extent of the law, as he joined in the general chorus; +"restlessness gave way to recklessness, and in desperation I invited +a half dozen of the oldest and most distinguished widowers in town +to dine with me, at the hotel, where they were informed they were +to be honoured by the presence of a bevy of the season's prettiest +debutantes. My stars, but they were a fine collection of old +innocents!" Fernmore threw himself back in his chair and roared at +the recollection. + +"Billy's a wonder when he's wound up!" Medford's whispered aside +to the lady on his right met with a simple nod of the head; for +despite Miss Clegg's well-feigned interest in Mr. Medford when Rigby +was present, on other occasions there was no pretence of enjoyment +of his society. + +"Among those present--to use the correct phrase," said Billy, after +having refreshed himself with sufficient champagne to proceed; "were +two retired merchants, a venerable logician, a doddering banker, +and a half-blind college professor. Of course, I had to make some +excuse for Mrs. Fermnore's absence. For the life of me I cannot +now remember what yarn I told them; but they were too anxious to +be presented to the gay, young women not to swallow it--whole. The +old boys fairly swamped the girls with their senile attentions. It +was a lively supper party--my word! And they went home unanimously +declaring that the debutantes of the present day discounted, at +least in dash and go, the charmers of fifty years ago." + +Amidst the confusion of peals of merriment which greeted the genial +raconteur, Miss Cable, to whom the story did not especially appeal, +whispered in awed tones: + +"Graydon, who on earth is that queer, spectacular looking man with +your father?" + +"Oh, that's Droom--isn't he a character? He's been with the governor +since I was a child. In those days his looks used to frighten me +almost to death. I fancy he's had a sad life, don't you know." + +"There is something positively awful in his face," returned the +girl, as her eyes faltered and dropped to her plate on unexpectedly +meeting those of the subject of her remark. + +"Sh-h!" came from Medford; and then: "Come, Billy--what's the +point--or the moral, as they say in novels?" + +"Fernmore is a rattling good chap, at heart," Graydon was saying +to Jane; "but I can't stand that Med--" + +"Yes, yes, go on, Mr. Fernmore," broke in several voices in eager +expectancy. + +"The moral?" Billy's eyes were twinkling. "The joke, rather, is on +me. When Mrs. Fernmore reached home I thought it wise to say nothing +about the affair; but I had completely underestimated the persistency +of these rejuvenated venerables. They were not satisfied--wanted +to know more about the girls; and the next day in deep but joyous +simplicity, half a dozen old men asked their married daughters and +close friends at the clubs what family of Brown a certain debutante +belonged to; who was the father of Miss Jones; and how long had +the family of Miss Robinson lived in the city, together with a +lot of amazing questions. And failing to derive even the remotest +satisfaction from the Social Register, the women members of their +families besieged my innocent wife with more or less shocked inquiries +as to an entertainment of mine at which their aged relations were +present. Well, the game was up! I owned up--confessed to the girls +being actresses and begged for mercy." + +"And I forgave him," supplemented Mrs. Fernmore, smilingly. "Boys +will be boys." + +"Whew!" whistled Billy, in conclusion. "It was no end of a lark! +I would not have missed it for the world; but the old chaps will +never, never forgive me." + +As the gentleman finished, Bansemer was looking at Droom with +amusement. The old clerk was shaking his head in a manner that +signified disapproval. + +"How's that for doings in swagger society, eh, Droom? If anyone +but Billy Fernmore had done that, he would have been ostracised +forever. Nothing like millions--" + +"I don't believe true aristocrats would do that," interrupted Droom, +half angrily. + +"These are the aristocrats--money aristocrats; the others have lost +the name--forgotten. Come, let's go over yonder--we can talk there." + +Bansemer called for the bill and settled it; then slowly rising, +ostentatiously waved his adieus to the alcove and deserted the +scene for Chapin & Gore's Droom meekly followed him employer. + +For some time, neither spoke. In their stall, each was busy with +his own thoughts and speculations. + +"I think I've made a mess of it with Mr. Cable," began Banseemer. +"She---" + +"I wouldn't mention names," cautioned Droom, with a look at the +top of the partition. + +"She's very likely to fight back, after all." + +"What was your demand?" + +"Money," said Bansemer, quietly. + +"Humph!" was Broom's way of saying he lied. + +"Harbert has a purpose in coming here, Elias. We must prepare for +him." + +"We are as well prepared as we can expect to be. I guess it means +that we'll have to get out of Chicago." + +"Curse him!" snarled Bansemer. "I don't care a rap about myself; but +it will be all up with Graydon if anything--er--unpleasant should +happen to me," said Bansemer, with a wistful glance at his glass. +Then, in subdued tones, he told of the meeting with Harbert. Droom +agreed that the situation looked unpleasant, and all the more +so in view of what Eddie Deever had mentioned in connection with +the Marshal's office. He repeated the story as it had come from +the babbling, youngster's lips, utterly deceived by the guileless +emissary from the office downstairs. + +"What do you expect to do?" he asked, studying the tense face of +his employer. + +"I'm going to stand my ground," said Bansemer, steadily drumming +on the table with his stiff fingers. "They can't prove anything, +and the man who makes a charge against me will have to substantiate +it. I'll not run a step." + +"Then," said Droom, coarsely, "you must let Mrs. Cable alone. She +is your danger signal. I tell you, Mr. Bansemer, she'll fight if +you drive her into a corner. She's not a true aristocrat. She comes +of a class that doesn't give up." + +"Bah! She's like the rest. If Harbert doesn't get in his nasty +work, she'll give in like all the others." + +"I thought you said you'd do nothing to mai" the happiness of +Graydon," sneered Droom. + +"I don't intend to, you old fool. This affair is between Mrs. +Cable and me. If she wins, I'll give up. But, understand me, I'm +perfectly capable of knowing just when I'm beaten." + +"I only know your financial valour," said Elias drily. + +"That's all you're expected to know, sir." + +"Then, we won't quarrel about it," said the other with his sweetest +grin. + +"Umph! Well, pleasantries aside, we must look ourselves over +carefully before we see our New York friend. He must not find us +with unclean linen. Elias, I'm worried, I'll confess, but I'm not +afraid. Is there anything that we have bungled?" + +"I have always been afraid of the chorus-girl business. I don't +like chorus girls." Bansemer, at another time, would have smiled. + +It was past midnight when the two left the stall and started +in separate ways for their North Side homes. The master felt more +secure than when he left the home of David Cable earlier in the +night. Elias Droom said at parting: + +"I don't like your attitude toward Mrs. C. It's not very manly to +make war on a woman." + +"My good Elias," said Bansemer, complacently surveying himself in +the small mirror across the stall, "all men make war on women, one +way or another." + +He did not see Droom's ugly scowl as he preceded that worthy through +the doorway. + +The next morning Bansemer walked down the Drive. It was a bright, +crisp day and the snow had been swept from the sidewalks. He felt +that a visit from Harbert during the day was not unlikely and he +wanted to be fresh and clear-headed. Halfway down he met Jane Cable +coming from the home of a friend. He never had seen her looking so +beautiful, so full of the joy of living. Her friendly, sparkling +smile sent a momentary pang of shame into his calloused heart, +but it passed with the buoyant justification of his decision to do +nothing in the end that might mar his son's happiness. + +She was walking to town and assured him that she rejoiced in his +distinguished company. They discussed the play and the supper party. + +"Now that I'm engaged to Graydon, I'm positively beginning to grow +sick of people," Miss Cable declared and as they all declare at +that age and stage. + +"Well, you'll soon recover," he smiled. "Marriage is the convalescence +of a love affair, you know." + +"Oh, but most of the men one meets are so hopelessly silly-tiresome," +she went on. "It's strange, too. Nearly all of them have gone to +college-Yale, or Harvard." + +"My dear Jane, they are the unfortunate sons of the rich. You can't +blame them. All Yale and Harvard men are not tiresome. You should +not forget that a large sprinkling of the young men you meet at +the pink teas were sent to Yale or Harvard for the sole purpose +of becoming Yale and Harvard men-nothing more. Their mothers never +expected them to be anything else. The poor man sends his son to +be educated; the rich man usually does it to get the boy away from +home, so that he won't have to look at him all the time. I'm happy +to say that I was quite poor when Graydon got his diploma." + +"Oh, Graydon isn't at all like the others. He is a man," cried +Jane, her eyes dancing. + +"I don't mean to say that all rich men's sons are failures. Some +of them are really worth while. Give credit unlimited to the rich +man's son who goes to college and succeeds in life in spite of his +environment. I must not forget that Graydon's chief ambition at +one time was to hunt Indians." + +"He couldn't have got that from his mother," said she accusingly. +Bansemer looked at her sharply. He had half expected, on meeting +her, to observe the first sign that the Cable family had discussed +him well but not favourably. Her very brightness convinced him that +she, at least, had not been, taken into the consultation. + +"I am afraid it came from his horrid father. But Graydon is a good +boy. He couldn't long follow the impulses of his father. I dare +say he could be a sinner if he tried, too. I' hate an imbecile. +An imbecile to my mind is the fellow without the capacity to err +intentionally. God takes care of the fellow who errs ignorantly. +Give me the fellow who is bright enough to do the bad things which +might admit him to purgatory in good standing, and I'll trust him +to do the good things that will let him into heaven. I often wonder +where these chaps go after they die--I mean the Yale and Harvard +chaps who bore you. It takes a clever chap to have any standing +at all in purgatory. Where do they go, Jane? You are wise for your +years and sex. There surely must be a place for the plain asses?" + +"Oh," said she, "I suppose they have a separate heaven, just as +the dogs have." + +"No doubt you're right," he agreed, smiling, "but think how bright +the dogs are as a rule." + +"Bobby Rigby says a dog is worth more than his master. People will +steal a dog, he says." + +"I saw him at your house last night. Did you meet Mr. Harbert?" + +"No. Mother said he came in with Bobby." + +"How is Mrs. Cable this morning? I think she--er--complained of a +sick headache last night?" + +"She has such a frightful headache that she couldn't get up this +morning." + +"Indeed? Will you carry my respects and sympathy to her?" + +"Thank you, yes. But why don't you come in and see us, Mr. Bansemer?" + +"In a day or so, gladly." + +Bansemer was not approached by Harbert that day nor the next--nor +any other day soon, in fact. It was not until after the third day had +expired that he heard from Mrs. Cable. Her silence was gratifying +and significant; it meant that she was struggling with herself--that +she had taken no one as yet into her confidence. He was too wary +to feel secure in his position, however. He abandoned every case +that could not be tried in the cleanest light and he destroyed his +footprints in those of the past more completely than ever. David +Cable was disposed to be agreeable when they met, and Rigby's manner +had lost the touch of aloofness. Altogether the situation did not +look so dark as it had on the night of the blizzard. + +He guessed at Mrs. Cable's frame of mind during the three days +just past by the tenor of her message over the telephone. She did +no more than to ask him to drop in before five for a cup of tea; +but he saw beyond the depth of her invitation. + +He went and had a few minutes alone with her because he was shrewd +enough to drop in before five. No one else came until after that +hour had struck. He was studiously reserved and considerate. There +was nothing in his manner to indicate that he was there as anything +more than the most casual sipper of the beverage that society brews. +It was left for her to make the advances. + +"We must come to an understanding," she said abruptly. "I cannot +endure the suspense, the uncertainty--" + +Bansemer raised his brows with grave condescension. + +"Then you have not confessed to Mr. Cable?" he asked, with perfect +unconcern. "Do you know, I was rather hoping that you would have +saved me the trouble of doing so." + +"It means so much to--" + +"Ah, I see you find it hard to lose the ground you have gained +socially." He stirred his tea steadily. + +"It isn't that--I don't care for that. It's for Jane and David. I +can only offer to buy your silence; nothing more," she said with +hurried words. "I own shares in the railroad; they're worth twenty +thousand dollars. Will you take them?" + +"My dear," he said, leaning quite close to her, "I am not seeking +to blackmail you as you seem to imagine. I have only tried to tell +you that I love you." + +"Oh," she exclaimed, with a shudder of disgust. His face was quite +close to hers; she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and she +drew away quickly. His hand hovered close to hers as it lay in her +lap. + +There was an eye-witness to this single picture in the brief scene. +Jane had started downstairs. From the upper steps she could look +into the drawing-room below. She could not help seeing Bansemer's +fervent attitude; she heard nothing that he said. The girl paused +in surprise; a feeling as of dread--she could not explain--crept +over her. A chill struck into her heart. + +It was as if she had awakened from a sweet sleep to look out upon +a bleak, horrid morning. + +Involuntarily she shrank back, quite beyond the actual vision but +not free from it. She stood straight and tense and silent at the +top of the stairs, her hand clasping the rail. She could hear her +heart throbs plainly. There was no mistaking the picture as it had +burst upon her unsuspecting eyes. With a quavering smile she tried +to throw it from her. But cold and damning there arose to support +her apprehensions the horrid stories of Mrs. Blanckton and her +affair with Rellick. With her own eyes she had seen Rellick talking +to Mrs. Blanckton just as Bansemer was talking to her mother in +the dim doom below. The Blanckton scandal, as everyone knew, was +one of the most infamous the city had known. Jane, with other girls, +had been shocked by the boldness of the intrigue; she had loathed +Rellick for his unprincipled love-making; she had despised and +denounced Mrs. Blanckton. Here now was her own mother listening +just as Mrs. Blanckton had listened; here was James Bansemer talking +just as Rellick had talked. A great fear, a dark uncertainty, welled +up in her heart. + +It was not until the butler admitted other callers that she found +the courage to turn her eyes toward the drawing-room. She was never +to forget the dread that grew with the thought of what she might +have seen had she remained a voluntary witness during the minutes +which followed her first look below. That single vision effected a +sharp, complete change in Jane Cable's life. From that moment she +never saw the world as it had appeared to her before. + +Although she succeeded in, hiding the fact, it was difficult +to approach and greet James Bansemer with the naturalness of the +unsuspecting. His manner was beyond reproach, and yet, for the +first time, she saw the real light in his black eyes. She talked +to him as if nothing had happened to make her distrustful, but no +self-control in the world could have checked the growth of that +remorseless thing called suspicion. For her own sake, for her +mother's, for Graydon's, she tried to put it down. Instead, it grew +greater and stronger as she looked into his eyes, for in them she +saw the light that heretofore had escaped her notice. + +And this was the father of the man whom she was to marry, the one +whom she loved with all her heart and soul! This, the man who would +degrade her own mother! Her mother--she looked at her with a new +question in her eyes. She looked for the thing which had marked Mrs. +Blanckton. It was not there, and she rejoiced in that discovery. +Her mother did not possess the bold, daring, defiant air of the +other woman. Hers was tender, sweet, even subdued; the girl clutched +hopefully at this sign and began to build upon it. + +Half a dozen people came and went. James Bansemer was the last to +leave. He met the girl's tense, inquiring look from time to time, +but he could not have felt its meaning. There was nothing in her +voice which might have warned him, although it sounded strained and +without warmth on her own ears. In spite of herself she wondered +how he would act in saying good-bye to her mother. Although she +tried with all the might of her will to look away, she could not +take her eyes from the pair as Bansemer arose to depart. + +His manner was most circumspect. The handclasp was brief, even +formal and there was no look in his eyes to indicate the presence +of anything but the most casual emotions. After his departure, +Mrs. Cable turned to Jane and complained of a frightful headache +and went to her room to lie down for a while before dinner. Jane's +gaze followed her steadily as she ascended the stairs. Then she +walked to the window and looked out upon the street, a hundred +perplexities in her mind. + +Her father was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, looking +down the darkening street. His cab was turning the corner below, +showing that he had been standing there for longer than a minute. +She watched him with interest. What had happened in the street to +hold his interest so closely? It was Jane who opened the door and +let him in. As she kissed his cold cheek she noticed the frown on +his brow and caught the strange gleam in his eyes. His greeting +was less warm than usual, and he went to his room upstairs without +removing his hat or coat below. But not before he sent a quick, +keen glance about the drawing-room to find if James Bansemer had +been the single visitor of the afternoon. + +"Where is your mother?" he asked from the stairs, without looking +back. + +"She has just gone to her room," Jane replied, a chill shooting +through her veins. Some strange, unnatural impulse compelled her +to add, as if the explanation were just and necessary: "We have +had a lot of people in drinking tea, and mother has a headache." + +She watched him ascend the steps and turn into his smoking-room. +The door closed sharply and a wave of inexplicable relief rushed +over her. Her hands were cold. She went to the fireplace and held +them out to the blaze. Her ears were alert for sounds from above--alert +with a strange fear which choked her with its persistence. She +dreaded the opening of her father's door and his footsteps as they +crossed to her mother's room. She waited for these sounds, minute +after minute, but they did not come. The fire would not give warmth +to her hands; the chill seemed to spread. In her new consciousness +she felt that a tragedy was just begun. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE CANKER + + + + + +Cable saw Bansemer leave the house as he drove up to the curb in +front. The lawyer did not look back, but turned the nearest corner +as if eager to disappear from sight as quickly as possible. + +Closing the door of his smoking-room behind him, David Cable dropped +wearily into a chair without removing his hat or coat. His blood +was running cold through his veins, his jaw was set and his eyes +had the appearance of one who has been dazed by a blow. For many +minutes he sat and stared at the andirons in the ember-lit grate. +From time to time he swallowed painfully and his jaw twitched. +Things began growing black and green before his eyes; he started +up with an oath. + +He was consumed by the fires of jealousy and suspicion. The doubt +that had found lodging in his mind so recently now became a cruel +certainty. Into his grim heart sprang the rage of the man who +finds himself deceived, despised, dishonoured. He was seeing with +his own eyes, no doubt, just what others had seen for months--had +seen and had pitied or scorned him as the unfortunate dupe. With +the thought of it he actually ground his teeth; tears of rage and +mortification sprang to his eyes. He recalled his own feelings in +instances where shame had fallen upon other men; he recalled his +own easy indifference and the temptation to laugh at the plight +of the poor devils. It had never entered his mind that some day he +might be the object of like consideration in others more or less +fortunate, according to THEIR friends. + +By the time dinner was announced he had succeeded in restoring +himself to a state of comparative calmness. He did not dress for +dinner, as was his custom, nor did he stop to ask Frances Cable if +she were ready to go down. He heard Jane playing the piano as he +descended. She nodded to him, but did not stop and he paused near +the fireplace to look at her strangely. Somewhere back in his brain +there was struggling, unknown to him, the old-time thought that +this child bore him no likeness whatsoever. He only knew he was +crushing down the fear that evil or slander or pain might come to +her, if he were rash yet just. He was wondering if he could face +his wife without betraying himself. + +Jane played softly, lifelessly. She, on the other hand, was wondering +what Graydon would think or say, if she spoke to him of what she +had seen. She wondered if he would blame her mother as she was +beginning to blame his father. + +"Mother won't be down to dinner," she finally said. + +"Is she ill?" he asked after a moment. + +"She is lying down. Margaret will take some tea up to her." + +Father and daughter had but little to say to each other during the +meal. Their efforts at conversation were perfunctory, commonplace, +an unusual state of affairs of which neither took notice. + +"You look tired, father. Has it been a hard day?" + +"A rather trying one, Jane. We're having some trouble with the +blizzards out West. Tying up everything that we are rushing to the +Philippines." + +"Is it settled that you are to be made president?" + +"It looks like it." There followed a long silence. "By the way, +I have good news for you. Mr. Clegg told me to-day that they are +going to take Graydon into the firm. Isn't it great? Really, it is +quite remarkable. You are not the only person, it seems, who thinks +a lot of that boy." + +"A partner? Really? Oh, isn't it glorious? I knew he could--I told +him he'd be a partner before long." She waited a moment and then +added: "His father was here to-day for a cup of tea." Cable caught +the slightly altered tone and looked up. She was trifling with her +fork, palpably preoccupied. + +"I'm--I'm sorry I missed him," said he, watching her closely. + +"You like him very much, don't you, father?" + +"Certainly--and I'm sure your mother does." The fork shook in her +fingers and then dropped upon the plate. She looked up in confusion. +Cable's eyes were bent upon her intently and she had never seen so +queer a light in them. Scarcely more than the fraction of a second +passed before he lowered his gaze, but the mysterious telegraphy +of the mind had shot the message of comprehension from one to the +other. He saw with horror that the girl at least suspected the true +situation. A moment later he arose abruptly and announced that he +would run up to see her mother before settling down to some important +work in his den. + +"Graydon is coming over to-night," she said. "We'll be very quiet +and try not to disturb you. Don't work too hard, daddy dear." + +Upstairs Frances Cable was battling with herself in supreme despair. +Confession was on her lips a dozen times, but courage failed her. +When she heard his footsteps in the hallway she was ready to cry +out the truth to him and end the suspense. As he opened the door +to enter, the spirit of fairness turned frail and fled before the +appeal of procrastination. Wait! Wait! Wait! cried the powerful +weakness in her heart, and it conquered. She could not tell him +then. To-morrow--the next day, yes, but not then. It was too much +to demand of herself, after all. + +He came in, but left a few minutes later. She was strangely +unresponsive to his tender inquiries. Her thoughts were of another, +was his quick conclusion as he fled from her presence before the +harsh accusations could break from his eyes. + +In his den once more, with the door closed, he gave himself up +completely to black thoughts. He recalled his words to her, uttered +years ago, half in jest and half in earnest; he had horrified her +beyond expression by telling her how he would punish a wife if he +were the husband she deceived. With a grim, lurid smile he remembered +the penalty. He had said he would not kill; he would disfigure the +woman frightfully and permit her to live as a moral example to +other wives. Slitting her mouth from ear to ear or cutting off her +nose--these were two of the penalties he would inflict. He now felt +less brutal. He might kill, but he would not disfigure. For an hour +he sat and wondered what had been the feelings of his old friend +George Driscoll just before he deliberately slew his faithless wife. +He remembered saying to other friends at the time that Driscoll +had "done right." + +This night of black shadows--he did not sleep at all--was really +the beginning of the end. He forgot the presidency that was to be +handed out to him; he forgot everything but the horrid canker that +gnawed into his heart and brain. + +Day and night he writhed in silent agony, a prey to the savage +jealousy that grew and grew until it absorbed all other emotions. +Scandal, divorce, dishonour, murder swept before the mind of this +man who had been of the people and who could not condone. The people +kill. + +For a week he waited and watched and suffered. What he knew of men +told him that they do not devote themselves to the wives of others +with honourable motives behind them. He convinced himself that he +knew the world; he had seen so much of it. The man aged years in +that single week of jealousy and suspense. His face went haggard, +his eyes took on a strange gleam, his manner was that of a man in +grave trouble. + +Day after day this piteous, frenzied man who swayed thousands with +his hand stooped to deal with the smallest movements of one man and +one woman. Despite his most intense desire to drive himself into +other and higher channels, he found himself skulking and spying +and conniving with but one low end in view. + +He employed every acute sense in the effort to justify his +suspicions. Time and again he went home at unusual hours, fearing +all the while that he might incur the pain of finding Bansemer +there. He even visited the man in his office, always rejoicing in +the fact that he found him there at the time. He watched the mail +in the morning; he planned to go out of nights and then hurried +home deliberately but unexpectedly. Through it all he said no word +to Frances Cable or Jane. He asked no questions, but he was being +beaten down by apprehensions all the while. + +His wife's manner convinced him that all was not well with her. She +avoided being alone with him, keeping close to her room; he detected +a hundred pretexts by which she managed to escape his simplest +advances. + +At last, overwrought by the strain, he began to resort to +cunning--this man who was big enough to have gone from the engine +cab to the president's office. It required hours of struggle with +his fairer, nobler nature to bring himself low enough to do trickery, +but the natal influence mastered. He despised himself for the trick, +but he WOULD KNOW THE TRUTH. + +The late afternoon mail one day brought to Mrs. Cable a brief +letter, typewritten both inside and out. David Cable saw her open +and read the missive and he saw her trembling hand go to her throat +and then to her temple. Her back was towards him. He could not see +her face until she turned, a full minute later. Then it was calm +and undisturbed, but her eyes were brilliant. He ground his teeth +and tore upstairs without a word. David Cable had stooped low enough +to write this letter and he was paying for it. + +He knew the contents far better than she knew them. The letter +purported to be an urgent appeal from James Bansemer, asking her +to meet him at eight o'clock that night. It said: "I must see you +to-night. Leave your home at 8:00 o'clock for a short call on Mrs. +W--, just around the corner. I will meet you across the Drive, near +the sea wall. It is quite dark there. J." + +David Cable did not know that earlier in the afternoon James Bansemer +had called her up by 'phone to say that he intended to speak to +his son the following day, unless word came to him from her; nor, +could he have possibly known that she was now determined to tell +the whole story to her husband and to trust to his mercy. He only +knew that he had written the letter and that he had told her of +his intention to go downtown immediately after dinner. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE TRAGEDY AT THE SEA WALL + + + + + +The dark, muffled figure of a man leaned against a section of the +old wall that edged the lake--the figure of a man who prayed with +all his soul that his vigil might be in vain. If she came, all was +over. + +He was not armed. He had thrown his revolver away a week before. His +only desire now was to learn the extent of her duplicity. If she +obeyed the call of the letter then there could be no doubt that +she was coming at the call of the lover. His hands twitched and +he shivered as if with a dreadful chill. His heart was shouting a +warning to her, but his head was urging her to come and have done +with it all. + +He was there early--long before the hour named in the decoy. His +eyes never left the sidewalk that ran past his own home, but a short +distance from the Drive. They stared without blinking across that +dark border, through the circle of light from the arc lamp and far +into the shadows of blackness beyond. It was very dark where he +stood. The lake had battered through the sea wall for many rods +at this particular point and no one ventured out beyond the bridle +path for fear of slipping down into the cavities that had been +washed out by the waves. His station was on the edge of the piles +of stone and cement that had been tossed up to await the pleasure +of the park commissioners. + +For a while, he tried to take Jane's future into consideration, +but it was impossible to substitute anything before his own wrongs. +David Cable was not the kind of man who would go on living with a +faithless wife for the sake of appearances. He was not an apologist. +Time and circumstance and the power of true love would adjust the +affair of Jane and Graydon Bansemer. This was HIS affair. Time +could not adjust it for him. + +At last he saw a woman's figure hurrying down the street. The wild, +eager hope that the light from the electric lamp would prove it +to be other than that of his wife was quickly dispelled. His worst +fears were true, His Frances--his wife of more than a score of +years, his pretty sweetheart through all those days, was false to +him! As he fell back against the wall something seemed to snap in +his breast; a groan of misery arose to his lips. + +With eyes which saw red with rage and anguish, he watched +the hesitating approach of the woman. She stopped at the corner +and looked up and down the Drive, peering intently into the dark +shadows by the lake. The sky was overcast; no stars peeped through +its blackness. With uncertain, halting steps she crossed the boulevard, +still glancing about as if in search of someone. He moved forward +unconsciously, almost blindly, and she caught a glimpse of his tall, +dark figure. He was not unlike Bansemer in height and carriage. As +she drew near, his legs trembled and tears of despair flooded his +eyes. + +A savage desire to grasp her by the throat and hurl her into the +waters beyond the break came over him with irresistible power. Then +came the pitiable collapse which conquered the murderous impulses +and left him weak and broken for the moment. With a sob he turned +and leaned upon the wall, his back to her, his face buried in his +tense arms--crushed, despised, dishonoured! Kill her? The horror of +it swept his brain clear for an instant. Kill his pretty Frances? +Kill Jane's mother? How could he think of it? + +It was a long time before the wretched man knew that she was standing +close behind him and was speaking to him. The sound of her voice +came through the noise of his pounding heart as if it were far +away and gentle. But what was it that she was saying? Her voice +was angry, suppressed, condemning. + +"You may take it or refuse it, just as you please," were the first +words his turbulent senses distinguished. "I can pay no more than +that for your silence. The other is impossible. I will not discuss +it again with you." She paused as if waiting for him to respond. + +"To-night I shall tell my husband everything--the whole story. I +cannot endure the suspense any longer. I will not live in fear of +you another hour. My only reason for coming out here to-night is to +plead with you to spare your son and Jane. I am not asking anything +for myself. It would break Jane's heart if Graydon should refuse +to marry her. You must have a heart somewhere in that--" But the +words became jumbled in the ears of her listener. From time to time +his mind grasped such sentences as these, paralysing in their +bitterness: "I have the letters of adoption.... David will not believe +what you say.... He loves me and he loves Jane.... I am willing +to pay all that I have to keep it from Graydon and Jane.... But +I intend to tell my husband. I will not deceive him any longer.... +He will understand even though he should hate me for it. He will +love Jane although she is not his own child." + +David Cable seemed frozen to the spot. His brain was clearing; he +was grasping the full importance of every sentence that rushed from +her impassioned lips. The last appalling words fell like the blow +of a club in the hands of a powerful man. He was dazed, stunned, +senseless. It seemed to him that his breath had ceased to come and +that his whole body had turned to stone. His wide staring eyes saw +nothing ahead of him. + +"Well, what have you to say?" she was demanding. "Why have you +asked me to come out here? You have my final answer. What have you +to say? Are you going to tell Graydon that Jane is not our child? +I must know." + +"Not our child?" came from the palsied lips of David Cable, so +low and lifeless that the sound was lost in the swish of the water +below. The intermittent red signal in the lighthouse far out in the +lake blinked back at him, but to him it was a steady, vivid glare. + +"Do you hear me? I have lied to my husband for the last time!" +There was almost a tone of victory in the voice, now. "Do you hear +me? You don't dare! David will not believe you--he will believe +my--" + +A terrible oath choked back the hopeful words in the woman's throat. +Murder had come back into the man's heart. + +"You lie!" + +"David!" + +"Yes, it's David! Liar! Whose child is she? Tell me?" + +"David! David! For God's sake, hear me! There was no wrong, I swear +it!" + +"She's not my child and there's no wrong!" The sardonic laugh that +followed was that of a raging maniac. "You've fooled me, you fiend! +You devil!" + +At that word and with one look at her husband's terribly distorted +features, Frances Cable shrank back with a single terrified cry, +turned from him and fled madly for her life. With the spring of the +wild beast, Cable rushed after her, cursing her with every breath. +In a few yards he had almost reached her, his hands outstretched +to grasp her neck. But, at that instant, the frightened woman's +strength suddenly gave way; her knees received the fall of the limp +body. For a second she seemed huddled in a posture of prayer, then +toppled over, slipped easily forward through a fissure in the wall +and plunged headforemost into the chugging waters below. + +In the lives even of the best of men there are moments when the +human instincts are annihilated and supplanted by those of the +beast. Likewise, have there been instances in which the bravest +have been tried in the furnace and found wanting, while conversely, +the supposedly cowards have proved to be heroes. Therefore, since +no two situations can occur at a different time and yet have precisely +similar conditions, it behooves us to forbear judging, lest we be +judged, and to approach the following incident in this man's career +as if we ourselves dwelt under a covering of glass. + +From the time of his marriage up to this moment no man could have +fought better the bitter struggle of life than David Cable; yet, +now, in this hour--his hour of travail and temptation, he piteously +succumbed. Cowardice, the most despicable of all emotions, held +him in her grasp. + +He sank exhausted against the wall, his eyes fixed upon the black +hole through which his wife had disappeared; then, the stony glare +changed suddenly to a look of realisation--horrible, stupefying. +He crept to the edge and peered intently into the water, not six +feet below, his eyes starting from his head. + +Black, sobbing water, darkness impenetrable! The instinctive fear +of apprehension caused him to look in every direction for possible +eye-witnesses. Every drop of blood in his body seemed turned to ice +with horror. Down there in that black, chill water lay the body of +his wife, the woman he had loved through all these trying years, +and he her murderer! + +Terrified, trembling, panting, he tried to force himself into the +water with the vague hope of saving her, after all; but even as +he looked wildly about for help, a shout ready to spring from his +dry throat, the natural dread of the accused facing his accuser +took possession of him. Fear, abject fear, held him in grasp; he +could not shout. + +A man was running across the drive towards him--a long loping figure +that covered the ground rapidly. With a last horrified look in the +water, David Cable, craven for the moment, turned and fled through +the night along the broken sea wall--fled aimlessly, his eyes +unseeing, his feet possessed of wings. He knew not whither he ran, +only that he was an assassin fleeing from the horrors behind. + +Over the narrow strip of ground sped the long, eager figure that had +darted from the shadow of the homes across the street. In hoarse, +raucous tones he shouted after the fleeing man: + +"Stop! Wait! Halt!" + +He dashed up to the spot where he had seen two figures but a moment +before, the full horror of what had happened striking him for the +first time. The man was Elias Droom, and he had been an eye-witness +to the dim, indistinct tragedy at the sea wall. + +His presence is easily explained. He knew of Bansemer's telephone +message to Mrs. Cable, together with his threat to expose her on +the following morning. It was only natural that she should make a +final plea---that night, of course. The old clerk realised the danger +of an encounter between his employer and his victim at a time so +intense as this. He could not know that Bansemer would visit the +Cable home that evening, but he suspected that such would be the +case. It was his duty to prevent the meeting, if possible. + +Bansemer would go too far, argued the old man; he must be stopped. +That is why he lurked in the neighbourhood to turn Bansemer back +before he could enter the home of David Cable. + +He saw Mrs. Cable leave the house and go towards the lake. Following +some distance behind he saw her cross the Drive and make her way +to the sea wall. Slinking along in the shadow of the buildings, +cursing his luck and Bansemer jointly, he saw the two forms come +together out there by the lake. + +"Too late, curse him for a fool," Droom had muttered to himself. +"He ought to know this is bad business just now. She's come out to +meet him, too. Worse. It's my duty to look out for him as long as +he employs me. I'm doing my best and I can't help it if he betrays +himself. I'd like to see him--but I can't go back on him while I'm +taking money from him. Look at that!" + +He chuckled softly as he saw the two figures approach each other. +For all that he knew they might be contemplating a fond and loving +embrace, and he was not undeceived until he saw one of the figures +separate itself, run from the other and go plunging to the earth. +As he started up in surprise, the other figure leaned forward and +then straightened itself quickly. Droom did not hesitate. He dashed +across the street, conscious that something dreadful had happened. +His instant thought was that Bansemer had lost his temper and had +struck the woman down. + +The flight of the man was proof positive. He called him to stop, +certain that it was Bansemer. The runner turned his face towards +him for a moment. The light from the street may have deceived Elias +Droom's eyes, but the face of the assailant was not that of James +Bansemer. Droom stopped short and looked after the man, paralysed +with amazement. Then he gave a snorting laugh at his own stupidity; +of course, it was Bansemer. Who else could it be? + +Arriving at the spot where he had last seen the couple, he was +amazed to find no one there. He realised, with horror, that the +woman must have been struck down; had fallen or had been thrown +into the lake. + +The gaunt old clerk groaned bitterly as he threw himself upon the +wall and peered over into the water. He listened for the cries and +struggles of the woman. Gradually his eyes solved the situation. +He saw the row of piles beyond the break in the sea wall and the +swishing pool inside. Every incoming wave sent a flood of water +between the sturdy posts and into the cut of the wall. + +Without a moment's hesitation he dropped into this seething prison, +confident that the woman's body could be found there. A single +glance had shown him that he could crawl upward through the break +to safety and he knew that the water below was not dangerously +deep. + +A minute later he was scrambling out of this angry, icy water, up +through the fissure, bearing in his long arms the inert form of +Frances Cable. He had found her half-submerged in the pool, every +sweep of the waves through the sieve-like posts covering her +completely. + +He dropped the body on the ground after reaching the level and +took a quick shuddering glance about. Two men had stopped on the +opposite of the Drive. He hesitated a second and then shouted to +them. They stood stockstill in alarm. Before they could respond to +his second shout, Elias Droom was tearing the woman's watch from +her belt and the rings from her fingers. His strong, nervous hands +found the necklace that she wore and it broke beneath their sudden +jerk. Cunningly he tossed the necklace upon the ground and trampled +it with his heel. The watch and rings went flying across the wall +and far out into the lake. + +"This woman has been slugged!" he shouted. He did not know how +much of the tragedy these men had witnessed. Boldness was his cue +for the moment; stealth could follow later. "She's been in the +water. I'm afraid it's murder. The man who did it went that way. +Yell for the police!" + +If the assailant was James Bansemer, Droom was doing his duty by +him. If it was another, he was doing his duty by society. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +HOURS OF TERROR + + + + + +Droom's intentions were clear. It was not a tender heart nor was it +chivalry which prompted him to do the deed of valour just described. +He had started out to do his duty by James Bansemer because he was +in his hire; and he felt it still his duty to cover the tracks of +his master as best he could. He knew that he was jeopardising his +own safety; the obstinate cunning of his nature insisted that the +man he had watched was Bansemer, although his brief glimpse of the +fugitive's face discouraged that belief. + +The gaunt clerk kept his chin well covered with his great muffler; +the broad collar of his ulster was turned up about his face. The +rapid plan that dashed into his mind comprehended but two things: +the effort to restore life to Frances Cable and the hope of escaping +without being recognised. He felt that she had not been in the +water long enough to drown; every hope depended upon the force of +the blow that he imagined had been delivered. + +Chilled to the bone, his teeth chattering like castanets, the old +man was stooping over the inanimate form on the ground when the +two men came up. In answer to their startled questions, he merely +said that he had seen the struggle from across the street, but had +been too late to prevent the tragedy. + +"We must get her into one of these houses quick," he grunted." Take +hold of her, you. And YOU over there hurry and ring a doorbell. +Get inside and 'phone for a doctor--a doctor first and then the +police. We may be able to save her life." + +The first of the rich men's homes denied them admission. The man +of the house said he would not "stand for the notoriety." Droom, +supporting the head of the wet, icy figure, made a remark which +the man was never to forget. At the second house they were admitted. + +In an instant all was confusion. A card game was broken up and +guests of the house assisted their host and hostess in doing all +manner of unnecessary things. Droom gave the commands which sooner +or later resolved themselves into excited, wrathy demands upon the +telephone operator, calls for a certain near-by doctor, calls for +the police, calls for stimulants, maids, hot water bottles--everything. + +"She's been robbed," said one of the men. "Her rings have been torn +off. Look at the blood!" + +"She's well-dressed, too," said another. "Say, her face looks +familiar---" + +To the amazement of everyone, the lips of the woman parted and a +gasping, choking sound issued from between them, a slight shudder +swept over her frame. + +"She's alive!" exclaimed Droom. "Get these wet clothes off of +her--quick!" + +The men stood grouped in the hallway while the women tore the wet +garments from the reviving victim and prepared a warm bed for her. +Elias Droom was edging towards the door, bent on escape, when the +awed, chattering voice of the young fellow who had assisted in +carrying her to the house arrested him. A great sense of relief +crept over him as he listened to the young man's story; his eyes +blinked with satisfaction. He was forgetting his own remark of a +minute ago that he was freezing and must get into some dry clothes +at once. The young man was saying: + +"It happened right out there by the sea wall--where the big break +is. Harry and I were coming up the Drive and I called attention to +a man running south along the wall. Just then, this gentleman ran +over from this side of the street and, a minute or two later, we +saw him jump into the break over there. Suicide, I thought, but +he wasn't a minute coming up. There was the woman! He'd pulled her +out! By thunder, it was the bravest thing I ever saw! He---" + +And then it was that everybody began to shower praise upon the man +who only had tried to do his duty by the one who hired him to do +ugly, not gallant, deeds. + +"Did you watch which way the robber ran?" demanded Droom eagerly. + +"Lost him in the dark. He ran like fury. You must have scared him +off," said the second young man. "I wish we could have seen his +face. Did you see it?" + +"Not distinctly," answered Droom. "He struck me as being a slim young +fellow, that's all." Of one thing he was assured: the evidence of +these two men would prove that he had acted as a valiant protector +and not as a thug--a fear which had not left his mind until now. +They had seen the fleeing assailant, but there was only one person +who could identify him. That person was Frances Cable, the victim. +If it was not James Bansemer, then who could it have been? + +The door opened and an agitated young woman came out. + +"It is Mrs. Cable," she cried in trembling tones. + +The physician arrived at that moment, and a few minutes later came +an officer who had been hailed from the doorway. While the policeman +was listening to the voluble young eye-witnesses, Droom stood aloof, +puzzling himself vainly in the effort to solve an inside mystery. +He had been ready, a few minutes before, to curse himself for pulling +the woman out of the water, but now, as the belief grew stronger +within him that her assailant was not James Bansemer, his viewpoint +changed. If such was the case, there would be no need to fear Mrs. +Cable's story if she revived sufficiently to tell it. On the other +hand, if it was Bansemer, he had rescued her to an ill purpose. He +was conscious finally that someone was speaking to him. + +"What do you know of this?" demanded the policeman. Droom repeated +his brief story. "What is your name and where do you live?" + +"My name is Elias Droom and I live over in Wells Street." + +"Could you identify the man?" + +"I don't think so." + +"What were you doing over in this part of town?" + +"Walking up to see the skaters on the park lagoon. But what's +that get to do with it? You'd better be out looking for the thief +instead of wasting time on me here," snarled Droom. The officer +gasped and there is no telling what might have happened, if the +captain and a swarm of bluecoats had not appeared on the scene +at that moment. Two minutes later they were off scouring the lake +front in search of the mysterious hold-up man. Two plain-clothes men +remained to question the witnesses and to inspect the neighbourhood +in which the crime was committed. + +Word came from the inner room that Mrs. Cable was regaining +consciousness. + +"Does--can she throw any light on the affair?" asked Elias Droom. + +"She has uttered no word except her husband's name. I think she is +still calling upon him for help, poor thing," said the young woman +who bore the news. + +"Cable ought to be notified," said one of the men. + +"Don't do it over the 'phone," said Droom quickly. "I'm going past +his house. I'll stop in and tell him. Let me out, officer; I must +get out of these wet garments. I'm an old man, you know." + +The probable solution had come to Droom like a flash. As he hurried +up the street his mind was full of the theory. He scarcely could +wait for the door of David Cable's house to be opened in response +to his vigorous ringing. The maid announced that Mr. and Mrs. Cable +were out. It was enough for Droom. He put the puzzle together in +that instant. David Cable's face was the one he had seen; not James +Bansemer's. The maid set up a hysterical shrieking when he bluntly +told her of the mishap to her mistress, but he did not wait to +answer questions. He was off to find James Bansemer. The volcano +he had been watching so long was about to burst, and he knew it. + +Forgetting his wet garments, he entered a drug store and telephoned +to Bansemer's home. His employer answered the call so readily that +Droom knew he had not been far from the instrument that evening. +There was a note of disappointment in his voice when Droom's hoarse +tones replied to his polite: "Hello!" + +"I'll be over in half an hour," said Droom. "Very important business. +Is Graydon there?" + +"He's just gone to Cable's. Someone telephoned for him a minute or +so ago. What's wrong? Do you know?" + +"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," was all that Droom would say. + +Elias' memory could not carry him back to the time when he had +hired a cab. A cab was one of the luxuries he had not cultivated. +One can only imagine his surprise, then, when he found himself +hailing a passing hansom; and greater the surprise he must have +felt when he clambered in and ordered the driver to go in a gallop +to a certain place in Wells Street. Ten minutes later he was attired +in dry, warm clothes and in the cab again, bound for Bansemer's +home. What he said to James Bansemer on that memorable occasion +need not be repeated. It is only necessary to say that his host +was bitterly impressed and willing to admit that the developments +might prove serious. They could only speculate as to what had +transpired between David Cable and his wife out there by the sea +wall, but it was enough for them to know that a crisis was at hand. + +"We'll see what the morning papers say about the affair," said +Bansemer, uneasy and cold. + +The morning papers were full of the sensational robbery, the +prominence of the victim and the viciousness of the attack. Elias +Droom read the accounts eagerly as he breakfasted in the dingy little +restaurant near his home, bright and early. He grinned appreciably +over the share of glory that fell to him; and he actually cackled +over the new developments in the great mystery. + +He had observed with relief that the name of James Bansemer was +not mentioned. The reports from the bedside of the robber's victim +were most optimistic. She was delirious from the effects of the +shock, but no serious results were expected. The great headlines on +the first page of the paper he was reading set his mind temporarily +at rest. There was no suggestion of truth in them. + +The reader of this narrative, who knows the true facts in the +case, is doubtless more interested in the movements and emotions of +David Cable than in the surmises of others. It would be difficult, +for a certainty, to ask one to put himself in Cable's place and +to experience the sensations of that unhappy man as he fled along +the dark shore of the lake. Perhaps much will be taken on faith if +the writer simply says that the fugitive finally slunk from the +weeds and refuse of what was then called "The District of Lake +Michigan"--"Streeterville," in local parlance--to find himself +panting and terror-struck in the bleak east end of Chicago Avenue. +It was not until then that he secured control of his nerves and +resorted to the stealth and cunning of the real criminal. + +From that time until he stood shivering and white with dogged +intention in a theatre foyer, bent upon establishing an alibi, his +movements are scarcely worth the details. Between the acts he saw +a dozen men whom he knew and he took drinks with several of them. +His tremendous will power carried him through the ordeal in a way +that could not have fallen to the good fortunes of the ordinary +lawbreaker. + +Every second of the time his thoughts were of the thing which was +being buffeted by the icy waters of the lake. Where was that thing +now? How far out into the lake had it been carried? + +His body was covered with the cold perspiration of dread and horror. +His soul was moaning; his whole being was aghast with the awfulness +of the deed; he could have shrieked aloud in his madness. How he +lived through the hour in that theatre he never could have told, +nor could he believe that he was sitting there with all those +frightful thoughts piling themselves upon him. Other people laughed +and shouted with happiness; he stared and wept in his heart, and +shivered and cringed and groaned within himself. + +He had killed her! She had been true to him, and yet, he had taken +her life--the life she had given him! He gave no thought to Jane, +no thought to Bansemer; he thought only of himself as the slayer. + +Would her body be recovered? What would be his excuse, what his +punishment? The gallows? A thousand horrors ran riot in his brain, +a thousand tremors with each. + +But why dwell upon the feelings of this miserable wretch? Why say +more of his terror, his misery, his remorse? He held himself in +the seat until the middle of the last act of the play. At last, +unable to restrain himself longer, he arose and almost ran from +the theatre. That instinct which no slayer can control or explain, +was overpowering him; it was the instinct which attracts the murderer +to the spot where his crime was committed. No man can describe or +define this resistless impulse, and yet all criminology records +it, clear and unmistakable. It is no less than a form of curiosity. +Driven by this irresistible force, David Cable, with bravado that +cost him dearly, worked his uninterrupted way to the scene of his +crime. By trolley car to Chicago Avenue and, then, like a homeless +dog scenting his way fearfully, to a corner not far from the break +in the wall. + +His legs trembled and his eyes grew wide with dread. The swish of +the water came to his ears and he stood still for many minutes, +listening for a cry for help from off the shore, but none came; +and again skulking alongside the houses of his friends, he covered +the blocks that lay between him and the magnetic rift in the wall. +Near the corner, he stopped with a start of alarm. + +The figure of a man could be seen standing like a statue on the +very spot where he had seen her disappear. While he stood there, +his heart scarcely beating, the solitary figure was joined by two +others. Cable shrank back into the dense shadows. Like a flash it +occurred to him that they were searching for the body. A shriek of +agony arose to his lips; but he checked it. + +Far off on one of the crosstown streets a newsboy was calling an +extra--hoarse, unintelligible shouts that froze his blood. He bent +his ear to catch the far-away words of the boy: "All about de Nor' +Side murder!" He cringed and shook under the raucous shout. He knew +what it meant. + +A policeman suddenly turned the corner and came toward him. The +first impulse was to fly; the next was to stand and deliver himself. +The resolution came with shocking unexpectedness. He would give +himself up! He would admit that he had killed his wife! The words +of anguish were on his lips when the policeman spoke. + +"Is it you, Mr. Cable? How is she, sir?" + +Cable did not hear the man, for, as he opened his lips to cry out +his own guilt, a thought formed in his brain that almost staggered +him with its cunning savagery. Why not let the penalty fall on James +Bansemer? She had gone out to meet him! If she had not destroyed +the note, it would hang James Bansemer, and James Bansemer was +worse than a murderer. But even as this remarkable thought rushed +into his brain, the last words of the officer began to drive it +out. + +"Is she going to pull through, sir?" was the next question--and he +caught it vaguely. + +"Pull through?" he mumbled inarticulately. He leaned against a +great stone rail suddenly. Everything was leaping before his eyes. + +"Good Lord, Mr. Cable--I--I forgot. Don't you know about it?" gasped +the officer. + +"Know what?" asked Cable, completely dazed. + +"Go home at once, sir. I didn't mean to--oh, hurry, sir. Don't +be worried. They say she'll be all right. Sure! She's been hurt a +little, sir." + +"My daughter?" demanded Cable, as keen as a razor in an instant. +His heart was trying to jump from his body. + +"Your wife, sir. Nothin' serious, sir. She was held up along here +somewhere and robbed. They're sure to get the villain. She---" + +But Cable was off like a deer for his home, racing as though on +air. + +Nothing else mattered now. She was alive! He could have her with +him again to love as he never had loved her before. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +DAVID CABLE'S DEBTS + + + + + +Two days passed before David Cable was permitted to see his wife. +During those trying hours he lived an age of agony in suspense. She +had been removed to her home late on the night of the "hold-up," as +the newspapers felt justified in calling it. He did not go to his +office the next day--nor the next--but haunted her door, sleepless, +nervous, held close by dread. A dozen times, at least, he sought +admittance to her room, but was always turned away, cursing the +doctor and the nurses for their interference. + +His worst fear, however, was that his wife would not forgive him. +Not the dread of exposure, nor his own shame or remorse--not even +the punishment that the law might inflict, could be compared to the +fear of what might be her life-long hatred. He grew to feel that +the doctor, the nurses, the servants looked upon him with strange, +unfriendly though respectful eyes. In his heart he believed that +his wife had cursed him in their presence, laying bare his part in +the unhappy transaction. + +At last the suspense became unbearable. He had noticed a slight +change in Jane's manner and at once attributed it to something +his wife had said, for Jane had been allowed in the sick-room. The +discovery that she was not his child had not as yet struck deep +into his understanding. In a vague sort of way he realised that she +was different, now that he knew, but it was impossible for him to +consider her in any other light than that of the years gone by. +The time would come when the full realisation would cut into his +heart more deeply than now, but at present a calamity of his own +making was forcing all other troubles into the background. His +greatest desire was to reach his wife's side, to know the worst +that could come of his suit for forgiveness. + +The evening of the second day he swore that he would see her--and +alone. They admitted him and he entered trembling in every nerve. +She was lying, white and haggard, in her bed, her back toward him. +He paused for an instant and was certain that he saw her shudder +violently. It was significant. She feared and loathed him. + +"Is it you, David?" he heard her ask weakly. "At last! Oh, I was +afraid that something had happened to you! That---" + +He threw himself on his knees beside the bed and wept with all the +pent-up bitterness and misery that was in him--and still he was +afraid to speak to her. Not a word left his lips until he felt her +hand in his hair--a tender, timid hand. It was then that he began +pouring forth his cry for forgiveness. With a groan, he checked +her own appeal for mercy. + +"We can talk about Jane another time, not now," he cried. "I must +know that you forgive me--I don't care for anything--nothing else +in the world." + +When the nurse came in a few minutes later, he was sitting upon the +edge of the bed holding her hands in his. Their faces were radiant. + +"Please stay out," he said, almost gruffly. + +"For just a little while," his wife added gently. The nurse hesitated +a moment and then left the room. + +Frances Cable told him Jane's history so far as it was known to +her. He listened dully. + +"She will never know her true parents," said she in the end. + +"No, I suppose not," said he, looking out of the window. + +"You understand, don't you, David, dear," she said feebly; "how +I dreaded to have you learn the truth after all these years, and +above all, how I hoped that Jane might never know. I tried every +means in my power to buy James Bansemer's silence. It was not money +that he wanted, it was..." she buried her head shamefully in her +arms; after a moment, she went on: "He professes to love his son, +but his is the love an animal gives the offspring it would destroy. +And yet Graydon worships him." + +"Are you quite sure that Graydon is as unsuspecting as you think?" + +"In regard to his father?" + +"In regard to Jane." + +"Oh, I'm sure of it. He is not a party to his father's schemes. If +James Bansemer has not already told Graydon, he never will. It is +not his plan to do so; his only object has been to browbeat me into +submission. David, it will all come out right in the end, won't +it? You'll forgive me?" + +"Yes, dear; but this man," and David Cable shook with emotion as he +spoke, "will have to answer to me. There will be no more to fear," +he said reassuringly; "I'll crush him as I would a snake." + +"David, you must not---" + +"Don't worry," he broke in; "I'll attend to him and see that no +harm comes to anyone else. That man has no business among honest +people." + +"But, David, I was not honest with you," she confessed. + +"That was a long time ago, and she's as much mine as she is yours. +So, what's the odds now? It's a facer, I'll admit, but it can't +be helped." It was thus that the man whose anger, only a few hours +before had led him almost to crime, now readily absolved her of +any blame. + +"Poor child, poor child!" she moaned; "it will break her heart. +She is so proud and so happy." + +"Yes, she's proud. There is good blood in her. I don't wonder now +that I used to think she was such a marvel. She's--she's not just +the same sort of stock that we are, take it as you will." + +"She never must know the truth, David." + +"She's bound to find it out, dear. We'd better tell her. It will +be easier for her. Bansemer's fangs must be made harmless forever. +He shan't bother her. She'd better hear the story from us and not +from him." + +"But Graydon? She'll lose him, David." + +"I'm not so sure of it. She's worthy of any man's love and we must +know that Graydon loves her. I'll trust to that. But, first of +all, we must put it beyond the power of James Bansemer to injure +her in any shape or form. Then, when I go after him--Graydon or no +Graydon--he'll know that there is such a place as hell." + +"Be rational, David. Let us take our time and think well, dear. +I can't bear the thought of the story that will go out concerning +me--how I deceived you about Jane for years and years. What will +people think of me? What will they say?" she almost wailed. + +"Frances," said he, his voice tense and earnest, "that is between +you and me. I intend to say to the world, if occasion demands, that +I have known from the first that Jane was not our child. That will +be---" + +"Oh, David, you CAN'T say that," she cried joyously. + +"I shall say it, dear old partner. I shall say that you took her +from the asylum with my consent. There is only James Bansemer to +call me a liar, and he will not dare!" + +"That old man Droom, David--his clerk. The man who saved me--he +knows." + +"He is in the boat with his master. He DID save you, though. I'll +spare him much for that. And I have more to fear from him than you +think. Frances, I am sure he saw me night before last down there +at the sea wall. He knows--I am morally certain--that you were not +attacked by a robber." + +"But, David, I WAS robbed. My rings and my pendant were taken by +someone. If Droom was the first man at my side--after you--then he +must have taken them." + +"I can't charge him with the theft," groaned Cable. "He saved your +life and he might ruin mine. I would give anything I have to know +just how much he saw of the affair. I can't account for his presence +there. It seems like fate." + +"It is impossible for him to accuse you, David." + +"It is not impossible, I'm afraid. He may have seen me plainly." + +"But I have described my assailant to the police. You do not answer +the description in any particular." + +In the next ten minutes the nurse came in twice to caution him +against overtaxing her nerves, politely hinting that he should +depart at once. There was no medicine, no nursing, no care that +could have done her so much good as this hour with her husband. + +"It hurt me more than I can tell you, David, when I saw that you +were jealous of him. I could see it growing in you day after day, +and yet I could not find the courage to make everything clear to +you. Oh, how could you have suspected me of that?" + +"Because I am a man and because I love you enough to care what +becomes of you. I was wrong, I am happy to confess. Forgive me, +dear. I can't tell you how terrible the last month has been to me. +I can't tell you of the bitter thoughts I have had, nor the vicious +deeds I have planned. I was almost insane. I was not accountable. +I have much to pay to you in the rest of the years that I live; +I have much to pay to my own conscience; and I also owe something +to James Bansemer. I shall try to pay all these different debts in +the coin that they call for." + +"We owe something, you and I, to Jane," said she, as he arose to +leave the room. + +"A confession and more love than ever, Frances. I love her with +all my heart. When you are stronger, we will tell her that she is +not our child. We have loved her so long and so well that she can't +ask for better proof of our devotion. That terrible thing at the +sea wall must remain our secret, dear. To-morrow I shall begin +pulling James Bansemer's fangs." + +He found Graydon downstairs with Jane. A sharp look into the young +man's eyes convinced him that his questions concerning Mrs. Cable +and the latest news concerning the efforts to take the bandit were +sincere. Cable held his hand for a long time; the firm, warm grasp +was that of an honest man. As he stepped out into the night for a +short walk over town he wondered, with a great pain in his heart, +if Graydon Bansemer would turn from Jane when he heard the truth +concerning her. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE VISIT OF HARBERT + + + + + +"It's Harbert," said Elias Droom. + +"Why didn't you say to him that I am busy? I don't want to see +him," said his employer in a sharp undertone. Droom's long finger +was on his lips, enjoining silence. + +"He said that you wouldn't want to see him, but that it didn't make +any difference. He'll wait, he says." + +They were in the private office, with the door closed. Bansemer's +face was whiter and more firmly set than ever. The ugly fighting +light was in his eyes again. + +"If he has come here to threaten me, I'll kill him," he said +savagely. + +"You'll do nothing of the kind," said the clerk with what was meant +to be a conciliatory smile. "Meet him squarely and hear what he +has to say." + +"Do you suppose she has told Cable? He may have sent Harbert here." + +"Cable's hands are tied. I know too much. If I were to tell the police +what I know he'd have a devil of a time getting the presidency of +his road. Besides, they both owe me a vote of thanks. Didn't I +have sense enough to make it look like robbery?" + +"Yes, but curse your stupidity, they may charge you with the job. +Nobody would believe that Cable would attempt to rob his own wife." + +"But they would, in any event, decide that he had taken the rings +to make it appear like robbery." There was a hard rap on the glass +panel. "He's bound to see you, sir." + +"Well, then, show him in!" snarled Bansemer. + +"Mr. Bansemer will see you, sir," said Droom suavely, opening the +door suddenly. + +"Thanks," said Harbert shortly. He entered the private office +and faced the lawyer, who was standing near his desk. "I've taken +advantage of your invitation to drop in and see you." + +"This is one of my busy days, Mr. Harbert," said Bansemer, determined +to come to the point at once. "However, I hardly expected a social +call from you, so it must be of a business nature. What is it?" + +"It concerns your son, Mr. Bansemer. I'm here in the capacity +of a physician. You must go away for his health." Harbert smiled +as though he thought it a good joke. Bansemer turned red and then +white. + +"I don't quite appreciate your wit, sir." + +"My humour, I'd suggest as a substitute. Well, to be perfectly +plain, sir, your son does not know the true nature of the malady. +He--" + +"Do I understand you to say that he really has an ailment?" exclaimed +Bansemer seriously. + +"It isn't hopeless, my dear sir. My only desire is to keep him +from ever finding out that he has a malady. He is sure to learn +the truth if you remain here." + +"Damn you, Harbert, I understand you now, and I want to say this +to you: I'll not drag that boy away from this city. He's successful +here and he's one of the most promising young men in town. I'm not +going to have him hounded from town to town by--" + +"You don't quite understand me, sir. On the contrary, he should +remain here. What I do mean to say is this: he won't feel like +staying here if the truth about his father is uttered. That's the +brutal way to put it, Bansemer, but you've GOT TO GET OUT." + +The two glared at each other for a full minute. Bansemer was as +white as a sheet--but not with fear. + +"Harbert," he said in low tones, "I've half a mind to kill you." + +"Don't. You'd hang for it. There are at least a dozen members of +the bar who know that I have come here to see you, and they know +why, too. See here, Bansemer, you're a scoundrel to begin with. +You've always been a knave. How you happen to have a son like +Graydon I can't imagine. If I did not know that your wife was a +noble, honest woman, it wouldn't be difficult to supply a reason +for--" + +"Stop! By God, you shall not say a word against my wife! I'll brain +you with this weight! You--" + +"I have not said a word against her--nor against your son. For her +and for him I have the deepest respect. I am trying to protect the +memory of one and the future of the other. Bansemer, I believe that +I drove you out of New York. You escaped without exposure simply +because the witnesses lost their nerve. That won't be the case +here. You think you've covered your tracks nicely. You haven't. +You've tripped into half a dozen traps. I don't know what your +game is with the Cables, but you're base enough to take advantage +of your son's position in that home. Don't interrupt! I'll soon be +through. I'm a man of few words. If it were not for your son I'd +swear out the warrants for you to-day on five different charges. +For his sake I'm going to give you a chance. I've worked on you for +three years. I swore I'd get you some time. Well, I've got you, and +I'm going to cheat myself out of a whole lot of pleasure. I'm not +going to smash you as I intended. Your son's friends have prevailed. +To show you that I'm not bluffing, I have every bit of evidence +in the Burkenday case, the Flossie Bellamy job, the widow Hensmith +affair--and it was a damnable one, too--with two or three more. You +broke that woman's heart. I don't suppose you know that she died +last month. You never noticed it, eh? Her precious coachman is living +like a lord on the money you and he took from her. Old Burkenday's +housemaid has bought a little home in Edgewater--but not from +her wages. The two jobs you now have on hand never will be pulled +off. The girl in the Banker Watts case has been cornered and has +confessed. She is ready to appear against you. McLennan's wife +has had the courage to defy your accomplice--that dastardly butler +of theirs--and he has left town, frightened out of his wits. Your +time has come. The jig is up. It won't be as it was in New York, +because we have the proof. There is a committee of three down in +Rigby's office now waiting for me to report. If I take word to them +that you expect to sail for Europe next week, never to return to +this country, all well and good. It is for your son's good health, +bear in mind. If you go, the public may never learn the truth about +you; if you stay you will be in jail before you are a week older. +And, Mr. Bansemer, you've got to decide DAMNED QUICK." + +Bansemer looked his accuser straight in the eye, a faint smile of +derision touching his lips, but not his eyes. + +"Mr. Harbert, the first thing you have to learn in connection with +your patient's father is that he is not a coward. I refuse to run, +sir. I am innocent of any intentional wrong, and I'll stand my +ground. My son will stand beside me, too; he is that sort. Go back +to your committee and tell them that Bansemer will not go to Europe +for his son's health. Good-day, sir!" + +"Nonsense, Bansemer," exploded Harbert. "You know we've got you +fast enough. Why be a fool as well as a knave? You haven't a ghost +of a chance. I'm trying to do you a good turn." + +"A good turn? Mr. Harbert, I am neither a fool nor a knave. If +I were a fool I'd kill you where you stand. I would be justified +in killing the man who represents a crowd of blackmailers. That's +what you are, sir. I refuse to pay your price. If I were a knave +I'd pay it. I want you to understand one thing. I shall stand my +ground here. If you persecute me, I'll not stop flaying you until +death ends my endeavours. We'll see what justice can give me in +exchange for your bulldozing. I will have restitution, remember +that. Now, you've nothing more to say to me. Get out!" + +"Sir!" + +"Get out!" + +"By George, you're a wonderful bluffer." + +"Do you expect me to throw you out, sir?" + +"It isn't necessary. I've had a change of heart in the last minute, +Mr. Bansemer. I withdraw my proposition. By all that's holy, I +intend to go after you now without pity. Hang your son's feelings! +You won't take my