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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/22809-0.txt b/22809-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4f3d8b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/22809-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1810 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +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: The Hermit Of ------ Street + 1898 + +Author: Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Release Date: September 29, 2007 [EBook #22809] +Last Updated: October 2, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET. + +By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Copyright, 1898, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs + + + + +CHAPTER I. I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION. + +I should have kept my eyes for the many brilliant and interesting sights +constantly offered me. Another girl would have done so. I myself might +have done so, had I been over eighteen, or, had I not come from +the country, where my natural love of romance had been fostered by +uncongenial surroundings and a repressed life under the eyes of a severe +and unsympathetic maiden aunt. + +I was visiting in a house where fashionable people made life a perpetual +holiday. Yet of all the pleasures which followed so rapidly, one upon +another, that I have difficulty now in separating them into distinct +impressions, the greatest, the only one I never confounded with any +other, was the hour I spent in my window after the day’s dissipations +were all over, watching--what? Truth and the necessities of my story +oblige me to say--a man’s face, a man’s handsome but preoccupied face, +bending night after night over a study-table in the lower room of the +great house in our rear. + +I had been in the city three weeks, and I had already received--pardon +the seeming egotism of the confession--four offers, which, considering I +had no fortune and but little education or knowledge of the great world, +speaks well for something: I leave you to judge what. All of these +offers were from young men; one of them from a very desirable young man, +but I had listened to no one’s addresses, because, after accepting them, +I should have felt it wrong to contemplate so unremittingly the face, +which, for all its unconsciousness of myself, held me spell-bound to an +idea I neither stopped nor cared to analyze. + +Why, at such a distance and under circumstances of such distraction, did +it affect me so? It was not a young face (Mr. Allison at that time was +thirty-five); neither was it a cheerful or even a satisfied one; but +it was very handsome, as I have said; far too handsome, indeed, for a +romantic girl to see unmoved, and it was an enigmatic face; one that +did not lend itself to immediate comprehension, and that, to one of my +temperament, was a fatal attraction, especially as enough was known of +his more than peculiar habits to assure me that character, rather than +whim, lay back of his eccentricities. + +But first let me explain more fully my exact position in regard to this +gentleman on that day in early spring, destined to be such a memorable +one in my history. + +I had never seen him, save in the surreptitious way I have related, and +he had never seen me. The day following my arrival in the city I had +noticed the large house in our rear, and had asked some questions about +it. This was but natural, for it was one of the few mansions in the +great city with an old-style lawn about it. Besides, it had a peculiarly +secluded and secretive look, which even to my unaccustomed eyes, gave it +an appearance strangely out of keeping with the expensive but otherwise +ordinary houses visible in all other directions. The windows--and there +were many--were all shuttered and closed, with the exception of the +three on the lower floor and two others directly over these. On the top +story they were even boarded up, giving to that portion of the house +a blank and desolate air, matched, I was told, by that of the large +drawing-room windows on either side of the front door, which faced, as +you must see, on another street. + +The grounds which, were more or less carefully looked after, were +separated from the street by a brick wall, surmounted by urns, from +which drooped the leafless tendrils of some old vines; but in the rear, +that is, in our direction, the line of separation was marked by a +high iron fence, in which, to my surprise, I saw a gate, which, +though padlocked now, marked old habits of intercourse, interesting +to contemplate, between the two houses. Through this fence I caught +glimpses of the green turf and scattered shrubs of a yard which had once +sloped away to the avenues on either side, and, more interesting +still, those three windows whose high-drawn shades offered such a vivid +contrast to the rest of the house. + +In one of these windows stood a table, with a chair before it. I had as +yet seen no one in the chair, but I had noted that the table was heavily +covered with papers and books, and judged that the room was a library +and the table that of a busy man engaged in an endless amount of study +and writing. + +The Vandykes, whom I had questioned on the matter, were very short in +their replies. Not because the subject was uninteresting, or one they +in any way sought to avoid, but because the invitations to a great party +had just come in, and no other topic was worthy their discussion. But I +learned this much. That the house belonged to one of New York’s oldest +families. That its present owner was a widow of great eccentricity of +character, who, with her one child, a daughter, unfortunately blind from +birth, had taken up her abode in some foreign country, where she thought +her child’s affliction would attract less attention than in her +native city. The house had been closed to the extent I have mentioned, +immediately upon her departure, but had not been left entirely empty. +Mr. Allison, her man of business, had moved into it, and, being fully +as eccentric as herself, had contented himself for five years with a +solitary life in this dismal mansion, without friends, almost without +acquaintances, though he might have had unlimited society and any amount +of attention, his personal attractions being of a very uncommon +order, and his talent for business so pronounced, that he was already +recognized at thirty-five as one of the men to be afraid of in Wall +Street. Of his birth and connections little was known; he was called +the Hermit of ------ Street, and--well,that is about all they told me at +this time. + +After I came to see him (as I did that very evening), I could ask no +further questions concerning him. The beauty of his countenance, the +mystery of his secluded life, the air of melancholy and mental distress +which I imagined myself to detect in his manner--he often used to sit +for minutes together with his eyes fixed on vacancy and his whole face +expressive of the bitterest emotion--had wrought this spell upon my +imagination, and I could no more mingle his name with that of the +ordinary men and women we discussed than I could confound his solitary +and expressive figure with the very proper but conventional forms of the +simpering youths who followed me in parlors or begged to be allowed the +honor of a dance at the balls I attended with the Vandykes. He occupied +an unique place in my regard, and this without another human being’s +knowledge. I wish I could say without my own; but, alas! I have promised +myself to be true in all the details of this history, and, child as I +was, I could not be ignorant of the fascination which held me for hours +at my window when I should have been in bed and asleep. + +But let me hasten to the adventure which put an end to my dreams by +launching me into realities of a still more absorbing nature. I was not +very well one day, and even Mrs. Vandyke acknowledged that it would not +do for me to take the long-planned drive to Tuxedo. So, as I would not +let any one else miss this pleasure on my account, I had been left alone +in the house, and, not being ill enough for bed, had spent the most +of the morning in my window--not because he was in his; I was yet too +timid, and, let me hope, too girlishly modest, to wish to attract in +any way his attention--but because the sun shone there, and I was just +chilly enough to enjoy its mingled light and heat. Thus it was I came to +notice the following petty occurrence. In the yard of the house next to +that occupied by Mr. Allison was kept a tame rabbit, which often took +advantage of a hole it had made for itself under the dividing fence to +roam over the neighboring lawn. On this day he was taking his accustomed +ramble, when something startled him, and he ran, not back to his hole, +but to our fence, through which he squeezed himself, evidently to his +own great discomfort; for once in our yard, and under the refuge of a +small bush he found there, nothing would lure him back, though every +effort was made to do so, both by the small boy to whom he belonged, and +the old serving-man or gardener, who was the only other person besides +Mr. Allison whom I ever saw on the great place. Watching them, I noted +three things: first, that it was the child who first thought of opening +the gate; secondly, that it was the serving-man who brought the key; +and, thirdly, that after the gate had been opened and the rabbit +recovered, the gate had not been locked again; for, just as the man was +about to do this, a call came from the front, of so imperative a nature, +that he ran forward, without readjusting the padlock, and did not come +back, though I watched for him in idle curiosity for a good half-hour. +This was in the morning. At seven o’clock--how well I remember the +hour!--I was sitting again in my window, waiting for the return of the +Vandykes, and watching the face which had now reappeared at its usual +place in the study. It was dark everywhere save there, and I was +marveling over the sense of companionship it gave me under circumstances +of loneliness, which some girls might have felt most keenly, when +suddenly my attention was drawn from him to a window in the story over +his head, by the rapid blowing in and out of a curtain, which had been +left hanging loose before an open sash. As there was a lighted gas-jet +near by, I watched the gyrating muslin with some apprehension, and was +more shocked than astonished when, in another moment, I saw the flimsy +folds give one wild flap and flare up into a brilliant and dangerous +flame. To shriek and throw up my window was the work of a moment, but +I attracted no attention by these means, and, what was worse, saw, with +feelings which may be imagined, that nothing I could do would be likely +to arouse Mr. Allison to an immediate sense of his danger, for not only +were the windows shut between us, but he was lost in one of his brooding +spells, which to all appearance made him quite impassible to surrounding +events. + +“Will no one see? Will no one warn him?” I cried out, in terror of the +flames burning so brightly in the room above him. Seemingly not. No +other window was raised in the vicinity, and, frightened quite beyond +the exercise of reason or any instincts of false modesty, I dashed out +of my room downstairs, calling for the servants. But Lucy was in the +front area and Ellen above, and I was on the back porch and in the +garden before either of them responded. + +Meanwhile, no movement was observable in the brooding figure of Mr. +Allison, and no diminution in the red glare which now filled the room +above him. To see him sitting there so much at his ease, and to behold +at the same moment the destruction going on so rapidly over his head, +affected me more than I can tell, and casting to the winds all selfish +considerations, I sprang through the gate so providentially left ajar +and knocked with all my might on a door which opened upon a side porch +not many feet away from the spot where he sat so unconcernedly. + +The moment I had done this I felt like running away again, but hearing +his advancing step, summoned up my courage and stood my ground bravely, +determined to say one word and run. + +But when the door opened and I found myself face to face with the man +whose face I knew only too well, that word, important as it was, stuck +in my throat; for, agitated as I was, both by my errand and my sudden +encounter with one I had dreamed about for weeks, he seemed to be much +more so, though by other reasons--by far other reasons--than myself. He +was so moved--was it by the appearance of a strange young girl on his +doorstep, or was it at something in my face or manner, or some-thing in +his thoughts to which that face or manner gave a shock?--that my petty +fears for the havoc going on above seemed to pale into insignificance +before the emotions called up by my presence. Confronting me with +dilating eyes, he faltered slowly back till his natural instincts of +courtesy recalled him to himself, and he bowed, when I found courage to +cry: + +“Fire! Your house is on fire! Up there, overhead!” + +The sound which left his lips as these words slipped from mine struck +me speechless again. Appalling as the cry “Fire!” is at all times and to +all men, it roused in this man at this time something beyond anything my +girlish soul had ever imagined of terror or dismay. So intense were the +feelings I saw aroused in him that I expected to see him rush into the +open air with loud cries for help. But instead of that, he pushed the +door to behind me, and locking me in, said, in a strange and hoarsened +tone? + +“Don’t call out, don’t make any sound or outcry, and above all, don’t +let any one in; I will fight the flames alone!” and seizing a lamp from +the study-table, he dashed from me towards a staircase I could faintly +see in the distance. But half-way down the hall he looked back at me, +and again I saw that look on his face which had greeted my unexpected +appearance in the doorway. + +Alas! it was a thrilling look--a look which no girl could sustain +without emotion; and spellbound under it, I stood in a maze, alone and +in utter darkness, not knowing whether to unlock the door and escape or +to stand still and wait for his reappearance, as he evidently expected +me to do. + +Meanwhile, the alarm had spread, and more than one cry arose from the +houses in the rear. I could hear feet running over the walks without, +and finally a knock on the door I was leaning against, followed by the +cry: + +“Let us in! Fire! fire!” + +But I neither moved nor answered. I was afraid to be found there, +crouching alone in a bachelor’s residence, but I was equally afraid of +disobeying him, for his voice had been very imperious when he commanded +me not to let any one in; and I was too young to brave such a nature, +even if I had wished to, which I do not think I did. + +“He is overhead! See him--see him!” I now heard shouted from the lawn. +“He has dragged the curtains down! He is showering the walls with water! +Look--look! how wildly he works! He will be burnt himself. Ah! ah!” + All of which gave me strange thrills, and filled the darkness which +encompassed me with startling pictures, till I could hardly stand the +stress or keep myself from rushing to his assistance. + +While my emotions were at their height a bell rang. It was the front +doorbell, and it meant the arrival of the engines. + +“Oh!” thought I, “what shall I do now? If I run out I shall encounter +half the neighborhood in the back yard; if I stay here how shall I be +able to meet the faces of the firemen who will come rushing in?” + +But I was not destined to suffer from either contingency. As the bell +rang a second time, a light broke on the staircase I was so painfully +watching, and Mr. Allison descended, lamp in hand, as he had gone up. He +appeared calm now, and without any show of emotion proceeded at once to +the front door, which he opened. + +What passed between him and the policeman whose voice I heard in the +hall, I do not know. I heard them go up-stairs and presently come down +again, and I finally heard the front door close. Then I began to make +an effort to gain some control over my emotions, for I knew he had not +forgotten me, and that he soon would be in the vestibule at my side. + +But it was impossible for me to hope to meet him with an unconcerned +air. The excitement I was under and the cold--for I was dressed lightly +and the vestibule was chilly--had kept me trembling so, that my curls +had fallen all about my cheeks, and one had fallen so low that it +hung in shameful disorder to my very waist. This alone was enough to +disconcert me, but had my heart been without its secret--a secret I was +in mortal terror of disclosing in my confusion--I could have risen above +my embarrassment and let simple haste been my excuse. As it was, I must +have met him with a pleading aspect, very much like that of a frightened +child, for his countenance visibly changed as he approached me, and +showed quite an extraordinary kindness, if not contrition, as he paused +in the narrow vestibule with the blazing lamp held low in his hand. + +“My little girl,” he began, but instantly changed the phrase to “My +dear young lady, how can I thank you enough, and how can I sufficiently +express my regret at having kept you a prisoner in this blazing house? I +fear I have frightened you sorely, but---” And here, to my astonishment, +he found nothing to say, moved overmuch by some strong feeling, or +checked in his apologies by some great embarrassment. + +Astonished, for he did not look like a man who could be lightly +disturbed, I glowed a fiery red and put my hand out towards the door. +Instantly he found speech again. + +“One moment,” said he. “I feel that I ought to explain the surprise, the +consternation, which made me forget. You know this is not my house, +that I am here in trust for another, that the place is full of rare +treasures.” + +Had he stopped again? I was in such a state of inner perturbation that +I hardly knew whether he had ceased to speak or I to hear. Something, +I did not know what, had shaken my very life’s center--something in the +shape of dread, yet so mixed with delight that my hand fell from the +knob I had been blindly groping for and sank heavily at my side. His +eyes had not left my face. + +“May I ask whom I have the honor of addressing?” he asked, in a tone I +might better never have heard from his lips. + +To this I must make reply. Shuddering, for I felt something uncanny +in the situation, but speaking up, notwithstanding, with the round and +vibrating tones I had inherited from my mother, I answered, with the +necessary simplicity: + +“I am Delight Hunter, a country girl, sir, visiting the Vandykes.” + +A flash that was certainly one of pleasure lighted up his face with a +brilliance fatal to my poor, quivering girl’s heart. + +“Allow me, Miss Hunter, to believe that you will not bring down the +indignation of my neighbors upon me by telling them of my carelessness +and indiscretion.” Then, as my lips settled into a determined curve, +he himself opened the door, and bowing low, asked if I would accept his +protection to the gate. + +But at the rush of the night air, such a sensation of shame overpowered +me that I only thought of retreat; and, declining his offer with a +wild shake of the head, I dashed from the house and fled with an +incomprehensible sense of relief back to that of the Vandykes. The +servants, who had seen me rush towards Mr. Allison’s, were still in the +yard watching for me. I did not vouchsafe them a word. I could hardly +formulate words in my own mind. A great love and a great dread had +seized upon me at once. A great love for the man by whose face I had +been moved for weeks and a great dread--well, I cannot explain my +dread, not as I felt it that night. It was formless and without apparent +foundation; but it would no more leave me than my uneasy memory of the +fierce instinct which had led him at such a critical instant to close +his door against all help, though in so doing he had subjected a young +girl to many minutes of intense embarrassment and mortifying indecision. + + + + +CHAPTER II. A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST. + +Mr. Allison, who had never before been known to leave his books and +papers, not only called the next day to express his gratitude for what +he was pleased to style my invaluable warning, but came every day after, +till not only my heart but my reason told me that the great house in the +rear might ultimately be my home, if the passion which had now become my +life should prove greater than the dread which had not yet entirely left +me. + +Mr. Allison loved me--oh, what pride in the thought!--but Mr. Allison +had a secret, or why did he so often break off abruptly in some telltale +speech and drop his eyes, which were otherwise always upon me. Something +not easy to understand lay between us--something which he alternately +defied and succumbed to, something which kept him from being quite the +good man I had pictured myself as marrying. Why I was so certain of this +latter fact, I cannot say. Perhaps my instinct was keen; perhaps the +signs of goodness are so unmistakable that even a child feels their want +where her heart leans hardest. + +Yet everything I heard of him only tended to raise him in my estimation. +After he became an habitué of the house, Mrs. Vandyke grew more +communicative in regard to him. He was eccentric, of course, but his +eccentricities were such as did him credit. One thing she told me made +a lasting impression on me. Mrs. Ransome, the lady in whose house he +lived, had left her home very suddenly. He anticipated a like return; +so, ever since her departure, it had been his invariable custom to have +the table set for three, so that he might never be surprised by her +arrival. It had become a monomania with him. Never did he sit down +without there being enough before him for a small family, and as his +food was all brought in cooked from a neighboring restaurant, this +eccentricity of his was well known, and gave an added _éclat_ to his +otherwise hermit-like habits. To my mind, it added an element of pathos +to his seclusion, and so affected me that one day I dared to remark to +him: + +“You must have liked Mrs. Ransome very much you are so faithful in your +remembrance of her.” + +I never presumed again to attack any of his foibles. He gave me first +a hard look, then an indulgent one, and finally managed to say, after a +moment of quiet hesitation: + +“You allude to my custom of setting two chairs at the table to which +they may return at any minute? Miss Hunter, what I do in the loneliness +of that great house is not worth the gossip of those who surround you.” + +Flushing till I wished my curls would fall down and hide my cheeks, +I tried to stammer out some apology. But he drove it back with a +passionate word: + +“Delight, idol of my heart, come and see what a lonely place that old +house is. Come and live in that house--at least for a little time, till +I can arrange for you a brighter and a happier home--come and be my +wife.” + +It was sudden, it was all but unlooked-for, and like all his expressions +of feeling, frenzied rather than resolute. But it was a declaration that +met my most passionate longings, and in the elation it brought I forgot +for the moment the doubts it called up. Otherwise I had been a woman +rather than a girl, and this tale had never been written. + +“You love me, Delight” (he was already pressing me in his arms), “you +love me or you would never have rushed so impetuously to warn me of my +danger that night. Make me the maddest, happiest man in all the world +by saying you will not wait; that you will not ask counsel of anybody +or anything but your affection, but marry me at once; marry me while my +heart yearns for you so deeply; marry me before I go away----” + +“Go away?” + +“Yes, I am going away. Mrs. Ransome and her daughter are coming back and +I am going away. Will you go with me?” + +With what intensity he spoke, yet with what hardness. I quivered while +I listened, yet I made no move to withdraw from him. Had he asked me to +step with him from the housetop I should hardly have refused while his +heart throbbed so wildly against mine and his eyes lured me on with such +a promise of ecstasy. + +“You will?” How peremptory he could be. “You will?” How triumphant, +also. + +I hardly realized what I had done till I stood abashed before Mrs. +Vandyke, and told her I had engaged myself to marry Mr. Allison before +he went to Europe. Then it seemed I had done a very good thing. She +congratulated me heartily, and, seeing I had a certain fear of taking my +aunt into my confidence, promised to sit down and write to her herself, +using every encomium she could think of to make this sudden marriage, on +my part, seem like the result of reason and wise forethought. + +“Such an estimable man! such an old neighbor! so domestic in his tastes! +and, oh! so wise to find out and make his own the slyest and most +bewildering little beauty that has come into New York this many a +season!” These were some of her words, and, though pleasing at the time, +they made me think deeply--much more deeply than I wished to, after I +went upstairs to my room. + +“Estimable! an old neighbor! domestic in his tastes!” Had she said: +“Handsome! masterful in his air and spirit! a man to make a girl forget +the real end of life and think only of present pleasure!” I should not +have had such a fierce reaction. But estimable! Was he estimable? I +tried to cry out yes! I tried to keep down the memory of that moment +when, with a dozen passions suddenly let loose (one of them fear), he +strode by me and locked the door against all help, under an impetus he +had tried in vain to explain. Nothing would quiet the still, small voice +speaking in my breast, or give to the moment that unalloyed joy which +belongs to a young girl’s betrothal. I was afraid. Why? + +Mr. Allison never came in the evening, another of his peculiarities. +Other men did, but what were other men to me now? This night I pleaded +weariness (Mrs. Vandyke understood me), and remained in my room. I +wanted to study the face of my lover under the new conditions. Was he +in his old seat? Yes. And would he read, as usual, or study? No. He had +thoughts of his own to-night, engrossing enough to hold him enthralled +without the aid of his ordinary occupations; thoughts, thoughts of me, +thoughts which should have cleared his brow and made his face a study of +delight to me. But was it so? Alas! I had never seen it so troubled; lit +with gleams of hope or happiness by spells, but mostly sunk in depths of +profoundest contemplation, which gave to it a melancholy from which I +shrank, and not the melancholy one longs to comfort and allay. What was +on his mind? What was in his heart? Something he feared to have noted, +for suddenly he rose with a start, and, for the first time since my eyes +had sought that window, pulled down the shades and thus shut himself out +from my view altogether. Was it a rebuke to my insistent watchfulness? +or the confession of a reticent nature fearing to be surprised in its +moment of weakness? I ought to know--I would know. To-morrow I would ask +him if there was any sorrow in his life which a confiding girl ought to +be made acquainted with before she yielded him her freedom. But the pang +which pierced me at the thought, proved that I feared his answer too +much to ever question him. + +I am thus explicit in regard to my thoughts and feelings at this time, +that I may more fully account to you for what I did later. I had not, +what every one else seemed to have, full confidence in this man, and yet +the thrall in which I was held by the dominating power of his passion, +kept me from seeking that advice even from my own intuitions, which +might have led to my preservation. I was blind and knew I was blind, yet +rushed on headlong. I asked him no questions till our wedding day. + +My aunt, who seemed quite satisfied with Mrs. Vandyke’s explanations, +promised to be present at the ceremony, which was set at an alarmingly +near day. My lovers on the contrary--by whom I mean the half dozen men +who had been attentive to me--refused to attend, so I had one care less; +for the lack of time--perhaps I should say my lack of means--precluded +me from obtaining a very elaborate wedding dress, and I did not choose +to have them see me appear on such an occasion in any less charming +guise than I had been accustomed to wear at party or play. _He_ did not +care what I wore. When I murmured something about the haste with which +he had hurried things forward, and how it was likely to interfere with +what most brides considered necessary to the proper celebration of such +an event, he caught me to his breast with a feverish gesture and vowed +that if he could have his way, there would be no preparation at all, but +just a ceremony before a minister which would make me his without the +least delay. + +Men may enjoy such precipitation, but women do not. I was so troubled by +what seemed the meagerness of my wardrobe and the lack of everything +I had been accustomed to see brides bring their husbands, that I asked +Mrs. Vandyke one day if Mr. Allison was a rich man. She answered, with +a smile: “No, my dear, not as we New-Yorkers count riches. Having the +power of attorney for Mrs. Ransome, he handles a good deal of money; +but very little of it is his own, though to you his five-thousand-a-year +salary may seem a fortune.” + +This was so much Greek to me, though I did understand he was not +considered wealthy. + +“Then my fawn-colored cloth will not be so very inappropriate for a +wedding dress?” I asked. + +“I wish you could see yourself in it,” she said, and that satisfied me. + +We were married simply, but to the sound of wonderful music, in a +certain little church not far from ------ Street. My aunt was there and +my four lovers, though they had said, one and all, they would not come. +But I saw nothing, realized nothing, save the feverish anxiety of my +bridegroom, who, up to the minute the final vows were uttered, seemed to +be on a strain of mingled emotions, among which I seemed to detect that +old one of fear. A pitiful outlook for an adoring bride, you will think, +who, without real friends to interest themselves in her, allows herself +to be pushed to a brink she is wise enough to see, but not strong enough +to recoil from. Yes, but its full pathos did not strike me then. I only +felt anxious to have the ceremony over, to know that the die was +cast beyond my own powers of retraction; and when the words of the +benediction at last fell upon my ears, it was with real joy I turned to +see if they brought him as much rapture as they did me. Happily for that +moment’s satisfaction they did, and if a friend had been there with eyes +to see and heart to feel, there would have been nothing in the air of +open triumph with which Mr. Allison led me down the aisle to awaken +aught but hope and confidence. My own hopes rose at the sight, and when +at the carriage door he turned to give me a smile before he helped me +in, nothing but the obstinacy of my nature prevented me from accepting +the verdict of my acquaintances, “That for a little country girl, with +nothing but her good looks to recommend her, Delight Hunter had done +remarkably well in the one short month she had been in the city.” + +Mr. Allison had told me that it would be impossible for him to take +me out of the city at present. It was therefore to the house on ------ +Street we were driven. On the way he attempted to reconcile me to what +he feared might strike me as dreary in the prospect. + +“The house is partially closed,” said he, “and many of the rooms are +locked. Even the great drawing-rooms have an uninhabited look, which +will make them anything but attractive to a lover of sunshine and +comfort; but the library is cheerful, and in that you can sit and +imagine yourself at home till lean wind up my business affairs and make +possible the trip upon which I have set my heart.” + +“Does that mean,” I faintly ventured, “that you will leave me to spend +much of my time alone in that great echoing house?” + +“No,” was his quick response, “you shall spend no time there alone. When +I go out you shall go too, and if business takes me where you cannot +accompany me I will give you money to shop with, which will keep you +pleasantly occupied till I can rejoin you. Oh, we will make it a happy +honeymoon, in spite of all obstacles, my darling. I should be a wretch +if I did not make it happy for _you_.” + +Here was my opportunity. I trembled as I thought of it, and stammered +quite like a foolish child as I softly suggested: + +“For me? Is it not likely to be a happy one for _you?_” + +I will not give his answer; it was a passionate one, but it was not +convincing. Pondering it and trying to persuade myself he alluded only +to business cares and anxieties, I let the minute slip by and entered +the house with doubts unsolved, but with no further effort to understand +him. Remember, he was thirty-five and I but a chit of eighteen. + +In the hall stood the old serving-man with whose appearance I was +already so familiar. He had a smile on his face, which formed my only +welcome. He also had a napkin over his arm. + +“Luncheon is served,” he announced, with great formality; and then I saw +through an open door the glitter of china and glass, and realized I was +about to take my first meal with my husband. + +Mr. Allison had already told me that he intended to make no changes in +his domestic arrangements for the few days we were likely to occupy this +house. I had therefore expected that our meals would be served from the +restaurant, and that Ambrose (the waiting-man) would continue to be the +only other occupant of the house. But I was not sure whether the table +would be still set for four, or whether he would waive this old custom +now that he had a wife to keep him company at the once lonely board. I +was eager to know, and as soon as I could lay aside my hat in the little +reception-room, I turned my face towards the dining-room door, where my +husband stood awaiting me with a bunch of great white roses in his hand. + +“Sweets to the sweet,” said he, with a smile that sunk down deep into +my heart and made my eyes moisten with joy. In the hackneyed expression +there rang nothing false. He was proud and he was glad to see me enter +that dining-room as his wife. + +The next moment I was before the board, which had been made as beautiful +as possible with flowers and the finest of dinner services. But the +table was set for four, two of whom could only be present in spirit. + +I wondered if I were glad or sorry to see it--if I were more pleased +with his loyalty to his absent employer, or disappointed that my +presence had not made everybody else forgotten. To be consistent, I +should have rejoiced at this evidence of sterling worth on his part; but +girls are not consistent--at least, brides of an hour are not--and I may +have pouted the least bit in the world as I pointed to the two places +set as elaborately as our own, and said with the daring which comes with +the rights of a wife: + +“It would be a startling coincidence if Mrs. Ransome and her daughter +should return today. I fear I would not like it.” + +I was looking directly at him as I spoke, with a smile on my lips and my +hand on the back of my chair. But the jest I had expected in reply did +not come. Something in my tone or choice of topic jarred upon him, and +his answer was a simple wave of his hand towards Ambrose, who at once +relieved me of my bouquet, placing it in a tall glass at the side of my +plate. + +“Now we will sit,” said he. + +I do not know how the meal would have passed had Ambrose not been +present. As it was, it was a rather formal affair, and would have been +slightly depressing, if I had not caught, now and then, flashing glances +from my husband’s eye which assured me that he found as much to enchain +him in my presence as I did in his. What we ate I have no idea of. I +only remember that in every course there was enough for four. + +As we rose, I was visited by a daring impulse. Ambrose had poured me out +a glass of wine, which stood beside my plate undisturbed. As I stooped +to recover my flowers again, I saw this glass, and at once lifted it +towards him, crying: + +“To Mrs. Ransome and her daughter, who did _not_ return to enjoy our +wedding-breakfast.” + +He recoiled. Yes, I am sure he gave a start back, though he recovered +himself immediately and responded with grave formality to my toast. + +“Does he not like Mrs. Ransome?” I thought. “Is the somewhat onerous +custom he maintains here the result of a sense of duty rather than of +liking?” + +My curiosity was secretly whetted by the thought. But with a girl’s +lightness I began to talk of other things, and first of the house, which +I now for the first time looked at with anything like seeing eyes. + +He was patient with me, but I perceived he did not enjoy this topic any +more than the former one. “It is not ours,” he kept saying; “remember +that none of these old splendors are ours.” + +“They are more ours than they are Mrs. Ransome’s, just now,” I at last +retorted, with one of my girlhood’s saucy looks. “At all events, I am +going to play that it is ours tonight,” I added, dancing away from him +towards the long drawing-rooms where I hoped to come upon a picture of +the absent lady of the house. + +“Delight “--he was quite peremptory now-- + +“I must ask you not to enter those rooms, however invitingly the doors +may stand open. It is a notion, a whim of mine, that you do not lend +your beauty to light up that ghostly collection of old pictures and ugly +upholstery, and if you feel like respecting my wishes----” + +“But may I not stand in the doorway?” I asked, satisfied at having been +able to catch a glimpse of a full-length portrait of a lady who could +be no other than Mrs. Ransome. “See! my shadow does not even fall +across the carpet. I won’t do the room any harm, and I am sure that Mrs. +Ransome’s picture won’t do me any.” + +“Come! come away!” he cried; and humoring his wishes, I darted away, +this time in the direction of the dining-room and Ambrose. “My dear,” + remonstrated my husband, quickly following me, “what has brought you +back here?” + +“I want to see,” said I, “what Ambrose does with the food we did not +eat. Such a lot of it!” + +It was childish, but then I was a child and a nervous one, too. Perhaps +he considered this, for, while he was angry enough to turn pale, he did +not attempt any rebuke, but left it to Ambrose to say: + +“Mr. Allison is very good, ma’am. This food, which is very nice, is +given each day to a poor girl who comes for it, and takes it home to her +parents. I put it in this basket, and Mr. Allison gives it to the girl +when she calls for it in the evening.” + +“You _are_ good,” I cried, turning to my husband with a fond look. Did +he think the emphasis misplaced, or did he consider it time for me +to begin to put on more womanly ways, for drawing me again into the +library, he made me sit beside him on the big lounge, and after a kiss +or two, demanded quietly, but oh, how peremptorily: + +“Delight, why do you so often speak of Mrs. Ransome? Have you any reason +for it? Has any one talked to you about her, that her name seems to be +almost the only one on your lips in the few, short minutes we have been +married?” + +I did not know why this was so, myself, so I only shook my head and +sighed, repentingly. Then, seeing that he would have some reply, I +answered with what _naiveté_ I could summon up at the moment: + +“I think it was because you seem so ashamed of your devotion to them. I +love to see your embarrassment, founded as it is upon the most generous +instincts.” + +His hand closed over mine with a fierceness that hurt me. + +“Let us talk of love,” he whispered. “Delight, this is our wedding-day.” + + + + +CHAPTER III. ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE. + +After supper Mr. Allison put before me a large book. “Amuse yourself +with these pictures,” said he; “I have a little task to perform. After +it is done I will come again and sit with you.” + +“You are not going out,” I cried, starting up. “No,” he smiled, “I am +not going out.” I sank back and opened the book, but I did not look at +the pictures. Instead of that I listened to his steps moving about +the house, rear and front, and finally going up what seemed to be a +servant’s staircase, for I could see the great front stairs from where +I sat, and there was no one on them. “Why do I not hear his feet +overhead?” I asked myself. “That is the only room he has given me leave +to enter. Does his task take him elsewhere?” Seemingly so, for, though +he was gone a good half hour, he did not enter the room above. Why +should I think of so small a matter? It would be hard to say; perhaps +I was afraid of being left in the great rooms alone; perhaps I was only +curious; but I asked myself a dozen times before he reappeared, “Where +is he gone, and why does he stay away so long?” But when he returned and +sat down I said nothing. There was a little thing I noted, however. His +hands were trembling, and it was five minutes before he met my inquiring +look. This I should not consider worth mentioning if I had not observed +the same hesitancy follow the same disappearance up-stairs on the +succeeding night. It was the only time in the day when he really left +me, and, when he came back, he was not like himself for a good half hour +or more. “I will not displease him with questions,” I decided; “but some +day I will find my own way into those lofts above. I shall never be at +rest till I do.” + +What I expected to find there is as much a mystery to my understanding +as my other doubts and fears. I hardly think I expected to find anything +but a desk of papers, or a box with money in it or other valuables. +Still the idea that something on the floor above had power to shadow my +husband’s face, even in the glow of his first love for me, possessed +me so completely that, when he fell asleep one evening on the library +lounge, I took the opportunity of stealing away and mounting the +forbidden staircase to the third floor. I had found a candle in my +bedroom, and this I took to light me. But it revealed nothing to me +except a double row of unused rooms, with dust on the handles of all the +doors. I scrutinized them all; for, young as I was, I had wit enough to +see that if I could find one knob on which no dust lay that would be the +one my husband was accustomed to turn. But every one showed tokens of +not having been touched in years, and, baffled in my search, I was about +to retreat, when I remembered that the house had four stories, and +that I had not yet come upon the staircase leading to the one above. +A hurried search (for I was mortally afraid of being surprised by my +husband,) revealed to me at last a distant door, which had no dust on +its knob. It lay at the bottom of a shut-in stair-case, and, convinced +that here was, the place my husband was in the habit of visiting, I +carefully fingered the knob, which turned very softly in my hand. But +it did not open the door. There was a lock visible just below, and that +lock was fastened. + +My first escapade was without visible results, but I was uneasy from +that hour. I imagined all sorts of things hidden beyond that closed, +door. I remembered that the windows of the fourth story were all boarded +up, and asked myself why this had been done when the lower ones had been +left open. I was young, but I had heard of occupations which could only +be entered into by a man secretly. Did he amuse himself with forbidden +tasks in that secluded place above, or was I but exaggerating facts +which might have their basis simply in a quondam bachelor’s desire for +solitude and a quiet smoke. “I will follow him up some night,” thought +I, “and see if I cannot put an end at once to my unworthy fears and +unhappy suspicions.” But I never did; something happened very soon to +prevent me. + +I was walking one morning in the grounds that lay about the house, when +suddenly I felt something small but perceptibly hard strike my hat and +bound quickly off. Astonished, for I was under no tree, under nothing +indeed but the blue of heaven, I looked about for the object that had +struck me. As I did so, I perceived my husband in his window, but his +eyes, while upon me, did not see me, for no change passed over him as I +groped about in the grass. “In one of his contemplative moods,” thought +I, continuing my search. In another instant I started up. I had found a +little thing like a bullet wrapped up in paper; but it was no bullet; it +was a bead, a large gold bead, and on the paper which surrounded it were +written words so fine I could not at first decipher them, but as soon as +I had stepped away far enough to be out of the reach of the eyes I both +loved and feared more than any in the world, I managed, by dint of great +patience, and by placing the almost transparent paper on which they were +written over one of the white satin strings of the cape I wore, to read +these words: + +“Help from the passing stranger! I am Elizabeth Ransome, owner of the +house in which I have been imprisoned five years. Search for me in +the upper story. You will find me there with my blind daughter. He who +placed us here is below; beware his cunning.” + +And underneath, these words: + +“This is the twenty-fifth attempt I have made to attract attention to +our unhappy fate. I can make but two more. There are but two beads left +of Theresa’s necklace.” + +“What is the matter, ma’am? Are you ill?” It was Ambrose; I knew his +voice. + +Crushing the paper in my hand, I tried to look up; but it was in vain. +The sting of sudden and complete disillusion had struck me to the heart; +I knew my husband to be a villain. