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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.12.12.00*END* + + + + + +This etext was produced by Donald Lainson, charlie@idirect.com. + + + + + +CAP'N WARREN'S WARDS + +by JOSEPH C. LINCOLN + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +"Ostable!" screamed the brakeman, opening the car door and yelling +his loudest, so as to be heard above the rattle of the train and +the shriek of the wind; "Ostable!" + +The brakeman's cap was soaked through, his hair was plastered down +on his forehead, and, in the yellow light from the car lamps, his +wet nose glistened as if varnished. Over his shoulders the shiny +ropes of rain whipped and lashed across the space between the cars. +The windows streamed as each succeeding gust flung its miniature +freshet against them. + +The passengers in the car--there were but four of them--did not +seem greatly interested in the brakeman's announcement. The red- +faced person in the seat nearest the rear slept soundly, as he had +done for the last hour and a half. He had boarded the train at +Brockton, and, after requesting the conductor not to "lemme me git +by Bayport, Bill," at first favored his fellow travelers with a +song and then sank into slumber. + +The two elderly men sitting together on the right-hand side of the +car droned on in their apparently endless Jeremiad concerning the +low price of cranberries, the scarcity of scallops on the flats, +the reasons why the fish weirs were a failure nowadays, and similar +cheerful topics. And in his seat on the left, Mr. Atwood Graves, +junior partner in the New York firm of Sylvester, Kuhn and Graves, +lawyers, stirred uneasily on the lumpy plush cushion, looked at his +watch, then at the time-table in his hand, noted that the train was +now seventy-two minutes late, and for at least the fifteenth time +mentally cursed the railway company, the whole of Cape Cod from +Sandwich to Provincetown, and the fates which had brought him +there. + +The train slowed down, in a jerky, hiccoughy sort of way, and crept +on till the car in which Mr. Graves was seated was abreast the +lighted windows of a small station, where it stopped. Peering +through the water-streaked pane at the end of his seat, the lawyer +saw dim silhouettes of uncertain outline moving about. They moved +with provoking slowness. He felt that it would be joy unspeakable +to rush out there and thump them into animation. The fact that +the stately Atwood Graves even thought of such an undignified +proceeding is sufficient indication of his frame of mind. + +Then, behind the door which the brakeman, after announcing the +station, had closed again, sounded a big laugh. The heartiness of +it grated on Mr. Graves's nerves. What idiot could laugh on such a +night as this aboard a train over an hour late? + +The laugh was repeated. Then the door was flung briskly open, and +a man entered the car. He was a big man, broad-shouldered, +inclined to stoutness, wearing a cloth cap with a visor, and a +heavy ulster, the collar of which was turned up. Through the gap +between the open ends of the collar bristled a short, grayish +beard. The face above the beard and below the visor was sunburned, +with little wrinkles about the eyes and curving lines from the +nostrils to the corners of the mouth. The upper lip was shaved, +and the eyebrows were heavy and grayish black. Cap, face, and +ulster were dripping with water. + +The newcomer paused in the doorway for an instant, evidently to add +the finishing touch to a conversation previously begun. + +"Well, I tell you, Ezra," he called, over his shoulder, "if it's +too deep to wade, maybe I can swim. Fat floats, they tell me, and +Abbie says I'm gettin' fleshier every day. So long." + +He closed the door and, smiling broadly, swung down the aisle. The +pair of calamity prophets broke off their lament over the declining +fisheries and greeted him almost jovially. + +"Hello, Cap'n!" cried one. "What's the south shore doin' over here +in this flood?" + +"What's the matter, Cap'n?" demanded the other. "Broke loose from +your moorin's, have you? Did you ever see such a night in your +life?" + +The man in the ulster shook hands with each of his questioners, +removing a pair of wet, heavy leather gloves as he did so. + +"Don't know's I ever did, Dan," he answered. "Couldn't see much of +this one but its color--and that's black. I come over this mornin' +to attend to some business at the court-house--deeds to some +cranberry bog property I just bought--and Judge Baxter made me go +home with him to dinner. Stayed at his house all the afternoon, +and then his man, Ezra Hallett, undertook to drive me up here to +the depot. Talk about blind pilotin'! Whew! The Judge's horse +was a new one, not used to the roads, Ezra's near-sighted, and I +couldn't use my glasses 'count of the rain. Let alone that, 'twas +darker'n the fore-hold of Noah's ark. Ho, ho! Sometimes we was in +the ruts and sometimes we was in the bushes. I told Ez we'd ought +to have fetched along a dipsy lead, then maybe we could get our +bearin's by soundin's. 'Couldn't see 'em if we did get 'em,' says +he. 'No,' says I, 'but we could taste 'em. Man that's driven +through as much Ostable mud as you have ought to know the taste of +every road in town.'" + +"Well, you caught the train, anyhow," observed Dan. + +"Yup. If we'd been crippled as WELL as blind we could have done +that." He seated himself just in front of the pair and glanced +across the aisle at Mr. Graves, to find the latter looking intently +at him. + +"Pretty tough night," he remarked, nodding. + +"Yes," replied the lawyer briefly. He did not encourage conversation +with casual acquaintances. The latest arrival had caught his +attention because there was something familiar about him. It seemed +to Graves that he must have seen him before; and yet that was very +improbable. This was the attorney's first visit to Cape Cod, and he +had already vowed devoutly that it should be his last. He turned a +chilling shoulder to the trio opposite and again consulted the +time-table. Denboro was the next station; then--thank the Lord-- +South Denboro, his destination. + +Conversation across the aisle was brisk, and its subjects were many +and varied. Mr. Graves became aware, more or less against his +will, that the person called "Cap'n" was, if not a leader in +politics and local affairs, still one whose opinions counted. Some +of those opinions, as given, were pointed and dryly descriptive; +as, for instance, when a certain town-meeting candidate was +compared to a sculpin--"with a big head that sort of impresses you, +till you get close enough to realize it HAS to be big to make room +for so much mouth." Graves, who was fond of salt water fishing, +knew what a sculpin was, and appreciated the comparison. + +The conductor entered the car and stopped to collect a ticket from +his new passenger. It was evident that he, too, was acquainted +with the latter. + +"Evening, Cap'n," he said, politely. "Train's a little late to- +night." + +"It is--for to-night's train," was the prompt response, "but if it +keeps on at the rate it's travelin' now, it'll be a little early +for to-morrow mornin's, won't it?" + +The conductor laughed. "Guess you're right," he said. "This is +about as wet a storm as I've run through since I've been on the +road. If we get to Provincetown without a washout we'll be +lucky . . . Well, we've made another hitch. So far, so good." + +The brakeman swung open the door to shout, "Denboro! Denboro!" the +conductor picked up his lantern and hurried away, the locomotive +whistled hoarsely, and the train hiccoughed alongside another +little station. Mr. Graves, peering through his window, imagined +that here the silhouettes on the platform moved more briskly. They +seemed almost excited. He inferred that Denboro was a bigger and +more wide-awake village than Ostable. + +But he was mistaken. The reason for the excitement was made plain +by the conductor a moment afterwards. That official entered the +car, removed his uniform cap, and rubbed a wet forehead with a +wetter hand. + +"Well, gentlemen," he said, "I've been expecting it, and here it +is. Mark me down as a good prophet, will you? There's a washout a +mile further on, and a telegraph pole across the track. It's +blowing great guns and raining pitchforks. It'll be out of the +question for us to go forward before daylight, if then. Darn a +railroad man's job anyhow!" + +Five minutes later Mr. Graves descended the steps of the car, his +traveling bag in one hand and an umbrella in the other. As soon as +both feet were securely planted on the platform, he put down the +bag to wrestle with the umbrella and the hurricane, which was +apparently blowing from four directions at once. Feeling his hat +leaving his head, he became aware that the umbrella had turned +inside out. He threw the wreck violently under the train and +stooped to pick up the bag. The bag was no longer there. + +"It's all right," said a calm voice behind him. "I've got your +satchel, neighbor. Better beat for harbor, hadn't we? Here! this +way." + +The bewildered New Yorker felt his arm seized in a firm grip, and +he was rushed across the platform, through a deluge of wind-driven +water, and into a small, hot, close-smelling waiting room. When he +pushed his hat clear of his eyes he saw that his rescuer was the +big man who boarded the train at Ostable. He was holding the +missing bag and smiling. + +"Dirty weather, hey?" he observed, pleasantly. "Sorry your +umbrella had to go by the board. I see you was carryin' too much +canvas and tried to run alongside in time to give you a tow; but +you was dismasted just as I got there. Here's your dunnage, all +safe and sound." + +He extended the traveling bag at arm's length. Mr. Graves accepted +his property and murmured thanks, not too cordially. His dignity +and temper had gone overboard with the umbrella, and he had not yet +recovered them. + +"Well," went on his companion, "here we are! And I, for one, +wanted to be somewheres else. Caleb," turning to the station +master, who came in at that moment, "any way of my gettin' home +to-night?" + +"'Fraid not, Cap'n," was the answer. "I don't know of any. Guess +you'll have to put up at the hotel and wait till mornin'." + +"That's right," agreed the passenger called "Dan," who was standing +near. "That's what Jerry and I are goin' to do." + +"Yes, but you and Jerry are bound for Orham. I'm booked for South +Denboro, and that's only seven miles off. I'd SWIM the whole seven +rather than put up at Sim Titcomb's hotel. I've been there afore, +thank you! Look here, Caleb, can't I hire a team and drive over?" + +"Well, I don't know. S'pose you might ring up Pete Shattuck and +ask him. He's pretty particular about his horses, though, and I +cal'late he--" + +"All right. I'll ring him up. Pete ought to get over some of his +particularness to oblige me. I've helped HIM once or twice." + +He was on his way to the ticket office, where the telephone hung on +the wall. But Mr. Graves stepped forward and spoke to him. + +"Excuse me, sir," said the lawyer. "Did I understand you to say +you were going to South Denboro?" + +"Yes. I am, if the powers--and Pete Shattuck--'ll let me." + +"You were going to drive over? May I go with you? I'm very +anxious to get to South Denboro tonight. I have some very +important business there, and I want to complete it and get away +to-morrow. I must be back in New York by the morning following." + +The captain looked his questioner over. There was a doubtful look +on his face, and he smiled quizzically. + +"Well, I don't know, Mr.--" + +"Graves is my name." + +"I don't know, Mr. Graves. This ain't goin' to be a pleasure +cruise exactly. You might get pretty wet." + +"I don't care. I can get dry again when I get there. Of course I +shall share the expense of the livery. I shall be greatly obliged +if I may go with you. If not, I must try for a rig myself." + +"Oh, if you feel that way about it, why, come ahead and welcome. I +was only warnin' you, that's all. However, with me aboard for +ballast, I guess we won't blow away. Wait a jiffy till I get after +Pete." + +He entered the ticket office and raised a big hand to the little +crank of the telephone bell. + +"Let's see, Caleb," he called; "what's Shattuck's number?" + +"Four long and two short," answered the station master. + +Graves, wondering vaguely what sort of telephone system was in use +on Cape Cod, heard his prospective pilot ring the instrument for a +full two seconds, repeating the ring four times altogether. This +he followed with two sharp tinkles. Then came a series of shouted +"Hellos!" and, at last, fragments of one-half of a dialogue. + +"That you, Shattuck? Know who this is, don't you? Yes, that's +right . . . Say, how many folks listen every time a bell rings on +this line? I've heard no less'n eight receivers come down so +far . . . Two of 'em went up then, did you hear 'em? . . . +Sartin . . . I want to hire a team to go over home with . . . +To-night--Sartin . . . I don't care . . . Yes, you will, too . . . +YES, you WILL . . . Send my man back with it to-morrow . . . +I don't care WHAT it is, so it's got four legs and wheels . . ." + +And so on for at least five minutes. Then the captain hung up the +receiver and came back to the waiting room. + +"Bargain's made, Mr. Graves," he announced. "Pete'll have some +sort of a turn-out alongside soon's he can get it harnessed. If +you've got any extra storm duds in that satchel of yours, I'd +advise you to put 'em on. We're goin' to have a rough passage." + +Just how rough it was likely to be, Graves realized when he emerged +from the station to board the Shattuck buggy. "Pete" himself had +driven the equipage over from the livery stable. + +"I wouldn't do this for anybody but you, Cap'n," he vouchsafed, in +what might be called a reproachful shout. Shouting was necessary, +owing to the noise of the storm. + +"Wouldn't do what?" replied the captain, looking first at the +ancient horse and then at the battered buggy. + +"Let this horse out a night like this." + +"Humph! I should think night would be the only time you would let +him out. . . . There! there! never mind. Get aboard, Mr. Graves. +Put your satchel on the floor between your feet. Here, let me +h'ist that boot for you." + +The "boot" was a rubber curtain buttoned across the front of the +buggy, extending from the dashboard to just below the level of the +driver's eyes. The lawyer clambered in behind it, the captain +followed, the end of the reins was passed through a slit in the +boot, Mr. Shuttuck, after inquiring if they were "all taut," gave +the command, "Gid-dap!" and horse and buggy moved around the corner +of the station, out into darkness. + +Of the next hour Graves's memories are keen but monotonous,-- +a strong smell of stable, arising from the laprobe which had +evidently been recently used as a horse blanket; the sound of +hoofs, in an interminable "jog, jog--splash, splash," never +hurrying; a series of exasperated howls from the captain, who was +doing his best to make them hurry; the thunderous roar of rain on +the buggy top and the shrieking gale which rocked the vehicle on +its springs and sent showers of fine spray driving in at every +crack and crevice between the curtains. + +The view ahead, over the boot, was blackness, bordered by spidery +trees and branches whipping in the wind. Occasionally they passed +houses sitting well back from the road, a lighted window gleaming +cozily. And ever, as they moved, the storm seemed to gather force. + +Graves noticed this and, at length, when his nervousness had +reached the breaking point, screamed a question in his companion's +ear. They had attempted no conversation during the ride, the +lawyer, whose contemptuous opinion of the locality and all its +inhabitants was now a conviction, feeling that the result would +not be worth the effort, and the captain busy with his driving. + +"It is blowing worse than ever, isn't it?" yelled the nervous +Graves. + +"Hey? No, just about the same. It's dead sou'-west and we're +getting out of the woods, that's all. Up on those bare hills we +catch the full force of it right off the Sound. Be there pretty +soon now, if this Old Hundred of a horse would quit walkin' in his +sleep and really move. Them lights ahead are South Denboro." + +The lights were clustered at the foot of a long and rather steep +hill. Down the declivity bounced and rocked the buggy. The +horse's hoofs sounded hollow on the planks of a bridge. The road +narrowed and became a village street, bordered and arched by tall +trees which groaned and threshed in the hurricane. The rain, as it +beat in over the boot, had, so the lawyer fancied, a salty taste. + +The captain bent down. "Say, Mister," he shouted, "where was it +you wanted to stop? Who is it you're lookin' for?" + +"What?" + +"I say--Heavens to Betsy! how that wind does screech!--I say +where'bouts shall I land you. This is South Denboro. Whose house +do you want to go to?" + +"I'm looking for one of your leading citizens. Elisha Warren is +his name." + +"What?" + +"Elisha Warren. I--" + +He was interrupted. There was a sharp crack overhead, followed by +a tremendous rattle and crash. Then down upon the buggy descended +what, to Graves, appeared to be an avalanche of scratching, tearing +twigs and branches. They ripped away the boot and laprobe and +jammed him back against the seat, their sharp points against his +breast. The buggy was jerked forward a few feet and stopped short. + +He heard the clatter of hoofs and shouts of "Whoa!" and "Stand +still!" He tried to rise, but the tangle of twigs before him +seemed impenetrable, so he gave it up and remained where he was. +Then, after an interval, came a hail from the darkness. + +"Hi, there! Mr. Graves, ahoy! Hurt, be you?" + +"No," the lawyer's tone was doubtful. "No--o, I--I guess not. +That you, Captain?" + +"Yes, it's me. Stand still, you foolhead! Quit your hoppin' up +and down!" These commands were evidently addressed to the horse. +"Glad you ain't hurt. Better get out, hadn't you?" + +"I--I'm not sure that I can get out. What on earth has happened?" + +"Tree limb carried away. Lucky for us we got the brush end, 'stead +of the butt. Scooch down and see if you can't wriggle out +underneath. I did." + +Mr. Graves obediently "scooched." After a struggle he managed to +slide under the tangle of branches and, at length, stood on his +feet in the road beside the buggy. The great limb had fallen +across the street, its heavy end near the walk. As the captain had +said, it was fortunate for the travelers that the "brush" only had +struck the carriage. + +Graves found his companion standing at the horse's head, holding +the frightened animal by the bridle. The rain was descending in a +flood. + +"Well!" gasped the agitated New Yorker. "I'll be hanged if this +isn't--" + +"Ain't it? But say, Mr. Graves, WHO did you say you was comin' to +see?" + +"Oh, a person named Elisha Warren. He lives in this forsaken hole +somewhere, I believe. If I had known what an experience I must go +through to reach him, I'd have seen him at the devil." + +From the bulky figure at the horse's head came a chuckle. + +"Humph! Well, Mr. Graves, if the butt of that limb had fetched us, +instead of t'other end, I don't know but you MIGHT have seen him +there. I'm Elisha Warren, and that's my house over yonder where +the lights are." + + + +CHAPTER II + + +"This is your room, Mr. Graves," said Miss Abigail Baker, placing +the lighted lamp on the bureau. "And here's a pair of socks and +some slippers. They belong to Elisha--Cap'n Warren, that is--but +he's got more. Cold water and towels and soap are on the washstand +over yonder; but I guess you've had enough COLD water for one +night. There's plenty hot in the bathroom at the end of the hall. +After you change your wet things, just leave 'em spread out on the +floor. I'll come fetch 'em by and by and hang 'em to dry in the +kitchen. Come right downstairs when you're ready. Anything else +you want? No? All right then. You needn't hurry. Supper's +waited an hour 'n' a half as 'tis. 'Twon't hurt it to wait a spell +longer." + +She went away, closing the door after her. The bewildered, wet and +shivering New Yorker stared about the room, which, to his surprise, +was warm and cozy. The warmth was furnished, so he presently +discovered, by a steam radiator in the corner. Radiators and a +bathroom! These were modern luxuries he would have taken for +granted, had Elisha Warren been the sort of man he expected to +find, the country magnate, the leading citizen, fitting brother to +the late A. Rodgers Warren, of Fifth Avenue and Wall Street. + +But the Captain Warren who had driven him to South Denboro in the +rain was not that kind of man at all. His manner and his language +were as far removed from those of the late A. Rodgers as the +latter's brown stone residence was from this big rambling house, +with its deep stairs and narrow halls, its antiquated pictures and +hideous, old-fashioned wall paper; as far removed as Miss Baker, +whom the captain had hurriedly introduced as "my second cousin +keepin' house for me," was from the dignified butler at the mansion +on Fifth Avenue. Patchwork comforters and feather beds were not, +in the lawyer's scheme of things, fit associates for radiators and +up-to-date bathrooms. And certainly this particular Warren was not +fitted to be elder brother to the New York broker who had been +Sylvester, Kuhn and Graves' client. + +It could not be, it COULD not. There must be some mistake. In +country towns there were likely to be several of the same name. +There must be another Elisha Warren. Comforted by this thought, +Mr. Graves opened his valise, extracted therefrom other and drier +articles of wearing apparel, and proceeded to change his clothes. + +Meanwhile, Miss Abigail had descended the stairs to the sitting +room. Before a driftwood fire in a big brick fireplace sat Captain +Warren in his shirt-sleeves, a pair of mammoth carpet slippers on +his feet, and the said feet stretched luxuriously out toward the +blaze. + +"Abbie," observed the captain, "this is solid comfort. Every time +I go away from home I get into trouble, don't I? Last trip I took +to Boston, I lost thirty dollars, and--" + +"Lost it!" interrupted Miss Baker, tartly. "Gave it away, you +mean." + +"I didn't GIVE it away. I lent it. Abbie, you ought to know the +difference between a gift and a loan." + +"I do--when there is any difference. But if lendin' Tim Foster +ain't givin' it away, then I miss my guess." + +"Well," with another chuckle, "Tim don't feel that way. He swore +right up and down that he wouldn't take a cent--as a gift. I +offered to make him a present of ten dollars, but he looked so +shocked that I apologized afore he could say no." + +"Yes, and then LENT him that thirty. Shocked! The only thing that +would shock that good-for-nothin' is bein' set to work. What +possessed you to be such a soft-head, _I_ don't know. When you get +back a copper of that money I'll believe the millennium's struck, +that's all." + +"Hum! Well, I'll help you believe it--that is, if I have time +afore I drop dead of heart disease. Abbie, you'd make a good +lawyer; you can get up an argument out of a perfect agreement. I +said the thirty dollars was lost, to begin with. But I knew Tim +Foster's mother when she used to think that boy of hers was the +eighth wonder of the world. And I promised her I'd do what I could +for him long's I lived . . . But it seems to me we've drifted some +off the course, ain't we? What I started to say was that every +time I go away from home I get into trouble. Up to Boston 'twas +Tim and his 'loan.' To-night it's about as healthy a sou'-wester +as I've ever been out in. Dan fetched in the team, has he?" + +"Yes. It's in the stable. He says the buggy dash is pretty well +scratched up, and that it's a wonder you and that Graves man wa'n't +killed. Who is he, anyhow?" + +"Land knows, I don't." + +"You don't know! Then what's he doin' here?" + +"Changin' his duds, I guess. That's what I'd do if I looked as +much like a drowned rat as he did." + +"'Lisha Warren! if you ain't the most PROVOKIN' thing! Don't be so +unlikely. You know what I mean. What's he come here, to this +house, for? + +"Don't know, Abbie. I didn't know he WAS comin' here till just as +we got down yonder by Emery's corner. I asked him who he was +lookin' for, he said 'Elisha Warren,' and then the tree caved in on +us." + +"'Lisha, you--you don't s'pose 'twas a--SIGN, do you?" + +"Sign?" + +"Yes, a sign, a prophecy-like, a warnin' that somethin' is goin' to +happen." + +The captain put back his head and laughed. + +"Sign somethin' HAD happened, I should think," he answered. +"What's GOIN' to happen is that Pete Shuttuck'll get his buggy +painted free-for-nothin', at my expense. How's supper gettin' +along? Is it ready?" + +"Ready? It's been ready for so long that it'll have to be got +ready all over again if . . . Oh! Come right in, Mr. Graves! I +hope you're drier now." + +Captain Warren sprang from the chair to greet his visitor, who was +standing in the doorway. + +"Yes, come right in, Mr. Graves," he urged, cordially. "Set down +by the fire and make yourself comf'table. Abbie'll have somethin' +for us to eat in a jiffy. Pull up a chair." + +The lawyer came forward hesitatingly. The doubts which had +troubled him ever since he entered the house were still in his +mind. + +"Thank you, Captain," he said. "But before I accept more of your +hospitality I feel I should be sure there is no mistake. I have +come on important business, and--" + +"Hold on!" The captain held up a big hand. "Don't you say another +word," he commanded. "There's just one business that interests me +this minute, and that's supper. There's no mistake about THAT, +anyhow. Did you say 'Come ahead,' Abbie? or was you just going to? +Good! Right into the dinin' room, Mr. Graves." + +The dining room was long and low. The woodwork was white, the +floor green painted boards, with braided rag mats scattered over +them. There were old-fashioned pictures on the walls, pictures +which brought shudders to the artistic soul of Atwood Graves. A +broad bay window filled one side of the apartment, and in this +window, on shelves and in wire baskets, were Miss Baker's cherished +and carefully tended plants. As for the dining table, it was dark, +old-fashioned walnut, as were the chairs. + +"Set right down here, Mr. Graves," ordered the captain. "I'll try +to keep you supplied with solid cargo, and Abbie'll 'tend to the +moistenin'. Hope that teapot is full up, Abbie. Hot tea tastes +good after you've swallered as much cold rain as Mr. Graves and I +have . . . Father-we-thank-thee-for-these-mercies-set-before-us- +Amen . . . How's your appetite when it comes to clam pie, Mr. +Graves?" + +Mr. Graves's appetite was good, and the clam pie was good. So, +too, were the hot biscuits and the tea and homemade preserves and +cake. Conversation during the meal was, for the most part, a +monologue by the captain. He gave Miss Baker a detailed and +exaggerated account of his adventures in Ostable, on board the +train, and during the drive home. The housekeeper listened, +fidgeting in her chair. + +"'Lisha Warren," she interrupted, "how you do talk! Rainin' so +hard you had to hold the reins taut to keep the horse's head out of +water so he wouldn't drown! The idea!" + +"Fact," asserted Captain Warren, with a wink at his guest. "And +that wa'n't the worst of it. 'Twas so dark I had to keep feelin' +the buggy with my foot to be sure I was in it. Ain't that so, Mr. +Graves? . . . Here! Abbie won't like to have you set lookin' at +that empty plate. She's always afraid folks'll notice the gilt's +wearin' off. Pass it over quick, and let me cover it with some +more pie." + +"Yes, and have some more tea," urged Miss Abbie. You mustn't pay +attention to what he says, Mr. Graves," she went on. "Some day +he'll tell the truth by accident, and then I'll know it's time to +send for the doctor." + +Several times the lawyer attempted to mention the business which +had brought him to the Cape, and the probability of his having made +a mistake. But neither host nor housekeeper would listen. + +"When you've been in South Denboro as long as I have," declared the +former, "you'll understand that the time to talk business is when +you can't think of anything else. Wait till we get into the +settin' room. Abbie, those six or eight biscuits I've ate are +gettin' lonesome. I'll take another for sociability, thank you." + +But, at last, when all the biscuits but one were gone, and the cake +plate looked like the Desert of Sahara, the captain pushed back his +chair, rose, and led the way into the next room. Miss Baker +remained to clear the table. + +"Set down by the fire, Mr. Graves," urged the captain. "Nothin' +like burnin' wood to look hot and comf'table, is there? It don't +always make you feel that way--that's why I put in hot water heat-- +but for looks and sociableness you can't beat a log fire. Smoke, +do you?" + +"Yes. Occasionally. But, Captain Warren--" + +"Here, try that. It's a cigar the Judge gave me over to Ostable. +He smokes that kind reg'lar, but if you don't like it, throw it +away. He ain't here to see you do it, so you won't be fined for +contempt of court. I'll stick to a pipe, if you don't mind. Now +we're shipshape and all taut, I cal'late. Let's see, you wanted to +talk business, I believe." + +"Yes, I did. But before I begin I should like to be sure you are +the Elisha Warren I came from New York to interview. Is there +another of that name in Denboro?" + +"Um-hm. There's Warrens a-plenty all through this section of the +Cape. Our family blew ashore here a hundred and fifty years ago, +or such matter. My dad's name was Elisha; so was my grandfather's. +Both sea cap'ns, and both dead. There's another Elisha livin' over +on the shore lane." + +"Indeed. Then perhaps it is he I want." + +"P'raps. He's keeper of the town poorhouse. I can tell you better +if you give me an idea what your business is." + +"I am an attorney. And now let me ask another question, please. +Have you--had you a brother in business in New York?" + +"Hey?" The captain turned and looked his guest squarely in the +eye. His brows drew together. + +"I've got a brother in New York," he answered, slowly. "Did HE +send you here?" + +"Was your brother's name A. Rodgers Warren?" + +"'A. Rodgers'? No. His name is Abijah Warren, and--Wait! His +middle name is Rodgers, though. Did 'Bije send you to me?" + +"A moment, Captain. Was your brother a broker?" + +"Yes. His office is--or used to be on Broad Street. What--" + +"You have not heard from him for some time?" + +"Not for eighteen years. He and I didn't agree as well as we +might. Maybe 'twas my fault, maybe 'twas his. I have my own ideas +on that. If you're lookin' for 'Bije Warren's brother, Mr. Graves, +I guess you've come to the right place. But WHAT he sent you to me +for, or what he wants--for he wants somethin', or he wouldn't have +sent--I don't understand." + +"Why do you think he wanted something?" + +"Because he's 'Bije Warren, and I was brought up with him. When we +was young ones together, he went to school and I went to work. He +got the frostin' on the cake, and I got the burnt part next to the +pan. He went to college, and I went to sea. He . . . However, +you mustn't think I find fault with him for that. I sp'iled him as +much as anybody, I guess. 'Twas later on that we . . . Well, +never mind that, either. What is it he wants of me, after eighteen +years?" + +"He wants a good deal of you, Captain Warren. Or DID want it." + +"Did? Don't he want it now?" + +"I don't know. Captain, I'm surprised that you haven't heard. It +seems that I am the bearer of bad news. Your brother--" + +"Is 'Bije DEAD?" + +"He died ten days ago very suddenly. In a way it was a great shock +to us all, yet we have known that his heart was weak. He realized +it, too." + +"So 'Bije is dead, hey?" Captain Elisha's face was very grave, and +he spoke slowly. "Dead! Well, well, well!" + +He paused and looked into the fire. Graves saw again that vague +resemblance he had caught on the train, but had forgotten. He knew +now why he noticed it. Unlike as the two brothers were, unlike in +almost every way, the trace of family likeness was there. This +sunburned, retired captain WAS the New York financier's elder +brother. And this certainty made Mr. Graves's errand more +difficult, and the cause of it more inexplicable. + +Captain Elisha cleared his throat. + +"Well, well!" he sighed. "So 'Bije has gone. I s'pose you think +it's odd, maybe," he went on, "that I ain't more struck down by the +news. In a way, I am, and, in a way, I'm mighty sorry, too. But, +to speak truth, he and I have been so apart, and have had nothin' +to do with each other for so long that--that, well, I've come to +feel as if I didn't have a brother. And I know he felt that way. +Yes, and WANTED to feel so--I know that." + +"I wouldn't say that, if I were you," observed the lawyer, gently. +"I think you're mistaken there." + +"I ain't mistaken. Why, look here, Mr. Graves! There was a time +when I'd have got down on my knees and crawled from here to New +York to help 'Bije Warren. I lent him money to start in business. +Later on him and I went into partnership together on a--a fool +South American speculation that didn't pan out for nothin'. I +didn't care for that. I took my chance same as he did, we formed a +stock company all amongst ourselves, and I've got my share of the +stock somewhere yet. It may come in handy if I ever want to paper +the barn. But 'twa'n't business deals of that kind that parted us, +'twas another matter. Somethin' that he did to other folks who'd +trusted us and . . . Humph! this don't interest you, of course . . . +Well, 'Bije was well off, I know. His wife died way back in the +nineties. She was one of them fashionable women, and a hayseed +salt-herrin' of a bachelor brother-in-law stuck down here in the +sandheaps didn't interest her much--except as somethin' to forget, +I s'pose. I used to see her name in the Boston papers occasionally, +givin' parties at Newport and one thing a'nother. I never envied +'em that kind of life. I'm as well fixed as I want to be. Got some +money put by for a rainy spell, comf'table house and land, best town +on earth to live in and work for; I'm satisfied and always have +been. I wouldn't change for nothin'. But I'm nine year older than +'Bije was--and yet I'm left alive. Hum!" + +"Your brother had two children by his marriage," said Graves, after +a moment of silence. + +"Hey? Two children? Why, yes, I remember he did. Boy and girl, +wa'n't they? I never saw em. They've growed up by this time, of +course." + +"Yes, the eldest, Caroline, is nearly twenty. The boy, Stephen, is +a year younger. It is concerning those children, Captain Warren, +that I have come to you." + +Captain Elisha turned in his chair. "Hey?" he queried. "The +children? You've come to me about 'Bije's children?" + +Graves nodded. "Yes," he answered, solemnly. "That is what I +meant by saying your brother had not forgotten you or wished to +forget you. In spite of the estrangement, it is evident that his +confidence in your judgment and integrity was supreme. His +children were his idols, Captain Warren, and he has left them in +your charge." + +The captain's pipe fell to the hearth. + +"WHAT?" he shouted. "Left his children to--to ME! Mr. Graves, +you're--you're out of your head--or I am!" + +"No, I'm perfectly sane. I have a copy of the will here, and--" + +He was interrupted by Miss Baker, who appeared at the door of the +dining room. "Did you want me, 'Lisha?" she asked. + +Her employer stared at her in a dazed, uncomprehending way. + +"Want you?" he repeated. "Want you?" + +"Yes; I heard you holler, and I thought p'raps you was callin' me." + +"Hey? No, I don't want you, Abbie. . . . Holler! I shouldn't +wonder! If all I did was holler, I'm surprised at myself. No, no! +Run along out and shut the door. Yes, shut it. . . . Now, Mr. +Graves, say that over again and say it slow." + +"I say that your brother has left his two children in your care +until the youngest shall become of age--twenty-one. I have a copy +of his will here, and--" + +"Wait, wait! let me think. Left his children to me! . . . to ME. +Mr. Graves, had 'Bije lost all his money?" + +"No. He was not the millionaire that many thought him. Miss +Warren and her brother will be obliged to economize somewhat in +their manner of living. But, with care AND economy, their income +should be quite sufficient, without touching the principal, to--" + +"Hold on again; the income, you say. What is that income?" + +"Roughly speaking, a mere estimate, about twenty to twenty-five +thousand yearly." + +Captain Elisha had stooped to pick up the pipe he had dropped. +His fingers touched it, but they did not close. Instead he +straightened up in his chair as if suffering from an electric +shock. + +"Mr. Graves," he began; "Mr. Graves, are you cra--. No, I asked +you that before. But--but twenty THOUSAND a--a year! For mercy +sakes, what's the principal?" + +"In the neighborhood of five hundred thousand, I believe. Of +course, we had no authority to investigate thoroughly. That will +be a part of your duties, but--" + +"S-shh! Let me soak this into my brains a little at a time. 'Bije +leaves his children five hundred thousand, half a million, and--and +they've got to ECONOMIZE! And I'm . . . Would you mind readin' me +that will?" + +The attorney drew a long envelope from his pocket, extracted +therefrom a folded document, donned a pair of gold-mounted +eyeglasses, and began to read aloud. + +The will was short and very concise. "'I, Abijah Rodgers Warren, +being of sound mind--'" + +"You're sartin that part's true, are you?" broke in the captain. + +Graves nodded, rather impatiently, and continued. "'Of sound mind, +memory and understanding, do make, publish and declare this to be +my last will and testament, in manner following, that is to say:-- + +"'First:--I direct my executor hereinafter named to pay my just +debts and funeral expenses as soon as maybe convenient after my +decease.'" + +"Did he owe much, think likely?" asked Captain Elisha. + +"Apparently not. Very little beyond the usual bills of a household." + +"Yes, yes. Grocer and butcher and baker and suchlike. Well, I +guess they won't have to put in a keeper. Heave ahead." + +"'Second:--I give, devise and bequeath all my estate, both real and +personal, to my brother, Elisha Warren, if he survive--'" + +The captain gasped. "To me?" he cried, in utter amazement. "He +leaves it to ME? 'Bije leaves--say, Mr. Graves, there's some +mistake here somewhere, sure! And besides, you said--" + +"Just a minute, Captain Warren, if you please. If you'll be +patient and not interrupt, I'll try to make the whole matter +plain." + +"Well, if you can do THAT, you'll have King Solomon and all his +wisdom beat a mile, that's all I've got to say. Go on." + +"'To my brother, Elisha Warren, if he survive me, IN TRUST, +nevertheless, for the following purpose, to wit:-- + +"'To invest the same and to use the income thereof for the +education and maintenance of my two children, Caroline Edgecombe +Warren--'" + +"Edgecombe? Named for some of his wife's folks, I presume likely. +Excuse me for puttin' my oar in again. Go on." + +"'And Stephen Cole Warren--'" + +"THAT'S his wife, sartin. She was a Cole. I swan, I beg your +pardon." + +"'Until the elder, Caroline Edgecombe Warren, shall have reached +her twenty-first birthday, when one-half of the principal of said +estate, together with one-half of the accumulated interest, shall +be given to her, and the trust continued for the education and +maintenance of my son, Stephen Cole Warren, until he shall have +reached his twenty-first birthday, when I direct that the remainder +be given to him. + +"'Third:--I appoint as testamentary guardian of my said children my +said brother, Elisha Warren. + +"'Fourth:--I appoint as sole executor of this, my last will and +testament, my said brother, Elisha Warren. + +"'Fifth:--Imposing implicit trust and confidence in Elisha Warren, +my brother, I direct that he be not required to give bond for the +performance of any of the affairs or trusts to which he has been +herein appointed.' + +"The remainder," concluded Graves, refolding the will, "is purely +formal. It is dated May 15th, three years ago. Your brother, +Captain Warren, evidently realized, although no one else seems to +have done so, the precarious state of his health, and prepared, as +every careful person should, for the great emergency." + +The attorney removed his eyeglasses and rubbed them with his +handkerchief. Captain Elisha sat silent, staring at the fire. +After an interval, Graves spoke again. + +"Of course, Captain," he went on, "my errand is now plain. I come +to acquaint you with your brother's last wishes and to ascertain +whether or not you are willing to accept the trust and responsibility +he has laid upon you. As you doubtless know, the state provides a +legal rate of reimbursement for such services as yours will--or +may--be. Ahem!" + +"May be? You mean I ain't got to do this thing unless I want to?" + +"Certainly. You have the right to renounce the various appointments, +in which case another executor, trustee, and guardian will be +appointed. I realize, and I'm sure that your brother's children +will realize, your hesitance in assuming such a responsibility over +persons whom you have never even met." + +"Yes, I guess we'll all realize it; you needn't worry about that. +Look here, do the children know I'm elected?" + +"Yes. Of course, the will has been read to them." + +"Hum! I s'pose likely they was overcome with joy, wa'n't they?" + +Graves bit his lip. Remembering the comments of Miss Caroline and +her brother when they learned of their uncle's appointment, he had +difficulty in repressing a smile. + +"Well," he replied, slowly, "of course, one could scarcely expect +them to rejoice. They have never seen you. In fact, I doubt if +either of them knew their father had a brother, living." + +"Y-e-e-s. That part don't surprise me. But the rest of it does. +By the miracles of the prophets! the rest of it does! That 'Bije-- +'Bije--should leave his children and their money to ME to take care +of is passin' human belief, as our old minister used to say-- . . . +Humph! I s'pose likely, Mr. Graves, you'd like to have me say yes +or no to the thing while you're here, hey?" + +Graves nodded. "It would be well to do so," he said. "The +settlement of the estate must be taken in hand as soon as possible. +The law so directs." + +"Yes, I see that. Well, what would you advise my doin'?" + +To this direct question the lawyer returned a noncommittal answer. + +"I'm afraid that must be answered by yourself alone, Captain +Warren," he said. "Of course, the acceptance of the trust will +necessarily involve much trouble and inconvenience, especially to +one of your--er--settled and--er--conservative--I judge merely from +what you have said--your conservative habits. The estate is large, +the investments are, doubtless, many and varied, and the labor of +looking into and investigating them may require some technical +skill and knowledge of finance. Yes." + +"Um-hm. . . . Well, I judge that that kind of skill and knowledge +could be hired, if a feller felt like payin' fair wages; hey?" + +"Oh, yes, yes. Any good lawyer could attend to that, under the +supervision of the executor, certainly. But there are other +inconveniences to a--a--" + +"Country jay like me. I understand. Go ahead." + +"I mean that you would probably be required to spend much, or all, +of the next two or three years in New York." + +"Would, hey? I didn't know but bein' as a guardian has entire +charge of the children and their money and all--I understand that's +what he does have--he could direct the children fetched down to +where HE lived, if he wanted to. Am I wrong?" + +"No," the lawyer's hesitancy and annoyance was plainly evident. +"No-o. Of course, that MIGHT be done. Still, I--" + +"You think that wouldn't cause no more rejoicin' than some other +things have? Yes, yes; I cal'late I understand, Mr. Graves. Well, +I guess you'll have to give me to-night to chew over this. I guess +you will. It's come on me so sudden, 'Bije's death and all, that I +want to be by myself and think. I don't want to seem unsociable or +lackin' in hospitality. The whole house is yours. Help yourself +to it. But when I'm caught in a clove hitch, I just have to set +down and think myself out of it. I HAVE to. I was built and +launched that way, I guess, and maybe you'll excuse me." + +"Certainly, Captain Warren. You're quite right in wishing to +deliberate on so important a matter. And, if you will excuse me in +return, I believe I will go to my room. I've had a rather wearing +day." + +"And a damp evenin'. Yes, I'll excuse and sympathize with you, +too. I'll see you to your room, and I'll hope you'll have +consider'ble more sleep than I'm likely to get. Abbie! . . . +Abbie! . . . Fetch Mr. Graves's lamp, won't you, please?" + +It was after two the next morning before Captain Elisha rose from +his chair by the fire and entered his bed chamber. Yet, when +Atwood Graves came down to breakfast, he found his host in the +sitting room awaiting him. + +"Afore we tackle Abbie's pancakes and fishballs, Mr. Graves," said +the captain, "let's get the rest of that will business off our +minds. Then we can have the pancakes to take the taste out of our +mouths, as you might say. And let me ask you one more question. +This--er--er--Caroline and Stephen, they're used to livin' pretty +well--fashionable society, and the like of that, hey?" + +"Yes. Their home was on Fifth Avenue, and the family moved in the +best circles." + +"Hum! I should imagine life on twenty-odd thousand a year must be +pretty much all circles, one everlastin' 'turn your partners.' +Well, Mr. Graves, my circles down here are consider'ble smaller, +but they suit me. I'm worth twenty-odd thousand myself, not in a +year, but in a lifetime. I'm selectman and director in the bank +and trustee of the church. When I holler 'Boo,' the South Denboro +folks--some of them, anyhow--set up and take notice. I can lead +the grand march down in this neighborhood once in a while, and I +cal'late I'm prettier leadin' it than I would be doin' a solitaire +jig for two years on the outside edge of New York's best circles. +And I'm mighty sure I'm more welcome. Now my eyesight's strong +enough to see through a two-foot hole after the plug's out, and I +can see that you and 'Bije's children won't shed tears if I say no +to that will. No offense meant, you know; just common sense, +that's all." + +This was plain speaking. Mr. Graves colored, though he didn't mean +to, and for once could not answer offhand. + +"So," continued the captain, "I'll ease your and their minds by +sayin' that, the way I feel now, I probably sha'n't accept the +trust. I PROBABLY sha'n't. But I won't say sure I won't, because-- +well, because 'Bije was my brother; he was that, no matter what +our diff'rences may have been. And I know--I KNOW that there must +be some reason bigger than 'implicit trust' and the other May- +baskets for his appointin' me in his will. What that reason is I +DON'T know--yet." + +"Then you intend--?" + +"I don't know what I intend--in the end. But for a beginnin', I +cal'late to run down to New York some time durin' the next week, +take a cruise 'round, and sort of look things over." + + + +CHAPTER III + + +"It's a box of a place, though, isn't it," declared Mr. Stephen +Warren, contemptuously glancing about the library of the apartment. +"A box, by George! I think it's a blooming shame that we have to +put up with it, Sis." + +Mr. Warren sprawled in the most comfortable chair in the room, was +looking out through the window, across the wind-swept width of +Central Park West, over the knolls and valleys of the Park itself, +now bare of foliage and sprinkled with patches of snow. There was +a discontented look on his face, and his hands were jammed deep in +his trousers pockets. + +His sister, Caroline, sat opposite to him, also looking out at the +December landscape. She, too, was discontented and unhappy, though +she tried not to show it. + +"Why don't you say something," snapped Stephen, after a moment of +silence. "ISN'T it a box of a place? Now come." + +"Yes," replied the young lady, without looking at her brother. +"Yes, Steve, I suppose it is. But you must remember that we must +make the best of it. I always wondered how people could live in +apartments. Now I suppose I shall have to find out." + +"Well, I maintain that we don't have to. We aren't paupers, even +though father wasn't so well fixed as everyone thought. With +management and care, we could have stayed in the old house, I +believe, and kept up appearances, at least. What's the use of +advertising that we're broke?" + +"But, Steve, you know Mr. Graves said--" + +"Oh, yes, I know. You swallowed every word Graves said, Caro, as +if he was the whole book of Proverbs. By George, _I_ don't; I'm +from Missouri." + +Mr. Warren, being in the Sophomore class at Yale, was of the age +when one is constitutionally "from Missouri." Probably King +Solomon, at sixty, had doubts concerning the scope and depth of +his wisdom; at eighteen he would have admitted its all-embracing +infallibility without a blush. + +"I tell you," continued Stephen, "there's no sense in it, Sis. You +and I know plenty of people whose incomes are no larger than ours. +Do they 'economize,' as Graves is continually preaching? They do +not, publicly at least. They may save a bit, here and there, but +they do it where it doesn't show and nobody knows. Take the +Blaisdells, for instance. When the Sodality Bank went up, and old +Blaisdell died, everybody said the family was down and out. They +must have lost millions. But did THEY move into 'apartments' and +put up a placard, 'Home of the Dead-Brokes. Walk in and Sympathize?' +I guess they didn't! They went into mourning, of course, and that +let them out of entertaining and all that, but they stayed where +they were and kept up the bluff. That's the thing that counts in +this world--keeping up the bluff." + +"Yes, but everyone knows they are--bluffing, as you call it." + +"What of it? They don't really know, they only suspect. And I met +Jim Blaisdell yesterday and he shook my hand, after I had held it +in front of his eyes where he couldn't help seeing it, and had the +nerve to tell me he hoped things weren't as bad with us as he had +heard." + +"I never liked the Blaisdells," declared Caroline, indignantly. + +"Neither did I. Neither do most people. But Jim is just as much +in the swim as he ever was, and he's got his governor's place on +the board of directors at the bank, now that it's reorganized, and +an office down town, and he's hand and glove with Von Blarcom and +all the rest. They think he's a promising, plucky young man. +They'll help his bluff through. And are his mother and sister +dropped by the people in their set? I haven't noticed it." + +"Well, Mrs. Corcoran Dunn told me that everyone was talking about +the Blaisdells and wondering how long they could keep it up. And +the newspapers have been printing all sorts of things, and hinting +that young Mr. Blaisdell's appointment as director, after his +father wrecked the bank, was a scandal. At least, we haven't THAT +to bear up under. Father was honest, if he wasn't rich." + +"Who cares for the newspapers? They're all run by demagogues +hunting sensations. What makes me feel the worst about all this is +that Stock Exchange seat of father's. If I were only of age, so +that I could go down there on the floor, I tell you it wouldn't be +long before you and I were back where we belong, Sis. But, no, I'm +a kid, so Graves thinks, in charge of a guardian--a GUARDIAN, by +gad!" + +He snorted, in manly indignation. Caroline, her pretty face +troubled, rose and walked slowly across the room. It was a large +room, in spite of the fact that it was one of a suite in an +apartment hotel, and furnished richly. A. Rodgers Warren spent +his money with taste, and spent it freely while he lived. The +furniture, the paintings, and bric-a-brac were of the very best, +chosen with care, here and abroad. + +"Oh, dear!" sighed the girl. "I do hope Mr. Graves will be well +enough to call to-day. He expected to. Except for the telephone +message telling us that that MAN at Denboro--" + +"Our dear Uncle Elisha," put in Stephen, with sarcasm. "Uncle +''Lish!' Heavens! what a name!" + +"Hush! He can't help his name. And father's was worse yet-- +Abijah! Think of it!" + +"I don't want to think of it. Neither did the governor; that's why +he dropped it, I suppose. Just what did Graves say? Give me his +exact words." + +"His partner, Mr. Kuhn, telephoned. He said that Mr. Graves had a +bad cold, having been wet through in a dreadful storm down there in +the country. The doctor forbade his leaving the house for a day or +two, but he would call on Tuesday--to-day--if he was sufficiently +recovered. And Mr. Kuhn said that everything was satisfactory. +This Captain Warren--a ship captain, I suppose he is--would, in all +probability, refuse to accept the guardianship and the rest of it--" + +"Refuse? I should think so. I'm just as certain father was insane +when he made that will as I am that I'm alive. If I thought he +wasn't, I'd never forgive him." + +"Hush, Steve. You promised me you wouldn't speak in that way." + +"Well, all right, I won't. But, Caro, he MUST have been insane. +If he wasn't, do you suppose he would have put us and the estate in +the care of a Down-East jay? It's inconceivable! It's ridiculous! +Think of it. Suppose this uncle of ours had accepted. Suppose he +had come to town here and any of our friends had met him. 'This is +our guardian, Captain Warren, of Punkin Centre.' 'Please to meet +ye,' says Uncle 'Lish. 'How's taters?' Horrors! Say, Caro, you +haven't told anyone, Malcolm or his mother, or anyone, have you?" + +"Of course not, Steve. You know I wouldn't." + +"Well, don't. They needn't know it, now or at any other time. +Graves will probably get himself appointed, and he's respectable if +he is an old fogy. We'll worry along till I'm twenty-one, and +then--well, then I'll handle our business myself." + +Evidently there was no question in his mind as to his ability to +handle this or any business, no matter how involved. He rose from +his chair and yawned. + +"It's deadly dull," he complained. "You don't need me, do you, +Caro? I believe I'll go out for a while. That is, unless you +really care." + +His sister hesitated before replying. When she spoke, there was +disappointment in her tone. + +"Why, Steve," she said, "I did hope you might be here when Mr. +Graves came. He will wish to speak of important matters, and it +seems to me that both of us should hear what he has to say." + +Young Warren, who had started for the door, stopped and kicked +impatiently at the corners of the rug. + +"Oh, WELL!" he observed, "if you want me of course I'll stay. But +why doesn't old Graves come, if he is coming. Maybe he's under the +weather yet," he added, hopefully. "Perhaps he isn't coming at all +to-day. I believe I'll call up Kuhn on the 'phone and find out." + +He was on his way to the telephone when the doorbell buzzed. + +"Gad! there he is now," he exclaimed. "Now I suppose I'll have to +stay. We'll hear about dear Uncle 'Lish, won't we? Oh, joy!" + +But the staid butler, when he entered the library, did not announce +the lawyer's name. + +"Mrs. Corcoran Dunn and Mr. Malcolm," he said. "Will you see them, +Miss Caroline?" + +The young lady's face lit up. + +"Certainly, Edwards," she said. "Show them--Oh, Mrs. Dunn, I'm +so glad to see you! It was EVER so good of you to come. And +Malcolm." + +Mrs. M. Corcoran Dunn was tall and, in South Denboro, would have +been called "fleshy," in spite of her own and the dressmaker's +efforts to conceal the fact. She was elaborately gowned and +furred, and something about her creaked when she walked. She +rushed into the room, at the butler's heels, and, greeting Caroline +with outstretched hands, kissed her effusively on the cheek. + +"My dear child," she cried, "how could I stay away? We have spoken +of you and Stephen SO often this morning. We know how lonely you +must be, and Malcolm and I decided we MUST run in on you after +lunch. Didn't we, Malcolm?" + +Mr. Malcolm Corcoran Dunn, her son, was a blond young man, with a +rather indolent manner. + +"Sure, Mater!" he said, calmly. "How d'ye do, Caroline? 'Lo, +Steve!" + +The quartette shook hands. Mrs. Dunn sank creakingly into a chair +and gazed about the room. Malcolm strolled to the window and +looked out. Stephen followed and stood beside him. + +"My dear," said Mrs. Dunn, addressing Caroline, "how are you +getting on? How are your nerves? Is all the dreadful 'settling' +over?" + +"Very nearly, thank goodness." + +"That's a mercy. I should certainly have been here yesterday to +help you in superintending and arranging and so on, but I was +suffering from one of my 'hearts,' and you know what THEY are." + +Everyone who knew Mrs. Corcoran Dunn was acquainted with her +"hearts." The attacks came, so she was accustomed to explain, from +an impaired valve, and "some day"--she usually completed the +sentence with upturned eyes and a resigned upward wave of the hand. + +Her son turned from the window. + +"I say, Mother," he explained, wearily, "I do wish you wouldn't +speak of your vital organs in the plural. Anyone would imagine you +were a sort of freak, like the two-headed boy at the circus. It's +positively distressing." + +Stephen laughed. He admired young Dunn immensely. Mrs. Dunn +sighed. + +"Don't, Malcolm, dear," she pleaded. "You sound so unfeeling. One +not acquainted with your real kindness of heart--" + +"Oh, drop it," interrupted Malcolm. "Let's omit the heart interest. +This isn't a clinic. I say, Steve, how do you like the new flat? +It is a flat, isn't it?" + +Stephen turned red. His sister colored and bit her lip. Mrs. Dunn +hastened to the rescue. + +"Horrors!" she exclaimed. "Malcolm, you really are insufferable. +Flat! Caroline, dear, you mustn't mind him. He will have his +joke. Malcolm, apologize." + +The command was sharp, and her son obeyed it. + +"Beg your pardon, Steve," he said. "Yours, too, Caroline. I was +only joking. There's a little beast of a bookkeeper down at the +office who is forever talking of his 'nice flat in the Bronx.' +It's a standing guy, you know. So far as I can see, these are +pretty snug quarters. And attractively arranged, too. Your taste, +Caroline, I'm betting." + +Miss Warren, slightly mollified, bowed assent. + +"I thought so," continued Malcolm. "No one but you would have +known exactly the right spot for everything. Show us through, +won't you?" + +But Mrs. Dunn had other plans. + +"Not now, Malcolm," she put in. "Caroline is tired out, I'm sure. +A little fresh air will do her good. I was going to suggest that +you and she and Stephen go for a short ride. Yes, really you must, +my dear," she added, turning to the girl beside her. "Our car is +at the door, it's not at all a bad afternoon, and the outing will +be just what you need." + +"Thank you, Mrs. Dunn," said Caroline, gratefully. "I should like +to. Indeed, I should. But we have been expecting a business call +from Mr. Graves, father's lawyer, and--" + +"Oh, come on, Sis!" interrupted Stephen. "I'm dying to get out of +this jail. Let old Graves wait, if he comes. We won't be long; +and, besides, it's not certain that he is coming to-day. Come on!" + +"I'm afraid I ought not, Steve. Mr. Graves may come, and--and it +seems too bad to trouble our friends--" + +"It's not trouble, it's pleasure," urged Mrs. Dunn. "Malcolm will +be delighted. It was his idea. Wasn't it?" turning to her son. + +"Oh, yes! certainly," replied the young gentleman. "Hope you'll +come, Caroline. And you, of course, Steve. The blessed machine's +been off its feed for a week or more, but Peter says he thinks it's +all right again. We'll give it a try-out on the Drive. Hope we +have better luck than my last," with a laugh. "They nabbed us for +speeding, and I had to promise to be a good boy or to be fined. +Said we were hitting it at fifty an hour. We WERE going some, +that's a fact. Ha! ha!" + +"But he won't be reckless when you're with him, Caroline," put in +his mother. "You will go? That's so nice! As for Mr. Graves, +I'll explain if he comes. Oh, no! I'M not going! I shall remain +here in this comfortable chair and rest until you return. It's +exactly what my physician orders, and for once I'm going to obey +him. My heart, you know, my poor heart--" + +She waved her hand and raised her eyes. Miss Warren expostulated, +but to no purpose. Mrs. Corcoran Dunn would NOT go, but the others +must. So, at last, they did. When Caroline and her brother had +gone for their wraps, Mrs. Dunn laid a hand on her son's arm. + +"Now mind," she whispered, "see if you can find out anything during +the ride. Something more explicit about the size of their estate +and who the guardian is to be. There are all sorts of stories, you +know, and we MUST learn the truth very soon. Don't appear curious, +but merely friendly. You understand?" + +"Sure, Mater," was the careless answer. "I'll pump." + +The two departed, leaving their lady visitor ensconced in the +comfortable chair. She remained in it for perhaps five minutes. +Then she rose and sauntered about the room. She drifted into the +drawing-room, returning a moment later and sauntering casually +toward the open desk by the fireplace. There were papers and +letters scattered about this desk, and these she turned over, +glancing toward the door to be sure no one was coming. The letters +were, for the most part, messages of sympathy from friends of the +Warren family. Hearing an approaching step, she hastily returned +to the chair. + +Edwards, the butler, entered the library and replenished the fire. +Mrs. Dunn languidly accosted him. + +"Ah--er--Edwards," she said, "you are--er--growing familiar with +your new home?" + +"Yes, ma'am," replied Edwards, politely. + +"It must seem--er--small compared to the other." + +"Smaller; yes, ma'am." + +"But very snug and comfortable." + +"Yes, ma 'am." + +"It is fortunate that Miss Warren and her brother have the aid of +such a--an old servant of the family." + +"Thank you, ma'am." + +"Is Miss Caroline managing her own affairs?" + +"Apparently so. Yes, ma'am." + +"I presume, however, a guardian has been appointed? With an estate +such as the late Mr. Warren MUST have left, some responsible person +would be, of course, necessary." + +She paused. Edwards, having arranged the logs to his liking, +brushed the dust from his hands. + +"I don't know, ma'am, I'm sure," he said. "Neither Miss Caroline +nor Mr. Stephen have spoken with me concerning the family affairs." + +Mrs. Corcoran Dunn straightened, with hauteur. + +"I think that was the doorbell," she remarked, a trifle sharply. +"If it should be Mr. Graves, the attorney, you may show him into +the library here." + +"Yes, ma'am," said Edwards once more, and departed. + +The lady visitor heard voices in the passage. She listened, but +could hear nothing understandable. Evidently the butler was having +an argument with someone. It could not be Graves. + +Edwards reappeared, looking troubled. + +"It's a--a gentleman to see Miss Caroline," he said. "He won't +give his name, ma'am, but says she's expecting him." + +"Expecting him?" + +"Yes, ma'am. I told him she was out, but he said he was intending +to stay a while anyway, and would wait. I asked his business, but +he wouldn't tell it." + +"That's odd." Mrs. Dunn was slightly interested. "A tradesman, +perhaps; or an agent of the landlord." + +"No-o, ma'am. I don't think he's either of them, ma'am." + +"What sort of a person is he, Edwards?" + +The butler's face twitched for an instant with a troubled smile. +Then it resumed its customary respectful calm. + +"I hardly know, ma'am. He's an oddish man. He--I think he's from +the country." + +From behind him came a quiet chuckle. + +"You're right, Commodore," said a man s voice; "I'm from the +country. You guessed it." + +Edwards jumped, startled out of his respectable wits. Mrs. Dunn +rose indignantly from her chair. + +"I beg your pardon, ma'am," said the intruder, appearing in the +doorway. "You mustn't think I'm forcin' my way where I ain't +wanted. But it seemed to take so long to make the Admiral here +understand that I was goin' to wait until Caroline came back that I +thought I'd save time and breath by provin' it to him. I didn't +know there was any company. Excuse me, ma'am, I won't bother you. +I'll just come to anchor out here in the entry. Don't mind me." + +He bowed politely, picked up the large suit-case, plainly bran-new, +which he had momentarily placed on the rug at his feet, and, with +it in one hand and a big soft felt hat in the other, stepped back +into the hall out of sight. The astonished Mrs. Dunn and the +paralyzed Edwards heard a chair crack as if a heavy weight had +descended upon it. Evidently he had "come to anchor." + +The lady was the first to recover the power of speech. + +"Why!" she exclaimed, in an alarmed whisper. "Why! I never heard +of such brazen impertinence in my life. He must be insane. He is +a lunatic, isn't he, Edwards?" + +The butler shook his head. "I--I don't know, ma'am," he stammered. + +"I believe he is." Mrs. Dunn's presence of mind was returning, and +with it her courage. Her florid cheeks flamed a more vivid red, +and her eyes snapped. "But whether he is or not, he sha'n't +bulldoze me." + +She strode majestically to the door. The visitor was seated in the +hall, calmly reading a newspaper. Hat and suit-case were on the +floor beside him. + +"What do you mean by this?" demanded the lady. "Who are you? If +you have any business here, state it at once." + +The man glanced at her, over his spectacles, rose and stood looking +down at her. His expression was pleasant, and he was remarkably +cool. + +"Yes, ma'am," he said, gravely. "I'll be glad to tell you who I +am, if you'd like to have me. I'd have done it before, but I +thought there weren't any use troublin' you with my affairs. But, +just a minute--" he hesitated--"I haven't made any mistake, have I? +I understood your steward--the feller with the brass buttons, to +say that Abijah Warren's children lived here. That's so, ain't it? +If not, then I AM mistaken." + +Mrs. Dunn regarded him with indignation. "You are," she said +coldly. "The family of the late Mr. Rodgers Warren lives here. I +presume the slight resemblance in names misled you. Edwards, show +the gentleman out." + +"Just one moment more, ma'am. It was Rodgers Warren's children I +was lookin' for. A. Rodgers Warren he called himself, didn't he? +Yes. Well, the A stood for Abijah; that was his Christian name. +And he left two children, Caroline and Stephen? Good! I thought +for a jiffy I'd blundered in where I had no business, but it's all +right. You see, ma'am, I'm their uncle from South Denboro, +Massachusetts. My name is Elisha Warren." + +Mrs. Dunn gasped. Edwards, peering over her shoulder, breathed +heavily. + +"You are--their UNCLE?" repeated the lady. + +"Yes, ma'am. I'm 'Bije's brother. Oh, don't worry. It's all +right. And don't fret yourself about me, either. I'll set right +down out here and read my paper and wait till Caroline or Stephen +get home. They're expectin' me. Mr. Graves, the lawyer, told 'em +I was comin'." + +He calmly seated himself and adjusted his spectacles. Mrs. Dunn +stared at him, then at Edwards. After an instant's indecision, +she stepped back into the library and walked to the window. She +beckoned, with an agitated finger, to the butler, who joined her. + +"Edwards," she whispered, "did you hear what he said?" + +"Yes, ma'am," replied Edwards, wide-eyed and wondering. + +"Is it true?" + +"I don't know, ma'am." + +"Did Mr. Warren have a brother?" + +"I didn't know that he had, ma'am." + +"Do you--do you think it likely that he would have a brother like-- +like THAT?" + +"I don't know, ma'am." + +"Was Miss Caroline expecting him?" + +"I don't know, ma'am. She--" + +"Oh, you don't know anything! You're impossible. Go away!" + +"Yes, ma'am," said Edwards thankfully; and went. Mrs. Corcoran +Dunn stood for some minutes by the window, thinking, or trying to +think a way to the truth in this astounding development. Of course +the man MIGHT be a lunatic who had gained his information concerning +the Warren family from the papers; but he did not look like a +lunatic. On the other hand, he certainly did not look as one would +have expected a brother of Rodgers Warren's to look. Oddest of all, +if he was such a brother, why had neither Caroline or Stephen +mentioned his existence? According to his story, Graves, the Warren +lawyer, had warned the children of his coming. Caroline had been +very reticent concerning her father's will, the amount of his +estate, and the like. And Mrs. Dunn had repeatedly, though +discreetly, endeavored to find out these important details. Neither +hints nor questions had resulted satisfactorily. Was it possible +that this was the reason, this country uncle? If so--well, if so, +here was a Heaven-sent opportunity for a little genteel and +perfectly safe detective work. Mrs. Dunn creakingly crossed the +room and spoke. + +"Mr. Warren," she said, "I feel guilty in keeping you out there. +Won't you come into the library?" + +"Why, thank you, ma'am, I'm all right. Don't you trouble about me. +Go right on with your readin' or sewing or knittin' or whatever you +was doin' and--" + +"I was not reading," replied Mrs. Dunn, with a slight shudder. +"Come in, please. I wish you to." + +Captain Elisha folded his paper and put it in his pocket. Entering +the library, he stood quietly waiting. + +"Won't you sit down?" asked his impromptu hostess, trying hard to +be gracious. + +"Thank you," said the captain. He sank into an armchair and looked +curiously about him. + +"So you are the late Mr. Warren's brother?" asked the lady, making +her first lead in the game. + +"Yes, ma'am. His older brother. 