advice. I didn't give it as a friend, because I +detest you. It was done in a weak spirit of fairness toward your +son and toward the girl he is to marry. Now, I put them out of my +consideration. They---" + +"Get out!" + +Harbert, very red in the face, slammed the door after him and +strode angrily through the outer office into the corridor. Droom +immediately entered the consultation room. + +"Well? What is it?" demanded Bansemer. + +"What did he want?" + +"He invited me to go to Europe for an indefinite stay. I refused. +We'll fight it out, Droom. We have covered our trail better than he +thinks. They can't convict me. I'm sure of that. They have nothing +but conjectures, and they won't go in court." + +"I'm afraid of him, just the same. You're bull-headed about it. +Every criminal thinks his tracks are covered until it is too late +to cover them properly." + +"Curse you, Droom, I'm no criminal." + +"A slip of the tongue on my part. Do you know who is down there in +Rigby's office with those fellows?" + +"An officer, I daresay." + +"No. David Cable." + +"Cable? Then, his wife has told him everything. Well, I've something +to tell, too. By the Lord Harry, Elias, there will be several +sensations in high life." + +"You don't mean that you'll tell all there is to tell about the +girl?" + +"No! That's just it! That is one thing I won't tell. If you tell +whose blood she has in her veins, I'll kill you like a dog. But, +I'll see that Miss Cable is dropped by Chicago society inside of +a week. I'm mad, Droom--do you understand?" + +"But Graydon loves her." + +"He won't love her long. I was a fool to let him go this far--a +blind, loving fool. But I'll end it now. He shan't marry her. He +has no---" + +"I haven't much of a heart to boast of, Bansemer, but I beg of you +not to do this thing. I love Graydon. He doesn't deserve any pain +or disgrace. Take my advice and leave the city. Let me call Harbert +back." + +"No! They can't drive me out! Telephone over and ask Graydon to +stop here on his way up this afternoon." + +The opening and closing of the outer door attracted their attention. +Droom peeped forth. In spite of himself, Bansemer started and his +eyes widened with sudden alarm. A glance of apprehension passed +between the two men. + +"It's that Deever boy from Judge Smith's," reported Droom. + +"Tell him to get out," said Bansemer, with a breath of relief. + +"I thought it might have been---" began Droom with a wry grin. + +"Nonsense!" + +"It is a bit too soon. They haven't had time." + +As Droom left the room, Bansemer crossed to the window and looked +down into the seething street far below. He saw that his hand +trembled and he tried to laugh at his weakness. For a long time +he stood there, his unseeing eyes focused on the hurrying masses, +his ears alert for unusual sounds from the outer office. + +"If it were not for Graydon," he was muttering between set teeth. +"God, how I hate to have him know!" + +Droom had told Eddie Deever to "get out," but Eddie was there to +talk and be talked to, so he failed to take the hint. + +"Say, I haven't seen you since you played the hero up in the +fashionable part of town. Gee, that was a startler! I'll bet old +man Cable rewards you in some way. What's your theory about the +hold-up?" + +Droom looked up sharply. For the first time there shot into his +mind the thought that the breezy boy might be a spy. + +"I haven't any," he replied shortly. He was trying to remember if +he had ever said anything incriminating to the boy. + +"How d' you happen to be over there just at that time?" + +"I haven't time to talk about it. Please don't bother me. It +happened three days ago and I've really forgotten about it. Don't +throw that cigarette into the wastebasket. Haven't you any sense?" + +"Gee, you don't suppose I'm going to throw it away, do you? There's +half an inch of it left. Not me. Say, I've heard your boss has quite +a case on Mrs. Cable. How about it?" he almost whispered this. + +"You shouldn't talk like that." + +"Oh, you mean that gag about people living in glass houses? Gee, +don't worry about that. Chicago is a city of glass houses. A blind +man could throw rocks all day and smash a hole in somebody's house +every crack. I believe the hold-up man was one of those strikers +who have been out of jobs all winter. Smith thinks so." + +"Who?" + +"Judge Smith." + +"That's better." + +"Did you see his face?" + +"What are you, bub--a detective?" + +"Rosie Keating says I'd make a better policeman than lawyer. She's +sore at me for taking Miss Throckmorton to Mam' Galli's the other +night. Fellow stood on the piano and sang the derndest song I've +ever heard. But, gee, I don't think Miss Throck was on. She didn't +seem to notice, I mean. Say, on the dead, do you think you could +identify that fellow?" + +"Look here, boy, if anyone ever asks you whether I'd know that +man's face if I saw it again, you just say that I'd know it in a +thousand. I saw it plainly." + +Eddie gulped suddenly and looked more interested than ever. + +"Do you think they'll get him?" + +"They will if he talks too much." + +"I hope so. Say, how's that new patent coming on?" + +"I'm not making a patent. I'm making a model. It's nearly completed. +The strike in the shops is holding me back with it. Curse these +strikes." + +"Oh, they bust 'em up mighty quick. There hasn't been a big one on +since Debs engineered his and Cleveland called out the troops." + +"Boy, you wait a few years and you'll see a strike that will +paralyse you. Look at these teamsters. They're powerful now. They'll +get licked, but they'll come back. When the next big money panic +comes--it'll be in my day, too--you'll see the streets of Chicago +running with blood. These fellows will go after the rich, and +they'll get 'em. You will live to see the day when women who wear +diamonds around their throats will have harsh, horny ringers there +instead. There will be rich men's blood on every paving stone and +beautiful necks will be slit with less mercy than marked the French +butchery years ago. That's my prophecy. Some day you'll recall it +to mind, especially if you happen to become very prosperous. It's +bound to come. Now get out. I have a lot of writing to do." Eddie +snickered. + +"What will the law be doing all this time?" + +"Bosh! The law can't even capture Mrs. Cable's assailant. Do you +know what the human lust for blood is? Take an enraged man, doesn't +he hunger for blood? He wants to kill and he does kill. Well, he +is but an atom--an individual. Now, can you imagine what it will +mean when a whole class of people, men and women, are forced to one +common condition--the lust for blood? The individual lusts, and so +will the mass. The rage of the mass will be the same as the fury +of the individual. It will be just like one tremendous man of many +parts rioting for---" + +The outer door opened suddenly and an old gentleman entered. + +"Is Mr. Bansemer here?" he asked, removing his silk hat nervously. + +"Yes, Mr. Watts. I'll tell him you are here." + +Watts, the banker, confronted Bansemer a moment later, an anxious, +hunted look in his eyes. John Watts was known as one of the meanest +men in the city. No one had bested him in a transaction of any kind. +As hard as nails and as treacherous as a dog, he was feared alike +by man and woman. + +Watts, perhaps for the first time in his self-satisfied life, was +ready to bow knee to a fellow-man. A certain young woman had fallen +into the skilful hands of Counsellor James Bansemer, and Mr. Watts +was jerked up with a firmness that staggered him. + +"Mr. Bansemer, I have come in to see if this thing can't be settled +between us. I don't want to go into court. My wife and daughters +won't understand that it's a case of blackmail on the part of this +woman. Let's come to terms." + +Bansemer smiled coolly. It was impossible to resist the temptation +to toy with him for a while, to humble and humiliate this man who +had destroyed hundreds in his juggernaut ride to riches. Skilfully +he drew the old man out. He saw the beads of perspiration on hit, +brow and heard the whine come from his voice. Then, in the end, he +sharply changed his tactics, + +"See here, Watts, you've got a wrong impression of this affair. +I don't like your inferences. I am not asking you for a cent. +I wouldn't take it. You have just offered me $25,000 to drop the +affair. That's an insult to my integrity. I've investigated this +girl's claim pretty thoroughly and I believe she is trying to fleece +you. I have given up the case. None of that sort of thing for me. +She'll go to some unscrupulous lawyer, no doubt, but I am out of +it. I don't handle that kind of business. You have insulted me. +Get out of my office, sir, and never enter it again." + +"Give me that in writing," began the wily banker, but Bansemer had +called to Droom. Eddie Deever was standing near the door, almost +doggedly curious. + +"Show Mr. Watts the door, and if he ever comes here again call the +police. He has tried to bribe me." + +Watts departed in a dazed sort of way and Droom closed the door. + +"Are you still here?" he demanded of Eddie Deever in such a manner +that the young man lost no time in leaving. + +"There goes twenty-five thousand," said Bansemer, with a cold grin. + +"I guess you can afford to lose it," muttered Droom. "It was slick, +I suppose, but it's probably too late to help." + +"Have you telephoned to Graydon?" + +"Not yet." + +"Don't." + +"Change of heart?" + +"Change of mind." + +"That's so. You haven't any heart." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE CRASH + + + + + +Bansemer was not losing his courage; it was only the dread of having +Graydon find out. He stuck close to his office, seeing but few +people. However, he did saunter into Rigby's office for a friendly +chat, but learned nothing from, the manner of that astute young +man. With a boldness that astonished himself--and he was at no +time timid--he asked if Harbert intended to remain in Chicago for +any length of time. After he had gone away, Rigby rubbed his forehead +in a bewildered sort of way and marvelled at the nerve of the man. + +The day passed slowly; but late in the afternoon the suspense became +so keen that he found it difficult to keep himself from making +inquiries of the proper officials as to whether affidavits had been +filed by Harbert or any other person. His hand did not shake now, +but there was a steady pain at the back of his head. + +"Droom, I think I'll go home. If I don't appear in the morning, +you'll know that I'm at some police station. Good-day!" + +"Good-bye!" said Elias, with correcting emphasis. Bansemer laughed +heartily. + +"I believe you'd like to see me jugged." + +"Not unless you could be convicted. I'll have to remain in your +employ until then, I suppose." + +"I've often wondered why you don't quit of your own accord--it +seems so distasteful to you." + +"I'm working for you from force of habit." + +"You'll turn State's evidence if I'm arrested, no doubt, curse +you." + +"If my word counted for anything," and he raised his hand; "I'd +say--'So help me-I shan't." + +"I've never been able to understand you." + +"I guess you've always understood my feelings towards you." + +"You hate me?" + +"I'm no exception to the rule." + +"But hang you, you're faithful?" + +"Oh, I'll pay for it, never fear. You won't hesitate to sacrifice +me if it will help you in any way. But, let me tell you something. +Elias Droom has been smart enough to cover every one of his tracks, +even if he hasn't been able to cover yours. I can't perform miracles. +You don't seem as keen to bring about the family explosion as you +were, I observe." + +"By heavens, I can't bear the thought of that boy--oh, well, close +up the office as soon as you like." + +After he was safely out of the office Elias Droom glided into the +private office, drew forth his bunch of keys and opened his employer's +desk. A big revolver lay in the top drawer. The old clerk quickly +removed the five cartridges and as deftly substituted a new set of +them in their stead. The new ones were minus the explosive power. +He grinned as he replaced the weapon and closed the desk. Dropping +the cartridges into his coat pocket, he returned to his own desk, +chuckling as he set to work on his papers. + +"I won't betray him to the law, but I've fixed it so that he can't +escape it in that way." + +Bansemer's man informed him upon his arrival home that Mr. Graydon +would not be in for dinner. He had left word that Mrs. Cable was +very much improved and that he and Miss Cable were going out for a +long drive-in a hansom. It was his intention to dine with Mr. and +Miss Cable, very informally. + +Bansemer sat in surly silence for a long time, trying to read. +A fierce new jealousy was growing in his heart. It was gradually +dawning upon him that the Cables had alienated his son's affections +to no small degree. The fear grew upon him that Graydon ultimately +would go over to them, forgetting his father in the love for the +girl. Resentment, strong and savage, flooded his heart. He could +eat no dinner. He was full of curses for the fate which forced him +to dine alone while his son was off rejoicing with people whom he +was beginning to hate with a fervour that pained him. Jealousy, +envy, malice, fired his blood. + +He went out and bought the evening papers. The thought came to him +that Graydon had heard the stories and was deliberately staying +away from him. Perhaps the Cables had been talking to him. + +"By Heaven," he grated as he paused in front of his home, "if +she's turned him against me I'll turn this city into anything but +a paradise for her. What a fool I've been to wait so long. I've +given her the chance to tell her side of the case first. She's made +the first impression. What could I have been thinking of? Droom +was right. I should have demanded less of her. A man is never too +old to be a fool about women. Oh, if she's turned that boy against +me, I'll---" + +He did not finish the threat, but started off swiftly through the +night toward the Cable home. He had no especial object in view; +it was simply impossible for him to conquer the impulse to be near +his son. Like a thief he lurked about the street in the vicinity +of Cable's house, standing in the shadows, crossing and recrossing +the street many times, always watching the lighted windows with +hateful eyes. It was after eight o'clock and the night was damp +with the first breath of spring. There was a slight chill in the +air, but he did not feel it, although he was without an overcoat. + +The lights on the second floor, he knew, were in Mrs. Cable's room. +In his mind's eye, he could see Graydon there with the others +listening to the story as it fell from prejudiced, condemning lips--the +pathetic, persuasive lips of a sick woman. He knew the effect on +the chivalrous nature of his son; he could feel the coldness that +took root in his boy's heart. + +A light mist began to blow in his face as he paced back and forth +along the short block in which the Cables lived. He was working +his imagination up to a state bordering on frenzy. In his fancy he +could hear Graydon cursing him in the presence of his accusers. At +the end of the street he could see the break in the sea wall where +Cable and his wife had met, and he could not help wishing that Droom +had not pulled her from the water. Then he found himself wondering +if they had told Jane the story of her origin. The hope that she +was still undeceived flashed through him; it would give him a chance +for sweet revenge. + +He confessed to himself that he was reckless. The transactions of +the past few days had left him at the edge of the abyss; he recognised +his peril, but could not see beyond his own impulses. + +"I believe I'll do it," he was muttering to himself as he paused +across the street from their door. "Graydon ought to hear both +sides of the story." + +He crossed the street with hesitating steps. His thin coat collar +was buttoned close about his neck; his gloveless hands were wet and +cold from the mist. As he stopped at the foot of the stone steps +a man came hurrying along, glancing at the house numbers as he +approached. + +"Do you know whether this is David Cable's house?" he asked. + +Bansemer saw that he was a young man and an eager one. + +"I think it is." + +The other bounded up the steps and rang the bell. When the servant +opened the door Bansemer heard the new arrival ask for Cable, adding +that he was from one of the newspapers, and that he must see him +at once. + +Bansemer stood stark and dumb at the foot of the steps. The whole +situation had rushed upon him like an avalanche. Harbert had filed +his charges and the hasty visit of the reporter proved that David +Cable was an instrument in them. The blood surged to his head; he +staggered under the shock of increased rage. + +"Graydon is against me! They've won him over! Open the door, damn +you! I want my son!" He shouted the demand in the face of the +startled servant as he pushed rudely past him. + +"You stay here, young fellow, and you'll hear a story that will +fill a whole paper. I am James Bansemer. Where is Cable? You!" to +the servant. + +"Sh!" cried the frightened servant, recognising him. "Mrs. Cable +is resting, sir." + +"What are you doing here?" Bansemer demanded of the reporter, exerting +all his crafty resourcefulness in the effort to calm himself. + +"Cable has been elected president of the---" began the young man +just as Cable himself started down the stairway. + +"Cable, where is my son?" demanded Bansemer loudly, starting toward +the steps. He had not removed his hat and was, indeed, an ominous +figure. Cable clutched the stair rail and glared down at him in +amazement. Before he could pull himself together sufficiently to +reply, Graydon Bansemer hurried past him and stared in alarm at +the unexpected figure below. + +"What's the matter, dad?" he cried. "What. has happened?" + +"Aha? You think something could have happened, eh? Damn all of +their souls, you shan't be taken in by them. Come down here, boy!" + +"Father, are you crazy?" gasped Graydon, rushing down the stairs. + +"Get him away from here, Graydon, for God's sake," exclaimed Cable. +"Take him away! He's your father, but if he stays in this house a +minute longer I'll kill him!" + +The man from the newspaper was shrewd enough to withdraw into a +less exposed spot. He saw a great "beat" in prospect. + +Graydon stopped as if stunned by a blow. Bobby Rigby came running +to the head of the stairs, followed by Jane and another young woman. +James Bansemer could not have been expected to know it, but Rigby +and Miss Clegg had come to tell these friends that they were to be +married in December. + +"Kill me, eh? Not if you can't do a better job than you did +the other night. Here, you reporter, ask Mr. Cable to explain the +mystery of that affair on the lake front. Oh, I know all about it! +You've started in to ruin me, but I'll be in on it myself. We'll +have a general cleaning up." + +"Father! What are you talking about?" cried Graydon, aghast. + +"They haven't told you about the lake front, eh? I should think +not! See him cringe!" + +Cable had indeed fallen back against the wall, halfway up the steps, +white and trembling. His eyes were raised, and he was the first to +see Mrs. Cable as she came from her room. + +"Go back!" he whispered hoarsely to her. She reached the banister +and leaned over, her eyes filling with terror after a swift glance +at Jane. + +"Take Jane away," she murmured, realising that the blow was to +fall. + +"I'll stop his infernal tongue!" shouted Cable, leaping down the +steps, his eyes blazing. James Bansemer laughed as he braced himself +for the shock. They did not come together, for Graydon threw his +big frame in the path of the assailant. For an instant there was a +frightful uproar. Rigby and the servant rushed to the young man's +assistance. The women were screaming with terror, the men were +shouting and there was a. violent struggle which played havoc in +the hallway. + +"Call the police!" shouted Rigby. + +"You infernal traitor!" hissed James Bansemer. "You claim to be +Graydon's friend, and yet you are the one who has led the plot to +ruin me." + +"What does it all mean?" cried Graydon, holding; the shaking Cable +tightly. + +There was a moment of intense silence, except for thel heavy +breathing of the men. Graydon was staring wide-eyed at his father. +He saw the cruel, sardonic smile spread over his face and shuddered. + +"I've simply come to take you out of the clutches of these people. +I've waited to see if that scheming woman, up there would tell +you of her own accord. She hasn't told you; so I will. You cannot +marry that girl, for your haughty Jane Cable is a child of shame, +picked up on a doorstep, cast off by the woman who conceived her!" + +The crash had come. The heartless accuser stood like a tragic +player in the centre of his stage, pouring out his poison without +a touch of pity for the stricken girl who, after the first thrill +of indignation and horror, had shrunk back into her mother's arms, +bewildered. + +"Call the police, if you like," laughed Bansemer, at the end of +his tirade. "It isn't a criminal offence to tell the truth. It will +sound just as well in court, Mr. Rigby." + +"Jane, Jane," Mrs Cable was murmuring, "I might have saved you all +this, but I couldn't--oh, I couldn't pay the price." + +"You snake!" groaned Cable, weak and hoarse with rage. "Jane, he +has lied! There is not a word of truth in what he says. I swear it +to you." + +"Ho, ho! By Heaven, she hasn't told you, after all!" cried Bansemer. +"You still think she is yours!" + +"Father!" exclaimed Graydon, standing straight before the other. +David Cable had dropped limply into a chair, his hand to his heart. +"I won't stand by and hear you any longer. Take back what you've +said about her, or, damn you, I'll forget that you are my father +and---" + +"Graydon!" exclaimed Bansemer, falling back, his expression +changing like a flash. The smile of triumph left his face and his +lip twitched. "You forget I--I am doing this for your sake. My God, +boy, you don't understand. Don't turn from me to them. They have---" + +"That's enough, father! Don't say another word! You've talked like +a madman. See! Look what you've done! Oh, Jane!" he caught sight +of the girl on the landing and rushed up to her. + +"Is it true, Graydon--is it true?" she wailed, beating her hands +upon his arm. + +"No! It can't be true! He's gone mad, dearest." + +"Is it true, mother? Tell me, tell me!" + +Frances Cable's white lips moved stiffly, but no sound came forth. +Her eyes spoke the truth, however. The girl sank limp and helpless +in Graydon's arms and knew no more. At the foot of the steps Rigby +was pointing his trembling finger at James Bansemer. + +"You'll pay for this to-morrow!" he was saying. "Your day has come! +You cutthroat! You blackmailer!" + +"Graydon!" called the father. "Come, let us go home. Come, boy!" + +"Not now--not now," answered the son hoarsely. "I'll--I'll try to +come home to-night, father. I'm not sure that I can. My place is +here--with her." + +Without a word James Bansemer turned and rushed out into the street, +tears of rage and disappointment in his eyes. He had not expected +the gall. Until the break of day he sat in his chill room waiting +for the rasp of his son's night key--but Graydon did not come home. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +FATHER AND SON + + + + + +Graydon sat with his chin in his hands, dull, stricken, crushed. +He had heard the story of his father's baseness from Frances Cable, +and he had been told the true story of Jane; from Rigby he learned +of the vile transactions in which his father had dealt. At first, +he could scarcely believe his own ears, but in the end lie saw that +but--half the truth could be told. + +It was past midnight when he left David Cable's, not to go to his +own home, but to that of Elias Droom. He knew now that the newspapers +would devote columns to the "sensation in high life"; he knew that +Jane would suffer agonies untold, but he would not blame his father +for that; he knew that arrest and disgrace hung over the tall grey +man who had shown his true and amazing side at last; he knew that +shame and humiliation were to be his own share in the division. +Down somewhere in his aching heart he nourished the hope that Elias +Droom could ease the pain of these wretched disclosures. + +As he traversed the dark streets across town he was vaguely wondering +whether Jane's eyes would ever lose the pained, hopeless expression +he had last seen in them. He wondered whether she would retract her +avowal that she could not be his wife with the shame upon her; he +rejoiced in her tearless, lifeless promise to hold him in no fault +for what had happened. + +Distressed and miserable, he spent the remainder of the night in +Elias Droom's squalid rooms, sitting before the little stove which +his host replenished from time to time during the weary hours. + +Droom answered his questions with a direct tenderness that surprised +even himself. He kept much to himself, however, and advised the +young man to reserve judgment until after he had heard his father's +side of the story. + +"I've been loyal to James Bansemer, Graydon, and I'll still be loyal +to him. He's not done right by other people, but he has tried to +do right by you." + +"If he wanted to do right by me, why did he not tell me of Jane's +misfortune?" exclaimed the young man bitterly. + +"Because he really wanted you to marry her. She was born wrong, but +anybody can see she is without a flaw. That's the truth, Graydon. +Your father was wrong in his desire to make capital of it in +connection with Mrs. Cable. I told him so. I don't believe he knew +just what he was doing. He was so used to success, you see. Can't +you go to sleep, boy? You need to." + +"God, no!" + +"I'd advise you to go home and talk it over with your father." + +"To-morrow will be time enough. After the newspapers are out. I +can't bear to think of the disgrace, Harbert has been interviewed, +they say. He's told everything." + +"Talk to your father to-night, my boy. There may be--may be warrants +to-morrow." + +The young man dropped his head on his arm and burst into tears. +Old Droom puffed vigorously at his. pipe, his eyes shifting and +uncomfortable. Twice he attempted to speak, and could not. In both +instances he arose and poked the fire. At last the young man's +choking sobs grew less violent. Droom cleared his throat with raucous +emphasis, took his snaky gaze from a print on the wall representing +"Dawn," and spoke: + +"You wouldn't think it to look at me now--or any other time, for +that matter--but I loved a woman once. A long time ago. She never +knew it. I didn't expect her to love me. How could I? Don't cry, +Graydon. You're not like I was. The girl you love loves you. Cheer +up. If I were you I'd go ahead and make her my wife. She's good +enough, I'll swear." + +"She says she can't marry me. Good Heaven, Elias. you don't know what +a blow it was to her. It almost killed her. And my own father--oh, +it was terrible!" + +Elias Droom did not tell him--nor had he ever told anyone but +himself--that the woman he loved was the boy's mother. He loved her +before and after she married James Bansemer. He never had faltered +in his love and reverence for her. + +Graydon waited in his rooms until the old man returned with the +morning papers. As Droom placed them on the table beside him, he +grinned cheerfully. + +"Big headlines, eh? But these are not a circumstance to what they +will be. These articles deal only with the great mystery concerning +the birth of one of the 'most beautiful and popular young women in +Chicago.' Wait--wait until the Bansemer smash comes to reinforce +the story! Fine reading, eh!" + +"Don't, Elias, for Heaven's sake, don't!" cried the young man. "Have +you no soft spot in your heart? God, I believe you enjoy all this. +Look! Look what it says about her! The whole shameful story of that +scene last night! There was a reporter there when it happened." + +Together they read the papers. Their comments varied. The young +man writhed and groaned under the revelations that were going to +the public; the old clerk chuckled and philosophised. + +Every one of these papers prophesied other and more sensational +developments before the day was over. It promised to be war +to the knife between David Cable, president of the Pacific, Lakes +& Atlantic, and the man Bansemer. In each interview with Cable he +was quoted as saying emphatically that the adoption of Jane had +been made with his knowledge and consent. The supposed daughter was +the only one to whom the startling revelations were a surprise. There +also was mention of the fact that the young woman had immediately +broken her engagement with James Bansemer's son. There were pictures +of the leading characters in the drama. + +"I can't stay in Chicago after all this," exclaimed Graydon, springing +to his feet, his hands clenched in despair. "To be pointed out and +talked about! To be pitied and scorned! To see the degradation of +my own father! I'll go--anywhere, just so it is away from Chicago." + +Droom forgot his desire to scoff. His sardonic smile dwindled into +a ludicrously, pathetic look of dismay. He begged the young man to +think twice before he did anything "foolish." "In any event," he +implored, "let me get you some breakfast, or at least, a cup of +coffee." + +In the end he helped Graydon into his coat and glided off down Wells +Street after him. It was seven o'clock, and every corner newsstand +glowered back at them with black frowns as they looked at the +piles of papers. Two rough-looking men walking ahead of them were +discussing the sensation in a lewd, brutal way. A saloon-keeper +shouted to them: "It don't always happen over on de West Side, does +it?" + +Graydon went to the office of Clegg, Groll & Davidson early and +arranged his affairs so that they could be taken up at once by +another; and then, avoiding his fellow-workers as much as possible, +presented himself to Mr. Clegg at ten o'clock. Without hesitation +he announced his intention to give up his place in the office. All +argument put forth by his old friend and employer went for naught. +The cause of his action was not discussed, but it was understood. + +"If you ever want to come back to us, Graydon, we will welcome you +with open arms. It isn't as bad as you think." + +"You don't understand, Mr. Clegg," was all that Graydon could say. + +Then he hurried off to face his father. + +James Bansemer, haggard from loss of sleep and from fury over the +alienation of his son, together with the fear of what the day might +bring, was pacing the floor of his private office. Droom had eased +his mind but little in regard to his son. When he heard Graydon's +voice in the outer room, his face brightened and he took several +quick steps toward the door. He checked himself suddenly with the +remembrance that his son had turned against him the night before, +and his face hardened. + +Graydon found him standing stern and unfriendly before the steam +radiator in the darkest corner of the room, his hands behind his +back. The young man plumped down heavily in his father's desk chair. + +"Why didn't you come home last night?" demanded the other. + +"I hated the thought of it," he answered dejectedly. + +"You've listened to their side of the story. You're a splendid son, +you are!" sneered the father. + +"There is nothing base and unprincipled in their side of the story. +They have tried to shield her; they have never harmed her. But you! +Why, father, you've blighted her life forever. They were going to +tell her in a day or so, and they could have made it easy for her. +Not like this! Why, in Heaven's name, did you strike her like that? +She's--she's the talk of the town. She's ostracised, that's what +she is, and she's the best girl that ever lived." + +"Oh, you think they would have told her, eh? No! They would have +let her marry---" + +"Well, and what was your position? Why were you so considerate up +to last night? If you knew, why did you let me go on so blindly? +The truth is, father, if you must have it, you have acted like a +damned scoundrel." + +James Bansemer glared at his son with murder in his eyes. + +"I wouldn't have believed the other things they say of you if I +hadn't this to break down my faith. I heard this with my own ears. +It was too contemptible to forget in a lifetime. I did not come +here to discuss it with you. The thing is done. I came here to tell +you that I am going to leave Chicago. You WON'T go, so I will." +Bansemer still glared at him, but there was amazement mingling with +rage in his eyes. "I can't look a soul in the face. I am ashamed +to meet the Cables. Good Lord, I'm afraid even to think of Jane." + +"I suppose you-you would marry her, like a fool, even now," muttered +the father. + +"Marry her? Of course I would. I love her more than ever. I'd give +my life for her; I'd give my soul to ease the pain you have thrust +upon her. But it's over between us. Don't let our affairs worry +you. She has ended it. I don't blame her. How could she marry your +son? Why, do you know that I have hoped that I might not be your +son, after all? I almost prayed that my mother might have loved +someone else instead of you. God, I'd like the pain of knowing +that." + +Bansemer leaned heavily against the radiator, gasping for breath. +Then he staggered to the couch and dropped upon it, moaning. + +"Graydon, Graydon! Don't say that! Don't! I'll make everything +right. I'll try to undo it all! My boy, you are the only thing on +earth I love. I've been heartless to all the rest of the world, +but I love you. Don't turn against me." + +The son stood looking at him in dull wonder. His heart was touched. +He had not thought that this stern man could weep; he began to see +the misery that was breaking him. + +"Dad, don't do that," he said, starting toward him. "I'm sorry. +I'm sorry for you." + +Bansemer leaped to his feet, his mood changing like a flash. + +"I don't want your pity. I want your love and loyalty. I didn't +mean to be weak. Will you leave Chicago with me? I must go. We'll +go at once--anywhere, only together. We can escape if we start now. +Come!" + +"I won't go that way!" exclaimed Graydon. "Not like a criminal." + +"No? You won't?" There was no answer. "Then, there's nothing more +to say. Go! Leave me alone. I had prayed that you might not have +been like this. Go! I have important business to attend to at +once." He cast his gaze toward the drawer in which the pistol lay. +"I don't expect to see you again. Take this message to the Cables. +Say that I am the only living soul who knows the names of that +girl's father and mother. God alone can drag them from me." + +Graydon was silent, stunned, bewildered. His father was trembling +before him, and he opened his lips to utter the question that meant +so much if the answer came. + +"Don't ask me!" cried Bansemer. "You would be the last I'd tell. +Marry her, and be dammed!" + +"I don't believe you know," cried Graydon. + +"Ah, you think I'll tell you?" triumphantly. + +"I don't want to know." He sat down, his moody gaze upon his +father. Neither spoke for many minutes. Neither had the courage. +James Bansemer finally started up with a quick look at the door. +Droom was speaking to someone in the outer office. + +"Go now," he said harshly; "I want to be alone." + +"Father, are you--are you afraid of these charges?" His father +laughed shortly and extended his hand to the young man. + +"Don't worry about me. They can't down James Bansemer. You may +leave Chicago; I'll stay! Goodbye, Graydon!" + +"Good-bye, dad!" + +They shook hands without flinching and the young man left the room. +On the threshold the father called after him: + +"Where do you expect to go?" + +"I don't know!" + +Droom was talking to a youth who held a notebook in his hand and +who appeared frightened and embarrassed. Graydon shook hands with +the old man. Droom followed him into the hall. + +"If you ever need a friend, Graydon," he said in a low voice, "call +on me. If I'm not in jail, I'll help you." + +Half an hour later Graydon rang the Cables' doorbell. + +"Miss Jane is not seeing anyone to-day, sir," said the servant. + +"Say that I must see her," protested the young man, "I'm going away +to-night." + +"So is she, sir." + +"Where?" + +"I don't know, sir. California, more than likely. Mrs. Cable and +she will be gone for some time." + +"Did she tell you not to admit me?" he asked, white-faced and calm. + +"Yes, sir. NOBODY, sir." + +He turned down the steps and walked away. + +That afternoon he enlisted, and the following morning was going +westward with a party of recruits, bound eventually for service +with the Regulars in the Philippines. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +IN THE PHILIPPINES + + + + + +David Cable lost no time in hurrying away from Chicago with his +wife and Jane. They were whisked westward in his private car on +the second day after the Bansemer exposure. Broken-spirited, Jane +acquiesced in all their plans; she seemed as one in a stupor, +comprehending, yet unresponsive to the pain that enveloped her. + +"I can't see anyone that I know here," she said listlessly. "Oh, +the thought of what they are saying!" + +They did not tell her that Graydon had enlisted as a private soldier +in the United States Army; Jane only knew that she loved him and +that the bar sinister existed. + +Cable's devotion to her was beautiful. He could not have been +more tender had she been his own daughter, instead of his wife's +imposition. + +Jane was ill in Pasadena for many weeks. Her depressed condition +made her recovery doubtful. It was plain to two persons, at least, +that she did not care whether she lived or died. The physicians +were puzzled, but no explanation was offered by the Cables. It was +not until certain Chicago sojourners generously spread the news, +that the cause of her breakdown became apparent to the good doctors. +Before many days, the girl who sat, wan and distrait, upon the +flower-shaded piazza was an object of curiosity to fashionable +Pasadena. As soon as she was strong enough to endure the trip, the +hunted trio forsook Pasadena and fled northward. + +San Francisco afforded relief in privacy. Jane's spirits began to +revive. There had not been, nor was there ever to be, any mention +of that terrible night and its revelations. What she may have felt +and suffered in secret could only be conjectured by those who loved +her. Bansemer's name was never uttered. His fate remained unknown +to her. The far-away, unhappy look in her eyes proved to them that +Graydon was never out of her thoughts. + +David Cable was in Chicago when Mrs. Cable received word from her +sister, once Kate Coleman, that she soon would reach San Francisco +with her husband, bound for the Philippines. Kate was the wife of +a West Pointer who had achieved the rank of colonel in the volunteers, +by virtue of political necessity. His regiment had been ordered +to the islands, and she was accompanying him with their daughter, +a girl of sixteen. + +Colonel Harbin had seen pleasant service at the Eastern posts where +his wife had attained a certain kind of social distinction in the +army fast set. She was not especially enamoured of the prospect +ahead of her in the Philippines; but the new colonel was a strict +disciplinarian on and off the field. He expected to be a brigadier-general +if fortune and favouritism supported him long enough. Mrs. Harbin +could never be anything more than a private in the ranks, so far +as his estimation of distinction was concerned. His daughter Ethel +had, by means of no uncertain favouritism, advanced a few points +ahead of her mother, and might have ranked as sergeant in the family +corps. + +Mrs. Harbin played cards, drank highballs, flirted with the younger +officers, got talked about with pleasing emphasis, and was as happy +as any subordinate could be. They had not even thought of such a +thing as divorce, and the whole army wondered and expressed disgust. +The army's appetite for scandal is surpassed only by its bravery +in war. It is even hinted that the latter is welcomed as a loophole +for the former. War brings peace. + +The arrival of the Harbins and a staff of gay young cadets fresh +from the banks of the Hudson put new life into the recluses. The +regiment was to remain at the Presidio for several weeks before +sailing. One of the lieutenants was a Chicago boy and an acquaintance +of Graydon Bansmer. It was from him that Jane learned that her +sweetheart was a soldier in the service, doubtless now in Luzon. + +A week before the sailing of Colonel Harbin's transport Jane +suddenly announced that she had but one desire on earth, and that +was to go to Manila with her aunt. She did not present her plea with +the usual claim that she wanted to be of service to her country; +she was not asking to go out as a heroine of the ordinary type; +instead, she simply announced that she wanted to go as a temporary +member of Colonel Harbin's family, to endure their hardships and +to enjoy their enthusiasms. Mrs. Cable recognised the true motive, +however. + +Her pleadings were in vain. The Harbins had lucklessly urged Jane +to join them. Telegrams flew back and forth across the continent +and David Cable came on to present his feeble objections. + +When the great transport sailed away, Jane Cable was one of her +passengers, the ward of the regiment. + +"It's just for a little while, dad," she said wistfully at the +dock. "A few months. I'll think of you every minute I'm away." + +The blood of the man in the service was calling to her. The ocean +was between them; the longing to be near him, to tread the same +soil, had conquered in the eternal battle of love. After all, no +matter how the end was attained, she was a creature of life, brought +into the world to love and to be loved. She put the past behind her +and began to build a new future--a future in which the adoration +of Graydon Bansemer was the foundation. The hope that makes all +human averages was at the work of reconstruction; youth was the +builder. The months of destruction had not left a hopeless ruin +as the heritage of dead impulses. + +The world grew brighter as the ship forged westward. Each day sent +warmer blood into her veins and a deeper light into her eyes. The +new life was not inspired by the longing to be his wife, but to +see him again and to comfort him. She would be no man's wife. + +At last, one hot, soft morning in early July, the great transport +slipped past Corregidor and turned its nose across Manila bay, past +Cavite, toward the anchorage which ended the long voyage. The city +of Manila lay stretched out before them--Manila, the new American +capital. + +The troops were marched off to quarters and the Harbins, with Jane +Cable, repaired at once to the Oriente, where they were to live +prior to taking a house in Ermita or San Miguel. The campaign was +not being pushed vigorously at this time; it was the rainy season. +Desultory fighting was going on between the troops and the insurgents; +there were numerous scouting and exploring expeditions into the +enemy's country. The famous round robin of the correspondents had +been sent to the United States by this time, taking severely to task +the army censorship which prevented the real condition of affairs +from reaching the deluded public. The situation was much worse +on the island of Luzon than anyone at home could have imagined. +But little truth escaped the vigilant wisdom of the arbitrarians. +It was not until later on, however, that the effects of the round +robin were felt in headquarters at Manila; when that time came the +Ayuntamiento in the walled city was not a pleasant retreat for the +newspaper men who had dared. + +A week elapsed before Jane could find the opportunity to make +inquiries concerning the whereabouts of Graydon Bansemer. Her +thoughts had been of nothing else; her eagerness had been tempered +by the diffidence of the over-zealous. She and pretty Ethel Harbin +had made life endurable for the gay young officers who came over +on the ship; the pretty wives of certain captains and lieutenants +had small scope for their blandishments at close range. Flirtations +were hard to manage in space so small. The two girls were therefore +in a state of siege most of the time. The abject following fell +away perceptibly when the broader field of action on shore gave +their married sisters a chance to manoeuvre with some degree of +security. A faithful few remained in train, however. Ethel Harbin, +like the ingenue in the play, had each finger clumsily but tightly +wrapped with a breathing uniform of blue. It must be admitted in +shame, however, that she changed the bandages often and without +conscience or ceremony. + +Jane's admirers were in love with her. She was not the sort to +inspire idle fancies--either in married or unmarried men. In any +event, it looked a long time to these chaps before they could get +back to the States, and she was worth while. + +Perhaps her most, devoted admirer was Lieutenant Bray. Good-looking +and coming from an excellent Southern family, he was a great +favourite with all. Jane liked him better than any of the rest; +she would have liked him still better had he been able to resist +a tendency to boast of the stock from which he had sprung. The +knowledge of her disadvantages in life, the contrast between their +respective positions, all tended to emphasise the irony of fate; +and she often found herself wondering how this sprig of true +aristocracy would conduct himself if he discovered that, after all, +she was only a FOUNDLING. + +It was Lieutenant Bray who made inquiries at general headquarters +and found, after considerable trouble, that Graydon Bansemer's +company was in the north, subject to the requirements of Young, +chief of scouts. Irksome were the lazy summer months for Jane. +She tired of the attentions of men; she sickened with longing and +anxiety. Day after day she prayed that the troops in the north +might be relieved; she watched for the order that would call for +their return from the wet lands above. Sickness was prevalent among +the fighting corps; the wet season had undermined the health of +many. Constant news came down to Manila of the minor engagements, +and she looked at every report for news of Graydon. Colonel Harbin, +occasionally, had private advices from the north. She heard of +Graydon's bravery more than once and glowed with pride. Down in +her tired, anxious heart she was wondering if it were possible for +her to go to the front in any capacity. + +At last, with October, came the waning of the rainy season. +November brought active fighting. A general movement of the troops +was directed against Aguinaldo. In his prime, as a leader, he +controlled the north, and his capture was imperative. Lawton and +Young began operations on the right; McArthur on the centre; with +Wheaton pushing forward on the extreme left. The insurgents fell +back from Tarlac. There were many big fights at San Jacinto and +other places now famous in history. + +The Red Cross society held forth at Malolos, reaching gradually +into the country north. Sick and wounded men came into the hospitals +daily and in larger numbers than one would have supposed. The villages +or barrios all along the line of advance saw their convents turned +into hospitals; as fast as possible the nurses were hurried up +to them. Men and women in this noble service did heroic, faithful +work both for the white and the brown men who went down. From the +field hospitals the men were taken to the convents and treated +until they were able to be moved to Manila. + +Further north fled Aguinaldo and the Filipinos. Wheaton was ordered +to cut off his retreat; Young was killed; Cunningham took charge +of the scouts who scoured the country. Parties of ten or fifteen +picked men fell out in advance of the main body, seeking to +develop the enemy and his defences. These brave fellows attracted +the hidden fire of ambush, exposed themselves to all the treacheries +of warfare, and afterwards were mustered out with a kind word from +the department. They were the men who tested the territory. It was +with one of these scouting parties that Graydon Bansemer ventured +far into the enemy's country early in November. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE CHASE OF PILAR + + + + + +Gregorio Del Pilar, the picturesque Filipino leader, about whom +so much has been written in praise, by the war correspondents, was +leading his men back into the dangerfields, inviting the American +pursuers into every trap which his crafty brain could devise. +History tells of Pilar's call to arms. He was attending a great +ball in Dagupan, given in honour of his approaching nuptials. In +the midst of the festivities a messenger dashed in with the news +that the American troops were closing in on Tarlac, the insurgents' +seat of government. Pilar rushed from the ballroom and made his +way to the head of his command. His parting from the bride-to-be +is pathetically described by many of the writers who were in the +islands at the time. There was no more daring, romantic character +in all the Philippines than young Pilar. Educated, refined, clever +and attractive, he was a favourite with all, admired by friend and +foe alike. + +Captain Groce, with a company of infantry, was following him closely +and doggedly into the fastnesses far to the north. Village after +village was devastated by the white troops, always a few hours after +the wily Pilar had evacuated. Amigos laughed in their deceptive +sleeves at the Americans and misdirected them with impunity. In +eight cases out of ten the amigo wore arms underneath his garment +of friendship and slew in the dark whenever opportunity arose. +Graydon Bansemer was one of this doughty, eager company which blazed +the way into the hills. Close behind came the bigger and stronger +forces, with guns and horse, and the hospital corps. It was the +hunt of death for Aguinaldo and Pilar. + +Shortly after daybreak, one morning, a slim, black figure crept out +from among the trees and gave the countersign to the challenging +sentry. He was soon on his way to the Captain's headquarters +bearing news of importance. The brown-skinned scout had travelled +all night over a hazardous route, and he was more than welcome. He +brought news that Pilar's men were off to the east and the north, +well intrenched and prepared to fall upon the Americans when +they advanced blindly into the trap laid for them. The newspaper +men pricked up their ears, and at once looked to a box of carrier +pigeons which formed a most important part of their pilgrimage. A +fight was at hand, doubtless an important meeting of the clashing +forces. The whole army was waiting for intelligence of Pilar--waiting +with little less anxiety than that which attached itself to the +pursuit of Aguinaldo. + +Captain Groce ordered Sergeant Gonnell with a picked squad +to reconnoitre. They scurried off in advance of the company with +instructions to locate the elusive enemy, and open up the secret of +his position. Supposedly, Pilar was ten miles off among the rocky +foothills which guarded the pass through the mountains. As usual, +Bansemer was one of the scouts. He snatched his rations with the +others and went forth eagerly to court the danger and the excitement +that was promised. For days they had had no fighting worthy the name. +Amigos everywhere, villages peopled only by women and children, +treacherous peacefulness on every side; this had been their encounter: +an occasional rifle shot from the rice fields, a crackle of guns +far ahead, a prisoner or two who had not been quick enough in +transforming himself from combatant to friend, that was all. Now, +there seemed to be real fighting ahead. + +Pilar was known to have many men--good soldiers all of them. The +native scout gave close and accurate directions as to his position; +it remained for Connell's men to draw him out, if possible. Captain +Groce and the remainder of his eager company did not march until +long after the scouts were on their precarious way. + +Two hours after the party of eleven left the village, a Mauser +bullet from the clump of trees far to the right cut through the +hat of one of the scouts who was some distance in advance of his +fellows. As he saw the scout stoop to pick up his hat, Rogers turned +to the man nearest him and remarked: + +"They'll get him sure as shootin' some day if he hikes along in +that damn fool way." + +It was no new experience for the scouts to find the quarry gone +when they reached the place where they expected to find him. Pilar's +own scouts had found that the ambuscade was destined to fail of +its purpose, and the wily leader drew back into the more accessible +country. The scouting party did not come in sight of the little +brown soldiers. The occasional crack of a Mauser broke the silence +of the advance, keeping the Americans in active touch with the +dangers that surrounded them. + +They found the deserted trenches and signs of recent occupation. +The insurgents had been gone from the position less than two hours. +Treachery faced the little squad of Americans on every side, +but they did not falter. Connell scattered his men and they stole +carefully into the fastnesses, finding on all sides evidences of hasty +departure. Before noon they were far up in the hills, everywhere +met by the physical assurance that the enemy was not far ahead +of them. Behind them came Captain Groce and his men and the two +correspondents. + +Amigos along the mountain road gave information that was not worth +having. A deserted village showed signs of the passage and finally +there was proof ahead that Pilar had stopped to give battle. He +had reached his vantage ground. Connell and his men drew back and +waited. Nightfall came and with it the spiteful crack of the Mauser +rifle. A brawny trooper toppled over with a great hole in his head. +Pilar's pickets could see like cats in the night. The native scout +reported that the big village of Concepcion was not far ahead; +Pilar's men were making their stand before this rather important +stronghold. + +"We'll get a scrap that is a scrap, boys," said Connell, exultingly. +"These fellows are going to put up a fight, at last. They're like +bees up yonder. We've got to fall back on the company; if we don't, +they'll chew us up before the little captain can get to us." + +Too well did the men know the bellicose temperament of the big +Irishman to think of grumbling at such a command; yet, it was with +a certain reluctance which invariably accompanies a backward step +that the men retired to meet the advancing company. + +Young Bansemer in his khaki uniform was not the immaculate, debonnaire +man of the drawing-room. Service, though short, had been hard and +gruelling. His face was even handsomer with its rugged lines and +set features. He was thinner and browner; his eyes were clearer +and a darker grey; his hair seemed thicker and fairer than before; +his figure more erect and sinewy. The wistful look in his eyes +seemed to betray hunger for action; his ever-ready eagerness to be +on the move told of his strength and of his weakness. He had the +lean, active bearing of the panther and the restless daring of that +lithe animal. + +No man in the company had stood fire as valiantly as he. He courted +the whiz of the bullet, scoffed at the rigours of the march, and +instinctively was a good shot with the rifle. He bore no grudge +against the department at home; he had no grievance. + +The officers recognised in him a man of parts, a man of station far +above the position which he had chosen in the army. He was a source +of mystery to the men of his own rank in the line-the ploughboys, +the teamsters, the roustabouts, and the ne'erdowells who had gone +into the army from choice or discretion. At first they had called +him the "dude," and had laughed at his white hands and clean jaws. +His indifference to their taunts annoyed them. One day he knocked +down the biggest bully of the lot and walked away without even +waiting to see whether he could arise after the blow. He simply +glared at the next man who chaffed. It was enough. The company held +him in a new respect that forbade the reporting of the incident to +the officer of the day. + +Every night before he lay down to sleep, In the rice field or the +barrios, he took from his pocket a leather case and gazed at the +small portrait it sheltered. No one had been permitted to see him +in his devotions, for that was what he called these sacred moments. +His lean face, full of fierce energy all day long, softened as his +eyes devoured the dainty miniature. + +On meeting their company, Connell reported the situation ahead, +to his superior officer; orders were given for the men to bivouac +for the night in a small village close at hand. That evening Bansemer +was discovered leaning against the corner of a nipa shack some +distance from his comrades, smoking silently while they talked and +made merry behind him. He seldom joined in the ribald but suppressed +conversations of the men. + +"Have you fellows ever noticed that he don't get any letters from +the States-never seems to expect any?" asked Johnny Rogers, the +one-time foundry man, who sat watching him. Graydon had not been the +subject of conversation, but all knew whom Johnny meant by "he." + +"I've noticed that, too," said Joe Adams. + +"I got him sized up all right," said one of the Spurrier boys. "His +people don't know where he's at. That feller's a swell at home an' +he's had to skip out. I'll bet my breakfast his name ain't Bansemer. +An' if his people don't know where he's at, how in thunder can they +write to him? See what I mean?" + +"Think he's a bank cashier?" asked Sim Relander. + +"Naw; it ain't money, it's some girl. I know these swell guys," +said Rogers. "You're right about his people not knowin' where to +write. He's a mystery, that feller is. I'll tell what I think: +his folks have fired him out--won't recognise him. See? Disgraced +'em, an' all that. That's why he ain't expectin' nothin' from home. +He knows he won't get it." + +"I feel kind o' sorry for a feller like that," mused Tom Reagan. +"I had a brother that had to skip once." + +"That so? Did he ever come back?" + +"I s'd say not. He ducked for good. Mother had a letter from him +couple o' months before I left home. He was in Milwaukee." + +"Aw, this Bansemer's not that sort. He's made o' different stuff. +Milwaukee? Holy Moses, it's only eighty mile from Chicago!" + +"Gee, I'd like to have a glass o' the goods that made Milwaukee +famous," sighed Joe Adams. + +"I'd like a keg," said Jim Spurrier, with a wistful look in his +eyes. + +"S'pose we'll ever see a glass o' beer again?" asked the other +Spurrier, solemnly. + +"I'll bet Bansemer's wonderin' if he'll ever taste champagne again." + +"Ask him, Johnny." + +"Hey, Bansemer. I've got a riddle for you. What 'u'd you sooner +have right now than a bottle of champagne?" + +Graydon turned and sauntered slowly over to the group. He paused +for a moment in passing, a broad smile on his face. + +"A pail of beer," said he. + +"Good fer you!" shouted two or three vociferously. He strode off +to make ready for bed. + +"He's all right," exclaimed Sim Relander feelingly, as if that +laconic reply had been the only thing necessary to establish the +young man's social standing. + +"That feller's been out here only four months, an' I'll bet they +ain't any ten men in the Philippines what's had as many clost calls +as he's had," said Johnny Rogers. "I was thinkin' about it to-day. +He's had more narrow escapes in tight places than---" + +"Well, the darned fool rushes right into 'em, don't he? He ain't +got no sense. Nobody ought to git out where he can be shot at when +there ain't no need. Take that blamed fool trick o' his'n there +at Tarlac. When he went back all alone after the papers that Cap +Groce dropped. I'll bet he was shot at two hundred times." + +"Well, he didn't get hit, did he? If he gets hit good 'n' proper +once he won't be so keen about showin' off," growled one of the +men. + +"Depends on where he's hit. Then, there was that time when he dumb +the hill back yonder and turned the fire o' the gugus so's we could +get up into the pass. He makes me think o' Lawton. There's the boy +for me. If we had a few more generals like Lawton we'd put a crimp +in these niggers so quick it would look like a spasm." Having +delivered himself of this safe prophecy, Mr. Rogers glared about +him for opposition. None forthcoming, he proceeded, with a satisfied +snort, to refill his pipe. + +"Lawton's makin' history, and don't you forget it," observed Luke +Hardy. + +"He's from Indiana," piped up a homesick ploughboy from the Hoosier +State. + +"Then, it'll be a historical novel," said the gaunt young recruit +from Grand Rapids. He was a cynic who had tried newspaper work, +and who still maintained that the generals did not have as much +intelligence as the privates. + +"I'll never forget Bansemer when he first enlisted," reflected Joe +Adams. "He wanted to go out for a cold plunge and a morning stroll, +and then asked the sergeant where he could get a good riding horse. +He's not so keen about strolls these days." + +"He don't turn up his nose at things like he used to, either." + +"I don't see why the devil he keeps so clean," grumbled Adams. "I +can't." + +"I'll bet one thing," mused Rogers. "He'll be a captain or something +before this scrap is over." + +"He'll be a corpse, that's what he'll be." + +"It's my opinion he'd just as lief be shot as not," said Relander. +"The only trouble is that these measly niggers can't hit anything +they shoot at. If the darned fools would only try to miss him, +they'd get him sure. The devil and Tom Walker--what's that?" + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE FIGHT IN THE CONVENT + + + + + +"Halt! Who goes there!" + +A shot rang out in the stillness of the night; it was answered at +once by another closer in. More shots followed, gradually increasing +to a fusillade as the scouts and pickets came running back. Men +sprang up from the ground, but even as they did so another volley +reached them, and three men dropped with a groan and lay still. +The alarm sounded clear from the bugle and echoed back from the +surrounding hills. A sharp command came from the throat of the +sergeant; the company seized the stacked rifles. Captain Groce +gave another order; the formation to repel attack was made in an +incredibly short space of time. There was no disorder; no confusion. +The little officer was as cool as if on dress parade. + +"Steady, men! Wait until they're nearer!" They had not long to +wait. From all sides a horde of shouting, firing men were rushing +on the little square. "Steady, men!" was still his only command. + +Then, when it seemed almost a physical impossibility to restrain +their itching fingers from pulling the triggers, the longed for +word was given. + +"Here they are! Now, then, boys, fire!" + +Volley after volley rang out. The foremost of the enemy fell +at their feet. Hand to hand was the fighting; the bayonets lunged +with deadly effect, but seemed powerless to thrust the mass back +on itself. Men shot, hacked, stabbed and clubbed each other. It +was a whirl of uplifting and descending rifles and bolos. + +Fierce oaths vied with the shrieks of the wounded for supremacy. +The grunt of men who slaughter; the gasps of the victims when the +steel went home were heard on all sides. At times the soldiers +could not see on account of the sweat and blood pouring from their +faces; the very air was foul from the steam from the living and the +dead. They could not breathe; a sort of vertigo overpowered them, +and they only kept their feet by grappling with the enemy. + +To Bansemer, it seemed that all his life he had been doing nothing +but warding off and ring blows. Fighting side by side with Rogers, +he saw, with horror, that the soldier's rifle had been torn from +his hands, and that he had no weapon to defend himself; but before +he could see just how it happened, this individual combat had altered +its aspect: Rogers had grabbed a Filipino's gun and was doing the +clubbing. With renewed zest Bansemer finished with the bayonet +his own assailant, and saw the man fall on top of poor Adams and +Relander. + +Suddenly there was an exultant yell from the enemy. Instinctively +Bansemer knew that one side of the square had given way. Quickly +turning, he rushed to give his aid, and just in time caught the +arm of a native about to slash him with a huge knife. With the two +gripped hands high in the air struggling for mastery, the adversaries +became separated a bit from the rest of the chaotic mass of friend +and foe, swaying out to one side of the plaza, and under the walls +of a convent. Bansemer was facing it; and just at the moment that +he felt his strength giving way and could see a grin of triumph on +the fiendish face, there carne a flash and a report, and his adversary +fell at his feet. Glancing up to ascertain who had fired the shot +that had saved his life, he thought he saw a figure disappearing +from one of the windows. The incident acted as an inspiration. +Gathering together a few men, he reached the Captain's side and +communicated his plan. The opportunity was not to be lost. Groce +gave an order; Connell repeated it. Then interpreting a temporary +lull in the murderous struggle as their vantage, the men with a +cheer, and dragging the field piece, broke for the building; and by +bayoneting and clubbing the insurgents out of the way accomplished +the dash with slight loss. The soldiers hurled themselves against +the stoutly barred door; it fell with a crash. + +Guards were stationed and all openings and windows manned. Singularly +enough, these defensive actions seemed at least, temporarily +unnecessary, for the watchers peering out of the windows reported +that the dead alone occupied the recent field of battle. Not a +single Filipino was to be seen on the plaza. + +Every village has its convent or barrios. Generally speaking, their +size corresponds in a certain ratio with the population. But this +particular building was an exception. Dimly lighted, it gave the +impression of ranking in size with many of those in far larger +villages Immediately the thought came to the invaders that the church +might have sheltered the insurgent leaders. Aguinaldo or Filar +might have directed the attack from inside these walls. Orders were +given to search every corner and crevice to ferret out concealed +foes. A rear window was open, proving that flight could have been +by that means of egress. Bansemer was almost positive that the +bullet which had killed his assailant had come from one of the upper +windows, but whether from friend or foe, was undeterminable. Was +it possible that he had been mistaken? Had his eyes been so blinded +with the smoke of battle that they had played him false? Were they +not in a cunningly planned trap of some kind? + +Considerably perplexed, Bansemer decided to keep on his guard. He +was ruthlessly searching the chancel when a deep groan caught his +attention. Presently, as he paused to listen, a dark figure leaped +towards him from a recess back of the altar. The flash of a pistol +blinded him, and momentarily, a sharp pain shot through his arm; +but he recovered in time to throw his tall frame forward upon the +slight, almost indistinguishable figure. There was a short struggle, +and before his comrades could reach him his adversary was safely +pinned to the floor. A moment later the torches in the hands of his +friends were burning brightly above the figure of his captive--a +slender boy who choked with terror and rage. + +"Who the devil are you, my young friend?" asked Bansemer, holding +the boy at arm's length. + +There was no answer from the tightly closed lips; and Bansemer shook +him a little roughly. Then, for the first time, he perceived that +he was not a Filipino. His skin was dark, but not the skin of the +native; the handsome, boyish face had regular features, European +in character. + +"Spaniard?" inquired Bansemer, a trifle more gently; and again the +boy flashed a look of hatred into his captor's eyes. + +"Look here, my young spalpeen," said Connell, gruffly; "Filipino +or Spaniard, if you want to save your hide, you'd better answer +questions--and no lies, do you hear?" + +At this threat, a deep groan was heard to come from somewhere back +in the recesses of the chancel. The men were startled. Involuntarily, +the boy cast a furtive glance in that direction. Connell noticed +it, and leaving the boy with Bansemer, hurried away and soon was +looking down into the face of a prostrate man, young, but aged with +emaciation. + +"You must not touch him! Don't you see that he is dying?" cried +the boy piteously in broken English. "He cannot fight you--he's +dying;" and then, in a perfect frenzy of rage to Bansemer: "Let me +go--pig!" + +Not until afterwards did Bansemer recall that in the general +excitement it was the boy who dragged him along to the spot. And +in spite of the solemnity of the scene, there was something in his +manner of delivering the insult that amused rather than angered +the American. + +"Plucky little devil!" he said, half-aloud. + +Again the sick man groaned, tried to rise from the blankets and +speak, but only to fall back moaning. Connell cautioned him against +exertion and promised that no harm should come to either of them. +While he reported the discovery to Captain Groce, he had the man +carried to another part of the church and there made comfortable. +For the first time now, Bansemer began to notice the pain in his +arm. Somewhat angrily, he turned to the boy: + +"Come! Give an account of yourself! How came you here?" + +"Prisoners," was the sullen answer. + +"Of the Filipinos?" Bansemer asked, in surprise. + +"Yes." + +"Then why did you try to kill me?" + +"I hate you both! We Spaniards, have we not as much to fear from +you? What difference does colour make in brutes?" + +"By the holy apostles! you're a gritty, young 'un!" growled the +returning sergeant. "Who's the other chap?" + +"My brother--he's dying," said the boy, his voice softening. "Holy +Virgin, save him! For weeks, we've been in the hands of Aguinaldo's +men. He's been so ill, all the time; have you a doctor?" + +"A surgeon will probably be with us before long," was the sergeant's +evasive reply. + +Bansemer looked searchingly at Connell. What he saw in the other's +eyes caused him a sharp pang of grief. Both men turned their faces +away for a moment and it was with a gulp that Connell continued: + +"Your brother will have the best of care if we get out of this +mess. You are both safe. We are not fighting the Spaniards;" and +then, pertinently: "So these were Aguinaldo's men?" + +"Yes, he was here directing the fight," the boy answered. + +"Aguinaldo here!" This and other ejaculations of surprise and +anger burst in chorus from every throat; but as suddenly they were +followed by expressions of chagrin. For, by contrasting the present +situation with that which they had anticipated, this information +had succeeded in intensifying their mortification. + +But notwithstanding his share of the universal disappointment, +a hasty reflection of preceding events convinced Graydon that +personally he had little ground for complaint against the late +occupants of the convent. For unintentional as undoubtedly had +been the act through which at the very point of death his existence +had been preserved, there was no evidence to refute the hypothesis +that the shot which had killed his assailant in the plaza had been +fired by one of the insurgents under cover. + +"Great Scott!" was the exclamation to which he gave utterance. "Once +more, I suppose, I owe my life to the blundering marksmanship of +a Filipino!" + +This half-hearted acknowledgment of his strange indebtedness educed +from his companions no recognition other than a puzzled stare from +the sergeant and an enigmatical smile on the face of the young +Spaniard. Connell proceeded with his examination: + +"Why did they leave you here?" + +"They had no time to take us with them when you broke in," was the +boy's answer. "Aguinaldo was on his way to some village where his +family is in hiding. The scouts told him of your presence; then +he determined not to wait for Pilar, but to surprise you. We never +rested day or night. My poor brother--how he suffered!" + +"Yes, yes, but why are they carrying you on a march like this?" + +"My brother is the only man who knows where the Spanish gold was +hidden when our war was ended--I mean, the gold that came up with +guns and ammunition. Aguinaldo is looking for the hiding place. My +father, a high officer in the Spanish Army, died of the fever last +winter. We were stolen from our house in Manila by Aguinaldo's +men, and have been going from place to place ever since. We have +not told of the hiding place. The Americans do not need gold, no?" +The boy laughed sarcastically. + +"How many men has Aguinaldo?" + +"Three hundred or more. I would advise you to look out for Pilar. +He, too, may come at any moment." + +Scarcely had the words left his mouth when a storm of yells came +from outside the convent; and immediately the boy rushed to his +brother's side. + +"Great Csesar, there's a thousand of them!" cried Rogers. + +Instantly every man made for the position assigned to him. The gun +was in readiness. Outside, the Mausers rattled, bullets coming from +all quarters and thumping sharply against the opposite walls with +a patter that warned the Americans against standing erect. + +Occasionally, a scout would peep from a window and take a shot +into the darkness, but these ventures were few. All lights were +extinguished; the men fired at the spots from which burst the flames +of rifles, then dropped suddenly. After a while the firing of the +Filipinos dwindled into a shot now and them. + +"Keep low! They don't dare risk a charge! Be ready to defend the +door!" Captain Groce commanded. + +The night wore on, and, with the cessation of hostilities, confidence +increased. Reinforcements were not far off, and it did not seem +possible that the sounds of battle could not be heard. The men, +worn out by the exciting events of the day, were generally silent; +Sergeant Connell, however, was an exception. + +"Get us I Not a bit of it!" he was saying. "The dirty, little cowards! +Major March will be here in the shake of a dead lamb's tail." + +An hour later Bansemer, his rifle in hand, sitting near one of the +windows, suddenly felt someone tugging at his arm. Turning, he saw +the Spanish boy. + +"Won't you come and help me to carry my brother behind the stone +altar wall?" he was saying. "He is exposed to the bullets and cannot +move himself." + +"Willingly!" and Graydon followed his lead. As if he was a child, +he picked up the gaunt Spaniard and carefully bore him to the place +of shelter. But despite all that he could do to hide his suffering, +the pain in his arm, which the removal of the man had increased, +was such, for a moment, that he felt faint and staggered. The boy +was quick to notice it, and quickly asked: + +"What is the matter? Wounded?" + +"It's nothing--merely a scratch." + +"Oh, I know--why, it's your arm--and I---" The boy's face crimsoned +with shame and contrition. Through the semi-darkness the blush +escaped Graydon's notice, but not so the truly feminine, little +shriek of dismay, as he touched and felt the wet sleeve. + +"It was I who did it! Oh, how can you ever forgive me?" + +Graydon, dumbfounded, stared in wonder. + +"What?" he exclaimed; "you're a girl?" + +"Yes--I'm his sister," pointing to the dying man; then, with some +embarrassment: "These clothes? They are the only ones they would +give me. You see a girl would have been a burden; a boy none at +all. Do you think that had I been a man you could so easily have +overpowered me? No!" + +The slim, little figure drew itself up straight and defiant before +him. Despite the loose, ugly garments of the Filipinos, Graydon +noticed, for the first time, that the figure was perfectly moulded +and high-bred. She swept off the wide hat she wore, and the man saw +a mass of dark hair done up tightly on her head. But even while +he gazed her mood changed; she became subserviently anxious and +begged him to let her attend to his arm. She pleaded so hard that, +to please her, he yielded. Water was obtained from somewhere; the +slight flesh wound washed; and then, disappearing into the darkness, +to his amazement she returned almost instantly with some bandages +and dressed his arm. + +While this surgical operation was going on, Graydon, for the life +of him, could not resist the temptation to ask her again why she +had tried to shoot him. At first, so terribly in earnest did she +take the question and beg for mercy, that he smiled at her; and +then, seeing his amusement, she said, coquettishly: + +"How could I possibly have known that you were so nice? Besides, +I had always heard you Americans referred to as brutes." + +Graydon laughed, then suddenly his