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. I LEARN HYPOCRISY. + +Only eighteen, but from that moment, a woman. Sunk in horror as I was, +I yet had wit enough to clap my hands to my head and say I had been +dazzled by the sun. + +Ambrose, who, in the week I had been with them, had shown himself +delighted with the change my coming had made in the house, looked +alarmed at this and wanted to call Mr. Allison; but I forbade him, and +said I would go in by myself, which I did under a stress of will-power +rarely exercised, I dare believe, by a girl so young and so miserable. + +“What shall I say to him? how shall I meet him? how can I hide my +knowledge and act as if this thing had never been?” For even in that +rush of confusing emotions I recognized one fact; that I must not betray +by look or word that I knew his dreadful secret. If he were villain +enough to keep a woman, and that woman the rightful owner of the +property he was himself enjoying, in a prison he had made for her in +her own house, then he was villain enough to strangle the one who had +discovered this fact, were she the cherished darling of his seared and +calculating heart. I was afraid of him now that I knew him, yet I never +thought of flying his presence or revealing his crime. He was, villain +or no villain, my husband, and nothing could ever undo that fact or make +it true that I had never loved him. + +So I went in, but went in slowly and with downcast eyes. The bead and +the paper I had dropped into my _vinaigrette_, which fortunately hung at +my side. + +“Humphrey,” I said, “when are we going to leave this house? I begin to +find it lonesome.” + +He was preparing to gather up his papers for his accustomed trip down +town, but he stopped as I spoke, and look at me curiously. + +“You are pale,” he remarked, “change and travel will benefit you. +Dearest, we will try to sail for Europe in a week.” + +A week! What did he mean? Leave his prisoners--alas, I understood his +journeys to the top of the house now--and go away to Europe? I felt +myself grow livid at the thought, and caught a spray of lilac from the +table where I stood and held it to my face. + +“Will your business affairs warrant it?” I asked. “Are you sure Mrs. +Ransome’s affairs will not suffer by your absence?” Then, as I saw him +turn white, I made a ghastly effort, happily hid by the flowers I held +pressed against my face, and suggested, laughingly, “How, if she +should come back after your departure! would she meet the greeting she +deserves?” + +He was half the room away from me, but I heard the click of subdued +passion in his throat, and turned sick almost to the point of fainting. +“It is four days since you mentioned Mrs. Ransome’s name,” he said. +“When we are gone from here you must promise that it shall never again +pass your lips. Mrs. Ransome is not a good woman, Delight.” + +It was a lie yet his manner of speaking it, and the look with which he +now approached me, made me feel helpless again, and I made haste to rush +from the room, ostensibly to prepare for our trip down town, in order +to escape my own weakness and gain a momentary self-possession before we +faced the outside world. Only eighteen years old and confronted by such +a diabolical problem! + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE STOLEN KEY. + +I was too young to reason in those days. Had I not been, had I been able +to say to myself that no act requiring such continued precaution +could take place in the heart of a great city without ultimate, if not +instant, detection, instinct would still have assured me that what I +read was true, however improbable or unheard of it might seem. That +the recognition of this fact imposed upon me two almost irreconcilable +duties I was slower to perceive. But soon, too soon, it became apparent +even to my girlish mind, that, as the wife of the man who had committed +this great and inconceivable wrong, I was bound, not only to make +an immediate attempt to release the women he so outrageously held +imprisoned in their own house, but to so release them that he should +escape the opprobrium of his own act. + +That I might have time to think, and that I might be saved, if but for +one day, contact with one it was almost my duty to hate, I came back to +him with the plea that I might spend the day with the Vandykes instead +of accompanying him down town as usual. I think he was glad of the +freedom my absence offered him, for he gave me the permission I asked, +and in ten minutes I was in my old home. Mrs. Vandyke received me with +effusion. It was not the first time she had seen me since my marriage, +but it was the first time she had seen me alone. + +“My dear!” she exclaimed, turning me about till my unwilling face met +the light, “is this the wild-wood lassie I gave into Mr. Allison’s +keeping a week ago!” + +“It is the house!” I excitedly gasped, “the empty, lonely, echoing +house! I am afraid in it, even with my husband. It gives me creepy +feelings, _as if a murder had been committed in it_.” + +She broke into a laugh; I hear the sound now, an honest, amused and +entirely reassuring laugh, that relieved me in one way and depressed me +in another. “The idea! _that_ house!” she cried. “I never thought you +a girl to have nervous fancies. Why, it is the most matter-of-fact old +mansion in the city. All its traditions are of the most respectable +kind; no skeleton in those closets! By the way, my dear, has Mr. Allison +shown you any of the curious old things those rooms must contain?” + +I managed to stammer out a reply, “Mr. Allison does not consider that +his rights extend so far. I have never crossed the drawing-room floor.” + +“Well! that is carrying honor to an extreme. I am afraid I should not +be able to suppress my curiosity to that extent. Is he afraid of the old +lady returning unexpectedly and catching him?” + +I could not echo her laugh; I could not even smile; I could only pucker +up my brows as if angry. + +“Everything is kept in shape, so that if she does return she will find +the house comfortable,” I said; then, with a rising sense of having by +this speech suggested a falsehood, I hastily dropped the topic, and, +with an entire change of manner, remarked, airily: + +“Mrs. Ransome must have gone off very suddenly, to leave everything so +exposed in a house as splendid as that. Most people, however rich, see +to their choice things more carefully.” + +She rose to the bait. “Mrs. Ransome is a queer woman. Her things are of +but little account to her; to save her daughter from a moment’s pain +she would part with the house itself, let alone the accumulations it +contains. That is why she left the country so suddenly.” + +I waited a moment under the pretense of admiring a locket she wore, then +I suggested, quietly: + +“My husband told you that?” + +The answer was as careless as the speaker. + +“Oh, I don’t know who told me. It’s five years ago now, but every one +at the time understood that she was angry, because some one mentioned +blindness before her daughter. Mrs. Ransome had regarded it as a +religious duty to raise her daughter in ignorance of her affliction. +When she found she could not do so among her friends and acquaintances, +she took her away to a strange land. It is the only tradition, which is +not commonplace, which belongs to the family. Let us go up and see my +new gowns. I have had two come home from Arnold’s since you went away.” + +I thought the gowns would keep a minute longer. “Did Mrs. Ransome say +good-by to her friends?” I asked. “Somehow this matter strikes me as +being very romantic.” + +“Oh, that shows what a puss you are. No, Mrs. Ransome did not say +good-by to her friends, that is, not to us. She just went, leaving +everything in your husband’s charge, who certainly has acquitted himself +of the obligation most religiously. And now will you see the gowns?” + +I tortured myself by submitting to this ordeal, then I ventured on +another and entirely different attempt to clear up the mystery that +was fast stifling out my youth, love and hope. I professed to have an +extraordinary desire to see the city from the house-top. I had never +been any higher up than the third story of any house I had been in, and +could not, I told her, go any higher in the house in which I was then +living. Might I go up on her roof? Her eyes opened, but she was of an +amiable, inconsequent disposition and let me have my way without too +much opposition. So, together with a maid she insisted upon sending with +me, I made my way through the skylight on to the roof, and so into full +view of the neighboring house-tops. + +One glance at the spot I was most interested in, and I found myself too +dizzy to look further. In the center of Mrs. Ransome’s roof there was to +be seen what I can best describe as an extended cupola without windows. +As there was no other break visible in the roof, the top of this must +have held the skylight, which, being thus lifted many feet above the +level of the garret floor, would admit air and light enough to the +boarded-up space below, but would make any effort to be heard or seen, +on the part of any one secreted there, quite ineffectual. One might, by +a great effort, fling up a bead out of this funnel-shaped opening, +but, even to my limited sense of mechanics, the chances seemed very +unfavorable towards it doing much more than roll over the spacious roof +into the huge gutters surrounding it. + +Yet, if it chose to bound, it might clear the coping and fall, as one +had fallen, on the devoted head of a person walking on the lawn below. +All this I saw at a glance, and then, sick and dizzy, I crept back, and, +with but little apology for my abruptness, took leave of Mrs. Vandyke +and left the house. + +The resolution I took in doing this was worthy of an older head and a +more disciplined heart. By means that were fair, or by means that were +foul, I meant to win my way into that boarded-up attic and see for +myself if the words hidden away in my vinaigrette were true. To do +this openly would cause a scandal I was yet too much under my husband’s +influence to risk; while to do it secretly meant the obtaining of keys +which I had every reason to believe he kept hidden about his person. +How was I to obtain them? I saw no way, but that did not deter me from +starting at once down town in the hope of being struck by some brilliant +idea while waiting for him in his office. + +Was it instinct that suggested this, or was the hand of Providence in +all that I did at this time? I had no sooner seated myself in the little +room, where I had been accustomed to wait for him, than I saw what sent +the blood tingling to my finger-tips in sudden hope. It was my husband’s +vest hanging in one corner, the vest he had worn down town that morning. +The day was warm and he had taken it off. _If the key should be in it!_ + +I had never done a mean or underhanded thing before in my life, but I +sprang at that vest without the least hesitation, and fingering it with +the lightest of touches, found in the smallest of inside pockets a +key, which instinct immediately told me was that of the door I had once +endeavored to pass. Oh, the rush of feeling overwhelming me as I held +it in my hand! Would he miss it if I carried it off? Would I be able to +return to the house, see what I wanted to see, and get back in time to +restore it before he wanted his vest? It was early yet, and he was very +busy; I might succeed, and if I failed, and he detected his loss, why I +alone would be the sufferer; and was I not a sufferer now? Dropping the +key into my pocket, I went back into the outer room, and leaving word +that I had remembered a little shopping which would take me again up +town, I left the building and returned to ------ Street. My emotions +were indescribable, but I preserved as sedate an appearance as possible, +and was able to account for my return in a natural enough way to Ambrose +when he opened the door for me. To brave his possible curiosity by going +up-stairs, required a still greater effort; but the thought that my +intentions were pure and my daring legitimate, sustained me in the +ordeal, and I ran, singing, up the first flight, glad that Ambrose +had no better ear for music than to be pleased with what he probably +considered an evidence of happiness on the part of his young mistress. + +I was out of breath with suspense, as well as with my rapid movements, +when I reached the shut-in staircase and carefully unlocked its narrow +door. But by the time I had reached the fourth floor, and unlocked, with +the same key, the only other door that had a streak of light under it, +I had gained a certain degree of tense composure born of the desperate +nature of the occasion. The calmness with which I pushed open the door +proved this--a calmness which made the movement noiseless, which was the +reason, I suppose, why I was enabled to suppress the shriek that rose +to my lips as I saw that the room had occupants, and that my worst fears +were thus realized. + +A woman was sitting, with her back to me, at a table, and before her, +with her face turned my way, was a young girl in whom, even at first +glance, I detected some likeness to myself. Was this why Mr. Allison’s +countenance expressed so much agitation when he first saw me? The next +moment this latter lifted her head and looked directly at me, but with +no change in her mobile features; at which token of blindness I almost +fell on my knees, so conclusively did it prove that I was really looking +upon Mrs. Ransome and her daughter. + +The mother, who had been directing her daughter’s hands in some +needlework, felt that the latter’s attention had been diverted. + +“What is it, dear?” she asked, with an indescribable mellowness of +voice, whose tone thrilled me with a fresh and passionate pity. + +“I thought I heard Mr. Allison come in, but he always knocks; besides, +it is not time for him yet.” And she sighed. + +That sigh went through my heart, rousing new feelings and deeper +terrors; but I had no time to indulge in them, for the mother turned +at the gasp which left my lips, and rising up, confronted me with an +amazement which left her without any ability to speak. + +“Who is it, mother?” inquired the blind girl, herself rising and beaming +upon me with the sweetest of looks. + +“Let me answer,” I ventured, softly. “I am Mr. Allison’s wife. I have +come to see if there is anything I can do to make your stay here more +comfortable.” + +The look that passed over the mother’s face warned me to venture no +further in the daughter’s presence. Whatever that mother had +suffered, the daughter had experienced nothing but satisfied love and +companionship in these narrow precincts. Her rounded cheeks showed this, +and the indescribable atmosphere of peace and gladness which +surrounded her. As I saw this, and realized the mother’s life and the +self-restraint which had enabled her to accept the inevitable without +raising a complaint calculated to betray to the daughter that all was +not as it should be with them, I felt such a rush of awe sweep over me +that some of my fathomless emotion showed in my face; for Mrs. Ransome’s +own countenance assumed a milder look, and advancing nearer, she +pointed out a room where we could speak apart. As I moved towards it she +whispered a few words in her daughter’s ear, then she rejoined me. + +“I did not know Mr. Allison was married,” were her first words. + +“Madame,” said I, “I did not know we were the guests of a lady who +chooses to live in retirement.” And opening my vinaigrette, I took out +the bead and the little note which had enwrapped it. “This was my first +warning that my husband was not what I had been led to consider him,” + I murmured. “Mrs. Ransome, I am in need of almost as much pity as +yourself. I have been married just six days.” + +She gave a cry, looked me wildly in the face, and then sank upon her +knees, lifting up thanks to heaven. “Twenty-four of these notes,” said +she; “have I written, and flung upward through that lofty skylight, +weighted by the beads he left wound about my darling daughter’s neck. +This one only has brought me the least response. Does he know? Is he +willing that you should come up here?” + +“I have come at the risk of my life,” I quietly answered. “He does +not know that I have surprised his secret. He would kill me if he did. +Madame, I want to free you, but I want to do it without endangering +him. I am his wife, and three hours ago I loved him.” + +Her face, which had turned very pale, approached mine with a look +I hardly expected to encounter there. “I understand,” she said; “I +comprehend devotion; I have felt it for my daughter. Else I could not +have survived the wrong of this incarceration, and my forcible severance +from old associations and friends. I loved _her_, and since the +knowledge of her affliction, and the still worse knowledge that she had +been made the victim of a man’s greed to an extent not often surpassed +in this world, would have made her young life wretched without securing +the least alleviation to our fate, I have kept both facts from her, and +she does not know that closed doors mean bondage any more than she knows +that unrelieved darkness means blindness. She is absolutely ignorant +that there is such a thing as light.” + +“Oh, madame!” I murmured, “Oh, madame! Show a poor girl what she can do +to restore you to your rights. The door is open and you can descend; but +that means----- Oh, madame, I am filled with terror when I think what. +He may be in the hall now. He may have missed the key and returned. If +only you were out of the house!” + +“My dear girl,” she quietly replied, “we will be some day. You will see +to that, I know. I do not think I could stay here, now that I have seen +another face than his. But I do not want to go now, to-day. I want to +prepare Theresa for freedom; she has lived so long quietly with me that +I dread the shock and excitement of other voices and the pressure of +city sounds upon her delicate ears. I must train her for contact with +the world. But you won’t forget me if I allow you to lock us in again? +You will come back and open the doors, and let me go down again through +my old halls into the room where my husband died; and if Mr. Allison +objects---- My dear girl, you know now that he is an unscrupulous man, +that it is my money he begrudged me, and that he has used it and made +himself a rich man. But he has one spark of grace in him. He has never +forgotten that we needed bread and clothes. He has waited on us himself, +and never have we suffered from physical want. Therefore, he may not +object now. He may feel that he has enriched himself sufficiently to +let us go free, and if I must give my oath to let the past go without +explanation, why I am ready, my dear; nothing can undo it now, and I am +grown too old to want money except for her.” “I cannot,” I murmured, “I +cannot find courage to present the subject to him so. I do not know my +husband’s mind. It is a fathomless abyss to me. Let me think of some +other way. Oh, madam! if you were out of the house, and could then +come----” Suddenly a thought struck me. “I can do it; I see the way to +do it--a way that will place you in a triumphant position, and yet save +him from suspicion. He is weary of this care. He wants to be relieved of +the dreadful secret which anchors him to this house, and makes a hell of +the very spot in which he has fixed his love. Shall we undertake to +do his for him? Can you trust me if I promise to take an immediate +impression of this key, and have one made for myself, which shall insure +my return here?” + +“My dear,” she said, taking my head between her two trembling hands, “I +have never looked upon a sweeter face than my daughter’s till I looked +upon yours to-day. If you bid me hope, I will hope, and if you bid +me trust, I will trust. The remembrance of this kiss will not let you +forget.” And she embraced me in a warm and tender manner. + +“I will write you,” I murmured. “Some day look for a billet under the +door. It will tell you what to do; now I must go back to my husband.” + +And, with a sudden access of fear, caused by my dread of meeting his +eyes with this hidden knowledge between us, I hastened out and locked +the door behind me. + +When I reached the office, I was in a fainting condition, but all my +hopes revived again when I saw the vest still hanging where I had left +it, and heard my husband’s voice singing cheerfully in the adjoining +room. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + +I CANNOT enter into the feelings of this dreadful time. I do not know +if I loved or hated the man I had undertaken to save. I only know I was +determined to bring light out of darkness in a way that would compromise +nobody, possibly not even myself. But to do this I must dazzle him +into giving me a great pleasure. A crowd in the ------ Street house was +necessary to the quiet escape of Mrs. Ransome and her daughter; so a +crowd we must have, and how have a crowd without giving a grand party? +I knew that this would be a shocking proposition to him, but I was +prepared to meet all objections; and when, with every nerve alert and +every charm exerted to its utmost, I sat down at his side that evening +to plead my cause, I knew by the sparkle of his eye and the softening of +the bitter lines that sometimes hardened his mouth, that the battle was +half won before I spoke, and that I should have my party whatever it +might cost him in mental stress and worry. + +Perhaps he was glad to find me given over to folly at a time when he was +waiting for a miracle to release him from the net of crime in which he +had involved himself; perhaps he merely thought it would please me, +and aid him to thus strengthen our position in the social world before +taking our flight to a foreign land; but whatever lay at the bottom of +his amenity, he gave me _carte blanche_ that night for an entertainment +that should embrace all his friends and mine and some of Mrs. Vandyke’s. +So I saw that doubt removed. + +The next thing I did was to procure a _facsimile_ of his key from the +wax impression I had taken of it in accordance with my promise to Mrs. +Ransome. Then I wrote her a letter, in which I gave her the minutest +directions as to her own movements on that important evening. After +which I gave myself up entirely to the business of the party. Certain +things I had insisted on. All the rooms were to be opened, even those +on the third floor; and I was to have a band to play in the hall. He did +not deny me anything. I think his judgment was asleep, or else he was so +taken up with the horrible problem presented by his desire to leave +the city and the existence of those obligations which made departure an +impossibility, that he failed to place due stress on matters which, at +another time, might very well seem to threaten the disclosure of his +dangerous secret. + +At last the night came. + +An entertainment given in this great house had aroused much interest. +Most of our invitations had been accepted, and the affair promised to +be brilliant. As a bride, I wore white, and when, at the moment of going +downstairs, my husband suddenly clasped about my neck a rich necklace +of diamonds, I was seized by such a bitter sense of the contrast between +appearances and the awful reality underlying these festivities, that I +reeled in his arms, and had to employ all the arts which my dangerous +position had taught me, to quiet his alarm, and convince him that my +emotion sprang entirely from pleasure. + +Meantime the band was playing and the carriages were rolling up in +front. What he thought as the music filled the house and rose in +piercing melody to the very roof, I cannot say. _I_ thought how it was +a message of release to those weary and abused ones above; and, filled +with the sense of support which the presence of so many people in +the house gave me, I drew up my girlish figure in glad excitement and +prepared myself for the ordeal, visible and invisible, which awaited me. + +The next two hours form a blank in my memory. Standing under +Mrs. Ransome’s picture (I _would_ stand there), I received the +congratulations of the hundred or more people who were anxious to see +Mr. Allison’s bride, and of the whole glittering pageant I remember only +the whispered words of Mrs. Vandyke as she passed with the rest: “My +dear, I take back what I said the other day about the effect of marriage +upon you. You are the most brilliant woman here, and Mr. Allison the +happiest of men.” This was an indication that all was going well. But +what of the awful morning-hour that awaited us! Would that show him a +happy man? + +At last our guests were assembled, and I had an instant to myself. +Murmuring a prayer for courage, I slid from the room and ran up-stairs. +Here all was bustle also--a bustle I delighted in, for, with so many +people moving about, Mrs. Ransome and her daughter could pass out +without attracting more than a momentary attention. Securing a bundle +I had myself prepared, I glided up the second staircase, and, after a +moment’s delay, succeeded in unlocking the door and disappearing with my +bundle into the fourth story. When I came down, the key I had carried up +was left behind me. The way for Mrs. Ransome’s escape lay open. + +I do not think I had been gone ten minutes from the drawing-room. When +I returned there, it was to find the festivities at their height, and +my husband just on the point of missing me. The look which he directed +to-wards me pierced me to the heart; not that I was playing him false, +for I was risking life, love and the loss of everything I prized, to +save him from himself; but that his love for me should be so strong +he could forget the two tortured hearts above, in the admiration I had +awakened in the shallow people about us. But I smiled, as a woman on +the rack might smile if the safety of her loved ones depended on her +courage, and, nerving myself for the suspense of such a waiting as few +of my inexperience have ever been called upon to endure, I turned to a +group of ladies I saw near me and began to talk. + +Happily, I did not have to chatter long; happily, Mrs. Ransome was quick +in her movements and exact in all she did, and, sooner than I expected, +sooner, perhaps, than I was prepared for it, the man who attended the +front door came to my side and informed me that a lady wished to see +me--a lady who had just arrived from the steamer, and who said she was +the mistress of the house, Mrs. Ransome. + +Mrs. Ransome! The name spread like wildfire, but before any movement was +made, I had bounded, in laughing confusion, to my husband’s side, and, +grasping him merrily by the arm, cried: + +“Your expectations have come true. Mrs. Ransome has returned without +warning, and tonight she will partake of the supper you have always had +served for her.” + +The shock was as great, perhaps, as ever man received. I knew what it +was likely to be, and held him upright, with the seeming merriment in my +eyes which I did not allow to stray from his. He thought I was mad, then +he thought he was--then I recalled him to the dangers and exigencies of +the moment by saying, with forced _naïveté_: “Shall I go and welcome her +to this gathering in her own house, or will you do the honors? She may +not know _me_.” + +He moved, but as a statue might move, shot through and through with an +electric spark. I saw that I must act, rather than he, so uttering some +girlish sentence about the mice and cat, I glided away into the hall, +where Mrs. Ransome stood in the nondescript black cloak and bonnet I +had provided her from her own wardrobe. She had slipped a few moments +before from the house with her daughter, whom she had placed in a +carriage, which I had ordered to wait for them directly in front of the +lamppost, and had now re-entered as the mistress returning unexpectedly +after a departure of five years. All had been done as I had planned, and +it only remained to carry on the farce and prevent its developing into a +tragedy. + +Rushing up to her, I told her who I was, and, as we were literally +surrounded in a moment, added such apologies for the merrymaking in +which she found us indulging as my wit suggested and the occasion seemed +to demand. Then I allowed her to speak. Instantly she was the mistress +of the house. Old-fashioned as her dress was, and changed as her figure +must have been, she had that imposing bearing which great misfortune, +nobly borne, gives to some natures, and feeling the eyes of many of +her old friends upon her, she graciously smiled and said that she was +delighted to receive so public a welcome. Then she took me by the hand. + +“Do not worry, child,” she said, “I have a daughter about your age, +which in itself would make me lenient towards one so young and pretty. +Where is your husband, dear? He has served me well in my absence, and I +should like to shake hands with him before I withdraw with my daughter, +to a hotel for the night.” + +I looked up; he was standing in the open doorway leading into the +drawing-room. He had recovered a semblance of composure, but the hand +fingering the inner pocket, where he kept his keys, showed in what a +tumult of surprise and doubt he had been thrown by this unaccountable +appearance of his prisoner in the open hall; and if to other eyes he +showed no more than the natural confusion of the moment, to me he had +the look of a secretly desperate man, alive to his danger, and only +holding himself in check in order to measure it. + +At the mention she made of his name, he came mechanically forward, and, +taking her proffered hand, bowed over it. “Welcome.” he murmured, in +strained tones; then, startled by the pressure of her fingers on his, he +glanced doubtfully up while she said: + +“We will have no talk to-night, my faithful and careful friend, but +to-morrow you may come and see me at the Fifth Avenue. You will find +that my return will not lessen your manifest happiness.” Then, as +he began to tremble, she laid her hand on his arm, and I heard her +smilingly whisper: “You have too pretty a wife for me not to wish my +return to be a benefaction to her.” And, with a smile to the crowd and +an admonition to those about her not to let the little bride suffer from +this interruption, she disappeared through the great front door on +the arm of the man who for five years had held her prisoner in her own +house. I went back into the drawing-room, and the five minutes which +elapsed between that moment and that of his return were the most awful +of my life. When he came back I had aged ten years, yet all that time I +was laughing and talking. + +He did not rejoin me immediately; he went up-stairs. I knew why; he had +gone to see if the door to the fourth floor had been unlocked or simply +broken down. When he came back he gave me one look. Did he suspect me? I +could not tell. After that, there was another blank in my memory to the +hour when the guests were all gone, the house all silent, and we stood +together in a little room, where I had at last discovered him, withdrawn +by himself, writing. There was a loaded pistol on the table. The paper +he had been writing was his will. + +“Humphrey,” said I, placing a finger on the pistol, “why is this?” + +He gave me a look, a hungry, passionate look, then he grew as white as +the paper he had just subscribed with his name. + +“I am ruined,” he murmured. “I have made unwarrantable use of Mrs. +Ransome’s money; her return has undone me. Delight, I love you, but I +cannot face the future. You will be provided for----” + +“Will I?” I put in softly, very softly, for my way was strewn with +pitfalls and precipices. “I do not think so, Humphrey. If the money you +have put away is not yours, my first care would be to restore it. Then +what would I have left? A dowry of odium and despair, and I am scarcely +eighteen.” + +“But--but--you do not understand, Delight. I have been a villain, a +worse villain than you think. The only thing in my life I have not to +blush for is my love for you. This is pure, even if it has been selfish. +I know it is pure, because I have begun to suffer. If I could tell +you---- + +“Mrs. Ransome has already told me,” said I. “Who do you think unlocked +the door of her retreat? I, Humphrey. I wanted to save you from +yourself, and _she_ understands me. She will never reveal the secret of +the years she has passed overhead.” + +Would he hate me? Would he love me? Would he turn that fatal weapon on +me, or level it again towards his own breast? For a moment I could not +tell; then the white horror in his face broke up, and, giving me a look +I shall never forget till I die, he fell prostrate on his knees and +lowered his proud head before me. + +I did not touch it, but from that moment the schooling of our two hearts +began, and, though I can never look upon my husband with the frank joy +I see in other women’s faces, I have learned not to look upon him with +distrust, and to thank God I did not forsake him when desertion might +have meant the destruction of the one small seed of goodness which had +developed in his heart with the advent of a love for which nothing in +his whole previous life had prepared him. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + +***** This file should be named 22809-0.txt or 22809-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/8/0/22809/ + +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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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/22809-0.zip b/22809-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8f83073 --- /dev/null +++ b/22809-0.zip diff --git a/22809-8.txt b/22809-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ae73c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/22809-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1809 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +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: The Hermit Of ------ Street + 1898 + +Author: Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Release Date: September 29, 2007 [EBook #22809] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET. + +By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Copyright, 1898, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs + + + + +CHAPTER I. I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION. + +I should have kept my eyes for the many brilliant and interesting sights +constantly offered me. Another girl would have done so. I myself might +have done so, had I been over eighteen, or, had I not come from +the country, where my natural love of romance had been fostered by +uncongenial surroundings and a repressed life under the eyes of a severe +and unsympathetic maiden aunt. + +I was visiting in a house where fashionable people made life a perpetual +holiday. Yet of all the pleasures which followed so rapidly, one upon +another, that I have difficulty now in separating them into distinct +impressions, the greatest, the only one I never confounded with any +other, was the hour I spent in my window after the day's dissipations +were all over, watching--what? Truth and the necessities of my story +oblige me to say--a man's face, a man's handsome but preoccupied face, +bending night after night over a study-table in the lower room of the +great house in our rear. + +I had been in the city three weeks, and I had already received--pardon +the seeming egotism of the confession--four offers, which, considering I +had no fortune and but little education or knowledge of the great world, +speaks well for something: I leave you to judge what. All of these +offers were from young men; one of them from a very desirable young man, +but I had listened to no one's addresses, because, after accepting them, +I should have felt it wrong to contemplate so unremittingly the face, +which, for all its unconsciousness of myself, held me spell-bound to an +idea I neither stopped nor cared to analyze. + +Why, at such a distance and under circumstances of such distraction, did +it affect me so? It was not a young face (Mr. Allison at that time was +thirty-five); neither was it a cheerful or even a satisfied one; but +it was very handsome, as I have said; far too handsome, indeed, for a +romantic girl to see unmoved, and it was an enigmatic face; one that +did not lend itself to immediate comprehension, and that, to one of my +temperament, was a fatal attraction, especially as enough was known of +his more than peculiar habits to assure me that character, rather than +whim, lay back of his eccentricities. + +But first let me explain more fully my exact position in regard to this +gentleman on that day in early spring, destined to be such a memorable +one in my history. + +I had never seen him, save in the surreptitious way I have related, and +he had never seen me. The day following my arrival in the city I had +noticed the large house in our rear, and had asked some questions about +it. This was but natural, for it was one of the few mansions in the +great city with an old-style lawn about it. Besides, it had a peculiarly +secluded and secretive look, which even to my unaccustomed eyes, gave it +an appearance strangely out of keeping with the expensive but otherwise +ordinary houses visible in all other directions. The windows--and there +were many--were all shuttered and closed, with the exception of the +three on the lower floor and two others directly over these. On the top +story they were even boarded up, giving to that portion of the house +a blank and desolate air, matched, I was told, by that of the large +drawing-room windows on either side of the front door, which faced, as +you must see, on another street. + +The grounds which, were more or less carefully looked after, were +separated from the street by a brick wall, surmounted by urns, from +which drooped the leafless tendrils of some old vines; but in the rear, +that is, in our direction, the line of separation was marked by a +high iron fence, in which, to my surprise, I saw a gate, which, +though padlocked now, marked old habits of intercourse, interesting +to contemplate, between the two houses. Through this fence I caught +glimpses of the green turf and scattered shrubs of a yard which had once +sloped away to the avenues on either side, and, more interesting +still, those three windows whose high-drawn shades offered such a vivid +contrast to the rest of the house. + +In one of these windows stood a table, with a chair before it. I had as +yet seen no one in the chair, but I had noted that the table was heavily +covered with papers and books, and judged that the room was a library +and the table that of a busy man engaged in an endless amount of study +and writing. + +The Vandykes, whom I had questioned on the matter, were very short in +their replies. Not because the subject was uninteresting, or one they +in any way sought to avoid, but because the invitations to a great party +had just come in, and no other topic was worthy their discussion. But I +learned this much. That the house belonged to one of New York's oldest +families. That its present owner was a widow of great eccentricity of +character, who, with her one child, a daughter, unfortunately blind from +birth, had taken up her abode in some foreign country, where she thought +her child's affliction would attract less attention than in her +native city. The house had been closed to the extent I have mentioned, +immediately upon her departure, but had not been left entirely empty. +Mr. Allison, her man of business, had moved into it, and, being fully +as eccentric as herself, had contented himself for five years with a +solitary life in this dismal mansion, without friends, almost without +acquaintances, though he might have had unlimited society and any amount +of attention, his personal attractions being of a very uncommon +order, and his talent for business so pronounced, that he was already +recognized at thirty-five as one of the men to be afraid of in Wall +Street. Of his birth and connections little was known; he was called +the Hermit of ------ Street, and--well,that is about all they told me at +this time. + +After I came to see him (as I did that very evening), I could ask no +further questions concerning him. The beauty of his countenance, the +mystery of his secluded life, the air of melancholy and mental distress +which I imagined myself to detect in his manner--he often used to sit +for minutes together with his eyes fixed on vacancy and his whole face +expressive of the bitterest emotion--had wrought this spell upon my +imagination, and I could no more mingle his name with that of the +ordinary men and women we discussed than I could confound his solitary +and expressive figure with the very proper but conventional forms of the +simpering youths who followed me in parlors or begged to be allowed the +honor of a dance at the balls I attended with the Vandykes. He occupied +an unique place in my regard, and this without another human being's +knowledge. I wish I could say without my own; but, alas! I have promised +myself to be true in all the details of this history, and, child as I +was, I could not be ignorant of the fascination which held me for hours +at my window when I should have been in bed and asleep. + +But let me hasten to the adventure which put an end to my dreams by +launching me into realities of a still more absorbing nature. I was not +very well one day, and even Mrs. Vandyke acknowledged that it would not +do for me to take the long-planned drive to Tuxedo. So, as I would not +let any one else miss this pleasure on my account, I had been left alone +in the house, and, not being ill enough for bed, had spent the most +of the morning in my window--not because he was in his; I was yet too +timid, and, let me hope, too girlishly modest, to wish to attract in +any way his attention--but because the sun shone there, and I was just +chilly enough to enjoy its mingled light and heat. Thus it was I came to +notice the following petty occurrence. In the yard of the house next to +that occupied by Mr. Allison was kept a tame rabbit, which often took +advantage of a hole it had made for itself under the dividing fence to +roam over the neighboring lawn. On this day he was taking his accustomed +ramble, when something startled him, and he ran, not back to his hole, +but to our fence, through which he squeezed himself, evidently to his +own great discomfort; for once in our yard, and under the refuge of a +small bush he found there, nothing would lure him back, though every +effort was made to do so, both by the small boy to whom he belonged, and +the old serving-man or gardener, who was the only other person besides +Mr. Allison whom I ever saw on the great place. Watching them, I noted +three things: first, that it was the child who first thought of opening +the gate; secondly, that it was the serving-man who brought the key; +and, thirdly, that after the gate had been opened and the rabbit +recovered, the gate had not been locked again; for, just as the man was +about to do this, a call came from the front, of so imperative a nature, +that he ran forward, without readjusting the padlock, and did not come +back, though I watched for him in idle curiosity for a good half-hour. +This was in the morning. At seven o'clock--how well I remember the +hour!--I was sitting again in my window, waiting for the return of the +Vandykes, and watching the face which had now reappeared at its usual +place in the study. It was dark everywhere save there, and I was +marveling over the sense of companionship it gave me under circumstances +of loneliness, which some girls might have felt most keenly, when +suddenly my attention was drawn from him to a window in the story over +his head, by the rapid blowing in and out of a curtain, which had been +left hanging loose before an open sash. As there was a lighted gas-jet +near by, I watched the gyrating muslin with some apprehension, and was +more shocked than astonished when, in another moment, I saw the flimsy +folds give one wild flap and flare up into a brilliant and dangerous +flame. To shriek and throw up my window was the work of a moment, but +I attracted no attention by these means, and, what was worse, saw, with +feelings which may be imagined, that nothing I could do would be likely +to arouse Mr. Allison to an immediate sense of his danger, for not only +were the windows shut between us, but he was lost in one of his brooding +spells, which to all appearance made him quite impassible to surrounding +events. + +"Will no one see? Will no one warn him?" I cried out, in terror of the +flames burning so brightly in the room above him. Seemingly not. No +other window was raised in the vicinity, and, frightened quite beyond +the exercise of reason or any instincts of false modesty, I dashed out +of my room downstairs, calling for the servants. But Lucy was in the +front area and Ellen above, and I was on the back porch and in the +garden before either of them responded. + +Meanwhile, no movement was observable in the brooding figure of Mr. +Allison, and no diminution in the red glare which now filled the room +above him. To see him sitting there so much at his ease, and to behold +at the same moment the destruction going on so rapidly over his head, +affected me more than I can tell, and casting to the winds all selfish +considerations, I sprang through the gate so providentially left ajar +and knocked with all my might on a door which opened upon a side porch +not many feet away from the spot where he sat so unconcernedly. + +The moment I had done this I felt like running away again, but hearing +his advancing step, summoned up my courage and stood my ground bravely, +determined to say one word and run. + +But when the door opened and I found myself face to face with the man +whose face I knew only too well, that word, important as it was, stuck +in my throat; for, agitated as I was, both by my errand and my sudden +encounter with one I had dreamed about for weeks, he seemed to be much +more so, though by other reasons--by far other reasons--than myself. He +was so moved--was it by the appearance of a strange young girl on his +doorstep, or was it at something in my face or manner, or some-thing in +his thoughts to which that face or manner gave a shock?--that my petty +fears for the havoc going on above seemed to pale into insignificance +before the emotions called up by my presence. Confronting me with +dilating eyes, he faltered slowly back till his natural instincts of +courtesy recalled him to himself, and he bowed, when I found courage to +cry: + +"Fire! Your house is on fire! Up there, overhead!" + +The sound which left his lips as these words slipped from mine struck +me speechless again. Appalling as the cry "Fire!" is at all times and to +all men, it roused in this man at this time something beyond anything my +girlish soul had ever imagined of terror or dismay. So intense were the +feelings I saw aroused in him that I expected to see him rush into the +open air with loud cries for help. But instead of that, he pushed the +door to behind me, and locking me in, said, in a strange and hoarsened +tone? + +"Don't call out, don't make any sound or outcry, and above all, don't +let any one in; I will fight the flames alone!" and seizing a lamp from +the study-table, he dashed from me towards a staircase I could faintly +see in the distance. But half-way down the hall he looked back at me, +and again I saw that look on his face which had greeted my unexpected +appearance in the doorway. + +Alas! it was a thrilling look--a look which no girl could sustain +without emotion; and spellbound under it, I stood in a maze, alone and +in utter darkness, not knowing whether to unlock the door and escape or +to stand still and wait for his reappearance, as he evidently expected +me to do. + +Meanwhile, the alarm had spread, and more than one cry arose from the +houses in the rear. I could hear feet running over the walks without, +and finally a knock on the door I was leaning against, followed by the +cry: + +"Let us in! Fire! fire!" + +But I neither moved nor answered. I was afraid to be found there, +crouching alone in a bachelor's residence, but I was equally afraid of +disobeying him, for his voice had been very imperious when he commanded +me not to let any one in; and I was too young to brave such a nature, +even if I had wished to, which I do not think I did. + +"He is overhead! See him--see him!" I now heard shouted from the lawn. +"He has dragged the curtains down! He is showering the walls with water! +Look--look! how wildly he works! He will be burnt himself. Ah! ah!" +All of which gave me strange thrills, and filled the darkness which +encompassed me with startling pictures, till I could hardly stand the +stress or keep myself from rushing to his assistance. + +While my emotions were at their height a bell rang. It was the front +doorbell, and it meant the arrival of the engines. + +"Oh!" thought I, "what shall I do now? If I run out I shall encounter +half the neighborhood in the back yard; if I stay here how shall I be +able to meet the faces of the firemen who will come rushing in?" + +But I was not destined to suffer from either contingency. As the bell +rang a second time, a light broke on the staircase I was so painfully +watching, and Mr. Allison descended, lamp in hand, as he had gone up. He +appeared calm now, and without any show of emotion proceeded at once to +the front door, which he opened. + +What passed between him and the policeman whose voice I heard in the +hall, I do not know. I heard them go up-stairs and presently come down +again, and I finally heard the front door close. Then I began to make +an effort to gain some control over my emotions, for I knew he had not +forgotten me, and that he soon would be in the vestibule at my side. + +But it was impossible for me to hope to meet him with an unconcerned +air. The excitement I was under and the cold--for I was dressed lightly +and the vestibule was chilly--had kept me trembling so, that my curls +had fallen all about my cheeks, and one had fallen so low that it +hung in shameful disorder to my very waist. This alone was enough to +disconcert me, but had my heart been without its secret--a secret I was +in mortal terror of disclosing in my confusion--I could have risen above +my embarrassment and let simple haste been my excuse. As it was, I must +have met him with a pleading aspect, very much like that of a frightened +child, for his countenance visibly changed as he approached me, and +showed quite an extraordinary kindness, if not contrition, as he paused +in the narrow vestibule with the blazing lamp held low in his hand. + +"My little girl," he began, but instantly changed the phrase to "My +dear young lady, how can I thank you enough, and how can I sufficiently +express my regret at having kept you a prisoner in this blazing house? I +fear I have frightened you sorely, but---" And here, to my astonishment, +he found nothing to say, moved overmuch by some strong feeling, or +checked in his apologies by some great embarrassment. + +Astonished, for he did not look like a man who could be lightly +disturbed, I glowed a fiery red and put my hand out towards the door. +Instantly he found speech again. + +"One moment," said he. "I feel that I ought to explain the surprise, the +consternation, which made me forget. You know this is not my house, +that I am here in trust for another, that the place is full of rare +treasures." + +Had he stopped again? I was in such a state of inner perturbation that +I hardly knew whether he had ceased to speak or I to hear. Something, +I did not know what, had shaken my very life's center--something in the +shape of dread, yet so mixed with delight that my hand fell from the +knob I had been blindly groping for and sank heavily at my side. His +eyes had not left my face. + +"May I ask whom I have the honor of addressing?" he asked, in a tone I +might better never have heard from his lips. + +To this I must make reply. Shuddering, for I felt something uncanny +in the situation, but speaking up, notwithstanding, with the round and +vibrating tones I had inherited from my mother, I answered, with the +necessary simplicity: + +"I am Delight Hunter, a country girl, sir, visiting the Vandykes." + +A flash that was certainly one of pleasure lighted up his face with a +brilliance fatal to my poor, quivering girl's heart. + +"Allow me, Miss Hunter, to believe that you will not bring down the +indignation of my neighbors upon me by telling them of my carelessness +and indiscretion." Then, as my lips settled into a determined curve, +he himself opened the door, and bowing low, asked if I would accept his +protection to the gate. + +But at the rush of the night air, such a sensation of shame overpowered +me that I only thought of retreat; and, declining his offer with a +wild shake of the head, I dashed from the house and fled with an +incomprehensible sense of relief back to that of the Vandykes. The +servants, who had seen me rush towards Mr. Allison's, were still in the +yard watching for me. I did not vouchsafe them a word. I could hardly +formulate words in my own mind. A great love and a great dread had +seized upon me at once. A great love for the man by whose face I had +been moved for weeks and a great dread--well, I cannot explain my +dread, not as I felt it that night. It was formless and without apparent +foundation; but it would no more leave me than my uneasy memory of the +fierce instinct which had led him at such a critical instant to close +his door against all help, though in so doing he had subjected a young +girl to many minutes of intense embarrassment and mortifying indecision. + + + + +CHAPTER II. A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST. + +Mr. Allison, who had never before been known to leave his books and +papers, not only called the next day to express his gratitude for what +he was pleased to style my invaluable warning, but came every day after, +till not only my heart but my reason told me that the great house in the +rear might ultimately be my home, if the passion which had now become my +life should prove greater than the dread which had not yet entirely left +me. + +Mr. Allison loved me--oh, what pride in the thought!