'Bije was ten year younger'n I +am, Mrs.--er--" + +"Dunn. I am an old friend of the family." + +"That's good. I'm glad to hear they've got friends. When you're +in sickness or trouble or sorrer, friendship counts for consider'ble. +How are the young folks--Caroline and Stephen--pretty smart, hey?" + +"SMART? Why, they are intelligent, naturally. I--" + +"No, no. I mean are they pretty well?" + +"Very well, indeed, considering the shock of their recent +bereavement." + +"Yes, yes. Of course. And they've moved, too. Movin's an awful +job. They say three movin's are as bad as a fire, but I cal'late +I'd rather burn up a set of carpets than PULL 'em up, 'specially if +they was insured. 'Tain't half so much strain on your religion. I +remember the last time we took up our carpets at home, Abbie--she's +my second cousin, keepin' house for me--said if gettin' down on my +knees has that effect on me she'd never ask me to go to prayer- +meetin' again. Ho! ho!" + +He chuckled. Mrs. Dunn elevated her nose and looked out of the +window. Then she led another small trump. + +"You say that Miss Caroline and her brother expect you," she said. +"You surprise me. Are you sure?" + +"Oh, yes, ma'am. I'm sure. When Mr. Graves came down to see me, +last week 'twas, I told him to say I'd be up pretty soon to look +the ground over. This is a pretty fine place the young folks have +got here," he added, gazing admiringly at the paintings and +bookcases. + +"Yes," assented the lady, condescendingly. "For an apartment it is +really quite livable." + +"Livable!" Captain Elisha's astonishment got the better of his +politeness for the moment. "Um! Yes, I should say a body MIGHT +manage to worry along in it. Was the place where they used to live +any finer than this?" + +"Certainly!" + +"You don't tell me! No wonder they talked about economi--Humph!" + +"What were you about to say, Mr. Warren?" + +"Oh, nothin', nothin'! Talkin' to myself is a habit I've got. +Abbie--my second cousin; I guess I told you about her--says it's a +sure sign that a person's rich or out of his head, one or t'other. +I ain't rich, so--" He chuckled once more. + +"Mr. Graves came to see you at your home, did he?" + +"Yes, ma'am. At South Denboro. And he certainly did have a rough +passage. Ho! ho! Probably you heard about it, bein' so friendly +with the family." + +"Ahem! Doubtless he would have mentioned it, but he has been ill." + +"Sho! I'm sorry to hear that. I was afraid he'd catch cold." + +"Yes. I hope Mr. Graves's errand was successful?" + +"Well, sort of so--so." + +"Yes. He came to see you in connection with your brother's estate-- +some legacy, perhaps?" + +She did not look at the captain when she asked this question. +Therefore, she did not notice the glance which he gave her. When +he answered, it was in the same deliberate, provokingly deliberate, +manner. + +"Um-hm. Somethin' of that kind, Mrs. Dunn. I can't help thinkin'," +he went on, "how nice it is that Caroline and Steve have such a +good friend as you to help 'em. Your husband and 'Bije was chums, +I s'pose? + +"No, not exactly. The friendship was on my side of the family." + +"So? Want to know! Your husband dead, ma'am?" + +Mrs. Dunn changed the subject. Her husband, Mr. Corcoran Dunn-- +once Mike Dunn, contractor and Tammany politician--was buried in +Calvary Cemetery. She mourned him, after a fashion, but she +preferred not to talk about him. + +"Yes," she answered shortly. "It--it looks as if it might snow, +doesn't it?" + +"I shouldn't wonder. Have you any children, ma'am?" + +"One--a son." The widow's tone was frigid. + +"So? He must be a comfort to you. I s'pose likely he's a friend +of my nephew and niece, too." + +"Certainly." + +"That's good. Young folks ought to have young friends. You live +in this neighborhood, ma'am?" + +The lady did not answer. She gazed haughtily at the trees in the +Park. Captain Elisha rubbed a smile from his lips with his hand +and remained silent. The tall clock ticked loud. + +There came the sound of laughter from the passage outside. The +hall door opened. A moment later, Caroline, followed by her +brother and young Dunn, entered the library. + +The girl's cheeks were rosy from the cold wind. Her hair, beneath +the fur auto cap, had blown in brown, rippled disorder across her +forehead. She was smiling. + +"Oh, Mrs. Dunn!" she cried. "I'm so glad I accepted your-- +Malcolm's--invitation. We had a glorious ride! I--" + +She stopped short. Captain Warren had risen from his chair and was +facing her. Mrs. Dunn also rose. + +"Caroline," she said, nervously, "this"--pausing on the word-- +"gentleman is here to see you. He says he is--" + +The captain interrupted her. Stepping forward he seized his +niece's hands in his. "Well, well!" he exclaimed admiringly. +"'Bije's girl, that I ain't seen since you was a little mite of a +baby! Caroline, I'm your Uncle Elisha." + +"Good LORD!" groaned Stephen Warren. + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +If the captain heard Stephen's fervent ejaculation, he paid no +attention to it. Dropping his niece's hand, he extended his own +toward his nephew. + +"And this is Stephen?" he said. "Well, Steve, you and me have +never met afore, I b'lieve. But that's our misfortune, not our +fault, hey? How are you? Pretty smart?" + +The boy's face was flaming. He mumbled something to the effect +that he was all right enough, and turned away without accepting the +proffered hand. Captain Elisha glanced quickly at him, then at his +sister. + +"Well, Caroline," he said, pleasantly, "I s'pose you've been +expectin' me. Mr. Graves told you I was comin', didn't he?" + +Miss Warren, also, was flushed with embarrassment and mortified +surprise. + +"No," she stammered. "He has been ill." + +"Sho! you don't say! Mrs. Dunn--your friend here--said he was laid +up with a cold, but I didn't realize 'twas as bad as that. So you +didn't know I was comin' at all." + +"No. We--we have not heard from you since he returned." + +"That's too bad. I hope I sha'n't put you out any, droppin' in on +you this way. You mustn't treat me as comp'ny, you know. If +'tain't convenient, if your spare room ain't ready so soon after +movin', or anything of that kind, I can go to a hotel somewheres +for a day or so. Hadn't I better, don't you think?" + +Caroline hesitated. If only they might have been spared this +public humiliation. If the Dunns had not been there. It was bad +enough to have this dreadful country uncle come at all; but to have +him come now, before they were prepared, before any explanations +had been made! What should she do? + +Her brother, fidgeting at her elbow, not daring to look at Malcolm +Dunn, who, he knew, was thoroughly enjoying the scene, could stand +it no longer. + +"Caro," he snapped, "what are you waiting for? Don't you KNOW that +the rooms are not ready? Of course they're not! We're sorry, and +all that, but Graves didn't tell us and we weren't prepared. +Certainly he'll have to go to the hotel, for--for the present." + +He ventured to raise his eyes and glare indignantly at the captain. +Finding the latter looking intently at him, he dropped them again +and jammed his clenched fists into his pockets. + +Captain Elisha pulled thoughtfully at his beard. + +"Humph!" he grunted. "Humph! then I cal'late maybe--" He took a +step toward the door, stopped, turned back, and said, with calm +decision, "I guess I'd better stay. You won't mind me, Caroline-- +you and Stephen. You MUSTN'T. As I said, I ain't comp'ny. I'm +one of the family, your pa's brother, and I've come some +consider'ble ways to see you two young folks and talk with you. +I've come because your pa asked me to. I'm used to roughin' it, +been to sea a good many v'yages, and if a feather bed ain't handy I +can get my forty winks on the floor. So that's settled, and you +mustn't have me on your conscience. That's sense, ain't it, Mrs. +Dunn?" + +Mrs. Corcoran Dunn did not deign a reply. Caroline answered for +her. + +"Very well," she said, coldly. Stepping to the desk she rang a +bell. The butler appeared in the doorway. + +"Edwards," said Miss Warren, "this gentleman," indicating the +captain, "is to be our guest, for the present. You may show him to +his room--the blue room, I think. If it is not ready, see that it +is made so." + +"Yes, Miss Caroline," replied Edwards. Retiring to the hall, he +returned with the suit-case. + +"Will you wish to go to your room at once, sir?" he asked. + +"Why, I guess I might as well, Commodore," answered Captain Elisha, +smiling. "Little soap and water won't do no harm. Fact is, I +feel's if 'twas a prescription to be recommended. You needn't tote +that valise, though," he added. "'Tain't heavy, and I've lugged it +so fur already sence I got off the car that I feel kind of lonesome +without it." + +The butler, not knowing exactly how to answer, grinned sheepishly. +Captain Elisha turned to Mrs. Dunn and her son. + +"Well, good afternoon, ma'am," he said. "I'm real glad to have +made your acquaintance. Yours, too, sir," with a nod toward +Malcolm. "Your mother told me what a friend of the young folks you +was, and, as I'm sort of actin' pilot for 'em just now, in a way of +speakin', any friend of theirs ought to be a friend of mine. Hope +to see you often, Mr. Dunn." + +The young man addressed smiled, with amusement not at all concealed, +and languidly admitted that he was "charmed." + +"Your first visit to the city?" he inquired, in a tone which caused +Stephen to writhe inwardly. + +"No-o. No, not exactly. I used to come here pretty frequent, back +in my sea-goin' days, when my ship was in port. I sailed for +Osgood and Colton, down on South Street, for a spell. They were my +owners. You don't remember the firm, I s'pose?" + +"No. The privilege has been denied me. You find some changes in +New York, don't you--er--Captain? You are a captain, or a bos'n, +or admiral--something of that sort, I presume?" + +"Malcolm!" said his mother, sharply. + +"Oh, no offense intended. My sea terms are rather mixed. The +captain will excuse me." + +"Sartin! Cap'n's what they all call me, mostly. Your son ain't +ever been to sea, except as passenger, I cal'late, ma'am?" + +"Certainly not," snapped Mrs. Dunn. + +"Of course, of course. Well, 'tain't a life I'd want a boy of mine +to take up, nowadays. But it did have some advantages. I don't +know anything better than a v'yage afore the mast to learn a young +feller what's healthy for him to unlearn. Good day, ma'am. Good +day, Mr. Dunn. I mustn't keep the Commodore waitin' here with that +valise. I'll be out pretty soon, Caroline; just as soon as I've +got the upper layer of railroad dust off my face and hands. You'll +be surprised to see how light-complected I really am when that's +over. All right! Heave ahead, Commodore!" + +He departed, preceded by Edwards and the suit-case. Stephen Warren +threw himself violently into a chair by the window. Young Dunn +laughed aloud. His mother flashed an indignant glance at him, and +then hurried to Caroline. + +"You poor dear!" she exclaimed, putting an arm about the girl's +shoulder. "Don't mind us, please don't! Malcolm and I understand. +That is, we know how you feel and--" + +"Oh, but you DON'T know, Mrs. Dunn," cried Caroline, almost in +tears. "You don't understand! It's so much worse than you think. +I--I--Oh, why did father do it? How could he be so inconsiderate?" + +"There! there!" purred the friend of the family. "You mustn't, you +know. You really mustn't. Who is this man? This uncle? Where +does he come from? Why does he force himself upon you in this way? +I didn't know your poor father had a brother." + +"Neither did we," growled Stephen, savagely. Malcolm laughed +again. + +"What does it all mean, dear?" begged Mrs. Dunn. "You are in +trouble, I'm sure. Don't you think we--Malcolm and I--might be +able to help you? We should so love to do it. If you feel that +you CAN confide in us; if it isn't a secret--" + +She paused expectantly, patting the girl's shoulder. But Caroline +had heard young Dunn's laugh, and was offended and hurt. Her eyes +flashed as she answered. + +"It's nothing," she said. "He has come to see us on a matter of +business, I believe. I am nervous and--foolish, I suppose. Mr. +Graves will see us soon, and then everything will be arranged. +Thank you for calling, Mrs. Dunn, and for the ride." + +It was a very plain hint, but Mrs. Dunn did not choose to understand +it as such. + +"You're sure you hadn't better tell me the whole story, dear?" she +urged. "I am old enough, almost, to be your mother, and perhaps my +advice might . . . No? Very well. You know best but--You +understand that it is something other than mere curiosity which +leads me to ask." + +"Of course, I understand," said the girl hastily. "Thank you very +much. Perhaps, by and by, I can tell you everything. But we must +see Mr. Graves first. I--oh, DON'T ask me more now, Mrs. Dunn." + +The widow of so astute a politician as Mike Dunn had been in his +day could have scarcely failed to profit by his teachings. +Moreover, she possessed talent of her own. With a final pat and a +kiss, she prepared for departure. + +"Good-by, then," she said, "or rather, au revoir. We shall look in +to-morrow. Come, Malcolm." + +"I say, Mal!" cried Stephen, rising hurriedly. + +"You won't tell anyone about--" + +"Steve!" interrupted his sister. + +Malcolm, about to utter a languid sarcasm, caught his mother's +look, and remained silent. Another meaning glance, and his manner +changed. + +"All right, Steve, old man," he said. "Good-by and good luck. +Caroline, awfully glad we had the spin this afternoon. We must +have more. Just what you and Steve need. At your service any +time. If there is anything I can do in any way to--er--you +understand--call on me, won't you? Ready, Mater?" + +The pair were shown out by Edwards. On the way home in the car +Mrs. Corcoran Dunn lectured her son severely. + +"Have you no common sense?" she demanded. "Couldn't you see that +the girl would have told me everything if you hadn't laughed, like +an idiot?" + +The young man laughed again. + +"By Jove!" he exclaimed, "it was enough to make a wooden Indian +laugh. The old jay with the barnacles telling us about the +advantages of a sailor's life. And Steve's face! Ho! ho!" + +His mother snorted disgust. "If you had brains," she declared, +"you would have understood what he meant by saying that the sea was +the place to learn what to unlearn. He was hitting at you. Was it +necessary to insult him the first time you and he exchanged a +word?" + +"Insult him? HIM? Ha, ha! Why, Mater, what's the matter with +you? Do you imagine that a hayseed like that would recognize an +insult without an introduction? And, besides, what difference does +it make? You don't intend putting him on your calling list, do +you?" + +"I intend cultivating him for the present." + +"CULTIVATING him?" + +"Yes--for the present. He is Rodgers Warren's brother. That +lawyer, Graves, traveled miles to see him. What does that mean? +That, in some important way, he is connected with the estate and +those two children. If the estate is worth anything, and we have +reason to believe it is, you and I must know it. If it isn't, it +is even more important that we should know, before we waste more +time. If Caroline is an heiress, if she inherits even a moderate +fortune--" + +She shrugged her shoulders by way of finish to the sentence. + +Malcolm whistled. + +"But to think of that old Down-Easter being related to the Warren +family!" he mused. "It seems impossible." + +"Nothing is impossible," observed his mother. Then, with a +shudder, "You never met your father's relatives. I have." + + + +When Captain Elisha emerged from his room, after a wash and a +change of linen, he found the library untenanted. He strolled +about, his hands behind him, inspecting the pictures with critical +interest. Caroline, dressed for dinner, found him thus engaged. +He turned at the sound of her step. + +"Why, hello!" he cried, with hearty enthusiasm. "All rigged up for +inspection, ain't you?" + +"Inspection?" + +"Oh, that's just sailor's lingo. Means you've got your Sunday +uniform on, that's all. My! my! how nice you look! But ain't +black pretty old for such a young girl?" + +"I am in mourning," replied his niece, coldly. + +"There! there! of course you are. Tut! tut! How could I forget +it. You see, I've been so many years feelin' as if I didn't have a +brother that I've sort of got used to his bein' gone." + +"I have not." Her eyes filled as she said it. The captain was +greatly moved. + +"I'm a blunderin' old fool, my dear," he said. "I beg your pardon. +Do try to forgive me, won't you? And, perhaps--perhaps I can make +up your loss to you, just a little mite. I'd like to. I'll try +to, if--" + +He laid a hand on her shoulder. She avoided him and, moving away, +seated herself in a chair at the opposite side of the desk. The +avoidance was so obvious as to be almost brutal. Captain Elisha +looked very grave for an instant. Then he changed the subject. + +"I was lookin' at your oil paintin's," he said. "They're pretty +fine, ain't they? Any of them your work, Caroline?" + +"MY work?" The girl's astonishment was so great that she turned to +stare at her questioner. "MY work?" she repeated. "Are you +joking? You can't think that I painted them." + +"I didn't know but you might. That one over there, with the trees +and folks dancin'--sort of picnic scene, I judge--that looks as if +you might have done it." + +"That is a Corot." + +"'Tis, hey? I want to know! A--a--what did you call it?" + +"A Corot. He was a famous French artist. That was father's +favorite picture." + +"Sho! Well, I like it fust-rate myself. Did 'Bije--did your +father know this Mr. Corot well?" + +"Know him? Certainly not. Why should you think such a thing as +that?" + +"Well, he bought the picture of him, and so I s'pose likely he knew +him. There was a young feller come to South Denboro three or four +year ago and offered to paint a picture of our place for fifteen +dollars. Abbie--that's Abbie Baker, she's one of our folks, you +know, your third cousin, Caroline; keepin' house for me, she is-- +Abbie wanted me to have him do the job, but I wa'n't very +particular about it, so it never come to nothin'. He done two or +three places, though, and I swan 'twas nice work! He painted Sam +Cahoon's old ramshackle house and barn, and you'd hardly know it, +'twas so fixed up and fine, in the picture. White paint and green +grass and everything just like real. He left out the places where +the pickets was off the fence and the blinds hangin' on one hinge. +I told Abbie, I says, 'Abbie, that painter's made Sam's place look +almost respectable, and if that ain't a miracle, I don't know what +is. I would think Sam would blush every time he sees that +picture.' Ho, ho! Abbie seemed to cal'late that Sam Cahoon's +blushin' would be the biggest miracle of the two. Ho! ho! You'd +like Abbie; she's got lots of common sense." + +He chuckled at the reminiscence and rubbed his knee. His niece +made no reply. Captain Elisha glanced at the Corot once more and +asked another question. + +"I presume likely," he said, "that that picture cost consider'ble +more than fifteen, hey?" + +"Father paid twenty-two thousand dollars for it," was the crushing +answer. + +The captain looked at her, opened his mouth to speak, shut it +again, and, rising, walked across the room. Adjusting his glasses, +he inspected the Corot in silence for a few minutes. Then he drew +a long breath. + +"Well!" he sighed. "WELL." Then, after an interval, "Was this the +only one he ever painted?" + +"The only one? The only picture Corot painted? Of course not! +There are many more." + +"Did--did this Corot feller get as much for every job as he did for +this?" + +"I presume so. I know father considered this one a bargain." + +"Did, hey? Humph! I ought to know enough by this time not to +believe all I hear, but I kind of had an idea that picture paintin' +was starvation work. I've read about artists committin' suicide, +and livin' in attics, and such. Whew! About two such bargain sale +jobs as this, and I'd guarantee not to starve--and to live as nigh +the ground as a second-floor bedroom anyhow. How about this next +one? This feller in a dory--coddin', I guess he is. Did--did Mr. +Corot do him?" + +"No. That is by a well-known American artist. It is a good piece +of work, but not like the other. It is worth much less. Perhaps +five thousand." + +"So? Well, even for that I'd undertake to buy consider'ble many +dories, and hire fellers to fish from 'em, too. Humph! I guess +I'm out of soundin's. When I thought fifteen dollars was a high +price for paintin' a view of a house I was slightly mistaken. Next +time I'll offer the paintin' feller the house and ask him what he +considers a fair boot, besides. Sam Cahoon's a better speculator +than I thought he was. Hello, Commodore! what's worryin' you now?" + +Edwards appeared to announce that dinner was served. Caroline rose +and led the way to the dining room. Captain Elisha followed, +looking curiously about him as he did so. Stephen, who had been +sulkily dressing in his own room, entered immediately after. + +The captain surveyed the dining room with interest. Like the +others of the suite, it was sumptuously and tastefully furnished. +He took the chair indicated by the solemn Edwards, and the meal +began. + +The butler's sense of humor was not acute, but it was with +considerable difficulty that he restrained his smiles during the +next half hour. A more appreciative observer would have noticed +and enjoyed the subtler points. Stephen's glare of disgust at his +uncle when the latter tucked his napkin in the opening of his +waistcoat; Caroline's embarrassment when the captain complimented +the soup, declaring that it was almost as good as one of Abbie's +chowders; the visitor's obvious uneasiness at being waited upon +attentively, and the like. These Edwards missed, but he could not +help appreciating Captain Elisha's conversation. + +Caroline said little during dinner. Her brother glowered at his +plate and was silent. But the captain talked and talked. + +"Maybe you think I didn't have a time findin' your new lodgin's," +he said. "I come over on the cars, somethin' I don't usually do +when there's anything afloat to carry me. But I had an errand or +two to do in Boston, so I stopped over night at the hotel there +and got the nine o'clock train. I landed here in New York all +shipshape and on time, and started in to hunt you up." + +"How did you get our address?" asked his niece. "Mr. Graves +couldn't have given it to you, for we only decided on this +apartment a few days ago." + +"Ho! ho!" chuckled Captain Elisha, rolling in his chair, like a +ship in a cross sea. "Ho! ho! You remind me of Abbie, Caroline. +That's what she said. 'I never heard of such a crazy cruise,' she +says. ' Startin' off to visit folks when you haven't the least +idea where they live!' 'Oh, yes, I have,' I says, 'I know where +they live; they live in New York.' Well, you ought to have seen +her face. Abbie's a good woman--none better--but she generally +don't notice a joke until she trips over it. I get consider'ble +fun out of Abbie, take her by the large. 'New York!' she says. +'Did anybody ever hear the beat of that? Do you cal'late New +York's like South Denboro, where everybody knows everybody else? +What are you plannin' to do? run up the fust man, woman or child +you meet and ask 'em to tell you where 'Bijah Warren lives? Or are +you goin' to trot from Dan to Beersheby, trustin' to meet your +nephew and niece on the way? I never in my born days!' + +"Well," went on the captain, "I told her that the last suggestion +weren't such a bad one, but there was one little objection to it. +Considerin' that I hadn't ever laid eyes on Steve and that I +hadn't seen you since you was a baby, the chances was against my +recognizin' you if we did meet. Ho, ho, ho! Finally I hinted that +I might look in the directory, and she got more reconciled to my +startin'. Honest, I do believe she'd have insisted on takin' me by +the hand and leadin' me to you, if I hadn't told her that. + +"So I did look in the directory and got the number on Fifth Avenue +where you used to be. I asked a policeman the nighest way to get +there, and he said take a bus. Last time I was in New York I rode +in one of those Fifth Avenue omnibuses, and I never got such a +jouncin' in my life. The pavement then was round cobble stones, +like some of the roads in Nantucket. I remember I tried to ask a +feller that set next to me somethin' or other, and I swan to man I +couldn't get nothin' out of my mouth but rattles. 'Metropolitan +Museum,' sounded like puttin' in a ton of coal. I thought I was +comin' apart, or my works was out of order, or somethin', but when +the feller tried to answer he rattled just as bad, so I realized +'twas the reg'lar disease and felt some better. I never shall +forget a fleshy woman--somethin' like that Mrs. Dunn friend of +yours, Caroline--that set opposite me. It give me the crawls to +look at her, her chins shook around so. Ho! ho! she had no less'n +three of 'em, and they all shook different ways. Ho! ho! ho! If +I'd been in the habit of wearin' false hair or teeth or anything +that wa'n't growed to or buttoned on me I'd never have risked a +trip in one of those omnibuses. + +"So when the police officer prescribed one for me this v'yage, I +was some dubious. I'm older'n I was ten year ago, and I wa'n't +sure that I'd hold together. I cal'lated walkin' was better for my +health. So I found Fifth Avenue and started to walk. And the +farther I walked the heavier that blessed satchel of mine got. It +weighed maybe ten or twelve pounds at the corner of 42nd Street, +but when I got as far as the open square where the gilt woman is +hurryin' to keep from bein' run over by Gen'ral Sherman on +horseback--that statue, you know--I wouldn't have let that blessed +bag go for less'n two ton, if I was sellin' it by weight. So I +leaned up against an electric light pole to rest and sort of get my +bearin's. Then I noticed what I'd ought to have seen afore, that +the street wa'n't paved with cobbles, as it used to be, but was +smooth as a stretch of state road down home. So I figgered that a +bus was a safe risk, after all. I waited ten minutes or more for +one to come, and finally I asked a woman who was in tow of an +astrakhan-trimmed dog at the end of a chain, if the omnibuses had +stopped runnin'. When I fust see the dog leadin' her I thought she +was blind, but I guess she was deef and dumb instead. Anyhow, all +she said was 'Ugh!' not very enthusiastic, at that, and went along. +Ho! ho! So then I asked a man, and he pointed to a bus right in +front of me. You see, I was lookin' for the horses, same as they +used to be, and this was an automobile. + +"I blushed, I guess, just to show that there was some red underneath +the green, and climbed aboard the omnibus. I rode along for a +spell, admirin' as much of the scenery as I could see between the +women's hats, then I told the skipper of the thing that I wanted to +make port at 82nd Street. He said 'Ugh,' apparently suff'rin' from +the same complaint the dog woman had, and we went on and on. At +last I got kind of anxious and asked him again. + +"'Eighty-second!' says he, ugly. 'This is Ninety-first.' + +"'Good land!' says I. 'I wanted Eighty-second.' + +"'Why didn't you say so?' says he, lookin' as if I'd stole his +mother's spoons. + +"'I did,' says I. + +"'You DID?' he snarls. 'You did not! If you did, wouldn't I have +heard you?' + +"Well, any answer I'd be likely to make to that would have meant +more argument, and the bus was sailin' right along at the time, so +I piled out and did some more walkin', the other way. At last I +reached your old number, Stevie, and--Hey? Did you speak?" + +"Don't call me 'Stevie,'" growled his nephew, rebelliously. + +"Beg your pardon. I keep forgettin' that you're almost grown up. +Well, as I was sayin', I got to the house where you used to live, +and 'twas shut tight. Nobody there. Ho! ho! I felt a good deal +like old Beriah Doane must have on his last 'vacation.' You see, +Beriah is one of our South Denboro notorieties; he's famous in his +way. He works and loafs by spells until cranberry pickin' time in +the fall; then he picks steady and earns thirty or forty dollars +all at once. Soon's he's paid off, he starts for Boston on a +'vacation,' an alcoholic one. Well, last fall his married sister +was visitin' him, and she, bein' strong for good Templarism, was +determined he shouldn't vacate in his regular way. So she +telegraphed her husband's brother in Brockton to meet Beriah there, +go with him to Boston, and see that he behaved himself and stayed +sober. Beriah heard of it, and when his train gets as far as +Tremont what does he do but get off quiet and change cars for New +Bedford. He hadn't been there for nine years, but he had pleasant +memories of his last visit. And when he does get to New Bedford, +chucklin' over the way he's befooled his sister and her folks, I'm +blessed if he didn't find that the town had gone no-license, and +every saloon was shut up! Ho! ho! ho! Well, I felt about the way +he did, I guess, when I stood on the steps of your Fifth Avenue +house and realized you'd gone away. I wouldn't have had Abbie see +me there for somethin'. Ho! ho!" + +He leaned back in his chair and laughed aloud. Caroline smiled +faintly. Stephen threw down his napkin and sprang to his feet. + +"Sis," he cried, "I'm going to my room. By gad! I can't--" + +Catching a warning glance from his sister, he did not finish his +sentence, but stood sulkily beside his chair. Captain Elisha +looked at him, then at the girl, and stopped laughing. He folded +his napkin with care, and rose. + +"That's about all of it," he said, shortly. "I asked around at two +or three of the neighbors' houses, and the last one I asked knew +where you'd moved and told me how to get here." + +When the trio were again in the library, the captain spoke once +more. + +"I'm 'fraid I've talked too much," he said, gravely. "I didn't +realize how I was runnin' on. Thought I was home, I guess, with +the fellers of my own age down at the postoffice, instead of bein' +an old countryman, tirin' out you two young city folks with my +yarns. I beg your pardon. Now you mustn't mind me. I see you're +expectin' company or goin' callin' somewheres, so I'll just go to +my bedroom and write Abbie a line. She'll be kind of anxious to +know if I got here safe and sound and found you. Don't worry about +me, I'll be comf'table and busy." + +He turned to go. Caroline looked at him in surprise. "We are not +expecting callers," she said. "And certainly we are not going out +to-night. Why should you think such a thing?" + +It was her uncle's turn to show surprise. + +"Why," he said, with a glance at Stephen, "I see that you're all +dressed up, and so I thought, naturally--" + +He paused. + +Young Warren grunted contemptuously. + +"We dressed for dinner, that is all," said Caroline. + +"You--you mean you put these clothes on every night?" + +"Certainly." + +Captain Elisha was plainly very much astonished. + +"Well," he observed, slowly. "I--guess I've made another mistake. +Hum! Good night." + +"Good night," said Stephen, quickly. Caroline, however, seemed +embarrassed. + +"Captain Warren," she said, "I thought possibly you might wish to +talk business with my brother and me. We--we understand that you +have come on business connected with father's will. It seems to me +that the sooner we--we--" + +"Get it over the better, hey? Well, maybe you're right. It's an +odd business for an old salt like me to be mixed up in, that's a +fact. If it hadn't been so odd, if I hadn't thought there must be +some reason, some partic'lar reason, I--well, I guess I'd have +stayed to home where I belong. You mustn't think," he added, +seriously, "that I don't realize I'm as out of place amongst you +and your rich friends as a live fish in a barrel of sawdust. +That's all right; you needn't trouble to say no. But you must +understand that, realizin' it, I'm not exactly imposin' myself on +you for pleasure or--well, from choice. I'm so built that I can't +shirk when my conscience tells me I shouldn't, that's all. I'm +kind of tired to-night, and I guess you are. To-morrow mornin', if +it's agreeable to all hands, we will have a little business talk. +I'll have to see Lawyer Graves pretty soon, and have a gen'ral look +at your pa's affairs. Then, if everything is all right and I feel +my duty's done, I'll probably go back to the Cape and leave you to +him, or somebody else able to look out for you. Until then I'm +afraid," with a smile which had a trace of bitterness in it; "I'm +afraid you'll have to do the best you can with me. I'll try to be +no more of a nuisance than I can help. Good night." + +When the two young people were left alone, Caroline turned to her +brother. + +"Steve," she said, "I'm afraid you were a little rude. I'm afraid +you hurt his feelings." + +The boy stared at her in wonder. "Hurt his feelings!" he exclaimed. +"HIS feelings! Well, by Jove! Caro, you're a wonder! Did you +expect me to throw my arms around his neck? If he had had any +feelings at all, if he was the slightest part of a gentleman, do you +suppose he would come here and disgrace us as he is doing? Who +invited him? Did we? I guess not!" + +"But he is father's brother, and father asked him to come." + +"No, he didn't. He asked him--heaven knows why--to look out for +our money affairs. That's bad enough; but he didn't ask him to +LIVE with us. He sha'n't! by gad, he sha'n't! YOU may be as sweet +to him as you like, but I'll make it my business to give him the +cold shoulder every chance I get. I'll freeze him out, that's what +I'll do--freeze him out. Why, Caro! be sensible. Think what his +staying here means. Can we take him about with us? Can our +friends meet HIM as--as our uncle? He's got to be made to go. +Hasn't he now? Hasn't he?" + +The girl was silent for a moment. Then she covered her face with +her hands. "Oh, yes!" she sobbed. "Oh, yes, he must! he MUST! +WHY did father do it?" + + + +CHAPTER V + + +The Warren breakfast hour was nine o'clock. At a quarter to nine +Caroline, entering the library, found Stephen seated by the fire +reading the morning paper. + +"Good morning," she said. Then, looking about the room, asked, +"Has--has HE been here?" + +Her brother shook his head. "You mean Uncle 'Lish?" he asked, +cheerfully. "No, he hasn't. At least, I haven't seen him and I +haven't made any inquiries. I shall manage to survive if he never +appears. Let sleeping relatives lie, that's my motto." + +He laughed at his own joke and turned the page of the paper. The +butler entered. + +"Breakfast is served, Miss Caroline," he announced. + +"Has Captain Warren come from his room?" asked the young lady. + +"No, Miss Caroline. That is, I haven't seen him." + +Stephen tossed the paper on the floor and rose. + +"I wonder--" he began. Then, with a broad grin, "A sudden thought +strikes me, Sis. He has undoubtedly blown out the gas." + +"Steve! How can you!" + +"Perfectly simple. Absolutely reasonable. Just what might have +been expected. 'He has gone, but we shall miss him.' Come on, +Caro; I'm hungry. Let the old hayseed sleep. You and I can have a +meal in peace. Heavens! you don't care for another experience like +last night's, do you?" + +"Edwards," said Caroline, "you may knock at Captain Warren's door +and tell him breakfast is served." + +"Yes," commanded Stephen, "and tell him not to hurry on our account. +Come, Caro, come! You're not pining for his society. Well, wait +then! _I_ won't!" + +He marched angrily out of the room. His sister hesitated, her wish +to follow complicated by a feeling of duty to a guest, no matter +how unwelcome. The butler reappeared, looking puzzled. + +"He's not there, miss?" he said. + +"Not there? Not in his room?" + +"No, Miss Caroline. I knocked, and he didn't answer, so I looked +in and he wasn't there. His bed's been slept in, but he's gone." + +"Gone? And you haven't seen him?" + +"No, miss. I've been up and about since half past seven, and I +can't understand where he could have got to." + +The door of the hall opened and shut. Edwards darted from the +library. A moment afterwards Captain Elisha strolled in. He was +wearing his overcoat, and his hat was in his hand. + +"Good mornin', Caroline," he hailed, in his big voice. "Surprised +to see me, are you? Ho! ho! So was the Commodore. He couldn't +understand how I got in without ringin'. Well, you see, I'm used +to turnin' out pretty early, and when it got to be most seven +o'clock, I couldn't lay to bed any longer, so I got up, dressed, +and went for a walk. I fixed the door latch so's I could come in +quiet. You haven't waited breakfast for me, I hope." + +"No; it is ready now, however." + +"Ready now," the captain looked at his watch. "Yes, I should think +so. It's way into the forenoon. You HAVE waited for me, haven't +you? I'm awfully sorry." + +"No, we have not waited. Our breakfast hour is nine. Pardon me +for neglecting to tell you that last evening." + +"Oh, that's all right. Now you trot right out and eat. I've had +mine." + +"Had your breakfast?" + +"Yes, indeed. When I'm home, Abbie and I usually eat about seven, +so I get sort of sharp-set if I wait after that. I cal'lated you +city folks was late sleepers, and I wouldn't want to make any +trouble, so I found a little eating house down below here a ways +and had a cup of coffee and some bread and butter and mush. Then I +went cruisin' round in Central Park a spell. This IS Central Park +over across here, ain't it?" + +"Yes." The girl was too astonished to say more. + +"I thought 'twas. I'd been through part of it afore, but 'twas +years ago, and it's such a big place and the paths run so criss- +cross I got sort of mixed up, and it took me longer to get out than +it did to get in. I had the gen'ral points of the compass, and I +guess I could have made a pretty average straight run for home, but +every time I wanted to cut across lots there was a policeman +lookin' at me, so I had to stick to the channel. That's what made +me so late. Now do go and eat your breakfast. I won't feel easy +till I see you start." + +Caroline departed, and the captain, after a visit to his own room, +where he left his coat and hat, returned to the library, picked up +the paper which his nephew had dropped, and began reading. + +After breakfast came the "business talk." It was a brief one. +Captain Elisha soon discovered that his brother's children knew +very little concerning their father's affairs. They had always +plenty of money, had been indulged in practically every wish, and +had never had to think or plan for themselves. As to the size of +the estate, they knew nothing more than Mr. Graves had told them, +which was that, instead of the several millions which rumor had +credited A. Rodgers Warren with possessing, five hundred thousand +dollars would probably be the extent of their inheritance, and +that, therefore, they must live economically. As a first step in +that direction, they had given up their former home and moved to +the apartment. + +"Yes, yes," mused the captain, "I see. Mr. Graves didn't know +about your movin', then? You did it on your own hook, so to +speak?" + +Stephen answered promptly. + +"Of course we did," he declared. "Why not?" + +"No reason in the world. A good sensible thing to do, I should +say. Didn't anybody advise you where to go?" + +"Why should we need advice?" Again it was Stephen who replied. +"We aren't kids. We're old enough to decide some things for +ourselves, I should think." + +"Yes. Sartin. That's right. But I didn't know but p'raps some of +your friends might have helped along. This Mrs. Dunn now, she kind +of hinted to me that she'd--well, done what she could to make you +comf'table." + +"She has," avowed Caroline, warmly. "Mrs. Dunn and Malcolm have +proved their friendship in a thousand ways. We never can repay +them, Stephen and I, never!" + +"No. There's some things you can't ever pay, I know that. Mrs. +Dunn found this nice place for you, did she?" + +"Why, yes. She and I found it together." + +"So? That was lucky, wa'n't it? Advertised in the newspaper, was +it; or was there a 'To Let' placard up in the window?" + +"No, certainly not. Mrs. Dunn knew that we had decided to move, +and she has a cousin who is interested in New York property. She +asked him, and he mentioned this apartment." + +"One of his own, was it?" + +"I believe so. Why are you so particular? Don't you like it?" + +Her tone was sharp. Stephen, who resented his uncle's questions as +impertinent intrusions upon the family affairs, added one of his +own. + +"Isn't it as good as those in--what do you call it--South Denboro?" +he asked, maliciously. + +Captain Elisha laughed heartily. + +"Pretty nigh as good," he said. "I didn't notice any better on the +way to the depot as I drove up. And I doubt if there's many new +ones built since I left. It's a mighty fine lot of rooms, I think. +What's the rent? You'll excuse my askin', things bein' as they +are." + +"Twenty-two hundred a year," answered his niece, coldly. + +The captain looked at her, whistled, broke off the whistle in the +middle, and did a little mental arithmetic. + +"Twenty-two hundred a year!" he repeated. "That's one hundred and +eighty odd a month. Say, that cousin of Mrs. Dunn's must want to +get his investment back. You mean for just these ten rooms?" + +Stephen laughed scornfully. + +"Our guardian has been counting, Caro," he remarked. + +"Yes. Yes, I counted this mornin' when I got up. I was interested, +naturally." + +"Sure! Naturally, of course," sneered the boy. "Did you think the +twenty-two hundred was the rent of the entire building?" + +"Well, I didn't know. I--" + +"The rent," interrupted Caroline, with dignity, "was twenty-four +hundred, but, thanks to Mrs. Dunn, who explained to her cousin that +we were friends of hers, it was reduced." + +"We being in reduced circumstances," observed her brother in supreme +disgust. "Pity the poor orphans! By gad!" + +"That was real nice of Mrs. Dunn," declared Captain Elisha, heartily. +"She's pretty well-off herself, I s'pose--hey, Caroline?" + +"I presume so." + +"Yes, yes. About how much is she wuth, think?" + +"I don't know. I never inquired." + +"No. Well, down our way," with a chuckle, "we don't have to +inquire. Ask anybody you meet what his next door neighbor's wuth, +and he'll tell you within a hundred, and how he got it, and how +much he owes, and how he gets along with his wife. Ho! ho! +Speakin' of wives, is this Mr. Dunn married?" + +He looked at his niece as he asked the question. There was no +reason why Caroline should blush; she knew it, and hated herself +for doing it. + +"No," she answered, resentfully, "he is not." + +"Um-hm. What's his business?" + +"He is connected with a produce exchange house, I believe." + +"One of the firm?" + +"I don't know. In New York we are not as well posted, or as +curious, concerning our friends' private affairs as your +townspeople seem to be." + +"I guess that's so. I imagine New Yorkers are too busy gettin' it +themselves to bother whether their neighbors have got it or not. +Well," he went on, rising, "I guess I've kept you young folks from +your work or--or play, or whatever you was going to do, long enough +for this once. I think I'll go out for a spell. I've got an +errand or two I want to do. What time do you have dinner?" + +"We lunch at half past one," answered Caroline. + +"We dine at seven." + +"Oh, yes, yes! I keep forgettin' that supper's dinner. Well, I +presume likely I'll be back for luncheon. If I ain't, don't wait +for me. I'll be home afore supper--there I go again!--afore +dinner, anyhow. Good-by." + +Five minutes later he was at the street corner, inquiring of a +policeman "the handiest way to get to Pine Street." Following the +directions given, he boarded a train at the nearest subway station, +emerged at Wall Street, inquired once more, located the street he +was looking for, and, consulting a card which he took from a big +stained leather pocket-book, walked on, peering at the numbers of +the buildings he passed. + +The offices of Sylvester, Kuhn, and Graves, were on the sixteenth +floor of a new and gorgeously appointed sky-scraper. When Captain +Elisha entered the firm's reception room, he was accosted by a +wide-awake and extremely self-possessed office boy. + +"Who'd you want to see?" asked the boy, briskly. + +The captain removed his hat and wiped his forehead with his +handkerchief. + +"Hold on a jiffy, Sonny," he panted. "Just give me a minute to +sort of get myself together, as you might say. I rode up in one of +those express elevators of yours, and I kind of feel as if my boots +had got tangled up with my necktie. When that elevator feller cast +off from the cellar, I begun to shut up like a spyglass. Whew! +Say, Son, is Mr. Graves in?" + +"No," replied the boy, grinning. + +"Hum! Still in the sick bay, is he--hey?" + +"He's to home. Got a cold." + +"Yup. It's too bad. Mr.--er--Sylvester, is he in?" + +"Naw, he ain't. And Mr. Kuhn's busy. Won't one of the clerks do? +What do you want to see the firm about?" + +"Well, Son, I had reasons of my own. However, I guess I won't +disturb Mr. Kuhn, if he's busy's you say. Here! you tell him, or +Mr. Sylvester when he comes, that Cap'n Warren, Cap'n Elisha Warren +of South Denboro--better write it down--called and will be back +about half past twelve or thereabouts. Got it, have you? Hum! is +that Elisha? You don't tell me! I've been spellin' it for sixty +years, more or less, and never realized it had such possibilities. +Lend me your pencil. There! you give Mr. Sylvester that and tell +him I'll see him later. So long, Son." + +He departed, smiling. The indignant office boy threw the card on +the table. + +Captain Elisha strolled down Pine Street, looking about him with +interest. It had been years since he visited this locality, and +the changes were many. Soon, however, he began to recognize +familiar landmarks. He was approaching the water front, and there +were fewer new buildings. When he reached South Street he was +thoroughly at home. + +The docks were crowded. The river was alive with small craft of +all kinds. Steamers and schooners were plenty, but the captain +missed the old square-riggers, the clipper ships and barks, such +as he had sailed in as cabin boy, as foremast hand, and, later, +commanded on many seas. + +At length, however, he saw four masts towering above the roof of a +freight house. They were not schooner rigged, those masts. The +yards were set square across, and along them were furled royals +and upper topsails. Here, at last, was a craft worth looking at. +Captain Elisha crossed the street, hurried past the covered freight +house, and saw a magnificent great ship lying beside a broad open +wharf. Down the wharf he walked, joyfully, as one who greets an +old friend. + +The wharf was practically deserted. An ancient watchman was dozing +in a sort of sentry box, but he did not wake. There was a pile of +foreign-looking crates and boxes at the further end of the pier, +evidently the last bit of cargo waiting to be carted away. The +captain inspected the pile, recognized the goods as Chinese and +Japanese, then read the name on the big ship's stern. She was the +Empress of the Ocean, and her home port was Liverpool. + +Captain Elisha, as a free-born Yankee skipper, had an inherited and +cherished contempt for British "lime-juicers," but he could not +help admiring this one. To begin with, her size and tonnage were +enormous. Also, she was four-masted, instead of the usual three, +and her hull and lower spars were of steel instead of wood. A +steel sailing vessel was something of a novelty to the captain, and +he was seized with a desire to go aboard and inspect. + +The ladder from ship to wharf was down, of course, and getting on +board was an easy matter. When he reached the deck and looked +about him, the great size of the ship was still more apparent. The +bulwarks were as high as a short man's head. She was decked over +aft, and, as the captain said afterwards, "her cabins had nigh as +many stories as a house." From the roof of the "first story," +level with the bulwarks, extended a series of bridges, which could +be hoisted or lowered, and by means of which her officers could +walk from stern to bow without descending to the deck. There was a +good-sized engine house forward, beyond the galley and forecastle. +Evidently the work of hoisting anchors and canvas was done by +steam. + +The captain strolled about, looking her over. The number of +improvements since his seagoing days was astonishing. He was +standing by the wheel, near the companion way, wishing that he +might inspect the officers' quarters, but not liking to do so +without an invitation, when two men emerged from the cabin. + +One of the pair was evidently the Japanese steward of the ship. +The other was a tall, clean-cut young fellow, whose general +appearance and lack of sunburn showed quite plainly that he was not +a seafaring man by profession. The steward caught sight of Captain +Elisha, and, walking over, accosted him. + +"Want to see skipper, sir?" he asked, in broken English. "He +ashore." + +"No, Doctor," replied the captain, cheerfully. "I don't want to +see him. I've got no business aboard. It's been some time since I +trod the quarter-deck of a square-rigger, and I couldn't resist the +temptation of tryin' how the planks felt under my feet. This is +consider'ble of a clipper you've got here," he added. + +"Yes, sir," replied the steward grinning. + +"Where you from?" asked Captain Elisha. + +"Singapore, sir." + +"Cargo all out?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Waitin' for another one?" + +"Yes, sir. We load for Manila bimeby." + +"Manila, hey? Have a good passage across?" + +"Yes, sir. She good ship." + +"Shouldn't wonder. How d'ye do, sir," to the young man, who was +standing near. "Hope you won't think I'm crowdin' in where I don't +belong. I was just tellin' the doctor here that it had been some +time since I trod a quarter-deck, and I thought I'd see if I'd +forgot the feel." + +"Have you?" asked the young man, smiling. + +"Guess not. Seems kind of nat'ral. I never handled such a whale +of a craft as this, though. Didn't have many of 'em in my day. +Come over in her, did you?" + +"No," with a shake of the head. "No such luck. I'm a land lubber, +just scouting round, that's all. She's a bully vessel, isn't she?" + +"Looks so. Tell you better after I've seen what she could do in a +full-sail breeze. All hands ashore, Doctor?" + +"Yes, sir," replied the steward. + +"Crew paid off and spendin' their money, I s'pose. Well, if it +ain't against orders, I'd kind of like to look around a little +mite. May I?" + +The steward merely grinned. His companion answered for him. + +"Certainly you may," he said. "I'm a friend of one of the +consignees, and I'd be glad to show you the ship, if you like. +Shall we begin with the cabins?" + +Captain Elisha, delighted with the opportunity, expressed his +thanks, and the tour of inspection began. The steward remained on +deck, but the captain and his new acquaintance strolled through the +officers' quarters together. + +"Jerushy!" exclaimed the former, as he viewed the main cabin. +"Say, you could pretty nigh have a dance here, couldn't you? A +small one. This reminds me of the cabin aboard the Sea Gull, first +vessel I went mate of--it's so diff'rent. Aboard her we had to +walk sittin' down. There wa'n't room in the cabin for more'n one +to stand up at a time. But she could sail, just the same--and +carry it, too. I've seen her off the Horn with studdin' sails set, +when craft twice her length and tonnage had everything furled above +the tops'l yard. Hi hum! you mustn't mind an old salt runnin' on +this way. I've been out of the pickle tub a good while, but I +cal'late the brine ain't all out of my system." + +His guide's eyes snapped. + +"I understand," he said, laughing. "I've never been at sea, on a +long voyage, in my life, but I can understand just how you feel. +It's in my blood, I guess. I come of a salt water line. My people +were from Belfast, Maine, and every man of them went to sea." + +"Belfast, hey? They turned out some A No.1 sailors in Belfast. I +sailed under a Cap'n Pearson from there once--James Pearson, his +name was." + +"He was my great uncle. I was named for him. My name is James +Pearson, also." + +"WHAT?" Captain Elisha was hugely delighted. "Mr. Pearson, shake +hands. I want to tell you that your Uncle Jim was a seaman of the +kind you dream about, but seldom meet. I was his second mate three +v'yages. My name's Elisha Warren." + +Mr. Pearson shook hands and laughed, good-humoredly. + +"Glad to meet you, Captain Warren," he said. "And I'm glad you +knew Uncle Jim. As a youngster, he was my idol. He could spin +yarns that were worth listening to." + +"I bet you! He'd seen things wuth yarnin' about. So you ain't a +sailor, hey? Livin' in New York?" + +The young man nodded. "Yes," he said. Then, with a dry smile, "If +you call occupying a hall bedroom and eating at a third-rate +boarding-house table living. However, it's my own fault. I've +been a newspaper man since I left college. But I threw up my job +six months ago. Since then I've been free-lancing." + +"Have, hey?" The captain was too polite to ask further questions, +but he had not the slightest idea what "free-lancing" might be. +Pearson divined his perplexity and explained. + +"I've had a feeling," he said, "that I might write magazine +articles and stories--yes, possibly a novel or two. It's a serious +disease, but the only way to find out whether it's chronic or not +is to experiment. That's what I'm doing now. The thing I'm at +work on may turn out to be a sea story. So I spend some time +around the wharves and aboard the few sailing ships in port, +picking up material." + +Captain Elisha patted him on the back. + +"Now don't you get discouraged," he said. "I used to have an idea +that novel writin' and picture paintin' was poverty jobs for men +with healthy appetites, but I've changed my mind. I don't know's +you'll believe it, but I've just found out, for a fact, that some +painters get twenty-two thousand dollars for one picture. For ONE, +mind you. And a little mite of a thing, too, that couldn't have +cost scarcely anything to paint. Maybe novels sell for just as +much. _I_ don't know." + +His companion laughed heartily. "I'm afraid not, Captain," he +said. "Few, at any rate. I should be satisfied with considerably +less, to begin with. Are you living here in town?" + +"Well--we-ll, I don't know. I ain't exactly livin', and I ain't +exactly boardin', but--Say! ain't that the doctor callin' you?" + +It was the steward, and there was an anxious ring in his voice. +Pearson excused himself and hurried out of the cabin. Captain +Elisha lingered for a final look about. Then he followed +leisurely, becoming aware, as he reached the open air, of loud +voices in angry dialogue. + +Entrances to the Empress of the Ocean's cabins were on the main +deck, and also on the raised half-deck at the stern, near the +wheel, the binnacle and the officers' corned-beef tubs, swinging in +their frames. From this upper deck two flights of steps led down +to the main deck below. At the top of one of these flights stood +young Pearson, cool and alert. Behind him half crouched the +Japanese steward, evidently very much frightened. At the foot of +the steps were grouped three rough looking men, foreigners and +sailors without doubt, and partially intoxicated. The three men +were an ugly lot, and they were all yelling and jabbering together +in a foreign lingo. As the captain emerged from the passage to the +open deck, he heard Pearson reply in the same language. + +"What's the matter?" he asked. + +Pearson answered without turning his head. + +"Drunken sailors," he explained. "Part of the crew here. They've +been uptown, got full, and come back to square a grudge they seem +to have against the steward. I'm telling them they'd better give +up and go ashore, if they know when they're well off." + +The three fellows by the ladder's foot were consulting together. +On the wharf were half a dozen loungers, collected by the prospect +of a row. + +"If I can hold them off for a few minutes," went on Pearson, "we'll +be all right. The wharf watchman has gone for the police. Here! +drop it! What are you up to?" + +One of the sailors had drawn a knife. The other two reached for +their belts behind, evidently intending to follow suit. From the +loafers on the wharf came shouts of encouragement. + +"Do the dude up, Pedro! Give him what's comin' to him." + +The trio formed for a rush. The steward, with a shrill scream, +fled to the cabin. Pearson did not move; he even smiled. The next +moment he was pushed to one side, and Captain Elisha stood at the +top of the steps. + +"Here!" he said, sternly. "What's all this?" + +The three sailors, astonished at this unexpected addition to their +enemies forces, hesitated. Pearson laid his hand on the captain's +arm. + +"Be careful," he said. "They're dangerous." + +"Dangerous? Them? I've seen their kind afore. Here, you!" +turning to the three below. "What do you mean by this? Put down +that knife, you lubber! Do you want to be put in irons? Over the +side with you, you swabs! Git!" + +He began descending the ladder. Whether the sailors were merely +too surprised to resist, or because they recognized the authority +of the deep sea in Captain Elisha's voice and face is a question. +At any rate, as he descended they backed away. + +"Mutiny on board a ship of mine?" roared the captain. "What do you +mean by it? Why, I'll have you tied up and put on bread and water. +Over the side with you! Mutiny on board of ME! Lively! Tumble up +there!" + +With every order came a stride forward and a correspondingly +backward movement on the part of the three. The performance would +have been ridiculous if Pearson had not feared that it might become +tragic. He was descending the steps to his new acquaintance's aid, +when there rose a chorus of shouts from the wharf. + +"The cops! the cops! Look out!" + +That was the finishing touch. The next moment the three "mutineers" +were over the side and running as fast as their alcoholic condition +would permit down the wharf. + +"Well, by George!" exclaimed Pearson. + +Captain Elisha seemed to be coming out of a dream. He stood still, +drew his hand across his forehead, and then began to laugh. + +"Well!" he stammered. "Well, I snum! I--I--Mr. Pearson, I wonder +what on earth you must think of me. I declare the sight of that +gang set me back about twenty years. They--they must have thought +I was the new skipper! Did you hear me tell 'em they couldn't +mutiny aboard of me? Ho! ho! Well, I am an old idiot!" + +Pearson stuck his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I've got +it!" he cried. "I knew your name was familiar. Why, you're the +mate that handled the mutinous crew aboard Uncle Jim's bark, the +Pacer, off Mauritius, in the typhoon, when he was hurt and in the +cabin. I've heard him tell it a dozen times. Well, this IS a +lucky day for me!" + +Captain Elisha was evidently pleased. "So he told you that, did +he?" he began. "That WAS a time and a half, I--" + +He was interrupted. Over the rail appeared a blue helmet, and an +instant later a big and very pompous police officer leaped to the +deck. He was followed by the wharf watchman, who looked +frightened. + +"Where's the other one of them?" demanded the policeman. "Oh, it's +you, is it? Well, you're too old to be gettin' drunk and fightin'. +Come along now, peaceable, and let's have no words about it." + +He advanced and laid a hand on the captain's arm. + +"You're under arrest," he announced. "Will you come along quiet?" + +"I'm under arrest?" repeated Captain Elisha. "Under--My soul and +body! Why, I ain't done anything." + +"Yes, I know. Nobody's done nothin'. Come on, or shall I--Hello, +Mr. Pearson, sir! How d'you do?" + +Pearson had stepped forward. + +"Slattery," he said, "you've made a mistake. Let me tell you about +it." He drew the officer aside and whispered in his ear. After a +rather lengthy conversation, the guardian of the peace turned to +the watchman. + +"What d'you mean by tellin' all them lies?" he demanded. + +"Lies?" repeated the astonished watchman. "I never told no lies." + +"You did. You said this gentleman," indicating the nervous and +apprehensive Captain Elisha, "was fightin' and murderin'. I ask +your pardon, sir. 