face became very grave. The +realisation of her terrible situation had dawned upon him. A woman +among a crowd of rough soldiers! Her brother and protector dying! +And all surrounded by hordes of savage enemies who at any moment +might kill them! The thought dismissed all pleasantry from his +mind. Something must be done, and at once. Presently, he asked: + +"What is your name?" + +"My father was Colonel Ramos Jose Velasquez; that also is +my brother's name, except that he is not an officer. I am Teresa +Fortune Velasquez. My mother was English--a sister of Sir William +Fortune. She is dead. For ten years we have lived in Manila." + +"You won't mind if I call the sergeant, will you?" + +The girl nodded a slightly bewildered assent as Graydon moved +rapidly towards the others. Shortly, he returned with the gallant +Irishman. + +"Senorita," began Connell, mopping his forehead and assuming his +most polite manner; "you are perfectly safe with us, and as quickly +as possible your brother and yourself shall be sent back to Manila. +You are a brave slip of a girl, and we boys respect bravery in +whatever dress--boy or girl." + +She looked at him in grateful surprise and her lips trembled. + +"But I am not your friend?" + +"Possibly, senorita;" he bowed low with almost Chesterfieldian +grace; "but we are your friends." + +Outside, once more the Mausers were rattling, and Connell, with a +word of parting hastily took his leave. Graydon, on the point of +returning to his post, was prevented by the girl. + +"You were gentle with me even when I tried to---Don't risk your life +there. Shoot from that narrow gate," pointing aloft; "it's not so +exposed." + +Bansemer dragged an altar chair up to the grated window and perched +himself upon it. The girl sat below him, holding her brother's head +in her lap. He was groaning and crying out to the soldiers to kill +him rather than permit him to fall into the hands of the natives +again. + +Suddenly there was a great commotion, and crashing of timbers in +the front part of the church, followed by shouts and the rushing +of feet. Graydon dropped from his perch and ran forth into the +chancel. As he did so the banging of rifles close at hand deafened +him. In an instant he saw what had happened. The Filipinos had +charged the door and had forced it. They were crowding their way +into the church in the face of the deadly Krag-Jorgensens. The +chapel was lighted, but not from the inside. Cunning insurgents, in +the shelter of the walls, were holding great torches just outside +of the windows. Graydon could see his comrades firing at the door +from behind every conceivable barrier. Without hesitation he dashed +down the aisle and into the thick of the fray near the door. + +The struggle was brief but fierce. The merciless fire of many Mausers +on the outside opened a way through the small band of defenders, +and the rush of the besiegers was successful. Through the door and +windows they came, swarming like bees. Many of them fell to rise +no more, but their comrades took an eye for an eye. Once confident +soldiers toppled over dead until but few were left. Bansemer led +them in a quick dash for the chancel, hoping that the enemy would +not dare attack a place so sacred. + +Cdptain Groce and other officers had fallen; Connell became the +leader of the remnant. Bansemer stood squarely in front of the +altar and blazed away at the horde of Filipinos as they advanced. +They shot at him wildly and without effect; bullets crashed into +the altar decorations behind him. He stood there as one protected +by God, unharmed in the shelter of the cross. + +Behind him his comrades cowered and cursed in their dread of certain +death. He heard the shrill cries of the girl urging him to protect +her brother. She was calling upon God and the Holy Virgin to aid +and shield him. And he stood there with a crazy joy in his heart, +savagely pulling the trigger of the Krag-Jorgensen. Finally the +hammer snapped with no report. As he turned back in consternation, +a small figure leaped to his side with a fresh weapon. + +He shouted a word of warning to her and wheeled again to confront +the foe. Even as he raised the gun a great shout arose above the +noise of conflict. There was a mighty rush, a new banging of guns, +a sudden stampede and--the chapel was filled with men in khaki! + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +TERESA VELASQUEZ + + + + + +Great was the disappointment of Major March and his men when +they found that neither Aguinaldo nor Pilar had fallen into their +hands. Although they had come just in time to prevent the complete +annihilation of the little company, the leaders had escaped with +the remnant of their surprised forces. Scores of Filipinos were +captured, dozens were killed and wounded. Eight of the dashing scouts +who went out with Jerry Connell gave up their lives in exchange +for the final victory. + +A small guard was left at the convent to care for the wounded, the +bulk of the command hurrying off at dawn to search for the routed +Filipinos. Graydon Bansemer was put in charge of the convent +guard. A surgeon and the application of "first aid to the injured" +principles soon transformed the convent into a well arranged +hospital. Uncle Sam's benevolence was also cheerfully extended to +the wounded Filipinos. The days of the "water cure" and "ungodly +butchery" had not yet come. + +Young Velasquez died soon after daybreak. He had been dying for days. +His sister's grief was pathetic in the extreme--aye, demoralising, +for it struck deep into the hearts of soldiers who had scoffed at +the life-blood of man, but could not brave the tears of a woman. + +Bansemer did all in his power to comfort and console her. It was +to him that she clung in her despair. He had been her captor; and +yet it had been he who stood forth in his might to defend her and +the loved one who was dead. At nightfall the dead were buried in +that far-off wilderness, their humble graves marked and recorded +before the time when the government could come to give other graves +in other lands to these who had given their lives. Velasquez was +laid beside the Americans. Teresa, a shivering, sobbing little +figure in the garb of an insurgent soldier, was supported by big +Graydon Bansemer. There was no service except the short army ritual; +there was no priest or pastor; there was but one real mourner--a +pretty, heart-broken girl who lay for hours beside the rude mound +on the hillside. + +Word came back at nightfall that the detachments were to form +a junction at one of the big villages westward in two days. The +instructions were that the wounded Filipinos should be left in the +village, where native women and doctors would care for them. + +"What in thunder are we to do with the girl?" was the question that +came from the officer in command. More than one man scratched his +head thoughtfully and looked toward the disturbing element that +had come into the army. She was sitting alone and disconsolate in +front of the church. + +"There's no way to send her back to her friends, and we can't leave +her here," said Bansemer. + +"But, gee whiz, we can't take her on a hike like this," protested +the sergeant. "She'll be in the way, and she'll give out, and all +that. Besides, what would we do with a woman around all the time?" + +"I fancy she can hike all right," said Graydon. "Major March wouldn't +expect us to leave her behind. That would be heartless." + +By the time the party and guides was ready to start on its forced +march, the opinion, unanimously expressed was that Teresa Velasquez +should go forward also, come what might. She had pleaded so hard +and so effectually that the men were fairly swept off their feet +in a storm of sympathy. + +"If she gives out we'll carry her," roared a deeply impressed young +man with long red whiskers. + +"And when we get up to the command we'll make them derned +correspondents take turn about walkin', so she can ride a pony all +the time. They've got no business ridin', anyhow." + +And so with rosy confidence in the fitness of things and a just +belief in the charity of Major March, the detachment marched out +into the hills, the ward of the company trudging bravely beside +the tall and envied Mr. Bansemer--who, by the way, aside from being +politely attentive, did not exhibit any undue signs of exaltation. + +The presence of a woman--and a very pretty one at that, with +a sadness in her eyes that was appealing--served only to send his +thoughts bounding back to the girl he had left behind. He grew more +and more morose and silent as the day wore on; at times the tired, +lonely girl at his side lagged and cast wondering, piteous glances +at him. Her woman's intuition told her that this man did not belong +where he was; it told her also that he had a secret and that one +of her sex was deeply involved. + +The events of the next two weeks are of small consequence in this +narrative, which deals not so much with the history and mystery of +the campaign in the fall of '99 as with the welfare and emotions +of a single soldier at the front. Aguinaldo and Pilar had become +refugees by this time, hunted and hounded from place to place with +relentless fervour. Pilar was somewhere in the hills with his men, +the pride of the insurgent forces; Aguinaldo's remnant had scurried +off in another direction, and General Tono was on the coast with +what was left of the scattered force. + +The net about Gregorio del Pilar was being drawn in and tightened. +The closing week in November saw him driven to the last extremity. +The tragedy of Tilad Pass was near at hand. + +Teresa Velasquez never faltered, never tired. She proved herself to +be no incumbrance. Day after day, the officer in command expected +the expedition which would take her back to Manila; forces came up +from the south, but none were ready to go back. + +She was an inspiration to the camp. Men who had forgotten their +manners completely brushed them up and danced attendance upon the +girl in the Filipino uniform. + +Every man prayed for opportunity to do brave deeds, and when +chance came she was permitted to witness heroism that savoured of +the boyhood malady known as "showing off." + +The reserved, but considerate Bansemer was her closest friend +and confidant. One evening, as they sat side by side watching the +preparations for supper, she turned suddenly and announced that +she knew he was dying of love for someone. He started and his hand +trembled. + +"Tell me about her," she commanded. There was a piquancy, a gay +impelling force in this girl that grief and hardship had not been +strong enough to conquer. Her hours of sadness were spent alone--hours +when she was supposed to sleep, but instead, lay awake and sobbed +without tears. + +"Nonsense!" said Graydon. "Why do you think that of me?" + +"Because everybody else thinks it," she said; "and because I am a +very wise person. The men are not so charitable as I, senor. They +say that you joined the army because of some woman whom you could +not marry. I agree with them, except that it is she who would not +marry you. Forgive me, if I have hurt you." + +Impulsively, she put her hand upon his, her dark eyes full of +pleading. The touch of her hand did not send a thrill through him; +such contact, however, caused the blood to tingle in the quick veins +of the girl. He merely sat and stared into space. After a moment, +she drew her hand away. + +"I am sorry," she said. + +"There is a girl, Teresa," he said shortly. + +"Yes, I know. Tell me about her." + +"I can't," he exclaimed, bitterly. He arose and walked quickly +away. Teresa's dark eyes followed him in pity and wonder, aye, +affection. Then she shook her head sadly and turned her attention +elsewhere--not piqued, much to her own amazement. + +Reinforcements came up two days later with the word that the +commander in chief expected the campaign against Pilar to end within +a week, and that hard fighting was ahead. The Red Cross people were +following hard upon the heels of the regiment and field hospitals +were to be established. This information was so suggestive of fierce +and final combat that the men felt their sluggish blood leap wildly +into life. + +Every man in the band of newcomers was singing the praises of +a wonderfully beautiful Red Cross nurse. The stories told of her +charms were varied, but none lacked enthusiasm. Some said she was +the daughter of a rich magnate come to do service in the cause of +humanity; others were sure she was a great and beautiful actress +who was sacrificing everything to conspicuous advertising. All, +however, were agreed in the praise of her noble beauty. + +The little detachment on guard turned up its collective nose and +proudly pointed to Teresa Velasquez. + +"Look at that," said Bob Spurrier. "Can she stack up with the +hiking queen? Our girl is real quality. She's no common American. +She's a grandee's daughter. There's royal blood in her. By thunder, +gentlemen, she's blood kin to little Alfonso." + +Teresa sought shelter from the curious though admiring eyes of the +fresh arrivals. + +"I don't like these new soldiers," she complained to Graydon. "I +wish they had not come. They talk of this beautiful nurse and they +laugh at me. Oh, I wish I had something else to wear." + +"Don't worry, little girl, you're worth ten nurses," said he. + +"Alas, though I am dressed as a man, I do not feel as bold as one," +she lamented. + +The next day reinforcements came up and the whole command advanced +upon Tilad Pass, where Pilar, at last, had been cornered. On +the second of December a desperate conflict took place. Pilar was +intrenched in the Pass near the celebrated rock known as El Obispo +--"the Bishop." His resistance for a time was valorous and deadly. +Corporal Parry saw him mount his horse behind the barricade, six +hundred yards away. Parry was the best marksman in the regiment, +and turning to his chief officer, asked if he should take a shot +at him. + +He fired and Pilar fell, face downward; and the Americans crushed +the little band of insurgents. Gregorio Del Pilar was dead. His +death in the great hills, after a most courageous battle against an +overwhelming force, brought to an end a life that would have been +worth much to the islands in after years. In his pockets were found +valuable papers, letters and keepsakes. The letters were from his +sweetheart, Dolores Jose, who lived at Dagupan, and they were tender +in the extreme. Her lace handkerchief rested over his heart. + +When the Americans, victorious and jubilant, fell back to camp, they +had no small number of wounded to turn over to the tender mercies +of the little company of Red Cross nurses and the surgeons. + +One of the most dangerously injured was Graydon Bansemer. He was +one of the first to cross the danger line; a Mauser ball from a +distant hill tore through his side, leaving an ugly gaping wound +that foretold certain death. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE BEAUTIFUL NURSE + + + + + +When the beautiful and mysterious nurse whose fame had gone up with +the soldiers into Tilad Pass, arrived with others to take charge +of the Red Cross hospital, on the day following the battle, she +found the man she had been longing to see for many weary, heartsick +months. She found him dying. + +To the surprise of the enthralled command, she fell in a dead swoon +when she looked upon the pallid face of Graydon Bansemer. She had +gone eagerly from one pallet to another, coming upon his near the +last. One glance was enough. His face had been in her mind for +months--just as she was seeing it now; she had lived in the horror +of finding him cold in death. + +It was Teresa Velasquez who first understood. She knew that +Bansemer's one woman had found him at last. Her heart leaped with +hatred for one brief instant, then turned soft and contrite. If she +had learned to care for the big American herself during the hard +days when he had been so tender, she also had learned that her +worship was hopeless. She had felt his yearning love for another; +now she was looking upon that other. While the attendants were +bending over their unconscious companion, the Spanish girl stood +guard over the man who had been her guardian, the man whose life +was going out before her miserable, exhausted eyes. + +Jane Cable stirred with returning life; Teresa was quick to see that +words not medicine would act as the restorative. She went swiftly +to the American girl's side and, clasping her hands, cried sharply +into her half conscious ears: + +"He is not dead! He is alive! He needs you!" + +The effect was magical. Life leaped into Jane's eyes, vigour into +her body. She recovered from the swoon as mysteriously as she had +succumbed to it. Her sudden breakdown had puzzled her companions. +It is true that she was new in the service; she had seen but little +of death and suffering; but, with all that, she was known to possess +remarkable strength of purpose and fortitude. That she should +collapse almost at the outset of her opportunities was the source +of wonder and no little contempt among her fellow workers. The +words of the strange girl in men's clothing opened the way to smart +surmises. It was not long before everyone in the command knew +that the "beautiful Red Cross nurse" was not wearing the garb of +the vocation for the sake of humanity alone--in fact, it was soon +understood that she did not care a straw for the rest of mankind +so long as Graydon Bansemer needed her ministrations. + +Ignoring the principles of the cause she served, she implored the +doctors to confine their efforts to one man among all of them who +suffered; she pleaded and stormed in turn, finally offering fabulous +bribes in support of her demands. For the time being, she was +half crazed with fear and dread, woefully unworthy of her station, +partially divorced from reason. + +The more desperately wounded were left in the village with an +adequate guard, the rest of the command departing with Major March. +A temporary hospital was established in the convent. There were +two doctors and four or five nurses, with a dozen soldiers under +command of Lieutenant Bray. It was while the apparently dead Bansemer +was being moved to the improvised hospital that Jane presented +herself, distraught with fear, to the young Southerner who had +so plainly shown his love for her. She pleaded with him to start +at once for Manila with the wounded, supporting her extraordinary +request with the opinion that they could not receive proper care +from the two young surgeons. Bray was surprised and distressed; he +could not misunderstand her motive. + +He had gone on caring for her without suspecting that there was +or had been another man; she had not confided in him during those +weary, pleasant months since they left San Francisco behind them. +To learn the true situation so suddenly and unexpectedly stunned +his sensibilities; he found difficulty in grasping the importance +of the change an hour or two had made. He had fought valiantly, +even exultantly, in the Pass that morning, her face ever before +him, her words of praise the best spoils of the victory, should +they win. He had come down to the village with joy and confidence +in his heart, only to find that he was not, and could never be, +anything to her, while the life or memory of this fallen comrade +stood as a barrier. + +Bray's hour following the discovery that she had deliberately sought +out and found this stricken private was the most bitter in his +life. His pride suffered a shock that appalled him; his unconscious +egotism, born of hereditary conquests, revolted against the thought +that his progress toward her heart was to be turned aside by the +intervention of a common soldier in the ranks. Gentleman though he +was, he could not subdue the feeling of exultation that came over +him when she approached with her plea. He knew that it was a base +sense of power that made him feel that he could punish his pride's +offender by either denying or granting her appeal. The attitude of +self-sacrifice appealed to his wounded vanity; he was tempted to +profit by an exhibition of his own pain and generosity. + +He went with her into the convent and to the pallet on which was +stretched the long, still figure of Graydon Bansemer. A surgeon +was standing near by, studying the grey face with thoughtful +eyes. Bray's first glance at the suffering face sent a thrill of +encouragement through his veins. The man was beyond all human help; +the grip of death was already upon his heart. + +Then, the true manhood that had been his, through all generations, +revolted against the thought that was in his mind. The man should +not die if it was in his power to prevent; no matter what the cost +to him, he would give his aid to her and hers. He tried to put +aside the feeling that death was certain--and very soon, at that; +he sought honestly to justify himself in the hope that Bansemer's +life could be saved, after all. + +"Leave me alone with the doctor, Miss Cable," he said. She was +kneeling beside the man on the cot. Without a word, but with a +dark appealing look into the Virginian's eyes, she arose and went +swiftly away. "What chance has this poor fellow, doctor?" + +"None whatever, sir. He'll be dead in an hour. I'm sorry, on her +account. Strange case. I've heard she belongs to a fine family in +the East. Poor devil, he's got an awful hole in his side." + +"Have you made a careful examination? Is it possible that no vital +spot has been touched?" + +"We haven't had time for a thorough examination; it was better +not to waste the time on him when there were others whom we have +a chance to save." + +"You will oblige me, doctor, by giving him the quickest and most +careful attention. There may be a chance. He is one of the bravest +men in the army. Don't let him die if there is a chance for him. +Miss--er--the nurse--has asked if he can be moved to-day." + +"No. But wait; I don't see why, if it will satisfy her. He will +die anyhow, so why not tell her that we will start south with him +to-morrow?" + +"It isn't fair. She should be told the truth." + +"He'd die, that's all--any way you put it." + +"You will make the examination?" + +"Yes, in--at once." + +"But you--you feel that it is hopeless?" + +"Certainly, sir." + +"I'm-I'm sorry," said Bray, walking away. The doctor looked after +him with a queer expression in his eyes and then called his confrere +to the pallet. + +Bray found Jane waiting for him outside the door; Teresa Velasquez +was standing beside her, holding her hand. + +"What does he say?" cried Jane, grey with anguish. + +"He cannot be moved. There is no--but little hope, Miss Cable. They +are to make another examination." + +"He must be saved! He must! Let me go to him now. I will help. I +will give my life to save his," she cried. Bray stood between her +and the door, his arms extended. + +"Don't go in now, I implore. Wait! There may be good news." + +"He is everything in the world to me!" she moaned. + +"Come with me," whispered Teresa. Bray looked at the Spanish girl, +and a new light broke in upon his understanding. What was this +refugee to Bansemer? The answer shot into his brain like a flash +and he turned cold. + +"Miss Cable, I think I understand your anxiety," he said, his voice +trembling. "Won't you let this young lady take you away for half +an hour or---" + +"But I am a nurse! Why should I be kept from him? I am here to care +for all of them," she protested. + +"You are not fit to do duty just now," he said. "Miss Cable, I +understand why you are here. It is noble of you. I am truly sorry +that there is so little hope." He was leading her away from the +building, leaving Teresa standing there with her eyes fastened +upon the door with a look that could not be mistaken. "I would give +my own life to have his spared for your sake, Jane. Forgive me. I +would willingly give all I have in life for you. But I am afraid +it is impossible to save him." + +"Don't say that," she whispered. + +"You--you would be his wife?" he asked. + +"No, that cannot be. I COULD not be his wife." + +"You mean--he is married?" + +"No, no! not that. You can't understand. I can never marry him--never!" + +Bray struggled for a moment with the puzzle; his eyes went slowly +to Teresa. Then he suddenly understood why Jane Cable would not +marry the man she had come to find. He asked no questions of himself, +but Teresa would have been the result of every conjecture had he +done so. + +"He might better be dead," he thought, his eyes hardening. "She's +found him out. Gad, I hope---" but he put it from him. + +Graydon Bansemer did not die within the hour, nor that day. The +careful examination of the surgeons gave little additional hope; +it did, however, reveal the fact that no vital organ had been +destroyed or injured. The ball had torn a great hole in his left +side and had gone through the body. Probing was not necessary. +The flow of blood was frightful. There was a spark of life left on +which to build a frail hope, and they worked with new interest. + +The attention of everyone was directed to this tragic struggle; the +efforts of all were lent to the successful end. Jane Cable, dogged +and tireless, came to be his nurse, now that the life thread still +held together. It is not the purpose of this narrative to dwell +upon the wretched, harrowing scenes and incidents of the wilderness +hospital. The misery of those who watched and waited for death; +the dread and suffering of those who gave this anxiety; the glow +of spiritual light which hovered above the forms of men who had +forgotten their God until now. + +The first night passed. There were sleepless eyes to keep company +with the faint moans and the scent of chloroform. Over the figure +of Graydon Bansemer hung the eager, tense face of Jane Cable. Her +will and mind were raised against the hand of death; down in her +soul she was crying! "You shall not die!" and he was living, living +on in spite of death. The still, white face gave back no sign of +life; a faint pulse and an almost imperceptible respiration told +of the unbroken thread. Hoping against hope! + +Dawn came, and night again, and still the almost breathless girl +urged her will against the inevitable. She had not slept, nor had +she eaten of the food they brought to her. Two persons, a soldier +and a girl, stood back and marvelled at her endurance and devotion; +the harassed surgeons, new in experience themselves, found time to +minister to the seeming dead man, their interest not only attracted +by his remarkable vitality but by the romance attached to his hope +of living. + +That night he moved, and a low moan came from his lips. The Goddess +of Good Luck had turned her face from the rest of the world for a +brief instant to smile upon this isolated supplicant for favour. +Jane's eyes and ears had served her well at last; she caught the +change in him and her will grasped the hope with more dogged tenacity +than before. The word went out that there was a chance for him. +Her vigil ended when Bray came to lead her away--ended because she +dropped from exhaustion. + +The next morning, after a dead sleep of hours, she returned to +his side. The surgeon smiled and the nurse clasped her hands with +tears in her eyes. Bansemer was breathing thickly and tossing in +delirum. It was as if he had been lifted from the grave. + +Lieutenant Bray was seated in front of the convent late that +evening, moodily studying his own emotions. Teresa, still attired +as she had been for weeks, hung about the chapel with the persistance +of a friendless dog. He watched her and pitied her, even as he +pitied himself for the wound he was nursing. What was to become of +her? He called her to him. + +"Sefiorita, they say he is better. Tell me, does it mean much to +you?" + +"Oh, sefior, he has been noble and good and honourable. If he lives +I shall always hold these weeks with him in absolute reverence." + +"Then she does not understand?" + +"She? What is there for her to understand? She loves him and he +loves her. That is enough." + +"She says she will not marry him. There must be a reason." + +The girl's face darkened instantly and her breath came quickly. + +"You--you think that I am the reason? Is it so? Because I am here +in these hateful clothes? You would say that to me? How dare you!" + +She burst out with tears of rage and shame and fled from his sight. + +Jane came rapidly through the church door, out of the gloom and +odour into the warm sunshine and the green glow of the world, her +face bright, her eyes gleaming. + +"He is conscious!" she cried. "He knows me!" + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE SEPARATION OF HEARTS + + + + + +When Graydon Bansemer opened his eyes upon the world for the second +time--it was as if he had been born again--he looked up into the +eager, wistful face of Jane Cable. It was too much for her to expect +that he could see and understand at once; he would not know what +had gone before, nor why she was there. His feeble glance took in +her face with lifeless interest. Perhaps it was because he had seen +her in that death-like dream; perhaps his weakness kept him from +true realisation. In any event, he did no more than to allow the +flicker of a smile to come into his eyes before he closed them +again. Breathlessly, she waited for the lids to lift once more. +She uttered his name softly, tenderly, time and again. As if hearing +someone calling from a great distance, he moved and again looked +upward, the consciousness of pain in his grey eyes. This time he +stared hard at her; his eyes grew brighter and then darkened with +wonder. At last she saw the look of surprise and joy and relief +that she had been hungering for; he knew her and he was beginning +to understand. + +If he heard her while she knelt and thanked Ged for this first +great ray of hope, he gave forth no sign. When she turned her eyes +to his face again he was asleep. But she went forth into the day +with a song in her heart. + +She looked about for Teresa. The girl was gone, no one knew whither. +Bray alone could say that she had started toward the thicket. +He pointed out the direction, but did not offer to accompany Jane +when she hurried away to carry the good news to the Spanish girl +who had been her staunch helper during the long vigil. Bray shook +his puzzled head as he followed her with his gaze. It had come +to him suddenly that the Spanish girl was not the solution to the +puzzle, after all. + +Jane found the slim boyish figure lying on the ground, deep in the +wood. She had been crying and made no attempt to subdue her emotions +when the American girl came up to her; instead, she bitterly poured +out her woe into the ears of the other. She told her of Bray's +insult--as she termed his unfortunate speculation--and she told +how it came about. + +"I am a good girl, Miss Cable," she cried. "I am of a noble family-not +of the canaille. You do not believe it of me? No! He had no right +to accuse me. I was a prisoner; Senor Bansemer was my rescuer. I +loved him for it. See, I cannot help it, I cannot hide it from you. +But he is yours. I have no claim. I do not ask it. Oh!" and here +her voice rose to a wail of anguish, "can you not procure something +else for me to wear? These rags are intolerable. I hate them! I +cannot go back there unless I have---" + +"We can give you a few garments, dear," said Jane. "Come! You shall +wear the nurse's uniform. We are to start on the long march to the +coast to-morrow. They say that ALL of the wounded can be moved by +that time." + +It was three days, however, before the little company left the +village and began its slow, irksome march across the country toward +the coast where the ship was to pick up the wounded men and convey +them to Manila, Native carriers, cheerful amigos since the disaster +to Pilar, went forward with the stretchers, the hospitall wagons +and guard following. Travelling was necessarily slow and the halts +were frequent. There were occasional shots from hidden riflemen, +but there were no casualties. Food had been scarce; the commissary +was thinly supplied for the hard trip. Lieutenant Bray grew strangely +morose and indifferent. He was taciturn, almost unfriendly in his +attitude toward everyone. + +The little company stopped to rest in a beautiful; valley, beside +the banks of a swift stream. He watched Jane as she moved away +from the stretcher which held Bansemer, following her to the edge +of the stream where she had come to gaze pensively into the future. + +"How is he?" he asked. She started and a warm glow came into her +cheek. + +"He is doing nicely. If he can bear up until we reach Manila, he +will surely live. Are we going as rapidly as we should, Lieutenant +Bray?" + +"Quite, Miss Cable. It isn't an easy march, you must: remember." +After a long silence, he suddenly remarked: "Miss Cable, I've +got a rather shameful confession to make. I've had some very base +thoughts to contend with. You may have guessed it or not, but I care +a great deal for you--more than for anyone else I've ever known. +You say he is to get well. For days I wished that he might die. +Don't look like that, please. I couldn't help it. I went so far, +at one stage, as to contemplate a delay in marching that might have +proved fatal to him. I thought of that way and others of which I +can't tell you. Thank God, I was man enough to put them away from +me! Wait, please! Let me finish. You have said you will not marry +him. I don't ask why you will not. I love you. Will you be my wife?" + +She stared at him with consternation in her eyes. He had gone on +so rapidly that she could not check his rapid speech. Her hand went +to her brow and a piteous smile tried to force itself to her lips. + +"I am sorry," she said at last. "I am sorry you have spoken to me +of it. I have felt for some time that you--you cared for me. No, +Lieutenant Bray, I cannot be your wife." + +"I know you love him," he said. + +"Yes, it is plain. I have not tried to hide it." + +"You must understand why I asked you to be my wife, knowing that +you love him. It was to hear it from your own lips, so that I would +not go through life with the feeling, after all, that it might +have been. Will you tell me the reason why you cannot marry him? +He must love you." + +"Lieutenant Bray, he would marry me to-morrow, I think, if I were +to consent. It isn't that. It would not be right for me to consent. +You profess to love me. I have seen it in your eyes--oh, I have +learned much of men in the past few months--and I determined, if +you ever asked me to marry you, to ask a question in return. Do +you really know who I am?" + +He looked his surprise. "Why, the daughter of David Cable, of +course." + +"No, I am not his daughter." + +"His stepdaughter?" + +"Not even that. You come from a proud Southern family. I do not +know who my parents were." + +"Good Heaven, you-you don't mean you were waif?" + +"A waif without a name, Lieutenant Bray. This is not self-abasement; +it is not the parading of misfortune. It is because you have made +the mistake of loving me. If you care less for me now than you did +before, you will spread this information throughout the army." + +"Believe me, I am not that sort." + +"Thank you. Knowing what you now do, could you ask me to be your +wife?" + +"Don't put it just that way," he stammered. + +"Ah, I see. It was a cruel question. And yet it proves that you do +not love as Graydon Bansemer loves." + +"Some day you may find out all about your parents and be happy. +You may have been abducted and---" he was saying, his face white +and wet. Somehow he felt that he was chastening himself. + +"Perhaps," she said quietly. "I might not have told you this had +not the story been printed in every newspaper in the States just +before I left. You see, I did not know it until just a few months +ago. I thought you might have read of me. I--I am so notorious." + +"Jane, dear Jane, you must not feel that way!" he cried, as she +started quickly away. "It's---" But she turned and motioned for +him to cease. There were tears in her eyes. He stood stock still. +"She's wonderful!" he said to himself, as she walked away. "Even +now, I believe I could--Pshaw! It ought not to make any difference! +If it wasn't for my family--What's in a name, anyway? A name---" +He started to answer his own question, but halted abruptly, squared +his shoulders and then with true Southern, military bearing strode +away, murmuring: + +"A name is something; yes, family is everything." + +Jane went at once to Graydon. His great grey eyes smiled a glad +welcome. She took his hand in hers and sat upon the ground beside +him, watching his face until they were ready to resume the journey. + +"Would it not be better if he were to die?" she found herself +wondering, with strange inconstancy to her purpose. "Why could it +not have been I instead of he? How hard it will be for us to live +after this. Dear, dear Graydon, if--if I only were different from +what I am." + +Not a word of his father's conduct toward her, not a word of blame +for the blow his father had struck. She held him to no account for +the baseness of that father; only did she hold herself unfit to be +his wife. All of the ignominy and shame fell to her lot, none to +the well-born son of the traducer. + +Fortune and strength went hand in hand for the uext two days and +the famished, worn-out company came to the coast. The wounded men +were half-delirious once more for lack of proper attention, and the +hardships of travel. But the ill-wind had spent its force. Bray's +instructions were to place his charges on board ship at San Fernando +de Union, and then await further orders in the little coast town. +It meant good-bye to Jane, and that meant more to him than, he was +willing to admit, despite all that she had said to him. He went to +her when the ship was ready to leave port. + +"Good-bye!" he said. "I'm more grieved than I can tell you, because +I believe you think I am a cad." + +"Lieutenant Bray, a cad never would have helped me as you have +helped me, in spite of yourself. Good-bye!" + +He went out of her life in that moment. + +There were vexatious delays, however, before sailings Almost at the +last moment Jane was approached by Teresa Velasquez, now partly +dressed as a Red Cross nurse. The Spanish girl was nervous and +uneasy. Her dark eyes held two ever changing lights--one sombre, +the other bright and piercing. + +"I have decided to wait for the next ship," she announced briefly. + +"You are not going with us?" cried Jane in surprise and distress. +"What has happened?" + +"It is impossible; I cannot go with you. Pray do not ask for my +reason. Good-bye. Will you say good-bye to--to him for me?" + +Jane was silent for a long time, studying the eyes of the Spanish +girl. + +"I think I understand," she said at last, taking Teresa's hands in +hers. + +"It is better that it be ended here," said Teresa, "I have endured +it as long as I can. You have been good to me, and I want to say +good-bye while there is love for you in my heart. I am afraid to +stay near you--and him. Don't you see? I cannot go on in this way." + +"Oh, Teresa!" + +"Yes, yes, I know it is wrong, but how can I help it? I've loved +him ever since I first saw him--saved his life." Jane was astounded. +The thrust pierced her to the quick. + +"Saved his life?" + +"Yes, though he does not know it. It was when we were prisoners of +the Filipinos. My poor brother was dying. From the convent Aguinaldo +and his men were watching and directing the fight on the plaza. +They paid no attention to me--a girl. The noise of the fighting +men was terrible, and I climbed up to a window where I could see. +Sudrenly, below me, I saw two men fighting apart from the struggling +mass. In an instant it flashed through my mind that the Filipino +was overpowering the other--was going to kill him. Although I hated +them equally, there was something in the young soldier's face--I +could not see him murdered. I seized a pistol that was lying near +me and fired; the Filipino fell. In terror of the deed and fear +of discovery, I ran to my brother. In a moment the Americans broke +into the convent. You know the rest." + +Jane was suffering the keenest pangs of jealousy, and asked, +excitedly: + +"You--you did that?" + +"And finally, when I had learned to care for him and he was wounded, +to have been denied the right of nursing him back to life--my place +usurped by you. Surely, I have as much to be proud of as you and +I love him a great deal more!" + +"As much to be proud of---" Jane was saying, for the moment all +the warmth gone from her voice, the flame from her cheeks; but her +meaning could not have been understood by the other who proudly, +defiantly tossed back her head. Beautiful indeed was this +brown-skinned, black-eyed girl, as she stood there pleading her +rights to an unrequited love--a heart already tenanted by another, +and that other, the womam before her. + +"Now, can you imagine," the girl went on, "how it has hurt me to +see you caring for him, to see his eyes forever searching for you? +No?" They were silent a moment. A wistful look was in her eyes now, +and her voice unmistakably reconcilable when she resumed: "Ah, he +was so good and true when I was alone with them--before you came! I +pray God, now, that he may be well and that you may make him happy." + +"Alas, I am afraid that can never be! You cannot understand, and +I cannot explain." + +"Your family objects because he is poor and a common soldier? Yes?" +She laughed bitterly, a green light in her eyes. "If it were I, no +one could keep me from belonging to him--I would---" + +"Don't! Don't say it! You don't understand!" Jane reiterated. + +"Dios, how I loved him! I would have gone through my whole life +with him! He must have known it, too." + +"He was true to me," said Jane, her figure straightening involuntarily, +a new gleam in her eyes. + +"Ah, you are lucky, senorita! I love you, and I could hate you so +easily! Go! Go! Take him with you and give him life! Forget me as +I shall forget you both!" And impulsively taking from round her +neck an Agnus Dei which she was wearing, she placed it in Jane's +hands, and added: "Give this to him, please, and do not forget to +tell him that I sent good-bye and good luck." + +Jane would have kissed her had not the blazing eyes of the other +forbade. They merely clasped hands, and Teresa turned away. + +"My uncle lives in Manila. He will take me to Maclrid. We cannot +live here with these pigs of Americans about us," she said shortly. +A moment later she was lost in the crowd. + +Jane's heart was heavy when the ship moved away. Her eyes searched +through the throng for the slight figure of the girl who had +abandoned a lost cause. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +"IF THEY DON'T KILL YOU" + + + + + +Jane had been a nurse in the Red Cross society for a little more +than six weeks. She was inexperienced but willing and there was +such urgent need for nurses that the army accepted any and all who +seemed capable of development under the training of experts. There +had been tremendous opposition on the part of the Harbins, but in +the end, finding her unalterably determined, the colonel permitted +her to go out in the service. She was sent forth on the special +expedition in the wake of Major March's forces, her secret desire +being to be near Graydon Bansemer in event of his injury. She +gave no heed to their protest that the name of Bansemer should be +hateful to her; she ignored the ugly remarks of her aunt and the +angry reproaches of the colonel. It was more the spirit of spite +than any other motive which at last compelled him to accept the +situation; he even went so far as to growl to his wife: "Cursed +good riddance, that's what I say. I didn't want her to come in the +first place." + +But when, after a month, she brought Bansemer back to the city, +wounded almost to death, the heart, of the soldier was touched. It +was Colonel Harbin who wrestled with the hospital authorities and, +after two or three days, had her installed regularly as a nurse +for Bansemer, a concession not willingly granted. Those days were +like years to her. She was thin and worn when she came down from +the north, but she was haggard with anxiety and despair when the +two days of suspense were ended. + +Ethel Harbin was her ablest ally. This rather lawless young person +laid aside the hearts with which she was toying and bent her every +endeavour to the cause of romance. It was not long before every +young officer in the city was more or less interested in the welfare +of Graydon Bansemer. She threw a fine cloak of mystery about the +"millionaire's son" and the great devotion of her cousin, The youth +of the army followed Ethel to and from the hospital for days and +days; without Ethel it is quite doubtful if anybody could have known +what a monstrous important personage Private Bansemer really was. + +At the end of a fortnight he was able to sit up and converse with +his nurse and the occasional Ethel, Dr. G---, chief of the ward, +remarked to Colonel Harbin: + +"He'll get well, of course. He can't help it. I never knew before +what society could do for a fellow. He's got a society nurse and +he is visited by a society despot. It beats Christian Science all +to pieces." + +"Do you think he will be able to do any more fighting? Will he be +strong enough?" + +"I don't see why. The government won't let him do it, that's all. +He can claim a pension and get out of service with an honourable +discharge--and maybe a medal. He'll be strong enough, however. That +fellow could go on a hike inside of a month." + +"I suppose we'll all be going home before long. This war is about +over," growled Harbin. + +"No sirree! We'll be fighting these fellows for ten years. Ah, +there's your daughter, Colonel. Good-day." + +With the first returning strength, freed from lassitude and stupor, +Graydon began whispering joyous words of love to Jane. His eyes +were bright with the gladness that his pain had brought. She checked +his weak outbursts at first, but before many days had passed she was +obliged to resort to a firmness that shocked him into a resentful +silence. She was even harsh in her command. It cut her to the quick +to hurt him, but she was steeling herself against the future. + +When he was able to walk out in the grounds, she withdrew farther +into the background of their daily life. He hungered for her, +but she began to avoid him with a strange aloofness that brought +starvation to his heart. While she was ever attentive to his wants, +her smile lacked the tenderness he had known in the days of danger, +and her face was strangely sombre and white. + +"Jane," he said to her one day as he came in from his walk and +laid down his crutches, "this can't go on any longer. What is the +matter? Don't you love me--not at all?" + +She stood straight and serious before him, white to the lips, her +heart as cold as ice. + +"I love you, Graydon, with all my soul. I shall always love you. +Please, please, don't ask any more of me. You understand, don't you? +We cannot be as we once were--never. That is ended. But, you--you +must know that I love you." + +"It is sheer madness, dearest, to take that attitude. What else in +the world matters so long as we love one another? I felt at first +that I could not ask you to be my wife after what my father did +that night. That was as silly of me as this is of you. I did not +contend long against my love. You have never been out of my mind, +night or day. I was tempted more than once to desert-but that was +impossible, you know. It was the terrible eagerness to go back to +you and compel you to be mine. My father did you a grave wrong. +He---" + +"But my father did me a graver wrong, Graydon. I have thought it +all out. I have no right to be alive, so what right have I to be +any man's wife?" + +"Nonsense, dearest. You are alive, and you live for me, as I do +for you. You have saved my life; you must save my love. These last +few weeks have knit our lives together so completely that neither +of us has the right to change God's evident purpose. I love you +for yourself, Jane. That is enough. There has not been an instant +in which I have felt that any circumstance could alter my hope to +marry you. You say; you have no name. You forget that you may have +mine, dearest--and it is not much to be proud of, I fear, in the +light of certain things. You must be my wife, Jane." + +"I cannot, Graydon. That is final. Don't! Don't plead, dear. It +will not avail. Look into my eyes. Don't you see that I mean it, +Graydon?" + +"By Heaven, Jane, your eyes are lying to me. You can't mean what +is back of them. It's cruel--it's wrong" + +"Hush! you must not become excited. You are far from strong, and +I am still your nurse. Be---" + +"You are my life--you are everything. I can't give you up It's +ridiculous to take this stand. Be sensible. Look at it from my +point of view." + +"There is only one point of view and love has nothing to do with +it. Come, let us talk of something else. Have you heard from +your--your father? Does he know you've been injured?" + +He looked long into her tense face and then muttered, with the +sullen despair of the sick: "I don't know. I've had no word from +anyone." + +"The despatches have doubtless given your name. One of the Chicago +correspondents was talking about you recently. Your father will +surely write to you now." + +"Are you eager to have him do so? I should think you'd hate his +name. I can't help caring for dad, Jane. I tried to curse him one +time, but he really has been good to me. I don't see how he can +have done the things they say he's done." + +"There may be a mistake." + +That's good of you, dear, but you forget your mother's statements +and all that Rigby says--all that. Oh, I've gone over all of it, +and I am convinced. I wonder what has become of him. He was afraid +of--of--well, there was talk of an arrest before I left. I have not +looked at a newspaper since I saw the headlines that awful morning. +God, how they must have hurt you!" + +"I, too, have not looked at a newspaper since then, Graydon," she +said simply. He smiled wearily and there was response in her eyes. + +He took her hand in his and they sat silently side by side on the +bench for half an hour, their thoughts far away but of one another. + +"Graydon," she said at last, "are you going to remain in the army?" + +"No, I am through with it. My discharge is to be recommended. I'm +disabled." + +"You will be as strong as ever, dear." + +"Do you want me to stick to the army? I am only a private." + +"You can do greater things out in the world, I know. You will be +a great man if you don't lose heart, Graydon." + +"I can't be a soldier, dear, and support a wife on the pay I get," +he said with a smile. + +"You shouldn't marry," + +"But I am going to marry," he said. + +"I have decided to become a nurse. It is my intention to give my +whole life to---" + +"The Red Cross?" + +"No. The hospitals at home--the hospitals for the poor and homeless." + +Ethel Harbin was coming through the grounds toward them. Her face +was clouded by a dark frown and she was visibly excited. + +"It's all off," she announced as she came up. + +"Where is the usual hero?" asked Graydon. + +"I'm through with the real army. They've dismissed me. That is father +and mother have. They are driving me into the Salvation Army," she +exclaimed, seating herself beside Graydon. "I wish I were Jane and +my own mistress." + +"Dear me, Ethel, what an ambition!" said Jane. "What has happened +to upset you so?" + +"Father has." + +"I should have asked who, not what." + +"I suppose they expect me to marry a Salvation Army man. They say +Harry isn't good enough. I think he is a very moral young man." + +"Harry? Who is Harry?" + +"Why, haven't you heard? Harry Soper. I'm engaged to him." + +"The lieutenant?" + +"Certainly. He's going to be promoted, though, if he ever gets on +the firing line. It's not his fault that he has to do duty in the +walled city. He's aching to get out and fight. But father---" Here +she paused, her lips coming together with a firmness that boded +ill. + +"Colonel Harbin doesn't approve?" + +"No--he says Harry is a 'little pup.' It's outrageous, Jane." + +"Don't cry, dear. The world is full of men." + +"Not for me," said Ethel dolefully. "I've picked Harry out of a +hundred or more and I think my discrimination ought to be considered. +I'm the one to be satisfied. Father has no---" + +"But how about that young fellow back in New York? You used to say +he was the only one." + +"He is the only one in New York. But look how far off he is! It +takes weeks for his letters to get to me." + +"But he writes every day." + +"Harry telephones every day. I tell you, Jane, the voice has a good +deal to do with it. You like to HEAR a fellow say nice things. It +beats ink all to pieces. It will go hard with him, perhaps, but +he's young. He'll get over it." + +"You are young, too. That is why you have gotten over George." + +"I'm not as young as I was. But I've decided on Harry. If father +doesn't let us get married right away, I'm liable to get over +him, too. It's silly doing that all the time; one might never get +married, you know. But father is firm. He says I can't, and he +says he'll kick Harry into the middle of next summer. Father says +I shall not marry into the regular army. He says they don't make +good husbands. I've got the joke on him, though. He appealed to +mother, and she forgot herself and said the same thing. They were +quarrelling about it when I left the hotel. It was an awful jar to +father. For two cents I'd elope with Harry." + +"It would be pretty difficult for an officer on duty to elope, +don't you think?" asked Graydon, amused. + +"Not if he loved the girl. He does, too. But I haven't told you +the worst. Mother says I am being absolutely spoiled out here in +Manila, and she says flatly, that she's going to take me back to +the States. Isn't it awful?" + +"Back to the fellow in New York?" smiled Jane encouragingly. + +Ethel thought for a moment and a dear little smile came into her +troubled eyes. + +"I hope he hasn't gone and fallen in love with some other girl," +she said. + +It was true, as Jane soon learned, that Mrs. Harbin had concluded +to return to the United States with Ethel. Jane's aunt had grown +immeasurably tired of Manila--and perhaps a little more tired of the +Colonel. It was she who aroused the Colonel's antipathy to little +Lieutenant Soper. She dwelt upon the dire misfortune that was +possible if Ethel continued to bask in the society of "those young +ninnies." The Colonel developed a towering rage and a great fear +that Ethel might become fatally contaminated before she could +be whisked off of the island. It was decided that Mrs. Harbin and +Ethel should return to the United States soon after the first of +March, to take up their residence in New York City. + +"Mother wants to be a soldier's widow--on parole," sniffed Ethel, +almost audibly enough for her father's ears. + +Mrs. Harbin at once informed Jane that she was expected to return +with them. She demurred at first, purely for the sake of appearances, +but in the end agreed to tender her resignation to the Red Cross +society. The knowledge that Graydon Bansemer's discharge was soon +forthcoming and that he intended to return to America in the spring +had more to do with this decision than she was willing to admit. +She therefore announced her ambition to become a trained nurse and +gave no heed to Mrs. Harbin's insinuating smile. + +Letters, of late, from Mrs. Cable, had been urging her to return to +Chicago; David Cable was far from well--breaking fast--and he was +wearing out his heart in silent longing for her return. He wrote to +her himself that he expected to retire from active business early +in the year, and that his time and fortune from that day on would +be devoted to his family. He held out attractive visions of travel, +of residence abroad, of endless pleasure which they could enjoy +together. + +Jane had written to them that she would not live in Chicago--any +place else in the world, she said--and they understood. There was +no word of James Bansemer in all these letters. She was always +daughter to them and they were father and mother. + +Graydon Bansemer one day received three letters--all from Chicago. +He knew the handwriting on the envelope of each. Three men had +written to him, his father, Elias Droom, and Rigby. A dark scowl +came over his face as he looked at the Rigby envelope. It was the +first letter that he opened and read. Jane was sitting near by +watching the expression on his face. + +"It's from Rigby," he said as he finished. + +"What does he say?" she asked anxiously. + +"He says he is my devoted friend for life," replied Graydon bitterly. +"I can't forget, though, Jane. He is not the sort of friend I want." + +"He thought it was for the best, Graydon." + +"Yes, and he may have thought he was my friend, too. This letter +says as much. But I like an enemy better, dear. You know what to +expect of an enemy at all times. Here's one from Elias Droom--old +Elias." Droom scrawled a few words of cheer to the young soldier, +urging him not to re-enlist, but to come home, at the end of +his two years. He enclosed a letter from Mr. Clegg, in which that +gentleman promised to put Graydon in charge of their New York office, +if he would take the place. This news sent his spirits bounding. +Tears of a gratefulness he never expected to feel sprang to his +eyes. Jane's happiness was a reflection of his own. + +James Bansemer's letter was not read aloud to Jane. When he had +finished the perusal of the long epistle he folded it and stuck +it away in his pocket. His eyes seemed a bit wistful and his face +drawn, but there was no word to let her know what had been written +by the man who had denounced her. + +"He is well," was all he said. He did not tell her that his father +had urged him to go into business in the Philippines, saying that +he would provide ample means with which to begin and carry on any +enterprise he cared to exploit. One paragraph cut Graydon to the +quick: + +"I'd advise you to steer clear of Chicago. If they don't kill you +in the Philippines, you're better off there. They hate us here." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +HOMEWARD BOUND + + + + + +Early in March a great transport sailed from Manila Bay, laden with +sick and disabled soldiers--the lame, the healthless and the mad. +It was not a merry shipload, although hundreds were rejoicing in the +escape from the hardships of life in the islands. Graydon Bansemer +was among them, weak and distrustful of his own future--albeit +a medal of honour and the prospect of an excellent position were +ahead of him. His discharge was assured. He had served his country +briefly, but well, and he was not loath to rest on his insignificant +laurels and to respect the memory of the impulse which had driven +him into service. In his heart he felt that time would make him as +strong as ever, despite the ugly scar in his side. It was a question +with him, however, whether time could revive the ambition that had +been smothered during the first days of despair. He looked ahead +with keen inquiry, speculating on the uncertain whirl of fortune's +wheel. + +Jane was obduracy itself in respect to his pleadings. A certain +light in her eyes had, at last, brought conviction to his soul. He +began to fear--with a mighty pain--that she would not retreat from +the stand she had taken. + +She went on board with Mrs. Harbin and Ethel. There were other +wives on board who had found temporary release from irksome but +voluntary enlistment. Jane's resignation from the Red Cross society +deprived her of the privileges which would have permitted her to +see much of Graydon. They were kept separated by the transport's +regulations; he was a common soldier, she of the officer's mess. +The restrictions were cruel and relentless. They saw but little of +one another during the thirty days; but their thoughts were busy +with the days to come. Graydon grew stronger and more confident +as the ship forged nearer to the Golden Gate; Jane more wistful +and resigned to the new purpose which was to give life another +colouring, if possible. They were but one day out from San Francisco +when he found the opportunity to converse with her as she passed +through the quarters of the luckless ones. + +"Jane, I won't take no for an answer this time," he whispered +eagerly; "you must consent. Do you want to ruin both of our lives?" + +"Why will you persist, Graydon? You know I cannot--" + +"You can. Consider me as well as yourself. I want you. Isn't that +enough? You can't ask for more love than I will give. To-morrow +we'll be on shore. I have many things to do before I am at liberty +to go my way. Won't you wait for me? It won't be long. We can be +married in San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Cable are to meet you. Tell +them, dearest, that you want to go home with me. The home won't be +in Chicago; but it will be home just the same." + +"Dear Graydon, I am sorry--I am heartsick. But I cannot--I dare +not." + +Graydon Bansemer was a man as well as a lover. He gave utterance +to a perfectly man-like expression, coming from the bottom of his +tried soul: + +"It's damned nonsense, Jane!" He said it so feelingly that she +smiled even as she shook her head and moved away. "I'll see you +to-morrow on shore?" he called, repentant and anxious. + +"Yes!" + +The next day they landed. Graydon waved an anxious farewell to +her as he was hurried off with the lame, the halt, and the blind. +He saw David Cable and his wife on the pier and, in spite of +himself, he could not repel an eager, half-fearful glance through +the crowd of faces. Although he did not expect his father to meet +him, he dreaded the thought that he might be there, after all. To +his surprise, as he stood waiting with his comrades, he saw David +Cable turn suddenly, and, after a moment's hesitation, wave his +hand to him, the utmost friendship in his now haggard face. His +heart thumped joyously at this sign of amity. + +As the soldiers moved away, Cable paused and looked after him, a +grim though compassionate expression in his eyes. He and Jane were +ready to confront the customs officers. + +"I wonder if he knows about his father," mused he. Jane caught her +breath and looked at him with something like terror in her eyes. +He abruptly changed the subject, deploring his lapse into the past +from which they were trying to shield her. + +The following morning Graydon received a note from Cable, a frank +but carefully worded message, in which he was invited to take the +trip East in the private car of the President of the Pacific, Lakes +& Atlantic. Mrs. Cable joined her husband in the invitation; one of +the sore spots in Graydon's conscience was healed by this exhibition +of kindness. Moreover, Cable stated that his party would delay +departure until Graydon's papers were passed upon and he was free +from red tape restrictions. + +The young man, on landing, sent telegrams to his father and Elias +Droom, the latter having asked him to notify him as soon as he +reached San Francisco. Graydon was not a little puzzled by the fact +that the old clerk seemed strangely at variance with his father, +in respect to the future. In both telegrams, he announced that he +would start East as soon as possible. + +There was a letter from Droom awaiting him at headquarters. It was +brief, but it specifically urged him to accept the place proposed +by Mr. Clegg, and reiterated his pressing command to the young man +to stop for a few days in Chicago. In broad and characteristically +uncouth sentences, he assured him that while the city held no +grudge against him, and that the young men would welcome him with +open arms--his groundless fears to the contrary--he would advise +him to choose New York. There was one rather sentimental allusion +to "old Broadway" and another to "Grennitch," as he wrote it. In +conclusion, he asked him to come to the office, which was still in +the U----Building, adding that if he wished to avoid the newspaper +men he could find seclusion at the old rooms in Wells Street. +"Your father," he said, "has given up his apartment and has taken +lodgings. I doubt very much if he will be willing to share them +with you, in view of the position he has assumed in regard to your +future; although he says you may always call upon him for pecuniary +assistance." A draft for five hundred dollars was enclosed with +the letter. + +Graydon was relieved to find that there would be no irksome delay +attending his official discharge. When he walked out a "free man," +as he called it, a gentlemanly pension attorney locked arms with +him, and hung on like a leech, until the irritated soldier shook +him off with less consideration than vigour. + +He went directly to the Palace Hotel, where he knew the Cables were +stopping. David Cable came down in response to his card. The two +men shook hands, each eyeing the other inquiringly for an instant. + +"I want you to understand, Graydon, that I am your friend. Nothing +has altered my esteem for you." + +"Thank you, Mr. Cable. I hardly expected it." + +"I don't see why, my boy. But, we'll let all that pass. Mrs. Cable +wants to see you." + +"Before we go any farther I want to make myself clear to you. I +still hope to marry Jane. She says she cannot become my wife. You +understand why, sir. I only want to tell you that her objections +are not objections to me. She is Jane and I love her, sir, because +she is." + +"I hope you can win her over, Graydon. She seems determined, +however, and she is unhappy. You can't blame her, either. If there +were base or common blood in her, it wouldn't make much difference +to her pride. But she's made of other material. She's serious about +it and I am sensible enough to get her point of view. She wouldn't +want to marry you with the prospect of an eternal shadow that +neither of you could get off of your minds. I sometimes wish that +I knew who were her parents." + +"It doesn't matter, so far as I am concerned." + +"I know, my boy, but she is thinking of the heritage that comes +down from her mother to her. You'll never know how it hurt me to +find that I had no daughter. It hurts her worse a thousandfold to +learn that she has no mother. I trust it may not happen that you +will lose her as a wife." + +"If I really thought I couldn't win her, sir, it would ruin my +ambition in life. She loves me, I'm sure." + +"By the way, Clegg tells me he has offered you the New York office. +It is a splendid chance for you. You will take it, of course." + +"I expect to talk it over with Mr. Clegg when I get to Chicago." + +"Come up to our apartments. Oh, pardon me, Graydon, I want to ask +you if you have sufficient money to carry you through? I know the +pay of a private is not great--" + +"Thank you. I have saved nearly all of it. My father has sent me +a draft for five hundred. I don't expect to use it, of course." + +"Your father?" asked Cable, with a quick, searching look. + +"And then I did save something in Chicago, strange as it may seem," +said Bansemer, with a smile. "I have a few of your five per cents. +I trust the road is all right?" + +The Cables left San Francisco on the following day, accompanied by +the Harbins and Graydon Bansemer. There was no mistaking the joy +which lay under restraint in the faces and attitude of the Cables. +David Cable had grown younger and less grey, it seemed, and his +wife was glowing with a new and subdued happiness. Graydon, sitting +with the excited Ethel--who was rejoicing in the prospect of New +York and the other young man--studied the faces of the three people +who sat at the other end of the coach. + +Time had wrought its penalties. Cable was thin and his face had +lost its virility, but not its power. His eyes never left the face +of Jane, who was talking in an earnest, impassioned manner, as was +her wont in these days. Frances Cable's face was a study in transition. +She had lost the colour and vivacity of a year ago, although the +change was not apparent to the casual observer. Graydon could see +that she had suffered in many ways. The keen, eager appeal for +appreciation was gone from her eyes; in its stead was the appeal +for love and contentedness. Happiness, now struggling against the +smarting of a sober pain, was giving a sweetness to her eyes that +had been lost in the ambitious glitter of other days. Ethel bored +him--a most unusual condition. He longed to be under the tender, +quieting influences at the opposite end of the car. He even resented +his temporary exile. + +"Jane," Cable was saying with gentle insistence; "it is not just +to him. He loves you and you are not doing the right thing by him." + +"You'll find I am right in the end," she said stubbornly. + +"I can't bear the thought of your going out as a trained nurse, +dear," protested Frances Cable. "There is no necessity. You can +have the best of homes and in any place you like. Why waste your +life in--" + +"Waste, mother? It would be wasting my life if I did not find an +occupation for it. I can't be idle. I can't exist forever in your +love and devotion." + +"Good Lord, child, don't be foolish," exclaimed Cable. "That hurts +me more than you think. Everything we have is yours." + +"I'm sorry I said it, daddy. I did not mean it in that way. It +isn't the money, you know, and it isn't the home, either. No, you +must let me choose my own way of living the rest of my life. I came +from a foundling hospital. A good and tender nurse found me there +and gave me the happiest years of my life. I shall go back there +and give the rest of my years to children who are less fortunate +than I was. I want to help them, mother, just as you did--only it +is different with me." + +"You'll see it differently some day," said Mrs. Cable earnestly. + +"I don't object to your helping the foundlings, Jane," said Cable, +"but I don't see why you have to be a nurse to do it. Other women +support such causes and not as nurses, either. It's--" + +"It's my way, daddy, that's all," she said firmly. + +"Then why, in the name of Heaven, were you so unkind as to keep +that poor boy over there alive when he might have died and ended +his misery? You nursed him back to life only to give him a wound +that cannot be healed. You would ruin his life, Jane. Is it fair? +Damn me, I'm uncouth and hard in many ways--I had a hard, unkind +beginning--but I really believe I've got more heart in me than you +have." + +"David!" exclaimed his wife. Jane looked at the exasperated man in +surprise. + +"Now here's what I intend you to do: you owe me something for the +love that I give to you; you owe Graydon something for keeping him +from dying. If you want to go into the nursing business, all right. +But I'm going to demand some of your devotion for my own sake before +that time comes. I've loved you all of your life--" + +"And I've loved you, daddy," she gasped. + +"And I'm going to ask you to begin your nursing career by attending +to me. I'm sick for want of your love. I'm giving up business for +the sake of enjoying it unrestrained. Your mother and I expect it. +We are going abroad for our health and we are going to take you +with us. Right now is where you begin your career as a nurse. You've +got to begin by taking care of the love that is sick and miserable. +We want it to live, my dear. Now, I want a direct decision--at +once: will you take charge of two patients on a long-contemplated +trip in search of love and rest--wages paid in advance?" + +She looked at him, white-faced and stunned. He was putting it +before her fluently and in a new light. She saw what it was that he +considered that she owed them--the love of a daughter, after all. + +An hour later she stood with Graydon on the rear platform of the +car. He was trying to talk calmly of the country through which +they were rushing and she was looking pensively down the rails that +slipped out behind them. + +"We'll be in Chicago in three days," he remarked. + +"Graydon, I have decided to go abroad for five or six months before +starting upon my work. They want me so much, you see," she said, +her voice a trifle uncertain. + +"I wish I could have some power to persuade you," he said. Changing +his tone to one of brisk interest, he went on. "It is right, dear. +It will do you great good and it will be a joy to them. I'll miss +you." + +"And I shall miss you, Graydon," she said, her eyes very solemn +and wistful. + +"Won't you--won't you give me the promise I want, Jane?" he asked +eagerly. She placed her hand upon his and shook her head. + +"Won't you be good to me, Graydon? Don't make it so hard for me. +Please, please don't tell me again that you love me." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE WRECKAGE + + + + + +The spring floods delayed the Eastern Express, bringing the party +to Chicago nearly a day late. The Cables and the Harbins went +at once to the Annex, where David Cable had taken rooms. They had +given up their North Side home some months before, both he and his +wife retiring into the seclusion that a great hotel can afford when +necessary. + +Graydon hurried off to his father's office, eager, yet half fearing +to meet the man who was responsible for the broken link in his +life--this odd year. He recalled, as he drove across town, that a +full year had elapsed since he spent that unforgettable night in +Elias Droom's uncanny home. Was he never to forget that night--that +night when his soul seemed even more squalid than the home of the +recluse? + +All of his baggage, except a suit case, had been left at the +station. He did not know what had become of his belongings in the +former home of his father. Nor, for that matter, did he care. + +At the U---- Building he ventured a diffident greeting to the +elevator boy, whom he remembered. The boy looked at him quizzically +and nodded with customary aloofness. Graydon found himself hoping +that he would not meet Bobby Rigby. He also wondered, as the car +shot up, how his father had managed to escape from the meshes that +were drawn about him on the eve of his departure. His chances had +looked black and hopeless enough then; yet, he still maintained +the same old offices in the building. His name was on the directory +board downstairs. Graydon's heart gave a quick bound with the +thought that his father had proved the charges false after all. + +Elias Droom was busy directing the labours of two able-bodied men +and a charwoman, all of whom were toiling as they had never toiled +before. The woman was dusting law books and the men were packing +them away in boxes. The front room of the suite was in a state of +devastation. A dozen boxes stood about the floor; rugs and furniture +were huddled in the most remote corner awaiting the arrival of the +"second-hand man"; the floor was littered with paper. Droom was +directing operations with a broken umbrella. It seemed like a lash +to the toilers. + +"Now, let's get through with this room," he was saying in his most +impelling way. "The men will be here for the boxes at four. I don't +want 'em to wait. This back room stuff we'll put in the trunks. +Look out there! Don't you see that nail?" + +Eddie Deever, with his usual indolence, was seated upon the edge +of the writing table in the corner, smoking his cigarette, and +commenting with rash freedom upon the efforts of the perspiring +slaves. + +"How long are you going to keep these things in the warehouse?" he +asked of Droom. + +"I'm not going to keep them there at all. They belong to Mr. +Bansemer. He'll take them out when he has the time." + +"He's getting all the time he wants now, I guess." commented Eddie. +"Say, talking about time, I'll be twenty-one next Tuesday." + +"Old enough to marry." + +"I don't know about that. I'm getting pretty wise. Do you know, +I've just found out how old Rosie Keating is? She's twenty-nine. +Gee, it's funny how a fellow always gets stuck on a girl older than +himself! Still, she's all right. I'm not saying a word against her. +She wouldn't be twenty-nine if she could help it." + +"I suppose it's off between you, then." + +"I don't know about that, either. We lunched at Rector's to-day. +That don't look like it's off, does it? Four sixty-five, including +the tip. She don't look twenty-nine, does she?" + +"I've never noticed her." + +"Never--well, holy mackerel! You must be blind then. She says she's +seen you in the elevator a thousand times. Never noticed HER? Gee!" + +"I mean, I've never noticed anyone who looked less than twenty-nine. +By the way, do you ever see Mr. Rigby? I believe she is in his +office." + +"I don't go to Rigby's any more," said Eddie, with sudden stiffness. +"He's a cheap skate." + +"I HEARD he threw you out of the office one day," with a dry cackle. + +"He did not! We couldn't agree in certain things regarding the +Bansemer affair, that's all. I told him to go to the devil, or +words to that effect." + +"Something loose about your testimony, I believe, wasn't there?" + +"Oh, the whole thing doesn't amount to a whoop. I'm trying to get +Rosie another job. She oughtn't to write in there with that guy." + +"Well, you're twenty-one. Why don't you open an office of your own? +Your mother's got plenty of money. She can buy you a library and +a sign, and that is all a young lawyer needs in Chicago." + +"Mother wants me to run for alderman in our ward, next spring. I'll +be able to vote at that election." + +"You've got as much right in the council as some others, I suppose." + +"Sure, mother owns property. The West Side ought to be as well +represented as the North Side. Property interests is what we need +in the council. That's--" + +"I don't care to hear a political speech, boy. Are you busy this +afternoon?" + +"No. I wouldn't be here if I was." + +"Then get up there and hand those books down to me. Nobody loafs +in this office to-day." + +"Well, doggone, if that isn't the limit! All right. Don't get mad. +I'll do it." The young gentleman leisurely ascended to the top of +the stepladder and fell into line under the lash. + +"Young Mr. Graydon Bansemer will be here this afternoon," said +Droom. "I want to get things cleaned up a bit beforehand." + +"How does he feel about his father?" + +"He doesn't know about him, I'm afraid." + +"Gee! Well, it'll jar him a bit, won't it?" + +The office door was opened suddenly and a tall young man strode +into the room, only to stop aghast at the sight before him. Droom's +lank figure swayed uncertainly and his eyes wavered. + +"What's all this?" cried Graydon, dropping his bag and coming toward +the old man, his hand outstretched. Droom's clammy fingers rested +lifelessly in the warm clasp. + +"How are you, Graydon? I'm--I'm very glad to see you. You are +looking well. Oh, this? We--we are moving," said the old man. The +helpers looked on with interest. "Come into the back office. It +isn't so torn up. I didn't expect you so soon. They said it was +twenty-four hours late. Well, well, how are you, my boy?" + +"I'm quite well again, Elias. Hard siege of it, I tell you. Moving, +eh? What's that for?" + +"Never mind those books, Eddie. Thank you for helping me. Come in +some other time. You fellows--I mean you--pack the rest of these +and then I'll tell you what to do next. Come in, Graydon." + +Eddie Deever took his departure, deeply insulted because he had +not been introduced to the newcomer. Graydon, somewhat bewildered, +followed Droom into his father's consultation room. He looked around +inquiringly. + +"Where is father? I telegraphed to him." + +An incomprehensible grin came into Droom's face. He twirled the +umbrella in his fingers a moment before replying. His glance at +the closed door was no more significant than his lowered tones. + +"It didn't go very well with him, Graydon. He isn't here any more." + +"What do you mean?" + +"I mean the trial. There was a trial, you see. Haven't you heard +anything?" + +"Trial? He--he was arrested?" came numbly from the young man's +lips. + +"I can't mince matters, Graydon. I'll get it over as quickly as +possible. Your father was tried for blackmail and was convicted. +He is in--he's in the penitentiary." + +The son's face became absolutely bloodless; his eyes were full +of comprehension and horror, and his body stiffened as if he were +turning to stone. The word penitentiary fell slowly, mechanically +from his lips. He looked into Droom's eyes, hoping it might be a +joke of the calloused old clerk. + +"You--it--it can't be true," he murmured, his trembling hands going +to his temples. + +"Yes, my boy, it is true. I didn't write to you about it, because +I wanted to put it off as long as I could. It's for five years." + +"God!" burst from the wretched son. A wave of shame and grief sent +the tears flooding to his eyes. "Poor old dad!" He turned and walked +to the window, his shoulders heaving. Droom stood silent for a long +time, watching Bansemer's son, pity and triumph in his face. + +"Do you want to hear about it?" he asked at last. Graydon's head +was bent in assent. + +"It came the day after you left Chicago with the recruits. I knew +you would not read the newspapers. So did he. Harbert swore out +the papers and he was arrested here in this office. I believe he +would have killed himself if he had been given time. His revolver +was--er--not loaded. Before the officers came he discharged me. +I was at liberty to go or to testify against him. I did neither. +Of course, I was arrested, but they could only prove that I was a +clerk who knew absolutely nothing about the inside workings of the +office. I offered to go on his bond but he would not have me. He +made some arrangement, through his attorney, and bail was secured. +In spite of the fact that he was charged with crime, he insisted on +keeping these offices and trying to do business. It wasn't because +he needed money, Graydon, but because he wanted to lead an honest +life, he said. He has a great deal of money, let me tell you. The +grand jury indicted him last spring but the trial did not come up +until last month--nearly a year later--so swift is justice in this +city. In the meantime, I saw but little of him. I was working on +an invention and, besides, there were detectives watching every +movement I made. I stuck close to my rooms. By the way, I want to +show you a couple of models I have perfected. Don't let me forget +it. They--" + +"Yes, yes--but father? Go on!" + +"Well, the trial came up at last. That man Harbert is a devil. He +had twenty witnesses, any one of whom could have convicted your +father. How he got onto them, I can't imagine. He uncovered every +deal we've--er--he had in Chicago and--" + +"Then he really was guilty!" groaned Graydon. + +"Yes, my boy, I knew it, of course. They could not force me to +testify against him, however. I was too smart for them. Well, to +make it short, he was sentenced five weeks ago. The motion for a +new trial was overruled. He went to Joliet. If he had been a popular +alderman or ward boss he would have been out yet on continuances, +spending most of his sentence in some fasionable hotel, to say the +least." + +"Is he--wearing stripes?" + +"Yes, it's the fashion there." + +"For God's sake, don't jest. For five years!" The young man sank +into a chair and covered his face with his hands. + +"There'll be something off for good behaviour, my boy. He wanted +to behave well before he went there, so I suppose he'll keep it +up. The whole town was against him. He didn't have a friend." + +"How did you escape?" demanded Graydon, looking up suddenly. +"State's evidence?" + +"No, not even after he tried to put most of the blame upon me. He +tried that, my boy. I just let him talk. It saved me from prison. +Usually the case with the man who keeps his mouth closed." + +"But, Elias--Elias, why have I been kept in the dark? Why did he +not tell me about it? Why has--" + +"You forget, Graydon, that you turned from him first. You were +really the first to condemn him. He wanted you to stay away from +this country until he is free. That was his plan. He didn't want +to see you. Now he wants you to come to him. He wants you to bring +Jane Cable to see him." + +"What!" + +"Yes, that's it. I believe he intends to tell her the names of +her father and mother. I think he wants her to forgive him and he +wants to hear both of you say it to him." + +Graydon stared blankly from the window. The old clerk was smiling +to himself, an evil, gloating smile that would have shocked Bansemer +had he turned suddenly. + +"He wants both of us to--to come to the penitentiary?" muttered +the son. + +"Yes, as soon as possible. Do you think she'll go?" demanded Droom +anxiously. + +"I don't know. I'm afraid not." + +"Not even to learn who her parents are?" + +"It might tempt her. But she hates father." + +"Well, she can gloat over him, can't she? That ought to be some +satisfaction. Talk it over with her. She's here, isn't she?" + +"Elias, do you know who her parents were?" asked Graydon quickly. +"I've thought you knew as much about it as father." + +The old man's eyes shifted. + +"It's a silly question to ask of me. I was not a member of the Four +Hundred, my boy." + +"Nor was my father. Yet you think he knows." + +"He's a much smarter man than I, Graydon. You'll go with me to see +him?" + +"Yes. I can't speak for Miss Cable." + +"See her to-morrow. Come out to my place to-night, where the reporters +can't find you. Maybe you won't care to sleep with me--I've but +one bed, you see--but you can go to a quiet hotel downtown. I'm +packing these things to store them for your father. Then I'm going +back to New York to live on my income. It's honest money, too." + +"Who sent me the draft for five hundred?" + +"I did, Graydon. Forgive me. It was just a loan, you know. I thought +you'd need something--" + +"I haven't touched it, Elias. Here it is. Thank you. No, I won't +accept it." + +"I'm sorry," muttered the old man, taking the slip of paper. + +Graydon resumed his seat near the window and watched Droom with +leaden eyes as he turned suddenly to resume charge of the packing. +"We'll soon be through," he said shortly. + +For an hour the work went on, and then Droom dismissed the workers +with their pay. The storage van men were there to carry the boxes +away. Graydon sat still and saw the offices divested. Secondhand +dealers hurried off with the furniture, the pictures and the rugs; +an expressman came in for the things that belonged to Elias Droom. + +"There," said the clerk, tossing the umbrella into a corner. "It's +finished. There's nothing left to do but remove ourselves." + +"Elias, did Mr. Clegg know about father's conviction when he offered +me the place in New York?" asked Graydon as they started away. + +"Yes, that's the beauty of it. He admires you. You'll take the +place?" + +"Not until I've talked it all over with him--to-morrow." + +Droom called a cab and the two drove over to the Wells Street +rooms, Graydon relinquishing himself completely to the will of the +old man. During the supper, which Droom prepared with elaborate +care, and far into the night, the young man sat and listened +without interest to the garrulous talk of his host, who explained +the mechanism and purpose of two models. + +One was in the nature of a guillotine by which a person could chop +his own head off neatly without chance of failure, and the other +had to do with the improvement of science in respect to shoelaces. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +THE DRINK OF GALL + + + + + +Mr. Clegg was not long in convincing Graydon that his proposition +to him was sincere and not the outgrowth of sentiment. A dozen men +in the office greeted Graydon with a warmth that had an uplifting +effect. He went away with a heart lighter than he had once imagined +it could ever be again. In two weeks he was to be in absolute +control of the New York branch; he assured the firm that his physical +condition was such that he could go to work at once, if necessary. + +As he hastened to the Annex, misgivings again entered into his soul. +The newspapers had heralded his return and had hinted broadly at +romantic developments in connection with Miss Cable, "who is at +the Annex with Mr. and Mrs. Cable." There were brief references to +the causes which sent both of them to the Philippines, find that +was all. + +Without hesitation, he came to the point by asking if she knew what +had befallen his father. Jane had heard the news the night before. +He thereupon put the whole situation before her just as it had +been suggested in Droom's ironical remark. It was not until after +the question had been passed upon by Mr. and Mrs. Cable that +she reluctantly consented to visit Graydon's father--solely for +the purpose of gleaning what information she could regarding her +parentage. + +They left the next day with Elias Droom, depressed, nervous, dreading +the hour ahead of them. Neither was in the mood to respond to the +eager, excited remarks of the old clerk. The short railroad trip +was one never to be forgotten; impressions were left in their lives +that could not be effaced. + +James Bansemer, shorn and striped, was not expecting visitors. He +was surprised and angry when he was told that visitors were waiting +to see him. For four weeks he had laboured clumsily and sourly in +the shoe factory of the great prison, a hauler and carrier. His +tall figure was bent with unusual toil, his hands were sore and his +heart was full of the canker of rebellion. Already, in that short +time, his face had taken on the look of the convict. All the +viciousness in his nature had gone to his face and settled there. +He had the sullen, dogged, patient look of the man who has a number +but no name. + +The once dignified, aggressive walk had degenerated into a slouch; +he shuffled as he came to the bars where he was to meet his first +visitors. He was not pleased but he was curious. Down in his heart +he found a hope that his attorney had come with good news. It was +not until he was almost face to face with his son that he realised +who it was; not until then that he felt the full force of shame, +ignominy, loathing for himself. + +He started back with an involuntary oath and would have slunk +away had not Graydon called out to him--called out in a voice full +of pain and misery. The convict's face was ashen and his jaw hung +loose with the paralysis of dismay; his heart dropped like a chunk +of ice, his feet were as leaden weights. A look of utter despair +came into his hard eyes as he slowly advanced to the bars. + +"My God, Graydon, why did you come? Why did you come here?" he +muttered. Then he caught sight of Jane and Elias Droom. His eyes +dropped and his fingers twitched; to save his life he could not +have kept his lower lip from trembling nor the burning tears from +his eyes. His humiliation was complete. + +A malevolent grin was on Droom's face; his staring blue eyes looked +with a great joy upon the shamed, beaten man in the stripes. The +one thing that he had longed for and cherished had come to pass; +he had lived to see James Bansemer utterly destroyed even in his +own eyes. + +"Father, I can't believe it. I can't tell you how it hurts me. +I would willingly take your place if it were possible. Forgive me +for deserting you--" Graydon was saying incoherently when his father +lifted his face suddenly, a fierce, horrified look of understanding +in the eyes that flashed upon Elias Droom. Even as he clasped his +son's hand in the bitterness of small joy, his lips curled into +a snarl of fury. Droom's eyes shifted instantly, his uneasy gaze +directing itself as usual above the head of its victim. + +"You did this, curse you!" came from the convict's livid lips. "And +this girl, too! Good God, you knew I would rather have died than +to meet Graydon as I am now. You knew it and you brought him here. +I hope you will rot in hell for this, Elias Droom. She comes here, +too, to gloat--to rejoice--to see how I look before my son in +prison stripes!" He went on violently for a long stretch, ending +with a sob of rage. "I suppose you are satisfied," he said hoarsely +to Droom. + +Graydon and Jane looked on in surprise and distress. Droom's gaze +did not swerve nor his expression change. + +"Father, didn't you expect me to come?" asked Graydon. "Don't you +want to see me?" + +"Not here. Why should I have tried to keep you from returning to +this country? God knows how I hoped and prayed that you'd not see +me here. Elias Droom knew it. That's why he brought you here. Don't +lie to me, Droom. I know it!" + +"What could you expect?" mumbled Droom. "Down in your heart you +wanted to see him. I've done you a kindness." + +"For which I'll repay you some day," cried the prisoner, a steady +look in his eyes. "Now go away, all of you! I'm through with you. +You've seen me. The girl is satisfied. Go--" + +"Nonsense, father," cried Graydon, visibly distressed by his father's +anguish. "Elias said that you wanted to see us. Jane did not come +out of curiosity. She is here to ask justice of you; she's not +seeking vengeance." + +"I'll talk to you alone," said the prisoner shortly. "Send her +away. I've nothing to say to her or Droom." + +Jane turned and walked swiftly away, followed by Droom, who rubbed +his long fingers together and tried to look sympathetic. The interview +that ensued between father and son was never to be forgotten by +either. Graydon heard his father's bitter story in awed silence; +heard him curse deeply and vindictively; heard all this and marvelled +at the new and heretofore unexposed side of his nature. + +There was something pathetic in the haggard face and the expressions +of impotent rage. His heart softened when his father bared his +shame to him and cried out against the fate which had brought them +together on this day. + +"It doesn't matter, father," said Graydon hoarsely. "I deserted +you and I'm sorry. No matter what you've done to bring you here, +I'm glad I've come to see you. I don't blame Elias. For a while +I'm afraid I rather held out against coming. Now, I am glad for my +own sake. I won't desert you now. I am going to work for a pardon, +if your appeal does not go through." + +"Don't! I won't have it!" exclaimed the other. "I'm going to stay +it out. It will give me time to forget, so that I can be a better +man. If they let me out now I'd do something I'd always regret. I +want to serve my time and start all over again. Don't worry about +me. I won't hamper you. I'll go away--abroad, as Harbert suggested. +Damn him, his advice was good, after all. Understand, Graydon, I do +not want parole or pardon. You must not undertake it. I am guilty +and I ought to be punished the same as these other fellows in here. +Don't shudder. It's true. I'm no better than they." + +"I hate to think of you in this awful place--" began Graydon. + +"Don't think of me." + +"But, my God, I've seen you here, father," cried the son. + +"A pretty spectacle for a son," laughed the father bitterly. "Why +did you bring that girl here? That was cruel--heartless." + +Graydon tried to convince him that Jane had not come to gloat but +to ask a favour of him. + +"A favour, eh? She expects me to tell all I know about her, eh? +That's good!" laughed Bansemer. + +"Father, she has done you no wrong. Why are you so bitter against +her? It's not right--it's not like you." + +Bansemer looked steadily at him for a full minute. + +"Is she going to marry you, Graydon?" + +"She refuses, absolutely." + +"Then, she's better than I thought. Perhaps I'm wrong in hating +her as I do. It's because she took you away from me. Give me time, +Graydon. Some day I may tell you all I know. Don't urge me now; I +can't do it now. I don't want to see her again. Don't think I'm a +fool about it, boy, and don't speak of it again. Give me time." + +"She is the gentlest woman in the world." + +"You love her?" + +"Better than my life." + +"Graydon, I--I hope she will change her mind and become your wife." + +"You do? I don't understand." + +"That's why I'd rather she never could know who her parents are. +The shadow is invisible now; it wouldn't help matters for her if it +were visible. She's better off by not knowing. Has Droom intimated +that he knows?" + +"He says he does not." + +"He lies, but at the same time he won't tell her. It's not in him +to do it. God, he has served me ill to-day. He has always hated +me, but he was always true to me. He did me a vile trick when he +changed the cartridges in my revolver. By God, I discharged him for +that. I told him to appear against me if he would. He was free to +do so. But, curse him, he would not give me the satisfaction of +knowing that he was a traitor. He knew I'd go over the road, anyhow. +He's been waiting for this day to come. He has finally given me +the unhappiest hour in my life." + +After a few moments he quieted down and asked Graydon what his plans +were for the future. In a strained uncertain way the two talked of +the young man's prospects and the advantages they promised. + +"Go ahead, Graydon, and don't let the shadow of your father haunt +you. Don't forget me, boy, because I love you better than all the +world. These are strange words for a man who has fallen as I have +fallen, but they are true. Listen to this: you will be a rich man +some day; I have a fortune to give you, my boy. They can't take my +money from me, you know. It's all to be yours--every cent of it. +You see--" + +"Father--I--let us not talk about it now," said Graydon hastily, +a shadow of repugnance in his eyes. Bansemer studied his face for +a moment and a deep red mounted to his brow. + +"You mean, Graydon," he stammered, "that you--you do not want my +money?" + +"Why should we talk about it now?" + +"Because it suggests my death?" + +"No, no, father. I--" + +"You need not say it. I understand. It's enough. You feel that my +money was not honestly made. Well, we won't discuss it. I'll not +offer it to you again." + +"It won't make any difference, dad. I love you. I don't love your +money." + +"Or the way I earned it. Some day, my boy, you'll learn that very +few make money by dealing squarely with their fellow men. It's not +the custom. My methods were a little broader than common, that's +all. I now notify you that I intend to leave all I have to sweet +charity. I earned most of my ill-gotten wealth in New York and +Chicago, and I'm going to give it back to these cities. Charity +will take anything that is offered, but it doesn't always give in +return." + +At the expiration of the time allotted to the visitor, Graydon took +his departure. + +"Graydon, ask her to think kindly of me if she can." + +"I'll come down again, father before I go East." + +"No!" almost shouted James Bansemer. "I won't have it! For my sake, +Graydon, don't ever come here again. Don't shame me more than you +have to-day. I'll never forget this hour. Stay away and you'll be +doing me the greatest kindness in the world. Promise me, boy!" + +"I can't promise that, dad. It isn't a sane request. I am your +son--" + +"My God, boy, don't you see that I can't bear to look at you through +these bars? Go! Please go! Good-bye! Write to me, but don't come +here again. Don't! It's only a few years." + +He turned away abruptly, his shoulder drawn upward as if in pain, +and Graydon left the place, weakened and sick at heart. + +Jane and Droom were awaiting him in an outer office. The former +looked into his eyes searchingly, tenderly. + +"I'm so sorry, Graydon," she said as she took his hand in hers. + +All the way back to Chicago Elias Droom sat and watched them from +under lowered brows, wondering why it was that he felt so much +lonelier than he ever had felt before,--wondering, too, in a vague +sort of way, why he was not able to exult, after all. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE TRANSFORMING OF DROOM + + + + + +Jane was ill and did not leave her room during the two days following +the visit to the penitentiary. She was haunted by the face of James +Bansemer, the convict. It was beyond her powers of imagination +to recall him as the well-groomed, distinguished man she once had +known. Graydon was deeply distressed over the pain and humiliation +he had subjected her to through Droom's unfortunate efforts. The +fact that she could not or would not see him for two days hurt him +more than he could express, even to himself. The day before he left +for New York, however, she saw him in their parlour. She was pale +and very quiet. + +Neither mentioned the visit to the prison; there was nothing to +say. + +"You will be in New York next week?" he asked as he arose to leave. +His spirit was sore. She again had told him that he must not hope. +With an hysterical attempt to lead him on to other topics, she +repeated her conversations with Teresa Valesquez, urging him with +a hopeless attempt at bravado, to seek out the Spanish girl and +marry her. He laughed lifelessly at the jest. + +"We will leave Chicago on Monday. Father will have his business +affairs arranged by that time. I would not let him resign the +presidency. It would seem as if I were taking it away from him. We +expect to be in Europe for six or eight months. Then, I am coming +back to New York, where I was born, Graydon--to work!" + +He went away with the feeling in his heart that he was not to see +her again. A single atom of determination lingered in his soul, +however, and he tried to build upon it for the future. Rigby's wedding +invitation had come to him that morning--almost as a mockery. He +tore it to pieces with a scowl of recollection. + +Droom's effects were on the way to New York. He hung back, humbly +waiting for Graydon to suggest that they should travel East on the +same train. His grim, friendless old heart gave a bound of pure +joy--the first he had known--when the young man made the suggestion +that night. + +Together they travelled eastward and homeward, leaving behind them +the grey man in stripes. + +Jane's six months in Europe grew into a year--and longer. It was +a long but a profitable year for Graydon Bansemer; he had been +enriched not only in wealth but in the hope of ultimate happiness. +Not that Jane encouraged him. Far from it, she was more obdurate +than ever with an ocean between them. But his atom of determination +had grown to a purpose. His face was thinner and his eyes were of +a deeper, more wistful grey; they were full of longing for the girl +across the sea, and of pity and yearning for the man back there in +the West. + +He had toiled hard and well; he had won. The shadow of '99 was +still over him, but the year and a new ambition had lessened its +blackness. Friends were legion in the great metropolis; he won his +way into the hearts and confidence of new associates and renewed +fellowship with the old. Invitations came thickly upon him, but he +resolutely turned his back upon most of them. He was not socially +hungry in these days. + +Once a week he wrote to his father, but there never was a reply. +He did not expect one, for James Bansemer, in asking him to write, +had vowed that his son should never hear from him again until he +could speak as a free man and a chastened one. True to his promise, +Graydon instituted no movement to secure a pardon. He did, by +a strong personal appeal, persuade Denis Harbert to drop further +prosecution. There were enough indictments against his father to +have kept him behind the bars for life. + +Elias Droom had rooms in Eighth Avenue not a great distance from +Herald Square. He was quite proud of his new quarters. They had +many of the unpleasant features of the old ones in Wells Street, +but they were less garish in their affront to an aesthetic eye. +The incongruous pictures were there and the oddly assorted books, +but the new geraniums had a chance for life in the broader windows; +the cook stove was in the rear and there was a venerable Chinaman +in charge of it; the bedroom was kept so neat and clean that Droom +quite feared to upset it with his person. But, most strange of all, +was the change in Droom himself. + +"I've retired from active work," he informed Graydon one day, when +that young man stared in astonishment at him. "What's the use, my +boy, in Elias Droom dressing like a dog of a workingman, when he +is a gentleman of leisure and affluence? It surprises you to see +me in an evening suit, eh? Well, by Jove, my boy, I've got a dinner +jacket, a Prince Albert and a silk hat. There are four new suits +of clothes hanging up in that closet," he said, adding, with +a sarcastic laugh," That ought to make a perfect gentleman of me, +oughtn't it? What are you laughing at?" + +"I can't help it, Elias. Who would have dreamed that you'd go in +for good clothes!" + +"I used to dream about it, long ago. I swore if I ever got back to +New York I'd dress as New Yorkers dress--even if I was a hundred +years old. I've got a servant, too. What d'ye think of that? He +can't understand a word I say, nor can I understand him. That's +why he stays on with me. He doesn't know when I'm discharging him, +and I don't know when he's threatening to leave. What do you think +of my rooms?" + +It was Graydon's first visit to the place, weeks after their return to +New York. He had not felt friendly to Droom since the day at the +prison; but now he was forgetting his resentment, in the determination +to wrest from him the names of Jane's father and mother. He was +confident that the old man knew. + +"Better than Wells Street, eh? Well, you see, I was in trade then. +Different now. I'm getting to be quite a fop. Do you notice that I +say 'By Jove' occasionally?" He gave his raucous laugh of derision. +"Dined at Sherry's the other night, old chap," he went on with raw +mimicry. "They thought I was a Christian and let me in. I used to +look like the devil, you know." + +"By the Lord Harry, Elias," cried Graydon, "you look like the devil +now." + +"I've got these carpet slippers on because my shoes hurt my feet," +explained Droom sourly. "My collar rubbed my neck, so I took it +off. Otherwise, I'm just as I was when I got in at Sherry's. Funny +what a difference a little thing like a collar makes, isn't it?" + +"I should say so. I never gave it a thought until now. But, Elias, +I want to ask a great favour of you. You can--" + +"My boy, if your father wouldn't tell you who her parents are, +don't expect me to do so. He knows; I only suspect." + +"You must be a mind reader," gasped Graydon. + +"It isn't hard to read your mind these days. What do you hear from +her?" Graydon went back to the subject after a few moments. "I am +morally certain that I know who her father and mother were, but +it won't do any good to tell her. It didn't make me any better to +learn who my father was. It made me wiser, that's all. How's your +father?" + +After this night Graydon saw the old man often. They dined together +occasionally in the small cafes on the West Side. Droom could not, +for some reason known only to himself, be induced to go to Sherry's +again. + +"When Jane comes back, I'll give you both a quiet little supper +there after the play maybe. It'll be my treat, my boy." + +The old man worked patiently and fruitlessly over his "inventions." +They came to naught, but they lightened his otherwise barren +existence. There was not a day or night in which his mind was wholly +free from thoughts of James Bansemer. + +He counted the weeks and days until the man would be free, and his +eyes narrowed with these furtive glances into the future. He felt +in his heart that James Bansemer would come to him at once, and +that the reckoning for his single hour of triumph would be a heavy +one to pay. Sometimes he would sit for hours with his eyes staring +at the Napoleon above the bookcase, something like dread in their +depths. Then again he would laugh with glee, pound the table with +his bony hand--much to the consternation of Chang--and exclaim as +if addressing a multitude: + +"I hope I'll be dead when he gets out of there! I hope I won't live +to see him, free again. That would spoil everything. Let me see, +I'm seventy-one now; I surely can't live much longer. I want to +die seeing him as I saw him that day. The last thing I think of on +earth must be James Bansemer's face behind the bars. Ha, ha, ha! +It was worth all the years, that one hour! It was even worth while +being his slave. I'm not afraid of him! No! That's ridiculous. Of +course, I'm not afraid of him. I only want to know he's lying in +a cell when I die out here in the great, free world! By my soul, +he'll know that a handsome face isn't always the best. He laughed +at my face, curse him. His face won her--his good looks! Well, +well, well, I only hope she's where she can see his face now!" + +He would work himself into a frenzy of torment and glee combined, +usually collapsing at the end of his harangue. It disgusted him +to think that his health was so good that he might be expected to +live beyond the limit of James Bansemer's imprisonment. + +At the end of eighteen months, Jane was coming home. She had written +to Graydon from London, and the newspapers announced the sailing +of the Cables on one of the White Star steamers. + +"I am coming home to end all of this idleness," she wrote to him. +"I mean to find pleasure in toil, in doing good, in lifting the +burdens of those who are helpless. You will see how I can work, +Graydon. You will love me more than ever when you see how I can do +so much good for my fellow creatures. I want you to love me more +and more, because I shall love you to the end of my life." + +The night before the ship was to arrive Graydon was dining with +the Jack Percivals. There were a dozen in the party--a blase, bored +collection of human beings who had dined out so incessantly that +eating was a punishment. They had come to look upon food as a foe +to comfort and a grievous obstacle in the path of pleasure. Bridge +was just beginning to take hold of them; its grip was tightening +with new coils as each night went by. Nobody thought of dinner; the +thought was of the delay in getting at the game; an instinct that +was not even a thought urged them to abhor the food that had come +into their lives so abundantly. + +Night after night they dined out; night after night they toyed with +their forks, ate nothing, drank to hide their yawns, took black +coffee and said they enjoyed the food tremendously. + +Graydon Bansemer was new to this attitude. He was vigorous and he +was not surfeited with food; he had an appetite. Just before six +o'clock his host called him up by 'phone, and, in a most genial +way, advised him to eat a hearty meal before coming up to dinner. +Graydon made the mistake of not following this surprising bit of +advice. + +He sat next to Mrs. Percival. She appeared agitated and uncertain. +Servants came in with the dishes and almost immediately took them +away again. No one touched a mouthful of the food; no one except +Graydon noticed the celerity with which the plates and their contents +were removed; no one felt that he was expected to eat. Graydon, +after his first attempt to really eat of the third course, subsided +with a look of amazement at his hostess. She smiled and whispered +something into his ear. He grew very red and choked with--was it +confusion or mirth? + +Everybody gulped black coffee and everybody puffed violently at +cigars and cigarettes and then everybody bolted for the card tables. + +Jack Percival grasped Graydon's arm and drew him back into the +dining-room. He was grinning like an ape. + +"It worked, by George--worked like a charm. Great Scott, what a +money and time saver! I was a little worried about you, Bansemer, +but I knew the others wouldn't catch on. Great, wasn't it?" + +"What the dickens does it mean?" demanded Graydon. "Mean! Why, good +Lord, man, nobody ever eats at these damned dinners. They CAN'T +eat. They're sick of dinners. That crowd out there takes tea and +things at five or six o'clock. They wouldn't any more think of +eating anything at a dinner after the caviar and oysters than you'd +think of flying. It's a waste of time and money to give 'em real +food. This is the second time I've tried my scheme and it's worked +both times. I can serve this same dinner twenty times. Everything's +made of wax and papier mache. See what I mean? And I'll leave it +to you that there isn't a soul out there who is any the wiser. By +George, it's a great invention. I'm going to patent it. Come on; +let's get in there. They're howling for us to begin." + +Graydon, his mind full of Jane, played at a table with Colonel +Sedgwick, a blase old Knickerbocker whose sole occupation in life was +saying rude things about other people. To-night he was particularly +attentive to his profession. He kept Graydon and the two women +sitting straight and uncomfortable in their chairs between hands +and positively chilled while the game went on. + +Graydon's game was a poor one at best, but he was playing abominably +on this occasion. He could not tear his thoughts from the ship +that was drawing nearer and nearer to New York harbour with each +succeeding minute. In his mind's eye he could look far out over +the black waters and see the lonely vessel as it rushed on through +the night. He wondered if Jane were asleep or awake and thinking +of him. + +The Colonel's irascibility finally drove him from the game. +He apologised for his wretched playing, but the Colonel did not +apologise for the disagreeable things he had said. + +It was one o'clock when Graydon reached his rooms. There he found +a note from Elias Droom. + +"I have an especial reason," he wrote, "for asking you and Miss +Cable to dine with me on Monday night. We will go to Sherry's. Let +me know as soon as you have seen her." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +ELIAS DROOM'S DINNER PARTY + + + + + +He was mystified and not a little upset by this almost peremptory +summons from the old man. He hurried over to Droom's quarters the +next morning, after ascertaining that the steamer would not reach +the dock until two or three o'clock. Droom was at work on one of +his amazing models. + +"Hello," he said ungraciously. "I thought I invited you for to-night." + +"I want to know something about it, Elias," said Graydon, sitting +upon the end of the workbench. "She'll not get in before the middle of +the afternoon, and she may not feel like going to Sherry's to-night." + +"Just as she likes," said Droom pettishly. "You mean that she would +not like to be seen there with me unless there is to be something +in it for her, eh?" + +"Nonsense. You've got something on your mind, Elias. What is it? +Why do you insist on going to-night?" + +"I don't. It's to-night or not at all, however. I'm not in the +habit of letting people decide when I shall dine at Sherry's. If +she doesn't want to come, let her say so." That was all Graydon +could get out of him, so he left in a more perplexed frame of mind +than before. + +He was at the dock long before the steamer came to a stop after +its eight days of ceaseless throbbing. She was waving to him from +the rail, her face beaming with happiness. It was just as he had +seen it in his dreams of this day. More than ever he arrayed his +love against her principle; more than ever was he determined to +overcome the obstacles which she had thrown up in her self-arraignment. + +There was a cold, biting wind blowing, with the suggestion of snow +in the skies. The passengers came down with rosy cheeks, coloured +by the frost-laden hours on deck. After the tedious, disagreeable +hour with the customs officials, the Cables were driven to the +Holland House. Graydon Bansemer, sitting opposite to Jane in the +carriage, was almost speechless with joy and eagerness. The old +restraint was still upon him, but it was being worn down by degrees +as he gathered encouragement from the clear, inviting eyes of the +girl he worshipped. The love in those happy, glowing eyes could +not be mistaken for loyal indifference. + +She was more beautiful than ever to his hungry, patient eyes; she +was more desirable, more priceless. David Cable and his wife had +been immensely benefited in every way by their months abroad. Jane +had found the sunshine for them and it had been her purpose in all +these months to keep them free from the shadows. They had travelled +Europe over and they had lived in the full warmth of pleasure. + +Cable took Graydon aside as they entered the hotel. The latter +had implored Jane to give him a few minutes alone at the earliest +possible moment. + +"Tell me about your father, Graydon," said David Cable. + +"He is still in--in Joliet," replied the young man quietly. + +"He has not offered to help us in clearing up the mystery?" + +"I have had no word from him, Mr. Cable. He seems to be in his +tomb. I am afraid he will not help us, sir. He has said he would +not; that means a great deal, I am sorry to say." + +He then told him of Elias Droom's strange invitation, adding that +he believed the old man was ready to reveal all that he knew. + +"She must go with you to-night, then," said Cable. "It is necessary. +She wants to know the truth. She has said so." + +"It won't matter, sir, so far as I am concerned. She--" + +"She has come back, my boy, determined to go on with her plans. +I am sorry, Graydon, but I am at last convinced that she means to +give her life to the work." + +"By Heaven, Mr. Cable, she shall not do it! I can't live without +her," cried Graydon miserably. Cable smiled sadly as he shook his +head. + +At half past seven o'clock Jane Cable and Graydon met Droom at +Sherry's. She was paler than usual and there was a queer chill in +her heart. Bansemer was more nervous than he had ever been before +in his life. + +Elias Droom, the strangest creature in the big restaurant, arose +to greet them as they entered the doors. He had been waiting inside +and out for half an hour, and his welcome was quite in keeping with +his character, He uttered a few gruff words of greeting to her, +accompanied by a perfunctory smile that gave out no warmth; then +he started off with rude haste toward the table he had reserved. +Not a word concerning her welfare, her health, her return to the +homeland--no sign of interest or consideration. They followed him +silently, anxiously. + +The old man was conspicuously repulsive in his finery. It is +unnecessary to say that his clothes did not fit his lank figure: +tailors cannot perform miracles. His long chin was carefully shaven, +but the razor could not remove the ruts and creases that hid the +thick stubble of grey and black. Not one but one hundred diners +looked with curiosity upon the nervous, uncouth old man. There was +a buzz of interest and a craning of necks when the crowd saw the +handsome couple join him at the table in the corner. + +"I wish you'd order the dinner for me, Graydon," he said, rather +plaintively. "I can pay for it, Miss Cable," he added with an +attempt at joviality, "but I'm no good at ordering. These young +swells know all about it. Get champagne, Graydon. Order something +nice for Miss Cable. Anywhere up to twenty dollars. I'm not a +millionaire, Miss Cable. Tell the waiter I'll pay for it, Graydon. +This is a swell place, isn't it, Miss Cable? I've never been in +Europe, but they say they can't touch our restaurants over there. +Get oysters, Graydon." + +"By Jove, Elias, you are giving us a treat," laughed Graydon. The +old man's mood had changed suddenly. He was beaming in his effort +to be agreeable. A glance around the room had convinced him that +the prettiest woman there was sitting at his table. He felt a new +sense of pride. + +"I am proud of myself," said Droom--and he meant it. + +"It's very good of you to ask me to come, Mr. Droom," said Jane, +her bright eyes meeting his before they could lift themselves into +the customary stare above her head. + +"I'm not so sure about that," said Elias. From time to time he +glanced uneasily toward a table at his left. It was set for six +persons, none of whom had arrived. "I trust it will not be the last +time you will honour me, Miss Cable. I am getting very hospitable +in my old age. If you don't mind, Graydon, I won't drink this +cocktail. I may take the champagne. I'm quite a teetotaler, you +see. Milk, always. By the way, Graydon," he said, turning suddenly +to the young man, "I suppose you've led her to believe that I had +a motive in asking her to dine to-night--I mean other than the +pleasure it would give to me." + +"I--I rather thought something of the sort," stammered Graydon. + +"Well, there is a motive. I've decided at last to tell all I knew. +Don't look like that, Miss Cable. You'll attract attention. Calm +yourself. It will be some time before the story is forthcoming. +Besides, I doubt very much whether you'll get any great satisfaction +out of it, although it may clear things up a bit for you. If +you've been hoping that your father and mother--well, we'll take +our time. Here are the oysters. Oysters make me think of your +father, Graydon. Don't choke, my boy," he chuckled as Graydon +stiffened quickly." He had a woman arrested at her own dinner party +one night--right over there in Fifth Avenue, too. Search warrant, +and all that. The oysters were being served when the papers were +served. Ah, he was a great man for effective revenge. She had dared +him, you see. Did you ever hear of the other time when he permitted +an ignorant host to invite two deadly enemies to the same dinner? +One fellow had robbed the other fellow of his wife. Terrible scandal. +Your father knew that they expected to kill one another on sight. +And yet when the host told him whom he expected to invite he let +him ask the two men. He told me about it afterward. It amused +him. Everybody but the host knew of the row and there was a panic +in the drawing-room." + +"Good Lord," gasped Graydon, helplessly pushing the oysters away. +"Why are you telling me this?" + +"Oh, it was a great joke. It's a good dinner story. The joke comes +in at the end. Both those fellows got tight and went home with their +arms about one another. By the way, Graydon, what do you hear from +your father?" + +Graydon looked uncomfortably at Jane, whose face was set with +distress. + +"Elias, you've got no right to--" began the young man coldly. + +"I beg your pardon if I've offended," said Droom abjectly. "I--I +don't know the etiquette of small talk--forgive me. I was interested, +that is all." + +"It may interest you to know that I had a long talk with Mr. Clegg +this afternoon. He says there is a movement on foot to secure a +pardon for father. Father hasn't asked anyone to intercede. It is +known that he will go to England to live as soon as he is released. +That's an inducement, you see," he said bitterly. + +Droom's face turned a frozen white; his steely eyes took on a +peculiar glaze, and his hand grasped his leg as if it were a vise +intended to hold him in his chair. + +"I haven't told you about it, Jane," went on Graydon. "Mr. Clegg +has seen father and he says he is indifferent about it. He intends +to leave the country in any event. I am going to write to him +to-night, asking him to let them apply for the pardon. It may save +him from three years more of servitude. Mr. Clegg is sure he can +get his release--what's the matter, Elias?" + +The old clerk's body had stiffened and the look in his face was +something horrible to behold. Terror was visible in every lineament. +His companions started from their chairs in alarm. With a mighty +effort the old man succeeded in regaining a semblance of self-control. +His body relaxed, and his jaw dropped; his voice was trembling and +weak as he responded, an apologetic grin on his face. + +"Nothing--nothing at all. A momentary pain. Don't mind me. Don't +mind me," he mumbled. "I have them often. I think it's my heart. +What were you saying, Graydon? Oh, yes, the pardon. I-I hope you'll +mention me in writing to your father. Tell him I hope to--to see +him if he comes to New York." + +"I don't believe he likes you, Elias," said Graydon, half jestingly. + +"Wha--what has he said to you?" demanded Droom sharply. + +"He rather resented your taking Jane and me to Joliet that day." +The old man's grin was malicious. "He won't forgive you that." + +"I shall never forget how he looked at you, Mr. Droom," said Jane +with a shudder. Droom trembled with a new spasm of fear. + +Attention was diverted by the arrival of the party of six. The +men were distinguished in appearance, the women aristocratic but +spirited. That they were well known to many of the diners in those +days at Sherry's was at once apparent; they were bowing right and +left to near-by acquaintances. After much ado they finally relapsed +into the chairs obsequiously drawn back for them and the buzz of +conversation throughout the place was resumed. + +Graydon, lowering his voice, named the newcomers to Jane, who looked +at them with fresh interest. The names were well known to New York +and European society. For the moment Elias Droom was unnoticed. He +took the opportunity to collect his nerves and to subdue his too +apparent emotion. Jane was recalled from her polite scrutiny of the +women at the next table by hearing her name mentioned in Droom's +hoarsest voice, modified into something like a whisper. + +"Miss Cable, I not only asked you to come here in order to tell +you the name of your father, but to point him out to you." + +There was an instant of breathless silence at the table. So +startling was his announcement that every other sound in the room +escaped the ears of his two listeners. + +"There was a new hundred dollar bill found in the basket with you. +Your grandfather's signature was on that bill. He was the president +of the bank which issued it. Your mother was--" Here he leaned +forward and whispered a name that fairly stunned his hearers. +Graydon caught his breath and a new light appeared in his eyes. +He was beginning to believe that the old man's brain was affected. +Jane leaned forward in her chair, an incredulous smile on her lips. + +"Don't jest, Elias," began Graydon, somewhat roughly. + +"I am not jesting. It is the truth, I swear it," snapped Elias. + +"But, great Heaven, man, consider what you've said. It's one of +the best families in this country-it's preposterous to say--" + +"Of course, her family is one of the best. She was a blue stocking. +That's where Miss Cable gets most of her good blood." + +"My God, Elias, I can't believe it!" cried Graydon. + +Jane was staring blankly at the old man's face. + +"Your father will tell you the same. For more than twenty years +I have known the secret. There is no documentary proof, but this +much I do know: James Bansemer received fifty thousand dollars for +keeping his mouth closed. He found out the truth and he profited +by it as usual. Oh, he knew that hundred dollar bills are not left +with pauper babes. I don't know how he unearthed the truth about +Miss--" + +"Sh! Don't mention the name aloud!" + +"But he did unearth it, beyond all possible chance of mistake. Your +father, Miss Cable, is sitting at that table. Don't look up just +yet. He is staring at you. He doesn't know you, but he does know +you are a pretty woman. The gentleman with the grey hair, Graydon. +See? That man is her father." + +Graydon half started up in his chair, his lips apart, his eyes +riveted on the man designated. Every drop of blood seemed to have +frozen in his veins. + +"Good God, Elias!" he whispered. "Why, that is--" The name stuck +in his throat. + +"The son of the man who signed the banknote. He is Jane's father. +There's blue blood in him--there has been since King Henry's day--but +he is a villain for all that. Now, Miss Cable, I've done my duty. +I've told you the absolute truth. You could not have expected more--you +could not have asked a greater climax. The name of Vanderbilt or +Astor is no better known than that man's name, and no ancestry is +better than that of your mother. I will now give to you one of the +articles of proof that connects you with their history." He handed +to her a small package. "It is the letter written to James Bansemer +by your paternal grandfather, agreeing to an appointment to discuss +a question of grave moment. I found the letter that same day, and +I've kept it all these years. It bears your grandfather's signature. +That is all. I heard part of that interview, and I stake my soul +that what I've told you is true." + +Jane sat looking at him as if paralysed. Her mind was quite incapable +of grasping the full import of his words--the words she had craved +for so many months, and yet dreaded. + +"I knew he was coming here to-night. He gives a theatre party. +To-morrow he goes abroad. That is all." + +"He's living in Paris," muttered Graydon mechanically. Jane spoke +for the first time, as in a daze. + +"I--I have seen him many times in Paris. My father? Oh, oh, it +can't be true." + +"Jane, let me take you away from here--" began Graydon, observing +her pallor. + +"No. Let me stay. It can't matter, Graydon. I want to look at him +again and again," she said, shrinking back as if the whole world +were staring at her. By the most prodigious effort she regained +control of her fleeing composure. It was a trying moment. + +"He's worth millions," said Droom. "It will be worth while for YOU +to--" + +"No!" she exclaimed passionately. "Do you think I will present +myself to him after he has cast me off! No! a thousand times, no!" + +At that instant the party of six hurriedly arose to leave the place. +The tall man with the grey hair--the handsomest man of all--was +staring boldly at Jane's averted face, now red with consciousness. +As he passed her in going out of the room, his look grew more +insistent. She glanced up and a faint smile crossed his face. + +"Devilish handsome girl," he remarked to the man behind him and +then he passed out of her sight, perhaps forever. + +"The woman with him?" cried Jane, her eyes following the beautiful +creature at his side, "is she my mother?" + +"No," said Graydon, averting his eyes to avoid her expression; "she +is his wife." + +Droom waited until the party was out of the restaurant before +uttering a word. + +"Inside of two years I have pointed out two fathers to their +children--yours and his, Jane. Your mothers are dead. There isn't +much choice as to fathers. If I were you, I'd say I had the better +of the bargain. Take an old man's advice, both of you, and let +bygones be bygones. Start life now, just as if nothing had happened +before, and get every atom of happiness out of it that you can. +Don't you two pay for the sins of your fathers." + +"I couldn't live in New York if he were living here," murmured +Jane. + +"Hey, waiter, your bill," said Droom, with sudden harshness. + +It was snowing and the wind was blowing a gale when they emerged +from the place. Jane hung heavily upon Graydon's arm; he could +feel that she was sobbing. He did not dare to look into her face, +but he felt something cruelly triumphant surging in his heart. Elias +Droom waited until their cab came up. Then he offered his hand to +both, hesitatingly, even timidly. + +"Good-night. Be happy. There is nothing else left for you but that. +Graydon, when you jrrite to your father, give him my love." + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +DROOM TRIUMPHS OVER DEATH + + + + + +Droom stood for a few moments in the hurtling snowstorm, abstractedly +gazing toward Longacre Square. The chill in his marrow was not from +the blizzard that swept down upon him; the gaunt grey look in his +face was not that of hunger or want. There was fever in his brain +and chill in his heart. He had forgotten Jane's trivial tragedy; +his one overwhelming thought was of James Bansemer. + +The heavy ulster was unbuttoned and the snowflakes pelted in against +his neglected shirt front. A doorman called his attention to the +oversight. He came to himself, drew the coat close about his long +frame, and hurried off down Fifth Avenue. The storm was so vicious +that he boarded a crosstown car at Forty-second Street. A man +elbowed him in the narrow vestibule. He looked up and gasped aloud +in sudden terror. An instant later he laughed at his fears; the man +was not James Bansemer. A cold perspiration started out over his +body, however. Through his brain there went racing the ever-revolving +cry: + +"He'll come straight to me-straight to me!" + +The hour was not late, but the blizzard had driven the crowds from +the streets. Eighth avenue sidewalks were deserted except for the +people who were obliged to brave the storm. As Droom hurried south +to his lodgings he became possessed of a racking belief that someone +was following close upon his heels--someone who was rushing up to +deal him a murderous blow in the back. The old man actually broke +into a frantic run in covering the last half block. + +It was not until he was in his rooms, with the door bolted that +he could rid himself of the dread. The fire had gone out and the +light was low. His teeth chattered and his hand shook as he raised +the wick in the lamp. The palsy of inexplicable fear was upon him. +Kneeling before the stove he began to rebuild the fire. His back +was toward the door and he turned an anxious face in that direction +from time to time. Footsteps on the stairway sent a new chill through +his gaunt frame. They passed on up the next flight, but he waited +breathlessly until he heard the door of the apartment above slam +noisily. + +For half an hour he sat huddled in front of the stove without +removing his hat and ulster. + +"Curse the luck," he was saying over and over again to himself, +sometimes aloud. "Why should he have a pardon? What are the laws +for? Curse that meddling old fool Clegg! They'll set him free, and +he'll hunt me out, I know he will. He won't forgive me for that +day's work. He may be free now-it may have been he who followed me. +But no! That's a silly thing to think. It takes weeks and months +to get a pardon. Maybe--maybe they won't get it, after all." + +He tried to throw off his desperate feeling of apprehension, +chattering all sorts of comforting reasons and excuses to himself +as he scurried about the rooms with aimless haste. Try as he would, +however, when the time came, he could not read--not even of his +courage-inspiring Napoleon. The howl of the wind annoyed and appalled +him; he caught himself listening intently for sounds above and not +of the storm. A nervous, intermittent laugh broke from his lips +as he went on cursing himself for a fool to be so disturbed by +Graydon's report. + +"What have I to fear from him? Why should I let that look of his +unnerve me so? Why can't I forget it? It--it didn't mean anything. +I'm a fool to think of it. Nearly two years ago, that was. Why, +he may be--" A new thought chased the old one out before it was +formed. His eyes caught sight of one of his completed models, +standing in the corner. It was the model for the guillotine. + +For a long time he sat staring at the thing, a hundred impressions +forming and reforming in his brain. + +"I wonder if I'll really die before he is liberated," he was saying +dumbly to himself. "I wonder if I will. There's no sign of it now. +I'm strong and well enough to live for years. Suppose he is freed +inside of a month or two, what then? By Heaven, I'd be losing the +dearest hope of my whole life. My last sight of him--that beautiful +vision behind the bars--would be spoiled, undone, wiped out. He'd +be as free as I. I won't die inside of a month, I'm sure. He'd come +here and laugh at me and he'd kill me in the end. God! I know he +would. He'd have the joy of seeing my pain and terror and defeat--he'd +see me LAST! I'd be bloody and crushed and--" + +He checked himself in the midst of these dire forebodings to rise +suddenly and cross to the ghastly looking frame with the cords, the +hinges, and the great broadaxe that lay harmlessly in the grooves +at the top. For many minutes he stood and gazed at the axe, his +flesh as cold as ice. Then he tested the cords. The axe dropped +heavily to the block below. He smiled with cunning triumph at his +own skill. + +The odour of geranium leaves assailed his nostrils. With an ugly +impulse he turned and swept the pots from the window box, scattering +them over the floor. + +"I'm in a devil of a humour," he laughed as he surveyed the wreck. +"Something's gone wrong with me. I've never mistreated my flowers +before." He lifted the broadaxe to its place, tenderly, almost +lovingly. "By my soul, it's a beautiful piece of work. It's as sure +as the grave itself." + +Again he stood off and looked at the infernal bit of his own +handiwork, his eyes glistening with dread of the thing. He turned +and fled to the opposite side of the room, keeping his back toward +the silent guillotine which seemed to be calling to him. with +mocking yet fascinating persistency. + +"Curse the thing," he groaned. "Damn it, I didn't make it for my +own use. What is the matter with me?" He glanced slyly, fearfully +over his shoulder and then faced the thing deliberately, his jaws +set, his eyes staring. + +"It is a quick way--a sure way," he muttered. "I haven't anything +to live for and but a few years at most. Nobody cares whether I +live or die--not even I. James Bansemer could not batter me down, +as he surely will, if I--" + +He crossed to an old chest and unlocked its lid with feverish haste. +A bundle of papers came up in the grasp of his tense fingers. +Casting dreadful glances at the insistent axe, he seated himself +at the table and began looking over the papers. + +"He won't take his father's rotten money, but he'll take mine. +It's honest. It represents wages honestly, bitterly earned. There's +more than twenty thousand to give him. He'll be surprised. Twenty +thousand." He laid the first paper, his will drawn in favour of +Graydon Bansemer, signed and addressed; upon the table, and then +carelessly tossed the other documents into the chest. "By the Lord +Harry, I'll have the best of James Bansemer yet. His boy will take +my money even though he spurns his. God, I wish I could see him +when he knows all this. It would be glorious." + +He fingered the document for a tense moment, and then arose to +remove his coat and vest. These he hung away in his closet with all +his customary carefulness. In the middle of the room he stopped, +his quivering face turned toward the gaunt thing of execution. His +feet seemed nailed to the floor; his brain was urging him to go on +with the horrid deed, his body was rebelling. The torture of terror +was overpowering him. + +Suddenly he found his strength of limb. With a guttural howl he +clasped his hands to his eyes and fled blindly into his bedroom. +Hurling his long, shivering frame upon the bed, he tried to shut +out the enticing call of the thiag of death. How long he quivered +there, shuddering and struggling, he could not have told. In the +end--and as suddenly as he had fled--he leaped up and with a shrill +laugh dashed back into the other room. + +There was no hesitation in his body now. With a maniacal glee he +rushed upon the devilish contrivance in the corner, tearing the axe +from its place with ruthless hands. Throughout the building rang +the sounds of smashing wood, furious blows of steel upon wood, and +high above the din arose the laugh of Elias Droom. In two minutes, +the guillotine lay in chips and splinters about the room--destroyed +even as it was on the point of destroying him. + +Dropping back against the wall, wet with perspiration, a triumphant +grin upon his face, Elias surveyed the wreckage. His muscles relaxed +and his eyes lost the dread that had filled them. The smile actually +grew into an expression of sweetness and peace that his face had +never known before. + +As he staggered to a chair close by, a great sigh of relief broke +from his lips. + +"There!" he gasped. "It's over! it's over! My head is on +my shoulders--it really is after all! It is not rolling into the +corner--no! no! By my head--my own head, too--it was a close call +for you, Elias Droom. Now, I'll take what comes. I'll wait for +James Bansemer! I'll stick it out to the end. If he comes, he'll +find me here. I've conquered the infernal death that stood waiting +so long for me in that corner--and I never suspected it, either. +God, how near it was to me! It stood there and waited for me to +come. It knew that I would come sooner or later! But I've smashed +it--it's gone! It's not there!" + +With eager hands he gathered up the pieces of wood and cast them +into the stove. As the remains of that frightful minister of death +crackled and spit with defeated venom, Elias Droom calmly pulled on +his worn dressing gown, lighted his pipe and cocked his feet upon +the stove rail, a serene look in his eyes, a chuckle in his throat. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +TO-MORROW + + + + + +Jane Cable, upon entering the cab, offered no resistance when +Graydon drew her head over against his shoulder. His strong right +hand clasped her listless fingers and the warmth of his heart came +bounding into her veins as if by magic. He did not speak to her, but +she knew that he was claiming her then for all time; she knew that +nothing could stand in the way of his purpose. The sobs grew less +despairing, her understanding of things less vague and uncertain. +A few moments before she had felt that she was no kin to the world; +now there was a new appreciation of love and its greatness in her +soul. + +This man had loved her, and he would take her up and shield her +against the hate of the world. There had not been a moment when her +own love for him wavered; she worshipped him now as she had in the +beginning. The revelation of Droom, the theatric scenes in the cafe, +the crushing of the small hope she had cherished, all conspired +in this secure moment to waken her into a realisation of what an +overbalancing power love is. + +Unconsciously her fingers tightened upon his and her body drew +closer; she was arraying herself against the fear that she might +lose this haven of rest and joy, after all--the haven she had been +willing to scourge and destroy in the bitterness of her heart. A +great wave of pity for herself came sweeping over her. It grew out +of the dread that he might, after all, deny her the place that no +one else in the world could give. + +Graydon's cold face was suddenly illumined; the incomprehensible +sweetness of pain rushed through his blood. He had given up his hope +as blighted after the harsh hour with Droom; he could not believe +his newfound success. Doubt, unbelief, enveloped him as he raised +her head, a kiss crying for its kind. His arm crept behind her +shoulders. She did not offer a repulse; her wet cheek touched his +in submission. It was the first time his hungry arms had held her +in centuries it seemed to him--and to her; it was the first time +their lips had met--except in dreams--since that horrid night so +long ago. + +"Jane, Jane!" he was whispering in her ear; her plans, her purposes, +her sacrifices, were running away from her in riotous disorder. +She could not hold them in check; they fled like weaklings before +the older and stronger hopes and desires. + +They did not know of the blockade of cabs at the corner of Forty-second +Street, nor how long they stood there. Shouting cabmen and police +officers tried to rival the white blizzard in profuseness, but they +did not hear them. + +"Oh, Graydon, I cannot, I must not," she was crying, holding his +hand with almost frenzied disdain for the words so plaintively +loyal. "It is out of the question, dearest. You know it is. I love +you, oh, how I love you. But I--I must not be your wife. I--I--" + +"I've had enough of this, Jane," he said so firmly that she stiffened +perceptibly in his arms. "It's all confounded rot. Excuse me, but +it is. I know you think you're right, but you're not. Old Elias +gave the best advice in the world. You know what it was. We've just +got to make our own happiness. Nobody else will do it for us, and +it's just as easy to be happy as it is to be the other way. I'm +tired of pleading. I've waited as long as I intend to. We're going +to be married to-morrow." + +"Graydon!" + +"Don't refuse! It's no use, dearest. We've lost a year or two. I +don't intend to lose another day. What do I care about your father +and mother? What did they care about you? You owe all the rest of +your life to yourself and to me. Come! will you consent willingly +or--" He paused. She was very still in his arms for a long time. + +"I do so want to be happy," she said at last, reflectively. "No, +no! don't say anything yet. I am only wondering how it will be +after we've been married for a few years. When I'm growing old and +plain, and you begin to tire of me as most men grow weary of their +wives--what then? Ah, Graydon, I--I have thought about all that, +too. You'll never reproach me openly--you couldn't do that, I know. +But you may secretly nourish the scorn which--" + +"Jane," he said, dropping the tone of confident authority and +speaking very tenderly, "you forget that my father is a convict. +You forget that he has done things which will forever keep me a +beggar at your feet. I am asking YOU to forget and overlook inuch +more than you could ever ask of me. Old Elias, wretch that he is, +has pointed out our ways for us; they run together in spite of what +may conspire to divide them. Jane, I love my soul, but I love you +ten thousand times better than my soul." + +"I did not believe I could ever be so happy again," she murmured, +putting her hands to his face. + +"To-morrow, dear?" + +"Yes." + +Graydon, rejoicing in his final victory, hurried to his rooms later +in the evening. As he was about to enter the elevator he noticed a +grey-suited boy in brass buttons, who stood near by, an inquiring +look in his face. + +"This is Mr. Bansemer," observed the laconic youth who ran the +single elevator in the apartment building. + +"Something for me?" demanded Graydon, turning to the boy in grey. + +"Special delivery letter, sir. Sign here." + +Graydon took the thick envelope from the boy's hand. With a start, +he recognised his father's handwriting. Curiously he turned the +letter over in his fingers as he ascended in the car, wonder growing +in his brain. He did not wait to remove his overcoat on entering his +rooms, but strode to the light and nervously tore open the envelope. +Dread, hope, anxiety, conspired tu make his fingers tremble. There +were many closely written pages. How well he remembered his father's +writing! + +As he read, his eyes grew wide with wonder and unbelief. They raced +through the pages, wonder giving way to joy and exultation as he +neared the end of the astounding message from the far-away prisoner. + +A shout forged to his lips; he hugged the letter to his heart; +tears came into his eyes, a sob broke in, his throat. + +"Thank God!" he cried, throwing himself into a chair to eagerly +read and reread the contents of the letter. Suddenly he sprang to +his feet and dashed across the room to the telephone. + +"She will die of joy!" he half sobbed, in the transports of +exhilaration. Five minutes later he was on his way to her hotel, +clutching the priceless letter in his bare fingers, deep down in +his overcoat pocket. He had shouted over the 'phone that the good +news would not keep till morning, and she was waiting up for him +with Mr. and Mrs. Cable, consumed by curiosity. + +"This letter"--he gasped, as he entered the room--"from father. +He's written, Jane--everything. I knew he would. Elias didn't know +it all. He knew half of the truth, that's all. Good Lord, I--I +can't read it, Mr. Cable. You--please." + +David Cable, white-faced and trembling, read aloud the letter from +James Bansemer. It was to "My beloved son." The first appealing +sentences were given to explanation and apology for the determined +silence he had maintained for so many months. He spoke casually of +his utter indifference to the success of certain friends who were +working for his pardon. "If they secure my release," he wrote, "I +shall find happiness if you clasp my hand but once before I leave +America forever." Farther on he said: "I will not accept parole. +It is a poor premium on virtue, and, as you know, my stock of that +commodity has been miserably low." + +"I may be required to serve my full term," read David Cable. "In +that case, we should not see one another for years, my son. You +have much to forgive and I have much more to forget. We can best +see our ways to the end if we seek them apart. The dark places won't +seem so black.... My sole purpose in writing this letter to you, +my son, is to give back to you as much happiness as I can possibly +extract from this pile of misery. I am not pleading for anything; +I am simply surrendering to the good impulses that are once more +coming into their own, after all these years of subjection.... +I am not apologising to the Cables. I am doing this for your sake +and for the girl who has wronged no one and to whom I have acted +with a baseness which amazes me as I reflect upon it inside these +narrow walls. + +"You will recall that I would have permitted you to marry her--I +mean, in the beginning. Perhaps it was spite which interposed later +on. At least, be charitable enough to call it that. Clegg has been +here to see me. He says you are bound to make Jane Cable your wife. +I knew you would. For a long time I have held out, unreasonably, I +admit, against having her as my daughter. I could not endure the +thought of giving you up altogether. Don't you comprehend my thought? +I cannot bring myself to look again into her eyes after what she +saw in this accursed prison.... She was born in wedlock.... The +story is not a long one. Elias Droom knows the names of her father +and mother, but I am confident that he does not know all of the +circumstances. For once, I was too shrewd for him. The story of +my dealings in connection with Jane Cable is a shameful one, and +I cannot hope for pardon, either from you or from her." + +Here he related, as concisely as possible, the incidents attending +Mrs. Cable's first visit to his office and the subsequent adoption +of the babe. + +"I knew that there was wealth and power behind the mystery. There +was a profitable scandal in the background. Unknown to Mrs. Cable, +I began investigations of my own. She had made little or no effort +to discover the parents of the child. She could have had no purpose +in doing so, I'll admit.... [Here he gave in detail the progress of +his investigations at the Foundlings' Home, at the health office, +at certain unsavory hospitals and in other channels of possibility.] +...At last, I found the doctor, and then the nurse. After that, it +was easy to unearth the records of a child's birth and of a mother's +death--all in New York City.... Droom can tell you the names of +Jane's parents, substantiating the names I have just given to you. +He did not know that they had been married nearly two years prior +to the birth of the child. It was a clandestine marriage.... I went +straight to the father of the foundling. He was then but little +more than twenty-one years of age--a wild, ruthless, overbearing, +heartless scoundrel, who had more money but a much smaller conscience +than I.... To-day he is a great and, I believe, respected gentleman, +for he comes of good stock.... I had him trembling on his knees +before me. He told me the truth. Egad, my son, I am rather proud +of that hour with him. + +"It seems that this young scion of a wealthy house had lost his +insecure heart to the daughter of a real aristocrat. I say real, +because her father was a pure Knickerbocker of the old school. +He was, naturally, as poor as poverty itself. With his beautiful +daughter he was living in lower New York--barely subsisting, +I may say, on the meagre income that found its way to him through +the upstairs lodgers in the old home. Here lived Jane's mother, +cherishing the traditions of her blood, while her father, sick and +feeble, brooded over the days when he was a king in Babylon. The +handsome, wayward lover came into her life when she was nineteen. +They were married secretly in the city of Boston. + +"The young husband imposed silence until after he had attained his +majority. There was a vast fortune at stake. In plain words, his +father had forbidden the marriage. He had selected another one to +be the wife of his son.... Jane was born in the second year of their +wedded life. It was, of course, important that the fact should be +kept secret. I am inclosing a slip of paper containing the names +of the minister, the doctor and the nurse who afterwards attended +her, together with the record of death. It is more convenient to +handle than this bulky letter--which I trust you will destroy. You +will also find the name of the hospital in which Jane was born and +where her mother died, ten days later. I may say, in this connection, +that not one of the persons mentioned knew the true name of the +young mother, nor were they sure of the fact that she was a wife. +Her gravestone in the old cemetery bears the name of the maiden, +not the wife. Her father never knew the truth.... + +"What I did in the premises need not be told. That is a part of +my past. I learned how the cowardly young father, glad to be out +of the affair so easily, hired the nurse to leave the baby on the +doorstep. Then I went to the banker whose son he was. I had absolute +proof of the marriage. He paid me well to keep the true story from +reaching the public. The son was whisked abroad and he afterwards +married the girl of his father's choice. I do not believe that he +has ever given a thought to the whereabouts or welfare of his child. +It was her heritage of caste! + +"If Jane cares to claim her rights as this man's lawful daughter, +proof is ample and undeniable. I fancy, however, she will find +greater joy as the daughter of David Cable. Her own father has less +of a heart than yours, for, after all, my son, I love you because +you are mine. Love me, if you can; I have nothing else left that +I care for. Remember that I am always + +Your loving father, + +JAMES BANSEMER." + +THE END + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, JANE CABLE *** + +This file should be named jncbl10.txt or jncbl10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, jncbl11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, jncbl10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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