--but Mr. Allison +had a secret, or why did he so often break off abruptly in some telltale +speech and drop his eyes, which were otherwise always upon me. Something +not easy to understand lay between us--something which he alternately +defied and succumbed to, something which kept him from being quite the +good man I had pictured myself as marrying. Why I was so certain of this +latter fact, I cannot say. Perhaps my instinct was keen; perhaps the +signs of goodness are so unmistakable that even a child feels their want +where her heart leans hardest. + +Yet everything I heard of him only tended to raise him in my estimation. +After he became an habitu of the house, Mrs. Vandyke grew more +communicative in regard to him. He was eccentric, of course, but his +eccentricities were such as did him credit. One thing she told me made +a lasting impression on me. Mrs. Ransome, the lady in whose house he +lived, had left her home very suddenly. He anticipated a like return; +so, ever since her departure, it had been his invariable custom to have +the table set for three, so that he might never be surprised by her +arrival. It had become a monomania with him. Never did he sit down +without there being enough before him for a small family, and as his +food was all brought in cooked from a neighboring restaurant, this +eccentricity of his was well known, and gave an added _clat_ to his +otherwise hermit-like habits. To my mind, it added an element of pathos +to his seclusion, and so affected me that one day I dared to remark to +him: + +"You must have liked Mrs. Ransome very much you are so faithful in your +remembrance of her." + +I never presumed again to attack any of his foibles. He gave me first +a hard look, then an indulgent one, and finally managed to say, after a +moment of quiet hesitation: + +"You allude to my custom of setting two chairs at the table to which +they may return at any minute? Miss Hunter, what I do in the loneliness +of that great house is not worth the gossip of those who surround you." + +Flushing till I wished my curls would fall down and hide my cheeks, +I tried to stammer out some apology. But he drove it back with a +passionate word: + +"Delight, idol of my heart, come and see what a lonely place that old +house is. Come and live in that house--at least for a little time, till +I can arrange for you a brighter and a happier home--come and be my +wife." + +It was sudden, it was all but unlooked-for, and like all his expressions +of feeling, frenzied rather than resolute. But it was a declaration that +met my most passionate longings, and in the elation it brought I forgot +for the moment the doubts it called up. Otherwise I had been a woman +rather than a girl, and this tale had never been written. + +"You love me, Delight" (he was already pressing me in his arms), "you +love me or you would never have rushed so impetuously to warn me of my +danger that night. Make me the maddest, happiest man in all the world +by saying you will not wait; that you will not ask counsel of anybody +or anything but your affection, but marry me at once; marry me while my +heart yearns for you so deeply; marry me before I go away----" + +"Go away?" + +"Yes, I am going away. Mrs. Ransome and her daughter are coming back and +I am going away. Will you go with me?" + +With what intensity he spoke, yet with what hardness. I quivered while +I listened, yet I made no move to withdraw from him. Had he asked me to +step with him from the housetop I should hardly have refused while his +heart throbbed so wildly against mine and his eyes lured me on with such +a promise of ecstasy. + +"You will?" How peremptory he could be. "You will?" How triumphant, +also. + +I hardly realized what I had done till I stood abashed before Mrs. +Vandyke, and told her I had engaged myself to marry Mr. Allison before +he went to Europe. Then it seemed I had done a very good thing. She +congratulated me heartily, and, seeing I had a certain fear of taking my +aunt into my confidence, promised to sit down and write to her herself, +using every encomium she could think of to make this sudden marriage, on +my part, seem like the result of reason and wise forethought. + +"Such an estimable man! such an old neighbor! so domestic in his tastes! +and, oh! so wise to find out and make his own the slyest and most +bewildering little beauty that has come into New York this many a +season!" These were some of her words, and, though pleasing at the time, +they made me think deeply--much more deeply than I wished to, after I +went upstairs to my room. + +"Estimable! an old neighbor! domestic in his tastes!" Had she said: +"Handsome! masterful in his air and spirit! a man to make a girl forget +the real end of life and think only of present pleasure!" I should not +have had such a fierce reaction. But estimable! Was he estimable? I +tried to cry out yes! I tried to keep down the memory of that moment +when, with a dozen passions suddenly let loose (one of them fear), he +strode by me and locked the door against all help, under an impetus he +had tried in vain to explain. Nothing would quiet the still, small voice +speaking in my breast, or give to the moment that unalloyed joy which +belongs to a young girl's betrothal. I was afraid. Why? + +Mr. Allison never came in the evening, another of his peculiarities. +Other men did, but what were other men to me now? This night I pleaded +weariness (Mrs. Vandyke understood me), and remained in my room. I +wanted to study the face of my lover under the new conditions. Was he +in his old seat? Yes. And would he read, as usual, or study? No. He had +thoughts of his own to-night, engrossing enough to hold him enthralled +without the aid of his ordinary occupations; thoughts, thoughts of me, +thoughts which should have cleared his brow and made his face a study of +delight to me. But was it so? Alas! I had never seen it so troubled; lit +with gleams of hope or happiness by spells, but mostly sunk in depths of +profoundest contemplation, which gave to it a melancholy from which I +shrank, and not the melancholy one longs to comfort and allay. What was +on his mind? What was in his heart? Something he feared to have noted, +for suddenly he rose with a start, and, for the first time since my eyes +had sought that window, pulled down the shades and thus shut himself out +from my view altogether. Was it a rebuke to my insistent watchfulness? +or the confession of a reticent nature fearing to be surprised in its +moment of weakness? I ought to know--I would know. To-morrow I would ask +him if there was any sorrow in his life which a confiding girl ought to +be made acquainted with before she yielded him her freedom. But the pang +which pierced me at the thought, proved that I feared his answer too +much to ever question him. + +I am thus explicit in regard to my thoughts and feelings at this time, +that I may more fully account to you for what I did later. I had not, +what every one else seemed to have, full confidence in this man, and yet +the thrall in which I was held by the dominating power of his passion, +kept me from seeking that advice even from my own intuitions, which +might have led to my preservation. I was blind and knew I was blind, yet +rushed on headlong. I asked him no questions till our wedding day. + +My aunt, who seemed quite satisfied with Mrs. Vandyke's explanations, +promised to be present at the ceremony, which was set at an alarmingly +near day. My lovers on the contrary--by whom I mean the half dozen men +who had been attentive to me--refused to attend, so I had one care less; +for the lack of time--perhaps I should say my lack of means--precluded +me from obtaining a very elaborate wedding dress, and I did not choose +to have them see me appear on such an occasion in any less charming +guise than I had been accustomed to wear at party or play. _He_ did not +care what I wore. When I murmured something about the haste with which +he had hurried things forward, and how it was likely to interfere with +what most brides considered necessary to the proper celebration of such +an event, he caught me to his breast with a feverish gesture and vowed +that if he could have his way, there would be no preparation at all, but +just a ceremony before a minister which would make me his without the +least delay. + +Men may enjoy such precipitation, but women do not. I was so troubled by +what seemed the meagerness of my wardrobe and the lack of everything +I had been accustomed to see brides bring their husbands, that I asked +Mrs. Vandyke one day if Mr. Allison was a rich man. She answered, with +a smile: "No, my dear, not as we New-Yorkers count riches. Having the +power of attorney for Mrs. Ransome, he handles a good deal of money; +but very little of it is his own, though to you his five-thousand-a-year +salary may seem a fortune." + +This was so much Greek to me, though I did understand he was not +considered wealthy. + +"Then my fawn-colored cloth will not be so very inappropriate for a +wedding dress?" I asked. + +"I wish you could see yourself in it," she said, and that satisfied me. + +We were married simply, but to the sound of wonderful music, in a +certain little church not far from ------ Street. My aunt was there and +my four lovers, though they had said, one and all, they would not come. +But I saw nothing, realized nothing, save the feverish anxiety of my +bridegroom, who, up to the minute the final vows were uttered, seemed to +be on a strain of mingled emotions, among which I seemed to detect that +old one of fear. A pitiful outlook for an adoring bride, you will think, +who, without real friends to interest themselves in her, allows herself +to be pushed to a brink she is wise enough to see, but not strong enough +to recoil from. Yes, but its full pathos did not strike me then. I only +felt anxious to have the ceremony over, to know that the die was +cast beyond my own powers of retraction; and when the words of the +benediction at last fell upon my ears, it was with real joy I turned to +see if they brought him as much rapture as they did me. Happily for that +moment's satisfaction they did, and if a friend had been there with eyes +to see and heart to feel, there would have been nothing in the air of +open triumph with which Mr. Allison led me down the aisle to awaken +aught but hope and confidence. My own hopes rose at the sight, and when +at the carriage door he turned to give me a smile before he helped me +in, nothing but the obstinacy of my nature prevented me from accepting +the verdict of my acquaintances, "That for a little country girl, with +nothing but her good looks to recommend her, Delight Hunter had done +remarkably well in the one short month she had been in the city." + +Mr. Allison had told me that it would be impossible for him to take +me out of the city at present. It was therefore to the house on ------ +Street we were driven. On the way he attempted to reconcile me to what +he feared might strike me as dreary in the prospect. + +"The house is partially closed," said he, "and many of the rooms are +locked. Even the great drawing-rooms have an uninhabited look, which +will make them anything but attractive to a lover of sunshine and +comfort; but the library is cheerful, and in that you can sit and +imagine yourself at home till lean wind up my business affairs and make +possible the trip upon which I have set my heart." + +"Does that mean," I faintly ventured, "that you will leave me to spend +much of my time alone in that great echoing house?" + +"No," was his quick response, "you shall spend no time there alone. When +I go out you shall go too, and if business takes me where you cannot +accompany me I will give you money to shop with, which will keep you +pleasantly occupied till I can rejoin you. Oh, we will make it a happy +honeymoon, in spite of all obstacles, my darling. I should be a wretch +if I did not make it happy for _you_." + +Here was my opportunity. I trembled as I thought of it, and stammered +quite like a foolish child as I softly suggested: + +"For me? Is it not likely to be a happy one for _you?_" + +I will not give his answer; it was a passionate one, but it was not +convincing. Pondering it and trying to persuade myself he alluded only +to business cares and anxieties, I let the minute slip by and entered +the house with doubts unsolved, but with no further effort to understand +him. Remember, he was thirty-five and I but a chit of eighteen. + +In the hall stood the old serving-man with whose appearance I was +already so familiar. He had a smile on his face, which formed my only +welcome. He also had a napkin over his arm. + +"Luncheon is served," he announced, with great formality; and then I saw +through an open door the glitter of china and glass, and realized I was +about to take my first meal with my husband. + +Mr. Allison had already told me that he intended to make no changes in +his domestic arrangements for the few days we were likely to occupy this +house. I had therefore expected that our meals would be served from the +restaurant, and that Ambrose (the waiting-man) would continue to be the +only other occupant of the house. But I was not sure whether the table +would be still set for four, or whether he would waive this old custom +now that he had a wife to keep him company at the once lonely board. I +was eager to know, and as soon as I could lay aside my hat in the little +reception-room, I turned my face towards the dining-room door, where my +husband stood awaiting me with a bunch of great white roses in his hand. + +"Sweets to the sweet," said he, with a smile that sunk down deep into +my heart and made my eyes moisten with joy. In the hackneyed expression +there rang nothing false. He was proud and he was glad to see me enter +that dining-room as his wife. + +The next moment I was before the board, which had been made as beautiful +as possible with flowers and the finest of dinner services. But the +table was set for four, two of whom could only be present in spirit. + +I wondered if I were glad or sorry to see it--if I were more pleased +with his loyalty to his absent employer, or disappointed that my +presence had not made everybody else forgotten. To be consistent, I +should have rejoiced at this evidence of sterling worth on his part; but +girls are not consistent--at least, brides of an hour are not--and I may +have pouted the least bit in the world as I pointed to the two places +set as elaborately as our own, and said with the daring which comes with +the rights of a wife: + +"It would be a startling coincidence if Mrs. Ransome and her daughter +should return today. I fear I would not like it." + +I was looking directly at him as I spoke, with a smile on my lips and my +hand on the back of my chair. But the jest I had expected in reply did +not come. Something in my tone or choice of topic jarred upon him, and +his answer was a simple wave of his hand towards Ambrose, who at once +relieved me of my bouquet, placing it in a tall glass at the side of my +plate. + +"Now we will sit," said he. + +I do not know how the meal would have passed had Ambrose not been +present. As it was, it was a rather formal affair, and would have been +slightly depressing, if I had not caught, now and then, flashing glances +from my husband's eye which assured me that he found as much to enchain +him in my presence as I did in his. What we ate I have no idea of. I +only remember that in every course there was enough for four. + +As we rose, I was visited by a daring impulse. Ambrose had poured me out +a glass of wine, which stood beside my plate undisturbed. As I stooped +to recover my flowers again, I saw this glass, and at once lifted it +towards him, crying: + +"To Mrs. Ransome and her daughter, who did _not_ return to enjoy our +wedding-breakfast." + +He recoiled. Yes, I am sure he gave a start back, though he recovered +himself immediately and responded with grave formality to my toast. + +"Does he not like Mrs. Ransome?" I thought. "Is the somewhat onerous +custom he maintains here the result of a sense of duty rather than of +liking?" + +My curiosity was secretly whetted by the thought. But with a girl's +lightness I began to talk of other things, and first of the house, which +I now for the first time looked at with anything like seeing eyes. + +He was patient with me, but I perceived he did not enjoy this topic any +more than the former one. "It is not ours," he kept saying; "remember +that none of these old splendors are ours." + +"They are more ours than they are Mrs. Ransome's, just now," I at last +retorted, with one of my girlhood's saucy looks. "At all events, I am +going to play that it is ours tonight," I added, dancing away from him +towards the long drawing-rooms where I hoped to come upon a picture of +the absent lady of the house. + +"Delight "--he was quite peremptory now-- + +"I must ask you not to enter those rooms, however invitingly the doors +may stand open. It is a notion, a whim of mine, that you do not lend +your beauty to light up that ghostly collection of old pictures and ugly +upholstery, and if you feel like respecting my wishes----" + +"But may I not stand in the doorway?" I asked, satisfied at having been +able to catch a glimpse of a full-length portrait of a lady who could +be no other than Mrs. Ransome. "See! my shadow does not even fall +across the carpet. I won't do the room any harm, and I am sure that Mrs. +Ransome's picture won't do me any." + +"Come! come away!" he cried; and humoring his wishes, I darted away, +this time in the direction of the dining-room and Ambrose. "My dear," +remonstrated my husband, quickly following me, "what has brought you +back here?" + +"I want to see," said I, "what Ambrose does with the food we did not +eat. Such a lot of it!" + +It was childish, but then I was a child and a nervous one, too. Perhaps +he considered this, for, while he was angry enough to turn pale, he did +not attempt any rebuke, but left it to Ambrose to say: + +"Mr. Allison is very good, ma'am. This food, which is very nice, is +given each day to a poor girl who comes for it, and takes it home to her +parents. I put it in this basket, and Mr. Allison gives it to the girl +when she calls for it in the evening." + +"You _are_ good," I cried, turning to my husband with a fond look. Did +he think the emphasis misplaced, or did he consider it time for me +to begin to put on more womanly ways, for drawing me again into the +library, he made me sit beside him on the big lounge, and after a kiss +or two, demanded quietly, but oh, how peremptorily: + +"Delight, why do you so often speak of Mrs. Ransome? Have you any reason +for it? Has any one talked to you about her, that her name seems to be +almost the only one on your lips in the few, short minutes we have been +married?" + +I did not know why this was so, myself, so I only shook my head and +sighed, repentingly. Then, seeing that he would have some reply, I +answered with what _naivet_ I could summon up at the moment: + +"I think it was because you seem so ashamed of your devotion to them. I +love to see your embarrassment, founded as it is upon the most generous +instincts." + +His hand closed over mine with a fierceness that hurt me. + +"Let us talk of love," he whispered. "Delight, this is our wedding-day." + + + + +CHAPTER III. ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE. + +After supper Mr. Allison put before me a large book. "Amuse yourself +with these pictures," said he; "I have a little task to perform. After +it is done I will come again and sit with you." + +"You are not going out," I cried, starting up. "No," he smiled, "I am +not going out." I sank back and opened the book, but I did not look at +the pictures. Instead of that I listened to his steps moving about +the house, rear and front, and finally going up what seemed to be a +servant's staircase, for I could see the great front stairs from where +I sat, and there was no one on them. "Why do I not hear his feet +overhead?" I asked myself. "That is the only room he has given me leave +to enter. Does his task take him elsewhere?" Seemingly so, for, though +he was gone a good half hour, he did not enter the room above. Why +should I think of so small a matter? It would be hard to say; perhaps +I was afraid of being left in the great rooms alone; perhaps I was only +curious; but I asked myself a dozen times before he reappeared, "Where +is he gone, and why does he stay away so long?" But when he returned and +sat down I said nothing. There was a little thing I noted, however. His +hands were trembling, and it was five minutes before he met my inquiring +look. This I should not consider worth mentioning if I had not observed +the same hesitancy follow the same disappearance up-stairs on the +succeeding night. It was the only time in the day when he really left +me, and, when he came back, he was not like himself for a good half hour +or more. "I will not displease him with questions," I decided; "but some +day I will find my own way into those lofts above. I shall never be at +rest till I do." + +What I expected to find there is as much a mystery to my understanding +as my other doubts and fears. I hardly think I expected to find anything +but a desk of papers, or a box with money in it or other valuables. +Still the idea that something on the floor above had power to shadow my +husband's face, even in the glow of his first love for me, possessed +me so completely that, when he fell asleep one evening on the library +lounge, I took the opportunity of stealing away and mounting the +forbidden staircase to the third floor. I had found a candle in my +bedroom, and this I took to light me. But it revealed nothing to me +except a double row of unused rooms, with dust on the handles of all the +doors. I scrutinized them all; for, young as I was, I had wit enough to +see that if I could find one knob on which no dust lay that would be the +one my husband was accustomed to turn. But every one showed tokens of +not having been touched in years, and, baffled in my search, I was about +to retreat, when I remembered that the house had four stories, and +that I had not yet come upon the staircase leading to the one above. +A hurried search (for I was mortally afraid of being surprised by my +husband,) revealed to me at last a distant door, which had no dust on +its knob. It lay at the bottom of a shut-in stair-case, and, convinced +that here was, the place my husband was in the habit of visiting, I +carefully fingered the knob, which turned very softly in my hand. But +it did not open the door. There was a lock visible just below, and that +lock was fastened. + +My first escapade was without visible results, but I was uneasy from +that hour. I imagined all sorts of things hidden beyond that closed, +door. I remembered that the windows of the fourth story were all boarded +up, and asked myself why this had been done when the lower ones had been +left open. I was young, but I had heard of occupations which could only +be entered into by a man secretly. Did he amuse himself with forbidden +tasks in that secluded place above, or was I but exaggerating facts +which might have their basis simply in a quondam bachelor's desire for +solitude and a quiet smoke. "I will follow him up some night," thought +I, "and see if I cannot put an end at once to my unworthy fears and +unhappy suspicions." But I never did; something happened very soon to +prevent me. + +I was walking one morning in the grounds that lay about the house, when +suddenly I felt something small but perceptibly hard strike my hat and +bound quickly off. Astonished, for I was under no tree, under nothing +indeed but the blue of heaven, I looked about for the object that had +struck me. As I did so, I perceived my husband in his window, but his +eyes, while upon me, did not see me, for no change passed over him as I +groped about in the grass. "In one of his contemplative moods," thought +I, continuing my search. In another instant I started up. I had found a +little thing like a bullet wrapped up in paper; but it was no bullet; it +was a bead, a large gold bead, and on the paper which surrounded it were +written words so fine I could not at first decipher them, but as soon as +I had stepped away far enough to be out of the reach of the eyes I both +loved and feared more than any in the world, I managed, by dint of great +patience, and by placing the almost transparent paper on which they were +written over one of the white satin strings of the cape I wore, to read +these words: + +"Help from the passing stranger! I am Elizabeth Ransome, owner of the +house in which I have been imprisoned five years. Search for me in +the upper story. You will find me there with my blind daughter. He who +placed us here is below; beware his cunning." + +And underneath, these words: + +"This is the twenty-fifth attempt I have made to attract attention to +our unhappy fate. I can make but two more. There are but two beads left +of Theresa's necklace." + +"What is the matter, ma'am? Are you ill?" It was Ambrose; I knew his +voice. + +Crushing the paper in my hand, I tried to look up; but it was in vain. +The sting of sudden and complete disillusion had struck me to the heart; +I knew my husband to be a villain. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. I LEARN HYPOCRISY. + +Only eighteen, but from that moment, a woman. Sunk in horror as I was, +I yet had wit enough to clap my hands to my head and say I had been +dazzled by the sun. + +Ambrose, who, in the week I had been with them, had shown himself +delighted with the change my coming had made in the house, looked +alarmed at this and wanted to call Mr. Allison; but I forbade him, and +said I would go in by myself, which I did under a stress of will-power +rarely exercised, I dare believe, by a girl so young and so miserable. + +"What shall I say to him? how shall I meet him? how can I hide my +knowledge and act as if this thing had never been?" For even in that +rush of confusing emotions I recognized one fact; that I must not betray +by look or word that I knew his dreadful secret. If he were villain +enough to keep a woman, and that woman the rightful owner of the +property he was himself enjoying, in a prison he had made for her in +her own house, then he was villain enough to strangle the one who had +discovered this fact, were she the cherished darling of his seared and +calculating heart. I was afraid of him now that I knew him, yet I never +thought of flying his presence or revealing his crime. He was, villain +or no villain, my husband, and nothing could ever undo that fact or make +it true that I had never loved him. + +So I went in, but went in slowly and with downcast eyes. The bead and +the paper I had dropped into my _vinaigrette_, which fortunately hung at +my side. + +"Humphrey," I said, "when are we going to leave this house? I begin to +find it lonesome." + +He was preparing to gather up his papers for his accustomed trip down +town, but he stopped as I spoke, and look at me curiously. + +"You are pale," he remarked, "change and travel will benefit you. +Dearest, we will try to sail for Europe in a week." + +A week! What did he mean? Leave his prisoners--alas, I understood his +journeys to the top of the house now--and go away to Europe? I felt +myself grow livid at the thought, and caught a spray of lilac from the +table where I stood and held it to my face. + +"Will your business affairs warrant it?" I asked. "Are you sure Mrs. +Ransome's affairs will not suffer by your absence?" Then, as I saw him +turn white, I made a ghastly effort, happily hid by the flowers I held +pressed against my face, and suggested, laughingly, "How, if she +should come back after your departure! would she meet the greeting she +deserves?" + +He was half the room away from me, but I heard the click of subdued +passion in his throat, and turned sick almost to the point of fainting. +"It is four days since you mentioned Mrs. Ransome's name," he said. +"When we are gone from here you must promise that it shall never again +pass your lips. Mrs. Ransome is not a good woman, Delight." + +It was a lie yet his manner of speaking it, and the look with which he +now approached me, made me feel helpless again, and I made haste to rush +from the room, ostensibly to prepare for our trip down town, in order +to escape my own weakness and gain a momentary self-possession before we +faced the outside world. Only eighteen years old and confronted by such +a diabolical problem! + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE STOLEN KEY. + +I was too young to reason in those days. Had I not been, had I been able +to say to myself that no act requiring such continued precaution +could take place in the heart of a great city without ultimate, if not +instant, detection, instinct would still have assured me that what I +read was true, however improbable or unheard of it might seem. That +the recognition of this fact imposed upon me two almost irreconcilable +duties I was slower to perceive. But soon, too soon, it became apparent +even to my girlish mind, that, as the wife of the man who had committed +this great and inconceivable wrong, I was bound, not only to make +an immediate attempt to release the women he so outrageously held +imprisoned in their own house, but to so release them that he should +escape the opprobrium of his own act. + +That I might have time to think, and that I might be saved, if but for +one day, contact with one it was almost my duty to hate, I came back to +him with the plea that I might spend the day with the Vandykes instead +of accompanying him down town as usual. I think he was glad of the +freedom my absence offered him, for he gave me the permission I asked, +and in ten minutes I was in my old home. Mrs. Vandyke received me with +effusion. It was not the first time she had seen me since my marriage, +but it was the first time she had seen me alone. + +"My dear!" she exclaimed, turning me about till my unwilling face met +the light, "is this the wild-wood lassie I gave into Mr. Allison's +keeping a week ago!" + +"It is the house!" I excitedly gasped, "the empty, lonely, echoing +house! I am afraid in it, even with my husband. It gives me creepy +feelings, _as if a murder had been committed in it_." + +She broke into a laugh; I hear the sound now, an honest, amused and +entirely reassuring laugh, that relieved me in one way and depressed me +in another. "The idea! _that_ house!" she cried. "I never thought you +a girl to have nervous fancies. Why, it is the most matter-of-fact old +mansion in the city. All its traditions are of the most respectable +kind; no skeleton in those closets! By the way, my dear, has Mr. Allison +shown you any of the curious old things those rooms must contain?" + +I managed to stammer out a reply, "Mr. Allison does not consider that +his rights extend so far. I have never crossed the drawing-room floor." + +"Well! that is carrying honor to an extreme. I am afraid I should not +be able to suppress my curiosity to that extent. Is he afraid of the old +lady returning unexpectedly and catching him?" + +I could not echo her laugh; I could not even smile; I could only pucker +up my brows as if angry. + +"Everything is kept in shape, so that if she does return she will find +the house comfortable," I said; then, with a rising sense of having by +this speech suggested a falsehood, I hastily dropped the topic, and, +with an entire change of manner, remarked, airily: + +"Mrs. Ransome must have gone off very suddenly, to leave everything so +exposed in a house as splendid as that. Most people, however rich, see +to their choice things more carefully." + +She rose to the bait. "Mrs. Ransome is a queer woman. Her things are of +but little account to her; to save her daughter from a moment's pain +she would part with the house itself, let alone the accumulations it +contains. That is why she left the country so suddenly." + +I waited a moment under the pretense of admiring a locket she wore, then +I suggested, quietly: + +"My husband told you that?" + +The answer was as careless as the speaker. + +"Oh, I don't know who told me. It's five years ago now, but every one +at the time understood that she was angry, because some one mentioned +blindness before her daughter. Mrs. Ransome had regarded it as a +religious duty to raise her daughter in ignorance of her affliction. +When she found she could not do so among her friends and acquaintances, +she took her away to a strange land. It is the only tradition, which is +not commonplace, which belongs to the family. Let us go up and see my +new gowns. I have had two come home from Arnold's since you went away." + +I thought the gowns would keep a minute longer. "Did Mrs. Ransome say +good-by to her friends?" I asked. "Somehow this matter strikes me as +being very romantic." + +"Oh, that shows what a puss you are. No, Mrs. Ransome did not say +good-by to her friends, that is, not to us. She just went, leaving +everything in your husband's charge, who certainly has acquitted himself +of the obligation most religiously. And now will you see the gowns?" + +I tortured myself by submitting to this ordeal, then I ventured on +another and entirely different attempt to clear up the mystery that +was fast stifling out my youth, love and hope. I professed to have an +extraordinary desire to see the city from the house-top. I had never +been any higher up than the third story of any house I had been in, and +could not, I told her, go any higher in the house in which I was then +living. Might I go up on her roof? Her eyes opened, but she was of an +amiable, inconsequent disposition and let me have my way without too +much opposition. So, together with a maid she insisted upon sending with +me, I made my way through the skylight on to the roof, and so into full +view of the neighboring house-tops. + +One glance at the spot I was most interested in, and I found myself too +dizzy to look further. In the center of Mrs. Ransome's roof there was to +be seen what I can best describe as an extended cupola without windows. +As there was no other break visible in the roof, the top of this must +have held the skylight, which, being thus lifted many feet above the +level of the garret floor, would admit air and light enough to the +boarded-up space below, but would make any effort to be heard or seen, +on the part of any one secreted there, quite ineffectual. One might, by +a great effort, fling up a bead out of this funnel-shaped opening, +but, even to my limited sense of mechanics, the chances seemed very +unfavorable towards it doing much more than roll over the spacious roof +into the huge gutters surrounding it. + +Yet, if it chose to bound, it might clear the coping and fall, as one +had fallen, on the devoted head of a person walking on the lawn below. +All this I saw at a glance, and then, sick and dizzy, I crept back, and, +with but little apology for my abruptness, took leave of Mrs. Vandyke +and left the house. + +The resolution I took in doing this was worthy of an older head and a +more disciplined heart. By means that were fair, or by means that were +foul, I meant to win my way into that boarded-up attic and see for +myself if the words hidden away in my vinaigrette were true. To do +this openly would cause a scandal I was yet too much under my husband's +influence to risk; while to do it secretly meant the obtaining of keys +which I had every reason to believe he kept hidden about his person. +How was I to obtain them? I saw no way, but that did not deter me from +starting at once down town in the hope of being struck by some brilliant +idea while waiting for him in his office. + +Was it instinct that suggested this, or was the hand of Providence in +all that I did at this time? I had no sooner seated myself in the little +room, where I had been accustomed to wait for him, than I saw what sent +the blood tingling to my finger-tips in sudden hope. It was my husband's +vest hanging in one corner, the vest he had worn down town that morning. +The day was warm and he had taken it off. _If the key should be in it!_ + +I had never done a mean or underhanded thing before in my life, but I +sprang at that vest without the least hesitation, and fingering it with +the lightest of touches, found in the smallest of inside pockets a +key, which instinct immediately told me was that of the door I had once +endeavored to pass. Oh, the rush of feeling overwhelming me as I held +it in my hand! Would he miss it if I carried it off? Would I be able to +return to the house, see what I wanted to see, and get back in time to +restore it before he wanted his vest? It was early yet, and he was very +busy; I might succeed, and if I failed, and he detected his loss, why I +alone would be the sufferer; and was I not a sufferer now? Dropping the +key into my pocket, I went back into the outer room, and leaving word +that I had remembered a little shopping which would take me again up +town, I left the building and returned to ------ Street. My emotions +were indescribable, but I preserved as sedate an appearance as possible, +and was able to account for my return in a natural enough way to Ambrose +when he opened the door for me. To brave his possible curiosity by going +up-stairs, required a still greater effort; but the thought that my +intentions were pure and my daring legitimate, sustained me in the +ordeal, and I ran, singing, up the first flight, glad that Ambrose +had no better ear for music than to be pleased with what he probably +considered an evidence of happiness on the part of his young mistress. + +I was out of breath with suspense, as well as with my rapid movements, +when I reached the shut-in staircase and carefully unlocked its narrow +door. But by the time I had reached the fourth floor, and unlocked, with +the same key, the only other door that had a streak of light under it, +I had gained a certain degree of tense composure born of the desperate +nature of the occasion. The calmness with which I pushed open the door +proved this--a calmness which made the movement noiseless, which was the +reason, I suppose, why I was enabled to suppress the shriek that rose +to my lips as I saw that the room had occupants, and that my worst fears +were thus realized. + +A woman was sitting, with her back to me, at a table, and before her, +with her face turned my way, was a young girl in whom, even at first +glance, I detected some likeness to myself. Was this why Mr. Allison's +countenance expressed so much agitation when he first saw me? The next +moment this latter lifted her head and looked directly at me, but with +no change in her mobile features; at which token of blindness I almost +fell on my knees, so conclusively did it prove that I was really looking +upon Mrs. Ransome and her daughter. + +The mother, who had been directing her daughter's hands in some +needlework, felt that the latter's attention had been diverted. + +"What is it, dear?" she asked, with an indescribable mellowness of +voice, whose tone thrilled me with a fresh and passionate pity. + +"I thought I heard Mr. Allison come in, but he always knocks; besides, +it is not time for him yet." And she sighed. + +That sigh went through my heart, rousing new feelings and deeper +terrors; but I had no time to indulge in them, for the mother turned +at the gasp which left my lips, and rising up, confronted me with an +amazement which left her without any ability to speak. + +"Who is it, mother?" inquired the blind girl, herself rising and beaming +upon me with the sweetest of looks. + +"Let me answer," I ventured, softly. "I am Mr. Allison's wife. I have +come to see if there is anything I can do to make your stay here more +comfortable." + +The look that passed over the mother's face warned me to venture no +further in the daughter's presence. Whatever that mother had +suffered, the daughter had experienced nothing but satisfied love and +companionship in these narrow precincts. Her rounded cheeks showed this, +and the indescribable atmosphere of peace and gladness which +surrounded her. As I saw this, and realized the mother's life and the +self-restraint which had enabled her to accept the inevitable without +raising a complaint calculated to betray to the daughter that all was +not as it should be with them, I felt such a rush of awe sweep over me +that some of my fathomless emotion showed in my face; for Mrs. Ransome's +own countenance assumed a milder look, and advancing nearer, she +pointed out a room where we could speak apart. As I moved towards it she +whispered a few words in her daughter's ear, then she rejoined me. + +"I did not know Mr. Allison was married," were her first words. + +"Madame," said I, "I did not know we were the guests of a lady who +chooses to live in retirement." And opening my vinaigrette, I took out +the bead and the little note which had enwrapped it. "This was my first +warning that my husband was not what I had been led to consider him," +I murmured. "Mrs. Ransome, I am in need of almost as much pity as +yourself. I have been married just six days." + +She gave a cry, looked me wildly in the face, and then sank upon her +knees, lifting up thanks to heaven. "Twenty-four of these notes," said +she; "have I written, and flung upward through that lofty skylight, +weighted by the beads he left wound about my darling daughter's neck. +This one only has brought me the least response. Does he know? Is he +willing that you should come up here?" + +"I have come at the risk of my life," I quietly answered. "He does +not know that I have surprised his secret. He would kill me if he did. +Madame, I want to free you, but I want to do it without endangering +him. I am his wife, and three hours ago I loved him." + +Her face, which had turned very pale, approached mine with a look +I hardly expected to encounter there. "I understand," she said; "I +comprehend devotion; I have felt it for my daughter. Else I could not +have survived the wrong of this incarceration, and my forcible severance +from old associations and friends. I loved _her_, and since the +knowledge of her affliction, and the still worse knowledge that she had +been made the victim of a man's greed to an extent not often surpassed +in this world, would have made her young life wretched without securing +the least alleviation to our fate, I have kept both facts from her, and +she does not know that closed doors mean bondage any more than she knows +that unrelieved darkness means blindness. She is absolutely ignorant +that there is such a thing as light." + +"Oh, madame!" I murmured, "Oh, madame! Show a poor girl what she can do +to restore you to your rights. The door is open and you can descend; but +that means----- Oh, madame, I am filled with terror when I think what. +He may be in the hall now. He may have missed the key and returned. If +only you were out of the house!" + +"My dear girl," she quietly replied, "we will be some day. You will see +to that, I know. I do not think I could stay here, now that I have seen +another face than his. But I do not want to go now, to-day. I want to +prepare Theresa for freedom; she has lived so long quietly with me that +I dread the shock and excitement of other voices and the pressure of +city sounds upon her delicate ears. I must train her for contact with +the world. But you won't forget me if I allow you to lock us in again? +You will come back and open the doors, and let me go down again through +my old halls into the room where my husband died; and if Mr. Allison +objects---- My dear girl, you know now that he is an unscrupulous man, +that it is my money he begrudged me, and that he has used it and made +himself a rich man. But he has one spark of grace in him. He has never +forgotten that we needed bread and clothes. He has waited on us himself, +and never have we suffered from physical want. Therefore, he may not +object now. He may feel that he has enriched himself sufficiently to +let us go free, and if I must give my oath to let the past go without +explanation, why I am ready, my dear; nothing can undo it now, and I am +grown too old to want money except for her." "I cannot," I murmured, "I +cannot find courage to present the subject to him so. I do not know my +husband's mind. It is a fathomless abyss to me. Let me think of some +other way. Oh, madam! if you were out of the house, and could then +come----" Suddenly a thought struck me. "I can do it; I see the way to +do it--a way that will place you in a triumphant position, and yet save +him from suspicion. He is weary of this care. He wants to be relieved of +the dreadful secret which anchors him to this house, and makes a hell of +the very spot in which he has fixed his love. Shall we undertake to +do his for him? Can you trust me if I promise to take an immediate +impression of this key, and have one made for myself, which shall insure +my return here?" + +"My dear," she said, taking my head between her two trembling hands, "I +have never looked upon a sweeter face than my daughter's till I looked +upon yours to-day. If you bid me hope, I will hope, and if you bid +me trust, I will trust. The remembrance of this kiss will not let you +forget." And she embraced me in a warm and tender manner. + +"I will write you," I murmured. "Some day look for a billet under the +door. It will tell you what to do; now I must go back to my husband." + +And, with a sudden access of fear, caused by my dread of meeting his +eyes with this hidden knowledge between us, I hastened out and locked +the door behind me. + +When I reached the office, I was in a fainting condition, but all my +hopes revived again when I saw the vest still hanging where I had left +it, and heard my husband's voice singing cheerfully in the adjoining +room. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + +I CANNOT enter into the feelings of this dreadful time. I do not know +if I loved or hated the man I had undertaken to save. I only know I was +determined to bring light out of darkness in a way that would compromise +nobody, possibly not even myself. But to do this I must dazzle him +into giving me a great pleasure. A crowd in the ------ Street house was +necessary to the quiet escape of Mrs. Ransome and her daughter; so a +crowd we must have, and how have a crowd without giving a grand party? +I knew that this would be a shocking proposition to him, but I was +prepared to meet all objections; and when, with every nerve alert and +every charm exerted to its utmost, I sat down at his side that evening +to plead my cause, I knew by the sparkle of his eye and the softening of +the bitter lines that sometimes hardened his mouth, that the battle was +half won before I spoke, and that I should have my party whatever it +might cost him in mental stress and worry. + +Perhaps he was glad to find me given over to folly at a time when he was +waiting for a miracle to release him from the net of crime in which he +had involved himself; perhaps he merely thought it would please me, +and aid him to thus strengthen our position in the social world before +taking our flight to a foreign land; but whatever lay at the bottom of +his amenity, he gave me _carte blanche_ that night for an entertainment +that should embrace all his friends and mine and some of Mrs. Vandyke's. +So I saw that doubt removed. + +The next thing I did was to procure a _facsimile_ of his key from the +wax impression I had taken of it in accordance with my promise to Mrs. +Ransome. Then I wrote her a letter, in which I gave her the minutest +directions as to her own movements on that important evening. After +which I gave myself up entirely to the business of the party. Certain +things I had insisted on. All the rooms were to be opened, even those +on the third floor; and I was to have a band to play in the hall. He did +not deny me anything. I think his judgment was asleep, or else he was so +taken up with the horrible problem presented by his desire to leave +the city and the existence of those obligations which made departure an +impossibility, that he failed to place due stress on matters which, at +another time, might very well seem to threaten the disclosure of his +dangerous secret. + +At last the night came. + +An entertainment given in this great house had aroused much interest. +Most of our invitations had been accepted, and the affair promised to +be brilliant. As a bride, I wore white, and when, at the moment of going +downstairs, my husband suddenly clasped about my neck a rich necklace +of diamonds, I was seized by such a bitter sense of the contrast between +appearances and the awful reality underlying these festivities, that I +reeled in his arms, and had to employ all the arts which my dangerous +position had taught me, to quiet his alarm, and convince him that my +emotion sprang entirely from pleasure. + +Meantime the band was playing and the carriages were rolling up in +front. What he thought as the music filled the house and rose in +piercing melody to the very roof, I cannot say. _I_ thought how it was +a message of release to those weary and abused ones above; and, filled +with the sense of support which the presence of so many people in +the house gave me, I drew up my girlish figure in glad excitement and +prepared myself for the ordeal, visible and invisible, which awaited me. + +The next two hours form a blank in my memory. Standing under +Mrs. Ransome's picture (I _would_ stand there), I received the +congratulations of the hundred or more people who were anxious to see +Mr. Allison's bride, and of the whole glittering pageant I remember only +the whispered words of Mrs. Vandyke as she passed with the rest: "My +dear, I take back what I said the other day about the effect of marriage +upon you. You are the most brilliant woman here, and Mr. Allison the +happiest of men." This was an indication that all was going well. But +what of the awful morning-hour that awaited us! Would that show him a +happy man? + +At last our guests were assembled, and I had an instant to myself. +Murmuring a prayer for courage, I slid from the room and ran up-stairs. +Here all was bustle also--a bustle I delighted in, for, with so many +people moving about, Mrs. Ransome and her daughter could pass out +without attracting more than a momentary attention. Securing a bundle +I had myself prepared, I glided up the second staircase, and, after a +moment's delay, succeeded in unlocking the door and disappearing with my +bundle into the fourth story. When I came down, the key I had carried up +was left behind me. The way for Mrs. Ransome's escape lay open. + +I do not think I had been gone ten minutes from the drawing-room. When +I returned there, it was to find the festivities at their height, and +my husband just on the point of missing me. The look which he directed +to-wards me pierced me to the heart; not that I was playing him false, +for I was risking life, love and the loss of everything I prized, to +save him from himself; but that his love for me should be so strong +he could forget the two tortured hearts above, in the admiration I had +awakened in the shallow people about us. But I smiled, as a woman on +the rack might smile if the safety of her loved ones depended on her +courage, and, nerving myself for the suspense of such a waiting as few +of my inexperience have ever been called upon to endure, I turned to a +group of ladies I saw near me and began to talk. + +Happily, I did not have to chatter long; happily, Mrs. Ransome was quick +in her movements and exact in all she did, and, sooner than I expected, +sooner, perhaps, than I was prepared for it, the man who attended the +front door came to my side and informed me that a lady wished to see +me--a lady who had just arrived from the steamer, and who said she was +the mistress of the house, Mrs. Ransome. + +Mrs. Ransome! The name spread like wildfire, but before any movement was +made, I had bounded, in laughing confusion, to my husband's side, and, +grasping him merrily by the arm, cried: + +"Your expectations have come true. Mrs. Ransome has returned without +warning, and tonight she will partake of the supper you have always had +served for her." + +The shock was as great, perhaps, as ever man received. I knew what it +was likely to be, and held him upright, with the seeming merriment in my +eyes which I did not allow to stray from his. He thought I was mad, then +he thought he was--then I recalled him to the dangers and exigencies of +the moment by saying, with forced _navet_: "Shall I go and welcome her +to this gathering in her own house, or will you do the honors? She may +not know _me_." + +He moved, but as a statue might move, shot through and through with an +electric spark. I saw that I must act, rather than he, so uttering some +girlish sentence about the mice and cat, I glided away into the hall, +where Mrs. Ransome stood in the nondescript black cloak and bonnet I +had provided her from her own wardrobe. She had slipped a few moments +before from the house with her daughter, whom she had placed in a +carriage, which I had ordered to wait for them directly in front of the +lamppost, and had now re-entered as the mistress returning unexpectedly +after a departure of five years. All had been done as I had planned, and +it only remained to carry on the farce and prevent its developing into a +tragedy. + +Rushing up to her, I told her who I was, and, as we were literally +surrounded in a moment, added such apologies for the merrymaking in +which she found us indulging as my wit suggested and the occasion seemed +to demand. Then I allowed her to speak. Instantly she was the mistress +of the house. Old-fashioned as her dress was, and changed as her figure +must have been, she had that imposing bearing which great misfortune, +nobly borne, gives to some natures, and feeling the eyes of many of +her old friends upon her, she graciously smiled and said that she was +delighted to receive so public a welcome. Then she took me by the hand. + +"Do not worry, child," she said, "I have a daughter about your age, +which in itself would make me lenient towards one so young and pretty. +Where is your husband, dear? He has served me well in my absence, and I +should like to shake hands with him before I withdraw with my daughter, +to a hotel for the night." + +I looked up; he was standing in the open doorway leading into the +drawing-room. He had recovered a semblance of composure, but the hand +fingering the inner pocket, where he kept his keys, showed in what a +tumult of surprise and doubt he had been thrown by this unaccountable +appearance of his prisoner in the open hall; and if to other eyes he +showed no more than the natural confusion of the moment, to me he had +the look of a secretly desperate man, alive to his danger, and only +holding himself in check in order to measure it. + +At the mention she made of his name, he came mechanically forward, and, +taking her proffered hand, bowed over it. "Welcome." he murmured, in +strained tones; then, startled by the pressure of her fingers on his, he +glanced doubtfully up while she said: + +"We will have no talk to-night, my faithful and careful friend, but +to-morrow you may come and see me at the Fifth Avenue. You will find +that my return will not lessen your manifest happiness." Then, as +he began to tremble, she laid her hand on his arm, and I heard her +smilingly whisper: "You have too pretty a wife for me not to wish my +return to be a benefaction to her." And, with a smile to the crowd and +an admonition to those about her not to let the little bride suffer from +this interruption, she disappeared through the great front door on +the arm of the man who for five years had held her prisoner in her own +house. I went back into the drawing-room, and the five minutes which +elapsed between that moment and that of his return were the most awful +of my life. When he came back I had aged ten years, yet all that time I +was laughing and talking. + +He did not rejoin me immediately; he went up-stairs. I knew why; he had +gone to see if the door to the fourth floor had been unlocked or simply +broken down. When he came back he gave me one look. Did he suspect me? I +could not tell. After that, there was another blank in my memory to the +hour when the guests were all gone, the house all silent, and we stood +together in a little room, where I had at last discovered him, withdrawn +by himself, writing. There was a loaded pistol on the table. The paper +he had been writing was his will. + +"Humphrey," said I, placing a finger on the pistol, "why is this?" + +He gave me a look, a hungry, passionate look, then he grew as white as +the paper he had just subscribed with his name. + +"I am ruined," he murmured. "I have made unwarrantable use of Mrs. +Ransome's money; her return has undone me. Delight, I love you, but I +cannot face the future. You will be provided for----" + +"Will I?" I put in softly, very softly, for my way was strewn with +pitfalls and precipices. "I do not think so, Humphrey. If the money you +have put away is not yours, my first care would be to restore it. Then +what would I have left? A dowry of odium and despair, and I am scarcely +eighteen." + +"But--but--you do not understand, Delight. I have been a villain, a +worse villain than you think. The only thing in my life I have not to +blush for is my love for you. This is pure, even if it has been selfish. +I know it is pure, because I have begun to suffer. If I could tell +you---- + +"Mrs. Ransome has already told me," said I. "Who do you think unlocked +the door of her retreat? I, Humphrey. I wanted to save you from +yourself, and _she_ understands me. She will never reveal the secret of +the years she has passed overhead." + +Would he hate me? Would he love me? Would he turn that fatal weapon on +me, or level it again towards his own breast? For a moment I could not +tell; then the white horror in his face broke up, and, giving me a look +I shall never forget till I die, he fell prostrate on his knees and +lowered his proud head before me. + +I did not touch it, but from that moment the schooling of our two hearts +began, and, though I can never look upon my husband with the frank joy +I see in other women's faces, I have learned not to look upon him with +distrust, and to thank God I did not forsake him when desertion might +have meant the destruction of the one small seed of goodness which had +developed in his heart with the advent of a love for which nothing in +his whole previous life had prepared him. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + +***** This file should be named 22809-8.txt or 22809-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/8/0/22809/ + +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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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/22809-8.zip b/22809-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..36b3eb6 --- /dev/null +++ b/22809-8.zip diff --git a/22809-h.zip b/22809-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ead1ad4 --- /dev/null +++ b/22809-h.zip diff --git a/22809-h/22809-h.htm b/22809-h/22809-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..979da30 --- /dev/null +++ b/22809-h/22809-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2136 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!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" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <title> + The Hermit of ------ Street., by Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles + Rohlfs) + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + 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%;} + 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 {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +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: The Hermit Of ------ Street + 1898 + +Author: Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Release Date: September 29, 2007 [EBook #22809] +Last Updated: October 2, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE HERMIT OF ——— STREET. + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Copyright, 1898, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I.</a> + </td> + <td> + I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II.</a> + </td> + <td> + A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + I LEARN HYPOCRISY.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE STOLEN KEY.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </td> + <td> + WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION. + </h2> + <p> + I should have kept my eyes for the many brilliant and interesting sights + constantly offered me. Another girl would have done so. I myself might + have done so, had I been over eighteen, or, had I not come from the + country, where my natural love of romance had been fostered by uncongenial + surroundings and a repressed life under the eyes of a severe and + unsympathetic maiden aunt. + </p> + <p> + I was visiting in a house where fashionable people made life a perpetual + holiday. Yet of all the pleasures which followed so rapidly, one upon + another, that I have difficulty now in separating them into distinct + impressions, the greatest, the only one I never confounded with any other, + was the hour I spent in my window after the day’s dissipations were all + over, watching—what? Truth and the necessities of my story oblige me + to say—a man’s face, a man’s handsome but preoccupied face, bending + night after night over a study-table in the lower room of the great house + in our rear. + </p> + <p> + I had been in the city three weeks, and I had already received—pardon + the seeming egotism of the confession—four offers, which, + considering I had no fortune and but little education or knowledge of the + great world, speaks well for something: I leave you to judge what. All of + these offers were from young men; one of them from a very desirable young + man, but I had listened to no one’s addresses, because, after accepting + them, I should have felt it wrong to contemplate so unremittingly the + face, which, for all its unconsciousness of myself, held me spell-bound to + an idea I neither stopped nor cared to analyze. + </p> + <p> + Why, at such a distance and under circumstances of such distraction, did + it affect me so? It was not a young face (Mr. Allison at that time was + thirty-five); neither was it a cheerful or even a satisfied one; but it + was very handsome, as I have said; far too handsome, indeed, for a + romantic girl to see unmoved, and it was an enigmatic face; one that did + not lend itself to immediate comprehension, and that, to one of my + temperament, was a fatal attraction, especially as enough was known of his + more than peculiar habits to assure me that character, rather than whim, + lay back of his eccentricities. + </p> + <p> + But first let me explain more fully my exact position in regard to this + gentleman on that day in early spring, destined to be such a memorable one + in my history. + </p> + <p> + I had never seen him, save in the surreptitious way I have related, and he + had never seen me. The day following my arrival in the city I had noticed + the large house in our rear, and had asked some questions about it. This + was but natural, for it was one of the few mansions in the great city with + an old-style lawn about it. Besides, it had a peculiarly secluded and + secretive look, which even to my unaccustomed eyes, gave it an appearance + strangely out of keeping with the expensive but otherwise ordinary houses + visible in all other directions. The windows—and there were many—were + all shuttered and closed, with the exception of the three on the lower + floor and two others directly over these. On the top story they were even + boarded up, giving to that portion of the house a blank and desolate air, + matched, I was told, by that of the large drawing-room windows on either + side of the front door, which faced, as you must see, on another street. + </p> + <p> + The grounds which, were more or less carefully looked after, were + separated from the street by a brick wall, surmounted by urns, from which + drooped the leafless tendrils of some old vines; but in the rear, that is, + in our direction, the line of separation was marked by a high iron fence, + in which, to my surprise, I saw a gate, which, though padlocked now, + marked old habits of intercourse, interesting to contemplate, between the + two houses. Through this fence I caught glimpses of the green turf and + scattered shrubs of a yard which had once sloped away to the avenues on + either side, and, more interesting still, those three windows whose + high-drawn shades offered such a vivid contrast to the rest of the house. + </p> + <p> + In one of these windows stood a table, with a chair before it. I had as + yet seen no one in the chair, but I had noted that the table was heavily + covered with papers and books, and judged that the room was a library and + the table that of a busy man engaged in an endless amount of study and + writing. + </p> + <p> + The Vandykes, whom I had questioned on the matter, were very short in + their replies. Not because the subject was uninteresting, or one they in + any way sought to avoid, but because the invitations to a great party had + just come in, and no other topic was worthy their discussion. But I + learned this much. That the house belonged to one of New York’s oldest + families. That its present owner was a widow of great eccentricity of + character, who, with her one child, a daughter, unfortunately blind from + birth, had taken up her abode in some foreign country, where she thought + her child’s affliction would attract less attention than in her native + city. The house had been closed to the extent I have mentioned, + immediately upon her departure, but had not been left entirely empty. Mr. + Allison, her man of business, had moved into it, and, being fully as + eccentric as herself, had contented himself for five years with a solitary + life in this dismal mansion, without friends, almost without + acquaintances, though he might have had unlimited society and any amount + of attention, his personal attractions being of a very uncommon order, and + his talent for business so pronounced, that he was already recognized at + thirty-five as one of the men to be afraid of in Wall Street. Of his birth + and connections little was known; he was called the Hermit of ——— + Street, and—well,that is about all they told me at this time. + </p> + <p> + After I came to see him (as I did that very evening), I could ask no + further questions concerning him. The beauty of his countenance, the + mystery of his secluded life, the air of melancholy and mental distress + which I imagined myself to detect in his manner—he often used to sit + for minutes together with his eyes fixed on vacancy and his whole face + expressive of the bitterest emotion—had wrought this spell upon my + imagination, and I could no more mingle his name with that of the ordinary + men and women we discussed than I could confound his solitary and + expressive figure with the very proper but conventional forms of the + simpering youths who followed me in parlors or begged to be allowed the + honor of a dance at the balls I attended with the Vandykes. He occupied an + unique place in my regard, and this without another human being’s + knowledge. I wish I could say without my own; but, alas! I have promised + myself to be true in all the details of this history, and, child as I was, + I could not be ignorant of the fascination which held me for hours at my + window when I should have been in bed and asleep. + </p> + <p> + But let me hasten to the adventure which put an end to my dreams by + launching me into realities of a still more absorbing nature. I was not + very well one day, and even Mrs. Vandyke acknowledged that it would not do + for me to take the long-planned drive to Tuxedo. So, as I would not let + any one else miss this pleasure on my account, I had been left alone in + the house, and, not being ill enough for bed, had spent the most of the + morning in my window—not because he was in his; I was yet too timid, + and, let me hope, too girlishly modest, to wish to attract in any way his + attention—but because the sun shone there, and I was just chilly + enough to enjoy its mingled light and heat. Thus it was I came to notice + the following petty occurrence. In the yard of the house next to that + occupied by Mr. Allison was kept a tame rabbit, which often took advantage + of a hole it had made for itself under the dividing fence to roam over the + neighboring lawn. On this day he was taking his accustomed ramble, when + something startled him, and he ran, not back to his hole, but to our + fence, through which he squeezed himself, evidently to his own great + discomfort; for once in our yard, and under the refuge of a small bush he + found there, nothing would lure him back, though every effort was made to + do so, both by the small boy to whom he belonged, and the old serving-man + or gardener, who was the only other person besides Mr. Allison whom I ever + saw on the great place. Watching them, I noted three things: first, that + it was the child who first thought of opening the gate; secondly, that it + was the serving-man who brought the key; and, thirdly, that after the gate + had been opened and the rabbit recovered, the gate had not been locked + again; for, just as the man was about to do this, a call came from the + front, of so imperative a nature, that he ran forward, without readjusting + the padlock, and did not come back, though I watched for him in idle + curiosity for a good half-hour. This was in the morning. At seven o’clock—how + well I remember the hour!—I was sitting again in my window, waiting + for the return of the Vandykes, and watching the face which had now + reappeared at its usual place in the study. It was dark everywhere save + there, and I was marveling over the sense of companionship it gave me + under circumstances of loneliness, which some girls might have felt most + keenly, when suddenly my attention was drawn from him to a window in the + story over his head, by the rapid blowing in and out of a curtain, which + had been left hanging loose before an open sash. As there was a lighted + gas-jet near by, I watched the gyrating muslin with some apprehension, and + was more shocked than astonished when, in another moment, I saw the flimsy + folds give one wild flap and flare up into a brilliant and dangerous + flame. To shriek and throw up my window was the work of a moment, but I + attracted no attention by these means, and, what was worse, saw, with + feelings which may be imagined, that nothing I could do would be likely to + arouse Mr. Allison to an immediate sense of his danger, for not only were + the windows shut between us, but he was lost in one of his brooding + spells, which to all appearance made him quite impassible to surrounding + events. + </p> + <p> + “Will no one see? Will no one warn him?” I cried out, in terror of the + flames burning so brightly in the room above him. Seemingly not. No other + window was raised in the vicinity, and, frightened quite beyond the + exercise of reason or any instincts of false modesty, I dashed out of my + room downstairs, calling for the servants. But Lucy was in the front area + and Ellen above, and I was on the back porch and in the garden before + either of them responded. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, no movement was observable in the brooding figure of Mr. + Allison, and no diminution in the red glare which now filled the room + above him. To see him sitting there so much at his ease, and to behold at + the same moment the destruction going on so rapidly over his head, + affected me more than I can tell, and casting to the winds all selfish + considerations, I sprang through the gate so providentially left ajar and + knocked with all my might on a door which opened upon a side porch not + many feet away from the spot where he sat so unconcernedly. + </p> + <p> + The moment I had done this I felt like running away again, but hearing his + advancing step, summoned up my courage and stood my ground bravely, + determined to say one word and run. + </p> + <p> + But when the door opened and I found myself face to face with the man + whose face I knew only too well, that word, important as it was, stuck in + my throat; for, agitated as I was, both by my errand and my sudden + encounter with one I had dreamed about for weeks, he seemed to be much + more so, though by other reasons—by far other reasons—than + myself. He was so moved—was it by the appearance of a strange young + girl on his doorstep, or was it at something in my face or manner, or + some-thing in his thoughts to which that face or manner gave a shock?—that + my petty fears for the havoc going on above seemed to pale into + insignificance before the emotions called up by my presence. Confronting + me with dilating eyes, he faltered slowly back till his natural instincts + of courtesy recalled him to himself, and he bowed, when I found courage to + cry: + </p> + <p> + “Fire! Your house is on fire! Up there, overhead!” + </p> + <p> + The sound which left his lips as these words slipped from mine struck me + speechless again. Appalling as the cry “Fire!” is at all times and to all + men, it roused in this man at this time something beyond anything my + girlish soul had ever imagined of terror or dismay. So intense were the + feelings I saw aroused in him that I expected to see him rush into the + open air with loud cries for help. But instead of that, he pushed the door + to behind me, and locking me in, said, in a strange and hoarsened tone? + </p> + <p> + “Don’t call out, don’t make any sound or outcry, and above all, don’t let + any one in; I will fight the flames alone!” and seizing a lamp from the + study-table, he dashed from me towards a staircase I could faintly see in + the distance. But half-way down the hall he looked back at me, and again I + saw that look on his face which had greeted my unexpected appearance in + the doorway. + </p> + <p> + Alas! it was a thrilling look—a look which no girl could sustain + without emotion; and spellbound under it, I stood in a maze, alone and in + utter darkness, not knowing whether to unlock the door and escape or to + stand still and wait for his reappearance, as he evidently expected me to + do. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the alarm had spread, and more than one cry arose from the + houses in the rear. I could hear feet running over the walks without, and + finally a knock on the door I was leaning against, followed by the cry: + </p> + <p> + “Let us in! Fire! fire!” + </p> + <p> + But I neither moved nor answered. I was afraid to be found there, + crouching alone in a bachelor’s residence, but I was equally afraid of + disobeying him, for his voice had been very imperious when he commanded me + not to let any one in; and I was too young to brave such a nature, even if + I had wished to, which I do not think I did. + </p> + <p> + “He is overhead! See him—see him!” I now heard shouted from the + lawn. “He has dragged the curtains down! He is showering the walls with + water! Look—look! how wildly he works! He will be burnt himself. Ah! + ah!” All of which gave me strange thrills, and filled the darkness which + encompassed me with startling pictures, till I could hardly stand the + stress or keep myself from rushing to his assistance. + </p> + <p> + While my emotions were at their height a bell rang. It was the front + doorbell, and it meant the arrival of the engines. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” thought I, “what shall I do now? If I run out I shall encounter half + the neighborhood in the back yard; if I stay here how shall I be able to + meet the faces of the firemen who will come rushing in?” + </p> + <p> + But I was not destined to suffer from either contingency. As the bell rang + a second time, a light broke on the staircase I was so painfully watching, + and Mr. Allison descended, lamp in hand, as he had gone up. He appeared + calm now, and without any show of emotion proceeded at once to the front + door, which he opened. + </p> + <p> + What passed between him and the policeman whose voice I heard in the hall, + I do not know. I heard them go up-stairs and presently come down again, + and I finally heard the front door close. Then I began to make an effort + to gain some control over my emotions, for I knew he had not forgotten me, + and that he soon would be in the vestibule at my side. + </p> + <p> + But it was impossible for me to hope to meet him with an unconcerned air. + The excitement I was under and the cold—for I was dressed lightly + and the vestibule was chilly—had kept me trembling so, that my curls + had fallen all about my cheeks, and one had fallen so low that it hung in + shameful disorder to my very waist. This alone was enough to disconcert + me, but had my heart been without its secret—a secret I was in + mortal terror of disclosing in my confusion—I could have risen above + my embarrassment and let simple haste been my excuse. As it was, I must + have met him with a pleading aspect, very much like that of a frightened + child, for his countenance visibly changed as he approached me, and showed + quite an extraordinary kindness, if not contrition, as he paused in the + narrow vestibule with the blazing lamp held low in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “My little girl,” he began, but instantly changed the phrase to “My dear + young lady, how can I thank you enough, and how can I sufficiently express + my regret at having kept you a prisoner in this blazing house? I fear I + have frightened you sorely, but—-” And here, to my astonishment, he + found nothing to say, moved overmuch by some strong feeling, or checked in + his apologies by some great embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + Astonished, for he did not look like a man who could be lightly disturbed, + I glowed a fiery red and put my hand out towards the door. Instantly he + found speech again. + </p> + <p> + “One moment,” said he. “I feel that I ought to explain the surprise, the + consternation, which made me forget. You know this is not my house, that I + am here in trust for another, that the place is full of rare treasures.” + </p> + <p> + Had he stopped again? I was in such a state of inner perturbation that I + hardly knew whether he had ceased to speak or I to hear. Something, I did + not know what, had shaken my very life’s center—something in the + shape of dread, yet so mixed with delight that my hand fell from the knob + I had been blindly groping for and sank heavily at my side. His eyes had + not left my face. + </p> + <p> + “May I ask whom I have the honor of addressing?” he asked, in a tone I + might better never have heard from his lips. + </p> + <p> + To this I must make reply. Shuddering, for I felt something uncanny in the + situation, but speaking up, notwithstanding, with the round and vibrating + tones I had inherited from my mother, I answered, with the necessary + simplicity: + </p> + <p> + “I am Delight Hunter, a country girl, sir, visiting the Vandykes.” + </p> + <p> + A flash that was certainly one of pleasure lighted up his face with a + brilliance fatal to my poor, quivering girl’s heart. + </p> + <p> + “Allow me, Miss Hunter, to believe that you will not bring down the + indignation of my neighbors upon me by telling them of my carelessness and + indiscretion.” Then, as my lips settled into a determined curve, he + himself opened the door, and bowing low, asked if I would accept his + protection to the gate. + </p> + <p> + But at the rush of the night air, such a sensation of shame overpowered me + that I only thought of retreat; and, declining his offer with a wild shake + of the head, I dashed from the house and fled with an incomprehensible + sense of relief back to that of the Vandykes. The servants, who had seen + me rush towards Mr. Allison’s, were still in the yard watching for me. I + did not vouchsafe them a word. I could hardly formulate words in my own + mind. A great love and a great dread had seized upon me at once. A great + love for the man by whose face I had been moved for weeks and a great + dread—well, I cannot explain my dread, not as I felt it that night. + It was formless and without apparent foundation; but it would no more + leave me than my uneasy memory of the fierce instinct which had led him at + such a critical instant to close his door against all help, though in so + doing he had subjected a young girl to many minutes of intense + embarrassment and mortifying indecision. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST. + </h2> + <p> + Mr. Allison, who had never before been known to leave his books and + papers, not only called the next day to express his gratitude for what he + was pleased to style my invaluable warning, but came every day after, till + not only my heart but my reason told me that the great house in the rear + might ultimately be my home, if the passion which had now become my life + should prove greater than the dread which had not yet entirely left me. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison loved me—oh, what pride in the thought!—but Mr. + Allison had a secret, or why did he so often break off abruptly in some + telltale speech and drop his eyes, which were otherwise always upon me. + Something not easy to understand lay between us—something which he + alternately defied and succumbed to, something which kept him from being + quite the good man I had pictured myself as marrying. Why I was so certain + of this latter fact, I cannot say. Perhaps my instinct was keen; perhaps + the signs of goodness are so unmistakable that even a child feels their + want where her heart leans hardest. + </p> + <p> + Yet everything I heard of him only tended to raise him in my estimation. + After he became an habitué of the house, Mrs. Vandyke grew more + communicative in regard to him. He was eccentric, of course, but his + eccentricities were such as did him credit. One thing she told me made a + lasting impression on me. Mrs. Ransome, the lady in whose house he lived, + had left her home very suddenly. He anticipated a like return; so, ever + since her departure, it had been his invariable custom to have the table + set for three, so that he might never be surprised by her arrival. It had + become a monomania with him. Never did he sit down without there being + enough before him for a small family, and as his food was all brought in + cooked from a neighboring restaurant, this eccentricity of his was well + known, and gave an added <i>éclat</i> to his otherwise hermit-like habits. + To my mind, it added an element of pathos to his seclusion, and so + affected me that one day I dared to remark to him: + </p> + <p> + “You must have liked Mrs. Ransome very much you are so faithful in your + remembrance of her.” + </p> + <p> + I never presumed again to attack any of his foibles. He gave me first a + hard look, then an indulgent one, and finally managed to say, after a + moment of quiet hesitation: + </p> + <p> + “You allude to my custom of setting two chairs at the table to which they + may return at any minute? Miss Hunter, what I do in the loneliness of that + great house is not worth the gossip of those who surround you.” + </p> + <p> + Flushing till I wished my curls would fall down and hide my cheeks, I + tried to stammer out some apology. But he drove it back with a passionate + word: + </p> + <p> + “Delight, idol of my heart, come and see what a lonely place that old + house is. Come and live in that house—at least for a little time, + till I can arrange for you a brighter and a happier home—come and be + my wife.” + </p> + <p> + It was sudden, it was all but unlooked-for, and like all his expressions + of feeling, frenzied rather than resolute. But it was a declaration that + met my most passionate longings, and in the elation it brought I forgot + for the moment the doubts it called up. Otherwise I had been a woman + rather than a girl, and this tale had never been written. + </p> + <p> + “You love me, Delight” (he was already pressing me in his arms), “you love + me or you would never have rushed so impetuously to warn me of my danger + that night. Make me the maddest, happiest man in all the world by saying + you will not wait; that you will not ask counsel of anybody or anything + but your affection, but marry me at once; marry me while my heart yearns + for you so deeply; marry me before I go away——” + </p> + <p> + “Go away?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I am going away. Mrs. Ransome and her daughter are coming back and I + am going away. Will you go with me?” + </p> + <p> + With what intensity he spoke, yet with what hardness. I quivered while I + listened, yet I made no move to withdraw from him. Had he asked me to step + with him from the housetop I should hardly have refused while his heart + throbbed so wildly against mine and his eyes lured me on with such a + promise of ecstasy. + </p> + <p> + “You will?” How peremptory he could be. “You will?” How triumphant, also. + </p> + <p> + I hardly realized what I had done till I stood abashed before Mrs. + Vandyke, and told her I had engaged myself to marry Mr. Allison before he + went to Europe. Then it seemed I had done a very good thing. She + congratulated me heartily, and, seeing I had a certain fear of taking my + aunt into my confidence, promised to sit down and write to her herself, + using every encomium she could think of to make this sudden marriage, on + my part, seem like the result of reason and wise forethought. + </p> + <p> + “Such an estimable man! such an old neighbor! so domestic in his tastes! + and, oh! so wise to find out and make his own the slyest and most + bewildering little beauty that has come into New York this many a season!” + These were some of her words, and, though pleasing at the time, they made + me think deeply—much more deeply than I wished to, after I went + upstairs to my room. + </p> + <p> + “Estimable! an old neighbor! domestic in his tastes!” Had she said: + “Handsome! masterful in his air and spirit! a man to make a girl forget + the real end of life and think only of present pleasure!” I should not + have had such a fierce reaction. But estimable! Was he estimable? I tried + to cry out yes! I tried to keep down the memory of that moment when, with + a dozen passions suddenly let loose (one of them fear), he strode by me + and locked the door against all help, under an impetus he had tried in + vain to explain. Nothing would quiet the still, small voice speaking in my + breast, or give to the moment that unalloyed joy which belongs to a young + girl’s betrothal. I was afraid. Why? + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison never came in the evening, another of his peculiarities. Other + men did, but what were other men to me now? This night I pleaded weariness + (Mrs. Vandyke understood me), and remained in my room. I wanted to study + the face of my lover under the new conditions. Was he in his old seat? + Yes. And would he read, as usual, or study? No. He had thoughts of his own + to-night, engrossing enough to hold him enthralled without the aid of his + ordinary occupations; thoughts, thoughts of me, thoughts which should have + cleared his brow and made his face a study of delight to me. But was it + so? Alas! I had never seen it so troubled; lit with gleams of hope or + happiness by spells, but mostly sunk in depths of profoundest + contemplation, which gave to it a melancholy from which I shrank, and not + the melancholy one longs to comfort and allay. What was on his mind? What + was in his heart? Something he feared to have noted, for suddenly he rose + with a start, and, for the first time since my eyes had sought that + window, pulled down the shades and thus shut himself out from my view + altogether. Was it a rebuke to my insistent watchfulness? or the + confession of a reticent nature fearing to be surprised in its moment of + weakness? I ought to know—I would know. To-morrow I would ask him if + there was any sorrow in his life which a confiding girl ought to be made + acquainted with before she yielded him her freedom. But the pang which + pierced me at the thought, proved that I feared his answer too much to + ever question him. + </p> + <p> + I am thus explicit in regard to my thoughts and feelings at this time, + that I may more fully account to you for what I did later. I had not, what + every one else seemed to have, full confidence in this man, and yet the + thrall in which I was held by the dominating power of his passion, kept me + from seeking that advice even from my own intuitions, which might have led + to my preservation. I was blind and knew I was blind, yet rushed on + headlong. I asked him no questions till our wedding day. + </p> + <p> + My aunt, who seemed quite satisfied with Mrs. Vandyke’s explanations, + promised to be present at the ceremony, which was set at an alarmingly + near day. My lovers on the contrary—by whom I mean the half dozen + men who had been attentive to me—refused to attend, so I had one + care less; for the lack of time—perhaps I should say my lack of + means—precluded me from obtaining a very elaborate wedding dress, + and I did not choose to have them see me appear on such an occasion in any + less charming guise than I had been accustomed to wear at party or play. + <i>He</i> did not care what I wore. When I murmured something about the + haste with which he had hurried things forward, and how it was likely to + interfere with what most brides considered necessary to the proper + celebration of such an event, he caught me to his breast with a feverish + gesture and vowed that if he could have his way, there would be no + preparation at all, but just a ceremony before a minister which would make + me his without the least delay. + </p> + <p> + Men may enjoy such precipitation, but women do not. I was so troubled by + what seemed the meagerness of my wardrobe and the lack of everything I had + been accustomed to see brides bring their husbands, that I asked Mrs. + Vandyke one day if Mr. Allison was a rich man. She answered, with a smile: + “No, my dear, not as we New-Yorkers count riches. Having the power of + attorney for Mrs. Ransome, he handles a good deal of money; but very + little of it is his own, though to you his five-thousand-a-year salary may + seem a fortune.” + </p> + <p> + This was so much Greek to me, though I did understand he was not + considered wealthy. + </p> + <p> + “Then my fawn-colored cloth will not be so very inappropriate for a + wedding dress?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “I wish you could see yourself in it,” she said, and that satisfied me. + </p> + <p> + We were married simply, but to the sound of wonderful music, in a certain + little church not far from ——— Street. My aunt was there + and my four lovers, though they had said, one and all, they would not + come. But I saw nothing, realized nothing, save the feverish anxiety of my + bridegroom, who, up to the minute the final vows were uttered, seemed to + be on a strain of mingled emotions, among which I seemed to detect that + old one of fear. A pitiful outlook for an adoring bride, you will think, + who, without real friends to interest themselves in her, allows herself to + be pushed to a brink she is wise enough to see, but not strong enough to + recoil from. Yes, but its full pathos did not strike me then. I only felt + anxious to have the ceremony over, to know that the die was cast beyond my + own powers of retraction; and when the words of the benediction at last + fell upon my ears, it was with real joy I turned to see if they brought + him as much rapture as they did me. Happily for that moment’s satisfaction + they did, and if a friend had been there with eyes to see and heart to + feel, there would have been nothing in the air of open triumph with which + Mr. Allison led me down the aisle to awaken aught but hope and confidence. + My own hopes rose at the sight, and when at the carriage door he turned to + give me a smile before he helped me in, nothing but the obstinacy of my + nature prevented me from accepting the verdict of my acquaintances, “That + for a little country girl, with nothing but her good looks to recommend + her, Delight Hunter had done remarkably well in the one short month she + had been in the city.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison had told me that it would be impossible for him to take me out + of the city at present. It was therefore to the house on ——— + Street we were driven. On the way he attempted to reconcile me to what he + feared might strike me as dreary in the prospect. + </p> + <p> + “The house is partially closed,” said he, “and many of the rooms are + locked. Even the great drawing-rooms have an uninhabited look, which will + make them anything but attractive to a lover of sunshine and comfort; but + the library is cheerful, and in that you can sit and imagine yourself at + home till lean wind up my business affairs and make possible the trip upon + which I have set my heart.” + </p> + <p> + “Does that mean,” I faintly ventured, “that you will leave me to spend + much of my time alone in that great echoing house?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” was his quick response, “you shall spend no time there alone. When I + go out you shall go too, and if business takes me where you cannot + accompany me I will give you money to shop with, which will keep you + pleasantly occupied till I can rejoin you. Oh, we will make it a happy + honeymoon, in spite of all obstacles, my darling. I should be a wretch if + I did not make it happy for <i>you</i>.” + </p> + <p> + Here was my opportunity. I trembled as I thought of it, and stammered + quite like a foolish child as I softly suggested: + </p> + <p> + “For me? Is it not likely to be a happy one for <i>you?</i>” + </p> + <p> + I will not give his answer; it was a passionate one, but it was not + convincing. Pondering it and trying to persuade myself he alluded only to + business cares and anxieties, I let the minute slip by and entered the + house with doubts unsolved, but with no further effort to understand him. + Remember, he was thirty-five and I but a chit of eighteen. + </p> + <p> + In the hall stood the old serving-man with whose appearance I was already + so familiar. He had a smile on his face, which formed my only welcome. He + also had a napkin over his arm. + </p> + <p> + “Luncheon is served,” he announced, with great formality; and then I saw + through an open door the glitter of china and glass, and realized I was + about to take my first meal with my husband. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison had already told me that he intended to make no changes in his + domestic arrangements for the few days we were likely to occupy this + house. I had therefore expected that our meals would be served from the + restaurant, and that Ambrose (the waiting-man) would continue to be the + only other occupant of the house. But I was not sure whether the table + would be still set for four, or whether he would waive this old custom now + that he had a wife to keep him company at the once lonely board. I was + eager to know, and as soon as I could lay aside my hat in the little + reception-room, I turned my face towards the dining-room door, where my + husband stood awaiting me with a bunch of great white roses in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Sweets to the sweet,” said he, with a smile that sunk down deep into my + heart and made my eyes moisten with joy. In the hackneyed expression there + rang nothing false. He was proud and he was glad to see me enter that + dining-room as his wife. + </p> + <p> + The next moment I was before the board, which had been made as beautiful + as possible with flowers and the finest of dinner services. But the table + was set for four, two of whom could only be present in spirit. + </p> + <p> + I wondered if I were glad or sorry to see it—if I were more pleased + with his loyalty to his absent employer, or disappointed that my presence + had not made everybody else forgotten. To be consistent, I should have + rejoiced at this evidence of sterling worth on his part; but girls are not + consistent—at least, brides of an hour are not—and I may have + pouted the least bit in the world as I pointed to the two places set as + elaborately as our own, and said with the daring which comes with the + rights of a wife: + </p> + <p> + “It would be a startling coincidence if Mrs. Ransome and her daughter + should return today. I fear I would not like it.” + </p> + <p> + I was looking directly at him as I spoke, with a smile on my lips and my + hand on the back of my chair. But the jest I had expected in reply did not + come. Something in my tone or choice of topic jarred upon him, and his + answer was a simple wave of his hand towards Ambrose, who at once relieved + me of my bouquet, placing it in a tall glass at the side of my plate. + </p> + <p> + “Now we will sit,” said he. + </p> + <p> + I do not know how the meal would have passed had Ambrose not been present. + As it was, it was a rather formal affair, and would have been slightly + depressing, if I had not caught, now and then, flashing glances from my + husband’s eye which assured me that he found as much to enchain him in my + presence as I did in his. What we ate I have no idea of. I only remember + that in every course there was enough for four. + </p> + <p> + As we rose, I was visited by a daring impulse. Ambrose had poured me out a + glass of wine, which stood beside my plate undisturbed. As I stooped to + recover my flowers again, I saw this glass, and at once lifted it towards + him, crying: + </p> + <p> + “To Mrs. Ransome and her daughter, who did <i>not</i> return to enjoy our + wedding-breakfast.” + </p> + <p> + He recoiled. Yes, I am sure he gave a start back, though he recovered + himself immediately and responded with grave formality to my toast. + </p> + <p> + “Does he not like Mrs. Ransome?” I thought. “Is the somewhat onerous + custom he maintains here the result of a sense of duty rather than of + liking?” + </p> + <p> + My curiosity was secretly whetted by the thought. But with a girl’s + lightness I began to talk of other things, and first of the house, which I + now for the first time looked at with anything like seeing eyes. + </p> + <p> + He was patient with me, but I perceived he did not enjoy this topic any + more than the former one. “It is not ours,” he kept saying; “remember that + none of these old splendors are ours.” + </p> + <p> + “They are more ours than they are Mrs. Ransome’s, just now,” I at last + retorted, with one of my girlhood’s saucy looks. “At all events, I am + going to play that it is ours tonight,” I added, dancing away from him + towards the long drawing-rooms where I hoped to come upon a picture of the + absent lady of the house. + </p> + <p> + “Delight “—he was quite peremptory now— + </p> + <p> + “I must ask you not to enter those rooms, however invitingly the doors may + stand open. It is a notion, a whim of mine, that you do not lend your + beauty to light up that ghostly collection of old pictures and ugly + upholstery, and if you feel like respecting my wishes——” + </p> + <p> + “But may I not stand in the doorway?” I asked, satisfied at having been + able to catch a glimpse of a full-length portrait of a lady who could be + no other than Mrs. Ransome. “See! my shadow does not even fall across the + carpet. I won’t do the room any harm, and I am sure that Mrs. Ransome’s + picture won’t do me any.” + </p> + <p> + “Come! come away!” he cried; and humoring his wishes, I darted away, this + time in the direction of the dining-room and Ambrose. “My dear,” + remonstrated my husband, quickly following me, “what has brought you back + here?” + </p> + <p> + “I want to see,” said I, “what Ambrose does with the food we did not eat. + Such a lot of it!” + </p> + <p> + It was childish, but then I was a child and a nervous one, too. Perhaps he + considered this, for, while he was angry enough to turn pale, he did not + attempt any rebuke, but left it to Ambrose to say: + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Allison is very good, ma’am. This food, which is very nice, is given + each day to a poor girl who comes for it, and takes it home to her + parents. I put it in this basket, and Mr. Allison gives it to the girl + when she calls for it in the evening.” + </p> + <p> + “You <i>are</i> good,” I cried, turning to my husband with a fond look. + Did he think the emphasis misplaced, or did he consider it time for me to + begin to put on more womanly ways, for drawing me again into the library, + he made me sit beside him on the big lounge, and after a kiss or two, + demanded quietly, but oh, how peremptorily: + </p> + <p> + “Delight, why do you so often speak of Mrs. Ransome? Have you any reason + for it? Has any one talked to you about her, that her name seems to be + almost the only one on your lips in the few, short minutes we have been + married?” + </p> + <p> + I did not know why this was so, myself, so I only shook my head and + sighed, repentingly. Then, seeing that he would have some reply, I + answered with what <i>naiveté</i> I could summon up at the moment: + </p> + <p> + “I think it was because you seem so ashamed of your devotion to them. I + love to see your embarrassment, founded as it is upon the most generous + instincts.” + </p> + <p> + His hand closed over mine with a fierceness that hurt me. + </p> + <p> + “Let us talk of love,” he whispered. “Delight, this is our wedding-day.