'Twas this bloke's foolishness. G'wan ashore! +You make me sick. Good day, Mr. Pearson." + +He departed, driving his new victim before him and tongue-lashing +him all the way. The captain drew a long breath. + +"Say, Mr. Pearson," he declared, "a minute or so ago you said this +was a lucky day for you. I cal'late it's a luckier one for me. If +it hadn't been for you I'd been took up. Yes, sir, took up and +carted off to the lockup. Whew! that would have looked well in the +papers, wouldn't it? And my niece and nephew . . . Jerushy! I'm +mightily obliged to you. How did you handle that policeman so +easily?" + +Pearson laughed. "Oh," he replied, "a newspaper training and +acquaintance has its advantages. Slattery knows me, and I know +him." + +"Well, I thank you, I do so." + +"You needn't. I wouldn't have missed meeting you and seeing you +handle those fellows for a good deal. And besides, you're not +going to escape so easy. You must lunch with me." + +The captain started, hastily pulled out his watch, and looked at +it. + +"Quarter to one!" he cried. "And I said I'd be back at that +lawyer's office at half-past twelve. No, no, Mr. Pearson, I can't +go to lunch with you, but I do wish you'd come and see me some +time. My address for--for a spell, anyhow--is Central Park West," +giving the number, "and the name is Warren, same as mine. Will you +come some evenin'? I'd be tickled to death to see you." + +The young man was evidently delighted. + +"Will I?" he exclaimed. "Indeed I will. I warn you, Captain +Warren, that I shall probably keep you busy spinning sea yarns." + +"Nothin' I like better, though I'm afraid my yarns'll be pretty +dull alongside of your Uncle Jim's." + +"I'll risk it. Good-by and good luck. I shall see you very soon." + +"That's right; do. So long." + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +The boy, Captain Elisha's acquaintance of the morning, was out, +regaling himself with crullers and milk at a pushcart on Broad +Street, when the captain returned to the officers of Sylvester, +Kuhn and Graves. The clerk who had taken his place was very +respectful. + +"Captain Warren," he said, "Mr. Sylvester was sorry to miss you. +He waited until half past twelve and left word for us to telephone +if you came. Our Mr. Graves is still ill, and the matter of your +brother's estate must be discussed without further delay. Please +sit down and I will telephone." + +The captain seated himself on the leather-covered bench, and the +clerk entered the inner office. He returned, a few moments later, +to say: + +"Mr. Sylvester is at the Central Club. He wished me to ask if you +could conveniently join him there." + +Captain Elisha pondered. "Why, yes," he replied, slowly, "I s'pose +I could. I don't know why I couldn't. Where is this--er--club of +his?" + +"On Fifth Avenue, near Fifty-second Street. I'll send one of our +boys with you if you like." + +"No, no! I can pilot myself, I guess. I ain't so old I can't ask +my way. Though--" with a reminiscent chuckle--"if the folks I ask +are all sufferin' from that 'Ugh' disease, I sha'n't make much +headway." + +"What disease?" asked the puzzled clerk. + +"Oh, nothin'. I was just thinkin' out loud, that's all. Mr. +Sylvester wants to see me right off, does he?" + +"Yes, he said he would wait if I 'phoned him you were coming." + +"Um-hm. Well, you can tell him I've left the dock, bound in his +direction. Say, that young chap that was here when I called the +fust time--studyin' to be a lawyer, is he?" + +"Who? Tim? No, indeed. He's only the office boy. Why did you +ask?" + +"Oh, I was just wonderin'. I had a notion he might be in trainin' +for a judgeship, he was so high and mighty. Ho! ho! He's got +talent, that boy has. Nobody but a born genius could have made as +many mistakes in one name as he did when he undertook to spell +Elisha. Well, sir, I'm much obliged to you. Good day." + +The Central Club is a ponderous institution occupying a becomingly +gorgeous building on the Avenue. The captain found his way to its +door without much trouble. A brass-buttoned attendant answered his +ring and superciliously inquired his business. Captain Elisha, not +being greatly in awe of either buttons or brief authority, calmly +hailed the attendant as "Gen'ral" and informed him that he was +there to see Mr. Sylvester, if the latter was "on deck anywheres." + +"Tell him it's Cap'n Warren, Major," he added cheerfully; "he's +expectin' me." + +The attendant brusquely ushered the visitor into a leather- +upholstered reception room and left him. The captain amused +himself by looking at the prints and framed letters and autographs +on the walls. Then a round, red, pleasant-faced man entered. + +"Pardon me," he said, "is this Captain Warren?" + +"Yes, sir," was the reply. "That's my name. This is Mr. Sylvester, +ain't it? Glad to know you, sir." + +"Thanks. Sorry to have made you travel way up here, Captain. I +waited until twelve-thirty, but as you didn't come then, I gave you +up. Hope I haven't inconvenienced you." + +"No, no. Not a mite. Might just as well be here as anywhere. +Don't think another thing about it." + +"Have you lunched, Captain Warren?" + +"No, come to think of it, I ain't. I've been kind of busy this +forenoon, and a little thing like dinner--luncheon, I mean--slipped +my mind. Though 'tain't often I have those slips, I'm free to say. +Ho! ho! Abbie--she's my second cousin, my housekeeper--says I'm an +unsartin critter, but there's two things about me she can always +count on, one's that my clothes have always got a button loose +somewheres, and t'other's my appetite." + +He laughed, and Sylvester laughed with him. + +"Well," observed the lawyer, "I'm not sure that I couldn't qualify +on both of those counts. At any rate I'm sure of my appetite. I +had a lunch engagement with an acquaintance of mine, but he hasn't +appeared, so you must take his place. We'll lunch together." + +"Well, now, I'd like to fust-rate, and it's real kind of you, Mr. +Sylvester; but I don't know's I'd better. Your friend may heave in +sight, after all, and I'd be in the way." + +"Not a bit of it. And I said 'acquaintance,' not 'friend.' Of +course you will! You must. We can talk business while we're +eating, if you like." + +"All right. And I'm ever so much obliged to you. Is there an +eatin' house near here?" + +"Oh, we'll eat right here at the club. Come." + +He led the way, and Captain Elisha followed. The Central Club has +a large, exclusive, and wealthy membership, and its quarters +correspond. The captain gazed about him at the marble floors and +pillars, the paintings and busts, with interest. After checking +his hat and coat, as they entered the elevator he asked a question. + +"Which floor is your club on, Mr. Sylvester?" he asked. + +"Floor? Why, the dining room is on the fourth, if that's what you +mean." + +"No, I meant how many rooms do you rent?" + +"We occupy the entire building. It is our own, and a comparatively +new one. We built it three years ago." + +"You mean this whole shebang is just one CLUB?" + +"Certainly." + +"Hum! I see. Well, I--" + +"What were you going to say?" + +"Nothin'. I was wonderin' what fool thing I'd ask next. I'm more +used to lodge rooms than I am to clubs, I guess. I'd like to take +home a picture of this place to Theophilus Kenney. Theoph's been +raisin' hob because the Odd Fellows built on to their buildin'. He +said one room was enough for any society. 'Twould be, if we was +all his kind of society. Theoph's so small he could keep house in +a closet. He's always hollerin' in meetin' about his soul. I +asked the minister if it didn't seem ridic'lous for Kenney to make +such a big noise over such a little thing. This where we get off?" + +The dining room was a large and ornate apartment. Captain Elisha, +when he first entered it, seemed about to ask another question, but +choked it off and remained silent. Sylvester chose a table in a +retired corner, and they sat down. + +"Now, Captain Warren," said the host, "what will you eat?" + +Captain Elisha shook his head. + +"You do the orderin'," he replied dryly; "I'll just set and be +thankful, like the hen that found the china doorknob. Anything +that suits you will do me, I guess." + +The lawyer, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his companion, +gave his orders, and the waiter brought first a bit of caviar on +toast. If Sylvester expected this delicacy to produce astonished +comments, he was disappointed. + +"Well, well!" exclaimed Captain Elisha. "I declare, you take me +back a long ways, Mr. Sylvester. Caviar! Well, well! Why, I +haven't ate this since I used to go to Cronstadt. At the American +consul's house there we had it often enough. Has a kind of homey +taste even yet. That consul was a good feller. He and I were +great friends. + +"I met him a long spell after that, when I was down in Mexico," he +went on. "He'd made money and was down on a vacation. My ship was +at Acapulco, and he and I used to go gunnin' together, after wild +geese and such. Ho! ho! I remember there was a big, pompous +critter of an Englishman there. Mind you, I'm not talkin' against +the English. Some of the best men I ever met were English, and +I've stood back to back with a British mate on a Genoa wharf when +half of Italy was hoppin' around makin' proclamations that they was +goin' to swallow us alive. And, somehow or 'nother, they didn't. +Took with prophetic indigestion, maybe. + +"However, this Englishman at Acapulco was diff'rent. He was so +swelled with importance that his back hollered in like Cape Cod Bay +on the map. His front bent out to correspond, though, so I +cal'late he averaged up all right. Well, he heard about what a +good--that I was pretty lucky when it come to shootin' wild geese, +and I'm blessed if he didn't send me orders to get him one for a +dinner he was goin' to give. Didn't ask--ORDERED me to do it, you +understand. And him nothin' but a consignee, with no more control +over me than the average female Sunday-school teacher has over a +class of boys. Not so much, because she's supposed to have +official authority, and he wa'n't. AND he didn't invite me to +the dinner. + +"Well, the next time my friend, the ex-consul, and I went out +gunnin', I told him of the Englishman's 'orders.' He was mad. +'What are you goin' to do about it?' he asks. 'Don't know yet,' +says I, 'we'll see.' By and by we come in sight of one of them +long-legged cranes, big birds you know, standin' fishin' at the +edge of some reeds. I up with my gun and shot it. The consul chap +looked at me as if I was crazy. 'What in the world did you kill +that fish-basket on stilts for?' he says. 'Son,' says I, 'your +eyesight is bad. That's a British-American goose. Chop off about +three feet of neck and a couple of fathom of hind legs and pick and +clean what's left, and I shouldn't wonder if 'twould make a good +dinner for a mutual friend of ours--good ENOUGH, anyhow.' Well, +sir! that ex-consul set plump down in the mud and laughed and +laughed. Ho, ho! Oh, dear me!" + +"Did you send it to the Englishman?" asked Sylvester. + +"Oh, yes, I sent it. And, after a good while and in a roundabout +way, I heard that the whole dinner party vowed 'twas the best wild +goose they ever ate. So I ain't sure just who the joke was on. +However, I'm satisfied with my end. Well, there! I guess you must +think I'm pretty talky on short acquaintance, Mr. Sylvester. +You'll have to excuse me; that caviar set me to thinkin' about old +times." + +His host was shaking all over. "Go ahead, Captain," he cried. +"Got any more as good as that?" + +But Captain Elisha merely smiled and shook his head. + +"Don't get me started on Mexico," he observed. "I'm liable to yarn +all the rest of the afternoon. Let's see, we was goin' to talk +over my brother's business a little mite, wa'n't we?" + +"Why, yes, we should. Now, Captain Warren, just how much do you +know about your late brother's affairs?" + +"Except what Mr. Graves told me, nothin' of importance. And, afore +we go any further, let me ask a question. Do YOU know why 'Bije +made me his executor and guardian and all the rest of it?" + +"I do not. Graves drew his will, and so, of course, we knew of +your existence and your appointment. Your brother forbade our +mentioning it, but we did not know, until after his death, that his +own children were unaware they had an uncle. It seems strange, +doesn't it?" + +"It does to me; SO strange that I can't see two lengths ahead. I +cal'late Mr. Graves told you how I felt about it?" + +"Yes. That is, he said you were very much surprised." + +"That's puttin' it mild enough. And did he tell you that 'Bije and +I hadn't seen each other, or even written, in eighteen years?" + +"Yes." + +"Um-hm. Well, when you consider THAT, can you wonder I was set all +aback? And the more I think of it, the foggier it gets. Why, Mr. +Sylvester, it's one of them situations that are impossible, that +you can prove fifty ways CAN'T happen. And yet, it has--it +sartinly has. Now tell me: Are you, or your firm, well acquainted +with my brother's affairs?" + +"Not well, no. The late Mr. Warren was a close-mouthed man, rather +secretive, in fact." + +"Humph! that bein' one of the p'ints where he was different from +his nighest relation, hey?" + +"I'm not so sure. Have you questioned the children?" + +"Caroline and Steve? Yes, I've questioned 'em more than they think +I have, maybe. And they know--well, leavin' out about the price of +oil paintin's and the way to dress and that it's more or less of a +disgrace to economize on twenty thousand a year, their worldly +knowledge ain't too extensive." + +"Do you like them?" + +"I guess so. Just now ain't the fairest time to judge 'em. You +see they're sufferin' from the joyful shock of their country +relation droppin' in, and--" + +He paused and rubbed his chin. His lips were smiling, but his eyes +were not. Sylvester noted their expression, and guessed many +things. + +"They haven't been disagreeable, I hope?" he asked. + +"No-o. No, I wouldn't want to say that. They're young and--and, +well, I ain't the kind they've been used to. Caroline's a nice +girl. She is, sure. All she needs is to grow a little older and +have the right kind of advice and--and friends." + +"How about the boy?" Mr. Sylvester had met young Warren, and his +eyes twinkled as he spoke. + +"Steve? Well," there was an answering twinkle in Captain Elisha's +eye; "well, Steve needs to grow, too; though I wouldn't presume to +tell him so. When a feller's undertakin' to give advice to one of +the seven wise men, he has to be diplomatic, as you might say." + +The lawyer put back his head and laughed uproariously. + +"Ha! ha!" he crowed. "That's good! Then, from your questioning of +the children, you've learned--?" + +"Not such an awful lot. I think I've learned that--hum! that a +good guardian might be a handy thing to have in the house. A +reg'lar legal guardian, I mean. Otherwise--" + +"Otherwise?" + +"Otherwise there might be too many disinterested volunteer +substitutes for the job. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it." + +"Have you made up your mind to be that guardian?" + +"Not yet. I haven't made up my mind to anything yet. Now, Mr. +Sylvester, while we're waitin' for what comes next--you've ordered +enough grub to victual a ship--s'pose you just run over what your +firm knows about 'Bije. That is, if I ain't askin' too much." + +"Not at all. That's what I'm here for. You have a right to know. +But I warn you my information isn't worth much." + +He went on, briefly and with the conciseness of the legal mind, to +tell of A. Rodgers Warren, his business and his estate. He had +been a broker with a seat on the Stock Exchange. + +"That seat is worth consider'ble, ain't it?" interrupted the +captain. + +"Between eighty and one hundred thousand dollars." + +"Yup. Well, it reminds me of a picture I saw once in one of the +comic papers. An old feller from the backwoods somewheres--good +deal like me, he was, and just about as green--was pictured +standin' along with his city nephew in the gallery of the Exchange. +And the nephew says, 'Uncle,' says he, 'do you realize that a seat +down there's wuth seventy-five thousand dollars?' 'Gosh!' says the +old man, 'no wonder most of 'em are standin' up.' Ho! ho! Is that +seat of 'Bije's part of the five hundred thousand you figger he's +left?" + +"Yes, in a way it is. To be truthful, Captain Warren, we're not +sure as to the amount of your brother's tangible assets. Graves +made a hurried examination of the stocks, bonds, and memoranda, and +estimated the total, that's all." + +"I see. Well, heave ahead." + +The lawyer went on. The dead broker's office had been on Broad +Street. A small office, with but two clerks. One of the clerks +was retained, and the office, having been leased for a year by its +former tenant, was still open pending the settlement of the estate. +A. Rodgers Warren personally was a man who looked older than he +really was, a good liver, and popular among his companions. + +"What sort of fellers were his companions?" asked Captain Elisha. + +"You mean his friends in society, or his companions down town in +Wall Street?" + +"The Wall Street ones. I guess I can find out something about the +society ones. Anyhow, I can try. These Wall Streeters that 'Bije +chummed with--a quiet lot, was they?" + +Sylvester hesitated. "Why--why--not particularly so," he admitted. +"Nothing crooked about them, of course. You see, a stock-broker's +life is a nerve-racking, rather exciting one, and--" + +"And 'Bije and his chums were excited, too, hey? All right, you +needn't go any further. He was a good husband while his wife +lived, wa'n't he?" + +"Yes. Frankly, Captain Warren, so far as I know, your brother's +personal habits were good. There was nothing against his +character." + +"I'm mighty glad to hear it. Mighty glad. Is there anything else +you can tell me?" + +"No. Our next move, provided you decide to accept the trust, the +executorship, and the rest, is to get together--you and Graves, if +he is well enough; you and I if he is not--and begin a careful +examination of the stocks, bonds, assets, and debts of the estate. +This must be done first of all." + +"Graves hinted there wa'n't any debts, to amount to anything." + +"So far as we can see, there are none, except a few trifling +bills." + +"Yes, yes. Hum!" Captain Elisha put down his coffee spoon and +seemed to be thinking. He shook his head. + +"You appear to be puzzled about something," observed the lawyer, +who was watching him intently. + +"I am. I was puzzled afore I left home, and I'm just as puzzled +now." + +"What puzzles you? if I may ask." + +"Everything. And, if you'll excuse my sayin' so, Mr. Sylvester, I +guess it puzzles you, too." + +He returned his host's look. The latter pushed back his chair, +preparatory to rising. + +"It is all so perfectly simple, on the face of it, Captain Warren," +he said. "Your brother realized that he must die, that his +children and their money must be taken care of; you were his +nearest relative; his trust in your honesty and judgment caused him +to overlook the estrangement between you. That's the case, isn't +it?" + +"Yes. That's the case, on the face of it, as you say. But you've +forgot to mention one item." + +"What's that?" + +"'Bije himself. You knew him pretty well, I can see that. So did +I. And I guess that's why we're both puzzled." + +Captain Elisha folded his napkin with care and stood up. Sylvester +rose, also. + +"Come downstairs," he said. "We can enjoy our cigars more +comfortably there, and go on with our talk. That is, unless you're +in a great hurry." + +"No, I ain't in any special hurry. So I get up to Caroline's in +season for supper--er, dinner, I mean--I don't care. But I don't +want to keep you. You're a busy man." + +"This is business. This way, Captain." + +The big lounging room of the club, on the first floor, Fifth Avenue +side, was almost empty when they entered it. The lawyer drew two +big chairs near the open fire, rang the bell, and ordered cigars. +After the cigars were lighted and the fragrant clouds of tobacco +smoke were rising, he reopened the conversation. And now, in an +easy, diplomatic way, he took his turn at questioning. + +It was pretty thorough pumping, managed with the skill of an +experienced cross-examiner. Captain Elisha, without realizing that +he was doing so, told of his boyhood, his life at sea, his home at +South Denboro, his position in the village, his work as selectman, +as member of the school committee, and as director in the bank. +The tone of the questioner expressed nothing--he was too well +trained for that--but every item of information was tabulated and +appraised. + +The tall mahogany-cased clock struck three, then four. The lawyer +finished his cigar and lit another. He offered a fresh one to his +guest, but the offer was declined. + +"No, thank you," observed the captain. "I've been yarnin' away so +fast that my breath's been too busy to keep this one goin'. +There's consider'ble left yet. This is a better smoke than I'm +used to gettin' at the store down home. I tell Ryder--he's our +storekeeper and postmaster--that he must buy his cigars on the reel +and cut 'em off with the scissors. When the gang of us all got a- +goin' mail times, it smells like a rope-walk burnin' down. Ho! ho! +It does, for a fact. Yet I kind of enjoy one of his five-centers, +after all. You can get used to most anything. Maybe it's the home +flavor or the society. P'raps they'd taste better still if they +was made of seaweed. I'll trouble you for a match, Mr. Sylvester. +Two of 'em, if you don't mind." + +He whittled one match to a point with his pocket knife, impaled the +cigar stump upon it, and relit with the other. + +Meanwhile the room had been filling up. Around each of the big +windows overlooking the Avenue were gathered groups of men, young +and old, smoking, chatting, and gazing idly out. Captain Elisha +regarded them curiously. + +"This ain't a holiday, is it?" he asked, after a while. + +"No. Why?" + +"I was just wonderin' if all those fellers hadn't any work to do, +that's all." + +"Who? That crowd?" The lawyer laughed. "Oh, they're doing their +regular stunt. You'll find most of them here every afternoon about +this time." + +"You don't say. Pay 'em wages for it, do you?" + +"Not that I know of. Some of them are brokers, who come up after +the Exchange closes. Others are business men, active or retired. +Some don't have any business--except what they're doing now." + +"I want to know! Humph! They remind me of the gang in the +billiard room back home. The billiard-roomers--the chronic ones-- +don't have any business, either, except to keep the dust from +collectin' on the chairs. That and talkin' about hard times. +These chaps don't seem to be sufferin' from hard times, much." + +"No. Most of the younger set have rich fathers or have inherited +money." + +"I see. They let the old man do the worryin'. That's philosophy, +anyhow. What are they so interested in outside? Parade goin' by?" + +"No. I imagine an unusually pretty girl passed just then." + +"Is that so? Well, well! Say, Mr. Sylvester, the longer I stay in +New York the more I see that the main difference between it and +South Denboro is size. The billiard-room gang acts just the same +way when the downstairs school teacher goes past. Hello!" + +"What is it?" + +"That young chap by the mizzen window looks sort of familiar to me. +The one that stood up to shake a day-day to whoever was passin'. +Hum! He's made a hit, ain't he? I expect some unprotected +female's heart broke at that signal. I cal'late I know him." + +"Who? Which one? Oh, that's young Corcoran Dunn. He is a lady- +killer, in his own estimation. How d'ye do, Dunn." + +The young man turning grinning from the window, caught a glimpse of +the lawyer as the latter rose to identify him. He strolled over to +the fire. + +"Hello, Sylvester," he hailed, carelessly. "That was a peach. You +should have seen her. What? Why, it's the Admiral!" + +"How d'ye do, Mr. Dunn," said Captain Elisha. + +"Have you two met before?" asked Sylvester in astonishment. + +"Yes. I had the pleasure of assisting in the welcoming salute when +our seafarin' friend come aboard. How was that, Captain? Some +nautical class to that remark?" + +"Yup. You done fust rate, considerin' how recent you shipped." + +"Thanks. Overwhelmed, I'm sure." Then, with a look of languid +amusement at the pair, "What is this--a meeting of the Board of +Naval Affairs? Have you bought a yacht, Sylvester?" + +"No." The lawyer's tone was sharp. + +"Humph! Well, take my advice and don't. Yachts are all right, to +have a good time on, but they cost like the devil to keep up. An +auto is bad enough. By the way, Sylvester, did you hear about my +running over the Irishman this morning?" + +"Running over?" repeated the captain, aghast. "You didn't run over +nobody, I hope." + +"Well, I came devilish near it. Ha! ha! You see, the old tarrier +was crossing Saint Nicholas Avenue, with a big market basket full +of provisions--the family dinner, I suppose. By Jove, the +household appetites must be good ones. It was slippery as the +mischief, I was running the car, and I tried to go between the +fellow and the curb. It would have been a decent bit of steering +if I'd made it. But--ha! ha!--by Jove, you know, I didn't. I +skidded. The man himself managed to hop out of the way, but his +foot slipped, and down he went. Most ridiculous thing you ever +saw. And the street! 'Pon my word it was paved with eatables." + +Sylvester, plainly annoyed, did not reply. But Captain Elisha's +concern was evident. + +"The poor critter!" he exclaimed. "What did you do?" + +"The last I saw of him he was sitting in the mud, looking at the +upset. I didn't linger. Peters took the wheel, and we beat it. +Lucky the cop didn't spot the license number. Might have cost me +fifty. They've had me up for speeding twice before. What are you +and the Admiral discussing, Sylvester?" + +"We were discussing a business matter," answered the lawyer, with +significant emphasis. + +"Business? Why, sure! I forgot that you were Graves's partner. +Settling the family affairs, hey? Well, I won't butt in. Ta, ta! +See you later, Captain. You must go for a spin in that car of +mine. I'll call for you some day. I'll show you something they +don't do on Cape Cod. Regards to Caro and Steve." + +He moved off, feeling that his invitation would have met with his +mother's approval. She had announced that the country uncle was to +be "cultivated." + +Captain Elisha's cigar had gone out. He did not attempt to relight +it. + +"Whew!" he whistled. "Well, when I go for a 'spin,' as he calls +it, with HIM, I cal'late my head'll be spinnin' so I won't be +responsible for my actions. Whew!" + +Sylvester looked curiously at him. + +"So you met him before?" he asked. + +"Yes. He was at the rooms when I fust landed. Or his mother was +there then. He came a little later with Caroline and Stephen." + +"I see." + +"Yes. Know him and his ma pretty well, do you?" + +"Slightly. I've met them, at mutual acquaintances' homes and about +town." + +"Pretty well fixed, I s'pose, ain't they?" + +"I presume so. I don't know." + +"Um. He's a sociable young feller, ain't he? Don't stand on any +ceremony, hey? Caro and Steve think a lot of him and his mother." + +"Yes. Graves has told me the Dunns were very intimate with the +Warrens. In fact, just before your brother's death, I remember +hearing a rumor that the two families might be even closer +connected." + +"You mean--er--Caroline and--er--him?" + +"There was such a rumor. Probably nothing in it. There is no +engagement, I am very sure." + +"Yes, yes, I see. Well, Mr. Sylvester, I must be trottin' on. +I'll think the whole business over for another day or so and then +give you my decision, one way or the other." + +"You can't give it now?" + +"No-o. I guess I'd better not. However, I think--" + +"Yes." + +"Well, I think I may take the job. Take it on trial, anyhow." + +"Good! I'm glad of it." + +"You ARE?" + +"I certainly am. And I'm very glad indeed to have made your +acquaintance, Captain Warren. Good afternoon. I shall hope to see +you again soon." + +Captain Elisha left the Central Club in a surprised frame of mind. +What surprised him was that a man of such thorough city training +and habits as the senior partner of the law firm should express +pleasure at the idea of his accepting the charge of A. Rodgers +Warren's heirs and estate. Mr. Graves had shown no such feeling. + +If he had heard Sylvester's report to Kuhn, at the office next day, +he might have been even more surprised and pleased. + +"He's a brick, Kuhn," declared the senior partner. "A countryman, +of course, but a keen, able, honest man, and, I think, a mighty +good judge of character. If I was as sure of his ability to judge +investments and financial affairs, I should be certain the Warren +children couldn't be in better hands. And no doubt we can help him +when it comes to that. He'll probably handle the girl and boy in +his own way, and his outside greenness may jar them a little. But +it'll do them good to be jarred at their age. He's all right, and +I hope he accepts the whole trust." + +"Well," exclaimed Mr. Kuhn; "you surprise me. Graves seemed to be--" + +"Graves suffers from the absolute lack of a sense of humor. His +path through life is about three feet wide and bordered with rock- +ribbed conventionality. If a man has a joke in his system, Graves +doesn't understand it and is suspicious. I tell, you, Kuhn, +there's more honest common sense and ability in the right hand of +this Down-East salt than there ever was in Rodgers Warren's whole +body." + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +During the next day Caroline Warren and her brother saw little of +their uncle. Not that they complained of this or sought his +society. The policy of avoidance and what Stephen called "freezing +out" had begun, and the young people kept to themselves as much as +possible. At breakfast Caroline was coldly polite, and her brother +cold, although his politeness was not overdone. However, Captain +Elisha did not seem to notice. He was preoccupied, said but +little, and spent the forenoon in writing a second letter to Miss +Abigail. In it he told of his experience on board the Empress of +the Ocean and of the luncheon at the Central Club. But he said +nothing concerning his nephew and niece further than the statement +that he was still getting acquainted, and that Caroline was a real +nice looking girl. + +"I suppose you wonder what I've decided about taking the +guardianship," he added, just at the close. "Well, Abbie, I'm +about in the position of Luther Sylvester when he fell off the dock +at Orham. The tide was out, and he went into the soft mud, all +under. When the folks who saw him tumble got to the edge and +looked over, they saw a round, black thing sticking out of the +mire, and, judging 'twas Lute's head, they asked him how he felt. +'I don't know yet,' sputters Lute, 'whether I'm drowned or +smothered, but I'm somewheres betwixt and between.' That's me, +Abbie, on that guardian business. I'm still betwixt and between. +But before this day's over I'll be drowned or smothered, and I'll +let you know which next time I write." + +After lunch he took a stroll in the Park and passed up and down the +paths, thinking, thinking. Returning, he found that Caroline and +Stephen had gone for an auto ride with the Dunns and would not be +home for dinner. So he ate that meal in solitary state, waited +upon by Edwards. + +That evening, as he sat smoking in the library, the butler appeared +to announce a caller. + +"Someone to see you, sir," said Edwards. "Here's his card, sir." + +"Eh? Someone to see ME? Guess you've made a mistake, haven't you, +Commodore? I don't know anybody who'd be likely to come visitin' +me here in New York. Why, yes! Well, I declare! Tell him to walk +right in. Mr. Pearson, I'm glad to see you. This is real +neighborly." + +The caller was young Pearson, the captain's acquaintance of the +previous forenoon. They shook hands heartily. + +"Perhaps you didn't think I should accept that invitation of yours, +Captain Warren," observed Pearson. "I told you I meant it when I +said yes. And calling within thirty-six hours is pretty good +proof, isn't it?" + +"Suits me fust-rate. I'm mighty glad you came. Set right down. +Lonesome at the boardin' house, was it?" + +Pearson made a grimace. "Lonesome!" he repeated. "Ugh! Let's +talk of something else. Were you in time for your appointment +yesterday noon?" + +"Why, yes; I was and I wasn't. Say, won't you have a cigar? +That's right. And I s'pose, bein' as this is New York, I'd ought +to ask you to take somethin' to lay the dust, hey? I ain't made +any inquiries myself, but I shouldn't wonder if the Commodore--the +feller that let you in--could find somethin' in the spare room +closet or somewheres, if I ask him." + +The young man laughed. "If you mean a drink," he said, "I don't +care for it, thank you." + +"What? You ain't a teetotaler, are you?" + +"No, not exactly. But--" + +"But you can get along without it, hey? So can I; generally do, +fur's that goes. But I'M from South Denboro. I thought here in +New York--" + +"Oh, there are many people, even here in New York, who are not +convinced that alcohol is a food." + +"You don't tell me! Well, I'm livin' and learnin' every day. +Judgin' from stories and the yarns in the Boston newspapers, folks +up our way have the idea that this town is a sort of annex to the +bad place. All right, then we won't trouble the Commodore. I +notice you're lookin' over my quarters. What do you think of 'em?" + +Pearson had, in spite of himself, been glancing about the room. +Its luxury and the evident signs of taste and wealth surprised him +greatly. + +"Astonish you to find me livin' in a place like this, hey?" + +"Why, why, yes, it does, somewhat. I didn't realize you were such +an aristocrat, Captain Warren. If I had, I might have been a +little more careful of my dress in making my first call." + +"Dress? Oh, you mean you'd have put on your Sunday clothes. Well, +I'm glad you didn't. You see, _I_ haven't got on my regimentals, +and if you'd been on dress parade I might have felt bashful. Ho, +ho! I don't wonder you are surprised. This is a pretty swell +neighborhood, ain't it?" + +"Yes, it is." + +"These--er--apartments, now. 'Bout as good as any in town, are +they?" + +"Pretty nearly. There are few better--much better." + +"I thought so. You wouldn't call livin' in 'em economizin' to any +consider'ble extent, would you?" + +"No," with a laugh; "no, _I_ shouldn't, but my ideas of economy +are--well, different. They have to be. Are you ecomomizing, +Captain?" + +Captain Elisha laughed and rubbed his knee. + +"No," he chuckled, "_I_ ain't, but my nephew and niece are. These +are their rooms." + +"Oh, you're visiting?" + +"No, I don't know's you'd call it visitin'. I don't know what you +would call it. I'm here, that's about all you can say." + +He paused and remained silent. His friend was silent, also, not +knowing exactly what remark to make. + +"How's the novel comin' on?" asked the captain, a minute later. + +"Oh, slowly. I'm not at all sure it will ever be finished. I get +discouraged sometimes." + +"No use in doin' that. What sort of a yarn is it goin' to be? +Give me a gen'ral idea of the course you're tryin' to steer. That +is, if it ain't a secret." + +"It isn't. But there's mighty little worth telling. When I began +I thought I had a good scheme, but it seems pretty weak and dish- +watery now." + +"Most things do while their bein' done, if you really care about +doin' 'em well. Heave ahead! You said 'twas a sea yarn, and I'm +a sort of specialist when it comes to salt water. Maybe I might +prescribe just the right tonic, though 'tain't very likely." + +Pearson began to outline the plot of his novel, speaking slowly at +first, but becoming more interested as he continued. Captain +Elisha listened meditatively, puffing solemnly at his cigar, and +interrupting but seldom. + +"I think that's a pretty good idea," he observed, at length. "Yes, +sir, that sounds promisin', to me. This cap'n of yours now, he's +a good feller. Don't get him too good, though; that wouldn't be +natural. And don't get him too bad, neither. I know it's the +fashion, judgin' by the sea yarns I've read lately, to have a +Yankee skipper sort of a cross between a prize fighter and a +murderer. Fust day out of port he begins by pickin' out the most +sickly fo'mast hand aboard, mashes him up, and then takes the next +invalid. I got a book about that kind of a skipper out of our +library down home a spell ago, and the librarian said 'twas awful +popular. A strong story, she said, and true to life. Well, 'twas +strong--you could pretty nigh smell it--but as for bein' true to +life, I had my doubts. I've been to sea, command of a vessel, for +a good many years, and sometimes I'd go weeks, whole weeks, without +jumpin' up and down on a single sailor. Fact! Got my exercise +other ways, I presume likely. + +"I tell you," he went on, "the main trouble with that tale of +yours, as I see it, is that you're talkin' about things you ain't +ever seen. Now there's plenty you have seen, I wouldn't wonder. +Let's see, you was born in Belfast, you said. Live there long, did +you?" + +"Yes, until I went away to school." + +"Your father, he went to sea, did he?" + +"Yes. But his ship was lost, with all hands, when I was a baby." + +"But your Uncle Jim wa'n't lost. You remember him well; you said +so. Tell me something you remember." + +Before the young man was aware of it, he was telling of his Uncle +Jim, of the latter's return from voyages, of his own home life, of +his mother, and of the village where he spent his boyhood. Then, +led on by the captain's questioning, he continued with his years at +college, his experiences as reporter and city editor. Without +being conscious that he was doing so, he gave his host a pretty +full sketch of himself, his story, and his ambitions. + +"Mr. Pearson," said Captain Elisha, earnestly, "don't you worry +about that yarn of yours. If you'll take the advice of an old +feller who knows absolutely nothin' about such things, keep on +rememberin' about your Uncle Jim. He was a man, every inch of him, +and a seaman, too. Put lots of him into this hero of yours, and +you won't go fur wrong. And when it comes to handlin' a ship, why-- +well, if you WANT to come to me, I'll try and help you out best I +can." + +Pearson was delighted. + +"You WILL?" he cried. "Splendid! It's mighty good of you. May I +spring some of my stuff on you as I write it?" + +"Sartin you may. Any time, I'll be tickled to death. I'll be +tickled to have you call, too; that is, if callin' on an old salt +like me won't be too tirin'." + +The answer was emphatic and reassuring. + +"Thank you," said Captain Elisha. "I'm much obliged. Come often, +do. I--well, the fact is, I'm likely to get sort of lonesome +myself, I'm afraid. Yes, I shouldn't wonder if I did." + +He sighed, tossed away the stump of his cigar, and added, + +"Now, I want to ask you somethin'. You newspaper fellers are +supposed to know about all there is to know of everything under the +sun. Do you know much about the Stock Exchange?" + +Pearson smiled. + +"All I can afford to know," he said. + +"Humph! That's a pretty good answer. Knowledge is power, they +say, but--but I cal'late knowledge of the Stock Exchange is +poverty, with a good many folks." + +"I think you're right, Captain. It's none of my business, but-- +were you planning to tackle Wall Street?" + +Captain Elisha glanced, under his brows, at his new friend, and his +eyes twinkled. + +"Didn't know but I might," he replied, solemnly. "Ain't got any-- +er--tips, any sure things you want to put me on to, have you?" + +"I have not. My experience of Wall Street 'sure things' leads me +to believe that they're sure--but only for the other fellow." + +"Hum! I know a chap down home that made money in stocks. He made +it so easy that, as the boys say, 'twas almost a shame to take the +money. And 'twas the makin' of him, too." + +Pearson was embarrassed and troubled. If this big-hearted, simple- +minded countryman had come to New York to buck the stock market, it +was time to sound a warning. But had he, on such short acquaintance, +the right to warn? The captain was shrewd in his own way. Might +not the warning seem presumptuous? + +"So--this--this friend of yours was a successful speculator, was +he?" he asked. "He was lucky." + +"Think so? Well, maybe. His name was Elkanah Chase, and his dad +was old man 'Rastus Chase, who made consider'ble in cranberries and +one thing or 'nother. The old man brought Elkanah up to be what he +called a gentleman. Ho! ho! Hi hum! I ain't sure what 'Rastus's +idea of a gentleman was, but if he cal'lated to have his son a +tramp in go-to-meetin' clothes, he got his wish. When the old man +died, he willed the boy fifteen thousand dollars. Well, fifteen +thousand dollars is a fortune to some folks--if they ain't +economizin' in New York--but to Elkanah 'twas just about enough to +make him realize his poverty. So, to make it bigger, he got one of +them 'tips' from a college friend down here in Wall Street, and put +the heft of ten thousand into it. AND, I swan, if it didn't double +his money!" + +Captain Elisha's visitor shook his head. He did not even smile. + +"He was extremely fortunate," he said. "I give you my word, +Captain Warren, that the majority of first speculators don't turn +out that way. I hope he was wise enough to keep his profits." + +The captain rubbed his chin. + +"Jim--" he began. "Excuse me, I should have said Mr. Pearson, but +I've got sort of in the habit of callin' folks by their first +names. Livin' where you know everybody so well gets you into those +habits." + +"Jim suits me. I hope you'll cultivate the habit." + +"Do you? Well, I will. Now, Jim, referrin' to what I was goin' to +say, you, bein' a newspaper man, ought to know everything, but it's +pretty plain you don't know Elkanah Chase. Keep his profits! Why, +when a feller is all but convinced that he knows it all, one little +bit of evidence like that speculation settles it for him conclusive. +Elkanah, realizin' that Wall Street was his apple pie, opened his +mouth to swaller it at one gulp. He put his profits and every other +cent he had into another sure thing tip." + +"And won again?" + +"No. He lost all that and some more that he borrowed." + +"But I thought you said it was the making of him!" + +"It was. He had to take a job over at the overalls factory in +Ostable. As a fifteen thousand dollar gentleman, he was pretty +average of a mess, but they tell me he makes middlin' good +overalls. Elkanah convinced me that Wall Street has its good +points." + +He chuckled. Pearson, relieved, laughed in sympathy. "Has he paid +back the money he borrowed?" he inquired. + +"No-o! I guess the creditors'll have to take it out in overalls. +However, it's a satisfaction to some of 'em to watch Chase really +work. I know that gives me MY money's worth." + +"Oh, ho! You are one of the creditors! Captain Warren, I'm +surprised. I sized you up as a shrewder judge of investments." + +Captain Elisha colored. "I judged that one correct," he answered. +"If I hadn't thought 'twould have turned out that way I never would +have plunged. You see, old man Chase was a friend of mine, and-- +However," he added, hastily changing the subject, "we've strayed +some off the course. When I mentioned the Stock Exchange I did it +because my brother was a member of it, and I cal'late you might +have known him." + +Pearson was astonished. "Your brother was a member of the +Exchange?" he repeated. + +"Um-hm. Never would have guessed it, would you? I s'pose you +cal'late all the stock I knew about was on the hoof. Well, I have +been acquainted with other breeds in my time. My brother's name +was Abijah Warren--A. Rodgers Warren, he called himself." + +The effect of this announcement was instantaneous and electric. +The young man sat back in his chair. + +"A. Rodgers Warren was your brother?" he cried. + +"Um-hm. Seems to stagger you some. Contrast between us as big as +all that comes to?" + +"But--but, Captain Warren--Your brother--Tell me, is Miss Caroline +Warren your niece?" + +"She is. And Steve is my nephew. 'Tain't possible you're +acquainted with them?" + +Pearson rose to his feet. "Is--They used to live on the Avenue," +he said. "But you said you were visiting. Captain Warren, is this +your niece's apartment?" + +"Yes, hers and Steve's. Why, what's the matter? Ain't goin', are +you?" + +"I think perhaps I had better. It is getting late." + +"Late! It's only the shank of the evenin'. Jim, I ain't so blind +that I can't see through an open window. It ain't the lateness +that makes you want to leave so sudden. Is there some trouble +between you and Caroline? Course, it's none of my business, and +you needn't tell me unless you want to." + +The answer was prompt enough. + +"No," replied Pearson. "No. I assure you there is nothing of that +kind. I--I met Miss Warren. In fact, at one time we were well +acquainted. I have the very highest opinion of her. But I think +it is best to--" + +"Just a minute now. No trouble with Steve? He's a boy and at an +age when he's pretty well satisfied with himself and you have to +make allowance." + +"No. Steve and I were quite friendly. I'm sorry to cut my visit +short, but it is late and I MUST go." + +He was moving toward the door. Captain Elisha looked at him +intently. + +"Well, if you must," he said. "But I hope you'll come again soon. +Will you?" + +"I hope I may. I give you my word, Captain, that I appreciate your +invitation, and I do want to know you better." + +"Same here. I don't often take sudden fancies, Jim, but I knew +your uncle, and I'd bet consider'ble on any member of his family. +And I WAS kind of interested in that novel of yours. You haven't +said you'd come again. Will you?" + +Pearson was much embarrassed. + +"I should like to come, immensely," he said, with an earnestness +unmistakable; "but--but, to be honest, Captain Warren, there is a +reason, one which I may tell you sometime, but can't now--neither +Miss Warren nor her brother have any part in it--which makes me +reluctant to visit you here. Won't you come and see me at the +boarding house? Here's the address. WILL you come?" + +"Sartin! I figured on doin' it, if you gave me the chance." + +"Thank you, you'll be welcome. Of course it is ONLY a boarding +house, and not a very good one. My own room is--well, different +from this." + +"Yup. Maybe that's why I expect to feel at home in it. Good +night, Jim. Thank you for callin'. Shall I ring for the Commodore +to pilot you out?" + +"No, I can find my way. I--Someone is coming." + +From the hall came the clang of the elevator door and the sound of +voices. Before the captain or his friend could move, Caroline, +Stephen, Mrs. Corcoran Dunn, and Malcolm entered. Caroline was the +first to reach the library. Her entrance brought her face to face +with Pearson. + +"I beg your pardon," she began. "I did not know there was anyone +here." + +"It's only a friend of mine, Caroline," explained her uncle, +quickly. "Just callin' on me, he was." + +"Good evening, Miss Warren," said Pearson, quietly. + +The girl looked at him for an instant. Then her expression changed, +and, with a smile, she extended her hand. + +"Why, Mr. Pearson!" she exclaimed. "I'm very glad to see you. You +must excuse me for not recognizing you at once. Steve, you +remember Mr. Pearson." + +Stephen also extended a hand. + +"Sure!" he said. "Glad to see you again, Pearson. Haven't met you +for an age. How are you?" + +Pearson shook both the hands. He was embarrassed and hesitated in +his reply. + +"It HAS been some time since we met," he said. "This is an +unexpected pleasure. Ah, Mr. Dunn, good evening." + +"It is Mr. Pearson, the financial writer of the Planet, Malcolm," +said Caroline. "You used to know him, I think." + +"Don't remember, I'm sure. Yes, I do. Met you at the University +Club, didn't I?" + +"Yes. I was formerly a member." + +"And let me present you to Mrs. Corcoran Dunn," went on the girl. +"Mr. Pearson used to know father well." + +Mrs. Dunn inspected the visitor through her lorgnette, and +condescended to admit that she was "delighted." + +"I'm very glad you called," continued Caroline. "We were just in +time, weren't we? Do sit down. And if you will wait a minute +until we remove our wraps--Steve ring for Edwards, please." + +"I'm afraid I can't wait, Miss Warren. I dropped in to see your +uncle, at his invitation, and, as a matter of fact, I didn't know--" + +"To see our UNCLE!" interrupted Stephen, in amazement. "Who?" + +"Your uncle, Captain Warren here," explained Pearson, surprised in +his turn. "He and I made each other's acquaintance yesterday, and +he asked me to call." + +"You--you called to see HIM?" repeated Stephen. "Why, what in the +world--?" + +"I took the liberty of askin' him, Caroline," observed Captain +Elisha quietly, and ignoring the last speaker. "I didn't know you +knew him, and I used to sail along with HIS uncle, so he seemed +almost like own folks." + +"Oh!" Caroline's manner changed. "I presume it was a business +call," she said slowly. "I beg pardon for interrupting. We had +not seen you since father's death, Mr. Pearson, and I assumed that +you had called upon my brother and me. Excuse me. Mrs. Dunn, we +will go into the drawing-room." + +She led the way toward the apartment. Captain Elisha was about to +speak. Pearson, however, explained for him. + +"Miss Warren," he said, "if by a business call you mean one in the +interest of the Planet, I assure you that you are mistaken. I am +no longer connected with any paper. I met Captain Warren, under +rather unusual circumstances. We discovered that we had mutual +friends and mutual interests. He asked me to call on him, and I +did so. I did not know, until five minutes ago, that he was your +uncle or that you and your brother lived here. I beg you won't +leave the room on my account. I was about to go when you came. +Good evening." + +He bowed and stepped toward the hall. Captain Elisha laid a hand +on his arm and detained him. + +"Just a minute," he said. "Caroline, I want you and Steve to know +that what Mr. Pearson says is exactly true. I ain't the kind to +talk to the newspapers about the private affairs of my relations, +and, if I'm any judge of character, Mr. Pearson, knowin' you as it +seems he does, wouldn't be the kind to listen. That's all. Now, +Jim, if you must go." + +He and his guest were at the door. Caroline and Mrs. Dunn were at +the opposite side of the room. Suddenly the girl halted, turned, +and, moving across to where her uncle and the young man were +standing, once more extended her hand. + +"Mr. Pearson," she said, impulsively, "again I ask your pardon. I +should have known. I am very sorry I spoke as I did. Will you +forgive me?" + +Pearson colored. His embarrassment was more evident than before. + +"There is no occasion for apology, Miss Warren," he said. "I don't +wonder you thought I had come in my former capacity as reporter." + +"Yes, you do. You MUST have wondered. I am very glad you called +to see my--my guardian, and I hope you will continue to do so. +Father used to speak so highly of you, and I'm sure he valued your +friendship. Stephen and I wish to consider his friends ours. +Please believe that you are welcome here at any time." + +Pearson's reply was brief. + +"Thank you, Miss Warren," he said. "You are very kind. Good +evening." + +In the hall, as they waited for the elevator, Captain Elisha, +happier than at any time since his arrival in New York, clapped his +friend on the shoulder. + +"Jim," he said, "I was beginnin' to doubt my judgment of things and +folks. Now I feel better. That niece of mine has got the right +stuff in her. After THAT invitation, you will come and see us once +in a while. That makes it easier, hey?" + +Pearson shook his head. "I'm not sure, Captain," he observed, +slowly, "that it doesn't make it harder. I shall look for you at +the boarding house very soon. Don't disappoint me. Good night." + +The captain's last remark that evening was made to Edwards, whom he +met just outside the door of his bedroom. + +"Commodore," he said, "a barn full of rats is a nuisance, ain't +it?" + +"Sir?" stammered the astonished butler. + +"I say a barn full of rats is a nuisance." + +"Why--why, yes, sir. I should think it might be, sir." + +"Yup. Well, I know a worse one. It's a house full of mysteries. +By, by, Son. Pleasant dreams." + +He sat up until late, meditating profoundly. Then, taking from its +envelope the letter yet unsealed, which he had written to Miss +Abigail Baker, he added this postscript: + +"Eleven o'clock. I have decided, Abbie, to accept the guardianship +and the rest of it, for a spell, anyhow. Shall notify the lawyers +in the morning. Necessity is one thing, and pleasure is another. +I doubt if I find the job pleasant, but I guess it is necessary. +Anyhow, it looks that way to me." + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +Announcement of Captain Elisha's decision followed quickly. +Sylvester, Kuhn, and Graves received the telephone message stating +it, and the senior partner was unqualifiedly delighted. Kuhn +accepted his associate's opinion with some reservation. "It is an +odd piece of business, the whole of it," he declared. "I shall be +curious to see how it works out." As for Mr. Graves, when the +information was conveyed to him by messenger, he expressed disgust +and dismay. "Ridiculous!" he said. "Doctor, I simply must be up +and about within the next few days. It is necessary that a sane, +conservative man be at the office. Far be it from me to say a word +against Sylvester, as a lawyer, but he is subject to impressions. +I imagine this Cape Codder made him laugh, and, therefore, in his +opinion, is all right. I'm glad I'm not a joker." + +The captain said that he would be down later on to talk things +over. Meanwhile, if the "papers and such" could be gotten +together, it would "sort of help along." Sylvester explained that +there were certain legal and formal ceremonies pertaining to the +acceptance of the trust to be gone through with, and these must +have precedence. "All right," answered the captain. "Let's have +'em all out at once and get the ache and agony over. I'll see you +by and by." + +When Mrs. Corcoran Dunn made her daily visit to the Warren +apartment that afternoon, she found Caroline alone and almost in +tears. Captain Elisha had broken the news at the table during +luncheon, after which he went downtown. Stephen, having raved, +protested, and made himself generally disagreeable and his sister +correspondingly miserable, had departed for the club. It was a +time for confidences, and the wily Mrs. Dunn realized that fact. +She soothed, comforted, and within half an hour, had learned the +whole story. Caroline told her all, the strange will, the +disclosure concerning the country uncle, and the inexplicable +clauses begging the latter to accept the executorship, the trust, +and the charge of her brother and herself. Incidentally she +mentioned that a possible five hundred thousand was the extreme +limit of the family's pecuniary resources. + +"Now you know everything," sobbed Caroline. "Oh, Mrs. Dunn, YOU +won't desert us, will you?" + +The widow's reply was a triumph, of its kind. In it were expressed +sorrow, indignation, pity, and unswerving loyalty. Desert them? +Desert the young people, toward whom she had come to feel almost +like a mother? Never! + +"You may depend on Malcolm and me, my dear," she declared. "We are +not fair-weather friends. And, after all, it is not so very bad. +Affairs might be very much worse." + +"Worse! Oh, Mrs. Dunn, how could they be? Think of it! Stephen +and I are dependent upon him for everything. We must ask him for +every penny. And whatever he says to do we MUST do. We're obliged +to. Just think! if he decides to take us back with him to--South +Denboro, or whatever dreadful place he comes from, we shall have to +go--and live there." + +"But he won't, my dear. He won't. It will take some time to +settle your father's affairs, and the business will have to be +transacted here in New York." + +"I know. I suppose that's true. But that doesn't make it any +easier. If he stops here he will stay with us. And what shall we +do? We can't introduce him to our friends, or, at least, to any +except our best, our understanding friends, like you and Malcolm." + +"Why, I'm not sure. He is rather--well--er--countryfied, but I +believe he has a good heart. He is not rude or unkind or anything +of that sort, is he?" + +"No. No-o. He's not that, at all. In fact, he means to be kind +in his way. But it's such a different way from ours. He is not +used to society; he wouldn't understand that certain things and +ways were absolutely essential. I suppose it isn't his fault +exactly, but that doesn't help. And how can we tell him?" + +"I don't know that you can tell him, but you might hint. Diplomacy, +my dear, is one of the necessary elements of life. Whatever else you +do remember to be diplomatic. My poor husband used to have a pet +proverb--he was interested in politics, my dear, and some of his +sayings were a trifle grotesque but very much to the point. He used +to say that one could get rid of more flies with molasses than with +a club. And I think he was right. Now let me consider. Let's look +the situation right in the face. Of course your guardian, as a +companion, as an associate for us, for our kind of people, is, to be +quite frank, impossible." + +"Yes. Yes, I'm sure he is." + +"Yes. But he IS your guardian. Therefore, we can't get rid of him +with--well, with a club. He must be endured and made as endurable +as possible. And it certainly will not do to offend him." + +"Steve says we must do what he calls freezing him out--make him +feel that we do not want him here." + +"Hum! Well, Stephen is a nice boy--Malcolm adores him--but he +isn't a diplomat. If we should--what is it?--freeze out your +uncle--" + +"Please call him something else." + +"Well, we'll call him the encumbrance on the estate; that's legal, +I believe, and expresses it nicely. If we should freeze out the +encumbrance, we MIGHT freeze him to his village, and he MIGHT +insist on your going with him, which wouldn't do at ALL, my dear. +For one thing, Malcolm would probably insist on going, also, and I, +for one, don't yearn for rural simplicity. Ha! ha! Oh, you +mustn't mind me. I'm only a doting mamma, dearie, and I have my +air castles like everyone else. So, freezing out won't do. No, +you and Steve must be polite to our encumbrance." + +"I shall not get on my knees to him and beg. That I sha'n't do." + +"No one expects you to. If anyone begs it should be he. Condescend +to just a little. Make him feel his place. Correct him when he +goes too far wrong, and ignore him when he gets assertive. As for +getting rid of him at times when it may be necessary--well, I think +you may safely leave that to me." + +"To you? Oh, Mrs. Dunn, we couldn't think of dragging you into it. +It is bad enough that we should be disgraced; but you must not be." + +"My dear child, I THINK my position in society is sufficiently +established to warrant a risk or two. If _I_ am seen in company +with--with the encumbrance, people will merely say, 'Oh, it's +another of her eccentricities!' that's all. Now, don't worry, and +don't fret all that pretty color from your cheeks. Always remember +this: it is but for a year or a trifle over. Then you will be of +age and can send your encumbrance to the right-about in a hurry." + +Caroline, under the spell of this convincing eloquence, began to +cheer up. She even smiled. + +"Well," she said, "I will try to be diplomatic. I really will. +But Stephen--I'm not sure what dreadful thing HE will do." + +"He will return to college soon. I will take upon myself the +convincing of the encumbrance to that effect. And while he is at +home, Malcolm will take charge of him. He will be delighted to do +it." + +"Mrs. Dunn, how can we ever thank you sufficiently? What should we +do without you and Malcolm?" + +"I HOPE, my dear, that you will never have to do without me; not +for many years, at any rate. Of course, there is always my poor +heart, but--we won't worry, will we?" + +So, with a kiss and an embrace, this affecting interview ended. + +There was another that evening between Mrs. Dunn and her son, which +was not devoid of interest. Malcolm listened to the information +which his mother gave him, and commented upon it in characteristic +fashion. + +"Humph!" he observed, "two hundred and fifty thousand, instead of +the two million you figured on, Mater! Two hundred and fifty +thousand isn't so much, in these days." + +"No," replied his parent, sharply, "it isn't so much, but it isn't +so little, either." + +"I suppose one can get along on it." + +"Yes, one can. In fact, I know of two who are managing with a good +deal less. Don't be any more of a fool than you can help, Malcolm. +The sum itself isn't small, and, besides, the Warrens are a family +of standing. To be connected with them is worth a good deal. +There are infinite possibilities in it. Oh, if only I might live +to see the day when tradespeople meant something other than +nuisances to be dodged, I THINK I could die contented." + +"Caro's a decent sort of a girl," commented Malcolm, reflectively. + +"She's a bright girl and an attractive one. Just now she is in a +mood to turn to us, to you. But, for Heaven's sake, be careful! +She is delicate and sensitive and requires managing. She likes +you. If only you weren't such a blunderer!" + +"Much obliged, Mater. You're free with your compliments this +evening. What's the trouble? Another 'heart'? + +"No. My heart I can trust, up to certain limits. But I'm afraid +of your head, just as I always was of your father's. And here's +one more bit of advice: Be careful how you treat that country +uncle." + +"The Admiral! Ho! ho! He's a card." + +"He may be the trump that will lose us the trick. Treat him +civilly; yes, even cordially, if you can. And DON'T insult him as +you did the first time you and he met." + +The young man crossed his legs, and grunted in resignation. + +"Well," he said, "it's going to be a confounded bore, but, at the +very longest, it'll last but a year. Then Caro will be her own +mistress." + +"Yes. But there are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year; +remember that." + +"All right, Mater. You can bet on me. The old hayseed and I will +be bosom pals. Wait and see." + +The formalities at the lawyers' took some time. Captain Elisha was +absent from the apartment the better part of the following two +days. The evenings, however, he spent with his niece and nephew, +and, if at all sensitive to sudden changes of the temperature, he +must have noticed that the atmosphere of the library was less +frigid. Caroline was not communicative, did not make conversation, +nor was she in the least familiar; but she answered his questions, +did not leave the room when he entered, and seemed inclined to +accept his society with resignation, if not with enthusiasm. Even +Stephen was less sarcastic and bitter. At times, when his new +guardian did or said something which offended his highly cultivated +sense of the proprieties, he seemed inclined to burst out with a +sneer; but a quick "ahem!" or a warning glance from his sister +caused him to remain silent and vent his indignation by kicking a +footstool or barking a violent order at the unresisting Edwards. +Caroline and her brother had had a heart to heart talk, and, as a +result, the all-wise young gentleman promised to make no more +trouble than he could help. + +"Though, by gad, Caro," he declared, "it's only for you I do it! +If I had my way the old butt-in should understand exactly what I +think of him." + +On Thursday, after luncheon, as Captain Elisha sat in his own room, +reading a book he had taken from the library, there came a knock at +the door. + +"Come ahead in!" ordered the captain. Caroline entered. Her uncle +rose and put down the book. + +"Oh!" he exclaimed, "is it you? Excuse me. I thought 'twas the +Commodore--Edwards, I mean. If I'd known you was comin' callin', +Caroline, I shouldn't have been quite so bossy. Guess I'd have +opened the door for you, instead of lettin' you do it yourself." + +"Thank you," answered his niece. "I came to see you on--I suppose +you might call it business. At any rate, it is a financial matter. +I sha'n't detain you long." + +Captain Elisha was a trifle disappointed. + +"Oh," he said, "on business, was it? I hoped--I didn't know but +you'd come just out of sociability. However, I'm mighty glad to +see you, Caroline, no matter what it's for. That's a real becomin' +dress you've got on," he added, inspecting her admiringly. "I +declare, you look prettier every time I see you. You favor your pa +consider'ble; I can see it more and more. 