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE. + </h2> + <p> + After supper Mr. Allison put before me a large book. “Amuse yourself with + these pictures,” said he; “I have a little task to perform. After it is + done I will come again and sit with you.” + </p> + <p> + “You are not going out,” I cried, starting up. “No,” he smiled, “I am not + going out.” I sank back and opened the book, but I did not look at the + pictures. Instead of that I listened to his steps moving about the house, + rear and front, and finally going up what seemed to be a servant’s + staircase, for I could see the great front stairs from where I sat, and + there was no one on them. “Why do I not hear his feet overhead?” I asked + myself. “That is the only room he has given me leave to enter. Does his + task take him elsewhere?” Seemingly so, for, though he was gone a good + half hour, he did not enter the room above. Why should I think of so small + a matter? It would be hard to say; perhaps I was afraid of being left in + the great rooms alone; perhaps I was only curious; but I asked myself a + dozen times before he reappeared, “Where is he gone, and why does he stay + away so long?” But when he returned and sat down I said nothing. There was + a little thing I noted, however. His hands were trembling, and it was five + minutes before he met my inquiring look. This I should not consider worth + mentioning if I had not observed the same hesitancy follow the same + disappearance up-stairs on the succeeding night. It was the only time in + the day when he really left me, and, when he came back, he was not like + himself for a good half hour or more. “I will not displease him with + questions,” I decided; “but some day I will find my own way into those + lofts above. I shall never be at rest till I do.” + </p> + <p> + What I expected to find there is as much a mystery to my understanding as + my other doubts and fears. I hardly think I expected to find anything but + a desk of papers, or a box with money in it or other valuables. Still the + idea that something on the floor above had power to shadow my husband’s + face, even in the glow of his first love for me, possessed me so + completely that, when he fell asleep one evening on the library lounge, I + took the opportunity of stealing away and mounting the forbidden staircase + to the third floor. I had found a candle in my bedroom, and this I took to + light me. But it revealed nothing to me except a double row of unused + rooms, with dust on the handles of all the doors. I scrutinized them all; + for, young as I was, I had wit enough to see that if I could find one knob + on which no dust lay that would be the one my husband was accustomed to + turn. But every one showed tokens of not having been touched in years, + and, baffled in my search, I was about to retreat, when I remembered that + the house had four stories, and that I had not yet come upon the staircase + leading to the one above. A hurried search (for I was mortally afraid of + being surprised by my husband,) revealed to me at last a distant door, + which had no dust on its knob. It lay at the bottom of a shut-in + stair-case, and, convinced that here was, the place my husband was in the + habit of visiting, I carefully fingered the knob, which turned very softly + in my hand. But it did not open the door. There was a lock visible just + below, and that lock was fastened. + </p> + <p> + My first escapade was without visible results, but I was uneasy from that + hour. I imagined all sorts of things hidden beyond that closed, door. I + remembered that the windows of the fourth story were all boarded up, and + asked myself why this had been done when the lower ones had been left + open. I was young, but I had heard of occupations which could only be + entered into by a man secretly. Did he amuse himself with forbidden tasks + in that secluded place above, or was I but exaggerating facts which might + have their basis simply in a quondam bachelor’s desire for solitude and a + quiet smoke. “I will follow him up some night,” thought I, “and see if I + cannot put an end at once to my unworthy fears and unhappy suspicions.” + But I never did; something happened very soon to prevent me. + </p> + <p> + I was walking one morning in the grounds that lay about the house, when + suddenly I felt something small but perceptibly hard strike my hat and + bound quickly off. Astonished, for I was under no tree, under nothing + indeed but the blue of heaven, I looked about for the object that had + struck me. As I did so, I perceived my husband in his window, but his + eyes, while upon me, did not see me, for no change passed over him as I + groped about in the grass. “In one of his contemplative moods,” thought I, + continuing my search. In another instant I started up. I had found a + little thing like a bullet wrapped up in paper; but it was no bullet; it + was a bead, a large gold bead, and on the paper which surrounded it were + written words so fine I could not at first decipher them, but as soon as I + had stepped away far enough to be out of the reach of the eyes I both + loved and feared more than any in the world, I managed, by dint of great + patience, and by placing the almost transparent paper on which they were + written over one of the white satin strings of the cape I wore, to read + these words: + </p> + <p> + “Help from the passing stranger! I am Elizabeth Ransome, owner of the + house in which I have been imprisoned five years. Search for me in the + upper story. You will find me there with my blind daughter. He who placed + us here is below; beware his cunning.” + </p> + <p> + And underneath, these words: + </p> + <p> + “This is the twenty-fifth attempt I have made to attract attention to our + unhappy fate. I can make but two more. There are but two beads left of + Theresa’s necklace.” + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter, ma’am? Are you ill?” It was Ambrose; I knew his + voice. + </p> + <p> + Crushing the paper in my hand, I tried to look up; but it was in vain. The + sting of sudden and complete disillusion had struck me to the heart; I + knew my husband to be a villain. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. I LEARN HYPOCRISY. + </h2> + <p> + Only eighteen, but from that moment, a woman. Sunk in horror as I was, I + yet had wit enough to clap my hands to my head and say I had been dazzled + by the sun. + </p> + <p> + Ambrose, who, in the week I had been with them, had shown himself + delighted with the change my coming had made in the house, looked alarmed + at this and wanted to call Mr. Allison; but I forbade him, and said I + would go in by myself, which I did under a stress of will-power rarely + exercised, I dare believe, by a girl so young and so miserable. + </p> + <p> + “What shall I say to him? how shall I meet him? how can I hide my + knowledge and act as if this thing had never been?” For even in that rush + of confusing emotions I recognized one fact; that I must not betray by + look or word that I knew his dreadful secret. If he were villain enough to + keep a woman, and that woman the rightful owner of the property he was + himself enjoying, in a prison he had made for her in her own house, then + he was villain enough to strangle the one who had discovered this fact, + were she the cherished darling of his seared and calculating heart. I was + afraid of him now that I knew him, yet I never thought of flying his + presence or revealing his crime. He was, villain or no villain, my + husband, and nothing could ever undo that fact or make it true that I had + never loved him. + </p> + <p> + So I went in, but went in slowly and with downcast eyes. The bead and the + paper I had dropped into my <i>vinaigrette</i>, which fortunately hung at + my side. + </p> + <p> + “Humphrey,” I said, “when are we going to leave this house? I begin to + find it lonesome.” + </p> + <p> + He was preparing to gather up his papers for his accustomed trip down + town, but he stopped as I spoke, and look at me curiously. + </p> + <p> + “You are pale,” he remarked, “change and travel will benefit you. Dearest, + we will try to sail for Europe in a week.” + </p> + <p> + A week! What did he mean? Leave his prisoners—alas, I understood his + journeys to the top of the house now—and go away to Europe? I felt + myself grow livid at the thought, and caught a spray of lilac from the + table where I stood and held it to my face. + </p> + <p> + “Will your business affairs warrant it?” I asked. “Are you sure Mrs. + Ransome’s affairs will not suffer by your absence?” Then, as I saw him + turn white, I made a ghastly effort, happily hid by the flowers I held + pressed against my face, and suggested, laughingly, “How, if she should + come back after your departure! would she meet the greeting she deserves?” + </p> + <p> + He was half the room away from me, but I heard the click of subdued + passion in his throat, and turned sick almost to the point of fainting. + “It is four days since you mentioned Mrs. Ransome’s name,” he said. “When + we are gone from here you must promise that it shall never again pass your + lips. Mrs. Ransome is not a good woman, Delight.” + </p> + <p> + It was a lie yet his manner of speaking it, and the look with which he now + approached me, made me feel helpless again, and I made haste to rush from + the room, ostensibly to prepare for our trip down town, in order to escape + my own weakness and gain a momentary self-possession before we faced the + outside world. Only eighteen years old and confronted by such a diabolical + problem! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. THE STOLEN KEY. + </h2> + <p> + I was too young to reason in those days. Had I not been, had I been able + to say to myself that no act requiring such continued precaution could + take place in the heart of a great city without ultimate, if not instant, + detection, instinct would still have assured me that what I read was true, + however improbable or unheard of it might seem. That the recognition of + this fact imposed upon me two almost irreconcilable duties I was slower to + perceive. But soon, too soon, it became apparent even to my girlish mind, + that, as the wife of the man who had committed this great and + inconceivable wrong, I was bound, not only to make an immediate attempt to + release the women he so outrageously held imprisoned in their own house, + but to so release them that he should escape the opprobrium of his own + act. + </p> + <p> + That I might have time to think, and that I might be saved, if but for one + day, contact with one it was almost my duty to hate, I came back to him + with the plea that I might spend the day with the Vandykes instead of + accompanying him down town as usual. I think he was glad of the freedom my + absence offered him, for he gave me the permission I asked, and in ten + minutes I was in my old home. Mrs. Vandyke received me with effusion. It + was not the first time she had seen me since my marriage, but it was the + first time she had seen me alone. + </p> + <p> + “My dear!” she exclaimed, turning me about till my unwilling face met the + light, “is this the wild-wood lassie I gave into Mr. Allison’s keeping a + week ago!” + </p> + <p> + “It is the house!” I excitedly gasped, “the empty, lonely, echoing house! + I am afraid in it, even with my husband. It gives me creepy feelings, <i>as + if a murder had been committed in it</i>.” + </p> + <p> + She broke into a laugh; I hear the sound now, an honest, amused and + entirely reassuring laugh, that relieved me in one way and depressed me in + another. “The idea! <i>that</i> house!” she cried. “I never thought you a + girl to have nervous fancies. Why, it is the most matter-of-fact old + mansion in the city. All its traditions are of the most respectable kind; + no skeleton in those closets! By the way, my dear, has Mr. Allison shown + you any of the curious old things those rooms must contain?” + </p> + <p> + I managed to stammer out a reply, “Mr. Allison does not consider that his + rights extend so far. I have never crossed the drawing-room floor.” + </p> + <p> + “Well! that is carrying honor to an extreme. I am afraid I should not be + able to suppress my curiosity to that extent. Is he afraid of the old lady + returning unexpectedly and catching him?” + </p> + <p> + I could not echo her laugh; I could not even smile; I could only pucker up + my brows as if angry. + </p> + <p> + “Everything is kept in shape, so that if she does return she will find the + house comfortable,” I said; then, with a rising sense of having by this + speech suggested a falsehood, I hastily dropped the topic, and, with an + entire change of manner, remarked, airily: + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Ransome must have gone off very suddenly, to leave everything so + exposed in a house as splendid as that. Most people, however rich, see to + their choice things more carefully.” + </p> + <p> + She rose to the bait. “Mrs. Ransome is a queer woman. Her things are of + but little account to her; to save her daughter from a moment’s pain she + would part with the house itself, let alone the accumulations it contains. + That is why she left the country so suddenly.” + </p> + <p> + I waited a moment under the pretense of admiring a locket she wore, then I + suggested, quietly: + </p> + <p> + “My husband told you that?” + </p> + <p> + The answer was as careless as the speaker. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I don’t know who told me. It’s five years ago now, but every one at + the time understood that she was angry, because some one mentioned + blindness before her daughter. Mrs. Ransome had regarded it as a religious + duty to raise her daughter in ignorance of her affliction. When she found + she could not do so among her friends and acquaintances, she took her away + to a strange land. It is the only tradition, which is not commonplace, + which belongs to the family. Let us go up and see my new gowns. I have had + two come home from Arnold’s since you went away.” + </p> + <p> + I thought the gowns would keep a minute longer. “Did Mrs. Ransome say + good-by to her friends?” I asked. “Somehow this matter strikes me as being + very romantic.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that shows what a puss you are. No, Mrs. Ransome did not say good-by + to her friends, that is, not to us. She just went, leaving everything in + your husband’s charge, who certainly has acquitted himself of the + obligation most religiously. And now will you see the gowns?” + </p> + <p> + I tortured myself by submitting to this ordeal, then I ventured on another + and entirely different attempt to clear up the mystery that was fast + stifling out my youth, love and hope. I professed to have an extraordinary + desire to see the city from the house-top. I had never been any higher up + than the third story of any house I had been in, and could not, I told + her, go any higher in the house in which I was then living. Might I go up + on her roof? Her eyes opened, but she was of an amiable, inconsequent + disposition and let me have my way without too much opposition. So, + together with a maid she insisted upon sending with me, I made my way + through the skylight on to the roof, and so into full view of the + neighboring house-tops. + </p> + <p> + One glance at the spot I was most interested in, and I found myself too + dizzy to look further. In the center of Mrs. Ransome’s roof there was to + be seen what I can best describe as an extended cupola without windows. As + there was no other break visible in the roof, the top of this must have + held the skylight, which, being thus lifted many feet above the level of + the garret floor, would admit air and light enough to the boarded-up space + below, but would make any effort to be heard or seen, on the part of any + one secreted there, quite ineffectual. One might, by a great effort, fling + up a bead out of this funnel-shaped opening, but, even to my limited sense + of mechanics, the chances seemed very unfavorable towards it doing much + more than roll over the spacious roof into the huge gutters surrounding + it. + </p> + <p> + Yet, if it chose to bound, it might clear the coping and fall, as one had + fallen, on the devoted head of a person walking on the lawn below. All + this I saw at a glance, and then, sick and dizzy, I crept back, and, with + but little apology for my abruptness, took leave of Mrs. Vandyke and left + the house. + </p> + <p> + The resolution I took in doing this was worthy of an older head and a more + disciplined heart. By means that were fair, or by means that were foul, I + meant to win my way into that boarded-up attic and see for myself if the + words hidden away in my vinaigrette were true. To do this openly would + cause a scandal I was yet too much under my husband’s influence to risk; + while to do it secretly meant the obtaining of keys which I had every + reason to believe he kept hidden about his person. How was I to obtain + them? I saw no way, but that did not deter me from starting at once down + town in the hope of being struck by some brilliant idea while waiting for + him in his office. + </p> + <p> + Was it instinct that suggested this, or was the hand of Providence in all + that I did at this time? I had no sooner seated myself in the little room, + where I had been accustomed to wait for him, than I saw what sent the + blood tingling to my finger-tips in sudden hope. It was my husband’s vest + hanging in one corner, the vest he had worn down town that morning. The + day was warm and he had taken it off. <i>If the key should be in it!</i> + </p> + <p> + I had never done a mean or underhanded thing before in my life, but I + sprang at that vest without the least hesitation, and fingering it with + the lightest of touches, found in the smallest of inside pockets a key, + which instinct immediately told me was that of the door I had once + endeavored to pass. Oh, the rush of feeling overwhelming me as I held it + in my hand! Would he miss it if I carried it off? Would I be able to + return to the house, see what I wanted to see, and get back in time to + restore it before he wanted his vest? It was early yet, and he was very + busy; I might succeed, and if I failed, and he detected his loss, why I + alone would be the sufferer; and was I not a sufferer now? Dropping the + key into my pocket, I went back into the outer room, and leaving word that + I had remembered a little shopping which would take me again up town, I + left the building and returned to ——— Street. My + emotions were indescribable, but I preserved as sedate an appearance as + possible, and was able to account for my return in a natural enough way to + Ambrose when he opened the door for me. To brave his possible curiosity by + going up-stairs, required a still greater effort; but the thought that my + intentions were pure and my daring legitimate, sustained me in the ordeal, + and I ran, singing, up the first flight, glad that Ambrose had no better + ear for music than to be pleased with what he probably considered an + evidence of happiness on the part of his young mistress. + </p> + <p> + I was out of breath with suspense, as well as with my rapid movements, + when I reached the shut-in staircase and carefully unlocked its narrow + door. But by the time I had reached the fourth floor, and unlocked, with + the same key, the only other door that had a streak of light under it, I + had gained a certain degree of tense composure born of the desperate + nature of the occasion. The calmness with which I pushed open the door + proved this—a calmness which made the movement noiseless, which was + the reason, I suppose, why I was enabled to suppress the shriek that rose + to my lips as I saw that the room had occupants, and that my worst fears + were thus realized. + </p> + <p> + A woman was sitting, with her back to me, at a table, and before her, with + her face turned my way, was a young girl in whom, even at first glance, I + detected some likeness to myself. Was this why Mr. Allison’s countenance + expressed so much agitation when he first saw me? The next moment this + latter lifted her head and looked directly at me, but with no change in + her mobile features; at which token of blindness I almost fell on my + knees, so conclusively did it prove that I was really looking upon Mrs. + Ransome and her daughter. + </p> + <p> + The mother, who had been directing her daughter’s hands in some + needlework, felt that the latter’s attention had been diverted. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, dear?” she asked, with an indescribable mellowness of voice, + whose tone thrilled me with a fresh and passionate pity. + </p> + <p> + “I thought I heard Mr. Allison come in, but he always knocks; besides, it + is not time for him yet.” And she sighed. + </p> + <p> + That sigh went through my heart, rousing new feelings and deeper terrors; + but I had no time to indulge in them, for the mother turned at the gasp + which left my lips, and rising up, confronted me with an amazement which + left her without any ability to speak. + </p> + <p> + “Who is it, mother?” inquired the blind girl, herself rising and beaming + upon me with the sweetest of looks. + </p> + <p> + “Let me answer,” I ventured, softly. “I am Mr. Allison’s wife. I have come + to see if there is anything I can do to make your stay here more + comfortable.” + </p> + <p> + The look that passed over the mother’s face warned me to venture no + further in the daughter’s presence. Whatever that mother had suffered, the + daughter had experienced nothing but satisfied love and companionship in + these narrow precincts. Her rounded cheeks showed this, and the + indescribable atmosphere of peace and gladness which surrounded her. As I + saw this, and realized the mother’s life and the self-restraint which had + enabled her to accept the inevitable without raising a complaint + calculated to betray to the daughter that all was not as it should be with + them, I felt such a rush of awe sweep over me that some of my fathomless + emotion showed in my face; for Mrs. Ransome’s own countenance assumed a + milder look, and advancing nearer, she pointed out a room where we could + speak apart. As I moved towards it she whispered a few words in her + daughter’s ear, then she rejoined me. + </p> + <p> + “I did not know Mr. Allison was married,” were her first words. + </p> + <p> + “Madame,” said I, “I did not know we were the guests of a lady who chooses + to live in retirement.” And opening my vinaigrette, I took out the bead + and the little note which had enwrapped it. “This was my first warning + that my husband was not what I had been led to consider him,” I murmured. + “Mrs. Ransome, I am in need of almost as much pity as yourself. I have + been married just six days.” + </p> + <p> + She gave a cry, looked me wildly in the face, and then sank upon her + knees, lifting up thanks to heaven. “Twenty-four of these notes,” said + she; “have I written, and flung upward through that lofty skylight, + weighted by the beads he left wound about my darling daughter’s neck. This + one only has brought me the least response. Does he know? Is he willing + that you should come up here?” + </p> + <p> + “I have come at the risk of my life,” I quietly answered. “He does not + know that I have surprised his secret. He would kill me if he did. Madame, + I want to free you, but I want to do it without endangering him. I am his + wife, and three hours ago I loved him.” + </p> + <p> + Her face, which had turned very pale, approached mine with a look I hardly + expected to encounter there. “I understand,” she said; “I comprehend + devotion; I have felt it for my daughter. Else I could not have survived + the wrong of this incarceration, and my forcible severance from old + associations and friends. I loved <i>her</i>, and since the knowledge of + her affliction, and the still worse knowledge that she had been made the + victim of a man’s greed to an extent not often surpassed in this world, + would have made her young life wretched without securing the least + alleviation to our fate, I have kept both facts from her, and she does not + know that closed doors mean bondage any more than she knows that + unrelieved darkness means blindness. She is absolutely ignorant that there + is such a thing as light.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, madame!” I murmured, “Oh, madame! Show a poor girl what she can do to + restore you to your rights. The door is open and you can descend; but that + means——- Oh, madame, I am filled with terror when I think + what. He may be in the hall now. He may have missed the key and returned. + If only you were out of the house!” + </p> + <p> + “My dear girl,” she quietly replied, “we will be some day. You will see to + that, I know. I do not think I could stay here, now that I have seen + another face than his. But I do not want to go now, to-day. I want to + prepare Theresa for freedom; she has lived so long quietly with me that I + dread the shock and excitement of other voices and the pressure of city + sounds upon her delicate ears. I must train her for contact with the + world. But you won’t forget me if I allow you to lock us in again? You + will come back and open the doors, and let me go down again through my old + halls into the room where my husband died; and if Mr. Allison objects—— + My dear girl, you know now that he is an unscrupulous man, that it is my + money he begrudged me, and that he has used it and made himself a rich + man. But he has one spark of grace in him. He has never forgotten that we + needed bread and clothes. He has waited on us himself, and never have we + suffered from physical want. Therefore, he may not object now. He may feel + that he has enriched himself sufficiently to let us go free, and if I must + give my oath to let the past go without explanation, why I am ready, my + dear; nothing can undo it now, and I am grown too old to want money except + for her.” “I cannot,” I murmured, “I cannot find courage to present the + subject to him so. I do not know my husband’s mind. It is a fathomless + abyss to me. Let me think of some other way. Oh, madam! if you were out of + the house, and could then come——” Suddenly a thought struck + me. “I can do it; I see the way to do it—a way that will place you + in a triumphant position, and yet save him from suspicion. He is weary of + this care. He wants to be relieved of the dreadful secret which anchors + him to this house, and makes a hell of the very spot in which he has fixed + his love. Shall we undertake to do his for him? Can you trust me if I + promise to take an immediate impression of this key, and have one made for + myself, which shall insure my return here?” + </p> + <p> + “My dear,” she said, taking my head between her two trembling hands, “I + have never looked upon a sweeter face than my daughter’s till I looked + upon yours to-day. If you bid me hope, I will hope, and if you bid me + trust, I will trust. The remembrance of this kiss will not let you + forget.” And she embraced me in a warm and tender manner. + </p> + <p> + “I will write you,” I murmured. “Some day look for a billet under the + door. It will tell you what to do; now I must go back to my husband.” + </p> + <p> + And, with a sudden access of fear, caused by my dread of meeting his eyes + with this hidden knowledge between us, I hastened out and locked the door + behind me. + </p> + <p> + When I reached the office, I was in a fainting condition, but all my hopes + revived again when I saw the vest still hanging where I had left it, and + heard my husband’s voice singing cheerfully in the adjoining room. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + </h2> + <p> + I CANNOT enter into the feelings of this dreadful time. I do not know if I + loved or hated the man I had undertaken to save. I only know I was + determined to bring light out of darkness in a way that would compromise + nobody, possibly not even myself. But to do this I must dazzle him into + giving me a great pleasure. A crowd in the ——— Street + house was necessary to the quiet escape of Mrs. Ransome and her daughter; + so a crowd we must have, and how have a crowd without giving a grand + party? I knew that this would be a shocking proposition to him, but I was + prepared to meet all objections; and when, with every nerve alert and + every charm exerted to its utmost, I sat down at his side that evening to + plead my cause, I knew by the sparkle of his eye and the softening of the + bitter lines that sometimes hardened his mouth, that the battle was half + won before I spoke, and that I should have my party whatever it might cost + him in mental stress and worry. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps he was glad to find me given over to folly at a time when he was + waiting for a miracle to release him from the net of crime in which he had + involved himself; perhaps he merely thought it would please me, and aid + him to thus strengthen our position in the social world before taking our + flight to a foreign land; but whatever lay at the bottom of his amenity, + he gave me <i>carte blanche</i> that night for an entertainment that + should embrace all his friends and mine and some of Mrs. Vandyke’s. So I + saw that doubt removed. + </p> + <p> + The next thing I did was to procure a <i>facsimile</i> of his key from the + wax impression I had taken of it in accordance with my promise to Mrs. + Ransome. Then I wrote her a letter, in which I gave her the minutest + directions as to her own movements on that important evening. After which + I gave myself up entirely to the business of the party. Certain things I + had insisted on. All the rooms were to be opened, even those on the third + floor; and I was to have a band to play in the hall. He did not deny me + anything. I think his judgment was asleep, or else he was so taken up with + the horrible problem presented by his desire to leave the city and the + existence of those obligations which made departure an impossibility, that + he failed to place due stress on matters which, at another time, might + very well seem to threaten the disclosure of his dangerous secret. + </p> + <p> + At last the night came. + </p> + <p> + An entertainment given in this great house had aroused much interest. Most + of our invitations had been accepted, and the affair promised to be + brilliant. As a bride, I wore white, and when, at the moment of going + downstairs, my husband suddenly clasped about my neck a rich necklace of + diamonds, I was seized by such a bitter sense of the contrast between + appearances and the awful reality underlying these festivities, that I + reeled in his arms, and had to employ all the arts which my dangerous + position had taught me, to quiet his alarm, and convince him that my + emotion sprang entirely from pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the band was playing and the carriages were rolling up in front. + What he thought as the music filled the house and rose in piercing melody + to the very roof, I cannot say. <i>I</i> thought how it was a message of + release to those weary and abused ones above; and, filled with the sense + of support which the presence of so many people in the house gave me, I + drew up my girlish figure in glad excitement and prepared myself for the + ordeal, visible and invisible, which awaited me. + </p> + <p> + The next two hours form a blank in my memory. Standing under Mrs. + Ransome’s picture (I <i>would</i> stand there), I received the + congratulations of the hundred or more people who were anxious to see Mr. + Allison’s bride, and of the whole glittering pageant I remember only the + whispered words of Mrs. Vandyke as she passed with the rest: “My dear, I + take back what I said the other day about the effect of marriage upon you. + You are the most brilliant woman here, and Mr. Allison the happiest of + men.” This was an indication that all was going well. But what of the + awful morning-hour that awaited us! Would that show him a happy man? + </p> + <p> + At last our guests were assembled, and I had an instant to myself. + Murmuring a prayer for courage, I slid from the room and ran up-stairs. + Here all was bustle also—a bustle I delighted in, for, with so many + people moving about, Mrs. Ransome and her daughter could pass out without + attracting more than a momentary attention. Securing a bundle I had myself + prepared, I glided up the second staircase, and, after a moment’s delay, + succeeded in unlocking the door and disappearing with my bundle into the + fourth story. When I came down, the key I had carried up was left behind + me. The way for Mrs. Ransome’s escape lay open. + </p> + <p> + I do not think I had been gone ten minutes from the drawing-room. When I + returned there, it was to find the festivities at their height, and my + husband just on the point of missing me. The look which he directed + to-wards me pierced me to the heart; not that I was playing him false, for + I was risking life, love and the loss of everything I prized, to save him + from himself; but that his love for me should be so strong he could forget + the two tortured hearts above, in the admiration I had awakened in the + shallow people about us. But I smiled, as a woman on the rack might smile + if the safety of her loved ones depended on her courage, and, nerving + myself for the suspense of such a waiting as few of my inexperience have + ever been called upon to endure, I turned to a group of ladies I saw near + me and began to talk. + </p> + <p> + Happily, I did not have to chatter long; happily, Mrs. Ransome was quick + in her movements and exact in all she did, and, sooner than I expected, + sooner, perhaps, than I was prepared for it, the man who attended the + front door came to my side and informed me that a lady wished to see me—a + lady who had just arrived from the steamer, and who said she was the + mistress of the house, Mrs. Ransome. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ransome! The name spread like wildfire, but before any movement was + made, I had bounded, in laughing confusion, to my husband’s side, and, + grasping him merrily by the arm, cried: + </p> + <p> + “Your expectations have come true. Mrs. Ransome has returned without + warning, and tonight she will partake of the supper you have always had + served for her.” + </p> + <p> + The shock was as great, perhaps, as ever man received. I knew what it was + likely to be, and held him upright, with the seeming merriment in my eyes + which I did not allow to stray from his. He thought I was mad, then he + thought he was—then I recalled him to the dangers and exigencies of + the moment by saying, with forced <i>naïveté</i>: “Shall I go and welcome + her to this gathering in her own house, or will you do the honors? She may + not know <i>me</i>.” + </p> + <p> + He moved, but as a statue might move, shot through and through with an + electric spark. I saw that I must act, rather than he, so uttering some + girlish sentence about the mice and cat, I glided away into the hall, + where Mrs. Ransome stood in the nondescript black cloak and bonnet I had + provided her from her own wardrobe. She had slipped a few moments before + from the house with her daughter, whom she had placed in a carriage, which + I had ordered to wait for them directly in front of the lamppost, and had + now re-entered as the mistress returning unexpectedly after a departure of + five years. All had been done as I had planned, and it only remained to + carry on the farce and prevent its developing into a tragedy. + </p> + <p> + Rushing up to her, I told her who I was, and, as we were literally + surrounded in a moment, added such apologies for the merrymaking in which + she found us indulging as my wit suggested and the occasion seemed to + demand. Then I allowed her to speak. Instantly she was the mistress of the + house. Old-fashioned as her dress was, and changed as her figure must have + been, she had that imposing bearing which great misfortune, nobly borne, + gives to some natures, and feeling the eyes of many of her old friends + upon her, she graciously smiled and said that she was delighted to receive + so public a welcome. Then she took me by the hand. + </p> + <p> + “Do not worry, child,” she said, “I have a daughter about your age, which + in itself would make me lenient towards one so young and pretty. Where is + your husband, dear? He has served me well in my absence, and I should like + to shake hands with him before I withdraw with my daughter, to a hotel for + the night.” + </p> + <p> + I looked up; he was standing in the open doorway leading into the + drawing-room. He had recovered a semblance of composure, but the hand + fingering the inner pocket, where he kept his keys, showed in what a + tumult of surprise and doubt he had been thrown by this unaccountable + appearance of his prisoner in the open hall; and if to other eyes he + showed no more than the natural confusion of the moment, to me he had the + look of a secretly desperate man, alive to his danger, and only holding + himself in check in order to measure it. + </p> + <p> + At the mention she made of his name, he came mechanically forward, and, + taking her proffered hand, bowed over it. “Welcome.” he murmured, in + strained tones; then, startled by the pressure of her fingers on his, he + glanced doubtfully up while she said: + </p> + <p> + “We will have no talk to-night, my faithful and careful friend, but + to-morrow you may come and see me at the Fifth Avenue. You will find that + my return will not lessen your manifest happiness.” Then, as he began to + tremble, she laid her hand on his arm, and I heard her smilingly whisper: + “You have too pretty a wife for me not to wish my return to be a + benefaction to her.” And, with a smile to the crowd and an admonition to + those about her not to let the little bride suffer from this interruption, + she disappeared through the great front door on the arm of the man who for + five years had held her prisoner in her own house. I went back into the + drawing-room, and the five minutes which elapsed between that moment and + that of his return were the most awful of my life. When he came back I had + aged ten years, yet all that time I was laughing and talking. + </p> + <p> + He did not rejoin me immediately; he went up-stairs. I knew why; he had + gone to see if the door to the fourth floor had been unlocked or simply + broken down. When he came back he gave me one look. Did he suspect me? I + could not tell. After that, there was another blank in my memory to the + hour when the guests were all gone, the house all silent, and we stood + together in a little room, where I had at last discovered him, withdrawn + by himself, writing. There was a loaded pistol on the table. The paper he + had been writing was his will. + </p> + <p> + “Humphrey,” said I, placing a finger on the pistol, “why is this?” + </p> + <p> + He gave me a look, a hungry, passionate look, then he grew as white as the + paper he had just subscribed with his name. + </p> + <p> + “I am ruined,” he murmured. “I have made unwarrantable use of Mrs. + Ransome’s money; her return has undone me. Delight, I love you, but I + cannot face the future. You will be provided for——” + </p> + <p> + “Will I?” I put in softly, very softly, for my way was strewn with + pitfalls and precipices. “I do not think so, Humphrey. If the money you + have put away is not yours, my first care would be to restore it. Then + what would I have left? A dowry of odium and despair, and I am scarcely + eighteen.” + </p> + <p> + “But—but—you do not understand, Delight. I have been a + villain, a worse villain than you think. The only thing in my life I have + not to blush for is my love for you. This is pure, even if it has been + selfish. I know it is pure, because I have begun to suffer. If I could + tell you—— + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Ransome has already told me,” said I. “Who do you think unlocked the + door of her retreat? I, Humphrey. I wanted to save you from yourself, and + <i>she</i> understands me. She will never reveal the secret of the years + she has passed overhead.” + </p> + <p> + Would he hate me? Would he love me? Would he turn that fatal weapon on me, + or level it again towards his own breast? For a moment I could not tell; + then the white horror in his face broke up, and, giving me a look I shall + never forget till I die, he fell prostrate on his knees and lowered his + proud head before me. + </p> + <p> + I did not touch it, but from that moment the schooling of our two hearts + began, and, though I can never look upon my husband with the frank joy I + see in other women’s faces, I have learned not to look upon him with + distrust, and to thank God I did not forsake him when desertion might have + meant the destruction of the one small seed of goodness which had + developed in his heart with the advent of a love for which nothing in his + whole previous life had prepared him. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + +***** This file should be named 22809-h.htm or 22809-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/8/0/22809/ + +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: The Hermit Of ------ Street + 1898 + +Author: Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Release Date: September 29, 2007 [EBook #22809] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET. + +By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Copyright, 1898, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs + + + + +CHAPTER I. I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION. + +I should have kept my eyes for the many brilliant and interesting sights +constantly offered me. Another girl would have done so. I myself might +have done so, had I been over eighteen, or, had I not come from +the country, where my natural love of romance had been fostered by +uncongenial surroundings and a repressed life under the eyes of a severe +and unsympathetic maiden aunt. + +I was visiting in a house where fashionable people made life a perpetual +holiday. Yet of all the pleasures which followed so rapidly, one upon +another, that I have difficulty now in separating them into distinct +impressions, the greatest, the only one I never confounded with any +other, was the hour I spent in my window after the day's dissipations +were all over, watching--what? Truth and the necessities of my story +oblige me to say--a man's face, a man's handsome but preoccupied face, +bending night after night over a study-table in the lower room of the +great house in our rear. + +I had been in the city three weeks, and I had already received--pardon +the seeming egotism of the confession--four offers, which, considering I +had no fortune and but little education or knowledge of the great world, +speaks well for something: I leave you to judge what. All of these +offers were from young men; one of them from a very desirable young man, +but I had listened to no one's addresses, because, after accepting them, +I should have felt it wrong to contemplate so unremittingly the face, +which, for all its unconsciousness of myself, held me spell-bound to an +idea I neither stopped nor cared to analyze. + +Why, at such a distance and under circumstances of such distraction, did +it affect me so? It was not a young face (Mr. Allison at that time was +thirty-five); neither was it a cheerful or even a satisfied one; but +it was very handsome, as I have said; far too handsome, indeed, for a +romantic girl to see unmoved, and it was an enigmatic face; one that +did not lend itself to immediate comprehension, and that, to one of my +temperament, was a fatal attraction, especially as enough was known of +his more than peculiar habits to assure me that character, rather than +whim, lay back of his eccentricities. + +But first let me explain more fully my exact position in regard to this +gentleman on that day in early spring, destined to be such a memorable +one in my history. + +I had never seen him, save in the surreptitious way I have related, and +he had never seen me. The day following my arrival in the city I had +noticed the large house in our rear, and had asked some questions about +it. This was but natural, for it was one of the few mansions in the +great city with an old-style lawn about it. Besides, it had a peculiarly +secluded and secretive look, which even to my unaccustomed eyes, gave it +an appearance strangely out of keeping with the expensive but otherwise +ordinary houses visible in all other directions. The windows--and there +were many--were all shuttered and closed, with the exception of the +three on the lower floor and two others directly over these. On the top +story they were even boarded up, giving to that portion of the house +a blank and desolate air, matched, I was told, by that of the large +drawing-room windows on either side of the front door, which faced, as +you must see, on another street. + +The grounds which, were more or less carefully looked after, were +separated from the street by a brick wall, surmounted by urns, from +which drooped the leafless tendrils of some old vines; but in the rear, +that is, in our direction, the line of separation was marked by a +high iron fence, in which, to my surprise, I saw a gate, which, +though padlocked now, marked old habits of intercourse, interesting +to contemplate, between the two houses. Through this fence I caught +glimpses of the green turf and scattered shrubs of a yard which had once +sloped away to the avenues on either side, and, more interesting +still, those three windows whose high-drawn shades offered such a vivid +contrast to the rest of the house. + +In one of these windows stood a table, with a chair before it. I had as +yet seen no one in the chair, but I had noted that the table was heavily +covered with papers and books, and judged that the room was a library +and the table that of a busy man engaged in an endless amount of study +and writing. + +The Vandykes, whom I had questioned on the matter, were very short in +their replies. Not because the subject was uninteresting, or one they +in any way sought to avoid, but because the invitations to a great party +had just come in, and no other topic was worthy their discussion. But I +learned this much. That the house belonged to one of New York's oldest +families. That its present owner was a widow of great eccentricity of +character, who, with her one child, a daughter, unfortunately blind from +birth, had taken up her abode in some foreign country, where she thought +her child's affliction would attract less attention than in her +native city. The house had been closed to the extent I have mentioned, +immediately upon her departure, but had not been left entirely empty. +Mr. Allison, her man of business, had moved into it, and, being fully +as eccentric as herself, had contented himself for five years with a +solitary life in this dismal mansion, without friends, almost without +acquaintances, though he might have had unlimited society and any amount +of attention, his personal attractions being of a very uncommon +order, and his talent for business so pronounced, that he was already +recognized at thirty-five as one of the men to be afraid of in Wall +Street. Of his birth and connections little was known; he was called +the Hermit of ------ Street, and--well,that is about all they told me at +this time. + +After I came to see him (as I did that very evening), I could ask no +further questions concerning him. The beauty of his countenance, the +mystery of his secluded life, the air of melancholy and mental distress +which I imagined myself to detect in his manner--he often used to sit +for minutes together with his eyes fixed on vacancy and his whole face +expressive of the bitterest emotion--had wrought this spell upon my +imagination, and I could no more mingle his name with that of the +ordinary men and women we discussed than I could confound his solitary +and expressive figure with the very proper but conventional forms of the +simpering youths who followed me in parlors or begged to be allowed the +honor of a dance at the balls I attended with the Vandykes. He occupied +an unique place in my regard, and this without another human being's +knowledge. I wish I could say without my own; but, alas! I have promised +myself to be true in all the details of this history, and, child as I +was, I could not be ignorant of the fascination which held me for hours +at my window when I should have been in bed and asleep. + +But let me hasten to the adventure which put an end to my dreams by +launching me into realities of a still more absorbing nature. I was not +very well one day, and even Mrs. Vandyke acknowledged that it would not +do for me to take the long-planned drive to Tuxedo. So, as I would not +let any one else miss this pleasure on my account, I had been left alone +in the house, and, not being ill enough for bed, had spent the most +of the morning in my window--not because he was in his; I was yet too +timid, and, let me hope, too girlishly modest, to wish to attract in +any way his attention--but because the sun shone there, and I was just +chilly enough to enjoy its mingled light and heat. Thus it was I came to +notice the following petty occurrence. In the yard of the house next to +that occupied by Mr. Allison was kept a tame rabbit, which often took +advantage of a hole it had made for itself under the dividing fence to +roam over the neighboring lawn. On this day he was taking his accustomed +ramble, when something startled him, and he ran, not back to his hole, +but to our fence, through which he squeezed himself, evidently to his +own great discomfort; for once in our yard, and under the refuge of a +small bush he found there, nothing would lure him back, though every +effort was made to do so, both by the small boy to whom he belonged, and +the old serving-man or gardener, who was the only other person besides +Mr. Allison whom I ever saw on the great place. Watching them, I noted +three things: first, that it was the child who first thought of opening +the gate; secondly, that it was the serving-man who brought the key; +and, thirdly, that after the gate had been opened and the rabbit +recovered, the gate had not been locked again; for, just as the man was +about to do this, a call came from the front, of so imperative a nature, +that he ran forward, without readjusting the padlock, and did not come +back, though I watched for him in idle curiosity for a good half-hour. +This was in the morning. At seven o'clock--how well I remember the +hour!--I was sitting again in my window, waiting for the return of the +Vandykes, and watching the face which had now reappeared at its usual +place in the study. It was dark everywhere save there, and I was +marveling over the sense of companionship it gave me under circumstances +of loneliness, which some girls might have felt most keenly, when +suddenly my attention was drawn from him to a window in the story over +his head, by the rapid blowing in and out of a curtain, which had been +left hanging loose before an open sash. As there was a lighted gas-jet +near by, I watched the gyrating muslin with some apprehension, and was +more shocked than astonished when, in another moment, I saw the flimsy +folds give one wild flap and flare up into a brilliant and dangerous +flame. To shriek and throw up my window was the work of a moment, but +I attracted no attention by these means, and, what was worse, saw, with +feelings which may be imagined, that nothing I could do would be likely +to arouse Mr. Allison to an immediate sense of his danger, for not only +were the windows shut between us, but he was lost in one of his brooding +spells, which to all appearance made him quite impassible to surrounding +events. + +"Will no one see? Will no one warn him?" I cried out, in terror of the +flames burning so brightly in the room above him. Seemingly not. No +other window was raised in the vicinity, and, frightened quite beyond +the exercise of reason or any instincts of false modesty, I dashed out +of my room downstairs, calling for the servants. But Lucy was in the +front area and Ellen above, and I was on the back porch and in the +garden before either of them responded. + +Meanwhile, no movement was observable in the brooding figure of Mr. +Allison, and no diminution in the red glare which now filled the room +above him. To see him sitting there so much at his ease, and to behold +at the same moment the destruction going on so rapidly over his head, +affected me more than I can tell, and casting to the winds all selfish +considerations, I sprang through the gate so providentially left ajar +and knocked with all my might on a door which opened upon a side porch +not many feet away from the spot where he sat so unconcernedly. + +The moment I had done this I felt like running away again, but hearing +his advancing step, summoned up my courage and stood my ground bravely, +determined to say one word and run. + +But when the door opened and I found myself face to face with the man +whose face I knew only too well, that word, important as it was, stuck +in my throat; for, agitated as I was, both by my errand and my sudden +encounter with one I had dreamed about for weeks, he seemed to be much +more so, though by other reasons--by far other reasons--than myself. He +was so moved--was it by the appearance of a strange young girl on his +doorstep, or was it at something in my face or manner, or some-thing in +his thoughts to which that face or manner gave a shock?--that my petty +fears for the havoc going on above seemed to pale into insignificance +before the emotions called up by my presence. Confronting me with +dilating eyes, he faltered slowly back till his natural instincts of +courtesy recalled him to himself, and he bowed, when I found courage to +cry: + +"Fire! Your house is on fire! Up there, overhead!" + +The sound which left his lips as these words slipped from mine struck +me speechless again. Appalling as the cry "Fire!" is at all times and to +all men, it roused in this man at this time something beyond anything my +girlish soul had ever imagined of terror or dismay. So intense were the +feelings I saw aroused in him that I expected to see him rush into the +open air with loud cries for help. But instead of that, he pushed the +door to behind me, and locking me in, said, in a strange and hoarsened +tone? + +"Don't call out, don't make any sound or outcry, and above all, don't +let any one in; I will fight the flames alone!" and seizing a lamp from +the study-table, he dashed from me towards a staircase I could faintly +see in the distance. But half-way down the hall he looked back at me, +and again I saw that look on his face which had greeted my unexpected +appearance in the doorway. + +Alas! it was a thrilling look--a look which no girl could sustain +without emotion; and spellbound under it, I stood in a maze, alone and +in utter darkness, not knowing whether to unlock the door and escape or +to stand still and wait for his reappearance, as he evidently expected +me to do. + +Meanwhile, the alarm had spread, and more than one cry arose from the +houses in the rear. I could hear feet running over the walks without, +and finally a knock on the door I was leaning against, followed by the +cry: + +"Let us in! Fire! fire!" + +But I neither moved nor answered. I was afraid to be found there, +crouching alone in a bachelor's residence, but I was equally afraid of +disobeying him, for his voice had been very imperious when he commanded +me not to let any one in; and I was too young to brave such a nature, +even if I had wished to, which I do not think I did. + +"He is overhead! See him--see him!" I now heard shouted from the lawn. +"He has dragged the curtains down! He is showering the walls with water! +Look--look! how wildly he works! He will be burnt himself. Ah! ah!" +All of which gave me strange thrills, and filled the darkness which +encompassed me with startling pictures, till I could hardly stand the +stress or keep myself from rushing to his assistance. + +While my emotions were at their height a bell rang. It was the front +doorbell, and it meant the arrival of the engines. + +"Oh!" thought I, "what shall I do now? If I run out I shall encounter +half the neighborhood in the back yard; if I stay here how shall I be +able to meet the faces of the firemen who will come rushing in?" + +But I was not destined to suffer from either contingency. As the bell +rang a second time, a light broke on the staircase I was so painfully +watching, and Mr. Allison descended, lamp in hand, as he had gone up. He +appeared calm now, and without any show of emotion proceeded at once to +the front door, which he opened. + +What passed between him and the policeman whose voice I heard in the +hall, I do not know. I heard them go up-stairs and presently come down +again, and I finally heard the front door close. Then I began to make +an effort to gain some control over my emotions, for I knew he had not +forgotten me, and that he soon would be in the vestibule at my side. + +But it was impossible for me to hope to meet him with an unconcerned +air. The excitement I was under and the cold--for I was dressed lightly +and the vestibule was chilly--had kept me trembling so, that my curls +had fallen all about my cheeks, and one had fallen so low that it +hung in shameful disorder to my very waist. This alone was enough to +disconcert me, but had my heart been without its secret--a secret I was +in mortal terror of disclosing in my confusion--I could have risen above +my embarrassment and let simple haste been my excuse. As it was, I must +have met him with a pleading aspect, very much like that of a frightened +child, for his countenance visibly changed as he approached me, and +showed quite an extraordinary kindness, if not contrition, as he paused +in the narrow vestibule with the blazing lamp held low in his hand. + +"My little girl," he began, but instantly changed the phrase to "My +dear young lady, how can I thank you enough, and how can I sufficiently +express my regret at having kept you a prisoner in this blazing house? I +fear I have frightened you sorely, but---" And here, to my astonishment, +he found nothing to say, moved overmuch by some strong feeling, or +checked in his apologies by some great embarrassment. + +Astonished, for he did not look like a man who could be lightly +disturbed, I glowed a fiery red and put my hand out towards the door. +Instantly he found speech again. + +"One moment," said he. "I feel that I ought to explain the surprise, the +consternation, which made me forget. You know this is not my house, +that I am here in trust for another, that the place is full of rare +treasures." + +Had he stopped again? I was in such a state of inner perturbation that +I hardly knew whether he had ceased to speak or I to hear. Something, +I did not know what, had shaken my very life's center--something in the +shape of dread, yet so mixed with delight that my hand fell from the +knob I had been blindly groping for and sank heavily at my side. His +eyes had not left my face. + +"May I ask whom I have the honor of addressing?" he asked, in a tone I +might better never have heard from his lips. + +To this I must make reply. Shuddering, for I felt something uncanny +in the situation, but speaking up, notwithstanding, with the round and +vibrating tones I had inherited from my mother, I answered, with the +necessary simplicity: + +"I am Delight Hunter, a country girl, sir, visiting the Vandykes." + +A flash that was certainly one of pleasure lighted up his face with a +brilliance fatal to my poor, quivering girl's heart. + +"Allow me, Miss Hunter, to believe that you will not bring down the +indignation of my neighbors upon me by telling them of my carelessness +and indiscretion." Then, as my lips settled into a determined curve, +he himself opened the door, and bowing low, asked if I would accept his +protection to the gate. + +But at the rush of the night air, such a sensation of shame overpowered +me that I only thought of retreat; and, declining his offer with a +wild shake of the head, I dashed from the house and fled with an +incomprehensible sense of relief back to that of the Vandykes. The +servants, who had seen me rush towards Mr. Allison's, were still in the +yard watching for me. I did not vouchsafe them a word. I could hardly +formulate words in my own mind. A great love and a great dread had +seized upon me at once. A great love for the man by whose face I had +been moved for weeks and a great dread--well, I cannot explain my +dread, not as I felt it that night. It was formless and without apparent +foundation; but it would no more leave me than my uneasy memory of the +fierce instinct which had led him at such a critical instant to close +his door against all help, though in so doing he had subjected a young +girl to many minutes of intense embarrassment and mortifying indecision. + + + + +CHAPTER II. A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST. + +Mr. Allison, who had never before been known to leave his books and +papers, not only called the next day to express his gratitude for what +he was pleased to style my invaluable warning, but came every day after, +till not only my heart but my reason told me that the great house in the +rear might ultimately be my home, if the passion which had now become my +life should prove greater than the dread which had not yet entirely left +me. + +Mr. Allison loved me--oh, what pride in the thought!--but Mr. Allison +had a secret, or why did he so often break off abruptly in some telltale +speech and drop his eyes, which were otherwise always upon me. Something +not easy to understand lay between us--something which he alternately +defied and succumbed to, something which kept him from being quite the +good man I had pictured myself as marrying. Why I was so certain of this +latter fact, I cannot say. Perhaps my instinct was keen; perhaps the +signs of goodness are so unmistakable that even a child feels their want +where her heart leans hardest. + +Yet everything I heard of him only tended to raise him in my estimation. +After he became an habitue of the house, Mrs. Vandyke grew more +communicative in regard to him. He was eccentric, of course, but his +eccentricities were such as did him credit. One thing she told me made +a lasting impression on me. Mrs. Ransome, the lady in whose house he +lived, had left her home very suddenly. He anticipated a like return; +so, ever since her departure, it had been his invariable custom to have +the table set for three, so that he might never be surprised by her +arrival. It had become a monomania with him. Never did he sit down +without there being enough before him for a small family, and as his +food was all brought in cooked from a neighboring restaurant, this +eccentricity of his was well known, and gave an added _eclat_ to his +otherwise hermit-like habits. To my mind, it added an element of pathos +to his seclusion, and so affected me that one day I dared to remark to +him: + +"You must have liked Mrs. Ransome very much you are so faithful in your +remembrance of her." + +I never presumed again to attack any of his foibles. He gave me first +a hard look, then an indulgent one, and finally managed to say, after a +moment of quiet hesitation: + +"You allude to my custom of setting two chairs at the table to which +they may return at any minute? Miss Hunter, what I do in the loneliness +of that great house is not worth the gossip of those who surround you." + +Flushing till I wished my curls would fall down and hide my cheeks, +I tried to stammer out some apology. But he drove it back with a +passionate word: + +"Delight, idol of my heart, come and see what a lonely place that old +house is. Come and live in that house--at least for a little time, till +I can arrange for you a brighter and a happier home--come and be my +wife." + +It was sudden, it was all but unlooked-for, and like all his expressions +of feeling, frenzied rather than resolute. But it was a declaration that +met my most passionate longings, and in the elation it brought I forgot +for the moment the doubts it called up. Otherwise I had been a woman +rather than a girl, and this tale had never been written. + +"You love me, Delight" (he was already pressing me in his arms), "you +love me or you would never have rushed so impetuously to warn me of my +danger that night. Make me the maddest, happiest man in all the world +by saying you will not wait; that you will not ask counsel of anybody +or anything but your affection, but marry me at once; marry me while my +heart yearns for you so deeply; marry me before I go away----" + +"Go away?" + +"Yes, I am going away. Mrs. Ransome and her daughter are coming back and +I am going away. Will you go with me?" + +With what intensity he spoke, yet with what hardness. I quivered while +I listened, yet I made no move to withdraw from him. Had he asked me to +step with him from the housetop I should hardly have refused while his +heart throbbed so wildly against mine and his eyes lured me on with such +a promise of ecstasy. + +"You will?" How peremptory he could be. "You will?" How triumphant, +also. + +I hardly realized what I had done till I stood abashed before Mrs. +Vandyke, and told her I had engaged myself to marry Mr. Allison before +he went to Europe. Then it seemed I had done a very good thing. She +congratulated me heartily, and, seeing I had a certain fear of taking my +aunt into my confidence, promised to sit down and write to her herself, +using every encomium she could think of to make this sudden marriage, on +my part, seem like the result of reason and wise forethought. + +"Such an estimable man! such an old neighbor! so domestic in his tastes! +and, oh! so wise to find out and make his own the slyest and most +bewildering little beauty that has come into New York this many a +season!" These were some of her words, and, though pleasing at the time, +they made me think deeply--much more deeply than I wished to, after I +went upstairs to my room. + +"Estimable! an old neighbor! domestic in his tastes!" Had she said: +"Handsome! masterful in his air and spirit! a man to make a girl forget +the real end of life and think only of present pleasure!" I should not +have had such a fierce reaction. But estimable! Was he estimable? I +tried to cry out yes! I tried to keep down the memory of that moment +when, with a dozen passions suddenly let loose (one of them fear), he +strode by me and locked the door against all help, under an impetus he +had tried in vain to explain. Nothing would quiet the still, small voice +speaking in my breast, or give to the moment that unalloyed joy which +belongs to a young girl's betrothal. I was afraid. Why? + +Mr. Allison never came in the evening, another of his peculiarities. +Other men did, but what were other men to me now? This night I pleaded +weariness (Mrs. Vandyke understood me), and remained in my room. I +wanted to study the face of my lover under the new conditions. Was he +in his old seat? Yes. And would he read, as usual, or study? No. He had +thoughts of his own to-night, engrossing enough to hold him enthralled +without the aid of his ordinary occupations; thoughts, thoughts of me, +thoughts which should have cleared his brow and made his face a study of +delight to me. But was it so? Alas! I had never seen it so troubled; lit +with gleams of hope or happiness by spells, but mostly sunk in depths of +profoundest contemplation, which gave to it a melancholy from which I +shrank, and not the melancholy one longs to comfort and allay. What was +on his mind? What was in his heart? Something he feared to have noted, +for suddenly he rose with a start, and, for the first time since my eyes +had sought that window, pulled down the shades and thus shut himself out +from my view altogether. Was it a rebuke to my insistent watchfulness? +or the confession of a reticent nature fearing to be surprised in its +moment of weakness? I ought to know--I would know. To-morrow I would ask +him if there was any sorrow in his life which a confiding girl ought to +be made acquainted with before she yielded him her freedom. But the pang +which pierced me at the thought, proved that I feared his answer too +much to ever question him. + +I am thus explicit in regard to my thoughts and feelings at this time, +that I may more fully account to you for what I did later. I had not, +what every one else seemed to have, full confidence in this man, and yet +the thrall in which I was held by the dominating power of his passion, +kept me from seeking that advice even from my own intuitions, which +might have led to my preservation. I was blind and knew I was blind, yet +rushed on headlong. I asked him no questions till our wedding day. + +My aunt, who seemed quite satisfied with Mrs. Vandyke's explanations, +promised to be present at the ceremony, which was set at an alarmingly +near day. My lovers on the contrary--by whom I mean the half dozen men +who had been attentive to me--refused to attend, so I had one care less; +for the lack of time--perhaps I should say my lack of means--precluded +me from obtaining a very elaborate wedding dress, and I did not choose +to have them see me appear on such an occasion in any less charming +guise than I had been accustomed to wear at party or play. _He_ did not +care what I wore. When I murmured something about the haste with which +he had hurried things forward, and how it was likely to interfere with +what most brides considered necessary to the proper celebration of such +an event, he caught me to his breast with a feverish gesture and vowed +that if he could have his way, there would be no preparation at all, but +just a ceremony before a minister which would make me his without the +least delay. + +Men may enjoy such precipitation, but women do not. I was so troubled by +what seemed the meagerness of my wardrobe and the lack of everything +I had been accustomed to see brides bring their husbands, that I asked +Mrs. Vandyke one day if Mr. Allison was a rich man. She answered, with +a smile: "No, my dear, not as we New-Yorkers count riches. Having the +power of attorney for Mrs. Ransome, he handles a good deal of money; +but very little of it is his own, though to you his five-thousand-a-year +salary may seem a fortune." + +This was so much Greek to me, though I did understand he was not +considered wealthy. + +"Then my fawn-colored cloth will not be so very inappropriate for a +wedding dress?" I asked. + +"I wish you could see yourself in it," she said, and that satisfied me. + +We were married simply, but to the sound of wonderful music, in a +certain little church not far from ------ Street. My aunt was there and +my four lovers, though they had said, one and all, they would not come. +But I saw nothing, realized nothing, save the feverish anxiety of my +bridegroom, who, up to the minute the final vows were uttered, seemed to +be on a strain of mingled emotions, among which I seemed to detect that +old one of fear. A pitiful outlook for an adoring bride, you will think, +who, without real friends to interest themselves in her, allows herself +to be pushed to a brink she is wise enough to see, but not strong enough +to recoil from. Yes, but its full pathos did not strike me then. I only +felt anxious to have the ceremony over, to know that the die was +cast beyond my own powers of retraction; and when the words of the +benediction at last fell upon my ears, it was with real joy I turned to +see if they brought him as much rapture as they did me. Happily for that +moment's satisfaction they did, and if a friend had been there with eyes +to see and heart to feel, there would have been nothing in the air of +open triumph with which Mr. Allison led me down the aisle to awaken +aught but hope and confidence. My own hopes rose at the sight, and when +at the carriage door he turned to give me a smile before he helped me +in, nothing but the obstinacy of my nature prevented me from accepting +the verdict of my acquaintances, "That for a little country girl, with +nothing but her good looks to recommend her, Delight Hunter had done +remarkably well in the one short month she had been in the city." + +Mr. Allison had told me that it would be impossible for him to take +me out of the city at present. It was therefore to the house on ------ +Street we were driven. On the way he attempted to reconcile me to what +he feared might strike me as dreary in the prospect. + +"The house is partially closed," said he, "and many of the rooms are +locked. Even the great drawing-rooms have an uninhabited look, which +will make them anything but attractive to a lover of sunshine and +comfort; but the library is cheerful, and in that you can sit and +imagine yourself at home till lean wind up my business affairs and make +possible the trip upon which I have set my heart." + +"Does that mean," I faintly ventured, "that you will leave me to spend +much of my time alone in that great echoing house?" + +"No," was his quick response, "you shall spend no time there alone. When +I go out you shall go too, and if business takes me where you cannot +accompany me I will give you money to shop with, which will keep you +pleasantly occupied till I can rejoin you. Oh, we will make it a happy +honeymoon, in spite of all obstacles, my darling. I should be a wretch +if I did not make it happy for _you_." + +Here was my opportunity. I trembled as I thought of it, and stammered +quite like a foolish child as I softly suggested: + +"For me? Is it not likely to be a happy one for _you?_" + +I will not give his answer; it was a passionate one, but it was not +convincing. Pondering it and trying to persuade myself he alluded only +to business cares and anxieties, I let the minute slip by and entered +the house with doubts unsolved, but with no further effort to understand +him. Remember, he was thirty-five and I but a chit of eighteen. + +In the hall stood the old serving-man with whose appearance I was +already so familiar. He had a smile on his face, which formed my only +welcome. He also had a napkin over his arm. + +"Luncheon is served," he announced, with great formality; and then I saw +through an open door the glitter of china and glass, and realized I was +about to take my first meal with my husband. + +Mr. Allison had already told me that he intended to make no changes in +his domestic arrangements for the few days we were likely to occupy this +house. I had therefore expected that our meals would be served from the +restaurant, and that Ambrose (the waiting-man) would continue to be the +only other occupant of the house. But I was not sure whether the table +would be still set for four, or whether he would waive this old custom +now that he had a wife to keep him company at the once lonely board. I +was eager to know, and as soon as I could lay aside my hat in the little +reception-room, I turned my face towards the dining-room door, where my +husband stood awaiting me with a bunch of great white roses in his hand. + +"Sweets to the sweet," said he, with a smile that sunk down deep into +my heart and made my eyes moisten with joy. In the hackneyed expression +there rang nothing false. He was proud and he was glad to see me enter +that dining-room as his wife. + +The next moment I was before the board, which had been made as beautiful +as possible with flowers and the finest of dinner services. But the +table was set for four, two of whom could only be present in spirit. + +I wondered if I were glad or sorry to see it--if I were more pleased +with his loyalty to his absent employer, or disappointed that my +presence had not made everybody else forgotten. To be consistent, I +should have rejoiced at this evidence of sterling worth on his part; but +girls are not consistent--at least, brides of an hour are not--and I may +have pouted the least bit in the world as I pointed to the two places +set as elaborately as our own, and said with the daring which comes with +the rights of a wife: + +"It would be a startling coincidence if Mrs. Ransome and her daughter +should return today. I fear I would not like it." + +I was looking directly at him as I spoke, with a smile on my lips and my +hand on the back of my chair. But the jest I had expected in reply did +not come. Something in my tone or choice of topic jarred upon him, and +his answer was a simple wave of his hand towards Ambrose, who at once +relieved me of my bouquet, placing it in a tall glass at the side of my +plate. + +"Now we will sit," said he. + +I do not know how the meal would have passed had Ambrose not been +present. As it was, it was a rather formal affair, and would have been +slightly depressing, if I had not caught, now and then, flashing glances +from my husband's eye which assured me that he found as much to enchain +him in my presence as I did in his. What we ate I have no idea of. I +only remember that in every course there was enough for four. + +As we rose, I was visited by a daring impulse. Ambrose had poured me out +a glass of wine, which stood beside my plate undisturbed. As I stooped +to recover my flowers again, I saw this glass, and at once lifted it +towards him, crying: + +"To Mrs. Ransome and her daughter, who did _not_ return to enjoy our +wedding-breakfast." + +He recoiled. Yes, I am sure he gave a start back, though he recovered +himself immediately and responded with grave formality to my toast. + +"Does he not like Mrs. Ransome?" I thought. "Is the somewhat onerous +custom he maintains here the result of a sense of duty rather than of +liking?" + +My curiosity was secretly whetted by the thought. But with a girl's +lightness I began to talk of other things, and first of the house, which +I now for the first time looked at with anything like seeing eyes. + +He was patient with me, but I perceived he did not enjoy this topic any +more than the former one. "It is not ours," he kept saying; "remember +that none of these old splendors are ours." + +"They are more ours than they are Mrs. Ransome's, just now," I at last +retorted, with one of my girlhood's saucy looks. "At all events, I am +going to play that it is ours tonight," I added, dancing away from him +towards the long drawing-rooms where I hoped to come upon a picture of +the absent lady of the house. + +"Delight "--he was quite peremptory now-- + +"I must ask you not to enter those rooms, however invitingly the doors +may stand open. It is a notion, a whim of mine, that you do not lend +your beauty to light up that ghostly collection of old pictures and ugly +upholstery, and if you feel like respecting my wishes----" + +"But may I not stand in the doorway?" I asked, satisfied at having been +able to catch a glimpse of a full-length portrait of a lady who could +be no other than Mrs. Ransome. "See! my shadow does not even fall +across the carpet. I won't do the room any harm, and I am sure that Mrs. +Ransome's picture won't do me any." + +"Come! come away!" he cried; and humoring his wishes, I darted away, +this time in the direction of the dining-room and Ambrose. "My dear," +remonstrated my husband, quickly following me, "what has brought you +back here?" + +"I want to see," said I, "what Ambrose does with the food we did not +eat. Such a lot of it!" + +It was childish, but then I was a child and a nervous one, too. Perhaps +he considered this, for, while he was angry enough to turn pale, he did +not attempt any rebuke, but left it to Ambrose to say: + +"Mr. Allison is very good, ma'am. This food, which is very nice, is +given each day to a poor girl who comes for it, and takes it home to her +parents. I put it in this basket, and Mr. Allison gives it to the girl +when she calls for it in the evening." + +"You _are_ good," I cried, turning to my husband with a fond look. Did +he think the emphasis misplaced, or did he consider it time for me +to begin to put on more womanly ways, for drawing me again into the +library, he made me sit beside him on the big lounge, and after a kiss +or two, demanded quietly, but oh, how peremptorily: + +"Delight, why do you so often speak of Mrs. Ransome? Have you any reason +for it? Has any one talked to you about her, that her name seems to be +almost the only one on your lips in the few, short minutes we have been +married?" + +I did not know why this was so, myself, so I only shook my head and +sighed, repentingly. Then, seeing that he would have some reply, I +answered with what _naivete_ I could summon up at the moment: + +"I think it was because you seem so ashamed of your devotion to them. I +love to see your embarrassment, founded as it is upon the most generous +instincts." + +His hand closed over mine with a fierceness that hurt me. + +"Let us talk of love," he whispered. "Delight, this is our wedding-day." + + + + +CHAPTER III. ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE. + +After supper Mr. Allison put before me a large book. "Amuse yourself +with these pictures," said he; "I have a little task to perform. After +it is done I will come again and sit with you." + +"You are not going out," I cried, starting up. "No," he smiled, "I am +not going out." I sank back and opened the book, but I did not look at +the pictures. Instead of that I listened to his steps moving about +the house, rear and front, and finally going up what seemed to be a +servant's staircase, for I could see the great front stairs from where +I sat, and there was no one on them. "Why do I not hear his feet +overhead?" I asked myself. "That is the only room he has given me leave +to enter. Does his task take him elsewhere?" Seemingly so, for, though +he was gone a good half hour, he did not enter the room above. Why +should I think of so small a matter? It would be hard to say; perhaps +I was afraid of being left in the great rooms alone; perhaps I was only +curious; but I asked myself a dozen times before he reappeared, "Where +is he gone, and why does he stay away so long?" But when he returned and +sat down I said nothing. There was a little thing I noted, however. His +hands were trembling, and it was five minutes before he met my inquiring +look. This I should not consider worth mentioning if I had not observed +the same hesitancy follow the same disappearance up-stairs on the +succeeding night. It was the only time in the day when he really left +me, and, when he came back, he was not like himself for a good half hour +or more. "I will not displease him with questions," I decided; "but some +day I will find my own way into those lofts above. I shall never be at +rest till I do." + +What I expected to find there is as much a mystery to my understanding +as my other doubts and fears. I hardly think I expected to find anything +but a desk of papers, or a box with money in it or other valuables. +Still the idea that something on the floor above had power to shadow my +husband's face, even in the glow of his first love for me, possessed +me so completely that, when he fell asleep one evening on the library +lounge, I took the opportunity of stealing away and mounting the +forbidden staircase to the third floor. I had found a candle in my +bedroom, and this I took to light me. But it revealed nothing to me +except a double row of unused rooms, with dust on the handles of all the +doors. I scrutinized them all; for, young as I was, I had wit enough to +see that if I could find one knob on which no dust lay that would be the +one my husband was accustomed to turn. But every one showed tokens of +not having been touched in years, and, baffled in my search, I was about +to retreat, when I remembered that the house had four stories, and +that I had not yet come upon the staircase leading to the one above. +A hurried search (for I was mortally afraid of being surprised by my +husband,) revealed to me at last a distant door, which had no dust on +its knob. It lay at the bottom of a shut-in stair-case, and, convinced +that here was, the place my husband was in the habit of visiting, I +carefully fingered the knob, which turned very softly in my hand. But +it did not open the door. There was a lock visible just below, and that +lock was fastened. + +My first escapade was without visible results, but I was uneasy from +that hour. I imagined all sorts of things hidden beyond that closed, +door. I remembered that the windows of the fourth story were all boarded +up, and asked myself why this had been done when the lower ones had been +left open. I was young, but I had heard of occupations which could only +be entered into by a man secretly. Did he amuse himself with forbidden +tasks in that secluded place above, or was I but exaggerating facts +which might have their basis simply in a quondam bachelor's desire for +solitude and a quiet smoke. "I will follow him up some night," thought +I, "and see if I cannot put an end at once to my unworthy fears and +unhappy suspicions." But I never did; something happened very soon to +prevent me. + +I was walking one morning in the grounds that lay about the house, when +suddenly I felt something small but perceptibly hard strike my hat and +bound quickly off. Astonished, for I was under no tree, under nothing +indeed but the blue of heaven, I looked about for the object that had +struck me. As I did so, I perceived my husband in his window, but his +eyes, while upon me, did not see me, for no change passed over him as I +groped about in the grass. "In one of his contemplative moods," thought +I, continuing my search. In another instant I started up. I had found a +little thing like a bullet wrapped up in paper; but it was no bullet; it +was a bead, a large gold bead, and on the paper which surrounded it were +written words so fine I could not at first decipher them, but as soon as +I had stepped away far enough to be out of the reach of the eyes I both +loved and feared more than any in the world, I managed, by dint of great +patience, and by placing the almost transparent paper on which they were +written over one of the white satin strings of the cape I wore, to read +these words: + +"Help from the passing stranger! I am Elizabeth Ransome, owner of the +house in which I have been imprisoned five years. Search for me in +the upper story. You will find me there with my blind daughter. He who +placed us here is below; beware his cunning." + +And underneath, these words: + +"This is the twenty-fifth attempt I have made to attract attention to +our unhappy fate. I can make but two more. There are but two beads left +of Theresa's necklace." + +"What is the matter, ma'am? Are you ill?" It was Ambrose; I knew his +voice. + +Crushing the paper in my hand, I tried to look up; but it was in vain. +The sting of sudden and complete disillusion had struck me to the heart; +I knew my husband to be a villain. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. I LEARN HYPOCRISY. + +Only eighteen, but from that moment, a woman. Sunk in horror as I was, +I yet had wit enough to clap my hands to my head and say I had been +dazzled by the sun. + +Ambrose, who, in the week I had been with them, had shown himself +delighted with the change my coming had made in the house, looked +alarmed at this and wanted to call Mr. Allison; but I forbade him, and +said I would go in by myself, which I did under a stress of will-power +rarely exercised, I dare believe, by a girl so young and so miserable. + +"What shall I say to him? how shall I meet him? how can I hide my +knowledge and act as if this thing had never been?" For even in that +rush of confusing emotions I recognized one fact; that I must not betray +by look or word that I knew his dreadful secret. If he were villain +enough to keep a woman, and that woman the rightful owner of the +property he was himself enjoying, in a prison he had made for her in +her own house, then he was villain enough to strangle the one who had +discovered this fact, were she the cherished darling of his seared and +calculating heart. I was afraid of him now that I knew him, yet I never +thought of flying his presence or revealing his crime. He was, villain +or no villain, my husband, and nothing could ever undo that fact or make +it true that I had never loved him. + +So I went in, but went in slowly and with downcast eyes. The bead and +the paper I had dropped into my _vinaigrette_, which fortunately hung at +my side. + +"Humphrey," I said, "when are we going to leave this house? I begin to +find it lonesome." + +He was preparing to gather up his papers for his accustomed trip down +town, but he stopped as I spoke, and look at me curiously. + +"You are pale," he remarked, "change and travel will benefit you. +Dearest, we will try to sail for Europe in a week." + +A week! What did he mean? Leave his prisoners--alas, I understood his +journeys to the top of the house now--and go away to Europe? I felt +myself grow livid at the thought, and caught a spray of lilac from the +table where I stood and held it to my face. + +"Will your business affairs warrant it?" I asked. "Are you sure Mrs. +Ransome's affairs will not suffer by your absence?" Then, as I saw him +turn white, I made a ghastly effort, happily hid by the flowers I held +pressed against my face, and suggested, laughingly, "How, if she +should come back after your departure! would she meet the greeting she +deserves?" + +He was half the room away from me, but I heard the click of subdued +passion in his throat, and turned sick almost to the point of fainting. +"It is four days since you mentioned Mrs. Ransome's name," he said. +"When we are gone from here you must promise that it shall never again +pass your lips. Mrs. Ransome is not a good woman, Delight." + +It was a lie yet his manner of speaking it, and the look with which he +now approached me, made me feel helpless again, and I made haste to rush +from the room, ostensibly to prepare for our trip down town, in order +to escape my own weakness and gain a momentary self-possession before we +faced the outside world. Only eighteen years old and confronted by such +a diabolical problem! + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE STOLEN KEY. + +I was too young to reason in those days. Had I not been, had I been able +to say to myself that no act requiring such continued precaution +could take place in the heart of a great city without ultimate, if not +instant, detection, instinct would still have assured me that what I +read was true, however improbable or unheard of it might seem. That +the recognition of this fact imposed upon me two almost irreconcilable +duties I was slower to perceive. But soon, too soon, it became apparent +even to my girlish mind, that, as the wife of the man who had committed +this great and inconceivable wrong, I was bound, not only to make +an immediate attempt to release the women he so outrageously held +imprisoned in their own house, but to so release them that he should +escape the opprobrium of his own act. + +That I might have time to think, and that I might be saved, if but for +one day, contact with one it was almost my duty to hate, I came back to +him with the plea that I might spend the day with the Vandykes instead +of accompanying him down town as usual. I think he was glad of the +freedom my absence offered him, for he gave me the permission I asked, +and in ten minutes I was in my old home. Mrs. Vandyke received me with +effusion. It was not the first time she had seen me since my marriage, +but it was the first time she had seen me alone. + +"My dear!" she exclaimed, turning me about till my unwilling face met +the light, "is this the wild-wood lassie I gave into Mr. Allison's +keeping a week ago!" + +"It is the house!" I excitedly gasped, "the empty, lonely, echoing +house! I am afraid in it, even with my husband. It gives me creepy +feelings, _as if a murder had been committed in it_." + +She broke into a laugh; I hear the sound now, an honest, amused and +entirely reassuring laugh, that relieved me in one way and depressed me +in another. "The idea! _that_ house!" she cried. "I never thought you +a girl to have nervous fancies. Why, it is the most matter-of-fact old +mansion in the city. All its traditions are of the most respectable +kind; no skeleton in those closets! By the way, my dear, has Mr. Allison +shown you any of the curious old things those rooms must contain?" + +I managed to stammer out a reply, "Mr. Allison does not consider that +his rights extend so far. I have never crossed the drawing-room floor." + +"Well! that is carrying honor to an extreme. I am afraid I should not +be able to suppress my curiosity to that extent. Is he afraid of the old +lady returning unexpectedly and catching him?" + +I could not echo her laugh; I could not even smile; I could only pucker +up my brows as if angry. + +"Everything is kept in shape, so that if she does return she will find +the house comfortable," I said; then, with a rising sense of having by +this speech suggested a falsehood, I hastily dropped the topic, and, +with an entire change of manner, remarked, airily: + +"Mrs. Ransome must have gone off very suddenly, to leave everything so +exposed in a house as splendid as that. Most people, however rich, see +to their choice things more carefully." + +She rose to the bait. "Mrs. Ransome is a queer woman. Her things are of +but little account to her; to save her daughter from a moment's pain +she would part with the house itself, let alone the accumulations it +contains. That is why she left the country so suddenly." + +I waited a moment under the pretense of admiring a locket she wore, then +I suggested, quietly: + +"My husband told you that?" + +The answer was as careless as the speaker. + +"Oh, I don't know who told me. It's five years ago now, but every one +at the time understood that she was angry, because some one mentioned +blindness before her daughter. Mrs. Ransome had regarded it as a +religious duty to raise her daughter in ignorance of her affliction. +When she found she could not do so among her friends and acquaintances, +she took her away to a strange land. It is the only tradition, which is +not commonplace, which belongs to the family. Let us go up and see my +new gowns. I have had two come home from Arnold's since you went away." + +I thought the gowns would keep a minute longer. "Did Mrs. Ransome say +good-by to her friends?" I asked. "Somehow this matter strikes me as +being very romantic." + +"Oh, that shows what a puss you are. No, Mrs. Ransome did not say +good-by to her friends, that is, not to us. She just went, leaving +everything in your husband's charge, who certainly has acquitted himself +of the obligation most religiously. And now will you see the gowns?" + +I tortured myself by submitting to this ordeal, then I ventured on +another and entirely different attempt to clear up the mystery that +was fast stifling out my youth, love and hope. I professed to have an +extraordinary desire to see the city from the house-top. I had never +been any higher up than the third story of any house I had been in, and +could not, I told her, go any higher in the house in which I was then +living. Might I go up on her roof? Her eyes opened, but she was of an +amiable, inconsequent disposition and let me have my way without too +much opposition. So, together with a maid she insisted upon sending with +me, I made my way through the skylight on to the roof, and so into full +view of the neighboring house-tops. + +One glance at the spot I was most interested in, and I found myself too +dizzy to look further. In the center of Mrs. Ransome's roof there was to +be seen what I can best describe as an extended cupola without windows. +As there was no other break visible in the roof, the top of this must +have held the skylight, which, being thus lifted many feet above the +level of the garret floor, would admit air and light enough to the +boarded-up space below, but would make any effort to be heard or seen, +on the part of any one secreted there, quite ineffectual. One might, by +a great effort, fling up a bead out of this funnel-shaped opening, +but, even to my limited sense of mechanics, the chances seemed very +unfavorable towards it doing much more than roll over the spacious roof +into the huge gutters surrounding it. + +Yet, if it chose to bound, it might clear the coping and fall, as one +had fallen, on the devoted head of a person walking on the lawn below. +All this I saw at a glance, and then, sick and dizzy, I crept back, and, +with but little apology for my abruptness, took leave of Mrs. Vandyke +and left the house. + +The resolution I took in doing this was worthy of an older head and a +more disciplined heart. By means that were fair, or by means that were +foul, I meant to win my way into that boarded-up attic and see for +myself if the words hidden away in my vinaigrette were true. To do +this openly would cause a scandal I was yet too much under my husband's +influence to risk; while to do it secretly meant the obtaining of keys +which I had every reason to believe he kept hidden about his person. +How was I to obtain them? I saw no way, but that did not deter me from +starting at once down town in the hope of being struck by some brilliant +idea while waiting for him in his office. + +Was it instinct that suggested this, or was the hand of Providence in +all that I did at this time? I had no sooner seated myself in the little +room, where I had been accustomed to wait for him, than I saw what sent +the blood tingling to my finger-tips in sudden hope. It was my husband's +vest hanging in one corner, the vest he had worn down town that morning. +The day was warm and he had taken it off. _If the key should be in it!_ + +I had never done a mean or underhanded thing before in my life, but I +sprang at that vest without the least hesitation, and fingering it with +the lightest of touches, found in the smallest of inside pockets a +key, which instinct immediately told me was that of the door I had once +endeavored to pass. Oh, the rush of feeling overwhelming me as I held +it in my hand! Would he miss it if I carried it off? Would I be able to +return to the house, see what I wanted to see, and get back in time to +restore it before he wanted his vest? It was early yet, and he was very +busy; I might succeed, and if I failed, and he detected his loss, why I +alone would be the sufferer; and was I not a sufferer now? Dropping the +key into my pocket, I went back into the outer room, and leaving word +that I had remembered a little shopping which would take me again up +town, I left the building and returned to ------ Street. My emotions +were indescribable, but I preserved as sedate an appearance as possible, +and was able to account for my return in a natural enough way to Ambrose +when he opened the door for me. To brave his possible curiosity by going +up-stairs, required a still greater effort; but the thought that my +intentions were pure and my daring legitimate, sustained me in the +ordeal, and I ran, singing, up the first flight, glad that Ambrose +had no better ear for music than to be pleased with what he probably +considered an evidence of happiness on the part of his young mistress. + +I was out of breath with suspense, as well as with my rapid movements, +when I reached the shut-in staircase and carefully unlocked its narrow +door. But by the time I had reached the fourth floor, and unlocked, with +the same key, the only other door that had a streak of light under it, +I had gained a certain degree of tense composure born of the desperate +nature of the occasion. The calmness with which I pushed open the door +proved this--a calmness which made the movement noiseless, which was the +reason, I suppose, why I was enabled to suppress the shriek that rose +to my lips as I saw that the room had occupants, and that my worst fears +were thus realized. + +A woman was sitting, with her back to me, at a table, and before her, +with her face turned my way, was a young girl in whom, even at first +glance, I detected some likeness to myself. Was this why Mr. Allison's +countenance expressed so much agitation when he first saw me? The next +moment this latter lifted her head and looked directly at me, but with +no change in her mobile features; at which token of blindness I almost +fell on my knees, so conclusively did it prove that I was really looking +upon Mrs. Ransome and her daughter. + +The mother, who had been directing her daughter's hands in some +needlework, felt that the latter's attention had been diverted. + +"What is it, dear?" she asked, with an indescribable mellowness of +voice, whose tone thrilled me with a fresh and passionate pity. + +"I thought I heard Mr. Allison come in, but he always knocks; besides, +it is not time for him yet." And she sighed. + +That sigh went through my heart, rousing new feelings and deeper +terrors; but I had no time to indulge in them, for the mother turned +at the gasp which left my lips, and rising up, confronted me with an +amazement which left her without any ability to speak. + +"Who is it, mother?" inquired the blind girl, herself rising and beaming +upon me with the sweetest of looks. + +"Let me answer," I ventured, softly. "I am Mr. Allison's wife. I have +come to see if there is anything I can do to make your stay here more +comfortable." + +The look that passed over the mother's face warned me to venture no +further in the daughter's presence. Whatever that mother had +suffered, the daughter had experienced nothing but satisfied love and +companionship in these narrow precincts. Her rounded cheeks showed this, +and the indescribable atmosphere of peace and gladness which +surrounded her. As I saw this, and realized the mother's life and the +self-restraint which had enabled her to accept the inevitable without +raising a complaint calculated to betray to the daughter that all was +not as it should be with them, I felt such a rush of awe sweep over me +that some of my fathomless emotion showed in my face; for Mrs. Ransome's +own countenance assumed a milder look, and advancing nearer, she +pointed out a room where we could speak apart. As I moved towards it she +whispered a few words in her daughter's ear, then she rejoined me. + +"I did not know Mr. Allison was married," were her first words. + +"Madame," said I, "I did not know we were the guests of a lady who +chooses to live in retirement." And opening my vinaigrette, I took out +the bead and the little note which had enwrapped it. "This was my first +warning that my husband was not what I had been led to consider him," +I murmured. "Mrs. Ransome, I am in need of almost as much pity as +yourself. I have been married just six days." + +She gave a cry, looked me wildly in the face, and then sank upon her +knees, lifting up thanks to heaven. "Twenty-four of these notes," said +she; "have I written, and flung upward through that lofty skylight, +weighted by the beads he left wound about my darling daughter's neck. +This one only has brought me the least response. Does he know? Is he +willing that you should come up here?" + +"I have come at the risk of my life," I quietly answered. "He does +not know that I have surprised his secret. He would kill me if he did. +Madame, I want to free you, but I want to do it without endangering +him. I am his wife, and three hours ago I loved him." + +Her face, which had turned very pale, approached mine with a look +I hardly expected to encounter there. "I understand," she said; "I +comprehend devotion; I have felt it for my daughter. Else I could not +have survived the wrong of this incarceration, and my forcible severance +from old associations and friends. I loved _her_, and since the +knowledge of her affliction, and the still worse knowledge that she had +been made the victim of a man's greed to an extent not often surpassed +in this world, would have made her young life wretched without securing +the least alleviation to our fate, I have kept both facts from her, and +she does not know that closed doors mean bondage any more than she knows +that unrelieved darkness means blindness. She is absolutely ignorant +that there is such a thing as light." + +"Oh, madame!" I murmured, "Oh, madame! Show a poor girl what she can do +to restore you to your rights. The door is open and you can descend; but +that means----- Oh, madame, I am filled with terror when I think what. +He may be in the hall now. He may have missed the key and returned. If +only you were out of the house!" + +"My dear girl," she quietly replied, "we will be some day. You will see +to that, I know. I do not think I could stay here, now that I have seen +another face than his. But I do not want to go now, to-day. I want to +prepare Theresa for freedom; she has lived so long quietly with me that +I dread the shock and excitement of other voices and the pressure of +city sounds upon her delicate ears. I must train her for contact with +the world. But you won't forget me if I allow you to lock us in again? +You will come back and open the doors, and let me go down again through +my old halls into the room where my husband died; and if Mr. Allison +objects---- My dear girl, you know now that he is an unscrupulous man, +that it is my money he begrudged me, and that he has used it and made +himself a rich man. But he has one spark of grace in him. He has never +forgotten that we needed bread and clothes. He has waited on us himself, +and never have we suffered from physical want. Therefore, he may not +object now. He may feel that he has enriched himself sufficiently to +let us go free, and if I must give my oath to let the past go without +explanation, why I am ready, my dear; nothing can undo it now, and I am +grown too old to want money except for her." "I cannot," I murmured, "I +cannot find courage to present the subject to him so. I do not know my +husband's mind. It is a fathomless abyss to me. Let me think of some +other way. Oh, madam! if you were out of the house, and could then +come----" Suddenly a thought struck me. "I can do it; I see the way to +do it--a way that will place you in a triumphant position, and yet save +him from suspicion. He is weary of this care. He wants to be relieved of +the dreadful secret which anchors him to this house, and makes a hell of +the very spot in which he has fixed his love. Shall we undertake to +do his for him? Can you trust me if I promise to take an immediate +impression of this key, and have one made for myself, which shall insure +my return here?" + +"My dear," she said, taking my head between her two trembling hands, "I +have never looked upon a sweeter face than my daughter's till I looked +upon yours to-day. If you bid me hope, I will hope, and if you bid +me trust, I will trust. The remembrance of this kiss will not let you +forget." And she embraced me in a warm and tender manner. + +"I will write you," I murmured. "Some day look for a billet under the +door. It will tell you what to do; now I must go back to my husband." + +And, with a sudden access of fear, caused by my dread of meeting his +eyes with this hidden knowledge between us, I hastened out and locked +the door behind me. + +When I reached the office, I was in a fainting condition, but all my +hopes revived again when I saw the vest still hanging where I had left +it, and heard my husband's voice singing cheerfully in the adjoining +room. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + +I CANNOT enter into the feelings of this dreadful time. I do not know +if I loved or hated the man I had undertaken to save. I only know I was +determined to bring light out of darkness in a way that would compromise +nobody, possibly not even myself. But to do this I must dazzle him +into giving me a great pleasure. A crowd in the ------ Street house was +necessary to the quiet escape of Mrs. Ransome and her daughter; so a +crowd we must have, and how have a crowd without giving a grand party? +I knew that this would be a shocking proposition to him, but I was +prepared to meet all objections; and when, with every nerve alert and +every charm exerted to its utmost, I sat down at his side that evening +to plead my cause, I knew by the sparkle of his eye and the softening of +the bitter lines that sometimes hardened his mouth, that the battle was +half won before I spoke, and that I should have my party whatever it +might cost him in mental stress and worry. + +Perhaps he was glad to find me given over to folly at a time when he was +waiting for a miracle to release him from the net of crime in which he +had involved himself; perhaps he merely thought it would please me, +and aid him to thus strengthen our position in the social world before +taking our flight to a foreign land; but whatever lay at the bottom of +his amenity, he gave me _carte blanche_ that night for an entertainment +that should embrace all his friends and mine and some of Mrs. Vandyke's. +So I saw that doubt removed. + +The next thing I did was to procure a _facsimile_ of his key from the +wax impression I had taken of it in accordance with my promise to Mrs. +Ransome. Then I wrote her a letter, in which I gave her the minutest +directions as to her own movements on that important evening. After +which I gave myself up entirely to the business of the party. Certain +things I had insisted on. All the rooms were to be opened, even those +on the third floor; and I was to have a band to play in the hall. He did +not deny me anything. I think his judgment was asleep, or else he was so +taken up with the horrible problem presented by his desire to leave +the city and the existence of those obligations which made departure an +impossibility, that he failed to place due stress on matters which, at +another time, might very well seem to threaten the disclosure of his +dangerous secret. + +At last the night came. + +An entertainment given in this great house had aroused much interest. +Most of our invitations had been accepted, and the affair promised to +be brilliant. As a bride, I wore white, and when, at the moment of going +downstairs, my husband suddenly clasped about my neck a rich necklace +of diamonds, I was seized by such a bitter sense of the contrast between +appearances and the awful reality underlying these festivities, that I +reeled in his arms, and had to employ all the arts which my dangerous +position had taught me, to quiet his alarm, and convince him that my +emotion sprang entirely from pleasure. + +Meantime the band was playing and the carriages were rolling up in +front. What he thought as the music filled the house and rose in +piercing melody to the very roof, I cannot say. _I_ thought how it was +a message of release to those weary and abused ones above; and, filled +with the sense of support which the presence of so many people in +the house gave me, I drew up my girlish figure in glad excitement and +prepared myself for the ordeal, visible and invisible, which awaited me. + +The next two hours form a blank in my memory. Standing under +Mrs. Ransome's picture (I _would_ stand there), I received the +congratulations of the hundred or more people who were anxious to see +Mr. Allison's bride, and of the whole glittering pageant I remember only +the whispered words of Mrs. Vandyke as she passed with the rest: "My +dear, I take back what I said the other day about the effect of marriage +upon you. You are the most brilliant woman here, and Mr. Allison the +happiest of men." This was an indication that all was going well. But +what of the awful morning-hour that awaited us! Would that show him a +happy man? + +At last our guests were assembled, and I had an instant to myself. +Murmuring a prayer for courage, I slid from the room and ran up-stairs. +Here all was bustle also--a bustle I delighted in, for, with so many +people moving about, Mrs. Ransome and her daughter could pass out +without attracting more than a momentary attention. Securing a bundle +I had myself prepared, I glided up the second staircase, and, after a +moment's delay, succeeded in unlocking the door and disappearing with my +bundle into the fourth story. When I came down, the key I had carried up +was left behind me. The way for Mrs. Ransome's escape lay open. + +I do not think I had been gone ten minutes from the drawing-room. When +I returned there, it was to find the festivities at their height, and +my husband just on the point of missing me. The look which he directed +to-wards me pierced me to the heart; not that I was playing him false, +for I was risking life, love and the loss of everything I prized, to +save him from himself; but that his love for me should be so strong +he could forget the two tortured hearts above, in the admiration I had +awakened in the shallow people about us. But I smiled, as a woman on +the rack might smile if the safety of her loved ones depended on her +courage, and, nerving myself for the suspense of such a waiting as few +of my inexperience have ever been called upon to endure, I turned to a +group of ladies I saw near me and began to talk. + +Happily, I did not have to chatter long; happily, Mrs. Ransome was quick +in her movements and exact in all she did, and, sooner than I expected, +sooner, perhaps, than I was prepared for it, the man who attended the +front door came to my side and informed me that a lady wished to see +me--a lady who had just arrived from the steamer, and who said she was +the mistress of the house, Mrs. Ransome. + +Mrs. Ransome! The name spread like wildfire, but before any movement was +made, I had bounded, in laughing confusion, to my husband's side, and, +grasping him merrily by the arm, cried: + +"Your expectations have come true. Mrs. Ransome has returned without +warning, and tonight she will partake of the supper you have always had +served for her." + +The shock was as great, perhaps, as ever man received. I knew what it +was likely to be, and held him upright, with the seeming merriment in my +eyes which I did not allow to stray from his. He thought I was mad, then +he thought he was--then I recalled him to the dangers and exigencies of +the moment by saying, with forced _naivete_: "Shall I go and welcome her +to this gathering in her own house, or will you do the honors? She may +not know _me_." + +He moved, but as a statue might move, shot through and through with an +electric spark. I saw that I must act, rather than he, so uttering some +girlish sentence about the mice and cat, I glided away into the hall, +where Mrs. Ransome stood in the nondescript black cloak and bonnet I +had provided her from her own wardrobe. She had slipped a few moments +before from the house with her daughter, whom she had placed in a +carriage, which I had ordered to wait for them directly in front of the +lamppost, and had now re-entered as the mistress returning unexpectedly +after a departure of five years. All had been done as I had planned, and +it only remained to carry on the farce and prevent its developing into a +tragedy. + +Rushing up to her, I told her who I was, and, as we were literally +surrounded in a moment, added such apologies for the merrymaking in +which she found us indulging as my wit suggested and the occasion seemed +to demand. Then I allowed her to speak. Instantly she was the mistress +of the house. Old-fashioned as her dress was, and changed as her figure +must have been, she had that imposing bearing which great misfortune, +nobly borne, gives to some natures, and feeling the eyes of many of +her old friends upon her, she graciously smiled and said that she was +delighted to receive so public a welcome. Then she took me by the hand. + +"Do not worry, child," she said, "I have a daughter about your age, +which in itself would make me lenient towards one so young and pretty. +Where is your husband, dear? He has served me well in my absence, and I +should like to shake hands with him before I withdraw with my daughter, +to a hotel for the night." + +I looked up; he was standing in the open doorway leading into the +drawing-room. He had recovered a semblance of composure, but the hand +fingering the inner pocket, where he kept his keys, showed in what a +tumult of surprise and doubt he had been thrown by this unaccountable +appearance of his prisoner in the open hall; and if to other eyes he +showed no more than the natural confusion of the moment, to me he had +the look of a secretly desperate man, alive to his danger, and only +holding himself in check in order to measure it. + +At the mention she made of his name, he came mechanically forward, and, +taking her proffered hand, bowed over it. "Welcome." he murmured, in +strained tones; then, startled by the pressure of her fingers on his, he +glanced doubtfully up while she said: + +"We will have no talk to-night, my faithful and careful friend, but +to-morrow you may come and see me at the Fifth Avenue. You will find +that my return will not lessen your manifest happiness." Then, as +he began to tremble, she laid her hand on his arm, and I heard her +smilingly whisper: "You have too pretty a wife for me not to wish my +return to be a benefaction to her." And, with a smile to the crowd and +an admonition to those about her not to let the little bride suffer from +this interruption, she disappeared through the great front door on +the arm of the man who for five years had held her prisoner in her own +house. I went back into the drawing-room, and the five minutes which +elapsed between that moment and that of his return were the most awful +of my life. When he came back I had aged ten years, yet all that time I +was laughing and talking. + +He did not rejoin me immediately; he went up-stairs. I knew why; he had +gone to see if the door to the fourth floor had been unlocked or simply +broken down. When he came back he gave me one look. Did he suspect me? I +could not tell. After that, there was another blank in my memory to the +hour when the guests were all gone, the house all silent, and we stood +together in a little room, where I had at last discovered him, withdrawn +by himself, writing. There was a loaded pistol on the table. The paper +he had been writing was his will. + +"Humphrey," said I, placing a finger on the pistol, "why is this?" + +He gave me a look, a hungry, passionate look, then he grew as white as +the paper he had just subscribed with his name. + +"I am ruined," he murmured. "I have made unwarrantable use of Mrs. +Ransome's money; her return has undone me. Delight, I love you, but I +cannot face the future. You will be provided for----" + +"Will I?" I put in softly, very softly, for my way was strewn with +pitfalls and precipices. "I do not think so, Humphrey. If the money you +have put away is not yours, my first care would be to restore it. Then +what would I have left? A dowry of odium and despair, and I am scarcely +eighteen." + +"But--but--you do not understand, Delight. I have been a villain, a +worse villain than you think. The only thing in my life I have not to +blush for is my love for you. This is pure, even if it has been selfish. +I know it is pure, because I have begun to suffer. If I could tell +you---- + +"Mrs. Ransome has already told me," said I. "Who do you think unlocked +the door of her retreat? I, Humphrey. I wanted to save you from +yourself, and _she_ understands me. She will never reveal the secret of +the years she has passed overhead." + +Would he hate me? Would he love me? Would he turn that fatal weapon on +me, or level it again towards his own breast? For a moment I could not +tell; then the white horror in his face broke up, and, giving me a look +I shall never forget till I die, he fell prostrate on his knees and +lowered his proud head before me. + +I did not touch it, but from that moment the schooling of our two hearts +began, and, though I can never look upon my husband with the frank joy +I see in other women's faces, I have learned not to look upon him with +distrust, and to thank God I did not forsake him when desertion might +have meant the destruction of the one small seed of goodness which had +developed in his heart with the advent of a love for which nothing in +his whole previous life had prepared him. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + +***** This file should be named 22809.txt or 22809.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/8/0/22809/ + +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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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..22c17b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #22809 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22809) diff --git a/old/22809-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/22809-h.htm.2021-01-25 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..26bd00d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/22809-h.htm.2021-01-25 @@ -0,0 +1,2135 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!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" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Hermit of ------ Street., by Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles + Rohlfs) + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + 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%;} + 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 {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +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: The Hermit Of ------ Street + 1898 + +Author: Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +Release Date: September 29, 2007 [EBook #22809] +Last Updated: October 2, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE HERMIT OF ——— STREET. + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Copyright, 1898, by Anna Katharine Rohlfs + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I.</a> + </td> + <td> + I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II.</a> + </td> + <td> + A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + I LEARN HYPOCRISY.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE STOLEN KEY.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </td> + <td> + WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. I COMMIT AN INDISCRETION. + </h2> + <p> + I should have kept my eyes for the many brilliant and interesting sights + constantly offered me. Another girl would have done so. I myself might + have done so, had I been over eighteen, or, had I not come from the + country, where my natural love of romance had been fostered by uncongenial + surroundings and a repressed life under the eyes of a severe and + unsympathetic maiden aunt. + </p> + <p> + I was visiting in a house where fashionable people made life a perpetual + holiday. Yet of all the pleasures which followed so rapidly, one upon + another, that I have difficulty now in separating them into distinct + impressions, the greatest, the only one I never confounded with any other, + was the hour I spent in my window after the day’s dissipations were all + over, watching—what? Truth and the necessities of my story oblige me + to say—a man’s face, a man’s handsome but preoccupied face, bending + night after night over a study-table in the lower room of the great house + in our rear. + </p> + <p> + I had been in the city three weeks, and I had already received—pardon + the seeming egotism of the confession—four offers, which, + considering I had no fortune and but little education or knowledge of the + great world, speaks well for something: I leave you to judge what. All of + these offers were from young men; one of them from a very desirable young + man, but I had listened to no one’s addresses, because, after accepting + them, I should have felt it wrong to contemplate so unremittingly the + face, which, for all its unconsciousness of myself, held me spell-bound to + an idea I neither stopped nor cared to analyze. + </p> + <p> + Why, at such a distance and under circumstances of such distraction, did + it affect me so? It was not a young face (Mr. Allison at that time was + thirty-five); neither was it a cheerful or even a satisfied one; but it + was very handsome, as I have said; far too handsome, indeed, for a + romantic girl to see unmoved, and it was an enigmatic face; one that did + not lend itself to immediate comprehension, and that, to one of my + temperament, was a fatal attraction, especially as enough was known of his + more than peculiar habits to assure me that character, rather than whim, + lay back of his eccentricities. + </p> + <p> + But first let me explain more fully my exact position in regard to this + gentleman on that day in early spring, destined to be such a memorable one + in my history. + </p> + <p> + I had never seen him, save in the surreptitious way I have related, and he + had never seen me. The day following my arrival in the city I had noticed + the large house in our rear, and had asked some questions about it. This + was but natural, for it was one of the few mansions in the great city with + an old-style lawn about it. Besides, it had a peculiarly secluded and + secretive look, which even to my unaccustomed eyes, gave it an appearance + strangely out of keeping with the expensive but otherwise ordinary houses + visible in all other directions. The windows—and there were many—were + all shuttered and closed, with the exception of the three on the lower + floor and two others directly over these. On the top story they were even + boarded up, giving to that portion of the house a blank and desolate air, + matched, I was told, by that of the large drawing-room windows on either + side of the front door, which faced, as you must see, on another street. + </p> + <p> + The grounds which, were more or less carefully looked after, were + separated from the street by a brick wall, surmounted by urns, from which + drooped the leafless tendrils of some old vines; but in the rear, that is, + in our direction, the line of separation was marked by a high iron fence, + in which, to my surprise, I saw a gate, which, though padlocked now, + marked old habits of intercourse, interesting to contemplate, between the + two houses. Through this fence I caught glimpses of the green turf and + scattered shrubs of a yard which had once sloped away to the avenues on + either side, and, more interesting still, those three windows whose + high-drawn shades offered such a vivid contrast to the rest of the house. + </p> + <p> + In one of these windows stood a table, with a chair before it. I had as + yet seen no one in the chair, but I had noted that the table was heavily + covered with papers and books, and judged that the room was a library and + the table that of a busy man engaged in an endless amount of study and + writing. + </p> + <p> + The Vandykes, whom I had questioned on the matter, were very short in + their replies. Not because the subject was uninteresting, or one they in + any way sought to avoid, but because the invitations to a great party had + just come in, and no other topic was worthy their discussion. But I + learned this much. That the house belonged to one of New York’s oldest + families. That its present owner was a widow of great eccentricity of + character, who, with her one child, a daughter, unfortunately blind from + birth, had taken up her abode in some foreign country, where she thought + her child’s affliction would attract less attention than in her native + city. The house had been closed to the extent I have mentioned, + immediately upon her departure, but had not been left entirely empty. Mr. + Allison, her man of business, had moved into it, and, being fully as + eccentric as herself, had contented himself for five years with a solitary + life in this dismal mansion, without friends, almost without + acquaintances, though he might have had unlimited society and any amount + of attention, his personal attractions being of a very uncommon order, and + his talent for business so pronounced, that he was already recognized at + thirty-five as one of the men to be afraid of in Wall Street. Of his birth + and connections little was known; he was called the Hermit of ——— + Street, and—well,that is about all they told me at this time. + </p> + <p> + After I came to see him (as I did that very evening), I could ask no + further questions concerning him. The beauty of his countenance, the + mystery of his secluded life, the air of melancholy and mental distress + which I imagined myself to detect in his manner—he often used to sit + for minutes together with his eyes fixed on vacancy and his whole face + expressive of the bitterest emotion—had wrought this spell upon my + imagination, and I could no more mingle his name with that of the ordinary + men and women we discussed than I could confound his solitary and + expressive figure with the very proper but conventional forms of the + simpering youths who followed me in parlors or begged to be allowed the + honor of a dance at the balls I attended with the Vandykes. He occupied an + unique place in my regard, and this without another human being’s + knowledge. I wish I could say without my own; but, alas! I have promised + myself to be true in all the details of this history, and, child as I was, + I could not be ignorant of the fascination which held me for hours at my + window when I should have been in bed and asleep. + </p> + <p> + But let me hasten to the adventure which put an end to my dreams by + launching me into realities of a still more absorbing nature. I was not + very well one day, and even Mrs. Vandyke acknowledged that it would not do + for me to take the long-planned drive to Tuxedo. So, as I would not let + any one else miss this pleasure on my account, I had been left alone in + the house, and, not being ill enough for bed, had spent the most of the + morning in my window—not because he was in his; I was yet too timid, + and, let me hope, too girlishly modest, to wish to attract in any way his + attention—but because the sun shone there, and I was just chilly + enough to enjoy its mingled light and heat. Thus it was I came to notice + the following petty occurrence. In the yard of the house next to that + occupied by Mr. Allison was kept a tame rabbit, which often took advantage + of a hole it had made for itself under the dividing fence to roam over the + neighboring lawn. On this day he was taking his accustomed ramble, when + something startled him, and he ran, not back to his hole, but to our + fence, through which he squeezed himself, evidently to his own great + discomfort; for once in our yard, and under the refuge of a small bush he + found there, nothing would lure him back, though every effort was made to + do so, both by the small boy to whom he belonged, and the old serving-man + or gardener, who was the only other person besides Mr. Allison whom I ever + saw on the great place. Watching them, I noted three things: first, that + it was the child who first thought of opening the gate; secondly, that it + was the serving-man who brought the key; and, thirdly, that after the gate + had been opened and the rabbit recovered, the gate had not been locked + again; for, just as the man was about to do this, a call came from the + front, of so imperative a nature, that he ran forward, without readjusting + the padlock, and did not come back, though I watched for him in idle + curiosity for a good half-hour. This was in the morning. At seven o’clock—how + well I remember the hour!—I was sitting again in my window, waiting + for the return of the Vandykes, and watching the face which had now + reappeared at its usual place in the study. It was dark everywhere save + there, and I was marveling over the sense of companionship it gave me + under circumstances of loneliness, which some girls might have felt most + keenly, when suddenly my attention was drawn from him to a window in the + story over his head, by the rapid blowing in and out of a curtain, which + had been left hanging loose before an open sash. As there was a lighted + gas-jet near by, I watched the gyrating muslin with some apprehension, and + was more shocked than astonished when, in another moment, I saw the flimsy + folds give one wild flap and flare up into a brilliant and dangerous + flame. To shriek and throw up my window was the work of a moment, but I + attracted no attention by these means, and, what was worse, saw, with + feelings which may be imagined, that nothing I could do would be likely to + arouse Mr. Allison to an immediate sense of his danger, for not only were + the windows shut between us, but he was lost in one of his brooding + spells, which to all appearance made him quite impassible to surrounding + events. + </p> + <p> + “Will no one see? Will no one warn him?” I cried out, in terror of the + flames burning so brightly in the room above him. Seemingly not. No other + window was raised in the vicinity, and, frightened quite beyond the + exercise of reason or any instincts of false modesty, I dashed out of my + room downstairs, calling for the servants. But Lucy was in the front area + and Ellen above, and I was on the back porch and in the garden before + either of them responded. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, no movement was observable in the brooding figure of Mr. + Allison, and no diminution in the red glare which now filled the room + above him. To see him sitting there so much at his ease, and to behold at + the same moment the destruction going on so rapidly over his head, + affected me more than I can tell, and casting to the winds all selfish + considerations, I sprang through the gate so providentially left ajar and + knocked with all my might on a door which opened upon a side porch not + many feet away from the spot where he sat so unconcernedly. + </p> + <p> + The moment I had done this I felt like running away again, but hearing his + advancing step, summoned up my courage and stood my ground bravely, + determined to say one word and run. + </p> + <p> + But when the door opened and I found myself face to face with the man + whose face I knew only too well, that word, important as it was, stuck in + my throat; for, agitated as I was, both by my errand and my sudden + encounter with one I had dreamed about for weeks, he seemed to be much + more so, though by other reasons—by far other reasons—than + myself. He was so moved—was it by the appearance of a strange young + girl on his doorstep, or was it at something in my face or manner, or + some-thing in his thoughts to which that face or manner gave a shock?—that + my petty fears for the havoc going on above seemed to pale into + insignificance before the emotions called up by my presence. Confronting + me with dilating eyes, he faltered slowly back till his natural instincts + of courtesy recalled him to himself, and he bowed, when I found courage to + cry: + </p> + <p> + “Fire! Your house is on fire! Up there, overhead!” + </p> + <p> + The sound which left his lips as these words slipped from mine struck me + speechless again. Appalling as the cry “Fire!” is at all times and to all + men, it roused in this man at this time something beyond anything my + girlish soul had ever imagined of terror or dismay. So intense were the + feelings I saw aroused in him that I expected to see him rush into the + open air with loud cries for help. But instead of that, he pushed the door + to behind me, and locking me in, said, in a strange and hoarsened tone? + </p> + <p> + “Don’t call out, don’t make any sound or outcry, and above all, don’t let + any one in; I will fight the flames alone!” and seizing a lamp from the + study-table, he dashed from me towards a staircase I could faintly see in + the distance. But half-way down the hall he looked back at me, and again I + saw that look on his face which had greeted my unexpected appearance in + the doorway. + </p> + <p> + Alas! it was a thrilling look—a look which no girl could sustain + without emotion; and spellbound under it, I stood in a maze, alone and in + utter darkness, not knowing whether to unlock the door and escape or to + stand still and wait for his reappearance, as he evidently expected me to + do. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the alarm had spread, and more than one cry arose from the + houses in the rear. I could hear feet running over the walks without, and + finally a knock on the door I was leaning against, followed by the cry: + </p> + <p> + “Let us in! Fire! fire!” + </p> + <p> + But I neither moved nor answered. I was afraid to be found there, + crouching alone in a bachelor’s residence, but I was equally afraid of + disobeying him, for his voice had been very imperious when he commanded me + not to let any one in; and I was too young to brave such a nature, even if + I had wished to, which I do not think I did. + </p> + <p> + “He is overhead! See him—see him!” I now heard shouted from the + lawn. “He has dragged the curtains down! He is showering the walls with + water! Look—look! how wildly he works! He will be burnt himself. Ah! + ah!” All of which gave me strange thrills, and filled the darkness which + encompassed me with startling pictures, till I could hardly stand the + stress or keep myself from rushing to his assistance. + </p> + <p> + While my emotions were at their height a bell rang. It was the front + doorbell, and it meant the arrival of the engines. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” thought I, “what shall I do now? If I run out I shall encounter half + the neighborhood in the back yard; if I stay here how shall I be able to + meet the faces of the firemen who will come rushing in?” + </p> + <p> + But I was not destined to suffer from either contingency. As the bell rang + a second time, a light broke on the staircase I was so painfully watching, + and Mr. Allison descended, lamp in hand, as he had gone up. He appeared + calm now, and without any show of emotion proceeded at once to the front + door, which he opened. + </p> + <p> + What passed between him and the policeman whose voice I heard in the hall, + I do not know. I heard them go up-stairs and presently come down again, + and I finally heard the front door close. Then I began to make an effort + to gain some control over my emotions, for I knew he had not forgotten me, + and that he soon would be in the vestibule at my side. + </p> + <p> + But it was impossible for me to hope to meet him with an unconcerned air. + The excitement I was under and the cold—for I was dressed lightly + and the vestibule was chilly—had kept me trembling so, that my curls + had fallen all about my cheeks, and one had fallen so low that it hung in + shameful disorder to my very waist. This alone was enough to disconcert + me, but had my heart been without its secret—a secret I was in + mortal terror of disclosing in my confusion—I could have risen above + my embarrassment and let simple haste been my excuse. As it was, I must + have met him with a pleading aspect, very much like that of a frightened + child, for his countenance visibly changed as he approached me, and showed + quite an extraordinary kindness, if not contrition, as he paused in the + narrow vestibule with the blazing lamp held low in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “My little girl,” he began, but instantly changed the phrase to “My dear + young lady, how can I thank you enough, and how can I sufficiently express + my regret at having kept you a prisoner in this blazing house? I fear I + have frightened you sorely, but—-” And here, to my astonishment, he + found nothing to say, moved overmuch by some strong feeling, or checked in + his apologies by some great embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + Astonished, for he did not look like a man who could be lightly disturbed, + I glowed a fiery red and put my hand out towards the door. Instantly he + found speech again. + </p> + <p> + “One moment,” said he. “I feel that I ought to explain the surprise, the + consternation, which made me forget. You know this is not my house, that I + am here in trust for another, that the place is full of rare treasures.” + </p> + <p> + Had he stopped again? I was in such a state of inner perturbation that I + hardly knew whether he had ceased to speak or I to hear. Something, I did + not know what, had shaken my very life’s center—something in the + shape of dread, yet so mixed with delight that my hand fell from the knob + I had been blindly groping for and sank heavily at my side. His eyes had + not left my face. + </p> + <p> + “May I ask whom I have the honor of addressing?” he asked, in a tone I + might better never have heard from his lips. + </p> + <p> + To this I must make reply. Shuddering, for I felt something uncanny in the + situation, but speaking up, notwithstanding, with the round and vibrating + tones I had inherited from my mother, I answered, with the necessary + simplicity: + </p> + <p> + “I am Delight Hunter, a country girl, sir, visiting the Vandykes.” + </p> + <p> + A flash that was certainly one of pleasure lighted up his face with a + brilliance fatal to my poor, quivering girl’s heart. + </p> + <p> + “Allow me, Miss Hunter, to believe that you will not bring down the + indignation of my neighbors upon me by telling them of my carelessness and + indiscretion.” Then, as my lips settled into a determined curve, he + himself opened the door, and bowing low, asked if I would accept his + protection to the gate. + </p> + <p> + But at the rush of the night air, such a sensation of shame overpowered me + that I only thought of retreat; and, declining his offer with a wild shake + of the head, I dashed from the house and fled with an incomprehensible + sense of relief back to that of the Vandykes. The servants, who had seen + me rush towards Mr. Allison’s, were still in the yard watching for me. I + did not vouchsafe them a word. I could hardly formulate words in my own + mind. A great love and a great dread had seized upon me at once. A great + love for the man by whose face I had been moved for weeks and a great + dread—well, I cannot explain my dread, not as I felt it that night. + It was formless and without apparent foundation; but it would no more + leave me than my uneasy memory of the fierce instinct which had led him at + such a critical instant to close his door against all help, though in so + doing he had subjected a young girl to many minutes of intense + embarrassment and mortifying indecision. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. A STRANGE WEDDING BREAKFAST. + </h2> + <p> + Mr. Allison, who had never before been known to leave his books and + papers, not only called the next day to express his gratitude for what he + was pleased to style my invaluable warning, but came every day after, till + not only my heart but my reason told me that the great house in the rear + might ultimately be my home, if the passion which had now become my life + should prove greater than the dread which had not yet entirely left me. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison loved me—oh, what pride in the thought!—but Mr. + Allison had a secret, or why did he so often break off abruptly in some + telltale speech and drop his eyes, which were otherwise always upon me. + Something not easy to understand lay between us—something which he + alternately defied and succumbed to, something which kept him from being + quite the good man I had pictured myself as marrying. Why I was so certain + of this latter fact, I cannot say. Perhaps my instinct was keen; perhaps + the signs of goodness are so unmistakable that even a child feels their + want where her heart leans hardest. + </p> + <p> + Yet everything I heard of him only tended to raise him in my estimation. + After he became an habitué of the house, Mrs. Vandyke grew more + communicative in regard to him. He was eccentric, of course, but his + eccentricities were such as did him credit. One thing she told me made a + lasting impression on me. Mrs. Ransome, the lady in whose house he lived, + had left her home very suddenly. He anticipated a like return; so, ever + since her departure, it had been his invariable custom to have the table + set for three, so that he might never be surprised by her arrival. It had + become a monomania with him. Never did he sit down without there being + enough before him for a small family, and as his food was all brought in + cooked from a neighboring restaurant, this eccentricity of his was well + known, and gave an added <i>éclat</i> to his otherwise hermit-like habits. + To my mind, it added an element of pathos to his seclusion, and so + affected me that one day I dared to remark to him: + </p> + <p> + “You must have liked Mrs. Ransome very much you are so faithful in your + remembrance of her.” + </p> + <p> + I never presumed again to attack any of his foibles. He gave me first a + hard look, then an indulgent one, and finally managed to say, after a + moment of quiet hesitation: + </p> + <p> + “You allude to my custom of setting two chairs at the table to which they + may return at any minute? Miss Hunter, what I do in the loneliness of that + great house is not worth the gossip of those who surround you.” + </p> + <p> + Flushing till I wished my curls would fall down and hide my cheeks, I + tried to stammer out some apology. But he drove it back with a passionate + word: + </p> + <p> + “Delight, idol of my heart, come and see what a lonely place that old + house is. Come and live in that house—at least for a little time, + till I can arrange for you a brighter and a happier home—come and be + my wife.” + </p> + <p> + It was sudden, it was all but unlooked-for, and like all his expressions + of feeling, frenzied rather than resolute. But it was a declaration that + met my most passionate longings, and in the elation it brought I forgot + for the moment the doubts it called up. Otherwise I had been a woman + rather than a girl, and this tale had never been written. + </p> + <p> + “You love me, Delight” (he was already pressing me in his arms), “you love + me or you would never have rushed so impetuously to warn me of my danger + that night. Make me the maddest, happiest man in all the world by saying + you will not wait; that you will not ask counsel of anybody or anything + but your affection, but marry me at once; marry me while my heart yearns + for you so deeply; marry me before I go away——” + </p> + <p> + “Go away?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I am going away. Mrs. Ransome and her daughter are coming back and I + am going away. Will you go with me?” + </p> + <p> + With what intensity he spoke, yet with what hardness. I quivered while I + listened, yet I made no move to withdraw from him. Had he asked me to step + with him from the housetop I should hardly have refused while his heart + throbbed so wildly against mine and his eyes lured me on with such a + promise of ecstasy. + </p> + <p> + “You will?” How peremptory he could be. “You will?” How triumphant, also. + </p> + <p> + I hardly realized what I had done till I stood abashed before Mrs. + Vandyke, and told her I had engaged myself to marry Mr. Allison before he + went to Europe. Then it seemed I had done a very good thing. She + congratulated me heartily, and, seeing I had a certain fear of taking my + aunt into my confidence, promised to sit down and write to her herself, + using every encomium she could think of to make this sudden marriage, on + my part, seem like the result of reason and wise forethought. + </p> + <p> + “Such an estimable man! such an old neighbor! so domestic in his tastes! + and, oh! so wise to find out and make his own the slyest and most + bewildering little beauty that has come into New York this many a season!” + These were some of her words, and, though pleasing at the time, they made + me think deeply—much more deeply than I wished to, after I went + upstairs to my room. + </p> + <p> + “Estimable! an old neighbor! domestic in his tastes!” Had she said: + “Handsome! masterful in his air and spirit! a man to make a girl forget + the real end of life and think only of present pleasure!” I should not + have had such a fierce reaction. But estimable! Was he estimable? I tried + to cry out yes! I tried to keep down the memory of that moment when, with + a dozen passions suddenly let loose (one of them fear), he strode by me + and locked the door against all help, under an impetus he had tried in + vain to explain. Nothing would quiet the still, small voice speaking in my + breast, or give to the moment that unalloyed joy which belongs to a young + girl’s betrothal. I was afraid. Why? + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison never came in the evening, another of his peculiarities. Other + men did, but what were other men to me now? This night I pleaded weariness + (Mrs. Vandyke understood me), and remained in my room. I wanted to study + the face of my lover under the new conditions. Was he in his old seat? + Yes. And would he read, as usual, or study? No. He had thoughts of his own + to-night, engrossing enough to hold him enthralled without the aid of his + ordinary occupations; thoughts, thoughts of me, thoughts which should have + cleared his brow and made his face a study of delight to me. But was it + so? Alas! I had never seen it so troubled; lit with gleams of hope or + happiness by spells, but mostly sunk in depths of profoundest + contemplation, which gave to it a melancholy from which I shrank, and not + the melancholy one longs to comfort and allay. What was on his mind? What + was in his heart? Something he feared to have noted, for suddenly he rose + with a start, and, for the first time since my eyes had sought that + window, pulled down the shades and thus shut himself out from my view + altogether. Was it a rebuke to my insistent watchfulness? or the + confession of a reticent nature fearing to be surprised in its moment of + weakness? I ought to know—I would know. To-morrow I would ask him if + there was any sorrow in his life which a confiding girl ought to be made + acquainted with before she yielded him her freedom. But the pang which + pierced me at the thought, proved that I feared his answer too much to + ever question him. + </p> + <p> + I am thus explicit in regard to my thoughts and feelings at this time, + that I may more fully account to you for what I did later. I had not, what + every one else seemed to have, full confidence in this man, and yet the + thrall in which I was held by the dominating power of his passion, kept me + from seeking that advice even from my own intuitions, which might have led + to my preservation. I was blind and knew I was blind, yet rushed on + headlong. I asked him no questions till our wedding day. + </p> + <p> + My aunt, who seemed quite satisfied with Mrs. Vandyke’s explanations, + promised to be present at the ceremony, which was set at an alarmingly + near day. My lovers on the contrary—by whom I mean the half dozen + men who had been attentive to me—refused to attend, so I had one + care less; for the lack of time—perhaps I should say my lack of + means—precluded me from obtaining a very elaborate wedding dress, + and I did not choose to have them see me appear on such an occasion in any + less charming guise than I had been accustomed to wear at party or play. + <i>He</i> did not care what I wore. When I murmured something about the + haste with which he had hurried things forward, and how it was likely to + interfere with what most brides considered necessary to the proper + celebration of such an event, he caught me to his breast with a feverish + gesture and vowed that if he could have his way, there would be no + preparation at all, but just a ceremony before a minister which would make + me his without the least delay. + </p> + <p> + Men may enjoy such precipitation, but women do not. I was so troubled by + what seemed the meagerness of my wardrobe and the lack of everything I had + been accustomed to see brides bring their husbands, that I asked Mrs. + Vandyke one day if Mr. Allison was a rich man. She answered, with a smile: + “No, my dear, not as we New-Yorkers count riches. Having the power of + attorney for Mrs. Ransome, he handles a good deal of money; but very + little of it is his own, though to you his five-thousand-a-year salary may + seem a fortune.” + </p> + <p> + This was so much Greek to me, though I did understand he was not + considered wealthy. + </p> + <p> + “Then my fawn-colored cloth will not be so very inappropriate for a + wedding dress?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “I wish you could see yourself in it,” she said, and that satisfied me. + </p> + <p> + We were married simply, but to the sound of wonderful music, in a certain + little church not far from ——— Street. My aunt was there + and my four lovers, though they had said, one and all, they would not + come. But I saw nothing, realized nothing, save the feverish anxiety of my + bridegroom, who, up to the minute the final vows were uttered, seemed to + be on a strain of mingled emotions, among which I seemed to detect that + old one of fear. A pitiful outlook for an adoring bride, you will think, + who, without real friends to interest themselves in her, allows herself to + be pushed to a brink she is wise enough to see, but not strong enough to + recoil from. Yes, but its full pathos did not strike me then. I only felt + anxious to have the ceremony over, to know that the die was cast beyond my + own powers of retraction; and when the words of the benediction at last + fell upon my ears, it was with real joy I turned to see if they brought + him as much rapture as they did me. Happily for that moment’s satisfaction + they did, and if a friend had been there with eyes to see and heart to + feel, there would have been nothing in the air of open triumph with which + Mr. Allison led me down the aisle to awaken aught but hope and confidence. + My own hopes rose at the sight, and when at the carriage door he turned to + give me a smile before he helped me in, nothing but the obstinacy of my + nature prevented me from accepting the verdict of my acquaintances, “That + for a little country girl, with nothing but her good looks to recommend + her, Delight Hunter had done remarkably well in the one short month she + had been in the city.