'Bije had about all the +good looks there was in our family," with a chuckle. "Set down, +do." + +The girl seated herself in a rocker, and looked at him for a moment +without speaking. She seemed to have something on her mind, and +not to know exactly how to express it. + +"Captain Warren," she began, "I--I came to ask a favor. I am +obliged to ask it, because you are our--" she almost choked over +the hated word--"our guardian, and I can no longer act on my own +responsibility. I wish to ask you for some money. + +Captain Elisha nodded gravely. + +"I see" he said. "Well, Caroline, I don't believe you'll find me +very close-fisted. I think I told you and Steve that you was to do +just as you'd been in the habit of doin'. Of course I AM your +guardian now, and I shall be held responsible for whatever expense +comes to the estate. It is quite a responsibility, and I so +understand it. As I said to you when I told you I'd decided to +take the job on trial, WHILE I have it it'll be my pride to see +that you or your brother don't lose anything. I intend, if the +Almighty spares me so long and I keep on with the trust, to turn +over, when my term's out, at least as much to you and Steve as your +father left. That's all. Excuse me for mentioning it again. Now, +how much do you want? Is your reg'lar allowance too small? +Remember, I don't know much about such things here in New York, and +you must be frank and aboveboard and tell me if you have any +complaints." + +"I have no complaints. My allowance is sufficient. It is the same +that father used to give me, and it is all I need. But this is a +matter outside my personal needs." + +"Um-hm. Somethin' to do with the household expenses, hey?" + +"No. It is--is a matter of--well, of charity. It may amount to +several hundred dollars." + +"Yes, yes. I see. Charity, hey? Church?" + +"No. One of the maids, Annie, has trouble at home, and I wanted to +help her." + +The captain nodded once more. + +"Annie," he repeated, "that's the rosy-faced one? The Irish one?" + +"Yes. Her father was seriously injured the other day and cannot +work. His hip is broken, and the doctor's bill will be large. +They are very poor, and I thought perhaps--" She hesitated, +faltered, and then said haughtily: "Father was very sympathetic +and liked to have me do such things." + +"Sho! sho! Sartin! Course he did. I like it, too. I'm glad you +came to me just as you did, Caroline. How much do you want to +start with?" + +"I don't know, exactly. I thought I might ask our own doctor to +attend to the case, and might send them some delicacies and food." + +"Good idea! Go right ahead, Caroline." + +"Thank you. I have been over to see them, and they need help--they +really do." + +"I presume likely. How'd the accident happen? Anybody's fault, +was it?" + +Caroline's eyes snapped. "Indeed it was!" she said, indignantly. +"It was a wet morning, after a rain, and the pavement was slippery. +Mr. Moriarty, Annie's father, was not working that day--they were +making some repairs at the factory where he is employed, I believe-- +and he had gone out to do the family marketing. He was crossing +the street when an automobile, recklessly driven, so everyone says, +drove directly down on him. He tried to jump out of the way and +succeeded--otherwise he might have been killed; but he fell and +broke his hip. He is an old man, and the case is serious." + +"Dear! dear! you don't tell me! Poor old chap! The auto feller-- +did he help? Seems to me he ought to be the one to be spendin' the +money. 'Twas his fault." + +"Help! Indeed he didn't! He and the man with him merely laughed, +as if it was a good joke, put on speed, and disappeared as quickly +as possible." + +"Why, the mean swab! Did this Mr. Moriarty or the folks around get +the license number of the auto?" + +"No. All they know is that it was a big yellow car with two men in +it." + +"Hey? A yellow car?" + +"Yes. Somewhat similar to the one Malcolm--Mr. Dunn drives." + +"So, so! Hum! Where did it happen?" + +"On Saint Nicholas Avenue, near One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth +Street." + +"Eh? Saint Nicholas Avenue, you say?" + +"Yes." Caroline rose and turned to go. "Thank you, Captain +Warren," she said. "I will tell Doctor Henry to take the case at +once." + +The captain did not answer immediately. With his chin in his hand +he was gazing at the floor. + +"Good afternoon," said Caroline. + +Her uncle looked up. + +"Er--Wait just a minute, Caroline," he said. "I guess maybe, if +you don't mind, I'd like to think this over a little afore you go +too far. You have your doctor go right ahead and see to the old +man, and you order the things to eat and whatever's necessary. But +afore you give Annie or her father any money, I'd kind of like to +figger a little mite." + +His niece stopped short, turned and stared at him. + +"Oh!" she said, slowly and icily, "I see. Please don't trouble +yourself. I should have known. However, my allowance is my own, +and I presume I am permitted to do what I please with that." + +"Caroline, don't be hasty. I ain't sayin' no about the money. Far +from it. I only--" + +"I understand--thoroughly. Don't trouble to 'figure,' as you call +it. Oh! WHY did I humiliate myself? I should have known!" + +"Caroline, please--" + +But the girl had gone, closing the door after her. Captain Elisha +shook his head, heaved a deep sigh, and then, sinking back into his +chair, relapsed into meditation. Soon afterward he put on his hat +and coat and went out. + +Half an hour later he entered the office of a firm of commission +brokers on lower Broad Street, and inquired if a gentleman by the +name of Mr. Malcolm Dunn was connected with that establishment. On +being answered in the affirmative, he asked if Mr. Dunn were in. +Yes, he was. + +"Well," said Captain Elisha, "I'd like to speak to him a minute or +so. Just tell him my name's Warren, if you don't mind, young +feller." + +The clerk objected to being addressed as "young feller," and showed +his disapproval by the haughty and indifferent manner in which he +departed on the errand. However, he did so depart, and returned +followed by Malcolm himself. The latter, who had been misled by +the name into supposing his caller to be Stephen Warren, was much +astonished when he saw the captain seated outside the railing. + +"Good afternoon," said Captain Elisha, rising and extending his +hand: "How are you to-day, sir? Pretty smart?" + +The young man answered briefly that he was all right. He added he +was glad to see his visitor, a statement more polite than truthful. + +"Well, what's up?" he inquired, condescendingly. "Nothing wrong +with Caro or Steve, I hope." + +"No, they're fust-rate, thank you." + +"What's doing, then? Is it pleasure or business?" + +"Well, a little of both, maybe. It's always a pleasure to see you, +of course; and I have got a little mite of business on hand." + +Malcolm smiled, in his languid fashion. If he suspected sarcasm in +the first part of the captain's reply, it did not trouble him. His +self-sufficiency was proof against anything of that sort. + +"Business," he repeated. "Well, that's what I'm here for. +Thinking of cornering the--er--potato market, were you?" + +"No-o. Cranberries would be more in my line, and I cal'late you +fellers don't deal in that kind of sass. I had a private matter I +wanted to talk over with you, Mr. Dunn; that is, if you ain't too +busy." + +Malcolm looked at him with an amused curiosity. As he had +expressed it in the conversation with his mother, this old fellow +certainly was a "card." He seated himself on the arm of the oak +settle from which the captain had risen and, lazily swinging a +polished shoe, admitted that he was always busy but never too busy +to oblige. + +"What's on your mind, Captain?" he drawled. + +Captain Elisha glanced about him somewhat uneasily. + +"I--I don't know as I made it quite clear," he said, "that it was +sort of private; somethin' just between us, you understand." + +Malcolm hesitated. Sliding from the settle, and impatiently +commanding the clerk to open the gate in the railing, he led his +caller through the main office and into a small room beyond. On +the glass pane of the door was lettered, "Mr. Dunn--Private." A +roll-top desk in the corner and three chairs were the furniture. +Malcolm, after closing the door, sprawled in the swing chair before +the desk, threw one leg over a drawer, which he pulled out for that +purpose, and motioned his companion to occupy one of the other +chairs. + +Captain Elisha took the offered chair and dropped his hat on the +floor beside it. Then he inspected the room and its furnishings +with interest. Dunn drew out a pocket case, extracted a cigarette, +lit it, and waited for him to speak. + +"Well," observed the young man, after a moment, what's the trouble, +Admiral? Better get it off your chest, hadn't you? We're private +enough here." + +The captain answered the last question. "Yes," he said, "this is +nice and private. Got a stateroom all to yourself; name on the +door, and everything complete. You must be one of the officers of +the craft." + +"Yes." + +"Um-hm. I sort of expected to find your name on the door outside, +but there 'twas, 'Smith, Haynes & Co.' I presume likely you're the +'Co.'" + +"_I_ 'presume likely,'" with mocking impatience. "What about that +private matter?" + +Captain Elisha did not appear to hear him. His eyes were fixed on +several photographs stuck in the rail of Mr. Dunn's desk. The +photos were those of young ladies. + +"Friends of yours?" inquired the captain, nodding toward the +photographs. + +"No." Dunn took the photos from the rack and threw them into a +pigeon hole. "Look here," he said, pointedly, "I wouldn't hurry +you for the world, but--" + +He paused. Captain Elisha did not take the hint. His mind was +evidently still busy with the vanished photographs. + +"Just fancy pictures, I s'pose, hey?" he commented. + +"Doubtless. Any other little points I can give you?" + +"I guess not. I thought they was fancy; looked so to me. Well, +about that private matter. Mr. Dunn, I come to see you about an +automobile." + +"An automobile!" The young man was so astonished that he actually +removed his feet from the desk. Then he burst into a laugh. "An +automobile?" he repeated. "Captain, has the influence of the +metropolis made you a sport already? Do you want to buy a car?" + +"Buy one?" It was Captain Elisha's turn to show irritation. "Buy +one of them things? Me? I wouldn't buy one of 'em, or run one of +'em, for somethin', _I_ tell you! No, I don't want to buy one." + +"Why not? Sell you mine for a price." + +"Not if I see you fust, thank you. No, Mr. Dunn, 'tain't that. +But one of the hired help up to our place--Caroline's place, I +mean--is in trouble on account of one of the dratted machines. +They're poor folks, of course, and they need money to help 'em +through the doctorin' and nursin' and while the old man's out of +work. Caroline was for givin' it to 'em right off, she's a good- +hearted girl; but I said--that is, I kind of coaxed her out of it. +I thought I'd ask some questions first." + +"So you came to me to ask them?" Malcolm smiled contentedly. +Evidently the cares and complications of guardianship were already +proving too intricate for the unsophisticated countryman. He +wished advice, and had come to him for it, possibly at Caroline's +suggestion. Affairs were shaping themselves well. Here was an +opportunity to act the disinterested friend, as per maternal +instructions. + +"So you wanted to ask questions, did you, Captain?" he repeated. +"Well, fire away. Anything I can do to help you or Caroline will +be a pleasure, of course. Smoke?" + +He offered the cigarette case. The captain eyed it dubiously and +shook his head. + +"No," he said; "no, thank you, I commenced smokin' at the butt end, +I guess. Begun with a pipe, and them things would seem sort of +kindergarten, I'm afraid. No offense meant, you understand. It's +all accordin' to what you've been used to. Well, about the +questions. Here's the first one: Don't it seem to you that the +right one to pay for the doctorin' and nursin' and such of Mr. +Moriarty--that's Annie's pa--ought to be the feller who hurt him? +That feller, instead of Caroline?" + +"Sure thing! If you know who did it, he's your mark." + +"He could be held responsible, couldn't he?" + +"Certainly." + +"Um-hm. So I thought. And if he was a right-minded chap, he'd be +glad to help the poor critter, providin' he knew what damage he'd +done; wouldn't you think so?" + +Malcolm nodded sagely, opened his mouth to speak, and then closed +it again. A sudden recollection came to him, an alarming +recollection. He turned in his chair and looked at his visitor. +Captain Elisha met his gaze frankly. + +"Where did this accident happen?" asked Mr. Dunn, his condescending +smile absent. + +"At the corner of Saint Nicholas Avenue and One Hundred and Twenty- +Eighth Street. It happened last Friday mornin', a week ago. And +the car that hit him was a yellow one." + +Malcolm did not answer. His pale face grew paler, and then flushed +a brilliant red. The captain seemed to feel sorry for him. + +"Naturally," he went on, "when I heard about it, I remembered what +you told Mr. Sylvester and me at the club that afternoon. I +understand how 'twas, of course. You never thought you'd done any +real harm and just went on, thinkin' 'twas a good joke, much as +anything. If you'd known you'd really hurt the poor old man, you'd +have stopped to see him. I understand that. But--" + +"Look here!" interrupted Dunn, sharply, "did Caroline send you to +me?" + +"Caroline? No, no! She don't know 'twas your automobile at all. +I never said a word to her, 'tain't likely. But afore she spent +any of her money, I thought you'd ought to know, because I was sure +you wouldn't let her. That's the way I'd feel, and I felt 'twas no +more'n honest to give you the chance. I come on my own hook; she +didn't know anything about it." + +Malcolm drummed on the desk with nervous fingers. The flush +remained on his face, his cigarette had gone out, and he threw the +stump savagely into the wastepaper basket. Captain Elisha remained +silent. At length the young man spoke. + +"Well," he growled, pettishly, "how much will it take to square +things with the gang? How much damages do they want?" + +"Damages? Oh, there won't be any claim for damages, I guess. That +is, no lawsuit, or anything of that kind. The Moriartys don't know +you did it, and there's no reason why they should. I thought maybe +I'd see to 'em and do whatever was necessary; then you could settle +with me, and the whole business would be just between us two. +Outside the doctor's bills and food and nursin' and such, all the +extry will be just the old man's wages for the time he's away from +the factory. 'Twon't be very heavy." + +More reflection and finger tattoo by his companion. Then: + +"All right! I'm in it, I can see that; and it's up to me to get +out as easy as I can. I don't want any newspaper publicity. Go +ahead! I'll pay the freight." + +Captain Elisha arose and picked up his hat. + +"That's fust-rate," he said, with emphasis. "I felt sure you'd see +it just as I did. There's one thing I would like to say," he +added: "that is, that you mustn't think I was stingy about helpin' +'em myself. But it wa'n't really my affair; and when Caroline +spoke of spendin' her money and Steve's, I didn't feel I'd ought to +let her. You see, I don't know as you know it yet, Mr. Dunn, but +my brother 'Bije left me in charge of his whole estate, and, now +that I've decided to take the responsibility, I've got a sort of +pride in not wastin' any of his children's inheritance. Good day, +Mr. Dunn. I'm much obliged to you." + +He opened the office door. Malcolm, frowning heavily, suddenly +asked a final question. + +"Say!" he demanded, "you'll not tell Caroline or Steve a word of +this, mind!" + +The captain seemed surprised. + +"I guess you didn't catch what I said, Mr. Dunn," he observed, +mildly. "I told you this whole business would be just between you +and me." + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +Captain Elisha was very far from considering himself a Solomon. As +he would have said he had lived long enough with himself to know +what a lot he didn't know. Nevertheless, deep down in his inner +consciousness, he cherished a belief in his judgment of human +nature. This judgment was not of the snap variety; he took his +time in forming it. People and their habits, their opinions and +characters, were to him interesting problems. He liked to study +them and to reach conclusions founded upon reason, observation, and +common sense. Having reached such a conclusion, it disturbed him +when the subjects of the problem suddenly upset the whole process +of reasoning and apparently proved him wrong by behavior exactly +contrary to that which he had expected. + +He had been pretty well satisfied with the result of his visit to +young Dunn at the latter's office. Malcolm had surrendered, +perhaps not gracefully or unconditionally, but he had surrendered, +and the condition--secrecy--was one which the captain himself had +suggested. Captain Elisha's mental attitude toward the son of the +late Tammany leader had been a sort of good-natured but alert +tolerance. He judged the young man to be a product of rearing and +environment. He had known spoiled youths at the Cape and, in their +surroundings, they behaved much as Malcolm did in his. The same +disrespect to their elders, the same cock-sureness, and the same +careless indifference concerning the effect which their actions +might have upon other people--these were natural and nothing but +years and the hard knocks of experience could bring about a change. +Elkanah Chase, country swell and pampered heir to the cranberry +grower's few thousands, and Malcolm Dunn, idol of his set at the +Metropolitan Club, were not so very different, except in externals. +The similarity confirmed his opinion that New York was merely South +Denboro many thousand times magnified. + +He knew how young Chase had behaved after an interview not unlike +that just described. In Elkanah's case several broken windows and +property destroyed on a revel the night before the Fourth had +caused the trouble. In Malcolm's it was an automobile. Both had +listened to reason and had knuckled under rather than face possible +lawsuits and certain publicity. Chase, however, had sulkily +refused to speak to him for a month, and regained affability merely +because he wished to borrow money. According to the captain's +deduction, Dunn should have acted in similar fashion. But he +didn't; that was the odd part of it. + +For Malcolm, when he next called, in company with his mother, at +the Warren apartment, was not in the least sulky. Neither was he +over effusive, which would have argued fear and a desire to +conciliate. Possibly there was a bit more respect in his greeting +of the new guardian and a trifle less condescension, but not much. +He still hailed Captain Elisha as "Admiral," and was as mockingly +careless as ever in his remarks concerning the latter's newness in +the big city. In fact, he was so little changed that the captain +was perplexed. A chap who could take a licking when he deserved +it, and not hold malice, must have good in him, unless, of course, +he was hiding the malice for a purpose. And if that purpose was +the wish to appear friendly, then the manner of hiding it proved +Malcolm Dunn to possess more brains than Captain Elisha had given +him credit for. + +One thing seemed sure, the Dunns were not openly hostile. And +Caroline was. Since the interview in the library, when the girl +had, as she considered it, humiliated herself by asking her +guardian for money to help the Moriartys, she had scarcely spoken +to him. Stephen, taking his cue from his sister, was morose and +silent, also. Captain Elisha found it hard to forgive his dead +brother for bringing all this trouble upon him. + +His lawyers, so Sylvester informed him, were setting about getting +Rodgers Warren's tangible assets together. The task was likely to +be a long one. The late broker's affairs were in a muddled state, +the books were anything but clear, some of the investments were +foreign, and, at the very earliest, months must elapse before the +executor and trustee could know, for certain, just how large a +property he was in charge of. + +He found some solace and forgetfulness of the unpleasant life he +was leading in helping the stricken Moriarty family. Annie, the +maid at the apartment, he swore to secrecy. She must not tell Miss +Caroline of his visits to her parents' home. Doctor Henry, also, +though he could not understand why, promised silence. Caroline +herself had engaged his services in the case, and he was faithful. +But the patient was more seriously hurt than at first appeared, and +consultations with a specialist were necessary. + +"Goin' to be a pretty expensive job, ain't it, Doctor?" asked the +captain of the physician. + +"Rather, I'm afraid." + +"All right. If expense is necessary, don't be afraid of it. You +do just what you'd ought to, and send the bill to me." + +"But Miss Warren insisted upon my sending it to her. She said it +was a private matter, and one with which you, as her guardian, had +nothing to do." + +"I know. Caroline intends to use her own allowance, I s'pose. +Well, let her think she will, if 'twill please her. But when it +comes to the settlement, call on me. Give her any reason you want +to; say a--er--wealthy friend of the family come to life all at +once and couldn't sleep nights unless he paid the costs." + +"But there isn't any such friend, is there, Captain Warren? Other +than yourself, I mean?" + +Captain Elisha grinned in appreciation of a private joke. "There +is somebody else," he admitted, "who'll pay a share, anyhow. I +don't know's he's what you call a bosom friend, and, as for his +sleepin' nights--well, I never heard he couldn't do that, after he +went to bed. But, anyhow, you saw wood, or bones, or whatever you +have to do, and leave the rest to me. And don't tell Caroline or +anybody else a word." + +The Moriartys lived in a four-room flat on the East Side, uptown, +and his visits there gave the captain a glimpse of another sort of +New York life, as different from that of Central Park West as could +well be imagined. The old man, Patrick, his wife, Margaret, the +unmarried son, Dennis, who worked in the gas house, and five other +children of various ages were hived somehow in those four small +rooms and Captain Elisha marveled greatly thereat. + +"For the land sakes, ma'am," he asked of the nurse, "how do they do +it? Where do they put 'em nights? That--that closet in there's +the pantry and woodshed and kitchen and dinin' room; and that one's +the settin' room and parlor; and them two dry-goods boxes with +doors to 'em are bedrooms. There's eight livin' critters to stow +away when it's time to turn in, and one whole bed's took up by the +patient. WHERE do they put the rest? Hang 'em up on nails?" + +The nurse laughed. "Goodness knows!" she said. "He should have +been taken to the hospital. In fact, the doctor and I at first +insisted upon his removal there. He would have been much better +off. But neither he nor his wife would hear of it. She said he +would die sure without his home comforts." + +"Humph! I should think more likely he'd die with 'em, or under +'em. I watch that fleshy wife of his with fear and tremblin'. +Every time she goes nigh the bed I expect her to trip over a young +one and fall. And if she fell on that poor rack-o'-bones," with a +wave of the hand toward the invalid, "'twould be the final smash-- +like a brick chimney fallin' on a lath hencoop." + +At that moment the "brick chimney" herself entered the rooms and +the nurse accosted her. + +"Captain Warren here," she said, "was asking where you all found +sleeping quarters." + +Mrs. Moriarty smiled broadly. "Sure, 'tis aisy," she explained. +"When the ould man is laid up we're all happy to be a bit +uncomfortable. Not that we are, neither. You see, sor, me and +Nora and Rosy sleep in the other bed; and Dinnie has a bit of a +shakedown in the parlor; and Honora is in the kitchen; and--" + +"There! there!" Captain Elisha interrupted hastily, "don't tell me +any more. I'd rather GUESS that the baby bunks in the cookstove +oven than know it for sartin. How did the grapes I sent you go?" +turning to the sick man. + +"Aw, sor! they were foine. God bless you, sor! Mary be kind to +you, sor! Sure the angels'll watch over you every day you live and +breathe!" + +Captain Elisha bolted for the parlor, the sufferer firing a gatling +fusillade of blessings after him. Mrs. Moriarty continued the +bombardment, as she escorted him to the door of the flat. + +"There! there!" protested the captain. "Just belay! cut it short, +there's a good woman! I'll admit I'm a saint and would wear a halo +instead of a hat if 'twa'n't so unfashionable. Good day. If you +need anything you ain't got, tell the nurse." + +The grateful Irish woman did not intend to let him escape so +easily. + +"Aw, sor," she went on, "it's all right for you to make fun. I'm +the jokin' kind, sor, meself. Whin the flats where we used to be +got afire and Pat had to lug me down the fire escape in his arms, +they tell me I was laughin' fit to kill; that is, when I wasn't +screechin' for fear he'd drop me. And him, poor soul, never seein' +the joke, but puffin' and groanin' that his back was in two pieces. +Ha, ha! Oh, dear! And him in two pieces now for sure and all! +Aw, sor, it's all right for you to laugh it off, but what would we +do without you? You and Miss Caroline, God bless her!" + +"Caroline? She doesn't come here, does she?" + +"Indade she does. Sure, she's the perfect little lady! Hardly a +day passes--or a week, anyhow--that she doesn't drop in to see how +the ould man's gettin' on." + +"Humph! Well, see that you don't tell her about me." + +Mrs. Moriarty held up both hands in righteous protestation. SHE +tell? Might the tongue of her wither between her teeth before it +let slip a word, and so on. Captain Elisha waved her to silence. + +"All right! all right!" he exclaimed. "So long! Take good care of +your husband, and, and--for Heaven's sake, walk careful and don't +step on any of the children." + +Mrs. Moriarty's tongue did not wither; at all events, it was lively +enough when he next met her. The captain's secret was not +divulged, and he continued his visits to the flat, taking care, +however, to ascertain his niece's whereabouts beforehand. It was +not altogether a desire to avoid making his charitable deeds public +which influenced him. He had a habit of not letting his right hand +know what his left was about in such cases, and he detested a +Pharisaical philanthropist. But there was another reason why +Caroline must not learn of his interest in the Moriartys. If she +did learn it, she would believe him to be helping them on his own +responsibility; or, if not, that he was using money belonging to +the estate. Of course he would, and honestly must, deny the latter +charge, and, therefore, the first would, to her mind, be proven. +He intended that Malcolm Dunn should pay the larger share of the +bills, as was right and proper. But he could not tell Caroline +that, because she must not know of the young man's responsibility +for the accident. He could not give Malcolm the credit, and he +felt that he ought not to take it himself. It was a delicate +situation. + +He was lonely, and the days seemed long. Reading the paper, +walking in the park, occasionally dropping in at the lawyers' +offices, or visiting the shops and other places of interest about +town made up the monotonous routine. He breakfasted early, waited +upon by Edwards, got lunch at the restaurant nearest to wherever he +happened to be at noon, and returned to the apartment for dinner. +His niece and nephew dined with him, but when he attempted +conversation they answered in monosyllables or not at all. Every +evening he wrote a letter to Abbie, and the mail each morning +brought him one from her. The Dunns came frequently and seemed +disposed to be friendly, but he kept out of their way as much as +possible. + +Pearson he had not seen since the latter's call. This was a +disappointment, for he fancied the young fellow and believed he +should like him even better on closer acquaintance. He would have +returned the visit, but somehow or other the card with the +boarding-house street and number had been lost or mislaid, and the +long list of "James Pearsons" in the directory discouraged him. He +speculated much concerning the mystery at which the would-be +novelist hinted as preventing his accepting Caroline's invitation. +Evidently Pearson had once known Rodgers Warren well, and had been +esteemed and respected by the latter. Caroline, too, had known +him, and was frankly pleased to meet him again. Whatever the +trouble might be, she, evidently, was ignorant of it. The captain +wondered and pondered, but reached no satisfactory conclusion. It +seemed the irony of fate that the one congenial person--Sylvester +excepted--whom he had met during his stay in the big city should be +scratched from his small list of acquaintances. + +With Sylvester he held many familiar and enjoyable chats. The +good-natured, democratic senior member of the law firm liked to +have Captain Elisha drop in for advice or to spin yarns. Graves, +who was well again, regarded the new guardian with respect of a +kind, but with distinct disapproval. The captain was, in his +opinion, altogether too flippant and jolly. There was nothing +humorous in the situation, as Graves saw it, and to laugh when +one's brother's estate is in a tangle, indicated unfitness, if +nothing worse. Kuhn was a sharp, quick-moving man, who had no time +for frivolity if it delayed business. + +It was after a long interview with Sylvester that Captain Elisha +decided to send Stephen back to college. When he broke the news +there was rebellion, brief but lively. Stephen had no desire to +continue his studies; he wished to become a stock broker at once, +and, as soon as he was of age, take his father's seat on the +Exchange. + +"Stevie," said Captain Elisha, "one of these days, when you get to +be as old as I am or before, you'll realize that an education is +worth somethin'." + +"Ugh!" grunted the boy, in supreme disgust. "What do you know +about that?" + +"Why, not much, maybe, but enough." + +"Yes?" sarcastically. "What college did you attend?" + +"Me? Why, none, more's the pity. What learnin' there was in our +family your dad had. Maybe that's why he was what he was, so fur +as money and position and society and so on went, and I'm what _I_ +am." + +"Oh, rubbish! What difference does it make to Malcolm Dunn--now-- +his going through college?" + +"Well, he went, didn't he?" + +Stephen grinned. Malcolm had told him some particulars concerning +his university career and its termination. + +"He went--part way," he answered. + +"Ya-as. Well, you've gone part way, so fur. And now you'll go the +rest." + +"I'd like to know why." + +"For one reason, because I'm your guardian and I say so." + +Stephen was furiously angry. His father's indulgence and his +sister's tolerance had, in most cases, made his will law in the +household. To be ordered about in this way by an ignorant +interloper, as he considered his uncle, was too much. + +"By gad," he shouted, "we'll see!" + +"No, we've seen. You run along now and pack your trunk. And take +my advice and study hard. You'll be behindhand in your work, so +Mr. Sylvester tells me, but you're smart, and you can catch up. +Make us proud of you; that's what you can do." + +His nephew glanced at him. Captain Elisha was smiling kindly, but +there was no sign of change of purpose in his look. + +Stephen ground his teeth. + +"Oh," he snarled, "if it wasn't for the disgrace! If things +weren't as they are, I'd--" + +"S-s-s-h! I know; but they are. Maybe I wish they wa'n't 'most as +much as you do, but they are. I don't blame you for feelin' mad +now; but I'm right and I know it. And some day you'll know it, and +thank me." + +"When I do, I'll be insane." + +"No, you'll be older, that's all. Now pack your trunk--or get the +Commodore to pack it for you." + + + +News from the Moriarty sick room continued favorable for a time. +Then, with alarming suddenness, a change came. The broken hip was +mending slowly, but poor Pat's age was against him, and the shock +and long illness were too much for his system to fight. Dr. Henry +shook his head dubiously when the captain asked questions. And, +one morning at breakfast, Edwards informed him that the old man was +dead. Annie had been summoned by telephone at midnight and had +gone home. + +Captain Elisha, though not greatly surprised, was shocked and +grieved. It seemed such a needless tragedy, almost like murder, +although there was no malice in it. And the thought of the +fatherless children and the poverty of the stricken family made him +shudder. Death at any time, amid any surroundings, is terrible; +when the dead hands have earned the bread for many mouths it is +appalling. + +The captain dreaded visiting the flat, but because he felt it to be +a duty he went immediately. And the misery and wailing and dismay +he found there were worse than his anticipations. He did his best +to comfort and cheer. Mrs. Moriarty alternately called upon the +saints to bless him and begged to know what she would do now that +they were all sure to starve. Luckily, the family priest, a kind- +hearted, quiet man who faced similar scenes almost every day of his +life, was there, and Captain Elisha had a long talk with him. With +Dennis, the oldest son, and Annie, the maid at the Warrens', he +also consulted. Money for their immediate needs, he told them, he +would provide. And the funeral expenses must not worry them. +Afterward--well, plans for the future could be discussed at another +time. But upon Dennis and Annie he tried to impress a sense of +their responsibility. + +"It's up to you, Boy," he said to the former. "Annie's job's sure, +I guess, as long as she wants it, and she can give her mother +somethin' every month. But you're the man of the house now, and +you've got to steer the ship and keep it afloat. That means work, +and hard work, lots of it, too. You can do it, if you've got the +grit. If I can find a better place and more pay for you, I will, +but you mustn't depend on that. It's up to you, I tell you, and +you've got to show what's in you. If you get stuck and need +advice, come to me." + +He handed the priest a sum of money to cover immediate contingencies, +and departed. His letter to Abbie that afternoon was so blue that +the housekeeper felt sure he was "coming down" with some disease or +other. He had been riding in that awful subway, where the air--so +the papers said--was not fit to breathe, and just as like as not +he'd caught consumption. His great-uncle on his mother's side died +of it, so it run in the family." Either he must come home or she +should come to him, one or the other. + +But before evening his blueness had disappeared. He had just +returned to his room, after stepping into the hall to drop his +letter in the mail chute, when his niece knocked at the door. He +was surprised to see her, for she had not spoken to him, except in +brief reply to questions, since their misunderstanding in that very +room. He looked at her wonderingly, not knowing what to say or +what to expect; but she spoke first. + +"Captain Warren," she began, hurriedly, "the last time I came to +you--the last time I came here, I came to ask a favor, and you--I +thought you--" + +She was evidently embarrassed and confused. Her guardian was +embarrassed, also, but he tried to be hospitable. + +"Yes, Caroline," he said, gravely, "I know what you mean. Won't +you--won't you sit down?" + +To his surprise, she accepted the invitation, taking the same chair +she had taken on the occasion of their former interview. But there +was a look in her eyes he had never seen there before; at least, +not when she was addressing him. + +She went on, speaking hastily, as though determined to head off any +questioning on his part. + +"Captain Warren," she began once more, "the time I came to you in +this room you were, so I thought, unreasonable and unkind. I asked +you for money to help a poor family in trouble, and you refused to +give it to me." + +"No, Caroline," he interrupted, "I didn't refuse, you only thought +I did." + +She held up her hand. "Please let me go on," she begged. "I +thought you refused, and I couldn't understand why. I was hurt and +angry. I knew that father never would have refused me under such +circumstances, and you were his brother. But since then, only +to-day, I have learned that I was wrong. I have learned--" + +She paused. The captain was silent. He was beginning to hope, to +believe once more in his judgment of character; and yet, with his +hope and growing joy, there was a trifle of anxiety. + +"I have learned," went on his niece, "that I was mistaken. I can't +understand yet why you wished to wait before saying yes, but I do +know that it must have been neither because you were unkind nor +ungenerous. I have just come from those poor people, and they have +told me everything." + +Captain Elisha started. "What did they tell you?" he asked, +quickly. "Who told you?" + +"Annie and her mother. They told me what you had done and were +doing for them. How kind you had been all through the illness and +to-day. Oh, I know you made them promise not to tell me; and you +made the doctor and nurse promise, too. But I knew SOMEONE had +helped, and Annie dropped a hint. Then I suspected, and now I +know. Those poor people!" + +The captain, who had been looking at the floor, and frowning a bit, +suddenly glanced up to find his niece's eyes fixed upon him, and +they were filled with tears. + +"Will you forgive me?" she asked, rising from her chair, and coming +impulsively toward him. "I'm sorry I misjudged you and treated you +so. You must be a very good man. Please forgive me." + +He took her hand, which was swallowed up in his big one. His eyes +were moist, also. + +"Lord love you, dearie," he said, "there's nothin' to forgive. +I realized that I must have seemed like a mean, stingy old scamp. +Yet I didn't mean to be. I only wanted to look into this thing +just a little. Just as a matter of business, you know. And +I . . . Caroline, did that doctor tell you anything more?" + +"Any more?" she repeated in bewilderment. "He told me that you +were the kindest man he had ever seen." + +"Yes, yes. Well, maybe his eyesight's poor. What I mean is did he +tell you anything about anybody else bein' in this with me?" + +"Anybody else? What do you mean?" + +"Oh, nothin', nothin'. I joked with him a spell ago about a +wealthy relation of the Moriarty tribe turnin up. 'Twas only a +joke, of course. And yet, Caroline, I--I think I'd ought to say-- +He hesitated. What could he say? Even a hint might lead to +embarrassing questions and he had promised Dunn. + +"What ought you to say?" asked his niece. + +"Why, nothin', I guess. I'm glad you understand matters a little +better and I don't intend for the estate nor you to pay these +Moriarty bills. Just get 'em off your mind. Forget 'em. I'll see +that everything's attended to. And, later on, if you and me can, +by puttin' our heads together, help those folks to earnin' a better +livin', why, we will, hey?" + +The girl smiled up at him. "I think," she said, "that you must be +one who likes to hide his light under a bushel." + +"I guess likely a two-quart measure'd be plenty big enough to hide +mine. There! there! We won't have any more misunderstandin's, +will we? I'm a pretty green vegetable and about as out of place +here as a lobster in a balloon, but, as I said to you and Steve +once before, if you'll just remember I AM green and sort of rough, +and maybe make allowances accordin', this cruise of ours may not be +so unpleasant. Now you run along and get ready for dinner, or the +Commodore'll petrify from standin' so long behind your chair." + +She laughed, as she turned to go. "I should hate to have him do +that," she said. "He would make a depressing statue. I shall see +you again in a few minutes, at dinner. Thank you--Uncle." + +She left Captain Elisha in a curious state of mind. Against his +will he had been forced to accept thanks and credit which, he +believed, did not rightfully belong to him. It was the only thing +to do, and yet it seemed almost like disloyalty to Malcolm Dunn. +This troubled him, but the trouble was, just then, a mere pinhead +of blackness against the radiance of his spirit. + +His brother's daughter had, for the first time, called him uncle. + + + +CHAPTER X + + +"Captain Warren," asked Caroline, as they were seated at the +breakfast table next morning, "what are your plans for to-day?" + +Captain Elisha put down his coffee cup and pulled his beard +reflectively. Contrary to his usual desire since he came to the +apartment to live, he was in no hurry to finish the meal. This +breakfast and the dinner of the previous evening had been really +pleasant. He had enjoyed them. His niece had not called him uncle +again, it is true, and perhaps that was too much to be expected as +yet, but she was cheerful and even familiar. They talked as they +ate, and he had not been made to feel that he was the death's head +at the feast. The change was marked and very welcome. The bright +winter sunshine streaming through the window indicated that the +conditions outside were also just what they should be. + +"Well," he replied, with a smile, "I don't know, Caroline, as I've +made any definite plans. Let's see, to-day's Sunday, ain't it? +Last letter I got from Abbie she sailed into me because, as she +said, I seemed to have been 'most everywheres except to meetin'. +She figgers New York's a heathen place, anyhow, and she cal'lates +I'm gettin' to be a backslider like the rest. I didn't know but I +might go to church." + +Caroline nodded. "I wondered if you wouldn't like to go," she +said. "I am going, and I thought perhaps you would go with me." + +Her uncle had again raised his cup to his lips. Now he set it down +with a suddenness which caused the statuesque Edwards to bend +forward in anticipation of a smash. The captain started to speak, +thought better of it, and stared at his niece so intently that she +colored and dropped her eyes. + +"I know," she faltered, "that I haven't asked you before, but-- +but--" then, with the impulsiveness which was one of her +characteristics, and to her guardian her great charm, she looked +him full in the face and added, "but I hoped you would understand +that--that _I_ understood a little better. I should like to have +your company very much." + +Captain Elisha drew a long breath. + +"Thank you, Caroline," he answered. "I appreciate your askin' me, +I sartinly do. And I'd rather go with you than anybody else on +earth. But I was cal'latin' to hunt up some little round-the- +corner chapel, or Bethel, where I'd feel a little bit at home. I +guess likely your church is a pretty big one, ain't it?" + +"We attend Saint Denis. It IS a large church, but we have always +been connected with it. Stephen and I were christened there. But, +of course, if you had rather go somewhere else--" + +"No, no! I hadn't anywhere in particular to go. I'm a +Congregationalist to home, but Abbie says I've spread my creed so +wide that it ain't more'n an inch deep anywhere, and she shouldn't +think 'twould keep me afloat. I tell her I'd rather navigate a +broad and shallow channel, where everybody stands by to keep his +neighbor off the shoals, than I would a narrow and crooked one with +self-righteousness off both beams and perdition underneath. + +"You see," he added, reflectively, "the way I look at it, it's a +pretty uncertain cruise at the best. Course there's all sorts of +charts, and every fleet is sartin it's got the only right one. But +I don't know. We're afloat--that much we are sure of--but the port +we left and the harbor we're bound for, they're always out of sight +in the fog astern and ahead. I know lots of folks who claim to see +the harbor, and see it plain; but they don't exactly agree as to +what they see. As for me, I've come to the conclusion that we must +steer as straight a course as we can, and when we meet a craft in +distress, why, do our best to help her. The rest of it I guess we +must leave to the Owner, to the One that launched us. I . . . Good +land!" he exclaimed, coming out of his meditation with a start, +"I'm preachin' a sermon ahead of time. And the Commodore's goin' +to sleep over it, I do believe." + +The butler, who had been staring vacantly out of the window during +the captain's soliloquy, straightened at the sound of his nickname, +and asked hastily, "Yes, sir? What will you have, sir?" Captain +Elisha laughed in huge enjoyment, and his niece joined him. + +"Well," she said, "will you go with me?" + +"I'd like to fust-rate--if you won't be too much ashamed of me." + +"Then it's settled, isn't it? The service begins at a quarter to +eleven. We will leave here at half-past ten." + +The captain shaved with extra care that morning, donned spotless +linen, including a "stand-up" collar--which he detested--brushed +his frock-coat and his hair with great particularity, and gave +Edwards his shoes to clean. He would have shined them himself, as +he always did at home, but on a former occasion when he asked for +the "blackin' kit," the butler's shocked and pained expression led +to questions and consequent enlightenment. + +He was ready by a quarter after ten, but when his niece knocked at +his door she bore a message which surprised and troubled him. + +"Mrs. Dunn called," she said, "to ask me to go to church with her. +I told her I had invited you to accompany me. Would you mind if +she joined us?" + +Her guardian hesitated. "I guess," he answered, slowly, "it ain't +so much a question of my mindin' her as she mindin' me. Does SHE +want me to go along?" + +"She said she should be delighted." + +"I want to know! Now, Caroline, don't you think I'd be sort of in +the way? Don't you believe she'd manage to live down her +disappointment if I didn't tag on? You mustn't feel that you've +got to be bothered with me because you suggested my goin', you +know." + +"If I had considered it a bother I should not have invited you. If +you don't wish Mrs. Dunn's company, then you and I will go alone." + +"Oh, land sakes! I wouldn't have you do that for the world! All +right, I'll be out in a jiffy." + +He gave his hair a final brush, straightened his tie, turned around +once more before the mirror, and walked fearfully forth to meet the +visitor. For him, the anticipated pleasure of the forenoon had +been replaced by uneasy foreboding. + +But Mrs. Corcoran Dunn, as she rose creakingly to greet him, was +extremely gracious. She was gowned and furred and hatted in a +manner which caused the captain to make hasty mental estimate as +to cost, but she extended a plump hand, buttoned in a very tight +glove, and murmured her gratification. + +"I'm so glad you are to accompany us, Captain Warren," she gushed. +"It is a charming winter morning, isn't it?" + +Captain Elisha touched the plump glove with his own big finger +tips, and admitted that the morning was "fust-rate." He was +relieved from the embarrassment of further conversation just then +by Caroline's appearance in the library. She, too, was richly +dressed. + +"Are we all ready?" she asked, brightly. "Then we may as well +start." + +"I'm afraid we're a trifle early, my dear," said Mrs. Dunn, "but we +can stroll about a bit before we go in." + +The captain looked at the library clock. The time was a quarter to +eleven. + +"Early?" he exclaimed, involuntarily. "Why, I thought Caroline +said--" + +He stopped, suddenly, realizing that he had spoken aloud. His +niece divined his thought and laughed merrily. + +"The service does begin now," she said, "but no one is ever on +time." + +"Oh!" ejaculated her uncle, and did not speak again until they were +at the door of the church. Then Caroline asked him what he was +thinking. + +"Nothin' much," he answered, gazing at the fashionably garbed +throng pouring under the carved stone arch of the entrance; "I was +just reorganizin' my ideas, that's all. I've always sort of +thought a plug hat looked lonesome. Now I've decided that I'm +wearin' the lonesome kind." + +He marched behind his niece and Mrs. Dunn up the center aisle to +the Warren pew. He wrote his housekeeper afterwards that he +estimated that aisle to be "upwards of two mile long. And my +Sunday shoes had a separate squeak for every inch," he added. + +Once seated, however, and no longer so conspicuous, his common +sense and Yankee independence came to his rescue. He had been in +much bigger churches than this one, while abroad during his +seagoing years. He knew that his clothes were not fashionably cut, +and that, to the people about him, he must appear odd and, perhaps, +even ridiculous. But he remembered how odd certain city people +appeared while summering at South Denboro. Recollections of +pointed comments made by boatmen who had taken these summer +sojourners on fishing excursions came to his mind. Well, he had +one advantage over such people, at any rate, he knew when he was +ridiculous, and they apparently did not. + +So, saved from humiliation by his sense of humor, he looked about +him with interest. When the procession of choir boys came up the +aisle, and Mrs. Dunn explained in a condescending whisper what they +were, his answer surprised her a trifle. "Yes," whispered the +captain in reply, "I know. I've seen the choir in Saint Peter's at +Rome." + +Only once did he appear greatly astonished. That was when the +offering was taken and a certain dignified magnate, whose fame as a +king of finance is world-wide, officiated as one of the collectors. + +"Heavens and earth!" murmured Captain Elisha, staring wide-eyed at +the unmistakable features so often pictured and cartooned in the +daily papers; "Caroline--Caroline, am I seein' things or is that-- +is that--" + +That is Mr. ----," whispered his niece. "He is one of the vestrymen +here." + +"My soul!" still gazing after the Emperor of Wall Street; "HIM +passin' the plate! Well," with a grim smile, "whoever picked him +out for the job has got judgment. If HE can't make a body shell +out, nobody can." + +He listened to the sermon, the text of which was from the +Beatitudes, with outward solemnity, but with a twinkle in his eye. +After the benediction, when Caroline asked how he enjoyed it, the +cause of the twinkle became apparent. + +"Fine!" he declared, with enthusiasm. "He's a smart preacher, +ain't he! And he knew his congregation. You might not guess +they was meek perhaps, but they certainly did look as if they'd +inherited the earth." + +He drew a breath of relief as the trio emerged into the open air. +He had enjoyed the novel experience, in a way, but now he felt +rather like one let out of jail. The quiet luncheon at home with +Caroline was a pleasant anticipation. + +But Mrs. Corcoran Dunn smashed his anticipation at a blow. She +insisted that he and his niece lunch with her. + +"You really must, you know," she declared. "It will be delightful. +Just a little family party." + +Captain Elisha looked distressed. "Thank you, ma'am," he stammered; +"it's awful kind of you, but I wouldn't feel right to go puttin' you +to all that trouble. Just as much obliged, but I--I've got a letter +to write, you see." + +Mrs. Dunn bore his refusal bravely. + +"Very well," she said, "but Caroline MUST come with me. I told +Malcolm I should bring her." + +"Sure! Sartin! Caroline can go, of course." + +But Caroline also declined. Having misjudged her guardian in the +matter of the Moriarty family, she was in a repentant mood, and had +marked that day on her calendar as one of self-sacrifice. + +"No, Captain Warren," she said, "I shall not go unless you do." + +"Then the captain will come, of course," declared Mrs. Dunn, with +decision. "I'm sure he will not be so selfish as to deprive me-- +and Malcolm--of your company." + +So, because he did not wish to appear selfish, Captain Elisha +admitted that his letter might be written later in the afternoon, +accepted the invitation, and braced his spirit for further +martyrdom. + +It was not as bad as he expected. The Dunns occupied a small, +brown-stone house on Fifth Avenue, somewhat old-fashioned, but +eminently respectable. The paintings and bronzes were as numerous +as those in the Warren apartment, and if the taste shown in their +selection was not that of Rodgers Warren, the connoisseur, they +made quite as much show, and the effect upon Captain Elisha was the +same. The various mortgages on the property were not visible, and +the tradesmen's bills were securely locked in Mrs. Dunn's desk. + +The luncheon itself was elaborate, and there was a butler whose +majestic dignity and importance made even Edwards seem plebeian by +comparison. + +Malcolm was at home when they arrived, irreproachably dressed and +languidly non-effusive, as usual. Captain Elisha, as he often +said, did not "set much store" by clothes; but there was something +about this young man which always made him conscious that his own +trousers were a little too short, or his boots too heavy, or +something. "I wouldn't WEAR a necktie like his," he wrote Abbie, +after his first meeting with Malcolm, "but blessed if I don't wish +I could IF I would!" + +Caroline, in the course of conversation during the luncheon, +mentioned the Moriartys and their sorrow. The captain tried to +head her off and to change the subject, but with little success. +He was uncomfortable and kept glancing under his brows at Malcolm, +with whom, under the circumstances, he could not help sympathizing +to an extent. But his sympathy was wasted. The young man did not +appear in the slightest degree nervous. The memory of his recent +interview with Captain Elisha did not embarrass him, outwardly at +least, half as much as it did the captain. He declared that old +Pat's death was beastly hard luck, but accidents were bound to +happen. It was a shame, and all that. "If there's anything the +mater and I can do, Caroline, call on us, of course." + +"Yes, do, Caroline," concurred his mother. "However, one must be +philosophic in such cases. It is a mercy that people in their +station do not feel grief and loss as we do. Providence, in its +wisdom, has limited their susceptibilities as it has their +intelligence. Don't you agree with me, Captain Warren?" + +"Sartin!" was the prompt reply. "It's always a comfort to me, when +I go fishin', to know that the fish ain't got so much brains as I +have. The hook hurts, I presume likely, but they ain't got the +sense to realize what a mean trick's been played on 'em. The one +that's caught's dead, and them that are left are too busy hustlin' +for the next meal to waste much time grievin'. That eases my +conscience consider'ble." + +Caroline seemed to be the only one who appreciated the sarcasm in +this observation. She frowned slightly. Mrs. Corcoran Dunn +tolerantly smiled, and her son laughed aloud. + +"Say, Admiral," he commented, "when it comes to philosophy you go +some yourself, don't you?" + +"Um-hm. I can be as philosophical about other folk's troubles as +anybody I ever see." Then, with an involuntary chuckle of +admiration at the young gentleman's coolness, he added, "That is, +anybody I ever see afore I come to New York." + +Malcolm opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again. The +captain, noticing his change of purpose and following the direction +of his look, saw Mrs. Dunn shake her head in sharp disapproval. He +ate the remainder of his salad in silence, but he thought a good +deal. + +"And now," said Mrs. Dunn, rising and leading the way to the +drawing-room, "we must all go for a motor ride. Everyone rides on +Sunday afternoon," she explained, turning to her male guest. + +The distressed look returned to Captain Elisha's face. His niece +saw it, understood, and came to his rescue. + +"I think Captain Warren prefers to be excused," she said, smiling. +"He has a prejudice against automobiles." + +"No!" drawled Malcolm, the irrepressible. "Not really? Admiral, +I'm surprised! In these days, you know!" + +"It ain't so much the automobiles," snapped Captain Elisha, +irritation getting the better of his discretion, "as 'tis the +devilish fools that--" + +"Yes? Oh, all right, Mater." + +"That are careless enough to get in the way of them," finished the +captain, with surprising presence of mind. "Still, if Caroline +wants to go--" + +"I have it!" exclaimed Mrs. Dunn. "The young people shall go, and +the others remain at home. Malcolm shall take you for a spin, +Caroline, and Captain Warren and I will stay here and wait until +you return. We'll have a family chat, Captain, won't we? +Because," with a gay laugh, "in a way we ARE like one family, you +see." + +And, somewhat to Miss Warren's surprise, her uncle agreed to this +proposition. He did not answer immediately, but, when he did, it +was with heartiness. + +"Why, yes," he said, "that's a good idea. That's fust-rate. You +young folks go, and Mrs. Dunn and I'll wait here till you come +back. That's the way of the world--young folks on the go, and the +old folks at home by the fire, hey, Mrs. Dunn?" + +The lady addressed did not relish being numbered with "old folks," +but she smiled sweetly, and said she supposed it was. Malcolm +telephoned to the garage and to Edwards at the Warren apartment, +ordering the butler to deliver his mistress's auto cap and cloak to +the chauffeur, who would call for them. A few minutes later the +yellow car rolled up to the door. + +In the hall Mrs. Dunn whispered a reassuring word to her departing +guest. + +"Now enjoy yourself, dear," she whispered. "Have a nice ride and +don't worry about me. If he--if our encumbrance bores me too much +I shall--well, I shall plead a headache and leave him to his own +devices. Besides, he isn't so VERY dreadful, is he?" + +Caroline shook her head. "No," she answered, "he is a good man. I +understand him better than I did and--yes, I like him better, too." + +"Oh! . . . Indeed! Well, good-by, dear. Good-by." + +The yellow car roared as the chauffeur cranked it, then moved off +up the crowded avenue. Mrs. Dunn watched it until it was out of +sight. Her brows were drawn together, and she seemed puzzled and +just a bit disconcerted. However, when she returned to the +drawing-room, her gracious smile had returned, and her bland +condescension was again in evidence. + +Captain Elisha had been standing by the window. She begged him to +be seated. He thanked her, but looked dubiously at the Louis XVI +chair indicated. She noticed the look. + +"Suppose we go into the library," she said. "It is much less +formal. And there is a fire--for us OLD folks," with a slight +accent on the word. + +The library was more homelike. Not as many books as at the +Warrens', but a great deal of gilt in the bindings and much carving +on the cases. The fire was cheery, and the pair sat down before it +in big easy chairs. Mrs. Dunn looked intently at the glowing +coals. + +Captain Elisha cleared his throat. Mrs. Dunn leaned forward +expectantly. The captain coughed and sank back in his chair. + +"Yes?" purred the lady. "You were about to say?" + +"Me? Oh, no, I didn't say anything." + +Another period of silence. Mrs. Dunn's foot tapped the rug +impatiently. She wished him to begin the conversation, and he +would not. At length, in desperation, she began it herself. + +"I suppose you find New York rather different from--er--North-- +er--" + +"From South Denboro? Yes, ma'am." + +"Do you like the city life?" + +"Well, I don't know, ma'am." + +"Not as well as you do that of the country, doubtless." + +"Well, you see, I ain't had so much of it." + +"No, of course not. It does so depend upon what one is accustomed +to. Now I fancy I should be perfectly desperate in your village." + +One corner of Captain Elisha's mouth curled upward. + +"I shouldn't be surprised," he admitted. + +"Desperately lonely, I mean." + +"Yes'm. I judged that was what you meant. Still, folks can be +lonesome in New York." + +"Perhaps. But really I don't see how. With all the whirl and the +crowds and the glorious excitement. The feeling that one is at the +very heart, the center of everything!" + +"Yes. If you belong to the machinery, I s'pose it's all right. +But if you've been leanin' over the rail, lookin' on, and get +pushed in unexpected, maybe you don't care so much about bein' nigh +the center." + +"Then why stay there? Why not get out?" + +"If you're caught in the wheels, gettin' out's somethin' of a job." + +"But, as I understand it, Captain Warren--I may be misinformed, +for, of course, I haven't been unduly curious concerning your +family affairs--as _I_ understand it, you were not obliged to +remain among the--among the wheels, as you call them. You could +have gotten out quite easily, couldn't you?" + +"I presume likely I could. But, you see, ma'am, I had a feelin' +that I'd ought to stay." + +Mrs. Dunn laughed lightly. "Ah me!" she exclaimed; "you felt it +your duty, I suppose. Oh, you New England Puritans!" + +She shook her head in playful mockery. Then she added, "But, at +all events, it cannot be so very disagreeable--now. I have no +doubt it was--well, not comfortable for you at first. Steve and +Caroline were quite impossible--really quite furious. Your sudden +appearance in the capacity of guardian was too much for them. They +were sure you must be a perfect ogre, Captain. I had to use all my +eloquence to convince them they would not be devoured alive. But +now--what a change! Why, already Caroline accepts you as--well, +almost like an old friend, like myself. In the last few days this +change in her attitude is quite marked. What HAVE you done? Are +you a wizard? Do tell me!" + +This appeal, delivered with eloquence and most engaging play of +brow and eye, should have been irresistible. Unfortunately the +captain did not appear to have heard it. Leaning forward, his +hands clasped between his knees, he was gazing into the fire. +And when he spoke, it was as if he were thinking aloud. + +"I s'pose 'tis a sort of disease, this duty business," he mused. +"And most diseases ain't cheerful visitations. Still a feller +ought not to growl about it in public. I always did hate for a man +to be goin' about forever complainin' of his sufferin's--whether +they was from duty or rheumatiz." + +Mrs. Dunn's lips snapped shut. She pressed them together +impatiently. Evidently her questions, and their diplomatic +prelude, had been unheard and wasted. However, she did not intend +to be sidetracked or discouraged. + +"One should not prate of one's duty, of course," she agreed. "Not +that you do--far from it. But, as I was saying, our dear Caroline +has--" + +"Thank you, ma'am. I hope I don't groan too loud. Do you know, +I believe climate has a bearin' on duty, same as it has on +rheumatics. I s'pose you city folks--"and there was almost +contempt in the words--"are sort of Christian Science, and figger +it's an 'error'--hey? Somethin' to be forgot." + +The lady resented the interruption, and the contempt nettled her. + +"Not at all!" she retorted. "We city dwellers have our duties, +also." + +"Is that a fact? I want to know!" + +"Certainly it is a fact," tartly. "I have my duties and many of +them." + +"Um! So? Well, I s'pose you do feel you must dress just so, and +live just so, and do just such and such things. If you call those +duties, why--" + +"I do. What else are they, pray?" + +Mrs. Dunn was finding it difficult to keep her temper. To be +catechised in this contemptuously lofty manner by one to whom she +considered herself so immensely superior, was too much. She forgot +the careful plan of campaign which she had intended to follow in +this interview, and now interrupted in her turn. And Captain +Elisha, who also was something of a strategist, smiled at the fire. + +"We do have our social duties, our duties to society," snapped the +widow, hotly. "They are necessary ones. Having been born--or +risen to--a certain circle, we recognize the responsibilities +attached to it. We ARE careful with whom we associate; we have to +be. As for dress, we dress as others of our friends do." + +"And maybe a little better, if you can, hey?" + +"If we can--yes. I presume--" with crushing irony--"dress in South +Denboro counts but little." + +"You wouldn't say that if you ever went to sewin' circle," with a +chuckle. "Still, compared to the folks at your meetin'-house this +morning, our congregation would look like a flock of blackbirds +alongside of a cage full of Birds of Paradise. But most of us--the +women folks especial--dress as well as we can." + +"As well as you can!" triumphantly. "There! you see? And you live +as well as you can, don't you?" + +"If you mean style, why, we don't set as much store by it as you +do." + +"Nonsense! We are obliged to be," with a slight shudder at the +vulgarism, "STYLISH. If we should lapse, if we should become +shabby and behind the fashion or live in that way, people would +wonder and believe it was because we could not afford to do +otherwise." + +"Well, s'pose they did, you'd know better yourselves. Can't you be +independent?" + +"No. Not unless you are very, very rich; then it might be +considered an eccentricity. Independence is a costly luxury, and +few can afford it." + +"But suppose you can't afford the other thing?" + +"Then we must pretend we can. Oh, you DON'T understand! So MUCH +depends upon a proper appearance. Everything depends upon it-- +one's future, one's children's future--everything." + +"Humph!" with the same irritating smile, "I should think that might +mean some plannin'. And plans, the best of 'em, are likely to go +wrong. You talk about the children in your--in what you call your +'circle.' How can you plan what they'll do? You might when they +was little, perhaps; but when they grow up it's different." + +"It is not. It CAN'T be! And, if they have been properly reared +and understand their responsibilities, they plan with you." + +"Land sakes! You mean--why, s'pose they take a notion to get +married? I'm an old bach, of course, but the average young girl or +feller is subject to that sort of ailment, 'cordin' to the records. +S'pose one of your circle's daughters gets to keepin' company with +a chap who's outside the ring? A promisin', nice boy enough, but +poor, and a rank outsider? Mean to say she sha'n't marry him if +she wants to." + +"Certainly! That sort of marriage is never a happy one, unless, of +course, the girl is wealthy enough not to care. And even then it +is not advisable. All their customs and habits of thought are +different. No! Emphatically, no! And the girl, if she is +sensible and well reared, as I have said, will understand it is +impossible." + +"My soul and body! Then you mean to tell me that she MUST look out +for some chap in her crowd? If she ain't got but just enough to +keep inside the circle--this grand whirlamagig you're tellin' me +about--if she's pretendin' up to the limit of her income or over, +then it's her duty, and her ma and pa's duty, to set her cap for a +man who's nigher the center pole in the tent and go right after +him? Do you tell me that? That's a note, I must say!" + +Mrs. Dunn's foot beat a lively tattoo on the rug. "I don't know +what you mean by a 'note,'" she commented, with majestic indignation. +"I have not lived in South Denboro, and perhaps my understanding of +English is defective. But marriages among cultivated people, +SOCIETY people, intelligent, ambitious people are, or should be, +the result of thought and planning. Others are impossible!" + +"How about this thing we read so much about in novels?