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison had told me that it would be impossible for him to take me out + of the city at present. It was therefore to the house on ——— + Street we were driven. On the way he attempted to reconcile me to what he + feared might strike me as dreary in the prospect. + </p> + <p> + “The house is partially closed,” said he, “and many of the rooms are + locked. Even the great drawing-rooms have an uninhabited look, which will + make them anything but attractive to a lover of sunshine and comfort; but + the library is cheerful, and in that you can sit and imagine yourself at + home till lean wind up my business affairs and make possible the trip upon + which I have set my heart.” + </p> + <p> + “Does that mean,” I faintly ventured, “that you will leave me to spend + much of my time alone in that great echoing house?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” was his quick response, “you shall spend no time there alone. When I + go out you shall go too, and if business takes me where you cannot + accompany me I will give you money to shop with, which will keep you + pleasantly occupied till I can rejoin you. Oh, we will make it a happy + honeymoon, in spite of all obstacles, my darling. I should be a wretch if + I did not make it happy for <i>you</i>.” + </p> + <p> + Here was my opportunity. I trembled as I thought of it, and stammered + quite like a foolish child as I softly suggested: + </p> + <p> + “For me? Is it not likely to be a happy one for <i>you?</i>” + </p> + <p> + I will not give his answer; it was a passionate one, but it was not + convincing. Pondering it and trying to persuade myself he alluded only to + business cares and anxieties, I let the minute slip by and entered the + house with doubts unsolved, but with no further effort to understand him. + Remember, he was thirty-five and I but a chit of eighteen. + </p> + <p> + In the hall stood the old serving-man with whose appearance I was already + so familiar. He had a smile on his face, which formed my only welcome. He + also had a napkin over his arm. + </p> + <p> + “Luncheon is served,” he announced, with great formality; and then I saw + through an open door the glitter of china and glass, and realized I was + about to take my first meal with my husband. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Allison had already told me that he intended to make no changes in his + domestic arrangements for the few days we were likely to occupy this + house. I had therefore expected that our meals would be served from the + restaurant, and that Ambrose (the waiting-man) would continue to be the + only other occupant of the house. But I was not sure whether the table + would be still set for four, or whether he would waive this old custom now + that he had a wife to keep him company at the once lonely board. I was + eager to know, and as soon as I could lay aside my hat in the little + reception-room, I turned my face towards the dining-room door, where my + husband stood awaiting me with a bunch of great white roses in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Sweets to the sweet,” said he, with a smile that sunk down deep into my + heart and made my eyes moisten with joy. In the hackneyed expression there + rang nothing false. He was proud and he was glad to see me enter that + dining-room as his wife. + </p> + <p> + The next moment I was before the board, which had been made as beautiful + as possible with flowers and the finest of dinner services. But the table + was set for four, two of whom could only be present in spirit. + </p> + <p> + I wondered if I were glad or sorry to see it—if I were more pleased + with his loyalty to his absent employer, or disappointed that my presence + had not made everybody else forgotten. To be consistent, I should have + rejoiced at this evidence of sterling worth on his part; but girls are not + consistent—at least, brides of an hour are not—and I may have + pouted the least bit in the world as I pointed to the two places set as + elaborately as our own, and said with the daring which comes with the + rights of a wife: + </p> + <p> + “It would be a startling coincidence if Mrs. Ransome and her daughter + should return today. I fear I would not like it.” + </p> + <p> + I was looking directly at him as I spoke, with a smile on my lips and my + hand on the back of my chair. But the jest I had expected in reply did not + come. Something in my tone or choice of topic jarred upon him, and his + answer was a simple wave of his hand towards Ambrose, who at once relieved + me of my bouquet, placing it in a tall glass at the side of my plate. + </p> + <p> + “Now we will sit,” said he. + </p> + <p> + I do not know how the meal would have passed had Ambrose not been present. + As it was, it was a rather formal affair, and would have been slightly + depressing, if I had not caught, now and then, flashing glances from my + husband’s eye which assured me that he found as much to enchain him in my + presence as I did in his. What we ate I have no idea of. I only remember + that in every course there was enough for four. + </p> + <p> + As we rose, I was visited by a daring impulse. Ambrose had poured me out a + glass of wine, which stood beside my plate undisturbed. As I stooped to + recover my flowers again, I saw this glass, and at once lifted it towards + him, crying: + </p> + <p> + “To Mrs. Ransome and her daughter, who did <i>not</i> return to enjoy our + wedding-breakfast.” + </p> + <p> + He recoiled. Yes, I am sure he gave a start back, though he recovered + himself immediately and responded with grave formality to my toast. + </p> + <p> + “Does he not like Mrs. Ransome?” I thought. “Is the somewhat onerous + custom he maintains here the result of a sense of duty rather than of + liking?” + </p> + <p> + My curiosity was secretly whetted by the thought. But with a girl’s + lightness I began to talk of other things, and first of the house, which I + now for the first time looked at with anything like seeing eyes. + </p> + <p> + He was patient with me, but I perceived he did not enjoy this topic any + more than the former one. “It is not ours,” he kept saying; “remember that + none of these old splendors are ours.” + </p> + <p> + “They are more ours than they are Mrs. Ransome’s, just now,” I at last + retorted, with one of my girlhood’s saucy looks. “At all events, I am + going to play that it is ours tonight,” I added, dancing away from him + towards the long drawing-rooms where I hoped to come upon a picture of the + absent lady of the house. + </p> + <p> + “Delight “—he was quite peremptory now— + </p> + <p> + “I must ask you not to enter those rooms, however invitingly the doors may + stand open. It is a notion, a whim of mine, that you do not lend your + beauty to light up that ghostly collection of old pictures and ugly + upholstery, and if you feel like respecting my wishes——” + </p> + <p> + “But may I not stand in the doorway?” I asked, satisfied at having been + able to catch a glimpse of a full-length portrait of a lady who could be + no other than Mrs. Ransome. “See! my shadow does not even fall across the + carpet. I won’t do the room any harm, and I am sure that Mrs. Ransome’s + picture won’t do me any.” + </p> + <p> + “Come! come away!” he cried; and humoring his wishes, I darted away, this + time in the direction of the dining-room and Ambrose. “My dear,” + remonstrated my husband, quickly following me, “what has brought you back + here?” + </p> + <p> + “I want to see,” said I, “what Ambrose does with the food we did not eat. + Such a lot of it!” + </p> + <p> + It was childish, but then I was a child and a nervous one, too. Perhaps he + considered this, for, while he was angry enough to turn pale, he did not + attempt any rebuke, but left it to Ambrose to say: + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Allison is very good, ma’am. This food, which is very nice, is given + each day to a poor girl who comes for it, and takes it home to her + parents. I put it in this basket, and Mr. Allison gives it to the girl + when she calls for it in the evening.” + </p> + <p> + “You <i>are</i> good,” I cried, turning to my husband with a fond look. + Did he think the emphasis misplaced, or did he consider it time for me to + begin to put on more womanly ways, for drawing me again into the library, + he made me sit beside him on the big lounge, and after a kiss or two, + demanded quietly, but oh, how peremptorily: + </p> + <p> + “Delight, why do you so often speak of Mrs. Ransome? Have you any reason + for it? Has any one talked to you about her, that her name seems to be + almost the only one on your lips in the few, short minutes we have been + married?” + </p> + <p> + I did not know why this was so, myself, so I only shook my head and + sighed, repentingly. Then, seeing that he would have some reply, I + answered with what <i>naiveté</i> I could summon up at the moment: + </p> + <p> + “I think it was because you seem so ashamed of your devotion to them. I + love to see your embarrassment, founded as it is upon the most generous + instincts.” + </p> + <p> + His hand closed over mine with a fierceness that hurt me. + </p> + <p> + “Let us talk of love,” he whispered. “Delight, this is our wedding-day.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. ONE BEAD FROM A NECKLACE. + </h2> + <p> + After supper Mr. Allison put before me a large book. “Amuse yourself with + these pictures,” said he; “I have a little task to perform. After it is + done I will come again and sit with you.” + </p> + <p> + “You are not going out,” I cried, starting up. “No,” he smiled, “I am not + going out.” I sank back and opened the book, but I did not look at the + pictures. Instead of that I listened to his steps moving about the house, + rear and front, and finally going up what seemed to be a servant’s + staircase, for I could see the great front stairs from where I sat, and + there was no one on them. “Why do I not hear his feet overhead?” I asked + myself. “That is the only room he has given me leave to enter. Does his + task take him elsewhere?” Seemingly so, for, though he was gone a good + half hour, he did not enter the room above. Why should I think of so small + a matter? It would be hard to say; perhaps I was afraid of being left in + the great rooms alone; perhaps I was only curious; but I asked myself a + dozen times before he reappeared, “Where is he gone, and why does he stay + away so long?” But when he returned and sat down I said nothing. There was + a little thing I noted, however. His hands were trembling, and it was five + minutes before he met my inquiring look. This I should not consider worth + mentioning if I had not observed the same hesitancy follow the same + disappearance up-stairs on the succeeding night. It was the only time in + the day when he really left me, and, when he came back, he was not like + himself for a good half hour or more. “I will not displease him with + questions,” I decided; “but some day I will find my own way into those + lofts above. I shall never be at rest till I do.” + </p> + <p> + What I expected to find there is as much a mystery to my understanding as + my other doubts and fears. I hardly think I expected to find anything but + a desk of papers, or a box with money in it or other valuables. Still the + idea that something on the floor above had power to shadow my husband’s + face, even in the glow of his first love for me, possessed me so + completely that, when he fell asleep one evening on the library lounge, I + took the opportunity of stealing away and mounting the forbidden staircase + to the third floor. I had found a candle in my bedroom, and this I took to + light me. But it revealed nothing to me except a double row of unused + rooms, with dust on the handles of all the doors. I scrutinized them all; + for, young as I was, I had wit enough to see that if I could find one knob + on which no dust lay that would be the one my husband was accustomed to + turn. But every one showed tokens of not having been touched in years, + and, baffled in my search, I was about to retreat, when I remembered that + the house had four stories, and that I had not yet come upon the staircase + leading to the one above. A hurried search (for I was mortally afraid of + being surprised by my husband,) revealed to me at last a distant door, + which had no dust on its knob. It lay at the bottom of a shut-in + stair-case, and, convinced that here was, the place my husband was in the + habit of visiting, I carefully fingered the knob, which turned very softly + in my hand. But it did not open the door. There was a lock visible just + below, and that lock was fastened. + </p> + <p> + My first escapade was without visible results, but I was uneasy from that + hour. I imagined all sorts of things hidden beyond that closed, door. I + remembered that the windows of the fourth story were all boarded up, and + asked myself why this had been done when the lower ones had been left + open. I was young, but I had heard of occupations which could only be + entered into by a man secretly. Did he amuse himself with forbidden tasks + in that secluded place above, or was I but exaggerating facts which might + have their basis simply in a quondam bachelor’s desire for solitude and a + quiet smoke. “I will follow him up some night,” thought I, “and see if I + cannot put an end at once to my unworthy fears and unhappy suspicions.” + But I never did; something happened very soon to prevent me. + </p> + <p> + I was walking one morning in the grounds that lay about the house, when + suddenly I felt something small but perceptibly hard strike my hat and + bound quickly off. Astonished, for I was under no tree, under nothing + indeed but the blue of heaven, I looked about for the object that had + struck me. As I did so, I perceived my husband in his window, but his + eyes, while upon me, did not see me, for no change passed over him as I + groped about in the grass. “In one of his contemplative moods,” thought I, + continuing my search. In another instant I started up. I had found a + little thing like a bullet wrapped up in paper; but it was no bullet; it + was a bead, a large gold bead, and on the paper which surrounded it were + written words so fine I could not at first decipher them, but as soon as I + had stepped away far enough to be out of the reach of the eyes I both + loved and feared more than any in the world, I managed, by dint of great + patience, and by placing the almost transparent paper on which they were + written over one of the white satin strings of the cape I wore, to read + these words: + </p> + <p> + “Help from the passing stranger! I am Elizabeth Ransome, owner of the + house in which I have been imprisoned five years. Search for me in the + upper story. You will find me there with my blind daughter. He who placed + us here is below; beware his cunning.” + </p> + <p> + And underneath, these words: + </p> + <p> + “This is the twenty-fifth attempt I have made to attract attention to our + unhappy fate. I can make but two more. There are but two beads left of + Theresa’s necklace.” + </p> + <p> + “What is the matter, ma’am? Are you ill?” It was Ambrose; I knew his + voice. + </p> + <p> + Crushing the paper in my hand, I tried to look up; but it was in vain. The + sting of sudden and complete disillusion had struck me to the heart; I + knew my husband to be a villain. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. I LEARN HYPOCRISY. + </h2> + <p> + Only eighteen, but from that moment, a woman. Sunk in horror as I was, I + yet had wit enough to clap my hands to my head and say I had been dazzled + by the sun. + </p> + <p> + Ambrose, who, in the week I had been with them, had shown himself + delighted with the change my coming had made in the house, looked alarmed + at this and wanted to call Mr. Allison; but I forbade him, and said I + would go in by myself, which I did under a stress of will-power rarely + exercised, I dare believe, by a girl so young and so miserable. + </p> + <p> + “What shall I say to him? how shall I meet him? how can I hide my + knowledge and act as if this thing had never been?” For even in that rush + of confusing emotions I recognized one fact; that I must not betray by + look or word that I knew his dreadful secret. If he were villain enough to + keep a woman, and that woman the rightful owner of the property he was + himself enjoying, in a prison he had made for her in her own house, then + he was villain enough to strangle the one who had discovered this fact, + were she the cherished darling of his seared and calculating heart. I was + afraid of him now that I knew him, yet I never thought of flying his + presence or revealing his crime. He was, villain or no villain, my + husband, and nothing could ever undo that fact or make it true that I had + never loved him. + </p> + <p> + So I went in, but went in slowly and with downcast eyes. The bead and the + paper I had dropped into my <i>vinaigrette</i>, which fortunately hung at + my side. + </p> + <p> + “Humphrey,” I said, “when are we going to leave this house? I begin to + find it lonesome.” + </p> + <p> + He was preparing to gather up his papers for his accustomed trip down + town, but he stopped as I spoke, and look at me curiously. + </p> + <p> + “You are pale,” he remarked, “change and travel will benefit you. Dearest, + we will try to sail for Europe in a week.” + </p> + <p> + A week! What did he mean? Leave his prisoners—alas, I understood his + journeys to the top of the house now—and go away to Europe? I felt + myself grow livid at the thought, and caught a spray of lilac from the + table where I stood and held it to my face. + </p> + <p> + “Will your business affairs warrant it?” I asked. “Are you sure Mrs. + Ransome’s affairs will not suffer by your absence?” Then, as I saw him + turn white, I made a ghastly effort, happily hid by the flowers I held + pressed against my face, and suggested, laughingly, “How, if she should + come back after your departure! would she meet the greeting she deserves?” + </p> + <p> + He was half the room away from me, but I heard the click of subdued + passion in his throat, and turned sick almost to the point of fainting. + “It is four days since you mentioned Mrs. Ransome’s name,” he said. “When + we are gone from here you must promise that it shall never again pass your + lips. Mrs. Ransome is not a good woman, Delight.” + </p> + <p> + It was a lie yet his manner of speaking it, and the look with which he now + approached me, made me feel helpless again, and I made haste to rush from + the room, ostensibly to prepare for our trip down town, in order to escape + my own weakness and gain a momentary self-possession before we faced the + outside world. Only eighteen years old and confronted by such a diabolical + problem! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. THE STOLEN KEY. + </h2> + <p> + I was too young to reason in those days. Had I not been, had I been able + to say to myself that no act requiring such continued precaution could + take place in the heart of a great city without ultimate, if not instant, + detection, instinct would still have assured me that what I read was true, + however improbable or unheard of it might seem. That the recognition of + this fact imposed upon me two almost irreconcilable duties I was slower to + perceive. But soon, too soon, it became apparent even to my girlish mind, + that, as the wife of the man who had committed this great and + inconceivable wrong, I was bound, not only to make an immediate attempt to + release the women he so outrageously held imprisoned in their own house, + but to so release them that he should escape the opprobrium of his own + act. + </p> + <p> + That I might have time to think, and that I might be saved, if but for one + day, contact with one it was almost my duty to hate, I came back to him + with the plea that I might spend the day with the Vandykes instead of + accompanying him down town as usual. I think he was glad of the freedom my + absence offered him, for he gave me the permission I asked, and in ten + minutes I was in my old home. Mrs. Vandyke received me with effusion. It + was not the first time she had seen me since my marriage, but it was the + first time she had seen me alone. + </p> + <p> + “My dear!” she exclaimed, turning me about till my unwilling face met the + light, “is this the wild-wood lassie I gave into Mr. Allison’s keeping a + week ago!” + </p> + <p> + “It is the house!” I excitedly gasped, “the empty, lonely, echoing house! + I am afraid in it, even with my husband. It gives me creepy feelings, <i>as + if a murder had been committed in it</i>.” + </p> + <p> + She broke into a laugh; I hear the sound now, an honest, amused and + entirely reassuring laugh, that relieved me in one way and depressed me in + another. “The idea! <i>that</i> house!” she cried. “I never thought you a + girl to have nervous fancies. Why, it is the most matter-of-fact old + mansion in the city. All its traditions are of the most respectable kind; + no skeleton in those closets! By the way, my dear, has Mr. Allison shown + you any of the curious old things those rooms must contain?” + </p> + <p> + I managed to stammer out a reply, “Mr. Allison does not consider that his + rights extend so far. I have never crossed the drawing-room floor.” + </p> + <p> + “Well! that is carrying honor to an extreme. I am afraid I should not be + able to suppress my curiosity to that extent. Is he afraid of the old lady + returning unexpectedly and catching him?” + </p> + <p> + I could not echo her laugh; I could not even smile; I could only pucker up + my brows as if angry. + </p> + <p> + “Everything is kept in shape, so that if she does return she will find the + house comfortable,” I said; then, with a rising sense of having by this + speech suggested a falsehood, I hastily dropped the topic, and, with an + entire change of manner, remarked, airily: + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Ransome must have gone off very suddenly, to leave everything so + exposed in a house as splendid as that. Most people, however rich, see to + their choice things more carefully.” + </p> + <p> + She rose to the bait. “Mrs. Ransome is a queer woman. Her things are of + but little account to her; to save her daughter from a moment’s pain she + would part with the house itself, let alone the accumulations it contains. + That is why she left the country so suddenly.” + </p> + <p> + I waited a moment under the pretense of admiring a locket she wore, then I + suggested, quietly: + </p> + <p> + “My husband told you that?” + </p> + <p> + The answer was as careless as the speaker. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I don’t know who told me. It’s five years ago now, but every one at + the time understood that she was angry, because some one mentioned + blindness before her daughter. Mrs. Ransome had regarded it as a religious + duty to raise her daughter in ignorance of her affliction. When she found + she could not do so among her friends and acquaintances, she took her away + to a strange land. It is the only tradition, which is not commonplace, + which belongs to the family. Let us go up and see my new gowns. I have had + two come home from Arnold’s since you went away.” + </p> + <p> + I thought the gowns would keep a minute longer. “Did Mrs. Ransome say + good-by to her friends?” I asked. “Somehow this matter strikes me as being + very romantic.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that shows what a puss you are. No, Mrs. Ransome did not say good-by + to her friends, that is, not to us. She just went, leaving everything in + your husband’s charge, who certainly has acquitted himself of the + obligation most religiously. And now will you see the gowns?” + </p> + <p> + I tortured myself by submitting to this ordeal, then I ventured on another + and entirely different attempt to clear up the mystery that was fast + stifling out my youth, love and hope. I professed to have an extraordinary + desire to see the city from the house-top. I had never been any higher up + than the third story of any house I had been in, and could not, I told + her, go any higher in the house in which I was then living. Might I go up + on her roof? Her eyes opened, but she was of an amiable, inconsequent + disposition and let me have my way without too much opposition. So, + together with a maid she insisted upon sending with me, I made my way + through the skylight on to the roof, and so into full view of the + neighboring house-tops. + </p> + <p> + One glance at the spot I was most interested in, and I found myself too + dizzy to look further. In the center of Mrs. Ransome’s roof there was to + be seen what I can best describe as an extended cupola without windows. As + there was no other break visible in the roof, the top of this must have + held the skylight, which, being thus lifted many feet above the level of + the garret floor, would admit air and light enough to the boarded-up space + below, but would make any effort to be heard or seen, on the part of any + one secreted there, quite ineffectual. One might, by a great effort, fling + up a bead out of this funnel-shaped opening, but, even to my limited sense + of mechanics, the chances seemed very unfavorable towards it doing much + more than roll over the spacious roof into the huge gutters surrounding + it. + </p> + <p> + Yet, if it chose to bound, it might clear the coping and fall, as one had + fallen, on the devoted head of a person walking on the lawn below. All + this I saw at a glance, and then, sick and dizzy, I crept back, and, with + but little apology for my abruptness, took leave of Mrs. Vandyke and left + the house. + </p> + <p> + The resolution I took in doing this was worthy of an older head and a more + disciplined heart. By means that were fair, or by means that were foul, I + meant to win my way into that boarded-up attic and see for myself if the + words hidden away in my vinaigrette were true. To do this openly would + cause a scandal I was yet too much under my husband’s influence to risk; + while to do it secretly meant the obtaining of keys which I had every + reason to believe he kept hidden about his person. How was I to obtain + them? I saw no way, but that did not deter me from starting at once down + town in the hope of being struck by some brilliant idea while waiting for + him in his office. + </p> + <p> + Was it instinct that suggested this, or was the hand of Providence in all + that I did at this time? I had no sooner seated myself in the little room, + where I had been accustomed to wait for him, than I saw what sent the + blood tingling to my finger-tips in sudden hope. It was my husband’s vest + hanging in one corner, the vest he had worn down town that morning. The + day was warm and he had taken it off. <i>If the key should be in it!</i> + </p> + <p> + I had never done a mean or underhanded thing before in my life, but I + sprang at that vest without the least hesitation, and fingering it with + the lightest of touches, found in the smallest of inside pockets a key, + which instinct immediately told me was that of the door I had once + endeavored to pass. Oh, the rush of feeling overwhelming me as I held it + in my hand! Would he miss it if I carried it off? Would I be able to + return to the house, see what I wanted to see, and get back in time to + restore it before he wanted his vest? It was early yet, and he was very + busy; I might succeed, and if I failed, and he detected his loss, why I + alone would be the sufferer; and was I not a sufferer now? Dropping the + key into my pocket, I went back into the outer room, and leaving word that + I had remembered a little shopping which would take me again up town, I + left the building and returned to ——— Street. My + emotions were indescribable, but I preserved as sedate an appearance as + possible, and was able to account for my return in a natural enough way to + Ambrose when he opened the door for me. To brave his possible curiosity by + going up-stairs, required a still greater effort; but the thought that my + intentions were pure and my daring legitimate, sustained me in the ordeal, + and I ran, singing, up the first flight, glad that Ambrose had no better + ear for music than to be pleased with what he probably considered an + evidence of happiness on the part of his young mistress. + </p> + <p> + I was out of breath with suspense, as well as with my rapid movements, + when I reached the shut-in staircase and carefully unlocked its narrow + door. But by the time I had reached the fourth floor, and unlocked, with + the same key, the only other door that had a streak of light under it, I + had gained a certain degree of tense composure born of the desperate + nature of the occasion. The calmness with which I pushed open the door + proved this—a calmness which made the movement noiseless, which was + the reason, I suppose, why I was enabled to suppress the shriek that rose + to my lips as I saw that the room had occupants, and that my worst fears + were thus realized. + </p> + <p> + A woman was sitting, with her back to me, at a table, and before her, with + her face turned my way, was a young girl in whom, even at first glance, I + detected some likeness to myself. Was this why Mr. Allison’s countenance + expressed so much agitation when he first saw me? The next moment this + latter lifted her head and looked directly at me, but with no change in + her mobile features; at which token of blindness I almost fell on my + knees, so conclusively did it prove that I was really looking upon Mrs. + Ransome and her daughter. + </p> + <p> + The mother, who had been directing her daughter’s hands in some + needlework, felt that the latter’s attention had been diverted. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, dear?” she asked, with an indescribable mellowness of voice, + whose tone thrilled me with a fresh and passionate pity. + </p> + <p> + “I thought I heard Mr. Allison come in, but he always knocks; besides, it + is not time for him yet.” And she sighed. + </p> + <p> + That sigh went through my heart, rousing new feelings and deeper terrors; + but I had no time to indulge in them, for the mother turned at the gasp + which left my lips, and rising up, confronted me with an amazement which + left her without any ability to speak. + </p> + <p> + “Who is it, mother?” inquired the blind girl, herself rising and beaming + upon me with the sweetest of looks. + </p> + <p> + “Let me answer,” I ventured, softly. “I am Mr. Allison’s wife. I have come + to see if there is anything I can do to make your stay here more + comfortable.” + </p> + <p> + The look that passed over the mother’s face warned me to venture no + further in the daughter’s presence. Whatever that mother had suffered, the + daughter had experienced nothing but satisfied love and companionship in + these narrow precincts. Her rounded cheeks showed this, and the + indescribable atmosphere of peace and gladness which surrounded her. As I + saw this, and realized the mother’s life and the self-restraint which had + enabled her to accept the inevitable without raising a complaint + calculated to betray to the daughter that all was not as it should be with + them, I felt such a rush of awe sweep over me that some of my fathomless + emotion showed in my face; for Mrs. Ransome’s own countenance assumed a + milder look, and advancing nearer, she pointed out a room where we could + speak apart. As I moved towards it she whispered a few words in her + daughter’s ear, then she rejoined me. + </p> + <p> + “I did not know Mr. Allison was married,” were her first words. + </p> + <p> + “Madame,” said I, “I did not know we were the guests of a lady who chooses + to live in retirement.” And opening my vinaigrette, I took out the bead + and the little note which had enwrapped it. “This was my first warning + that my husband was not what I had been led to consider him,” I murmured. + “Mrs. Ransome, I am in need of almost as much pity as yourself. I have + been married just six days.” + </p> + <p> + She gave a cry, looked me wildly in the face, and then sank upon her + knees, lifting up thanks to heaven. “Twenty-four of these notes,” said + she; “have I written, and flung upward through that lofty skylight, + weighted by the beads he left wound about my darling daughter’s neck. This + one only has brought me the least response. Does he know? Is he willing + that you should come up here?” + </p> + <p> + “I have come at the risk of my life,” I quietly answered. “He does not + know that I have surprised his secret. He would kill me if he did. Madame, + I want to free you, but I want to do it without endangering him. I am his + wife, and three hours ago I loved him.” + </p> + <p> + Her face, which had turned very pale, approached mine with a look I hardly + expected to encounter there. “I understand,” she said; “I comprehend + devotion; I have felt it for my daughter. Else I could not have survived + the wrong of this incarceration, and my forcible severance from old + associations and friends. I loved <i>her</i>, and since the knowledge of + her affliction, and the still worse knowledge that she had been made the + victim of a man’s greed to an extent not often surpassed in this world, + would have made her young life wretched without securing the least + alleviation to our fate, I have kept both facts from her, and she does not + know that closed doors mean bondage any more than she knows that + unrelieved darkness means blindness. She is absolutely ignorant that there + is such a thing as light.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, madame!” I murmured, “Oh, madame! Show a poor girl what she can do to + restore you to your rights. The door is open and you can descend; but that + means——- Oh, madame, I am filled with terror when I think + what. He may be in the hall now. He may have missed the key and returned. + If only you were out of the house!” + </p> + <p> + “My dear girl,” she quietly replied, “we will be some day. You will see to + that, I know. I do not think I could stay here, now that I have seen + another face than his. But I do not want to go now, to-day. I want to + prepare Theresa for freedom; she has lived so long quietly with me that I + dread the shock and excitement of other voices and the pressure of city + sounds upon her delicate ears. I must train her for contact with the + world. But you won’t forget me if I allow you to lock us in again? You + will come back and open the doors, and let me go down again through my old + halls into the room where my husband died; and if Mr. Allison objects—— + My dear girl, you know now that he is an unscrupulous man, that it is my + money he begrudged me, and that he has used it and made himself a rich + man. But he has one spark of grace in him. He has never forgotten that we + needed bread and clothes. He has waited on us himself, and never have we + suffered from physical want. Therefore, he may not object now. He may feel + that he has enriched himself sufficiently to let us go free, and if I must + give my oath to let the past go without explanation, why I am ready, my + dear; nothing can undo it now, and I am grown too old to want money except + for her.” “I cannot,” I murmured, “I cannot find courage to present the + subject to him so. I do not know my husband’s mind. It is a fathomless + abyss to me. Let me think of some other way. Oh, madam! if you were out of + the house, and could then come——” Suddenly a thought struck + me. “I can do it; I see the way to do it—a way that will place you + in a triumphant position, and yet save him from suspicion. He is weary of + this care. He wants to be relieved of the dreadful secret which anchors + him to this house, and makes a hell of the very spot in which he has fixed + his love. Shall we undertake to do his for him? Can you trust me if I + promise to take an immediate impression of this key, and have one made for + myself, which shall insure my return here?” + </p> + <p> + “My dear,” she said, taking my head between her two trembling hands, “I + have never looked upon a sweeter face than my daughter’s till I looked + upon yours to-day. If you bid me hope, I will hope, and if you bid me + trust, I will trust. The remembrance of this kiss will not let you + forget.” And she embraced me in a warm and tender manner. + </p> + <p> + “I will write you,” I murmured. “Some day look for a billet under the + door. It will tell you what to do; now I must go back to my husband.” + </p> + <p> + And, with a sudden access of fear, caused by my dread of meeting his eyes + with this hidden knowledge between us, I hastened out and locked the door + behind me. + </p> + <p> + When I reached the office, I was in a fainting condition, but all my hopes + revived again when I saw the vest still hanging where I had left it, and + heard my husband’s voice singing cheerfully in the adjoining room. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. WHILE OTHERS DANCED. + </h2> + <p> + I CANNOT enter into the feelings of this dreadful time. I do not know if I + loved or hated the man I had undertaken to save. I only know I was + determined to bring light out of darkness in a way that would compromise + nobody, possibly not even myself. But to do this I must dazzle him into + giving me a great pleasure. A crowd in the ——— Street + house was necessary to the quiet escape of Mrs. Ransome and her daughter; + so a crowd we must have, and how have a crowd without giving a grand + party? I knew that this would be a shocking proposition to him, but I was + prepared to meet all objections; and when, with every nerve alert and + every charm exerted to its utmost, I sat down at his side that evening to + plead my cause, I knew by the sparkle of his eye and the softening of the + bitter lines that sometimes hardened his mouth, that the battle was half + won before I spoke, and that I should have my party whatever it might cost + him in mental stress and worry. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps he was glad to find me given over to folly at a time when he was + waiting for a miracle to release him from the net of crime in which he had + involved himself; perhaps he merely thought it would please me, and aid + him to thus strengthen our position in the social world before taking our + flight to a foreign land; but whatever lay at the bottom of his amenity, + he gave me <i>carte blanche</i> that night for an entertainment that + should embrace all his friends and mine and some of Mrs. Vandyke’s. So I + saw that doubt removed. + </p> + <p> + The next thing I did was to procure a <i>facsimile</i> of his key from the + wax impression I had taken of it in accordance with my promise to Mrs. + Ransome. Then I wrote her a letter, in which I gave her the minutest + directions as to her own movements on that important evening. After which + I gave myself up entirely to the business of the party. Certain things I + had insisted on. All the rooms were to be opened, even those on the third + floor; and I was to have a band to play in the hall. He did not deny me + anything. I think his judgment was asleep, or else he was so taken up with + the horrible problem presented by his desire to leave the city and the + existence of those obligations which made departure an impossibility, that + he failed to place due stress on matters which, at another time, might + very well seem to threaten the disclosure of his dangerous secret. + </p> + <p> + At last the night came. + </p> + <p> + An entertainment given in this great house had aroused much interest. Most + of our invitations had been accepted, and the affair promised to be + brilliant. As a bride, I wore white, and when, at the moment of going + downstairs, my husband suddenly clasped about my neck a rich necklace of + diamonds, I was seized by such a bitter sense of the contrast between + appearances and the awful reality underlying these festivities, that I + reeled in his arms, and had to employ all the arts which my dangerous + position had taught me, to quiet his alarm, and convince him that my + emotion sprang entirely from pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the band was playing and the carriages were rolling up in front. + What he thought as the music filled the house and rose in piercing melody + to the very roof, I cannot say. <i>I</i> thought how it was a message of + release to those weary and abused ones above; and, filled with the sense + of support which the presence of so many people in the house gave me, I + drew up my girlish figure in glad excitement and prepared myself for the + ordeal, visible and invisible, which awaited me. + </p> + <p> + The next two hours form a blank in my memory. Standing under Mrs. + Ransome’s picture (I <i>would</i> stand there), I received the + congratulations of the hundred or more people who were anxious to see Mr. + Allison’s bride, and of the whole glittering pageant I remember only the + whispered words of Mrs. Vandyke as she passed with the rest: “My dear, I + take back what I said the other day about the effect of marriage upon you. + You are the most brilliant woman here, and Mr. Allison the happiest of + men.” This was an indication that all was going well. But what of the + awful morning-hour that awaited us! Would that show him a happy man? + </p> + <p> + At last our guests were assembled, and I had an instant to myself. + Murmuring a prayer for courage, I slid from the room and ran up-stairs. + Here all was bustle also—a bustle I delighted in, for, with so many + people moving about, Mrs. Ransome and her daughter could pass out without + attracting more than a momentary attention. Securing a bundle I had myself + prepared, I glided up the second staircase, and, after a moment’s delay, + succeeded in unlocking the door and disappearing with my bundle into the + fourth story. When I came down, the key I had carried up was left behind + me. The way for Mrs. Ransome’s escape lay open. + </p> + <p> + I do not think I had been gone ten minutes from the drawing-room. When I + returned there, it was to find the festivities at their height, and my + husband just on the point of missing me. The look which he directed + to-wards me pierced me to the heart; not that I was playing him false, for + I was risking life, love and the loss of everything I prized, to save him + from himself; but that his love for me should be so strong he could forget + the two tortured hearts above, in the admiration I had awakened in the + shallow people about us. But I smiled, as a woman on the rack might smile + if the safety of her loved ones depended on her courage, and, nerving + myself for the suspense of such a waiting as few of my inexperience have + ever been called upon to endure, I turned to a group of ladies I saw near + me and began to talk. + </p> + <p> + Happily, I did not have to chatter long; happily, Mrs. Ransome was quick + in her movements and exact in all she did, and, sooner than I expected, + sooner, perhaps, than I was prepared for it, the man who attended the + front door came to my side and informed me that a lady wished to see me—a + lady who had just arrived from the steamer, and who said she was the + mistress of the house, Mrs. Ransome. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Ransome! The name spread like wildfire, but before any movement was + made, I had bounded, in laughing confusion, to my husband’s side, and, + grasping him merrily by the arm, cried: + </p> + <p> + “Your expectations have come true. Mrs. Ransome has returned without + warning, and tonight she will partake of the supper you have always had + served for her.” + </p> + <p> + The shock was as great, perhaps, as ever man received. I knew what it was + likely to be, and held him upright, with the seeming merriment in my eyes + which I did not allow to stray from his. He thought I was mad, then he + thought he was—then I recalled him to the dangers and exigencies of + the moment by saying, with forced <i>naïveté</i>: “Shall I go and welcome + her to this gathering in her own house, or will you do the honors? She may + not know <i>me</i>.” + </p> + <p> + He moved, but as a statue might move, shot through and through with an + electric spark. I saw that I must act, rather than he, so uttering some + girlish sentence about the mice and cat, I glided away into the hall, + where Mrs. Ransome stood in the nondescript black cloak and bonnet I had + provided her from her own wardrobe. She had slipped a few moments before + from the house with her daughter, whom she had placed in a carriage, which + I had ordered to wait for them directly in front of the lamppost, and had + now re-entered as the mistress returning unexpectedly after a departure of + five years. All had been done as I had planned, and it only remained to + carry on the farce and prevent its developing into a tragedy. + </p> + <p> + Rushing up to her, I told her who I was, and, as we were literally + surrounded in a moment, added such apologies for the merrymaking in which + she found us indulging as my wit suggested and the occasion seemed to + demand. Then I allowed her to speak. Instantly she was the mistress of the + house. Old-fashioned as her dress was, and changed as her figure must have + been, she had that imposing bearing which great misfortune, nobly borne, + gives to some natures, and feeling the eyes of many of her old friends + upon her, she graciously smiled and said that she was delighted to receive + so public a welcome. Then she took me by the hand. + </p> + <p> + “Do not worry, child,” she said, “I have a daughter about your age, which + in itself would make me lenient towards one so young and pretty. Where is + your husband, dear? He has served me well in my absence, and I should like + to shake hands with him before I withdraw with my daughter, to a hotel for + the night.” + </p> + <p> + I looked up; he was standing in the open doorway leading into the + drawing-room. He had recovered a semblance of composure, but the hand + fingering the inner pocket, where he kept his keys, showed in what a + tumult of surprise and doubt he had been thrown by this unaccountable + appearance of his prisoner in the open hall; and if to other eyes he + showed no more than the natural confusion of the moment, to me he had the + look of a secretly desperate man, alive to his danger, and only holding + himself in check in order to measure it. + </p> + <p> + At the mention she made of his name, he came mechanically forward, and, + taking her proffered hand, bowed over it. “Welcome.” he murmured, in + strained tones; then, startled by the pressure of her fingers on his, he + glanced doubtfully up while she said: + </p> + <p> + “We will have no talk to-night, my faithful and careful friend, but + to-morrow you may come and see me at the Fifth Avenue. You will find that + my return will not lessen your manifest happiness.” Then, as he began to + tremble, she laid her hand on his arm, and I heard her smilingly whisper: + “You have too pretty a wife for me not to wish my return to be a + benefaction to her.” And, with a smile to the crowd and an admonition to + those about her not to let the little bride suffer from this interruption, + she disappeared through the great front door on the arm of the man who for + five years had held her prisoner in her own house. I went back into the + drawing-room, and the five minutes which elapsed between that moment and + that of his return were the most awful of my life. When he came back I had + aged ten years, yet all that time I was laughing and talking. + </p> + <p> + He did not rejoin me immediately; he went up-stairs. I knew why; he had + gone to see if the door to the fourth floor had been unlocked or simply + broken down. When he came back he gave me one look. Did he suspect me? I + could not tell. After that, there was another blank in my memory to the + hour when the guests were all gone, the house all silent, and we stood + together in a little room, where I had at last discovered him, withdrawn + by himself, writing. There was a loaded pistol on the table. The paper he + had been writing was his will. + </p> + <p> + “Humphrey,” said I, placing a finger on the pistol, “why is this?” + </p> + <p> + He gave me a look, a hungry, passionate look, then he grew as white as the + paper he had just subscribed with his name. + </p> + <p> + “I am ruined,” he murmured. “I have made unwarrantable use of Mrs. + Ransome’s money; her return has undone me. Delight, I love you, but I + cannot face the future. You will be provided for——” + </p> + <p> + “Will I?” I put in softly, very softly, for my way was strewn with + pitfalls and precipices. “I do not think so, Humphrey. If the money you + have put away is not yours, my first care would be to restore it. Then + what would I have left? A dowry of odium and despair, and I am scarcely + eighteen.” + </p> + <p> + “But—but—you do not understand, Delight. I have been a + villain, a worse villain than you think. The only thing in my life I have + not to blush for is my love for you. This is pure, even if it has been + selfish. I know it is pure, because I have begun to suffer. If I could + tell you—— + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Ransome has already told me,” said I. “Who do you think unlocked the + door of her retreat? I, Humphrey. I wanted to save you from yourself, and + <i>she</i> understands me. She will never reveal the secret of the years + she has passed overhead.” + </p> + <p> + Would he hate me? Would he love me? Would he turn that fatal weapon on me, + or level it again towards his own breast? For a moment I could not tell; + then the white horror in his face broke up, and, giving me a look I shall + never forget till I die, he fell prostrate on his knees and lowered his + proud head before me. + </p> + <p> + I did not touch it, but from that moment the schooling of our two hearts + began, and, though I can never look upon my husband with the frank joy I + see in other women’s faces, I have learned not to look upon him with + distrust, and to thank God I did not forsake him when desertion might have + meant the destruction of the one small seed of goodness which had + developed in his heart with the advent of a love for which nothing in his + whole previous life had prepared him. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hermit Of ------ Street, by +Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERMIT OF ------ STREET *** + +***** This file should be named 22809-h.htm or 22809-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/8/0/22809/ + +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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