--Love, I +believe they call it." + +"Love! Love is well enough, but it does not, of itself, pay for +proper clothes, or a proper establishment, or seats at the opera, +or any of the practical, necessary things of modern life. You +can't keep up a presentable appearance on LOVE! If I had a +daughter who lacked the brains to understand what I had taught her, +that is, her duty as a member of good society, and talked of making +a love match, I would . . . But there! You can't understand, I +suppose." + +She rose and shook the wrinkles from her gown. Captain Elisha +straightened in his chair. "Why, yes, ma'am," he drawled, quietly; +"yes, ma'am, I guess I understand fust-rate." + +And suddenly Mrs. Dunn also understood. Her face, which had grown +almost too red for one attached to a member of polite society, grew +redder still. She turned away and walked to the window. + +"What nonsense we've been talking!" she said, after a moment's +silence. "I don't see what led us into this silly discussion. +Malcolm and your niece must be having a delightful ride. I almost +wish I had gone with them." + +She did wish it, devoutly. Captain Elisha still remained by the +fire. + +"Automobiles are great things for hustlin' around in," he observed. +"Pity they're such dangerous playthings. Yet I s'pose they're one +of the necessities of up-to-date folks, same as you said, Mrs. +Dunn." + +"Surely," she asked coldly, "you don't condemn automobiles, Captain +Warren? What would you--return to stage coaches?" + +"Not a mite! But I was thinkin' of that poor Moriarty man." + +"His death was due to an accident. And accidents," she turned and +looked directly at him, "when they involve financial damages, may +be paid for." + +The captain nodded. "Yes," he said. + +"And when arrangements for such payment is made, HONORABLE people-- +at least, in the circle of which you and I have been speaking-- +consider the matter settled and do not refer to it again, either +among themselves--or elsewhere." + +"Yes, ma'am." He nodded again. She did know; Malcolm, evidently, +had told her. "Yes, ma'am. That's the way any decent person would +feel--and act--if such a thing happened--even if they hailed from +South Denboro." + +He pushed back his chair and stood up. She continued to look him +over, much as if she were taking a mental inventory of his +character, or revising an old one. + +"I hope," she said, lightly, but with deliberation, "our little +argument and--er--slight disagreement concerning--er--duty will not +make us enemies, Captain Warren." + +"Enemies! Land sakes, no! I respect anybody's havin' opinions and +not bein' afraid to give 'em. And I think I can understand some of +how you feel. Maybe if I was anchored here on Fifth Avenue, same +as you are, instead of bein' blown in by an unexpected no'theaster, +I'd be feelin' the same way. It's all accordin', as I've said so +often. Enemies? No, indeed!" + +She laughed again. "I'm so glad!" she said. "Malcolm declares +he'd be quite afraid of me--as an enemy. He seems to think I +possess some mysterious and quite diabolical talent for making my +un-friends uncomfortable, and declares he would compromise rather +than fight me at any time. Of course it's ridiculous--just one of +his jokes--and I'm really harmless and very much afraid. That's +why I want you and me to be friends, Captain Warren." + +"Sure!" Captain Elisha nodded emphatically. "That's what I want, +too." + +But that evening, immediately after his return to the apartment, +when--Caroline having gone to her own room to remove her wraps--he +and the butler were alone, he characteristically unburdened his +mind. + +"Mr. Warren, sir," said Edwards, "a young gentleman left a note +here for you this afternoon. The elevator man gave it to me, sir. +It's on your dressing table, sir." + +The captain's answer had nothing whatever to do with the note. He +had been thinking of other things. + +"Commodore," he said, "I've got the answer." + +"To the note? Already, sir? I didn't know you'd seen it." + +"I ain't. I've got the answer to the conundrum. It's Mother!" + +"Mother, sir? I--I don't know what you mean." + +"I do. The answer's Mother. Sonny don't count, though he may +think he does. But Mother's the whole team and the dog under the +wagon. And, Commodore, we've got to trot some if we want to keep +ahead of that team! Don't you forget it!" + +He went to his room, leaving the bewildered butler to retire to the +kitchen, where he informed the cook that the old man was off his +head worse than common tonight. + +"Blessed if he don't think he's a trotting horse!" said Edwards. + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +The note on the dining room table proved, to the captain's delight, +to be from James Pearson. It was brief and to the point. + +"Why don't you come and see me?" wrote the young man. "I've been +expecting you, and you promised to come. Have you forgotten my +address? If so, here it is. I expect to be in all day to-morrow." + +The consequence of this was that eleven o'clock the next day found +Captain Elisha pulling the bell at a brick house in a long brick +block on a West Side street. The block had evidently been, in its +time, the homes of well-to-do people, but now it was rather dingy +and gone to seed. Across the street the first floors were, for the +most part, small shops, and in the windows above them doctors' +signs alternated with those of modistes, manicure artists, and +milliners. + +The captain had come a roundabout way, stopping in at the Moriarty +flat, where he found Mrs. Moriarty in a curious state of woe and +tearful pride. "Oh, what will I do, sir?" she moaned. "When I +think he's gone, it seems as if I'd die, too. But, thanks to you +and Miss Warren--Mary make it up to her!--my Pat'll have the finest +funeral since the Guinny saloon man was buried. Ah, if he could +have lived to see it, he'd have died content!" + +The pull at the boarding-house bell was answered by a rather +slatternly maid, who informed the visitor that she guessed Mr. +Pearson was in; he 'most always was around lunch time. So Captain +Elisha waited in a typical boarding-house parlor, before a grate +with no fire in it and surrounded by walnut and plush furniture, +until Pearson himself came hurrying downstairs. + +"Say, you're a brick, Captain Warren!" he declared, as they shook +hands. "I hoped you'd come to-day. Why haven't you before?" + +The captain explained his having mislaid the address. + +"Oh, was that it? Then I'm glad I reminded you. Rather a cheeky +thing to do, but I've been a reporter, and nerve is necessary in +that profession. I began to be afraid living among the blue-bloods +had had its effect, and you were getting finicky as to your +acquaintances." + +"You didn't believe any such thing." + +"Didn't I? Well, perhaps I didn't. Come up to my room. I think +we can just about squeeze in, if you don't mind sitting close." + +Pearson's room was on the third flight, at the front of the house. +Through the window one saw the upper half of the buildings +opposite, and above them a stretch of sky. The bed was a small +brass and iron affair, but the rest of the furniture was of good +quality, the chairs were easy and comfortable, and the walls were +thickly hung with photographs, framed drawings, and prints. + +"I put those up to cover the wall paper," explained the host. "I +don't offer them as an art collection, but as a screen. Sit down. +Put your coat on the bed. Shall I close the window? I usually +keep the upper half open to let out the pipe smoke. Otherwise I +might not be able to navigate without fog signals." + +His visitor chuckled, followed directions with his coat and hat, +and sat down. Pearson took the chair by the small flat-topped +desk. + +"How about that window?" he asked. "Shall I shut it?" + +"No, no! We'll be warm enough, I guess. You've got steam heat, I +see." + +"You mean you hear. Those pipes make noise enough to wake the +dead. At first I thought I couldn't sleep because of the racket +they made. Now I doubt if I could without it. Would you consider +a cigar, Captain?" + +"Hum! I don't usually stop to consider. But I tell you, Jim--just +now you said something about a pipe. I've got mine aboard, but I +ain't dared to smoke it since I left South Denboro. If you +wouldn't mind--" + +"Not a bit. Tobacco in this jar on the desk. I keep a temporary +supply in my jacket pocket. Matches? Here you are! What do you +think of my--er--stateroom?" + +"Think it makes nice, snug quarters," was the prompt answer. + +"Humph! Snug is a good word. Much like living in an omnibus, but +it answers the purpose. I furnished it myself, except for the bed. +The original bureau had pictures of cauliflowers painted on each +drawer front. Mrs. Hepton--my landlady--was convinced that they +were roses. I told her she might be right, but, at all events, +looking at them made me hungry. Perhaps she noticed the effect on +my appetite and was willing for me to substitute." + +The captain laughed. Then, pointing, he asked: "What's that +handbill?" + +The "handbill" was a fair-sized poster announcing the production at +the "Eureka Opera House" of the "Thrilling Comedy-Drama, The Golden +Gods." Pearson looked at it, made a face, and shook his head. + +"That," he said, "is my combined crusher and comforter. It is the +announcement of the first, and next to the last, performance of a +play I wrote in my calf days. The 'Eureka Opera Houses is--or was, +if the 'gods' weren't too much for it--located at Daybury, +Illinois. I keep that bill to prevent my conceit getting away with +me. Also, when I get discouraged over my novel, it reminds me +that, however bad the yarn may turn out to be, I have committed +worse crimes. + +This led to the captain's asking about the novel and how it was +progressing. His companion admitted having made some progress, +more in the line of revision than anything else. He had remodeled +his hero somewhat, in accordance with his new friend's suggestions +during their interview at the Warren apartment, and had introduced +other characters, portrait sketches from memory of persons whom he +had known in his boyhood days in the Maine town. He read a few +chapters aloud, and Captain Elisha waxed almost enthusiastic over +them. + +Then followed a long discussion over a point of seamanship, the +handling of a bark in a gale. It developed that the young author's +knowledge of saltwater strategy was extensive and correct in the +main, though somewhat theoretical. That of his critic was based +upon practice and hard experience. He cited this skipper and that +as examples, and carried them through no'theasters off Hatteras and +typhoons in the Indian Ocean. The room, in spite of the open +window, grew thick with pipe smoke, and the argument was punctuated +by thumps on the desk and chair arms, and illustrated by diagrams +drawn by the captain's forefinger on the side of the dresser. The +effects of oil on breaking rollers, the use of a "sea-anchor" over +the side to "hold her to it," whether or not a man was justified in +abandoning his ship under certain given circumstances, these were +debated pro and con. Always Pearson's "Uncle Jim" was held up as +the final authority, the paragon of sea captains, by the visitor, +and, while his host pretended to agree, with modest reservations, +in this estimate of his relative, he was more and more certain that +his hero was bound to become a youthful edition of Elisha Warren +himself--and he thanked the fates which had brought this fine, +able, old-school mariner to his door. + +At length, Captain Elisha, having worked "Uncle Jim" into a safe +harbor after a hundred mile cruise under jury jig, with all hands +watch and watch at the pumps, leaned forward in triumph to refill +his pipe. Having done so, his eyes remained fixed upon a photograph +standing, partially hidden by a leather collar box, upon the +dresser. He looked at it intently, then rose and took it in his +hand. + +"Well, I swan!" he exclaimed. "Either what my head's been the +fullest of lately has struck to my eyesight, or else--why, say, +Jim, that's Caroline, ain't it?" + +Pearson colored and seemed embarrassed. "Yes," he answered, "that +is Miss Warren." + +"Humph! Good likeness, too! But what kind of rig has she got on? +I've seen her wear a good many dresses--seems to have a different +one for every day, pretty nigh--but I never saw her in anything +like that. Looks sort of outlandish; like one of them foreign +girls at Geneva--or Leghorn, say." + +"Yes. That is an Italian peasant costume. Miss Warren wore it at +a fancy dress ball a year ago." + +"Want to know! I-talian peasant, hey! Fifth Avenue peasant with +diamonds in her hair. Becomin' to her, ain't it." + +"I thought so." + +"Yup. She looks pretty ENOUGH! But she don't need diamonds nor +hand-organ clothes to make her pretty." + +Then, looking up from the photograph, he asked, "Give you this +picture, did she?" + +His friend's embarrassment increased. "No," he answered shortly. +Then, after an instant's hesitation. "That ball was given by the +Astorbilts and was one of the most swagger affairs of the season. +The Planet--the paper with which I was connected--issues a Sunday +supplement of half-tone reproductions of photographs. One page was +given up to pictures of the ball and the costumes worn there." + +"I see. Astonishin' how folks do like to get their faces into +print. I used to know an old woman--Aunt Hepsibah Tucker, her name +was--she's dead now. The pride of Aunt Hepsy's heart was that she +took nineteen bottles of 'Balm of Burdock Tea' and the tea folks +printed her picture as a testimonial that she lived through it. +Ho, ho! And society big-bugs appear to have the same cravin'." + +"Some of them do. But that of your niece was obtained by our +society reporter from the photographer who took it. Bribery and +corruption, of course. Miss Warren would have been at least +surprised to see it in our supplement. I fancied she might not +care for so much publicity and suppressed it." + +"Um-hm. Well, I guess you did right. I'll thank you for her. By +the way, I told Caroline where I was cal'latin' to go this mornin', +and she wished to be remembered to you." + +Pearson seemed pleased, but he made no comment. Captain Elisha +blew a smoke ring from his pipe. + +"And say, Jim," he added, embarrassed in his turn, "I hope you +won't think I'm interferin' in your affairs, but are you still set +against comin' up to where I live? I know you said you had a +reason, but are you sure it's a good one?" + +He waited for an answer but none came. Pearson was gazing out of +the window. The captain looked at his watch and rose. + +"I guess I'll have to be goin'," he said. "It's after twelve now." + +His host swung around in his chair. "Sit down, Captain," he said. +"I've been doing a lot of thinking since I saw you, and I'm not +sure about that reason. I believe I'll ask your advice. It is a +delicate matter, and it involves your brother. You may see it as +he did, and, if so, our friendship ends, I suppose. But I'm going +to risk it. + +"Mr. Rodgers Warren and I," he went on, "were well acquainted +during the latter part of my newspaper work. I was financial man +on the Planet, and some articles I wrote took your brother's fancy. +At all events, he wrote me concerning them in highly complimentary +terms and asked me to call and see him at his office. I did so +and--well, we became very friendly, so much so that he invited me +to his house. I dined there several times, was invited to call +often, and--I enjoyed it. You see, I had few friends in the city, +outside my journalistic acquaintances, and I suppose I was +flattered by Mr. Warren's kindness and the fancy he seemed to have +taken to me. And I liked Miss Warren--no one could help that--and +I believed she liked me." + +"She does like you," interrupted his companion, with surprise. +"Caroline's a good girl." + +"Yes, she is. However, she isn't in this story, except as a side- +issue. At this time my ambitions were for a newspaper career, and +I thought I was succeeding. And her father's marked interest and +the things he said to me promised more than an ordinary success. +He was a well known man on the street, and influential. So my head +began to swell, and I dreamed--a lot of foolishness. And then--" + +He paused, put down his empty pipe, and sighed. + +"Well, then," he continued, "came the upset. I judged from what +you said at our previous conversation, Captain, that you were well +enough acquainted with Wall Street to know that queer operations +take place there. Did you read about the South Shore Trolley +business?" + +Captain Elisha considered. "Why, yes," he said, slowly, "seem's if +I did. One of those consolidations with 'holdin' companies' and +franchises and extensions and water by the hogshead. Wa'n't that +it? I remember now; the Boston papers had considerable about it, +and I presume likely the New York ones had more. One of those all- +accordin'-to-law swindles that sprout same as toadstools in a dark +place, but die out if the light's turned on too sudden. This one +didn't come to nothin' but a bad smell, if I remember right." + +"You do. And I suppose I'm responsible for the smell. I got wind +of the thing, investigated, found out something of what was going +on, and printed a preliminary story in the Planet. It caused a +sensation." + +He paused once more. Captain Elisha, for the sake of saying +something, observed, "I shouldn't wonder." + +"It certainly did. And the morning on which it appeared, Mr. +Rodgers Warren 'phoned me. He wished to see me at once. I went +down to his office. Captain, I dislike to tell you this. Mr. +Warren was your brother." + +"I know he was. And I'm his executor. Both those reasons make me +'specially anxious to have you tell me the truth. Heave ahead now, +to oblige me." + +"Well, I found him very polite and cordial, at first. He said that +a ridiculous and sensational story concerning the Trolley Combine +had appeared in the Planet, and he would like to have me contradict +it and suppress further falsehoods of the kind. I told him I +couldn't do that, because the story was true. I had written it +myself. He was angry, and I could see that he was holding himself +in by main strength. I went on to explain that it was the duty of +an honest paper, as I saw it, to expose such trespass upon the +people's rights. He asked me if I knew who was behind the scheme. +I said I knew some of the backers. They were pretty big men, too. +Then he informed me that he himself was deeply interested. + +"I was knocked off my feet by that, you can imagine. And, to be +frank, Captain, if I had known it at first I'm not sure that I, +personally, would have taken the matter up. Yet I might; I can't +tell. But now that I had done it and discovered what I had, I +couldn't give it up. I must go on and learn more. And I knew +enough already to be certain that the more I learned the more I +should write and have published. It was one of those things which +had to be made public--if a fellow had a conscience about him and a +pride in the decency of his profession. + +"All this was going through my head as I sat there in his private +office. And he took my surprise and hesitation as symptoms of +wavering and went at me, hard. Of course I knew, he said, that the +operation was absolutely within the law. I did, but that didn't +make it more honest or moral or just. He went on to say that in +large financial deals of this nature petty scruples must be lost +sight of. Good of the business, rights of stockholders, all that +sort of stuff; he rang the changes. All the papers cared for was +sensation; to imperil the fortune of widows and orphans whose +savings were invested in the South Shore Stock, for the sake of +sensation, was a crime. He should have known better than to say +that to me; it is such an ancient, worn-out platitude." + +"I know. I've been to political meetin's. The widows and orphans +are always hangin' on the success of the Republican party--or the +Democratic, whichever way you vote. The amount of tears shed over +their investments by fellers you wouldn't trust with a brass five- +cent piece, is somethin' amazin'. Go on; I didn't mean to +interrupt." + +"Then he switched to a more personal appeal. He said he had taken +a fancy to me; had liked me from the very beginning. He recognized +my unusual genius at first sight and had gone as far as to make +plans bearing directly on my future. He was associated with men of +wealth and business sagacity. Large deals, of which the Trolley +Combine was but one, were on foot. He and his friends needed a +representative on the press--a publicity agent, so to speak. Some +of the greatest corporations employed men of that kind, and the +salaries paid were large and the opportunities afforded greater +still. Well, that's true enough. I know writers who are doing +just that thing and getting rich at it. I suppose they've squared +their consciences somehow and are willing to write lies and +misleading articles for what there is in it. I can't, that's all; +I'm not built that way, and I told him so. + +"It ended in an open break. He reminded me of the favors he had +done me. He had treated me almost like a son, had introduced me to +his family, entertaining me at his table. Where was my gratitude? +That was another bad break on his part, for it made me mad. I told +him I had not asked to be adopted or fed by him; if I had supposed +his kindness had an ulterior motive, I would have seen him at the +devil before I accepted a favor. My career as a financial visitor +was ended. Get out of his office! I got. But the Trolley Combine +did not go through. The Planet and the other papers kept up the +fight and--and the widows and orphans are bankrupt, I presume." + +Captain Elisha's pipe had gone out long since. He absently rubbed +the warm bowl between his palms. + +"Humph!" he muttered. "So 'Bije was deep in that business, was +he?" + +"He was. Very deep indeed, I found out afterwards. And, I +declare, I almost pitied him at the time. He acted as if his +whole fortune was staked on the gamble. His hands shook, and the +perspiration stood on his forehead as he talked. I felt as if I +had been the means of ruining him. But of course, I hadn't. He +lived for some time after that, and, I understand, died a rich +man." + +"Yes. He left what I'd call a heap of money. My nephew and niece +don't seem to think so, but I do." + +"So you see, Captain, why I stopped calling on the Warrens, and why +I did not accept Miss Warren's invitation." + +"I see . . . I see . . . And yet I don't know. 'Bije may have took +to you for business reasons, but the children didn't. They liked +you for yourself. Caroline as much as said so. And their father +never told 'em a word about the row, neither. Of course you +couldn't have called when he was alive, but he's gone, and I'm-- +well, I'm sort of temporary skipper there now. And _I_ want you to +come." + +"But if Miss Warren did know? She should know, I think." + +"I ain't sure that she should. I guess there's consider'ble in her +pa's life she ain't acquainted with. And she's as straight and +honest and upright as a schooner's fo'mast. You did nothin' to be +'shamed of. It's the other way 'round, 'cordin' to my notion. But +leave her out of it now. I've sacrificed some few things to take +the job I've got at present, but I can't afford to sacrifice my +friends. I count on you as a friend, and I want you to come and +see ME. Will you?" + +"I don't know, Captain Warren. I must think it over a while, I +guess." + +"All right--think. But the invitation stands--MY invitation. And, +if you want to shift responsibility, shift it on to me. Some day, +if it'll make you feel better, I'll tell Caroline and Stevie the +whole story. But I want them to know you and the world--and me--a +little better first. 'Cordin' to my notion, they need education +just along that line. They've got teachers in other branches, +but . . . There! I've GOT to be goin'. There's the dinner bell +now." + +The string of Japanese gongs, hung in the lower hall, sounded +sonorously. Captain Elisha reached for his coat and hat, but +Pearson caught his arm. + +"No, you don't!" he declared. "You're going to stay and have lunch +with me--here. If you say no, I shall believe it is because you +are afraid of a boarding-house meal." + +His guest protested, but the protests were overruled, and he and +his host went down to the dining room. The captain whispered as +they entered, "Land sakes, Jim, this takes me back home. It's +pretty nigh a twin to the dinin' room at the Centre House in South +Denboro." + + + +All boarding-house dining rooms bear a family likeness, so the +comment was not far wrong. A long table, rows of chairs on each +side, ancient and honorable pictures on the walls, the landlady +presiding majestically over the teapot, the boarders' napkins in +rings--all the familiar landmarks were present. + +Most of the male "regulars" were in business about the city and +therefore lunched elsewhere, but the females were in evidence. +Pearson introduced his guest. The captain met Mrs. Hepton, the +landlady, plump, gray-haired, and graciously hospitable. She did +not look at all like a business woman, but appearances are not +always to be trusted; Mrs. Hepton had learned not to trust them-- +also delinquent boarders, too far. He met Miss Sherborne, whose +coiffure did not match in spots, but whose voice, so he learned +afterward, had been "cultivated abroad." Miss Sherborne gave music +lessons. Mrs. Van Winkle Ruggles also claimed his attention and +held it, principally because of the faded richness of her apparel. +Mrs. Ruggles was a widow, suffering from financial reverses; the +contrast between her present mode of living and the grandeur of the +past formed her principal topic of conversation. + +There were half a dozen others, including an artist whose aversion +to barbers was proclaimed by the luxuriant length of his locks, a +quiet old gentleman who kept the second-hand book store two doors +below; his wife, a neat, trim little body; and Mr. and Mrs. C. +Dickens, no less. + +Mr. Dickens was bald, an affliction which he tried to conceal by +brushing the hair at the sides of his head across the desert at the +top. He shaved his cheeks and wore a beard and mustache. Mrs. +Dickens addressed him as "C.," and handed him the sauce bottle, the +bread, or whatever she imagined he desired, as if she were offering +sacrifice to an idol. + +She sat next to Captain Elisha and imparted information concerning +her lord and master in whispers, during the intervals between +offerings. + +"My husband will be pleased to meet you, Captain Warren," she +murmured. "Any friend of Mr. Pearson is certain to be an +acquisition. Mr. Pearson and my husband are congenial spirits; +they are members of the same profession." + +"I want to know, ma'am." + +"Yes. What is it, 'C.' dear? Oh, the butter! Margaret--" to the +waitress--"Mr. Dickens wishes another butter-ball. Yes, Captain +Warren, Mr. Dickens is an author. Haven't you noticed the--er-- +resemblance? It is considered quite remarkable." + +Captain Elisha looked puzzled. "Why," he said, "I hadn't noticed +it 'special. Jim's--Mr. Pearson's--eyes and his are some the same +color, but--" + +"Oh, no! not the resemblance to Mr. Pearson. I didn't mean THAT. +The resemblance to his more famous namesake. Surely you notice it +NOW." + +The captain shook his head. "I--I'm afraid I'm thick-headed, +ma'am," he admitted. "I'm out of soundin's." + +"But the nose, and his beard, and his manner. Don't they remind +you of the English Dickens?" + +"O-oh!" Captain Elisha inspected the great man with interest. He +had a vague memory of a portrait in a volume of "Pickwick" at home. +"Oh, I see! Yes, yes." + +"Of course you see! Everyone does. Mr. Dickens often says--it +is one of his favorite jokes--that while other men must choose a +profession, his was chosen for him by fate. How, with such a name, +could he do anything except write?" + +"I don't know, ma'am. But names are risky pilots, ain't they? +I've run against a consider'ble number of Solomons, but there +wa'n't one of 'em that carried more'n a deckload of wisdom. They +christened me Elisha, but I can't even prophesy the weather with +sartinty enough to bet. However, I daresay in your husband's case +it's all right." + +The lady had turned away, and he was afraid he might have offended +her. The fear was groundless; she was merely offering another +sacrifice, the sugar this time. + +"Yes?" she asked, turning, "you were saying--" + +"Why--er--nothin' of account. I cal'late the C. stands for +Charles, then." + +"No-o. Mr. Dickens's Christian name is Cornelius; but don't +mention it before him, he is very sensitive on that point." + +The Dickenses "tickled" the captain exceedingly, and, after the +meal was over, he spoke of them to Pearson. + +"Say," he said, "you're in notorious company, ain't you, Jim? +What has Cornelius Charles turned out so far, in the way of +masterpieces?" + +Pearson laughed. "I believe he is employed by a subscription +house," he replied. "Doing hack work on an encyclopedia. A great +collection of freaks, aren't they, Captain Warren?" + +"Kind of. But that old book-shop man and his wife seem nice folks. +And, as for freaks, the average boardin' house, city or country, +seems to draw 'em like flies. I guess most anybody would get queer +if they boarded all the time." + +"Perhaps so. Or, if they weren't queer, they wouldn't board +permanently from choice. There are two or three good fellows who +dine and breakfast here. The food isn't bad, considering the +price." + +"No, it ain't. Tasted more like home than any meal I've had for a +good while. I'm afraid I never was cut out for swell livin'." + +Mrs. Hepton approached them as they stood in the hall. She wished +to know if Mr. Pearson's friend was thinking of finding lodgings. +Because Mr. Saks--the artist's name--was giving up the second floor +back in a fortnight, and it was a very pleasant room. "We should +be delighted to add you to our little circle, Captain Warren." + +Pearson told her that his companion was already lodged, and she +said good-by and left them. The captain smiled broadly. + +"Everything in New York seems to be circles," he declared. "Well, +Jim, you come up and circulate with me, first chance you get. I'm +dependin' on you to call, remember." + +The young man was still doubtful. + +"I'll see," he said. "I can't promise yet--perhaps I will." + +"You will--after you've thought it out to a finish. And come soon. +I'm gettin' interested in that second edition of your Uncle Jim, +and I want to keep along with him as fast as you write. Good-by. +Much obliged for the dinner--there I go again!--luncheon, I mean." + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +Pearson called. He appeared at the apartment a week after the +luncheon at the boarding house and was welcomed by the Captain +Elisha, who, hearing his voice, strode into the hall, sent the +shocked Edwards to the right-about in a hurry, seized his friend's +hand, and ushered him into the library. Pearson said nothing +concerning his change of mind, the course of reasoning which led +him to make the visit, and the captain asked no questions. He took +it for granted that the young fellow's common sense had turned the +trick, and, the result being what it was, that was sufficient. + +They spent a pleasant afternoon together. Caroline was out, and +they had the library to themselves. The newest chapters of the +novel were read and discussed, and the salty flavor of the talk was +as pronounced as ever. Pearson left early, but promised to come +again very soon. + +When Caroline returned her uncle told her of his visitor. She +seemed unfeignedly pleased, but regretted that she had not been +there. "He was such a friend of father's," she said, "that seeing +him here would be almost like the old days. And so many of those +whom we thought were his friends and ours have left us." + +This was true. Rodgers Warren and his children had had many +acquaintances, had been active in church and charitable work, and +their former home was a center of entertainment and gayety while he +lived. But his death and the rumors of shrinkage in the family +fortune, the giving up of the Fifth Avenue residence, the period of +mourning which forbade social functions, all these helped to bring +about forgetfulness on the part of the many; and Caroline's +supersensitiveness and her firm resolve not to force her society +where it might be unwelcome had been the causes of misunderstanding +in others, whose liking and sympathy were genuine. "I don't see +what has come over Caroline Warren," declared a former girl friend, +"she isn't a bit as she used to be. Well, I've done my part. If +she doesn't wish to return my call, she needn't. _I_ sha'n't annoy +her again. But I'm sorry, for she was the sweetest girl I knew." + +Stephen had never been very popular, and his absence at college +still further reduced the number of young people who might be +inclined to call. Their not calling confirmed Caroline's belief +that she and her brother were deliberately shunned because of their +change in circumstances, and she grew more sensitive and proudly +resentful in consequence. Naturally she turned for comfort to +those who remained faithful, the Dunns in particular. They were +loyal to her. Therefore, with the intensity of her nature, she +became doubly loyal to them. The rector of St. Denis dropped in +frequently, and others occasionally, but she was lonely. She +craved the society of those nearer her own age. + +Pearson's coming, then, was psychologically apt. When he made his +next call upon Captain Elisha, to find the latter out but his niece +at home, she welcomed him cordially and insisted upon his waiting +until her guardian returned. The conversation was, at first, +embarrassing for the ex-reporter; she spoke of her father, and +Pearson--the memory of his last interview with the latter fresh in +his mind, and painfully aware that she knew nothing of it--felt +guilty and like a hypocrite. But soon the subject changed, and +when the captain entered the library he found the pair laughing and +chatting like old acquaintances, as, of course, they were. + +Captain Elisha, paying no attention to his friend's shakes of the +head, invited his niece to be present at the reading of the latest +addition to what he called "mine and Jim's record-breakin' sea +yarn." + +"It's really mine, you understand, Caroline," he observed, with a +wink. "I'm silent partner in the firm--if you can call the one +that does all the talkin' silent--and Jim don't do nothin' but make +it up and write it and get the profits. Course, you mustn't +mention this to him, 'cause he thinks he's the author, and 'twould +hurt his feelin's." + +"He's quite right," declared Pearson, emphatically. "If the thing +is ever finished and published he will deserve all the credit. His +advice had already remade it. This uncle of yours, Miss Warren," +he added, turning to her, "is like the admiral Kipling wrote about-- +he has 'lived more stories' than ever I could invent." + +The captain, fearful that his niece might take the statement +seriously, hastened to protest. + +"He's just foolin', Caroline," he said. "All I've done is set and +talk and talk and talk. I've used up more of his time and the +surroundin' air than you'd believe was possible. When I get next +to salt water, even in print, it's time to muzzle me, same as a dog +in July. The yarn is Jim's altogether, and it's mighty interestin'-- +to me anyhow." + +"I'm sure it will be to me, also," declared the young lady. +"Captain Warren has told me all about it, Mr. Pearson, and I'm very +eager to hear the new portion." + +"There!" Captain Elisha slapped his knee. "There, Jim!" he +exclaimed, "you hear that? Now you've GOT to read it. Anchor's +apeak! Heave ahead and get under way." + +So, because he could not well refuse, the author reluctantly began +to read. And, as usual, his nautical friend to interrupt and +comment. Caroline listened, her eyes twinkling. When the reading +and the arguments were at an end, she declared it was all splendid; +"Just like being at sea one's self," she said. "I positively +refuse to permit another installment to be submitted unless I am-- +on deck. That's the proper phrase, isn't it, Captain?" + +"Aye, aye, ma'am! Jim, we've shipped a new second mate, and she's +goin' to be wuth her salt. You hear ME!" + +She proved to be worth all of that, at least in Pearson's opinion. +His calls and the readings and discussions became more and more +frequent. Each of the trio enjoyed them greatly, Caroline quite as +much as the others. Here was something new and fresh, something to +furnish a real interest. The story advanced rapidly, the character +of the nautical hero shaped itself better and better, and the +heroine, also, heretofore a somewhat shadowy and vague young woman, +began to live and breathe. She changed surprisingly, not only in +mental but in physical characteristics. + +Captain Elisha was first to notice the latter peculiarity. + +"Say, Jim!" he interrupted, one afternoon, "what was that you just +read about Mary? Her hat blowin' off to leeward and her brown hair +blowin' after it? Or somethin' of that sort?" + +Caroline laughed merrily. The author turned to the passage +mentioned. + +"Not exactly, Captain," he replied, smiling. "I said her hat had +blown away, and her brown curls tossed in the wind. What's wrong +with that? Hats do blow away in a sou'wester; I've seen them." + +"Perhaps he thinks she should have been more careful in pinning it +on," suggested the feminine member of the advisory board. + +Captain Elisha shook his head. "No," he observed calmly, "but why +was she wearin' that kind of hair? She's pretty young to use a +switch, ain't she?" + +"Switch?" repeated "Mary's" creator, with some indignation. "What +are you talking about? When I first described her, I said that her +hair was luxuriant and one of her chief beauties." + +"That's a fact! So you did. What made her dye it?" + +"Dye it? What do you think she is--a chorus girl?" + +"If I remember right she's a postmaster's daughter. But why is she +wearin' brown hair, if it ain't neither false or dyed? Back in the +third chapter 'twas BLACK, like her eyes." + +Caroline burst into another laugh. Pearson blushed to his forehead. +"Well, by George!" he admitted, "you're right. I believe I did +have it black, at first." + +"You sartin did! I ain't got any objections to either color, only +it ought to stay put, hadn't it? In a town of the size she's +livin' in, a girl with changeable hair is likely to be kind of +conspicuous. I tell you! maybe it bleached out in the sun. Ho, +ho!" + +The writer made a note on the margin of his manuscript and declared +that his heroine's tresses and eyes should be made to correspond at +all stages. They did, but they remained brown. Captain Elisha +chuckled inwardly, but offered no further comments. Caroline, +whose own hair and eyes were brown, did not refer to the matter at +all. + +She and the young man became better acquainted at each succeeding +"literary clinic," as the latter called them. When Rodgers Warren +first introduced him at their former home he had impressed her +favorably, largely because of her desire to like anyone whom her +father fancied. She worshiped the dead broker, and his memory to +her was sacred. She would have forgiven and did forgive any wrong +he might have done her, even his brother's appointment as guardian, +though that she could not understand. Unlike Stephen, who fiercely +resented the whole affair and said bitter things concerning his +parent, she believed he had done what he considered right. Her +feeling against Captain Elisha had been based upon the latter's +acceptance of that appointment when he should have realized his +unfitness. And his living with them and disgracing them in the +eyes of their friends by his uncouth, country ways, made her blind +to his good qualities. The Moriarty matter touched her conscience, +and she saw more clearly. But she was very far from considering +him an equal, or other than what Mrs. Corcoran Dunn termed him, an +"encumbrance," even yet. She forced herself to be kind and +tolerant and gave him more of her society, though the church-going +experience was not repeated, nor did she accompany him on his walks +or out-of-door excursions. + +If Pearson's introductions had been wholly as a friend of her +guardian, her feeling toward him might have been tinged with the +same condescension or aversion, even. But, hallowed as he was by +association with her father, she welcomed him for the latter's +sake. And, as she became interested in the novel and found that +her suggestions concerning it were considered valuable, she looked +forward to his visits and was disappointed if, for any reason, they +were deferred. Without being aware of it, she began to like the +young author, not alone because he wrote entertainingly and +flattered her by listening respectfully to her criticisms, or +because her father had liked him, but for himself. + +Captain Elisha was much pleased. + +"I told you, Jim!" he said. "She's just as glad to see you as I +am. Now don't you see how foolish it was to stay away 'cause you +and 'Bije had a spat? Think of all the good times we'd have +missed! And we needed a female aboard your Uncle Jim's craft, to +help with 'Mary' and the rest." + +His friend nodded. "She has been a great help, certainly," he +answered. "But I can't help feeling guilty every time I come here. +It is too much like obtaining her friendship under false pretenses. +She should know the whole thing, I believe." + +"She shall know it, when I think it's time for her to. But I want +her to know you first. Then she'll be able to judge without so +much prejudice. I told you I'd take the responsibility. You leave +the ship in my charge for a spell." + +In spite of this confident assertion, the captain also felt a +trifle guilty. He realized that selfishness was involved in his +keeping Pearson's secret from his niece. He was thoroughly +enjoying himself with these two, and he could not bear to risk the +breaking up which might follow disclosure. + +One evening, while a "clinic" was in progress and the three were +deep in consultation, Edwards entered to announce Mrs. Corcoran +Dunn and Mr. Malcolm. The butler's giving the lady precedence in +his announcing showed that he, too, realized who was ranking +officer in that family, even though the captain's "conundrum" had +puzzled him. Mrs. Dunn and her son entered at his heels. + +The lady took in the group by the table at a glance: Pearson, with +the manuscript in his hands; Captain Elisha leaning back in his +chair, frowning at the interruption; Caroline rising to welcome the +guests, and coloring slightly as she did so. All these details +Mrs. Dunn noted, made an entry in her mental memorandum-book, and +underscored it for future reference. + +If she discerned unpleasant possibilities in the situation, she +did not allow them to disturb her outward serenity. She kissed +Caroline and called her "dear child" as fondly as usual, shook +hands graciously with Captain Elisha, and bowed condescending +recognition of Pearson. + +"And how is the novel coming on? Do tell me!" she begged. "I'm +sure we interrupted a reading. It's too bad of us, really! But +Malcolm insisted upon coming. He has been very busy of late--some +dreadful 'corner' or other on the exchange--and has neglected his +friends--or thinks he has. I told him I had explained it all to +you, Caroline, but he WOULD come tonight. It is the first call he +has made in weeks; so you SEE! But there! he doesn't consider +running in here a call." + +Call or not, it spoiled the evening for at least two of the +company. Pearson left early. Captain Elisha excused himself soon +after and went to his room, leaving the Dunns to chat with Caroline +for an hour or more. Malcolm joked and was languid and cynical. +His mother asked a few carefully guarded questions. + +"Quite a clever person, this young author friend of yours seems to +be, Caroline," she observed. "Almost brilliant, really." + +"He isn't a friend of mine, exactly," replied the girl. "He and +Captain Warren are friendly, and father used to know and like him, +as I have told you. The novel is great fun, though! The people in +it are coming to seem almost real to me." + +"I daresay! I was a great reader myself once, before my health--my +heart, you know--began to trouble me. The doctors now forbid my +reading anything the least bit exciting. Has this--er--Mr. Pearson +means?" + +"I know very little of him, personally, but I think not. He used +to be connected with the Planet, and wrote things about Wall +Street. That was how father came to know him." + +"Live in an attic, does he?" inquired Malcolm. "That's what all +authors do, isn't it? Put up in attics and sleep on pallets-- +whatever they are--and eat crusts, don't they? Jolly life--if you +like it! I prefer bucking wheat corners, myself." + +Mrs. Dunn laughed, and Caroline joined her, though not as heartily. + +"How ridiculous you are, Malcolm!" exclaimed his mother. "Mr. +Pearson isn't that kind of an author, I'm sure. But where does he +live, Caroline?" + +"Somewhere on West 18th Street, I believe. He has rooms there, I +think." + +"Oh! Really? And how is this wonderful novel of his progressing? +When does he expect to favor us with it?" + +"I don't know. But it is progressing very well at present. He has +written three chapters since last Wednesday. He was reading them +to us when you came." + +"Indeed! Since last Wednesday? How interesting!" + +Malcolm did not seem to find the topic interesting, for he +smothered a yawn. His mother changed the subject. On their way +home, however, she again referred to it. + +"You must make it a point to see her every day," she declared. "No +matter what happens, you must do it." + +"Oh, Lord!" groaned her son, "I can't. There's the deuce and all +on 'Change just now, and the billiard tournament's begun at the +Club. My days and nights are full up. Once a week is all she +should expect, I think." + +"No matter what you think or what she expects, you must do as I +say." + +"Why?" + +"Because I don't like the looks of things." + +"Oh, rubbish! You're always seeing bugaboos. Uncle Hayseed is +pacified, isn't he? I've paid the Moriarty crowd off. Beastly big +bills they were, too!" + +"Humph! Uncle Hayseed, as you call him, is anything but a fool. +But he isn't the particular trouble at present. He and I +understand each other, I believe, and he will be reasonable. But-- +there is this Pearson. I don't like his calling so frequently." + +Malcolm laughed in huge scorn. "Pearson!" he sneered. "Why, he's +nothing but a penny-a-liner, without the penny. Surely you're not +afraid Caroline will take a fancy to him. She isn't an idiot." + +"She's a young girl, and more romantic than I wish she was. At her +age girls do silly things, sometimes. He called on Wednesday--you +heard her say so--and was there again to-night. I don't like it, I +tell you." + +"Her uncle is responsible for--" + +"It is more than that. She knew him long before she knew her uncle +existed. Her father introduced him--her FATHER. And to her mind, +whatever her father did was right." + +"Witness his brilliant selection of an executor. Oh, Mater, you +weary me! I used to know this Pearson when he was a reporter down +town, and . . . Humph!" + +"What is it?" + +"Why, nothing, I guess. It seemed as if I remember Warren and +Pearson in some sort of mix-up. Some . . . Humph! I wonder." + +He was silent, thinking. His mother pressed his arm excitedly. + +"If you remember anything that occurred between Rodgers Warren and +this man, anything to this Pearson's disadvantage, it may pay us to +investigate. What was it?" + +"I don't know. But it seemed as if I remembered Warren's . . . or +a friend of his telling me . . . saying something . . . but it +couldn't be of importance, because Caroline doesn't know it." + +"I'm not so sure that it may not be important. And, if you recall, +on that day when we first met him at Caroline's, she seemed hurt +because he had not visited them since her father died. Perhaps +there WAS a reason. At any rate, I should look into the matter." + +"All right, Mater, just as you say. Really you ought to join a +Don't Worry Club." + +"One member in the family is quite sufficient. And I expect you to +devote yourself to Caroline from now on. That girl is lonely, and +when you get the combination of a lonely romantic young girl and a +good-looking and interesting young fellow, even though he is as +poor as a church mouse, ANYTHING may happen. Add to that the +influence of an unpractical but sharp old Yankee relative and +guardian--then the situation is positively dangerous." + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +An important event was about to take place. At least, it seemed +important to Captain Elisha, although the person most intimately +concerned appeared to have forgotten it entirely. He ventured to +remind her of it. + +"Caroline," he said, "Sunday is your birthday, ain't it?" + +His niece looked at him in surprise. "Yes," she answered, "it is. +How did you know?" + +"Why, I remembered, that's all. Graves, the lawyer man, told me +how old you and Stevie were, fust time I met him. And his partner, +Mr. Sylvester, gave me the date one day when he was goin' over your +pa's will. You'll be twenty years old Sunday, won't you?" + +"Yes." + +It was late in the afternoon, and she had been out since ten +o'clock shopping with Mrs. Dunn, lunching down town with the latter +and Malcolm, and motoring for an hour or two. The weather for the +season was mild and sunny, and the crisp air had brightened her +cheeks, her eyes sparkled, her fur coat and cap were very becoming, +and Captain Elisha inspected her admiringly before making another +remark. + +"My! My!" he exclaimed, after an instant's pause. "Twenty years +old! Think of it! 'Bije's girl's a young woman now, ain't she? I +cal'late he was proud of you, too. He ought to have been. I +presume likely HE didn't forget your birthday." + +He rose to help her with the heavy coat. As he lifted it from her +shoulders, he bent forward and caught a glimpse of her face. + +"There! there!" he said, hastily. "Don't feel bad, dearie. I +didn't mean to hurt your feelin's. Excuse me; I was thinkin' out +loud, sort of." + +She did not answer at once, but turned away to remove her cap. +Then she answered, without looking at him. + +"He never forgot them," she said. + +"Course he didn't. Well, you see I didn't forget, either." + +It was an unfortunate remark, inasmuch as it drew, in her mind, a +comparison between her handsome, dignified father and his rude, +uncultured brother. The contrast was ever present in her thoughts, +and she did not need to be reminded of it. She made no reply. + +"I was thinkin'," continued the captain, conscious of having made a +mistake, "that maybe we might celebrate somehow, in a quiet way." + +"No. I am not in the mood for--celebrations." + +"Oh, I didn't mean fireworks and the town band. I just thought--" + +"Please don't. I remember other birthdays too well." They had +been great occasions, those birthdays of hers, ever since she was a +little girl. On the eighteenth she made her debut in society, and +the gown she wore on that memorable evening was laid away upstairs, +a cherished memento, to be kept as long as she lived. Each year +Rodgers Warren took infinite pains to please and surprise his +idolized daughter. She could not bear to think of another +birthday, now that he had been taken from her. + +Her guardian pulled his beard. "Well," he observed ruefully, "then +my weak head's put my foot in it again, as the feller said. If I +ain't careful I'll be like poor cracked Philander Baker, who lives +with his sister over at Denboro Centre. The doctor told Philander +he was threatened with softenin' of the brain, and the sister +thanked him for the compliment. You see, Caroline, I wrote on my +own hook and asked Stevie to come home Saturday and stay till +Monday. I kind of thought you'd like to have him here." + +"Oh, I should like THAT! But will he come? Has he written you?" + +"Hey? Yes, I cal'late he'll be on deck. He's--er--yes, he's +written me." + +He smiled as he answered. As a matter of fact, the correspondence +between Stephen and himself had been lengthy and voluminous on the +part of the former, and brief and business-like on his own. The +boy, on his return to college, had found "conditions" awaiting him, +and the amount of hard work involved in their clearance was not at +all to his taste. He wrote his guardian before the first week was +over, asserting that the whole business was foolishness and a waste +of time. He should come home at once, he said, and he notified the +captain that such was his intention. Captain Elisha replied with +promptness and decision. If he came home he would be sent back, +that was all. "I realize you've got a job ahead of you, Son," +wrote the captain, "but you can do it, if you will. Fact is, I +guess you've got to. So sail in and show us what you're made of." + +Stephen's answer was a five page declaration of independence. He +refused to be bullied by any living man. He had made arrangements +to come to New York on the following Monday, and he was coming. As +to being sent back, he wished his uncle to understand that it was +one thing to order and another to enforce obedience. To which he +received the following note: + + +"I can't stop you from coming, Steve, except by going to New Haven +and holding you by main strength. That I don't propose to do, for +two reasons: first, that it is too much trouble, and second that it +ain't necessary. You can come home once in a while to see your +sister, but you mustn't do it till I say the word. If you do, I +shall take the carfare out of your allowance, likewise board while +you are here, and stop that allowance for a month as a sort of fine +for mutiny. So you better think it over a spell. And, if I was +you, I wouldn't write Caroline that I was coming, or thinking of +coming, till I had my mind made up. She believes you are working +hard at your lessons. I shouldn't disappoint her, especially as it +wouldn't be any use. + +"Your affectionate uncle, + +"ELISHA WARREN." + + +The result of all this was that Stephen, whose finances were +already in a precarious condition, did think it over and decided +not to take the risk. Also, conscious that his sister sided with +their guardian to the extent of believing the university the best +place for him at present, he tore up the long letter of grievance +which he had written her, and, in that which took its place, +mentioned merely that he was "grinding like blazes," and the only +satisfaction he got from it was his removal from the society of the +"old tyrant from Cape Cod." + +He accepted the tyrant's invitation to return for the week-end and +his sister's birthday with no hesitation whatever; and his letter +of acceptance was so politic as to be almost humble. + +He arrived on an early train Saturday morning. Caroline met him at +the station, and the Dunns' car conveyed them to the latter's +residence, where they were to spend the day. The Dunns and Caroline +had been together almost constantly since the evening when Malcolm +and his mother interrupted the reading of the novel. The former, +while professing to be harassed by business cares, sacrificed them +to the extent of devoting at least a part of each twenty-four hours +to the young lady's society. She was rarely allowed to be alone +with her uncle, a circumstance which troubled her much less than it +did him. He missed the evenings which he had enjoyed so much, and +the next consultation over the adventures of Pearson's "Uncle Jim" +and his "Mary" seemed flat and uninteresting without criticism and +advice. + +The author himself noticed the difference. + +"Rot!" he exclaimed, throwing the manuscript aside in disgust. +"It's rot, isn't it! If I can't turn out better stuff than that, +I'd better quit. And I thought it was pretty decent, too, until +to-night." + +Captain Elisha shook his head. "It don't seem quite so shipshape, +somehow," he admitted, "but I guess likely it's 'cause my head's +full of other things just now. I'm puzzled 'most to death to know +what to get for Caroline's birthday. I want to get her somethin' +she'll like, and she's got pretty nigh everything under the sun. +Say, Jim, you've been workin' too hard, yourself. Why don't you +take to-morrow off and cruise around the stores helpin' me pick out +a present. Come ahead--do!" + +They spent the next afternoon in that "cruise," visiting department +stores, jewelers, and art shops innumerable. Captain Elisha was +hard to please, and his comments characteristic. + +"I guess you're right, Jim," he said, "there's no use lookin' at +pictures. Let alone that the walls are so covered with 'em now a +fly can't scarcely light without steppin' on some kind of scenery-- +let alone that, my judgment on pictures ain't any good. I cal'late +that's considered pretty fine, ain't it?" pointing to a painting in +the gallery where they then were. + +"Yes," replied the dealer, much amused. "That is a good specimen +of the modern impressionist school." + +"Humph! Cookin' school, I shouldn't wonder. I'd call it a +portrait of a plate of scrambled eggs, if 'twa'n't for that green +thing that's either a cow or a church in the offin'. Out of +soundin's again, I am! But I knew she liked pictures, and so . . . +However, let's set sail for a jewelry store." + +The sixth shop of this variety which they visited happened to be +one of the largest and most fashionable in the city. Here the +captain's fancy was taken by a gold chain for the neck, set with +tiny emeralds. + +"That's pretty--sort of--ain't it, Jim?" he asked. + +"Yes," replied his companion, with emphasis, "it is. And I think +you'll find it is expensive, also." + +"That so? How much?" turning to the salesman. + +The latter gave the price of the chain. Captain Elisha whistled. + +"Whew! Jerushy!" he exclaimed. "And it wouldn't much more than go +around my wrist, at that. All the same size, are they?" + +"No. Some are longer. The longer ones are higher priced, of +course." + +"Sartin! They're for fleshy folks, I s'pose. Mrs. Thoph Kenney +down home, she'd have to splice three of 'em together to make the +round trip. Thoph's always scared he won't get his money's wuth +in a trade, but he couldn't kick when he got her. To give the +minister a dollar and walk off with two hundred and eighty pounds +of wife is showin' some business sagacity, hey? To do him justice, +I will say that HE seems to be satisfied; she's the one that does +the complainin'. I guess this is the most expensive counter in the +store, ain't it, Mister?" + +The clerk laughed. "No, indeed," he said. "These are all moderate +priced goods. I wonder," turning to Pearson, "if your friend +wouldn't like to see some of our choice pieces. It is a quiet day +here, and I shall be glad to show them." + +He led the way to a set of show cases near the door on the Fifth +Avenue side. There before Captain Elisha's dazzled eyes were +displayed diamond necklaces and aigrettes, tiaras and brooches, the +figures on their price tags running high into the thousands. +Pearson and the good-natured clerk enjoyed themselves hugely. + +"Jim," said the captain after a little of this, "is there a police +officer lookin' this way?" + +Pearson laughed. "I guess not," he answered. "Why? The +temptation isn't getting too much for your honesty, is it?" + +"No," with a sigh, "but I'm carryin' a forty dollar watch and +wearin' a ring that cost fifteen. I thought they was some punkins +till I begun to look at this stuff. Now they make me feel so mean +and poverty-struck that I expect to be took up for a tramp any +minute. Mister," to the clerk, "you run right along and wrap up +that chain I was lookin' at. Hurry! or I'll be ashamed to carry +anything so cheap." + +"Think she'll like it, do you, Jim?" he asked, when they were once +more out of doors with the purchase in his inside pocket. + +"She ought, certainly," replied Pearson. "It's a beautiful thing." + +"Yes. Well, you see," apologetically, "I wanted to give her +somethin' pretty good. 'Bije always did, and I didn't want to fall +too fur behind. But," with a chuckle, "you needn't mention the +price to anybody. If Abbie--my second cousin keepin' house for me, +she is--if Abbie heard of it she'd be for puttin' me in an asylum. +Abbie's got a hair breastpin and a tortoise shell comb, but she +only wears 'em to the Congregationalist meetin'-house, where she's +reasonably sure there ain't likely to be any sneak-thieves. She +went to a Unitarian sociable once, but she carried 'em in a bag +inside her dress." + +Captain Elisha planned to surprise his niece with the gift at +breakfast on the morning of her birthday, but, after reflection, +decided to postpone the presentation until dinner time. The +inevitable Dunns had taken upon themselves the duty of caring for +the girl and her brother during the major part of the day. The +yellow car appeared at the door at ten o'clock and bore the two +away. Caroline assured her guardian, however, that they would +return in season for the evening meal. + +The captain spent lonely but busy hours until dinner time came. He +had done some scheming on his own hook and, after a long argument +with the cook, re-enforced by a small sum in cash, had prevailed +upon that haughty domestic to fashion a birthday cake of imposing +exterior and indigestible make-up. Superintending the icing of +this masterpiece occupied some time. He then worried Edwards into +a respectful but stubborn fury by suggesting novelties in the way +of table arrangement. Another bestowal of small change quelled the +disturbance. Then came, by messenger, a dozen American Beauty +roses with Mr. Pearson's card attached. These the captain decided +should be placed in the center of the festive board. As a center +piece had been previously provided, there was more argument. The +cook took the butler's side in the debate, and the pair yielded +only when Captain Elisha again dived into his pocket. + +"But I warn you, all hands," he observed, "that this is the last +time. My right fist's got a cramp in it this minute, and you +couldn't open it again with a cold chisel." + +At last, however, everything was as it should be, and he sat down +in the library to await the coming of the young people. The gold +chain in its handsome leather case, the latter enclosed in the +jeweler's box, was carefully laid beside Caroline's place at the +table. The dinner was ready, the cake, candles and all--the +captain had insisted upon twenty candles--was ready, also. There +was nothing to do but wait--and he waited. + +Six-thirty was the usual dinner hour. It passed. Seven o'clock +struck, then eight, and still Captain Elisha sat alone in the +library. The cook sent word that the dinner was ruined. Edwards +respectfully asked, "What shall I do, sir?" twice, the second time +being sent flying with an order to "Go for'ard and keep your hatches +closed!" The nautical phraseology was lost upon the butler, but the +tone and manner of delivery were quite understandable. + +Several times the captain rose from his chair to telephone the Dunn +house and ask the reason for delay. Each time he decided not to do +so. No doubt there were good reasons; Caroline and her brother had +been detained; perhaps the automobile had broken down--the things +were always breaking down just at the most inconvenient times; +perhaps . . . Well, at any rate, he would not 'phone just yet; he +would wait a little longer. + +At last the bell rang. Captain Elisha sprang up, smiling, his +impatience and worry forgotten, and, pushing the butler aside, +hurried to open the door himself. He did so and faced, not his +niece and nephew, but Pearson. + +"Good evening, Captain," hailed the young man, cheerily. "Didn't +expect me, did you? I dropped in for a moment to shake hands with +you and to offer congratulations to Miss Warren." Then, noticing +the expression on his friend's face, he added, "What's the matter? +Anything wrong? Am I intruding?" + +"No, no! Course not. You're as welcome as another egg in a poor +man's hen-house. Come right in and take off your things. I'm glad +to see you. Only--well, the fact is I thought 'twas Caroline +comin' home. She and Stevie was to be here over two hours ago, and +I can't imagine what's keepin, 'em." + +He insisted upon his visitor's remaining, although the latter, when +he understood the situation, was reluctant to do so. + +"Caroline'll be real glad to see you, Jim, I know," the captain +said. "And I want you to stay for my sake. Between pacifyin' the +Commodore and frettin' over what couldn't possibly happen, I was +half dead of the fidgets. Stay and cheer me up, there's a good +feller. I'd just about reached the stage where I had the girl and +boy stove to flinders under that pesky auto. I'd even begun to +figger on notifyin' the undertaker. Tell me I'm an old fool and +then talk about somethin' else. They'll be here any minute." + +But a good many minutes passed, and still they did not come. +Pearson, aware of his companion's growing anxiety, chatted of the +novel, of the people at the boarding house, of anything and +everything he could think of likely to divert attention from the +one important topic. The answers he received were more and more +brief and absent. At last, when Edwards again appeared, +appealingly mute, at the entrance to the dining room, Captain +Elisha, with a sigh which was almost a groan, surrendered. + +"I guess," he said, reluctantly, "I guess, Jim, there ain't any use +waitin' any longer. Somethin's kept 'em, and they won't be here +for dinner. You and I'll set down and eat--though I ain't got the +appetite I cal'lated to have." + +Pearson had dined hours before, but he followed his friend, resolved +to please the latter by going through the form of pretending to eat. + +They sat down together. Captain Elisha, with a rueful smile, +pointed to the floral centerpiece. + +"There's your posies, Jim," he observed. "Look pretty, don't they. +She ain't seen 'em yet, but she'll like 'em when she does. And +that over there, is her present from me. Stevie gave her a box of +gloves, and I expect, from what Mrs. Dunn hinted, that she and that +son of hers gave her somethin' fine. She'll show us when she gets +here. What's this, Commodore? Oysters, hey? Well, they ought to +taste like home. They're 'Cape Cods'; I wouldn't have anything +else." + +"We won't touch the birthday cake, Jim," he added, a little later. +"She's got to cut that herself." + +The soup was only lukewarm, but neither of them commented on the +fact. The captain had scarcely tasted of his, when he paused, his +spoon in air. + +"Hey?" he exclaimed. "Listen! What's that? By the everlastin', +it IS. Here they are, at LAST!" + +He sprang up with such enthusiasm that his chair tipped backwards +against the butler's devoted shins. Pearson, almost as much +pleased, also rose. + +Captain Elisha paid scant attention to the chair incident. + +"What are you waitin' for?" he demanded, whirling on Edwards, who +was righting the chair with one hand and rubbing his knee with the +other. "Don't you hear 'em at the door? Let 'em in!" + +He reached the library first, his friend following more leisurely. +Caroline and Stephen had just entered. + +"Well!" he cried, in his quarter-deck voice, his face beaming with +relief and delight, "you ARE here, ain't you! I begun to think . . . +Why, what's the matter?" + +The question was addressed to Stephen, who stood nearest to him. +The boy did not deign to reply. With a contemptuous grunt, he +turned scornfully away from his guardian. + +"What is it, Caroline?" demanded Captain Elisha. "HAS anything +happened?" + +The girl looked coldly at him. A new brooch--Mrs. Corcoran Dunn's +birthday gift--sparkled at her throat. + +"No accident has happened, if that is what you mean," she said. + +"But--why, yes, that was what I meant. You was so awful late, and +you know you said you'd be home for dinner, so--" + +"I changed my mind. Come, Steve." + +She turned to leave the room. Pearson, at that moment, entered it. +Stephen saw him first. + +"WHAT?" he cried. "Well, of all the nerve! Look, Caro!" + +"Jim--Mr. Pearson, I mean--ran in a few minutes ago," explained +Captain Elisha, bewildered and stammering. "He thought of course +we'd had dinner and--and--he just wanted to wish you many happy +returns, Caroline." + +Pearson had extended his hand and a "Good evening" was on his lips. +Stephen's strange behavior and language caused him to halt. He +flushed, awkward, surprised, and indignant. + +Caroline turned and saw him. She started, and her cheeks also grew +crimson. Then, recovering, she looked him full in the face, and +deliberately and disdainfully turned her back. + +"Come, Steve!" she said again, and walked from the room. + +Her brother hesitated, glared at Pearson, and then stalked +haughtily after her. + +Captain Elisha's bewilderment was supreme. He stared, open- +mouthed, after his nephew and niece, and then turned slowly to his +friend. + +"What on earth, Jim," he stammered. "What's it MEAN?" + +Pearson shrugged his shoulders. "I think I know what it means," he +said. "I presume that Miss Warren and her brother have learned of +my trouble with their father." + +"Hey? No! you don't think THAT'S it." + +"I think there's no doubt of it." + +"But how?" + +"I don't know how. What I do know is that I should not have come +here. I felt it and, if you will remember, I said so. I was a +fool. Good night, Captain." + +Hot and furiously angry at his own indecision which had placed him +in this humiliating situation, he was striding towards the hall. +Captain Elisha seized his arm. + +"Stay where you are, Jim!" he commanded. "If the trouble's what +you think it is, I'm more to blame than anybody else, and you +sha'n't leave this house till I've done my best to square you." + +"Thank you; but I don't wish to be 'squared.' I've done nothing to +be ashamed of, and I have borne as many insults as I can stand. +I'm going." + +"No, you ain't. Not yet. I want you to stay." + +At that moment Stephen's voice reached them from the adjoining +room. + +"I tell you I shall, Caro!" it proclaimed, fiercely. "Do you +suppose I'm going to permit that fellow to come here again--or to +go until he is made to understand what we think of him and why? +No, by gad! I'm the man of this family, and I'll tell him a few +things." + +Pearson's jaw set grimly. + +"You may let go of my wrist, Captain Warren," he said; "I'll stay." + +Possibly Stephen's intense desire to prove his manliness made him +self-conscious. At any rate, he never appeared more ridiculously +boyish than when, an instant later, he marched into the library and +confronted his uncle and Pearson. + +"I--I want to say--" he began, majestically; "I want to say--" + +He paused, choking, and brandished his fist. + +"I want to say--" he began again. + +"All right, Stevie," interrupted the captain, dryly, "then I'd say +it if I was you. I guess it's time you did." + +"I want to--to tell that fellow THERE," with a vicious stab of his +forefinger in the direction of Pearson, "that I consider him an--an +ingrate--and a scoundrel--and a miserable--" + +"Steady!" Captain Elisha's interruption was sharp this time. +"Steady now! Leave out the pet names. What is it you've got to +tell?" + +"I--my sister and I have found out what a scoundrel he is, that's +what! We've learned of the lies he wrote about father. We know +that he was responsible for all that cowardly, lying stuff in the +Planet--all that about the Trolley Combine. And we don't intend +that he shall sneak into this house again. If he was the least +part of a man, he would never have come." + +"Mr. Warren--" began Pearson, stepping forward. The captain +interrupted. + +"Hold on, Jim!" he said. "Just a minute now. You've learned +somethin', you say, Stevie. The Dunns told you, I s'pose." + +"Never mind who told me!" + +"I don't--much. But I guess we'd better have a clear understandin', +all of us. Caroline, will you come in here, please?" + +He stepped toward the door. Stephen sprang in front of him. + +"My sister doesn't intend to cheapen herself by entering that man's +presence," he declared, hotly. "I'll deal with him, myself!" + +"All right. But I guess she'd better be here, just the same. +Caroline, I want you." + +"She sha'n't come!" + +"Yes, she shall. Caroline!" + +The boy would have detained him, but he pushed him firmly aside and +walked toward the door. Before he reached it, however, his niece +appeared. + +"Well?" she said, coldly. "What is it you want of me?" + +"I want you to hear Mr. Pearson's side of this business--and mine-- +before you do anything you'll be sorry for." + +"I think I've heard quite enough of Mr. Pearson already. Nothing +he can say or do will make me more sorry than I am, or humiliate me +more than the fact that I have treated him as a friend." + +The icy contempt in her tone was cutting. Pearson's face was +white, but he spoke clearly and with deliberation. + +"Miss Warren," he said, "I must insist that you listen for another +moment. I owe you an apology for--" + +"Apology!" broke in Stephen, with a scornful laugh. "Apology! +Well, by gad! Just hear that, Caro!" + +The girl's lip curled. "I do not wish to hear your apology," she +said. + +"But I wish you to hear it. Not for my attitude in the Trolley +matter, nor for what I published in the Planet. Nor for my part in +the disagreement with your father. I wrote the truth and nothing +more. I considered it right then--I told your father so--and I +have not changed my mind. I should act exactly the same under +similar circumstances." + +"You blackguard!" shouted Stephen. Pearson ignored him utterly. + +"I do owe you an apology," he continued, "for coming here, as I +have done, knowing that you were ignorant of the affair. I believe +now that you are misinformed as to the facts, but that is immaterial. +You should have been told of my trouble with Mr. Warren. I should +have insisted upon it. That I did not do so is my fault and I +apologize; but for that only. Good evening." + +He shook himself free from the captain's grasp, bowed to the trio, +and left the room. An instant later the outer door closed behind +him. + +Caroline turned to her brother. "Come, Steve," she said. + +"Stay right where you are!" Captain Elisha did not request now, he +commanded. "Stevie, stand still. Caroline, I want to talk to +you." + +The girl hesitated. She had never been spoken to in that tone +before. Her pride had been already deeply wounded by what she had +learned that afternoon; she was fiercely resentful, angry, and +rebellious. She was sure she never hated anyone as she did this +man who ordered her to stay and listen to him. But--she stayed. + +"Caroline," said Captain Elisha, after a moment of silence, "I +presume likely--of course I don't know for sartin, but I presume +likely it's Mrs. Dunn and that son of hers who've told you what you +think you know." + +"It doesn't concern you who told us!" blustered Stephen, pushing +forward. He might have been a fly buzzing on the wall for all the +attention his uncle paid him. + +"I presume likely the Dunns told you, Caroline," he repeated, +calmly. + +His niece met his gaze stubbornly. + +"Well," she answered, "and if they did? Wasn't it necessary we +should know it? Oh!" with a shudder of disgust, "I wish I could +make you understand how ashamed I feel--how WICKED and ashamed I +feel that I--_I_ should have disgraced father's memory by . . . +Oh, but there! I can't! Yes; Mrs. Dunn and Malcolm did tell us-- +many things. Thank God that we HAVE friends to tell us the truth!" + +"Amen!" quietly. "I'll say amen to that, Caroline, any time. Only +I want you to be sure those you call friends are real ones and that +the truths they tell ain't like the bait on a fishhook, put on FOR +bait and just thick enough to cover the barb." + +"Do you mean to insinuate--" screamed the irrepressible nephew, +wild at being so completely ignored. His uncle again paid not the +slightest attention. + +"But that ain't neither here nor there now," he went on. "Caroline, +Mr. Pearson just told you that his coming to this house without +tellin' you fust of his quarrel with 'Bije was his fault. That ain't +so. The fault was mine altogether. He told me the whole story; +told me that he hadn't called since it happened, on that very +account. And I took the whole responsibility and ASKED him to come. +I did! Do you know why?" + +If he expected an answer none was given. Caroline's lids drooped +disdainfully. "Steve," she said, "let us go." + +"Stop! You'll stay here until I finish. I want to say that I +didn't tell you about the Trolley fuss because I wanted you to +learn some things for yourself. I wanted you to know Mr. Pearson-- +to find out what sort of man he was afore you judged him. Then, +when you had known him long enough to understand he wasn't a liar +and a blackguard, and all that Steve has called him, I was goin' to +tell you the whole truth, not a part of it. And, after that, I was +goin' to let you decide for yourself what to do. I'm a lot older +than you are; I've mixed with all sorts of folks; I'm past the +stage where I can be fooled by--by false hair or soft soap. You +can't pour sweet oil over a herrin' and make me believe it's a +sardine. I know the Pearson stock. I've sailed over a heap of +salt water with one of the family. And I've kept my eyes open +since I've run acrost this particular member. And I knew your +father, too, Caroline Warren. And I say to you now that, knowin' +Jim Pearson and 'Bije Warren--yes, and knowin' the rights and +wrongs of that Trolley business quite as well as Malcolm Dunn or +anybody else--I say to you that, although 'Bije was my brother, I'd +bet my life that Jim had all the right on his side. There! that's +the truth, and no hook underneath it. And some day you'll realize +it, too." + +He had spoken with great vehemence. Now he took a handkerchief +from his pocket and wiped his forehead. When he again looked at +his niece, he found her staring intently at him; and her eyes +blazed. + +"Have you quite finished--now?" she demanded. "Steve, be quiet!" + +"Why, yes, I guess so, pretty nigh. I s'pose there ain't much use +to say more. If I was to tell you that I've tried to do for you +and Steve in this--same as in everything else since I took this +job--as if you were my own children, you wouldn't believe it. If I +was to tell you, Caroline, that I'd come to think an awful lot of +you, you wouldn't believe that, either. I did hope that since our +other misunderstandin' was cleared up, and you found I wa'n't what +you thought I was, you'd come to me and ask questions afore passin' +judgment; but perhaps--" + +And now she interrupted, bursting out at him in a blast of scorn +which took his breath away. + +"Oh, stop! stop!" she cried. "Don't say any more. You have +insulted father's memory, and defended the man who slandered him. +Isn't that enough? Why must you go on to prove yourself a greater +hypocrite? We learned, my brother and I, to-day more than the +truth concerning your FRIEND. We learned that you have lied--yes, +lied--and--" + +"Steady, Caroline! be careful. I wouldn't say what I might be +sorry for later." + +"Sorry! Captain Warren, you spoke of my misjudging you. I thought +I had, and I was sorry. To-day I learned that your attitude in +that affair was a lie like the rest. YOU did not pay for Mr. +Moriarty's accident. Mr. Dunn's money paid those bills. And you +allowed the family--and me--to thank YOU for your generosity. Oh, +I'm ashamed to be near you!" + +"There! There! Caroline, be still. I--" + +"I shall not be still. I have been still altogether too long. You +are our guardian. We can't help that, I suppose. Father asked you +to be that, for some reason; but did he ask you to LIVE here where +you are not wanted? To shame us before our friends, ladies and +gentlemen so far above you in every way? And to try to poison our +minds against them and sneer at them when they are kind to us and +even try to be kind to you? No, he did not! Oh, I'm sick of it +all! your deceit and your hypocritical speeches and your pretended +love for us. LOVE! Oh, if I could say something that would make +you understand how thoroughly we despise you, and how your presence, +ever since you forced it upon Steve and me, has disgraced us! +If I only could! I--I--" + +She had been near to tears ever since Mrs. Corcoran Dunn, in the +kindness of her heart, told her the "truth" that afternoon. But +pride and indignation had prevented her giving way. Now, however, +she broke down. + +"Oh--oh, Steve!" she cried, and, turning to her brother, sobbed +hysterically on his shoulder. "Oh, Steve, what shall we do?" + +Stephen put his arm about her waist. "It's all right, Sis," he +said soothingly. "Don't cry before HIM! I guess," with a glance +at his uncle, "you've said enough to make even him understand--at +last." + +Captain Elisha looked gravely at the pair. "I guess you have," he +said slowly. "I guess you have, Caroline. Anyhow, I can't think +offhand of anything you've left out. I could explain some things, +but what's the use? And," with a sigh, "you may be right in a way. +Perhaps I shouldn't have come here to live. If you'd only told me +plain afore just how you felt, I'd--maybe I'd--but there! I didn't +know--I didn't know. You see, I thought . . . However, I guess +that part of your troubles is over. But," he added, firmly, +"wherever I am, or wherever I go, you must understand that I'm your +guardian, just the same. I considered a long spell afore I took +the place, and I never abandoned a ship yet, once I took command of +her. And I'll stick to this one! Yes, sir! I'll stick to it in +spite of the devil--or the Dunns, either. Till you and your +brother are of age I'm goin' to look out for you and your interests +and your money; and nothin' nor nobody shall stop me. As for +forcin' my company on you, though, that well, that's different. I +cal'late you won't have to worry any more. Good night." + +He thrust his hands into his pockets and walked slowly from the +library. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +Stephen, the "man of the family," was the only member of the +household, servants excepted, who slept soundly that night. +Conscious of having done his duty in the affair with Pearson and +his guardian, and somewhat fatigued by the disagreeable task of +soothing his hysterical sister, he was slumbering peacefully at +nine the next morning when awakened by a series of raps on his +bedroom door. + +"Ah! What? Well, what is it?" he demanded, testily opening his +eyes. "Edwards, is that you? What the devil do you mean by making +such a row?" + +The voice which answered was not the butler's, but Caroline's. + +"Steve! Oh, Steve!" she cried. "Do get up and come out! Come, +quick!" + +"What's the matter?" inquired the young man, sitting up in bed. +"Is the house afire?" + +"No, no! But do come! I want you. Something has happened." + +"Happened? What is it?" + +"I can't tell you here. Please dress and come to me as quick as +you can." + +Stephen, wondering and somewhat alarmed, dressed with unusual +promptitude and obeyed. He found his sister standing by the +library window, a letter in her hand. She looked troubled and +anxious. + +"Well, Caro," observed the boy, "here I am. What in the world's up +now?" + +She turned. + +"Oh, Steve!" she exclaimed, "he's gone!" + +"Gone? Who?" + +"Captain Warren. He's gone." + +"Gone? Gone where? Caro, you don't mean he's--DEAD?" + +"No, he's gone--gone and left us." + +Her brother's expression changed to incredulous joy. + +"What?" he shouted. "You mean he's quit? Cleared out? Left here +for good?" + +"Yes." + +"Hurrah! Excuse me while I gloat! Hurrah! We got it through his +skull at last! Is it possible? But--but hold on! Perhaps it's +too good to be true. Are you sure? How do you know?" + +"He says so. See." + +She handed him the letter. It was addressed to "My dear Caroline" +and in it Captain Elisha stated his intentions succinctly. After +the plain speaking of the previous evening he should not, of +course, burden them with his society any longer. He was leaving +that morning, and, as soon as he "located permanent moorings +somewhere else" would notify his niece and nephew of his +whereabouts. + +"For," he added, "as I told you, although I shall not impose my +company on you, I am your guardian same as ever. I will see that +your allowance comes to you regular, including enough for all +household bills and pay for the hired help and so on. If you need +any extras at any time let me know and, if they seem to me right +and proper, I will send money for them. You will stay where you +are, Caroline, and Stevie must go back to college right away. +Tell him I say so, and if he does not I shall begin reducing his +allowance according as I wrote him. He will understand what I +mean. I guess that is all until I send you my address and any +other sailing orders that seem necessary to me then. And, +Caroline, I want you and Stevie to feel that I am your anchor to +windward, and when you get in a tight place, if you ever do, you +can depend on me. Last night's talk has no bearing on that +whatever. Good-by, then, until my next. + +"ELISHA WARREN." + + +Stephen read this screed to the end, then crumpled it in his fist +and threw it angrily on the floor. + +"The nerve!" he exclaimed. "He seems to think I'm a sailor on one +of his ships, to be ordered around as he sees fit. I'll go back to +college when I'm good and ready--not before." + +Caroline shook her head. "Oh, no!" she said. "You must go to-day. +He's right, Steve; it's the thing for you to do. He and I were +agreed as to that. And you wouldn't stay and make it harder for +me, would you, dear?" + +He growled a reluctant assent. "I suppose I shall have to go," he +said, sullenly. "My allowance is too beastly small to have him +cutting it; and the old shark would do that very thing; he'd take +delight in doing it, confound him! Well, he knows what we think of +him, that's some comfort." + +She did not answer. He looked at her curiously. + +"Why, hang it all, Caro!" he exclaimed in disgust; "what ails you? +Blessed if I sha'n't begin to believe you're sorry he's gone. You +act as if you were." + +"No, I'm not. Of course I'm not. I'm--I'm glad. He couldn't +stay, of course. But I'm afraid--I can't help feeling that you and +I were too harsh last night. We said things--dreadful things--" + +"Be hanged! We didn't say half enough. Oh, don't be a fool, Caro! +I was just beginning to be proud of your grit. And now you want to +take it all back. Honestly, girls are the limit! You don't know +your own minds for twelve consecutive hours. Answer me now! ARE +you sorry he's gone?" + +"No. No, I'm not, really. But I--I feel somehow as if--as if +everything was on my shoulders. You're going away, and he's gone, +and--What is it, Edwards?" + +The butler entered, with a small parcel in his hand. + +"I beg your pardon, Miss Caroline," he said. "I should have given +you this last evening. It was by your place at the table. I think +Captain Warren put it there, miss." + +Caroline took the parcel and looked at it wonderingly. + +"For me?" she repeated. + +"Yes, Miss Caroline. It is marked with your name. And breakfast +is served, when you and Mr. Stephen are ready." + +He bowed and retired. The girl sat turning the little white box in +her hands. + +"HE left it for me," she said. "What can it be?" + +Her brother snatched it impatiently. + +"Why don't you open it and find out?" he demanded. "Perhaps it's +his latch key. Here! I'll do it myself." + +He cut the cord and removed the cover of the little box. Inside +was the jeweler's leather case. He took it out and pressed the +spring. The cover flew up. + +"Whew!" he whistled. "It's a present. And rather a decent one, +too, by gad! Look, Caro!" + +He handed her the open case. She looked at the chain, spread +carefully on the white satin lining. Inside the cover was fitted a +card. She turned it over and read: "To my niece, Caroline. With +wishes for many happy returns, and much love, from her Uncle Elisha +Warren." + +She sat gazing at the card. Stephen bent down, read the inscription, +and then looked up into her face. + +"WHAT?" he cried. "I believe--You're not CRYING! Well, I'll be +hanged! Sis, you ARE a fool!" + + + +The weather that morning was fine and clear. James Pearson, +standing by the window of his rooms at the boarding house, looking +out at the snow-covered roofs sparkling in the sun, was miserable. +When he retired the night before it was with a solemn oath to +forget Caroline Warren altogether; to put her and her father and +the young cad, her brother, utterly from his mind, never to be +thought of again. As a preliminary step in this direction, he +began, the moment his head touched the pillow, to review, for the +fiftieth time, the humiliating scene in the library, to think of +things he should have said, and--worse than all--to recall, word +for word, the things she had said to him. In this cheerful +occupation he passed hours before falling asleep. And, when he +woke, it was to begin all over again. + +Why--Why had he been so weak as to yield to Captain Elisha's +advice? Why had he not acted like a sensible, self-respecting man, +done what he knew was right, and persisted in his refusal to visit +the Warrens? Why? Because he was an idiot, of course--a hopeless +idiot, who had got exactly what he deserved! Which bit of +philosophy did not help make his reflections less bitter. + +He went down to breakfast when the bell rang, but his appetite was +missing, and he replied only in monosyllables to the remarks +addressed to him by his fellow boarders. Mrs. Hepton, the +landlady, noticed the change. + +"You not ill, Mr. Pearson, I hope?" she queried. "I do hope you +haven't got cold, sleeping with your windows wide open, as you say +you do. Fresh air is a good thing, in moderation, but one should +be careful. Don't you think so, Mr. Carson?" + +Mr. Carson was a thin little man, a bachelor, who occupied the +smallest room on the third story. He was a clerk in a department +store, and his board was generally in arrears. Therefore, when +Mrs. Hepton expressed an opinion he made it a point to agree with +her. In this instance, however, he merely grunted. + +"I say fresh air in one's sleeping room is a good thing in +moderation. Don't you think so, Mr. Carson?" repeated the +landlady. + +Mr. Carson rolled up his napkin and inserted it in the ring. His +board, as it happened, was paid in full to date. Also, although he +had not yet declared his intention, he intended changing lodgings +at the end of the week. + +"Humph!" he sniffed, with sarcasm, "it may be. I couldn't get none +in MY room if I wanted it, so I can't say sure. Morning." + +He departed hurriedly. Mrs. Hepton looked disconcerted. Mrs. Van +Winkle Ruggles smiled meaningly across the table at Miss Sherborne, +who smiled back. + +Mr. Ludlow, the bookseller, quietly observed that he hoped Mr. +Pearson had not gotten cold. Colds were prevalent at this time of +the year. "'These are the days when the Genius of the weather sits +in mournful meditation on the threshold,' as Mr. Dickens tells us," +he added. "I presume he sits on the sills of open windows, also." + +The wife of the Mr. Dickens there present pricked up her ears. + +"When did you write that, 'C.' dear?" she asked, turning to her +husband. "I remember it perfectly, of course, but I have +forgotten, for the moment, in which of your writings it appears." + +The illustrious one's mouth being occupied with a section of +scorching hot waffle, he was spared the necessity of confession. + +"Pardon me," said Mr. Ludlow. "I was not quoting our Mr. Dickens +this time, but his famous namesake." + +The great "C." drowned the waffle with a swallow of water. + +"Maria," he snapped, "don't be so foolish. Ludlow quotes from--er-- +'Bleak House.' I have written some things--er--similar, but not +that. Why don't you pass the syrup?" + +The bookseller, who was under the impression that he had quoted +from the "Christmas Carol," merely smiled and remained silent. + +"My father, the Senator," began Mrs. Van Winkle Ruggles, "was +troubled with colds during his political career. I remember his +saying that the Senate Chamber at the Capitol was extremely +draughty. Possibly Mr. Pearson's ailment does come from sleeping +in a draught. Not that father was accustomed to SLEEP during the +sessions--Oh, dear, no! not that, of course. How absurd!" + +She laughed gayly. Pearson, who seemed to think it time to say +something, declared that, so far as he knew, he had no cold or any +symptoms of one. + +"Well," said Mrs. Hepton, with conviction, "something ails you, I +know. We can all see it; can't we?" turning to the rest of the +company. "Why, you've scarcely spoken since you sat down at the +table. And you've eaten next to nothing. Perhaps there is some +trouble, something on your mind which is worrying you. Oh, I HOPE +not!" + +"No doubt it is the preoccupation of genius," remarked Mrs. +Dickens. "I'm sure it must be that. When 'C.' is engaged with +some particularly trying literary problem he frequently loses all +his appetite and does not speak for hours together. Isn't it so, +dear?" + +"C.," who was painfully conscious that he might have made a miscue +in the matter of the quotation, answered sharply. + +"No," he said. "Not at all. Don't be silly, Maria." + +Miss Sherborne clasped her hands. "_I_ know!" she exclaimed in +mock rapture; "Mr. Pearson is in love!" + +This suggestion was received with applause and hilarity. Pearson +pushed back his chair and rose. + +"I'm much obliged for this outburst of sympathy," he observed, +dryly. "But, as I say, I'm perfectly well, and the other diagnoses +are too flattering to be true. Good morning." + +Back in his room he seated himself at his desk, took the manuscript +of his novel from the drawer, and sat moodily staring at it. He +was in no mood for work. The very sight of the typewritten page +disgusted him. As he now felt, the months spent on the story were +time wasted. It was ridiculous for him to attempt such a thing; or +to believe that he could carry it through successfully; or to dream +that he would ever be anything better than a literary hack, a cheap +edition of "C." Dickens, minus the latter's colossal self- +satisfaction. + +He was still sitting there, twirling an idle pencil between his +fingers, when he heard steps outside his door. Someone knocked. + +"Well, what is it?" he asked. + +His landlady answered. + +"Mr. Pearson," she said, "may I see you?" + +He threw down the pencil and, rising, walked to the door and opened +it. Mrs. Hepton was waiting in the hall. She seemed excited. + +"Mr. Pearson," she said, "will you step downstairs with me for a +moment? I have a surprise for you." + +"A surprise? What sort of a surprise?" + +"Oh, a pleasant one. At least I think it is going to be pleasant +for all of us. But I'm not going to tell you what it is. You must +come down and see for yourself." + +She led the way downstairs, the young man following her, wondering +what the surprise might be, and fairly certain it, nor anything +else, could be pleasant on that day. + +He supposed, of course, that he must descend to the parlor to reach +the solution of the mystery, but he was mistaken. On the second +floor Mrs. Hepton stopped and pointed. + +"It's in there," she said, pointing. + +"There" was the room formerly occupied by Mr. Saks, the long-haired +artist. Since his departure it had been vacant. Pearson looked at +the closed door and then at the lady. + +"A surprise for me in THERE?" he repeated. "What's the joke, Mrs. +Hepton?" + +By way of answer she took him by the arm, and, leading him to the +door, threw the latter open. + +"Here he is!" she said. + +"Hello, Jim!" hailed Captain Elisha Warren, cheerfully. "Ship +ahoy! Glad to see you." + +He was standing in the middle of the room, his hat on the table and +his hands in his pockets. + +Pearson was surprised; there was no doubt of that--not so much at +the sight of his friend--he had expected to see or hear from the +captain before the day was over--as at seeing him in that room. He +could not understand what he was doing there. + +Captain Elisha noted his bewildered expression, and chuckled. + +"Come aboard, Jim!" he commanded. "Come in and inspect. I'll see +you later, Mrs. Hepton," he added, "and give you my final word. I +want to hold officer's council with Mr. Pearson here fust." + +The landlady accepted the broad hint and turned to go. + +"Very well," she said, "but I do hope for all our sakes that word +will be YES, Mr. Warren--Excuse me, it is Captain Warren, isn't +it?" + +"It used to be, yes, ma'am. And at home it is yet. 'Round here +I've learned to be like a barroom poll-parrot, ready to answer to +most everything. There!" as the door closed after her; "now we can +be more private. Set down, Jim! How are you, anyway?" + +Pearson sat down mechanically. "I'm well enough--everything +considered," he replied, slowly. "But what--what are you in here +for? I don't understand." + +"You will in a minute. What do you think of this--er--saloon +cabin?" with a comprehensive sweep of his arm. + +The room was of fair size, furnished in a nondescript, boarding- +house fashion, and with two windows overlooking the little back +yard of the house and those of the other adjoining it. Each yard +contained an assortment of ash cans, and there was an astonishing +number of clothes lines, each fluttering a variety of garments +peculiarly personal to their respective owners. + +"Pretty snug, ain't it?" continued the captain. "Not exactly up to +that I've been luxuriatin' in lately, but more fittin' to my build +and class than that was, I shouldn't wonder. No Corot paintin's +nor five thousand dollar tintypes of dory codders; but I can manage +to worry along without them, if I try hard. Neat but not gaudy, I +call it--as the architect feller said about his plans for the +addition to the county jail at Ostable. Hey? Ho! Ho!" + +Pearson began to get a clue to the situation. + +"Captain Warren," he demanded, "have you--Do you mean to say you've +taken this room to LIVE in?" + +"No, I ain't said all that yet. I wanted to talk with you a little +afore I said it. But that was my idea, if you and I agreed on +sartin matters." + +"You've come here to live! You've left your--your niece's house?" + +"Ya-as, I've left. That is, I left the way the Irishman left the +stable where they kept the mule. He said there was all out doors +in front of him and only two feet behind. That's about the way +'twas with me." + +"Have your nephew and niece--" + +"Um-hm. They hinted that my room was better than my company, and, +take it by and large, I guess they was right for the present, +anyhow. I set up till three o'clock thinkin' it over, and then I +decided to get out afore breakfast this mornin'. I didn't wait for +any good-bys. They'd been said, or all I cared to hear--Captain +Elisha's smile disappeared for an instant--"last evenin'. The dose +was sort of bitter, but it had the necessary effect. At any rate, +I didn't hanker for another one. I remembered what your landlady +told me when I was here afore, about this stateroom bein' vacated, +and I come down to look at it. It suits me well enough; seems like +a decent moorin's for an old salt water derelict like me; the price +is reasonable, and I guess likely I'll take it. I GUESS I will." + +"Why do you guess? By George, I hope you will!" + +"Do you? I'm much obliged. I didn't know but after last night, +after the scrape I got you into, you might feel--well, sort of as +if you'd seen enough of me." + +The young man smiled bitterly. "It wasn't your fault," he said. +"It was mine entirely. I'm quite old enough to decide matters for +myself, and I should have decided as my reason, and not my +inclinations, told me. You weren't to blame." + +"Yes, I was. If you're old enough, I'm TOO old, I cal'late. But I +did think--However, there's no use goin' over that. I ask your +pardon, Jim. And you don't hold any grudge?" + +"Indeed I don't. I may be a fool--I guess I am--but not that +kind." + +"Thanks. Well, there's one objection out of the way, then, +only I don't want you to think that I've hove overboard that +'responsibility' I was so easy and fresh about takin' on my +shoulders. It's there yet; and I'll see you squared with Caroline +afore this v'yage is over, if I live." + +His friend frowned. + +"You needn't mind," he said. "I prefer that you drop the whole +miserable business." + +"Well, maybe, but--Jim, you've taken hold of these electric +batteries that doctors have sometimes? It's awful easy to grab the +handles of one of those contraptions, but when you want to drop 'em +you can't. They don't drop easy. I took hold of the handles of +'Bije's affairs, and, though it might be pleasanter to drop 'em, I +can't--or I won't." + +"Then you're leaving your nephew and niece doesn't mean that you've +given up the guardianship?" + +Captain Elisha's jaw set squarely. + +"I don't remember sayin' that it did," he answered, with decision. +Then, his good-nature returning, he added, "And now, Jim, I'd like +your opinion of these new quarters that I may take. What do you +think of 'em? Come to the window and take a look at the scenery." + +Pearson joined him at the window. The captain waved toward the +clothes-lines and grinned. + +"Looks as if there was some kind of jubilee, don't it," he +observed. "Every craft in sight has strung the colors." + +Pearson laughed. Then he said: + +"Captain, I think the room will do. It isn't palatial, but one can +live in worse quarters, as I know from experience." + +"Yup. Well, Jim, there's just one thing more. Have I disgraced +you a good deal, bein' around with you and chummin' in with you the +way I have? That is, do you THINK I've disgraced you? Are you +ashamed of me?" + +"I? Ashamed of YOU? You're joking!" + +"No, I'm serious. Understand now, I'm not apologizin'. My ways +are my ways, and I think they're just as good as the next feller's, +whether he's from South Denboro or--well, Broad Street. I've got a +habit of thinkin' for myself and actin' for myself, and when I take +off my hat it's to a bigger MAN than I am and not to a more stylish +hat. But, since I've lived here in New York, I've learned that, +with a whole lot of folks, hats themselves count more than what's +underneath 'em. I haven't changed mine, and I ain't goin' to. +Now, with that plain and understood, do you want me to live here,in +the same house with you? I ain't fishin' for compliments. I want +an honest answer." + +He got it. Pearson looked him squarely in the eye. + +"I do," he said. "I like you, and I don't care a damn about your +hat. Is that plain?" + +Captain Elisha's reply was delivered over the balusters in the +hall. + +"Hi!" he called. "Hi, Mrs. Hepton." + +The landlady had been anxiously waiting. She ran from the dining +room to the foot of the stairs. + +"Yes?" she cried. "What is it?" + +"It's a bargain," said the captain. "I'm ready to engage passage." + + + +CHAPTER XV + + +Thus Captain Elisha entered another of New York's "circles," that +which centered at Mrs. Hepton's boarding house. Within a week he +was as much a part of it as if he had lived there for years. At +lunch, on the day of his arrival, he made his appearance at the +table in company with Pearson, and when the landlady exultantly +announced that he was to be "one of our little party" thereafter, +he received and replied to the welcoming salutations of his fellow +boarders with unruffled serenity. + +"How could I help it?" he asked. "Human nature's liable to +temptation, they tell us. The flavor of that luncheon we had last +time I was here has been hangin' 'round the edges of my mouth and +tantalizin' my memory ever since." + +"We had a souffle that noon, if I remember correctly, Captain," +observed the flattered Mrs. Hepton. + +"Did you? Well, I declare! I'd have sworn 'twas a biled-dinner +hash. Knew 'twas better than any I ever ate afore, but I'd have +bet 'twas hash, just the same. Tut! tut! tut! Now, honest, Mrs. +Hepton, ain't this--er--whatever-you-call-it a close relation--a +sort of hash with its city clothes on, hey?" + +The landlady admitted that a souffle was something not unlike a +hash. Captain Elisha nodded. + +"I thought so," he declared. "I was sartin sure I couldn't be +mistaken. What is it used to be in the song book? 'You can smash-- +you can--' Well, I don't remember. Somethin' about your bein' +able to smash the vase if you wanted to, but the smell of the +posies was there yet." + +Mr. Ludlow, the bookseller, supplied the quotation. + + + "'You may break, you may shatter + The vase if you will, + But the scent of the roses + Will cling to it still,' + + +he said, smiling. + +"That's it. Much obliged. You can warm up and rechristen the hash +if you will; but the corned beef and cabbage stay right on deck. +Ain't that so, Mr. Dickens?" + +The illustrious "C." bowed. + +"Moore?" he observed, with dignity. + +"Yes. That's what _I_ said--'More!' Said it twice, I believe. +Glad you agree with me. The hymn says that weakness is sin, but +there's no sin in havin' a weakness for corned-beef hash." + +Miss Sherborne and Mrs. Van Winkle Ruggles were at first inclined +to snub the new boarder, considering him a country boor whose +presence in their select society was almost an insult. The captain +did not seem to notice their hints or sneers, although Pearson grew +red and wrathful. + +"Laura, my dear," said Mrs. Ruggles, addressing the teacher of +vocal culture, "don't you feel quite rural today? Almost as if you +were visiting the country?" + +"I do, indeed," replied Miss Sherborne. "Refreshing, isn't it? +Ha! ha!" + +"It is if one cares for such things. I am afraid _I_ don't +appreciate them. They may be well enough in their place, but--" + +She finished with a shrug of her shoulders. Captain Elisha smiled. + +"Yes, ma'am," he said politely, joining in the conversation; +"that's what the boy said about the cooky crumbs in the bed. You +don't care for the country, I take it, ma'am" + +"I do NOT!" + +"So? Well, it's a mercy we don't think alike; even Heaven would be +crowded if we did--hey? You didn't come from the country, either?" +turning to Miss Sherborne. + +The young lady would have liked to answer with an uncompromising +negative. Truth and the fact that some of those present were +acquainted with it compelled her to forego this pleasure. + +"I was born in a--a small town," she answered coldly. "But I came +to the city as soon as I possibly could." + +"Um-hm. Well, I came when I couldn't possibly stay away. We can +agree on one thing--we're all here. Yes, and on another--that that +cake is fust-rate. I'll take a second piece, if you've no +objection, Mrs. Hepton." + +When they were alone once more, in the captain's room, Pearson +vented his indignation. + +"Why didn't you give them as good as they sent?" he demanded. +"Couldn't you see they were doing their best to hurt your feelings?" + +"Ya-as. I could see it. Didn't need any specs to see that." + +"Then why didn't you answer them as they deserved?" + +"Oh, I don't know. What's the use? They've got troubles of their +own. One of 'em's a used-to-be, and the other's a never-was. +Either disease is bad enough without addin' complications." + +Pearson laughed. "I don't get the whole of that, Captain," he +said. "Mrs. Van is the used-to-be, I suppose. But what is it that +Miss Sherborne never was?" + +"Married," was the prompt reply. "Old maiditis is creepin' on her +fast. You want to be careful, Jim; a certain kind of female gets +desperate about her stage." + +Pearson laughed again. + +"Oh, get out!" he exclaimed, turning to go. + +"All right! I will, when you and she are together and you give me +the signal. But I tell you honest, I'd hate to do it. Judgin' by +the way she smiles and looks up under her eye-winkers at you, +you're in danger of kidnappin'. So long. I'll see you again after +I get my dunnage unpacked." + +The snubbing and sneering came to an abrupt end. Pearson, in +conversation with Mrs. Ruggles, casually imparted the information +that Captain Elisha was the brother of A. Rodgers Warren, late +society leader and wealthy broker. Also, that he had entire charge +of the latter's estate. Thereafter Mrs. Ruggles treated the +captain as one whose rank was equal to her own, and, consequently, +higher than anyone's else in the boarding-house. She made it a +point to publicly ask his advice concerning "securities" and +"investments," and favored him with many reminiscences of her +distinguished father, the Senator. Miss Sherborne, as usual, +followed her lead. Captain Elisha, when Pearson joked him on the +altered behavior of the two ladies, merely grinned. + +"You may thank me for that, Captain," said the young man. "When I +told Mrs. Ruggles who and what you were she almost broke down and +sobbed. The fact that she had risked offending one so closely +connected with the real thing on Fifth Avenue and Wall Street was +too dreadful. But she's yours devotedly now. There's an 18-karat +crown on your head." + +"Yup. I suppose so. Well, I ain't so sot up with pride over +wearin' that crown. It used to belong to 'Bije, and I never did +care much for second-hand things. Rather have a new sou'wester of +my own, any day in the week. When I buy a sou'wester I know what +it's made of." + +"Mrs. Ruggles knows what the crown is made of--gold, nicely padded +with bonds and preferred stock." + +"Humph! Sometimes I wonder if the paddin's waterproof. As for the +gold--well, you can make consider'ble shine with brass when you're +dealin' with nigh-sighted folks . . . and children." + +To this indirect reference to Miss Warren and her brother Pearson +made no reply. The pair conversed freely on other subjects, but +each avoided this one. The novel, too, was laid on the shelf for +the present. Its author had not yet mustered sufficient courage to +return to it. Captain Elisha once or twice suggested a session +with "Cap'n Jim," but, finding his suggestions received with more +or less indifference, did not press them. His mind was busy with +other things. A hint dropped by Sylvester, the lawyer, was one of +these. It suggested alarming possibilities, and his skepticism +concerning the intrinsic worth of his inherited "crown" was +increased by it. + +He paid frequent visits to the offices of Sylvester, Kuhn, and +Graves in Pine Street. Upon the senior partner, whom he esteemed +and trusted not only as a business adviser but a friend, he +depended for information concerning happenings at the Warren +apartment. + +Caroline sent him regular statements of her weekly expenditures, +also bills for his approval, but she had written him but once, +and then only a brief note. The note brought by a messenger, +accompanied a package containing the chain which he and Pearson +selected with such deliberation and care at the Fifth Avenue +jeweler's. Under the existing circumstances, the girl wrote, she +felt that she did not wish to accept presents from him and +therefore returned this one. He was alone when the note and +package came and sat by the window of his room, looking out at the +dismal prospect of back yards and clothes-lines, turning the +leather case over and over in his hands. Perhaps this was the most +miserable afternoon he had spent since his arrival in the city. He +tried to comfort himself by the exercise of his usual philosophy, +but it was cold comfort. He had no right to expect gratitude, so +he told himself, and the girl undoubtedly felt that she was justified +in her treatment of him; but it is hard to be misunderstood and +misjudged, even by one whose youth is, perhaps, an excuse. He +forgave Caroline, but he could not forgive those who were +responsible for her action. + +After Pearson had departed, on the morning when the conversation +dealing with Mrs. Van Winkle Ruggles and her change of attitude +took place, Captain Elisha put on his hat and coat and started for +his lawyer's office. Sylvester was glad to see him and invited him +to lunch. + +"No, thank you," replied the captain. "I just run down to ask if +there was anything new in the offin'. Last time I see you, you +hinted you and your mates had sighted somethin' or other through +the fog, and it might turn out to be a rock or a lighthouse, you +couldn't tell which. Made up your mind yet?" + +Sylvester shook his head. "No," he said, slowly; "it is still +foggy. We're busy investigating, but we're not ready to report." + +"Humph! Well, what's the thing look like? You must be a little +nigher to it by now." + +The lawyer tapped his desk with a pencil. "I don't know what it +looks like," he answered. "That is to say, I don't--I can't +believe it is what it appears, at this distance, to be. If it is, +it is the most--" + +He paused. Captain Elisha waited for him to go on and, when he did +not do so, asked another question. + +"The most what?" he demanded. "Is it likely to be very bad?" + +"Why--why--well, I can't say even that yet. But there! as I told +you, I'm not going to permit it to worry me. And you mustn't +worry, either. That's why I don't give you any further particulars. +There may be nothing in it, after all." + +His visitor smiled. "Say, Mr. Sylvester," he said, "you're like +the young-ones used to be when I was a boy. There'd be a gang of +'em waitin' by the schoolhouse steps and when the particular victim +hove in sight they'd hail him with, 'Ah, ha! YOU'RE goin' to get +it!' 'Wait till teacher sees you!' and so on. Course the victim +would want to know what it meant. All the satisfaction he got from +them was, 'That's all right! You'll find out! You just wait!' +And the poor feller put in the time afore the bell rung goin' over +all the things he shouldn't have done and had, and wonderin' which +it was this time. You hinted to me a week ago that there was a +surprisin' possibility loomin' up in 'Bije's financial affairs. +And ever since then I've been puzzlin' my brains tryin' to guess +what could happen. Ain't discovered any more of those Cut Short +bonds, have you?" + +The bonds to which he referred were those of a defunct Short Line +railroad. A large number of these bonds had been discovered among +A. Rodgers Warren's effects; part of his "tangled assets," the +captain had termed them, differentiating from the "tangible" +variety. + +"Abbie, my housekeeper, has been writin' me," he went on, "about +havin' the sewin' room papered. She wants my advice concernin' the +style of paper; says it ought to be pretty and out of the common, +but not too expensive. I judge what she wants is somethin' that +looks like money but ain't really wuth more than ten cents a mile. +I've been thinkin' I'd send her a bale or so of those bonds; they'd +fill the bill in those respects, wouldn't they?" + +Sylvester laughed. "They certainly would, Captain," he replied. +"No, we haven't unearthed any more of that sort. And, as for this +mystery of ours, I'll give you the answer--if it's worth giving at +all, in a very short time. Meanwhile, you go home and forget it." + +"Well, I'll try. But I guess it sticks out on my face, like a four +days' toothache. But I WON'T worry about that. You know best +whether to tell me now or not, and--well, I'm carryin' about all +the worry my tonnage'll stand, as 'tis." + +He drew a long breath. Sylvester regarded him sympathetically. + +"You mustn't take your nephew's and niece's treatment too much to +heart," he said. + +"Oh, I don't. That is, I pretend I don't. And I do try not to. +But I keep thinkin', thinkin', and wonderin' if 'twould have been +better if I hadn't gone there to live at all. Hi hum! a man of my +age hadn't ought to mind what a twenty-year-old girl says, or does; +'specially when her kind, advisin' friends have shown her how she's +been deceived and hypocrit-ted. By the way, speakin' of hypocrites, +I suppose there's just as much 'Dunnin'' as ever goin' on up there?" + +"Yes. A little more, if anything, I'm afraid. Your niece and Mrs. +Dunn and her precious son are together now so constantly that +people are expecting--well, you know what they expect." + +"I can guess. I hope they'll be disapp'inted." + +"So do I, but I must confess I'm fearful. Malcolm himself isn't so +wise, but his mother is--" + +"A whole Book of Proverbs, hey? I know. She's an able old frigate. +I did think I had her guns spiked, but she turned 'em on me +unexpected. I thought I had her and her boy in a clove hitch. I +knew somethin' that I was sartin sure they wouldn't want Caroline to +know, and she and Malcolm knew I knew it. Her tellin' Caroline of +it, HER story of it, when I wasn't there to contradict, was as smart +a piece of maneuverin' as ever was. It took the wind out of my +sails, because, though I'm just as right as I ever was, Caroline +wouldn't listen to me, nor believe me, now." + +"She'll learn by experience." + +"Yup. But learnin' by experience is a good deal like shippin' +green afore the mast; it'll make an able seaman of you, if it don't +kill you fust. When I was a boy there was a man in our town name +of Nickerson Cummin's. He was mate of a ship and smart as a red +pepper poultice on a skinned heel. He was a great churchgoer when +he was ashore and always preachin' brotherly love and kindness and +pattin' us little shavers on the head, and so on. Most of the +grown folks thought he was a sort of saint, and I thought he was +more than that. I'd have worshiped him, I cal'late, if my +Methodist trainin' would have allowed me to worship anybody who +wa'n't named in Scriptur'. If there'd been an apostle or a prophet +christened Nickerson I'd have fell on my knees to this Cummin's +man, sure. So, when I went to sea as a cabin boy, a tow-headed +snub-nosed little chap of fourteen, I was as happy as a clam at +highwater 'cause I was goin' in the ship he was mate of." + +He paused. There was a frown on his face, and his lower jaw was +thrust forward grimly. + +"Well?" inquired Sylvester. "What happened?" + +"Hey? Oh, excuse me. When I get to thinkin' of that v'yage I +simmer inside, like a teakettle on a hot stove. The second day +out--seasick and homesick and so miserable I wished I could die all +at once instead of by lingerin' spasms--I dropped a dish on the +cabin floor and broke it. Cummin's was alone with me, eatin' his +dinner; and he jumped out of his chair when I stooped to pick up +the pieces and kicked me under the table. When I crawled out, he +kicked me again and kept it up. When his foot got tired he used +his fist. 'There!' says he between his teeth, 'I cal'late that'll +learn you that crockery costs money.' + +"It did. I never broke anything else aboard that ship. Cummin's +was a bully and a sneak to everybody but the old man, and a toady +to him. He never struck me or anybody else when the skipper was +around, but there was nothin' too mean for him to do when he +thought he had a safe chance. And he took pains to let me know +that if I ever told a soul at home he'd kill me. I'd learned by +experience, not only about the price of crockery, but other things, +things that a youngster ought not to learn--how to hate a man so +that you can wait years to get even with him, for one. I'm sorry I +learned that, and," dryly, "so was Cummin's, later. But I did +learn, once and for all, not to take folks on trust, nor to size +'em up by their outside, or the noise they make in prayer-meetin', +nor the way they can spread soft soap when they think it's +necessary. I'd learned that, and I'd learned it early enough to be +of use to me, which was a mercy. + +"It was a hard lesson for me," he added, reflectively; "but I +managed to come out of it without lettin' it bitter my whole life. +I don't mind so much Caroline's bein' down on me. She'll know +better some day, I hope; and if she don't--well, I'm only a side- +issue in her life, anyhow, hove in by accident, like the section of +dog collar in the sassage. But I do hope her learnin' by +experience won't come too late to save her from . . . what she'll +be awful sorry for by and by." + +"It must," declared the lawyer, with decision. "You must see to +it, Captain Warren. You are her guardian. She is absolutely under +your charge. She can do nothing of importance unless you consent." + +"Yup. That's so--for one more year; just one, remember! Then +she'll be of age, and I can't say 'Boo!' And her share of 'Bije's +money'll be hers, too. And don't you believe that that fact has +slipped Sister Dunn's memory. I ain't on deck to head her off now; +if she puts Malcolm up to gettin' Caroline to give her word, and +Caroline gives it--well, I know my niece. She's honorable, and +she'll stick to her promise if it runs her on the rocks. And Her +Majesty Dunn knows that, too. Therefore, the cat bein' away, she +cal'lates now's the time to make sure of the cheese." + +"But the cat can come back. The song says it did, you know." + +"Um-hm. And got another kick, I shouldn't wonder. However, my +claws'll stay sharp for a year or thereabouts, and, if it comes to +a shindy, there'll be some tall scratchin' afore I climb a tree. +Keep a weather eye on what goes on, won't you?" + +"I will. You can depend on me." + +"I do. And say! for goodness' sakes put me out of my misery +regardin' that rock or lighthouse on 'Bije's chart, soon's ever you +settle which it is." + +"Certainly! And, remember, don't worry. It may be a lighthouse, +or nothing at all. At all events, I'll report very soon." + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + +But, in spite of his promise, Sylvester did not report during the +following week or the next. Meanwhile, his client tried his best +to keep the new mystery from troubling his thoughts, and succeeded +only partially. The captain's days and evenings were quiet and +monotonous. He borrowed a book or two from Mrs. Hepton's meager +library, read, walked a good deal, generally along the water front, +and wrote daily letters to Miss Baker. He and Pearson were +together for at least a portion of each day. The author, fighting +down his dejection and discouragement, set himself resolutely to +work once more on the novel, and his nautical adviser was called +in for frequent consultation. The story, however, progressed but +slowly. There was something lacking. Each knew what that +something was, but neither named it. + +One evening Pearson entered the room tenanted by his friend to find +the latter seated beside the table, his shoes partially unlaced, +and a pair of big slippers ready for putting on. + +"Captain," said the visitor, "you look so comfortable I hate to +disturb you." + +Captain Elisha, red-faced and panting, desisted from the unlacing +and straightened in his chair. + +"Whew!" he puffed. "Jim, your remarks prove that your experience +of the world ain't as big as it ought to be. When you get to my +age and waist measure you'll realize that stoopin' over and comfort +don't go together. I hope to be comfortable pretty soon; but I +sha'n't be till them boots are off. Set down. The agony'll be +over in a minute." + +Pearson declined to sit. "Not yet," he said. "And you let those +shoes alone, until you hear what I've got to say. A newspaper +friend of mine has sent me two tickets for the opera to-night. I +want you to go with me." + +Captain Elisha was surprised. + +"To the opera?" he repeated. "Why, that's a--a sort of singin' +theater ain't it?" + +"Yes, you're fond of music; you told me so. And Aida is beautiful. +Come on! it will do us both good." + +"Hum! Well, I don't know." + +"I do. Get ready." + +The captain looked at his caller's evening clothes. + +"What do you mean by gettin' ready?" he asked. "You've got on your +regimentals, open front and all. My uniform is the huntin' case +kind; fits in better with church sociables and South Denboro +no'theasters. If I wore one of those vests like yours Abbie'd make +me put on a red flannel lung-protector to keep from catchin' +pneumonia. And she'd think 'twas sinful waste besides, runnin' the +risk of sp'ilin' a clean biled shirt so quick. Won't I look like +an undertaker, sittin' alongside of you?" + +"Not a bit. If it will ease your mind I'll change to a business +suit." + +"I don't care. You know how I feel; we had a little talk about +hats a spell ago, you remember. If you're willin' to take me 'just +as I am, without a plea,' as the hymn-tune says, why, I cal'late +I'll say yes and go. Set down and wait while I get on my +ceremonials." + +He retired to the curtain alcove, and Pearson heard him rustling +about, evidently making a hurried change of raiment. During this +process he talked continuously. + +"Jim," he said, "I ain't been to the theater but once since I +landed in New York. Then I went to see a play named 'The Heart of +a Sailor.' Ha! ha! that was a great show! Ever take it in, did +you?" + +"No. I never did." + +"Well, you'd ought to. It's a wonder of it's kind. I learned more +things about life-savin' and 'longshore life from that drayma than +you'd believe was possible. You'd have got some p'ints for your +Cap'n Jim yarn from that play; you sartin would! Yes, indeed! Way +I happened to go to it was on account of seein' a poster on a fence +over nigh where that Moriarty tribe lived. The poster pictured a +bark ashore, on her beam ends, in a sea like those off the Horn. +On the beach was a whole parcel of life-savers firin' off rockets +and blue lights. Keepin' the Fourth of July, I judged they was, +for I couldn't see any other reason. The bark wa'n't more'n a +hundred foot from 'em, and if all hands on board didn't know they +was in trouble by that time, then they deserved to drown. Anyhow, +they wa'n't likely to appreciate the celebration. Ho! ho! Well, +when I run afoul of that poster I felt I hadn't ought to let +anything like that get away; so I hunted up the theater--it wa'n't +but a little ways off--and got a front seat for that very afternoon." + +"Was it up to the advertising?" asked Pearson. + +"WAS it? Hi hum! I wish you'd been there. More 'special I wished +some of the folks from home had been there, for the whole business +was supposed to happen on the Cape, and they'd have realized how +ignorant we are about the place we live in. The hero was a +strappin' six-footer, sort of a combination fisherman and parson, +seemed so. He wore ileskins in fair weather and went around +preachin' or defyin' folks that provoked him and makin' love to +the daughter of a long-haired old relic that called himself an +inventor. . . . Oh, consarn it!" + +"What's the matter?" + +"Dropped my collar button, as usual. Collar buttons are one of the +Old Harry's pet traps. I'll bet their responsible for 'most as +many lapses from grace as tangled fishlines. Where . . . Ow! . . . +All right; I found it with my bare foot, and edge up, of course." + +A series of grunts and short-breathed exclamations followed, +indicating that the sufferer was struggling with a tight collar. + +"Go on," commanded Pearson. "Tell me some more about the play." + +"Hey? Oh, the play. Where was I?" + +"You were saying that the heroine's father was an inventor." + +"That's what HE said he was, though he never furnished any proof. +His daughter helped him with his inventions, but if she'd cut his +hair once in a while 'twould have been a better way of puttin' in +the time, 'cordin' to my notion. And there was a rich squire, who +made his money by speculatin' in wickedness, and a mortgage, and--I +don't know what all. And those Cape Cod folks! and the houses they +lived in! and the way they talked! Oh, dear! oh, dear! I got my +money's wuth that afternoon." + +"What about the wreck? How did that happen?" + +"Don't know. It happened 'cause it had to be in the play, I +cal'late. The mortgage, or an 'invention' or somethin', was on +board the bark and just naturally took a short cut for home, way I +figgered it out. But, Jim, you ought to have seen that hero! He +peeled off his ileskin-slicker--he'd kept it on all through the +sunshine, but now, when 'twas rainin' and rainin' and wreckin' and +thunderin', he shed it--and jumped in and saved all hands and the +ship's cat. 'Twas great business! No wonder the life-savers set +off fireworks! And thunder! Why, say, it never stopped thunderin' +in that storm except when somebody had to make a heroic speech; +then it let up and give 'em a chance. Most considerate thunder +ever I heard. And the lightnin'! and the way the dust flew from +the breakers! I was glad I went. . . . There!" appearing fully +dressed from behind the curtains. "I'm ready if you are. Did I +talk your head off? I ask your pardon; but that 'Heart of a +Sailor' touched mine, I guess. I know I was afraid I'd laugh until +it stopped beatin'. And all around the people were cryin'. It was +enough sight damper amongst the seats than in those cloth waves." + +The pair walked over to Broadway, boarded a street car, and +alighted before the Metropolitan Opera House. Pearson's seats were +good ones, well down in the orchestra. Captain Elisha turned and +surveyed the great interior and the brilliantly garbed audience. + +"Whew!" he muttered. "This is considerable of a show in itself, +Jim. They could put our town hall inside here and the folks on the +roof wouldn't be so high as those in that main skys'l gallery up +aloft there. Can they see or hear, do you think?" + +"Oh, yes. The accepted idea is that they are the real music +lovers. THEY come for the opera itself. Some of the others come +because--well, because it is the proper thing." + +"Yes, yes; I see. That's the real article right over our heads, I +suppose." + +"Yes. That's the 'Diamond Horseshoe.'" + +"All proper things there, hey?" + +"Why--er--yes, I suppose so. What makes you ask?" + +"Nothing much. I was thinking 'twas better Abbie wa'n't along on +this cruise. She'd probably want to put an 'im' in front of that +'proper.' I envy those women, Jim; THEY didn't have to stop to +hunt up collar buttons, did they." + +He was silent during the first act of the opera. When the curtain +fell his companion asked how he liked it. + +"Good singin'," he replied; "best I ever heard. Do you understand +what they say?" + +"No. But I'm familiar with the story of Aida, of course. It's a +favorite of mine. And the words don't really matter." + +"I suppose not. It's the way they say it. I had an Irishman +workin' round my barn once, and Tim Bailey drove down from Bayport +to see me. I was out and Tim and the Irishman run afoul of each +other. Tim stuttered so that he made a noise when he talked like +one of these gasoline bicycles goin' by. He watched Mike sweepin' +out the horse stall and he says, 'You're a pup--pup . . . I say +you're a pup--.' He didn't get any further 'cause Mike went for +him with the broom. Turned out later that he was tryin' to +compliment that Irishman by sayin' he was a particular sort of +feller. These folks on the stage might be sayin' most anythin', +and I wouldn't know it. But I sha'n't knock 'em down, for I like +the way it's said. When the Almighty give us music he more than +made up for makin' us subject to toothache, didn't he." + +Pearson bought a copy of the libretto, and the captain followed the +performance of the next two acts with interest. + +"Say, Jim," he whispered, with a broad grin, "it's a good thing +this opera idea ain't carried into real life. If you had to sing +every word you said 'twould be sort of distressin', 'specially if +you was in a hurry. A fust-rate solo when you was orderin' the +crew to shorten sail would be a high old brimstone anthem, I'll bet +you. And think of the dinner table at our boardin' house! Mrs. +Van and C. Dickens both goin' at once, and Marm Hepton serenadin' +the waiter girl! Ho! ho! A cat fight wouldn't be a circumstance." + +Between the third and the fourth acts the pair went out into the +foyer, where, ascending to the next floor, they made the round of +the long curve behind the boxes, Pearson pointing out to his friend +the names of the box lessees on the brass plates. + +"There!" he observed, as, the half circle completed, they turned +and strolled back again, "isn't that an imposing list, Captain? +Don't you feel as if you were close to the real thing?" + +"Godfreys mighty!" was the solemn reply; "I was just thinkin' I +felt as if I'd been readin' one of those muck-rakin' yarns in the +magazines!" + +The foyer had its usual animated crowd, and among them Pearson +recognized a critic of his acquaintance. He offered to introduce +the captain, but the latter declined the honor, saying that he +cal'lated he wouldn't shove his bows in this time. "You heave +ahead and see your friend, Jim," he added. "I'll come to anchor by +this pillar and watch the fleet go by. I'll have to write Abbie +about all this; she'll want to know how the female craft was +rigged." + +Left alone, he leaned against the pillar and watched the people +pass and repass just behind him. Two young men paused just behind +him. He could not help overhearing their conversation. + +"I presume you've heard the news?" asked one, casually. + +"Yes," replied the other, "I have. That is, if you mean the news +concerning Mal Dunn. The mater learned it this afternoon and +sprung it at dinner. No one was greatly surprised. Formal +announcement made, and all that sort of thing, I believe. Mal's +to be congratulated." + +"His mother is, you mean. She managed the campaign. The old lady +is some strategist, and I'd back her to win under ordinary +circumstances. But I understand these were not ordinary; wise owl +of a guardian to be circumvented, or something of that sort." + +"From what I hear the Dunns haven't won so much after all. There +was a big shrinkage when papa died, so they say. Instead of three +or four millions it panned out to be a good deal less than one. I +don't know much about it, because our family and theirs have +drifted apart since they moved." + +"Humph! I imagine whatever the pan-out it will be welcome. The +Dunns are dangerously close to the ragged edge; everybody has been +on to that for some time. And it takes a few ducats to keep Mal +going. He's no Uncle Russell when it comes to putting by for the +rainy day." + +"Well, on the whole, I'm rather sorry for--the other party. Mal is +a good enough fellow, and he certainly is a game sport; but--" + +They moved on, and Captain Elisha heard no more. But what he had +heard was quite sufficient. He sat through the remainder of the +opera in silence and answered all his friend's questions and +remarks curtly and absently. + +As they stepped into the trolley Pearson bought an evening paper, +not the Planet, but a dignified sheet which shunned sensationalism +and devoted much space to the doings of the safe, sane, and ultra- +respectable element. Perceiving that his companion, for some +reason, did not care to talk, he read as the car moved downtown. +Suddenly Captain Elisha was awakened from his reverie by hearing +his friend utter an exclamation. Looking up, the captain saw that +he was leaning back in the seat, the paper lying unheeded in his +lap. + +"What's the matter?" asked the older man, anxiously. + +Pearson started, glanced quickly at his friend, hesitated, and +looked down again. + +"Nothing--now," he answered, brusquely. "We get out here. Come." + +He rose, picked up the paper with a hand that shook a little, and +led the way to the door of the car. Captain Elisha followed, and +they strode up the deserted side street. Pearson walked so rapidly +that his companion was hard pushed to keep pace with him. When +they stood together in the dimly lit hall of the boarding house, +the captain spoke again. + +"Well, Jim," he asked in a low tone, "what is it? You may as well +tell me. Maybe I can guess, anyhow." + +The young man reached up and turned the gas full on. In spite of +the cold from which they had just come, his face was white. He +folded the paper in his hand, and with his forefinger pointed to +its uppermost page. + +"There it is," he said. "Read it." + +Captain Elisha took the paper, drew his spectacle case from his +pocket, adjusted his glasses and read. The item was among those +under the head of "Personal and Social." It was what he expected. +"The engagement is to-day announced of Miss Caroline Warren, +daughter of the late A. Rodgers Warren, the well-known broker, to +Mr. Malcolm Corcoran Dunn, of Fifth Avenue. Miss Warren, it will +be remembered, was one of the most charming of our season-before- +last's debutantes and--" etc. + +The captain read the brief item through. + +"Yes," he said, slowly, "I see." + +Pearson looked at him in amazement. + +"You SEE!" he repeated. "You--Why! DID YOU KNOW IT?" + +"I've been afraid of it for some time. To-night, when you left me +alone there in the quarter-deck of that opera house, I happened to +hear two young chaps talkin' about it. So you might say I knew-- +Yes." + +"Good heavens! and you can stand there and--What are you going to +do about it?" + +"I don't know--yet." + +"Are you going to permit her to marry that--THAT fellow?" + +"Well, I ain't sartin that I can stop her." + +"My God, man! Do you realize--and SHE--your niece--why--" + +"There! there! Jim. I realize it all, I cal'late. It's my +business to realize it." + +"And it isn't mine. No, of course it isn't; you're right there." + +He turned and strode toward the foot of the stairs. + +"Hold on!" commanded the captain. "Hold on, Jim! Don't you go off +ha'f cocked. When I said 'twas my business to realize this thing, +I meant just that and nothin' more. I wa'n't hintin', and you +ought to know it. You do know it, don't you?" + +The young man paused. "Yes," he answered, after an instant's +struggle with his feelings; "yes, I do. I beg your pardon, +Captain." + +"All right. And here's somethin' else; I just told you I wasn't +sartin I could stop the marriage. That's the truth. But I don't +recollect sayin' I'd actually hauled down the colors, not yet. +Good night." + +"Good night, Captain. I shouldn't have misunderstood you, of +course. But, as you know, I respected and admired your niece. +And this thing has--has--" + +"Sort of knocked you on your beam ends, I understand. Well, Jim," +with a sigh, "I ain't exactly on an even keel myself." + +They separated, Pearson going to his room. As Captain Elisha was +passing through the hall on the second floor, he heard someone +calling him by name. Turning, he saw his landlady's head, +bristling with curl papers, protruding from behind the door at +the other end of the passage. + +"Captain Warren," she asked, "is that you?" + +"Yes, ma'am," replied the captain, turning back. + +"Well, I've got a message for you. A Mr. Sylvester has 'phoned you +twice this evening. He wishes to see you at his office at the +earliest possible moment. He says it is VERY important." + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + +Nine o'clock is an early hour for a New York lawyer of prominence +to be at his place of business. Yet, when Captain Elisha asked the +office boy of Sylvester, Kuhn and Graves if the senior partner was +in, he received an affirmative answer. + +"Yes, sir," said Tim, respectfully. His manner toward the captain +had changed surprisingly since the latter's first call. "Yes, sir; +Mr. Sylvester's in. He expects you. I'll tell him you're here. +Sit down and wait, please." + +Captain Elisha sat down, but he did not have to wait long. The +boy returned at once and ushered him into the private office. +Sylvester welcomed him gravely. + +"You got my message, then," he said. "I spent hours last evening +chasing you by 'phone. And I was prepared to begin again this +morning." + +"So? That's why you're on deck so early? Didn't sleep here, did +you? Well, I cal'late I know what you want to talk about. You +ain't the only one that reads the newspapers." + +"The newspapers? Great heavens! it isn't in the newspapers, is it? +It can't be!" + +He seemed much perturbed. Captain Elisha looked puzzled. + +"Course it is," he said. "But I heard it afore I saw it. Perhaps +you think I take it pretty easy. Maybe I act as if I did. But you +expected it, and so did I, so we ain't exactly surprised. And," +seriously, "I realize that it's no joke as well as you do. But +we've got a year to fight in, and now we must plan the campaign. +I did cal'late to see Caroline this mornin'. Then, if I heard from +her own lips that 'twas actually so, I didn't know's I wouldn't +drop in and give Sister Corcoran-Queen-Victoria-Dunn a few plain +facts about it not bein' a healthy investment to hurry matters. +You're wantin' to see me headed me off, and I come here instead." + +The lawyer looked at him in astonishment. + +"See here, Captain Warren," he demanded, "what do you imagine I +asked you to come here for?" + +"Why, to talk about that miserable engagement, sartin. Poor girl! +I've been awake ha'f the night thinkin' of the mess she's been led +into. And she believes she's happy, I suppose." + +Sylvester shook his head. "I see," he said, slowly. "You would +think it that, naturally. No, Captain, it isn't the engagement. +It's more serious than that." + +"More serious than--MORE serious! Why, what on earth? Hey? Mr. +Sylvester, has that rock-lighthouse business come to somethin' +after all?" + +The lawyer nodded. "It has," he replied. + +"I want to know! And I'd almost forgot it, not hearin' from you. +It's a rock, too, I judge, by the looks of your face. Humph! . . . +Is it very bad?" + +"I'm afraid so." + +The captain pulled his beard. "Well," he said, wearily, after a +moment, "I guess likely I can bear it. I've had to bear some +things in my time. Anyhow, I'll try. Heave ahead and get it over +with. I'm ready." + +Instead of answering, Sylvester pushed an electric button on his +desk. The office boy answered the ring. + +"Have Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Graves arrived?" asked the lawyer. + +"Yes, sir. Both of them, sir." + +"Tell them Captain Warren is here, and ask them to join us in the +inner room. Remind Mr. Graves to bring the papers. And, Tim, +remember that none of us is to be disturbed. Do you understand?" + +"Yes, sir," said Tim and departed. + +Captain Elisha regarded his friend with some dismay. + +"Say!" he exclaimed, "this MUST be serious, if it takes the skipper +and both mates to handle it." + +Sylvester did not smile. "It is," he answered. "Come." + +He led the way into the room opening from the rear of his own. It +was a large apartment with a long table in the center. Mr. Kuhn, +brisk and business-like, was already there. He shook hands with +his client. As he did so, Graves, dignified and precise as ever, +entered, carrying a small portfolio filled with papers. + +"Mornin', Mr. Graves," said the captain; "glad to see you, even +under such distressin' circumstances, as the undertaker said to the +sick man. Feelin' all right again, I hope. No more colds or +nothin' like that?" + +"No. Thank you. I am quite well, at present." + +"That's hearty. If you and me don't do any more buggy ridin' in +Cape Cod typhoons, we'll last a spell yet, hey? What you got +there, the death warrant?" referring to the portfolio and its +contents. + +Mr. Graves evidently did not consider this flippancy worth a reply, +for he made none. + +"Sit down, gentlemen," said Sylvester. + +The four took chairs at the table. Graves untied and opened the +portfolio. Captain Elisha looked at his solemn companions, and his +lips twitched. + +"You'll excuse me," he observed, "but I feel as if I was goin' to +be tried for piracy on the high seas. Has the court any objection +to tobacco smoke? I'm puttin' the emphasis strong on the 'tobacco,'" +he added, "because this is a cigar you give me yourself, Mr. +Sylvester, last time I was down here." + +"No, indeed," replied the senior partner. "Smoke, if you wish. No +one here has any objection, unless it may be Graves." + +"Oh, Mr. Graves ain't. He and I fired up together that night we +fust met. Hot smoke tasted grateful after all the cold water we'd +had poured onto us in that storm. Graves is all right. He's a +sportin' character, like myself. Maybe he'll jine us. Got another +cigar in my pocket." + +But the invitation was declined. The "sporting character" might +deign to relax amid proper and fitting surroundings, but not in the +sacred precincts of his office. So the captain smoked alone. + +"Well," he observed, after a few preliminary puffs, "go on! Don't +keep me in suspenders, as the feller said. Where did the lightnin' +strike, and what's the damage?" + +Sylvester took a card from his pocket and referred to a penciled +memorandum on its back. + +"Captain Warren," he began, slowly, "as you know, and as directed +by you, my partners here and I have been engaged for months in +carefully going over your brother's effects, estimating values, +tabulating and sorting his various properties and securities, +separating the good from the worthless--and there was, as we saw +at a glance, a surprising amount of the latter--" + +"Um-hm," interrupted the captain, "Cut Short bonds and the like of +that. I know. Excuse me. Go on." + +"Yes. Precisely. And there were many just as valueless. But we +have been gradually getting those out of the way and listing and +appraising the remainder. It was a tangle. Your brother's +business methods, especially of late years, were decidedly +unsystematic and slipshod. It may have been the condition of his +health which prevented his attending to them as he should. Or," he +hesitated slightly, "it may have been that he was secretly in great +trouble and mental distress. At all events, the task has been a +hard one for us. But, largely owing to Graves and his patient +work, our report was practically ready a month ago." + +He paused. Captain Elisha, who had been listening attentively, +nodded. + +"Yes," he said; "you told me 'twas. What does the whole thing tot +up to? What's the final figger, Mr. Graves?" + +The junior partner adjusted his eyeglasses to his thin nose. + +"I have them here," he said. "The list of securities, et cetera, +is rather long, but--" + +"Never mind them now, Graves," interrupted Kuhn. "The amount, +roughly speaking, is close to over our original estimate, half a +million." + +The captain drew a breath of relief. "Well," he exclaimed, "that's +all right then, ain't it? That's no poorhouse pension." + +Sylvester answered. "Yes," he said, "that's all right, as far as +it goes." + +"Humph! Well, I cal'late _I_ could make it go to the end of the +route; and then have enough left for a return ticket. Say!" with +another look at the solemn faces of the three, "what IS the row? +If the estate is wuth ha'f a million, what's the matter with it?" + +"That is what we are here this morning to discuss, Captain. A +month ago, as I said, we considered our report practically ready. +Then we suddenly happened on the trail of something which, upon +investigation, upset all our calculations. If true, it threatened, +not to mention its effect upon the estate, to prove so distressing +and painful to us, Rodgers Warren's friends and legal advisers, +that we decided not to alarm you, his brother, by disclosing our +suspicions until we were sure there was no mistake. I did drop you +a hint, you will remember--" + +"I remember. NOW we're comin' to the rock!" + +"Yes. Captain Warren, I think perhaps I ought to warn you that +what my partners and I are about to say will shock and hurt you. +I, personally, knew your brother well and respected him as an +honorable business man. A lawyer learns not to put too much trust +in human nature, but, I confess, this--this--" + +He was evidently greatly disturbed. Captain Elisha, regarding him +intently, nodded. + +"I judge it's sort of hard for you to go on, Mr. Sylvester," he +said. "I'll help you all I can. You and Mr. Kuhn and Mr. Graves +here have found out somethin' that ain't exactly straight in +'Bije's doin's? Am I right?" + +"Yes, Captain Warren, you are." + +"Somethin' that don't help his character, hey?" + +"Yes." + +"Somethin's he's, done that's--well, to speak plain, that's crooked?" + +"I'm afraid there's no doubt of it." + +"Humph!" The captain frowned. His cigar had gone out, and he idly +twisted the stump between his fingers. "Well," he said, with a +sigh, "our family, gen'rally speakin', has always held its head +pretty high. Dad was poor, but he prided himself on bein' straight +as a plumb line. And, as for mother, she . . . " Then, looking up +quickly, he asked, "Does anybody outside know about this?" + +"No one but ourselves--yet." + +"Yet? Is it goin' to be necessary for anybody else to know it?" + +"We hope not. But there is a possibility." + +"I was thinkin' about the children." + +"Of course. So are we all." + +"Um-hm. Poor Caroline! she put her father on a sort of altar and +bowed down afore him, as you might say. Any sort of disgrace to +his name would about kill her. As for me," with another sigh, "I +ain't so much surprised as you might think. I know that sounds +tough to say about your own brother, but I've been afraid all +along. You see, 'Bije always steered pretty close to the edge of +the channel. He had ideas about honesty and fair dealin' in +business that didn't jibe with mine. We split on just that, as I +told you, Mr. Graves, when you and I fust met. He got some South +Denboro folks to invest money along with him; sort of savin's +account, they figgered it; but I found out he was usin' it to +speculate with. So that's why we had our row. I took pains to see +that the money was paid back, but he and I never spoke afterwards. +Fur as my own money was concerned, I hadn't any kick, but . . . +However, I'm talkin' too much. Go on, Mr. Sylvester, I'm ready to +hear whatever you've got to say." + +"Thank you, Captain. You make it easier for me. It seems that +your brother's first step toward wealth and success was taken about +nineteen years ago. Then, somehow or other, probably through a +combination of luck and shrewdness, he obtained a grant, a +concession from the Brazilian Government, the long term lease of a +good-sized tract of land on the upper Amazon. It was very valuable +because of its rubber trees." + +"Hey?" Captain Elisha leaned forward. "Say that again!" he +commanded sharply. + +Sylvester repeated his statement. "He got the concession by paying +twenty thousand dollars to the government of Brazil," he continued. +"To raise the twenty thousand he formed a stock company of two +hundred and fifty shares at one hundred dollars each. One hundred +of these shares were in his own name. Fifty were in the name of +one 'Thomas A. Craven,' a clerk at that time in his office. Craven +was only a dummy, however. Do you understand what I mean by a +dummy?" + +"I can guess. Sort of a wooden image that moved when 'Bije pulled +the strings. Like one of these straw directors that clutter up the +insurance companies, 'cordin' to the papers. Yes, yes; I understand +well enough. Go ahead! go ahead!" + +"That's it. The fifty shares were in Craven's name, but they were +transferred in blank and in Mr. Warren's safe. Together with his +own hundred, they gave him control and a voting majority. That +much we know by the records." + +"I see. But this rubber con--contraption wa'n't really wuth +anything, was it?" + +"Worth anything! Captain Warren, I give you my word that it was +worth more than all the rest of the investments that your brother +made during his lifetime." + +"NO!" The exclamation was almost a shout. + +"Why, yes, decidedly more. Does that surprise you, Captain?" + +Captain Elisha did not answer. He was regarding the lawyer with a +dazed expression. He breathed heavily. + +"What's the matter?" demanded the watchful Kuhn, his gaze fixed +upon his client's face. "Do you know anything--" + +The captain interrupted him. "Go on!" he commanded. "But tell me +this fust: What was the name of this rubber concern of 'Bije's?" + +"The Akrae Rubber Company." + +"I see. . . . Yes, yes. . . . Akry, hey! . . . Well, what about +it? Tell me the rest." + +"For the first year or two this company did nothing. Then, in +March, of the third year, the property was released by Mr. Warren +to persons in Para, who were to develop and operate. The terms of +his new lease were very advantageous. Royalties were to be paid on +a sliding scale, and, from the very first, they were large. The +Akrae Company paid enormous dividends." + +"Did, hey? I want to know!" + +"Yes. In fact, for twelve years the company's royalties averaged +$50,000 yearly." + +"Whe-e-w!" Captain Elisha whistled. "Fifty thousand a year!" he +repeated slowly. "'Bije! 'Bije!" + +"Yes. And three years ago the Akrae Company sold its lease, sold +out completely to the Para people, for seven hundred and fifty +thousand dollars." + +"Godfreys mighty! Well," after a moment, "that's what I'd call a +middlin' fair profit on a twenty thousand dollar investment--not to +mention the dividends." + +"Captain," Sylvester leaned forward now; "Captain," he repeated, +"it is that sale and the dividends which are troubling us. I told +you that the Akrae Company was organized with two hundred and fifty +shares of stock. Your brother held one hundred in his own name and +fifty transferred to him by his dummy, Craven. What I did not tell +you was that there were another hundred shares, held by someone, +someone who paid ten thousand dollars for them--we know that--and +was, therefore, entitled to two-fifths of every dollar earned by +the company during its existence, and two-fifths of the amount +received for the sale of the lease. So far as we can find out, +this stockholder has never received one cent." + +The effect of this amazing announcement upon the uniniated member +of the council was not as great as the lawyers expected it to be. +"You don't tell me!" was his sole comment. + +Graves broke in impatiently: "I think, Captain Warren," he declared, +"that you probably do not realize what this means. Besides proving +your brother dishonest, it means that this stockholder, whoever +he may have been--" + +"Hey? What's that? Don't you know who he was?" + +"No, we do not. The name upon the stub of the transfer book has +been scratched out." + +Captain Elisha looked the speaker in the face, then slowly turned +his look upon the other two faces. + +"Scratched out?" he repeated. "Who scratched it out?" + +Graves shrugged his shoulders. + +"Yes, yes," said the captain. "You don't know, but we're all +entitled to guess, hey? . . . Humph!" + +"If this person is living," began Sylvester, "it follows that--" + +"Hold on a minute! I don't know much about corporations, of +course--that's more in your line than 'tis in mine--but I want to +ask one question. You say this what-d'ye-call-it--this Akrae +thingamajig--was sold out, hull, canvas and riggin', to a crowd in +Brazil? It's gone out of business then? It's dead?" + +"Yes. But--" + +"Wait! Ain't it customary, when a sale like this is made, to turn +over all the stock, certificates and all? Sometimes you get stock +in the new company in exchange; I know that. But to complete the +trade, wouldn't this extry hundred shares be turned in? Or some +sharp questionin' done if 'twa'n't?" + +He addressed the query to Sylvester. The latter seemed more +troubled than before. + +"That," he said with some hesitation, "is one of the delicate +points in this talk of ours, Captain Warren. A certificate for the +missing hundred shares WAS turned in. It was dated at the time of +the original issue, made out in the name of one Edward Bradley, and +transferred on the back by him to your brother. That is, it was +presumably so transferred." + +"Presumably. Pre-sumably? You mean--?" + +"I mean that this certificate is--well, let us say, rather queer. +To begin with, no one knows who this Bradley is, or was. His name +appears nowhere except on that certificate, unless, of course, it +did appear on the stub where the scratching has been done; we doubt +that, for reasons. Nobody ever heard of the man; and his transfer +to your brother was made, and the certificate signed by him, only +three years ago, when the Akrae Company sold out. It will take too +long to go into details; but thanks to the kindness of the Para +concern, which has offices in this city--we have been able to +examine this Bradley certificate. Experts have examined it, also. +And they tell us--" + +He paused. + +"Well, what do they tell?" demanded the captain. + +"They tell us that--that, in their opinion, the certificate was +never issued at the time when, by this date, it presumes to have +been. It was made out no longer ago than five years, probably +less. The signature of Bradley on the back is--is--well, I hate +to say it, Captain Warren, but the handwriting on that signature +resembles very closely that of your brother." + +Captain Elisha was silent for some moments. The others did not +speak, but waited. Even Graves, between whom and his client there +was little in common, felt the general sympathy. + +At length the captain raised his head. + +"Well," he said slowly, "we ain't children. We might as well call +things by their right names. 'Bije forged that certificate." + +"I'm afraid there is no doubt of it." + +"Dear! dear! dear! Why, they put folks in state's, prison for +that!" + +"Yes. But a dead man is beyond prisons." + +"That's so. Then I don't see--" + +"You will. You don't grasp the full meaning of this affair even +yet. If the Bradley certificate is a forgery, a fraud from +beginning to end, then the presumption is that there was never any +such person as Bradley. But SOMEONE paid ten thousand dollars for +one hundred Akrae shares when the company was formed. THAT +certificate has never been turned in. Some person or persons, +somewhere, hold one hundred shares of Akrae Rubber Company stock. +Think, now! Suppose that someone turns up and demands all that he +has been cheated out of for the past seventeen years! Think of +that!" + +"Well . . . I am thinkin' of it. I got the scent of what you was +drivin' at five minutes ago. And I don't see that we need to be +afraid. He could have put 'Bije in jail; but 'Bije is already +servin' a longer sentence than he could give him. So that disgrace +ain't bearin' down on us. And, if I understand about such things, +his claim is against the Akrae Company, and that's dead--dead as +the man that started it. Maybe he could put in a keeper, or a +receiver, or some such critter, but there's nothin' left to keep or +receive. Ain't I right?" + +"You are. Or you would be, but for one thing, the really +inexplicable thing in this whole miserable affair. Your brother, +Captain Warren, was dishonest. He took money that didn't belong to +him, and he forged that certificate. But he must have intended to +make restitution. He must have been conscience-stricken and more +to be pitied, perhaps, than condemned. No doubt, when he first +began to withhold the dividends and use the money which was not +his, he intended merely to borrow. He was always optimistic and +always plunging in desperate and sometimes rather shady speculations +which, he was sure, would turn out favorably. If they had--if, for +instance, the South Shore Trolley Combine had been put through--You +knew of that, did you?" + +"I've been told somethin' about it. Go on!" + +"Well, it was not put through, so his hopes there were frustrated. +And that was but one of his schemes. However, when the sale of the +Company was consummated, he did an extraordinary thing. He made +out and signed his personal note, payable to the Akrae Company, for +every cent he had misappropriated. And we found that note in his +safe after his death. That was what first aroused our suspicions. +NOW, Captain Warren, do you understand?" + +Captain Elisha did not understand, that was evident. His look of +wondering amazement traveled from one face to the others about the +table. + +"A NOTE!" he repeated. "'Bije put his NOTE in the safe? A note +promisin' to pay all he'd stole! And left it there where it could +be found? Why, that's pretty nigh unbelievable, Mr. Sylvester! He +might just as well have confessed his crookedness and be done with +it." + +"Yes. It is unbelievable, but it is true. Graves can show you the +note." + +The junior partner produced a slip of paper from the portfolio and +regarded it frowningly. + +"Of all the pieces of sheer lunacy," he observed, "that ever came +under my observation, this is the worst. Here it is, Captain +Warren." + +He extended the paper. Captain Elisha waved it aside. + +"I don't want to see it--not yet," he protested. "I want to think. +I want to get at the reason if I can. Why did he do it?" + +"That is what we've been tryin' to find--the reason, remarked Kuhn, +"and we can only guess. Sylvester has told you the guess. Rodgers +Warren intended, or hoped, to make restitution before he died." + +"Yes. Knowin' 'Bije, I can see that. He was weak, that was his +main trouble. He didn't mean to be crooked, but his knees wa'n't +strong enough to keep him straight when it come to a hard push. +But he made his note payable to a Company that was already sold +out, so it ain't good for nothin'. Now, why--" + +Graves struck the table with his open hand. + +"He doesn't understand at all," he exclaimed, impatiently. +"Captain Warren, listen! That note is made payable to the Akrae +Company. Against that company some unknown stockholder has an +apparent claim for two-fifths of all dividends ever paid and two- +fifths of the seven hundred and fifty thousand received for the +sale. With accrued interest, that claim amounts to over five +hundred thousand dollars." + +"Yes, but--" + +"That note binds Rodgers Warren's estate to pay that claim. His +own personal estate! And that estate is not worth over four +hundred and sixty thousand dollars! If this stockholder should +appear and press his claim, your brother's children would be, not +only penniless, but thirty thousand dollars in debt! There! I +think that is plain enough!" + +He leaned back, grimly satisfied with the effect of his statement. +Captain Elisha stared straight before him, unseeingly, the color +fading from his cheeks. Then he put both elbows on the table and +covered his face with his hands. + +"You see, Captain," said Sylvester, gently, "how very serious the +situation is. Graves has put it bluntly, but what he says is +literally true. If your brother had deliberately planned to hand +his children over to the mercy of that missing stockholder, he +couldn't have done it more completely." + +Slowly the captain raised his head. His expression was a strange +one; agitated and shocked, but with a curious look of relief, +almost of triumph. + +"At last!" he said, solemnly. "At last! Now it's ALL plain!" + +"All?" repeated Sylvester. "You mean--?" + +"I mean everything, all that's been puzzlin' me and troublin' my +head since the very beginnin'. All of it! NOW I know why! Oh, +'Bije! 'Bije! 'Bije!" + +Kuhn spoke quickly. + +"Captain," he said, "I believe you know who the owner of that one +hundred shares is. Do you?" + +Captain Elisha gravely nodded. + +"Yes," he answered. "I know him." + +"What?" + +"You do?" + +"Who is it? + +The questions were blurted out together. The captain looked at the +three excited faces. He hesitated and then, taking the stub of a +pencil from his pocket, drew toward him a memorandum pad lying on +the table and wrote a line upon the uppermost sheet. Tearing off +the page, he tossed it to Sylvester. + +"That's the name," he said. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + +Two more hours passed before the lawyers and their client rose from +their seats about the long table. Even then the consultation was +not at an end. Sylvester and the Captain lunched together at the +Central Club and sat in the smoking room until after four, talking +earnestly. When they parted, the attorney was grave and troubled. + +"All right, Captain Warren," he said; "I'll do it. And you may be +right. I certainly hope you are. But I must confess I don't look +forward to my task with pleasure. I think I've got the roughest +end." + +"It'll be rough, there's no doubt about that. Rough for all hands, +I guess. And I hope you understand, Mr. Sylvester, that there +ain't many men I'd trust to do what I ask you to. I appreciate +your doin' it more'n I can tell you. Be as--as gentle as you can, +won't you?" + +"I will. You can depend upon that." + +"I do. And I sha'n't forget it. Good-by, till the next time." + +They shook hands. Captain Elisha returned to the boarding house, +where he found a letter awaiting him. It was from Caroline, +telling him of her engagement to Malcolm Dunn. She wrote that, +while not recognizing his right to interfere in any way, she felt +that perhaps he should know of her action. He did not go down to +supper, and, when Pearson came to inquire the reason, excused +himself, pleading a late luncheon and no appetite. He guessed he +would turn in early, so he said. It was a poor guess. + +Next morning he went uptown. Edwards, opening the door of the +Warren apartment, was surprised to find who had rung the bell. + +"Mornin', Commodore!" hailed the captain, as casually as if he were +merely returning from a stroll. "Is Miss Caroline aboard ship?" + +"Why--why, I don't know, sir. I'll see." + +"That's all right. She's aboard or you wouldn't have to see. You +and me sailed together quite a spell, so I know your little habits. +I'll wait in the library, Commodore. Tell her there's no +particular hurry." + +His niece was expecting him. She had anticipated his visit and was +prepared for it. From the emotion caused by his departure after +the eventful birthday, she had entirely recovered, or thought she +had. The surprise and shock of his leaving and the consequent +sense of loneliness and responsibility overcame her at the time, +but Stephen's ridicule and Mrs. Corcoran Dunn's congratulations +on riddance from the "encumbrance" shamed her and stilled the +reproaches of her conscience. Mrs. Dunn, as always, played the +diplomat and mingled just the proper quantity of comprehending +sympathy with the congratulations. + +"I understand exactly how you feel, my dear," she said. "You have +a tender heart, and it pains you to hurt anyone's feelings, no +matter how much they deserve to be hurt. Every time I dismiss an +incompetent or dishonest servant I feel that I have done wrong; +sometimes I cry, actually shed tears, you know, and yet my reason +tells me I am right. You feel that you may have been too harsh +with that guardian of yours. You remember what you said to him and +forget how hypocritically he behaved toward you. I can't forgive +him that. I may forget how he misrepresented Malcolm and me to +you--that I may even pardon, in time--but to deceive his own +brother's children and introduce into their society a creature who +had slandered and maligned their father--THAT I never shall forget +or forgive. And--you'll excuse my frankness, dear--you should +never forget or forgive it, either. You have nothing with which to +reproach yourself. You were a brave girl, and if you are not proud +of yourself, _I_ am proud of you." + +So, when her uncle was announced, Caroline was ready. She entered +the library and acknowledged his greeting with a distant bow. He +regarded her kindly, but his manner was grave. + +"Well, Caroline," he began, "I got your letter." + +"Yes, I presumed you did." + +"Um-hm. I got it. It didn't surprise me, what you wrote, because +I'd seen the news in the papers; but I was hopin' you'd tell me +yourself, and I'm real glad you did. I'm much obliged to you." + +She had not expected him to take this tone, and it embarrassed her. + +"I--I gave you my reasons for writing," she said. "Although I do +not consider that I am, in any sense, duty bound to refer matters, +other than financial, to you; and, although my feelings toward you +have not changed--still, you are my guardian, and--and--" + +"I understand. So you're really engaged?" + +"Yes." + +"Engaged to Mr. Dunn?" + +"Yes." + +"And you're cal'latin' to marry him?" + +"One might almost take that for granted," impatiently. + +"Almost--yes. Not always, but generally, I will give in. You're +goin' to marry Malcolm Dunn. Why?" + +"Why?" she repeated the question as if she doubted his sanity. + +"Yes. Be as patient with me as you can, Caroline. I ain't askin' +these things without what seems to me a good reason. Why are you +goin' to marry him?" + +"Why because I choose, I suppose." + +"Um-hm. Are you sure of that?" + +"Am I sure?" indignantly. "What do you mean?" + +"I mean are you sure that it's because you choose, or because HE +does, or maybe, because his mother does?" + +She turned angrily away. "If you came here to insult me--" she +began. He interrupted her. + +"No, no," he protested gently. "Insultin' you is the last thing I +want to do. But, as your father did put you in my charge, I want +you to bear with me while we talk this over together. Remember, +Caroline, I ain't bothered you a great deal lately. I shouldn't +now if I hadn't thought 'twas necessary. So please don't get mad, +but answer me this: Do you care for this man you've promised to +marry?" + +This was a plain question. It should have been answered without +the slightest hesitation. Moreover, the girl had expected him to +ask it. Yet, for a moment, she did hesitate. + +"I mean," continued Captain Elisha, "do you care for him ENOUGH?" +Enough to live with him all your life, and see him every day, and +be to him what a true wife ought to be? See him, not with his +company manners on or in his automobile, but at the breakfast +table, and when he comes home tired and cross, maybe. When you've +got to be forbearin' and forgivin' and--" + +"He is one of my oldest and best friends--" she interrupted. Her +uncle went on without waiting for her to end the sentence. + +"I know," he said. "One of the oldest, that's sure. But +friendship, 'cordin' to my notion, is somethin' so small in +comparison that it hardly counts in the manifest. Married folks +ought to be friends, sartin sure; but they ought to be a whole lot +more'n that. I'm an old bach, you say, and ain't had no experience. +That's true; but I've been young, and there was a time when _I_ made +plans . . . However, she died, and it never come to nothin'. But I +KNOW what it means to be engaged, the right kind of engagement. It +means that you don't count yourself at all, not a bit. You're +ready, each of you, to give up all you've got--your wishes, comfort, +money and what it'll buy, and your life, if it should come to that, +for that other one. Do you care for Malcolm Dunn like that, +Caroline?" + +She answered defiantly. + +"Yes, I do," she said. + +"You do. Well, do you think he feels the same way about you?" + +"Yes," with not quite the same promptness, but still defiantly. + +"You feel sartin of it, do you?" + +She stamped her foot. "Yes! yes! YES!" she cried. "Oh, DO say +what you came to say, and end it!" + +Her uncle rose to his feet. + +"Why, I guess likely I've said it," he observed. "When two people +care for each other like that, they OUGHT to be married, and the +sooner the better. I knew that you'd been lonesome and troubled, +maybe; and some of the friends you used to have had kind of dropped +away--busy with other affairs, which is natural enough--and, you +needin' sympathy and companionship, I was sort of worried for fear +all this had influenced you more'n it ought to, and you'd been led +into sayin' yes without realizin' what it meant. But you tell me +that ain't so; you do realize. So all I can say is that I'm awful +glad for you. God bless you, my dear! I hope you'll be as happy +as the day is long." + +His niece gazed at him, bewildered and incredulous. This she had +NOT expected. + +"Thank you," she stammered. "I did not know--I thought--" + +"Of course you did--of course. Well, then, Caroline, I guess +that's all. I won't trouble you any longer. Good-by." + +He turned toward the door, but stopped, hesitated, and turned back +again. + +"There is just one thing more," he said solemnly. "I don't know's +I ought to speak, but--I want to--and I'm goin' to. And I want you +to believe it! I do want you to!" + +He was so earnest, and the look he gave her was so strange, that +she began to be alarmed. + +"What is it?" she demanded. + +"Why--why, just this, Caroline. This is a tough old world we live +in. Things don't always go on in it as we think they'd ought to. +Trouble comes to everybody, and when it all looks right sometimes +it turns out to be all wrong. If--if there should come a time like +that to you and Steve, I want you to remember that you've got me to +turn to. No matter what you think of me, what folks have made you +think of me, just remember that I'm waitin' and ready to help you +all I can. Any time I'm ready--and glad. Just remember that, +won't you, because . . . Well, there! Good-by, Good-by!" + +He hurried away. She stood gazing after him, astonished, a little +frightened, and not a little disturbed and touched. His emotion +was so evident; his attitude toward her engagement was so different +from that which she had anticipated; and there was something in his +manner which she could not understand. He had acted as if he +pitied her. Why? It could not be because she was to marry Malcolm +Dunn. If it were that, she resented his pity, of course. But it +could not be that, because he had given her his blessing. What was +it? Was there something else; something that she did not know and +he did? Why was he so kind and forbearing and patient? + +All her old doubts and questionings returned. She had resolutely +kept them from her thoughts, but they had been there, in the +background, always. When, after the long siege, she had at last +yielded and said yes to Malcolm, she felt that that question, at +least, was settled. She would marry him. He was one whom she had +known all her life, the son of the dearest friend she had; he and +his mother had been faithful at the time when she needed friends. +As her husband, he would protect her and give her the affection and +companionship she craved. He might appear careless and indifferent +at times, but that was merely his manner. Had not Mrs. Dunn told +her over and over again what a good son he was, and what a kind +heart he had, and how he worshiped her? Oh, she ought to be a very +happy girl! Of course she was happy. But why had her uncle looked +at her as he did? And what did he mean by hinting that when things +looked right they sometimes were all wrong? She wished Malcolm was +with her then; she needed him. + +She heard the clang of the elevator door. Then the bell rang +furiously. She heard Edwards hasten to answer it. Then, to her +amazement, she heard her brother's voice. + +"Caroline!" demanded Stephen. "Caroline! Where are you?" + +He burst into the room, still wearing his coat and hat, and +carrying a traveling bag in his hand. + +"Why, Steve!" she said, going toward him. "Why, Steve! what--" + +He was very much excited. + +"Oh!" he exclaimed, "you're all right then! You are all right, +aren't you? + +"All right? Why shouldn't I be all right? What do you mean? And +why are you here?" + +He returned her look of surprise with one of great astonishment. + +"Why am I here?" he repeated. + +"Yes. Why did you come from New Haven?" + +"Why, because I got the telegram, of course! You expected me to +come, didn't you?" + +"_I_ expected you? Telegram? What telegram?" + +"Why, the--Good Lord, Caro! what are you talking about? Didn't you +know they telegraphed me to come home at once? I've pretty nearly +broke my neck, and the taxicab man's, getting here from the +station. I thought you must be very ill, or something worse." + +"They telegraphed you to come here? Who . . . Edwards, you may +take Mr. Warren's things to his room." + +"But, Sis--" + +"Just a moment, Steve. Give Edwards your coat and hat. Yes, and +your bag. That will be all, Edwards. We sha'n't need you." + +When they were alone, she turned again to her brother. + +"Now, Steve," she said, "sit down and tell me what you mean. Who +telegraphed you?" + +"Why, old Sylvester, father's lawyer. I've got the message here +somewhere. No, never mind! I've lost it, I guess. He wired me +to come home as early as possible this morning. Said it was very +important. And you didn't know anything about it?" + +"No, not a thing. What can it mean?" + +"_I_ don't know! That's the bell, isn't it? Edwards!" + +But the butler was already on his way to the door. A moment later +he returned. + +"Mr. Sylvester," he announced. + + + +Captain Elisha scarcely left his room, except for meals, during +the remainder of that day and for two days thereafter. He was +unusually silent at table and avoided conversation even with +Pearson, who was depressed and gloomy and made no attempt to force +his society upon his friend. Once, passing the door of the +latter's room, he heard the captain pacing back and forth as if he +were walking the quarter-deck of one of his old ships. As Pearson +stood listening the footsteps ceased; silence, then a deep sigh, +and they began again. The young man sighed in sympathy and wearily +climbed to his den. The prospect of chimneys and roofs across the +way was never more desolate or more pregnant with discouragement. + +Several times Captain Elisha descended to the closet where the +telephone was fastened to the wall and held long conversations with +someone. Mrs. Hepton, who knew that her newest boarder was anxious +and disturbed, and was very curious to learn the reason, made it a +point to be busy near that closet while these conversations took +place; but, as the captain was always careful to close the door, +she was disappointed. Once the mysterious Mr. Sylvester called up +and asked for "Captain Warren," and the landlady hastened with the +summons. + +"I hope it's nothing serious," she observed, feelingly. + +"Yes, ma'am," replied the captain, on his way to the stairs. "Much +obliged." + +"It is the same person who was so very anxious to get you the other +night," she continued, making desperate efforts not to be left +behind in the descent. "I declare he quite frightened me! And-- +you'll excuse me, Captain Warren, but I take such a real friendly +interest in my boarders--you have seemed to me rather--rather upset +lately, and I DO hope it isn't bad news." + +"Well, I tell you, ma'am," was the unsatisfactory answer, given +just before the closet door closed; "we'll do the way the poor +relation did when he got word his uncle had willed him one of his +suits of clothes--we'll hope for the best." + +Sylvester had a report to make. + +"The other party has been here," he said. "He has just gone." + +"The other party? Why--you don't mean--HIM?" + +"Yes." + +"Was he alone? Nobody along to look after him?" + +"He was alone, for a wonder. He had heard the news, too. Apparently +had just learned it." + +"He had? I want to know! Who told him?" + +"He didn't say. He was very much agitated. Wouldn't say anything +except to ask if it was true. I think we can guess who told him." + +"Maybe. Well, what did you say?" + +"Nothing of importance. I refused to discuss my clients' affairs." + +"Right you are! How did he take that?" + +"He went up like a sky-rocket. Said he had a right to know, under +the circumstances. I admitted it, but said I could tell him +nothing--yet. He went away frantic, and I called you." + +"Um-hm. Well, Mr. Sylvester, suppose you do see him and his boss. +See 'em and tell 'em some of the truth. Don't tell too much +though; not who was to blame nor how, but just that it looks pretty +bad so fur as the estate's concerned. Then say you want to see 'em +again and will arrange another interview. Don't set any time and +place for that until you hear from me. Understand?" + +"I think so, partially. But--" + +"Until you hear from me--that's the important part. And, if you +can, convenient, I'd have the fust interview right off; this +afternoon, if it's possible." + +"Captain, what have you got up your sleeve? Why don't you come +down here and talk it over?" + +"'Cause I'm stickin' close aboard and waitin' developments. Maybe +there won't be any, but I'm goin' to wait a spell and see. There +ain't much up my sleeve just now but goose-flesh; there's plenty of +that. So long." + +A development came that evening. Mrs. Hepton heralded it. + +"Captain," she said, when he answered her knock, "there's a young +gentleman to see you. I think he must be a relative of yours. His +name is Warren." + +Captain Elisha pulled his beard. "A young GENTLEMAN?" he repeated. + +"Yes. I showed him into the parlor. There will be no one there +but you and he, and I thought it would be more comfortable." + +"Um-hm. I see. Well, I guess you'd better send him up. This is +comfortable enough, and there won't be nobody but him and me here, +either--and I'll be more sartin of it." + +The landlady, who considered herself snubbed, flounced away. +Captain Elisha stepped to the head of the stairs. + +"Come right up, Steve!" he called. + +Stephen came. His uncle ushered him into the room, closed the +door, and turned the key. + +"Stevie," he said, kindly, "I'm glad to see you. Take off your +things and set down." + +The boy accepted the invitation only to the extent of throwing his +hat on the table. He did not sit or remove his overcoat. He was +pale, his eyes were swollen and red, his hair was disarranged, and +in all respects he looked unlike his usual blase and immaculate +self. His forehead was wet, showing that he had hurried on his way +to the boarding house. + +The captain regarded him pityingly. + +"Set down, Stevie," he urged. "You're all het up and worn out." + +His nephew paid no attention. Instead he asked a question. + +"You know about it?" he demanded. + +"Yes, Stevie; I know." + +"You do? I--I mean about the--the Akrae Company and--and all?" + +"Yes. I know all about all of it. Do set down!" + +Stephen struck his closed fist into the palm of his other hand. He +wore one glove. What had become of the other he could not have +told. + +"You do?" he shouted. "You do? By gad! Then do you know what it +means?" + +"Yes, I know that, too. Now, Stevie, be a good boy and set down +and keep cool. Yes, I want you to." + +He put his hands on his nephew's shoulders and forced him into a +chair. + +"Now, just calm yourself," urged the captain. "There ain't a mite +of use workin' yourself up this way. I know the whole business, +and I can't tell you--I can't begin to tell you how sorry I feel +for you. Yet you mustn't give up the ship because--" + +"Mustn't give up!" Stephen was on his feet again. "Why, what are +you talking about? I thought you said you knew! Do you think that +losing every cent you've got in the world is a JOKE? Do you think +that--See here, do you know who this shareholder is; this fellow +who's going to rob us of all we own? Who is he?" + +"Didn't Mr. Sylvester tell you?" + +"He said that there was such a man and that he had the estate +cinched. He told us about that note and all the rest. But he +wouldn't tell the man's name. Said he had been forbidden to +mention it. Do you know him? What sort of fellow is he? Don't +you think he could be reasoned with? Hasn't he got any decency--or +pity--or--" + +He choked, and the tears rushed to his eyes. He wiped them angrily +away with the back of his glove. + +"It's a crime!" he cried. "Can't he be held off somehow? Who IS +he? I want to know his name." + +Captain Elisha sadly shook his head. "I'm afraid he can't, Stevie," +he said. "He's got a legal right to all 'Bije left, and more, too. +It may be he won't be too hard; perhaps he'll . . . but there," +hastily. "I mustn't say that. We've got to face the situation as +'tis. And I can't tell you his name because he don't want it +mentioned unless it's absolutely necessary. And we don't, either. +We don't want--any of us--to have this get into the papers. We +mustn't have any disgrace." + +"Disgrace! Good heavens! Isn't there disgrace enough already? +Isn't it enough to know father was a crook as well as an idiot? +I've always thought he was insane ever since that crazy will of his +came to light; but to steal! and then to leave a paper proving it, +so that we've got to lose everything! His children! It's--" + +"Now hold on, boy! Your dad didn't mean to take what didn't belong +to him--for good, that is; the note proves that. He did do wrong +and used another man's money, but--" + +"Then why didn't he keep it? If you're going to steal, steal like +a man, I say!" + +"Steve, Steve! steady now!" The captain's tone was sterner. +"Don't speak that way. You'll be sorry for it later. I tell you I +don't condemn your father ha'f so much as I pity him." + +"Oh, shut up! You make me sick. You talk just as Caro does. I'll +never forgive him, no matter how much she preaches, and I told her +so. Pity! Pity him! How about pity for ME? I--I--" + +His overwrought nerves gave way, and, throwing himself into the +chair, he broke down completely and, forgetting the manhood of +which he was so fond of boasting, cried like a baby. Captain +Elisha turned away, to hide his own emotion. + +"It's hard," he said slowly. "It's awfully hard for you, my boy. +I hate to see you suffer this way." Then, in a lower tone, he +added doubtfully. "I wonder if--if--I wonder--" + +His nephew heard the word and interrupted. + +"You wonder?" he demanded, hysterically; "you wonder what? What +are you going to do about it? It's up to you, isn't it? You're +our guardian, aren't you?" + +"Yes, Stevie, I'm your guardian." + +"Yes, you are! But no one would guess it. When we didn't want +you, you wouldn't leave us for a minute. Now, when we need you, +when there isn't a soul for us to turn to, you stay away. You +haven't been near us. It's up to you, I say! and what are you +going to do about it? What are you going to DO?" + +His uncle held up his hand. + +"S-shh!" he said. "Don't raise your voice like that, son! I can +hear you without that, and we don't want anybody else to hear. +What am I goin' to do? Stevie, I don't know exactly. I ain't made +up my mind yet." + +"Well, it's time you did!" + +"Yes, I guess likely 'tis. As for my not comin' to see you, you +know the reason for that. I'd have come quick enough, but I wa'n't +sure I'd be welcome. And I told your sister only 'tother day that-- +by the way, Steve, how is she? How is Caroline?" + +"She's a fool!" The boy sprang up again and shook his fist. +"She's the one I've come here to speak about. If we don't stop her +she'll ruin us altogether. She--she's a damned fool, I tell you!" + +"There! there!" the captain's tone was sharp and emphatic. "That's +enough of that," he said. "I don't want to hear you call your +sister names. What do you mean by it?" + +"I mean what I say. She IS a fool. Do you know what she's done? +She's written Mal Dunn all about it! I'd have stopped her, but I +didn't know until it was too late. She's told him the whole +thing." + +"She has? About 'Bije?" + +"Well, perhaps she didn't tell him father was a thief, but she did +tell that the estate was gone--that we were flat broke and worse." + +"Hum!" Captain Elisha seemed more gratified than displeased. +"Hum! . . . Well, I kind of expected she would. Knowin' her, +I kind of expected it." + +"You did?" Stephen glared in wrathful amazement. "You expected +it?" + +"Yes. What of it?" + +"What OF it? Why, everything! Can't you see? Mal's our only +chance. If she marries him she'll be looked out for and so will I. +She needn't have told him until they were married. The wedding +could have been hurried along; the Dunns were crazy to have it as +soon as possible. Now--" + +"Hold on, Steve! Belay! What difference does her tellin' him +make? Maybe she hasn't mentioned it to you, but I had a talk with +your sister the other mornin'. She thinks the world of Malcolm, +and he does of her. She told me so herself. Of COURSE she'd go to +him in her trouble. And he'll be proud--yes, and glad to know that +he can help her. As for the weddin', I don't see that this'll have +any effect except to hurry it up a little more, maybe." + +Steve looked at him suspiciously, but there was no trace of sarcasm +in the captain's face or voice. The boy scowled. + +"Ugh!" he grunted. + +"What's the 'ugh' for? See here, you ain't hintin' that young Dunn +was cal'latin' to marry Caroline just for her money, are you? Of +course you ain't! Why, you and he are the thickest sort of chums. +You wouldn't chum with a feller who would play such a trick as that +on your own sister." + +Stephen's scowl deepened. He thrust his hands into his pocket, and +shifted his feet uneasily. + +"You don't understand," he said. "People don't do things here as +they do where you come from." + +"I understand that, all right," with dry emphasis. "I've been here +long enough to understand that. But maybe I don't understand YOU. +Heave ahead, and make it plain." + +"Well--well, then--I mean this: I don't know that Mal was after +Caro's money, but--but he had a right to expect SOME. If he +didn't, why, then her not telling him until after they were married +wouldn't have made any difference. And--and if her tellin' him +beforehand SHOULD make a difference and he wanted to break the +engagement, she's just romantic fool enough to let him." + +"Well?" + +"WELL? If she doesn't marry him, who's going to take care of her? +What's going to become of ME? We haven't a cent. What kind of a +guardian are you? Do you want us to starve?" + +He was shouting again. The captain was calm. "Oh," he said, "I +guess it won't reach to the starvation point. I'm a pretty tough +old critter, 'cordin' to your estimate, but I shouldn't let my +brother's children starve. If the wust comes to the wust, there's +always a home and plenty to eat for you both at South Denboro." + +This offer did not appear to comfort the young gentleman greatly. +His disgust was evident. + +"South Denhoro!" he repeated, scornfully. "Gad! . . . South +Denboro!" + +"Yup. But we'll let South Denboro alone for now and stick to New +York. What is it you expect me to do? What are you drivin' at?" + +Stephen shook a forefinger in his guardian's face. + +"I expect you to make her stick to her engagement," he cried. "And +make her make him stick. She can, can't she? It's been announced, +hasn't it? Everybody knows of it! She's got the right--the legal +right to hold him, hasn't she?" + +His uncle regarded him with a quizzical smile. "Why, ye-es," he +answered, "I cal'late she has, maybe. Course, there's no danger of +his wantin' to do such a thing, but if he should I presume likely +we could make it uncomfortable for him, anyhow. What are you +hankerin' for, Steve--a breach-of-promise suit? I've always +understood those sort of cases were kind of unpleasant--for +everybody but the newspapers." + +The boy was in deadly earnest. "Pleasant!" he repeated. "Is any +of this business pleasant? You make her act like a sensible girl! +You're her guardian, and you make her! And, after that, if he +tries to hedge, you tell him a few things. You can hold him! Do +it! DO it!" + +Captain Elisha turned on his heel and began pacing up and down the +room. His nephew watched him eagerly. + +"Well," he demanded, after a moment, "what are we going to do? Are +we going to make him make good?" + +The captain paused. "Steve," he answered, deliberately, "I ain't +sure as we are. And, as I've said, if he's got a spark of decency, +it won't be necessary for us to try. If it should be--if it should +be--" + +"Well, IF it should be?" + +"Then we can try, that's all. Maybe you run a course a little +different from me, Stevie; you navigate 'cordin' to your ideas, and +I do by mine. But in some ways we ain't so fur apart. Son," with +a grim nod, "you rest easy on one thing--the Corcoran Dunn fleet is +goin' to show its colors." + + + +CHAPTER XIX + + +Caroline sat by the library window, her chin in her hand, drearily +watching the sleet as it beat against the panes, and the tops of +the Park trees lashing in the wind. Below, in the street, the +trolleys passed in their never-ending procession, the limousines +and cabs whizzed forlornly by, and the few pedestrians pushed +dripping umbrellas against the gale. A wet, depressing afternoon, +as hopeless as her thoughts, and growing darker and more miserable +hourly. + +Stephen, standing by the fire, kicked the logs together and sent a +shower of sparks flying. + +"Oh, say something, Caro, do!" he snapped testily. "Don't sit +there glowering; you give me the horrors." + +She roused from her reverie, turned, and tried to smile. + +"What shall I say?" she asked. + +"I don't know. But say something, for heaven's sake! Talk about +the weather, if you can't think of anything more original." + +"The weather isn't a very bright subject just now." + +"I didn't say it was; but it's a subject. I hope to goodness it +doesn't prevent Sylvester's keeping his appointment. He's late, as +it is." + +"Is he?" wearily. "I hadn't noticed." + +"Of course you hadn't. You don't notice anything. It doesn't help +matters to pull a long face and go moping around wiping your eyes. +You've got to use philosophy in times like this. It's just as hard +for me as it is for you; and I try to make the best of it, don't I?" + +She might have reminded him that his philosophy was a very recent +acquisition. When the news of their poverty first came he was the +one who raved and sobbed and refused to contemplate anything less +direful than slow starvation or quick suicide. She had soothed and +comforted then. Since the previous evening, when he had gone out, +in spite of her protestations, and left her alone, his manner had +changed. He was still nervous and irritable, but no longer +threatened self-destruction, and seemed, for some unexplained +reason, more hopeful and less desperate. Sylvester had 'phoned, +saying that he would call at the apartment at two, and since +Stephen had received the message he had been in a state of +suppressed excitement, scarcely keeping still for five minutes +at a time. + +"It is just as hard for me as it is for you, isn't it?" he repeated. + +"Yes, Steve, I suppose it is." + +"You suppose? Don't you know? Oh, do quit thinking about Mal Dunn +and pay attention to me." + +She did not answer. He regarded her with disgust. + +"You are thinking of Mal, of course," he declared. "What's the +use? You know what _I_ think: you were a fool to write him that +letter." + +"Don't, Steve; please don't." + +"Ugh!" + +"Don't you know he didn't get the letter? I was so nervous and +over-wrought that I misdirected it." + +"Pooh! Has he ever stayed away from you so long before? Or his +precious mother, either? Why doesn't she come to see you? She +scarcely missed a day before this happened. Nonsense! I guess he +got it all right." + +"Steve, stop! stop! Don't dare speak like that. Do you realize +what you are insinuating? You don't believe it! You know you +don't! Shame on you! I'm ashamed of my brother! No! not another +word of that kind, or I shall leave the room." + +She had risen to her feet. He looked at her determined face and +turned away. + +"Oh, well," he muttered, sullenly, "maybe you're right. I don't +say you're not. Perhaps he didn't get the letter. You sent it to +his office, and he may have been called out of town. But his +mother--" + +"Mrs. Dunn was not well when I last saw her. She may be ill." + +"Perhaps. But if you're so sure about them, why not let it go at +that? What's the use of fretting?" + +"I was not thinking of them--then." + +As a matter of fact, she had been thinking of her uncle, Elisha +Warren. As the time dragged by, she thought of him more and more-- +not as the uncouth countryman whose unwelcome presence had been +forced into her life; nor as the hypocrite whose insult to her +father's memory she never could forgive or whose double-dealing had +been, as she thought, revealed; but as the man who, with the choke +in his voice and the tears in his eyes, bade her remember that, +whenever she needed help, he was ready and glad to give it. + +She did not doubt Malcolm's loyalty. Her brother's hints and +insinuations found no echo in her thoughts. In the note which she +had written her fiancee she told of the loss of their fortune, +though not of her father's shame. That she could not tell; nor did +she ask Malcolm to come to her--her pride would not permit that. +She wrote simply of her great trouble and trusted the rest to him. +That he had not come was due--so she kept repeating to herself-- +solely to the fact that he had not received her letter. She knew +that was it--she knew it. And yet--and yet he did not come. + +So, in her loneliness and misery, her guardian's words returned +again and again to her memory: "Sometimes when things look all +right they turn out to be all wrong. If ever there comes a time +like that to you and Steve, remember you've got me to turn to." +The time had come when she must turn to someone. + +She would never go to him; she vowed it. She would not accept his +help if he came to her. But, if he was sincere, if he meant what +he said, why did he not come again to proffer it? Because he was +not sincere, of course. That had been proven long before. She +despised him. But his face, as she last saw it, refused to be +banished from her mind. It looked so strong, and yet gentle and +loving, like the face of a protector, one to be trusted through +good times and bad. Oh, this wicked, wicked world, and the shams +and sorrows in it! "Malcolm, why don't you come to me?" + +Stephen uttered an exclamation. Looking up, she saw him hurrying +toward the hall. + +"Someone's at the door," he explained. "It's Sylvester, of course. +I'll let him in." + +It was not the lawyer but a messenger boy with a note. Stephen +returned to the library with the missive in his hand. + +"He couldn't get here, Caro," he said, excitedly. "Wants us to +come right down to his office. Hurry up! Get your things on. The +cab's waiting. Come! Rush! It may be important." + +The cab, an electric vehicle, made good time, and they soon reached +the Pine Street offices, where they were ushered at once into the +senior partner's presence. + +"Step into the other room," said Mr. Sylvester, "and wait there, +please. I'll join you shortly." + +The room was the large one where the momentous conference between +Captain Elisha and the three lawyers had so recently taken place. +Caroline seated herself in one of the chairs. Stephen walked the +floor. + +"Hope he doesn't keep us waiting long," he fumed. "I thought of +course he was ready or he wouldn't have sent for us." + +"Ready?" his sister looked at him, questioningly. "Ready for +what?" she repeated, with sudden suspicion. "Steve, do you know +what Mr. Sylvester wishes to see us about?" + +Her brother colored and seemed a bit disconcerted. "How should I +know?" he muttered. + +"Is it something new about the estate or that man who owns it? You +do know something! I can see it in your face. What is it?" + +"Nothing. How should I know what it is?" + +"But you do. I believe you do. Look at me! What does Mr. +Sylvester want of us?" + +The boy hesitated; then whirled and faced her. "See here, Caro," +he said, "maybe I do know something--or I can guess. Now, whatever +happens, you've got to be a sensible girl. Certain things have to +be dealt with in a practical way, and we're practical people. +Sentiment--and pride--and all that sort of stuff, are well enough, +but business is business and an engagement is an engagement. Now +it's right up to you and--" + +"Steve, what are you talking about?" + +"That's all right. I know what I'm talking about. Somebody in the +family must use common sense, and when it comes to holding a person +to a promise, then--Confound it, Sis, we can't starve, can we?" + +"What do you mean?" She rose and advanced toward him. "What do +you mean by a promise? What have you been doing?" + +His confusion increased. He avoided her eyes and moved sullenly +toward the other side of the table. + +"I haven't done anything," he grumbled, "that is, I've done what +any reasonable fellow would do. I'm not the only one who +thinks . . . Look here! We've got a guardian, haven't we?" + +"A guardian! a GUARDIAN! Stephen Warren, have you been to him? +Have you--Was THAT where you were last night?" + +"Well, I--" + +"Answer me!" + +"What if I have? Whom else am I to go to? Isn't he--" + +"But why did you go to him? What did you say?" + +"I said--I said--Never mind what I said. He agrees with me, I can +tell you that. You'll thank your stars I did go, before very long. +I . . . S-sh! Here's Sylvester." + +The door of the room opened. The person who entered, however, was +not the lawyer, but the very man of whom they had been speaking, +Captain Elisha himself. He closed the door behind him. + +"Hello, Stevie," he said, with a nod to the boy. Then, turning to +his niece, he stepped forward and held out his hand. "Caroline," +he began, "I don't doubt you're some surprised to see me here; but +I . . . Why, what's the matter?" + +The faces of the pair led him to ask the question. Stephen's was +red and he looked embarrassed and guilty. Caroline's was white, +and she glanced from her brother to her guardian and back again, +with flashing eyes. + +"What's the matter?" repeated the captain. "Steve," sharply, "have +you been making a fool of yourself again? What is it?" + +"Nothing," was the sulky answer; "nothing of consequence. Caro is-- +well, I happened to mention that I called on you last night and-- +and she doesn't seem to like it, that's all. As I told her, +somebody in the family had to use common sense, and you were our +guardian and naturally, under the circumstances . . . Why, I'll +leave it to anyone!" with a burst of righteous indignation. "You +ARE our guardian." + +He proclaimed it as if he expected a denial. Captain Elisha +frowned. "Humph!" he grunted. "That ain't exactly news, is it, +Steve? Seems to me we've taken up that p'int afore; though, as I +remember, you didn't used to be sot on all hands knowin' it," with +dry sarcasm. "I don't need even your common sense to remind me of +it just at this minute. Caroline, your brother did come to see me +last night. I was glad he did." + +She ignored him. "Steve," she demanded, still facing the young +man, "was this, too, a part of your plan? Did you bring me here to +meet--him?" + +"No, I didn't. Sylvester was to come to see us. You know that; he +telephoned. I didn't know--" + +The captain interrupted. "There, there, son!" he exclaimed, "let +me say a word. No, Caroline, Stevie didn't know I was to meet you +here. But I thought it was necessary that I should. Set down, +please. I know you must be worn out, poor girl." + +"I don't wish to sit. I want to know what my brother called to see +you about." + +"Well, there was some matters he wanted to talk over." + +"What were they? Concerning the estate?" + +"Partly that." + +"Partly? What else? Captain Warren, my brother has hinted--he has +said--What does he mean by holding someone to a promise? Answer me +truthfully." + +"I shouldn't answer you any other way, Caroline. Steve seems to be +worried about--now you mustn't mind my speakin' plain, Caroline; +the time's come when I've got to--Steve seems to be worried about +the young man you're engaged to. He seems to cal'late that Mr. +Dunn may want to slip out of that engagement." + +His niece looked at him. Then she turned to her brother. "You +went to HIM and . . . Oh, how COULD you!" + +Stephen would not meet her gaze. "Well," he muttered rebelliously, +"why wouldn't I? You know yourself that Mal hasn't been near you +since it happened. If he wasn't after--if he was straight, he +would have come, wouldn't he? Mind, I don't say he isn't--perhaps +he doesn't know. But, at any rate, something must be done. We had +to face possibilities, and you wouldn't listen to me. I tried--" + +"Stop!" she cut him short, imperiously. "Don't make me hate you. +And you," turning to her uncle, "did YOU listen and believe such +things? Did you encourage him to believe them? Oh, I know what +you think of my friends! I heard it from your own lips. And I +know why you think it. Because they know what you are; because +they exposed you and--" + +"There, there! Caroline, you needn't go on. I've heard your +opinion of my character afore. Never mind me for the minute. And, +if you'll remember, _I_ ain't said that I doubted your young man. +You told me that you thought the world and all of him and that he +did of you. That's enough--or ought to be. But your brother says +you wrote him two days ago and he ain't been near you." + +"I misdirected the letter. He didn't receive it." + +"Um-hm. I see. That would explain." + +"Of course it would. That MUST be the reason." + +"Yes, seem's if it must." + +"It is. What right have you to doubt it? Oh, how can you think +such things? Can you suppose the man I am to marry is so +despicable--so MEAN as to--as to--I'm ashamed to say it. Why do +you presume that money has any part in our engagement? Such +trouble as mine only makes it more binding. Do you suppose if HE +were poor as--as I am, that I would desert HIM? You know I +wouldn't. I should be glad--yes, almost happy, because then I +could show him--could--" + +Her voice failed her. She put her handkerchief to her eyes for an +instant and then snatched it away and faced them, her head erect. +The pride in her face was reflected in Captain Elisha's as he +regarded her. + +"No, no," he said gently, "I never supposed you'd act but in one +way, Caroline. I knew YOU. And, as Steve'll tell you, I said to +him almost the same words you've been sayin'. If Malcolm's what +he'd ought to be, I said, he'll be glad of the chance to prove how +much he cares for your sister. But Steve appeared to have some +misgivin's, and so--" + +He paused, turned toward the door, and seemed to be listening. +Caroline flashed an indignant glance at her brother. + +"And so?" she asked, scornfully. + +"And so," continued the captain, with a slight change in his tone, +"it seemed to me that his doubts ought to be settled. And," +rising, as there came a tap at the door, "I cal'late they're goin' +to be." + +He walked briskly over and opened the door. Sylvester was standing +without. + +"Come, have they?" inquired Captain Elisha. + +"Yes." + +"Fetch 'em right in here. Steve, stand over nigher that corner. +This way, Caroline, if you please." + +He took his niece by the arm and led her to the side of the room +not visible from the doorway. She was too astonished to resist, +but asked an agitated question. + +"What is it?" she cried. "Who is coming? + +"Some friends of yours," was the quiet reply. "Nothin' to be +frightened about. Steve, stay where you are." + +The boy was greatly excited. "Is it they?" he demanded. "Is it? +By gad! Now, Sis, be a sensible girl. If he should try to hedge, +you hold him. Hold him! Understand?" + +"Steve, be quiet," ordered the captain. . . . "Ah, Mrs. Dunn, good +afternoon, ma'am. Mr. Dunn, good afternoon, sir." + +For the pair who, followed by Sylvester, now entered the room were +Mrs. Corcoran Dunn and Malcolm. + +They were past the sill before Captain Elisha's greeting caused +them to turn and see the three already there. Mrs. Dunn, who was +in the lead, stopped short in her majestic though creaking march of +entrance, and her florid face turned a brighter crimson. Her son, +strolling languidly at her heels, started violently and dropped his +hat. The lawyer, bringing up in the rear, closed the door and +remained standing near it. Caroline uttered an exclamation of +surprise. Her brother drew himself haughtily erect. Captain +Elisha remained unperturbed and smiling. + +"Good afternoon, ma'am," he repeated. "It's been some time since +you and I run across each other. I hope you're feelin' pretty +smart." + +Mrs. Dunn had faced some unpleasant situations in her life and had +proved equal to them. Usually, however, she had been prepared +beforehand. For this she had not been prepared--as yet. She had +come to the offices of Sylvester, Kuhn, and Graves, at the senior +partner's request, to be told, as she supposed, the full and final +details of the financial disaster threatening the Warren family. +If those details should prove the disaster as overwhelming as it +appeared, then--well, then, certain disagreeable duties must be +performed. But to meet the girl to whom her son was engaged, and +whom she and he had carefully avoided meeting until the lawyers +should acquaint them with the whole truth--to meet this girl, and +her brother, and her guardian, thus unexpectedly and unprepared, +was enough to shake the composure and nerve of even such a veteran +campaigner as Mrs. M. Corcoran Dunn. + +But of the three to whom the meeting was an absolute surprise,-- +Caroline, Malcolm and herself--she was characteristically the first +to regain outward serenity. For a moment she stood nonplused and +speechless, but only for a moment. Then she hastened, with +outstretched arms, to Caroline and clasped her in affectionate +embrace. + +"My dear child!" she cried; "my dear girl! I'm SO glad to see you! +I've thought of you so much! And I pity you so. Poor Malcolm has-- +Malcolm," sharply, "come here! Don't you see Caroline?" + +Malcolm was groping nervously for his hat. He picked it up and +obeyed his mother's summons, though with no great eagerness. + +"How d'ye do, Caroline," he stammered, confusedly. "I--I--It's a +deuce of a surprise to see you down here. The mater and I didn't +expect--that is, we scarcely hoped to meet anyone but Sylvester. +He sent for us, you know." + +He extended his hand. She did not take it. + +"Did you get my letter?" she asked, quickly. Mrs. Dunn answered +for him. + +"Yes, dear, he got it," she said. "The poor fellow was almost +crazy. I began to fear for his sanity; I did, indeed. I did not +dare trust him out of my sight. Oh, if you could but know how we +feel for you and pity you!" + +Pity was not what Caroline wanted just then. The word jarred upon +her. She avoided the lady's embrace and once more faced the +embarrassed Malcolm. + +"You got my letter?" she cried. "You DID?" + +"Yes--er--yes, I got it, Caroline. I--by Jove, you know--" + +He hesitated, stammered, and looked thoroughly uncomfortable. His +mother regarded him wrathfully. + +"Well," she snapped, "why don't you go on? Caroline, dear, you +really must excuse him. The dear boy is quite overcome." + +Captain Elisha stepped forward. + +"Excuse me for interruptin', ma'am," he said, addressing the +ruffled matron; "but I know you're sort of surprised to see us all +here and maybe I'd better explain. Mr. Sylvester told me you and +your son had an appointment with him for this afternoon. Now there +was something we--or I, anyhow--wanted to talk with you about, so I +thought we might as well make one job of it. Sylvester's a pretty +busy man, and I know he has other things to attend to; so why not +let him go ahead and tell you what you come to hear, and then we +can take up the other part by ourselves. He's told me what you +wanted to see him about, and it's somethin' we're all interested +in, bein' as we're one family--or goin' to be pretty soon. So +suppose he just tells you now. Ain't that a good idea?" + +Mrs. Dunn looked at the speaker, and then at the lawyer, and seemed +to have caught some of her son's embarrassment. + +"I--we did have an appointment with Mr. Sylvester," she admitted, +reluctantly; "but the business was not important. And," haughtily, +"I do not care to discuss it here." + +The captain opened his eyes. "Hey?" he exclaimed. "Not important? +You surprise me, ma'am. I judged 'twas mighty important. 'Twas +about the real size of your father's estate, Caroline," turning to +the girl. "I thought Mrs. Dunn and Mr. Malcolm must think 'twas +important, for I understand they've been telephonin' and askin' for +appointments for the last two days. Why, yes! and they come way +down here in all this storm on purpose to talk it over with him. +Am I wrong? Ain't that so, ma'am?" + +It was so, and Mrs. Dunn could not well deny it. Therefore, she +took refuge in a contemptuous silence. The captain nodded. + +"As to discussin' it here," he went on with bland innocence, "why, +we're all family folks, same as I said, and there ain't any secrets +between us on THAT subject. So suppose we all listen while Mr. +Sylvester tells just what he'd have told you and Mr. Malcolm. It's +pretty hard to hear; but bad news is soon told. Heave ahead, Mr. +Sylvester." + +Mrs. Dunn made one more attempt to avoid the crisis she saw was +approaching. + +"Surely, Caroline," she said testily, "you don't wish your private +affairs treated in this public manner. Come, let us go." + +She laid a hand on the girl's arm. Captain Elisha quietly +interposed. + +"No, no," he said. "We'll all stay here. There's nothin' public +about it." + +Caroline, crimson with mortification, protested indignantly. + +"Mr. Sylvester," she said, "it is not necessary to--" + +"Excuse me;" her uncle's tone was sharper and more stern; "I think +it is. Go on, Sylvester." + +The lawyer looked far from comfortable, but he spoke at once and to +the point. + +"I should have told you and your son just this, Mrs. Dunn," he +said. "I intimated it before, and Miss Warren had already written +you the essential facts. A new and unexpected development, the +nature of which I am not at liberty to disclose now or later, makes +Abijah Warren's estate absolutely bankrupt. Not only that, but +many thousand dollars in debt. His heirs are left penniless. That +is the plain truth, I'm very sorry to say. There is no hope of +anything better. You'll forgive me, Miss Warren, I hope, for +putting it so bluntly; but I thought it best to avoid every +possible misunderstanding." + +It was blunt, beyond doubt. Even Captain Elisha winced at the word +"penniless." Stephen muttered under his breath and turned his +back. Caroline, swaying, put a hand on the table to steady +herself. The Dunns looked at each other. + +"Thank you, Mr. Sylvester," said the captain, quietly. "I'll see +you again in a few moments." + +The lawyer bowed and left the room, evidently glad to escape. +Captain Elisha turned to Mrs. Dunn. + +"And now, ma'am," he observed, "that part of the business is over. +The next part's even more in the family, so I thought we didn't +need legal advice. You see just how matters stand. My niece is a +poor girl. She needs somebody to support her and look out for her. +She's got that somebody, we're all thankful to say. She's engaged +to Mr. Malcolm here. And, as you're his ma, Mrs. Dunn, and I'm +Caroline's guardian, us old folks'll take our affairs in hand; they +needn't listen, if they don't want to. I understand from Steve +that Malcolm's been mighty anxious to have the weddin' day hurried +along. I can't say as I blame him. And _I_ think the sooner +they're married the better. Now, how soon can we make it, Mrs. +Dunn?" + +This unexpected and matter-of-fact query was variously received. +Mrs. Dunn frowned and flushed. Malcolm frowned, also. Steve +nodded emphatic approval. As for Caroline, she gazed at her +guardian in horrified amazement. + +"Why!" she cried. "You--you--What do you mean by such--" + +"Don't be an idiot, Caro!" cut in her brother. "I told you to be +sensible. Captain Warren's dead right." + +"Stevie, you stay out of this." There was no misunderstanding the +captain's tone. "When I want your opinion I'll ask for it. And, +Caroline, I want you to stay out, too. This is my trick at the +wheel. Mrs. Dunn, what d'you say? Never mind the young folks. +You and me know that marriage is business, same as everything else. +How soon can we have the weddin'?" + +Mrs. Dunn had, apparently, nothing to say--to him. She addressed +her next remark to Caroline. + +"My dear," she said, in great agitation, "this is really too +dreadful. This--er--guardian of yours appears to think he is in +some barbarous country--ordering the savages about. Come! Malcolm, +take her away." + +"No," Captain Elisha stepped in front of the door. "She ain't +goin'; and I'd rather you wouldn't go yet. Let's settle this up +now. I ain't askin' anything unreasonable. Caroline's under my +charge, and I've got to plan for her. Your boy's just crazy to +marry her; he's been beggin' for her to name the day. Let's name +it. It needn't be to-morrow. I cal'late you'll want to get out +invitations and such. It needn't be next week. But just say about +when it can be; then I'll know how to plan. That ain't much to +ask, sartin." + +Much or little, neither Mrs. Dunn nor her son appeared ready to +answer. Malcolm fidgeted with his hat and gloves; his mother +fanned herself with her handkerchief. Caroline, frantic with +humiliation and shame, would have protested again, but her +guardian's stern shake of the head silenced her. + +"Well, Mr. Dunn," turning to the groom-to-be; "you're one of the +interested parties--what do you say?" + +Malcolm ground his heel into the rug. "I don't consider it your +business," he declared. "You're butting in where--" + +"No, no, I ain't. It's my business, and business is just WHAT it +is. Your ma knows that. She and I had a real confidential up and +down talk on love and marriage, and she's the one that proved to me +that marryin' in high society, like yours and the kind Caroline's +been circulatin' in, was business and mighty little else. There's +a business contract between you and my niece. We want to know how +soon it can be carried out, that's all." + +The young man looked desperately at the door; but the captain's +broad shoulders blocked the way towards it. He hesitated, scowled, +and then, with a shrug of his shoulders, surrendered. + +"How can I marry?" he demanded sullenly. "Confound it! my salary +isn't large enough to pay my own way, decently." + +"Malcolm!" cried his mother, warningly. + +"Well, Mater, what the devil's the use of all this? You know . . . +By Jove! you OUGHT to!" + +"Hold on, young feller! I don't understand. Your wages ain't +large enough, you say? What do you mean? You was GOIN' to be +married, wasn't you?" + +Mrs. Dunn plunged to the rescue, a forlorn hope, but desperate, and +fighting to the end. + +"An outrage!" she blurted. "Malcolm, I forbid you to continue this +disgusting conversation. Caroline, my poor child, I don't blame +you for this, but I call on you to stop it at once. My dear, I--" + +She advanced toward the girl with outstretched arms. Caroline +recoiled. + +"Don't! don't!" she gasped. Captain Elisha spoke up sharp and +stern. + +"Excuse me, ma'am," he said, "but I'll be obliged if you'll wait a +minute. Caroline, don't you say a word. You say--you--" +addressing Malcolm, "that you can't support a wife on your wages. +You surprise me some, considerin' the swath you've been cuttin' on +'em--but never mind that. Maybe they won't keep automobiles and-- +er--other things I've heard you was interested in, but if you cut +them out and economize a little, same as young married folks I've +known have been glad to do, you could scrape along, couldn't you? +Hey? Couldn't you?" + +Malcolm's answer was another scornful shrug. "You belong on Cape +Cod," he sneered. "Mater, let's get out of this." + +"Wait! Put it plain now. Do I understand that you cal'late to +break the engagement because my niece has lost her money? Is that +it?" + +Mrs. Dunn realized that the inevitable was upon them. After all, +it might as well be faced now as later. + +"This is ridiculous," she proclaimed. "Every sane person knows-- +though BARBARIANS may not--" with a venomous glare at the captain-- +"that, in engagements of the kind in which my son shared, a certain +amount of--er--financial--er--that is, the bride is supposed to +have some money. It is expected. Of course it is! Love in a +cottage is--well--a bit passe. My son and I pity your niece from +the bottom of our hearts, but--there! under the circumstances the +whole affair becomes impossible. Caroline, my dear, I'm dreadfully +sorry, dreadfully! I love you like my own child. And poor Malcolm +will be heartbroken--but--you SEE." + +She extended her hand in a gesture of utter helplessness. Stephen, +who had been fuming and repressing his rage with difficulty during +the scene, leaped forward with brandished fist. + +"By gad!" he shouted. "Mal Dunn, you cad--" + +His uncle pushed him back with a sweep of his arm. + +"Steve," he ordered, "I'm runnin' this ship." He gave a quick +glance at his niece, and then added, speaking rapidly and addressing +the head of the Dunn family, "I see, ma'am. Yes, yes, I see. Well, +you've forgot one thing, I guess. Caroline's lived in high society, +too. And I've been in it a spell, myself. And Steve's a boy, but +he's got a business head. If there's nothin' in marriage but +business, then an engagement is what I just called it, a business +contract, and it can't be broke without the consent of both sides. +You wanted Caroline's money; maybe she wants yours now. If she +does, and there's such a thing as law, why, perhaps she can get it." + +"That's the talk!" cried Stephen exultingly. + +"Yup; perhaps she can. She may be a business woman, too, you know. +If money and style and social position's what counts and she wants +to force you to keep your promise, why, I'm her guardian and she +can count on me to back her up. What do you say, Caroline? I'm at +your service. I--" + +But Caroline interrupted him. + +"Stop!" she cried wildly. "Oh, stop! Do you think--do you suppose +I would marry him now? NOW, after I've seen what he is? Oh," with +a shudder of disgust, "when I think what I might have done, I . . . +Thank God that the money has gone! I'm glad I'm poor! I'm GLAD!" + +"Caro, you fool!" shrieked Stephen. She did not heed him. + +"Let me go!" she cried. "Let me get away from him; from this room! +I never want to see him or think of him again. Please! PLEASE let +me go! Oh, take me home! Captain Warren, PLEASE let me go home!" + +Her uncle was at her side in a moment. "Yes, yes, dearie," he +said, "I'll take you home. Don't give way now! I'll--" + +He would have taken her arm, but she shrank from him. + +"Not you!" she begged. "Steve!" + +The captain's face clouded, but he answered promptly. + +"Of course--Steve," he agreed. "Steve, take your sister home. Mr. +Sylvester's got a carriage waitin', and he'll go with you, I don't +doubt. Do as I tell you, boy--and behave yourself. Don't wait; +go!" + +He held the door open until the hysterical girl and her brother had +departed. Then he turned to the Dunns. + +"Well, ma'am," he said, dryly. "I don't know's there's anything +more to be said. All the questions seem to be settled. Our +acquaintance wa'n't so awful long, but it was interestin'. Knowin' +you has been, as the feller said, a liberal education. Don't let +me keep you any longer. Good afternoon." + +He stepped away from the door. Malcolm and his mother remained +standing, for an instant, where they were when Caroline left. + +The young man looked as if he would enjoy choking someone, the +captain preferably, but said nothing. Then Mrs. Dunn bethought +herself of a way to make their exit less awkward and embarrassing. + +"My heart!" she said, gasping, and with a clutch at her breast. +"My poor heart! I--I fear I'm going to have one of my attacks. +Malcolm, your arm--quick!" + +With an expression of intense but patient suffering, and leaning +heavily upon her son's arm, she moved past Captain Elisha and from +the room. + + + +That evening the captain stood in the lower hall of the apartment +house at Central Park West, undecided what to do next. He wished +more than anything else in the world to go to his niece. He would +have gone to her before--had been dying to go, to soothe, to +comfort, to tell her of his love--but he was afraid. His conscience +troubled him. Perhaps he had been too brutal. Perhaps he shouldn't +have acted as he did. Maybe forcing the Dunn fleet to show its +colors could have been done more diplomatically. He had wanted her +to see those colors for herself, to actually see them. But he might +have overdone it. He remembered how she shrank from him and turned +to her brother. She might hate him more than ever now. If so, then +the whole scheme under which he was working fell to pieces. + +He was worried about Steve, too. That young man would, naturally, +be furious with his sister for what he would consider her romantic +foolishness. He had been warned to behave himself; but would he? +Captain Elisha paced up and down the marble floor before the +elevator cage and wondered whether his visiting the apartment would +be a wise move or a foolish one. + +The elevator descended, the door of the cage opened, and Stephen +himself darted out. His face was red, he was scowling fiercely, +and he strode toward the street without looking in his guardian's +direction. + +The captain caught him as he passed. + +"Here, boy!" he exclaimed; "where's the fire? Where are you +bound?" + +His nephew, brought thus unexpectedly to a halt, stared at him. + +"Oh, it's you!" he exclaimed. "Humph! I'm bound--I don't know +where I'm bound!" + +"You don't, hey? Well, you can cruise a long ways on a v'yage like +that. What do you mean?" + +"Aw, let me alone! I'm going to the club, I guess, or somewhere. +Anyhow, I won't stay with her. I told her so. Silly little idiot! +By gad, she understands what I think of her conduct. I'll never +speak to her again. I told her so. She--" + +"Here! Belay! Stop! Who are you talking about?" + +"Caro, of course. She--" + +"You've run off and left her alone--to-night? Where is she?" + +"Upstairs--and crying, I suppose. She doesn't do anything else. +It's all she's good for. Selfish, romantic--" + +He got no further, for Captain Elisha sent him reeling with a push +and ran to the elevator. + +"Eighth floor," he commanded. + +The door of the apartment was not latched. Stephen, in his rage +and hurry, had neglected such trifles. The captain opened it +quietly and walked in. He entered the library. Caroline was lying +on the couch, her head buried in the pillows. She did not hear him +cross the room. He leaned over and touched her shoulder. She +started, looked, and sat up, gazing at him as though not certain +whether he was a dream or reality. + +And he looked at her, at her pretty face, now so white and +careworn, at her eyes, at the tear-stains on her cheeks, and his +whole heart went out to her. + +"Caroline, dearie," he faltered, "forgive me for comin' here, won't +you? I had to come. I couldn't leave you alone; I couldn't rest, +thinkin' of you alone in your trouble. I know you must feel harder +than ever towards me for this afternoon's doin's, but I meant it +for the best. I HAD to show you--don't you see? Can you forgive +me? Won't you try to forgive the old feller that loves you more'n +all the world? Won't you try?" + +She looked at him, wide-eyed, clasping and unclasping her hands. + +"_I_ forgive YOU?" she repeated, incredulously. + +"Yes. Try to, dearie. Oh, if you would only believe I meant it +for your good, and nothin' else! If you could only just trust me +and come to me and let me help you. I want you, my girl, I want +you!" + +She leaned forward. "Do you really mean it?" she cried. "How can +you? after all I've done? after the way I've treated you? and the +things I've said? You must HATE me! Everyone does. I hate +myself! You can't forgive me! You can't!" + +His answer was to hold out his arms. Another moment and she was in +them, clinging to his wet coat, sobbing, holding him fast, and +begging him not to leave her, to take her away, that she would +work, that she would not be a burden to him--only take her with him +and try to forgive her, for he was real and honest and the only +friend she had. + +And Captain Elisha, soothing her, stroking her hair, and murmuring +words of love and tenderness, realized that his labor and sacrifice +had not been in vain, that here was his recompense; she would never +misunderstand him again; she was his at last. + +And yet, in the midst of his joy, his conscience troubled him more +than ever. + + + +CHAPTER XX + + +It was April; and May was close at hand. The weather was all that +late April weather should be, and so often is not. Trees, bushes, +and vines were in bud; the green of the new grass was showing +everywhere above the dead brown of the old; a pair of bluebirds +were inspecting the hollow of the old apple tree, with an eye +toward spring housekeeping; the sun was warm and bright, and the +water of the Sound sparkled in the distance. Caroline, sitting by +the living-room window, was waiting for her uncle to return from +the city. + +In the kitchen Annie Moriarty was preparing dinner. Annie was now +cook as well as chamber-maid, for, of all the Warren servants, she +was the only one remaining. Edwards, the "Commodore," had been +dismissed, had departed, not without reluctance but philosophically, +to seek other employment. "Yes, miss," observed Edwards, when +notified that his services were no longer required; "I understand. +I've been expecting it. I was in a family before that met with +financial difficulties, and I know the signs. All I can say is that +I hope you and Mr. Stephen will get on all right, miss. If there's +anything I can do to help you, by way of friendship, please let me +know. I'd be glad, for old times' sake. And the cook wanted me to +tell you that, being as she's got another job in sight and was paid +up to date, she wouldn't wait for notice, but was leaving immediate. +She's gone already, miss." + +The second maid went also. But Annie, Irish and grateful, refused +to go. Her mother came to back her in the refusal. + +"Indeed she'll not leave you, Miss Caroline--you nor Captain Warren +neither. Lord love him! Sure, d'ye think we'll ever forget what +you and him done for me and my Pat and the childer? You've got to +have somebody, ain't you? And Annie's cookin' ain't so bad that +it'll kill yez; and I'll learn her more. Never mind what the wages +is, they're big enough. She'll stay! If she didn't, I'd break her +back." + +So, when the apartment was given up, and Captain Elisha and his +wards moved to the little house in Westchester County, Annie came +with them. And her cooking, though not by any means equal to that +at Delmonico's, had not killed them yet. Mrs. Moriarty came once +a week to do the laundry work. Caroline acted as a sort of +inexperienced but willing supervising housekeeper. + +The house itself had been procured through the kind interest of +Sylvester. Keeping the apartment was, under the circumstances, out +of the question, and Caroline hated it and was only too anxious to +give it up. She had no suggestions to make. She would go anywhere, +anywhere that her guardian deemed best; but might they not please go +at once? She expected that he would suggest South Denboro, and she +would have gone there without a complaint. To get away from the +place where she had been so miserable was her sole wish. And +trusting and believing in her uncle as she now did, realizing that +he had been right always and had worked for her interest throughout, +and having been shown the falseness and insincerity of the others +whom she had once trusted implicitly, she clung to him with an +appeal almost piteous. Her pride was, for the time, broken. She +was humble and grateful. She surrendered to him unconditionally, +and hoped only for his forgiveness and love. + +The captain did not suggest South Denboro. He did, however, tell +Sylvester that he believed a little place out of the city would be +the better refuge for the present. + +"Poor Caroline's switched clear around," he said to the lawyer, +"and you can't blame her much. She cal'lates New York's nothin' +but a sham from stern to stern, manned by liars and swindlers and +hypocrites and officered by thieves. 'Tain't no use to tell her +'tain't, though she might pretend to believe it, if _I_ told her, +for just now the poor girl thinks I'm Solomon and Saint Peter +rolled into one. The way she agrees to whatever I say and the way +she looks at me and sort of holds on to me, as if I was her only +anchor in a gale, I declare it makes me feel meaner than poorhouse +tea--and that's made of blackberry leaves steeped in memories of +better things, so I've heard say. AM I a low down scamp, playin' +a dirty mean trick on a couple of orphans? What do you think, +Sylvester?" + +"You know what I think, Captain Warren," replied the lawyer. +"You're handling the whole matter better than any other man could +handle it. No one else would have thought of it, to begin with; +and the results so far prove that you're right." + +"Yup. Maybe. I wish you was around to say that to me when I wake +up nights and get to thinkin'. However, as I said, Caroline +believes New York is like a sailors' dance hall, a place for decent +folks to steer clear of. And when the feller you've been engaged +to is shown up as a sneak and your own dad as a crook--well, you +can't blame a green hand for holdin' prejudice against the town +that raised 'em. She'll get over it; but just now I cal'late some +little flat, or, better still, a little home out where the back +yards ain't made of concrete, would be a first-class port for us +to make for. Don't know of such a place at a reasonable rent, do +you?" + +"I might find one. And you may be right; your niece might like it +better, though it will be somewhat of a change. But how about your +nephew? He has no objection to the metropolis, I should judge. +What will he say?" + +"Nothin', I guess--unless he says it to himself. Steve's goin' +back to New Haven with things on his mind. He and I had a mornin' +service, and I was the parson. He listened, because when you ain't +got a cent except what the society allows you, it ain't good +orthodoxy to dodge the charity sermon. Steve'll behave, and what +he don't like he'll lump. If he starts to open his mouth his +ear'll ache, I cal'late. I talked turkey to that young man. +Ye-es," with a slight smile, "I'm sort of afraid I lost patience +with Stevie." + +When Caroline first saw the little house, with its shingled sides, +the dead vines over the porch, and the dry stalks of last year's +flowers in the yard, her heart sank. With the wind blowing and the +bare branches of the old apple tree scraping the roof and whining +dolefully, it looked bleak and forsaken. It was so different, so +unhomelike, and so, to her eyes, small and poverty-stricken. She +made believe that she liked it, exclaimed over the view--which, on +the particular day, was desolate enough--and declared the Dutch +front door was "old-fashioned and dear." But Captain Elisha, +watching her closely, knew that she was only waiting to be alone to +give way to wretchedness and tears. He understood, had expected +that she would feel thus, but he was disappointed, nevertheless. +However, after the front door was passed and they were inside the +house, Caroline looked about her in delighted amazement. The +living room was small, but bright and warm and cheery. On its +walls, hiding the rather vivid paper, were hung some of the best of +Rodgers Warren's pictures--the Corot, the codfisher, and others. +The furniture and rugs were those which had been in the library of +the apartment, those she had been familiar with all her life. The +books, many of them, were there, also. And the dining room, except +for size, looked like home. So did the bedrooms; and, in the +kitchen, Annie grinned a welcome. + +"But how could you?" asked Caroline. "How could you keep all these +things, Uncle Elisha? I thought, of course, they must all be sold. +I cried when they took them away that day when we were leaving to +go to the hotel. I was sure I should never see them again. And +here they all are! How could you do it?" + +The captain's grin was as wide as Annie's. "Oh," he explained, "I +couldn't let 'em all go. Never intended to. That five thousand +dollar codder up there seemed like own folks, pretty nigh. I'd +have kept HIM, if we had to live in one room and a trunk. And we +ain't got to that--yet. I tell you, dearie, I thought they'd make +you feel more to home. And they do, don't they?" + +The look she gave him was answer sufficient. + +"But the creditors?" she asked. "That man who--they belong to him, +don't they? I supposed of course they must go with the rest." + +Captain Elisha winked. "There's times," he answered, "when I +believe in cheatin' my creditors. This is one of 'em. Never you +mind that feller you mentioned. He's got enough, confound him! He +didn't have the face to ask for any more. Sylvester looked out for +that. Five hundred thousand, droppin' in, as you might say, +unexpected, ought to soften anybody's heart; and I judge even that +feller's got some bowels of mercy." + +He changed the subject hastily, but Caroline asked no more +questions. She never alluded to the lost estate, never expressed +any regrets, nor asked to know who it was that had seized her all. +The captain had expected her to ask, had been ready with the same +answer he had given Stephen, but when he hinted she herself had +forbade his continuing. "Don't tell me about it," she begged. "I +don't want to know any more. Father did wrong, but--but I know he +did not mean to. He was a good, kind father to me, and I loved +him. This man whose money he took had a right to it, and now it is +his. He doesn't wish us to know who he is, so Steve says, and I'm +glad. I don't want to know, because if I did I might hate him. +And," with a shudder, "I am trying so hard not to hate anybody." + +Her make-believe liking for the little home became more and more +real as spring drew near. She began to take an interest in it, in +the flower garden, in the beds beside the porch, where the peonies +and daffodils were beginning to show green heads above the loam, +and in the household affairs. And she had plans of her own, not +connected with these. She broached them to her uncle, and they +surprised and delighted him, although he would not give his consent +to them entirely. + +"You mustn't think," she said, "that, because I have been willing +to live on your money since mine went, that I mean to continue +doing it. I don't. I've been thinking a great deal, and I realize +that I must earn my own way just as soon as I can. I'm not fitted +for anything now; but I can be and I shall. I've thought perhaps I +might learn stenography or--or something like that. Girls do." + +He looked at her serious face and choked back his laugh. + +"Why, yes," he admitted, "they do, that's a fact. About four +hundred thousand of 'em do, and four hundred thousand more try to +and then try to make business men think that they have. I heard +Sylvester sputterin' about a couple in his office t'other day; said +they was no good and not worth the seven dollars a week he paid +'em." + +"Seven dollars a WEEK!" she repeated. + +"Yes. Course some make three times that and more; but they're the +experienced ones, the good ones. And there's heaps that don't. +What makes you so sot on earnin' a livin', Caroline? Ain't you +satisfied with the kind I'm tryin' to give you?" + +She regarded him reproachfully. "Please don't say that," she +protested. "You always treat your kindness as a joke, but to me +it--it--" + +"There! there!" quickly. "Don't let's talk foolish. I see what +you mean, dearie. It ain't the livin' but because I'm givin' it to +you that troubles you. I know. Well, _I_ ain't complainin' but I +understand your feelin's and respect 'em. However, I shouldn't +study type-writin', if I was you. There's too much competition in +it to be comfortable, as the fat man said about runnin' races. +I've got a suggestion, if you want to listen to it." + +"I do, indeed. What is it?" + +"Why, just this. I've been about everythin' aboard ship, but I've +never been a steward. Now I'll say this much for Annie, she tried +hard. She tumbled into general housekeepin' the way Asa Foster +said he fell into the cucumber frame--with a jolt and a jingle; and +she's doin' her best accordin' to her lights. But sometimes her +lights need ile or trimmin' or somethin'. I've had the feelin' +that we need a good housekeeper here. If Annie's intelligence was +as broad and liberal as her shoes, we wouldn't; as 'tis, we do. +I'll hire you, Caroline, for that job, if you say so." + +"I? Uncle Elisha, you're joking!" + +"No, I ain't. Course I realize you ain't had much experience in +runnin' a house, and I hope you understand I don't want to hire you +as a cook. But I've had a scheme in the back of my head for a +fortni't or more. Somethin' Sylvester said about a young lady +cousin of his made me think of it. Seems over here at the female +college--you know where I mean--they're teachin' a new course that +they've christened Domestic Science. Nigh's I can find out it is +about what our great gran'marms larned at home; that, with up-to- +date trimmin's. All about runnin' a house, it is; how to +superintend servants, and what kind of things to have to eat, and +how they ought to be cooked, and takin' care of children--Humph! we +don't need that, do we?--and, well, everything that a home woman, +rich or poor, ought to know. At least, she ought to 'cordin' to my +old-fashioned notions. Sylvester's cousin goes there, and likes +it; and I judge she ain't figgerin' to be anybody's hired help, +either. My idea was about this: If you'd like to take this +course, Caroline, you could do it afternoons. Mornin's and the +days you had off, you could apply your science here at home, on +Annie. Truly it would save me hirin' somebody else, and--well, +maybe you'd enjoy it, you can't tell." + +His niece seemed interested. + +"I know of the Domestic Science course," she said. "Several of my +friends--my former friends, were studying it. But I'm afraid, +Uncle, that I don't see where earning my living has any part in it. +It seems to me that it means your spending more money for me, +paying my tuition." + +"No more'n I'd spend for a competent housekeeper. Honest, +Caroline, I'd like to do it. You think it over a spell." + +She did, visiting the University and making inquiries. What she +was told there decided her. She took up the course and enjoyed it. +It occupied her mind and prevented her brooding over the past. She +might have made many friends among the other students, but she was +careful to treat them only as acquaintances. Her recent experience +with "friends" was too fresh in her mind. She studied hard and +applied her knowledge at home. She and Annie made some odd and +funny mistakes at first, but they were not made twice, and Captain +Elisha noticed a great improvement in the housekeeping. Also, +Caroline's spirits improved, though more slowly. + +Most evenings they spent together in the living room. She read +aloud to her uncle, who smoked his cigar and listened, commenting +on the doings of the story folk with characteristic originality and +aptitude. Each night, after the reading was over, he wrote his +customary note to Abbie Baker at South Denboro. He made one flying +trip to that village: "Just to prove to 'em that I'm still alive," +as he explained it. "Some of those folks down there at the +postoffice must have pretty nigh forgot to gossip about me by this +time. They've had me eloped and married and a millionaire and a +pauper long ago, I don't doubt. And now they've probably forgot me +altogether. I'll just run down and stir 'em up. Good subjects for +yarns are scurce at that postoffice, and they ought to be thankful." + +On his return he told his niece that he found everything much as +usual. "Thoph Kenney's raised a beard 'cause shavin's so +expensive; and the Come-Outer minister called the place the other +denominations are bound for 'Hades,' and his congregation are +thinkin' of firin' him for turnin' Free-Thinker. That's about all +the sensations," he said. "I couldn't get around town much on +account of Abbie. She kept me in bed most of the time, while she +sewed on buttons and mended. Said she never saw a body's clothes +in such a state in HER life." + +A few of the neighbors called occasionally. And there were other +callers. Captain Elisha's unexpected departure from Mrs. Hepton's +boarding house had caused a sensation and much regret to that +select establishment. The landlady, aided and abetted by Mrs. Van +Winkle Ruggles, would have given a farewell tea in his honor, but +he declined. "Don't you do it," he said. "I like my tea pretty +strong, and farewells are watery sort of things, the best of 'em. +And this ain't a real farewell, anyhow." + +"'Say au revoir, but not good-by,'" sang Miss Sherborne +sentimentally. + +"That's it. Everybody knows what good-by means. We'll say the +other thing--as well as we can--and change it to 'Hello' the very +first time any of you come out to see us." + +They were curious to know his reason for leaving. He explained +that his niece was sort of lonesome and needed country air; he was +going to live with her, for the present. Consequently Mrs. Ruggles, +on the trail of aristocracy, was the first to call. Hers was a +stately and ceremonious visit. They were glad when it was over. +Lawton, the bookseller and his wife, came and were persuaded to +remain and dine. Caroline liked them at sight. The most impressive +call, however, was that of Mr. and Mrs. "C." Dickens. The great man +made it a point to dress in the style of bygone years, and his +conversation was a treat. His literary labors were fatiguing and +confining, he admitted, and the "little breath of rural ozone" which +this trip to Westchester County gave him, was like a tonic--yes, as +one might say, a tonic prescribed and administered by Dame Nature +herself. + +"I formerly resided in the country," he told Caroline. + +"Yes," put in his wife, "we used to live at Bayonne, New Jersey. +We had such a pretty house there, that is, half a house; you see it +was a double one, and--" + +"Maria," her husband waved his hand, "why trouble our friends with +unnecessary details." + +"But it WAS a pretty house, 'C.,' dear," with a pathetic little +sigh. "I've missed it a great deal since, Miss Warren. 'C.' had a +joke about it--he's such a joker! He used to call it 'Gad's Hill, +Junior.'" + +"Named after some of David B.'s folks?" asked Captain Elisha +innocently. The answer, delivered by Mr. Dickens, was condescending +and explanatory. + +Caroline laughed, actually laughed aloud, when the visit was over. +Her uncle was immensely pleased. + +"Hooray!" he cried. "I'll invite 'em up to stay a week. That's +the fust time I've heard you laugh for I don't know when." + +She laughed again. "I can't help it," she said; "they are so +funny." + +The captain chuckled. "Yes," he said, "and they don't know it. I +cal'late a person's skull has got room for just about so much in it +and no more. Cornelius Charles's head is so jammed with self- +satisfaction that his sense of humor was crowded out of door long +ago." + +One boarder at Mrs. Hepton's did not call, nor did Captain Elisha +allude to him. Caroline noticed the latter fact and understood the +reason. Also, when the captain went to the city, as he frequently +did, and remained longer than usual, she noticed that his +explanations of the way in which he spent his time were sometimes +vague and hurried. She understood and was troubled. Yet she +thought a great deal on the subject before she mentioned it. + +On the April afternoon when Caroline sat at the window of the +living room awaiting her uncle's return she was thinking of that +subject. But, at last, her mind was made up. It was a hard thing +to do; it was humiliating, in a way; it might--though she sincerely +hoped not--be misconstrued as to motive; but it was right. Captain +Elisha had been so unselfish, so glad to give up every personal +inclination in order to please her, that she would no longer permit +her pride to stand in the way of his gratification, even in little +things. At least, she would speak to him on the matter. + +He came on a later than his usual train, and at dinner, when she +asked where he had been, replied, "Oh, to see Sylvester, and--er-- +around." She asked him no more, but, when they were together in +the living room, she moved her chair over beside his and said +without looking at him: + +"Uncle Elisha, I know where you've been this afternoon. You've +been to see Mr. Pearson." + +"Hey?" He started, leaned back and regarded her with astonishment +and some alarm. + +"You've been to see Mr. Pearson," she repeated, "haven't you?" + +"Why--why, yes, Caroline, I have--to tell you the truth. I don't +see how you knew, but," nervously, "I hope you don't feel bad +'cause I did. I go to see him pretty often. You see, I think a +good deal of him--a whole lot of him. _I_ think he's a fine young +feller. Course I know you don't, and so I never mention him to +you. But I do hope you ain't goin' to ask me not to see him." + +She shook her head. "No," she said. "I would have no right to ask +that, even if I wished to. And I do not wish it. Uncle Elisha, if +you were alone here, he would come to see you; I know he would. +Invite him to come, please." + +His astonishment was greater than ever. + +"Invite him to come HERE?" he asked. "To see you?" + +"No," hastily; "to see you. This is your home. I have no right to +keep your friends from visiting it. I know you would sacrifice +everything for me, even them; but I will not be so selfish as to +allow it. Ask him here, please. I really want you to." + +He pulled his beard. "Caroline," he answered slowly, "I'm much +obliged to you. I understand why you're doin' this, and I thank +you. But it ain't likely that I'll say yes, is it? And do you +suppose Jim would come if I did ask him? He knows you believe he's +a--well, all that's bad. You told him so, and you sent him away. +I will give in that I'd like to have him here. He's one of the few +men friends I've made since I landed in New York. But, under the +circumstances--you feelin' as you do--I couldn't ask him, and he +wouldn't come if I did." + +She remained silent for a time. Then she said: + +"Uncle, I want you to tell me the truth about Mr. Pearson and +father--just why they quarreled and the real truth of the whole +affair. Don't spare my feelings; tell me what you believe is the +true story. I know you think Mr. Pearson was right, for you said +so." + +The captain was much troubled. + +"I--I don't know's I'd better, dearie," he answered. "I think I do +know the truth, but you might think I was hard on 'Bije--on your +father. I ain't. And I sympathize with the way he felt, too. But +Jim did right, as I see it. He acted just as I'd want a son of +mine to do. And . . . Well, I cal'late we'd better not rake up +old times, had we?" + +"I want you to tell me. Please do." + +"I don't know's I'd better. You have been told the story different, +and--" + +"I know I have. That is the reason why I ask you to tell it. Oh," +with a flash of scorn, "I was told many stories, and I want to +forget them. And," sadly, "I can bear whatever you may tell me, +even about father. Since I learned that he was a--a--" + +"S-sh, Caroline; don't!" + +"After that, I can bear anything, I think. This cannot be worse." + +"Worse! No, not! This ain't very bad. I will tell you, dearie. +This is just what happened." + +He told her the exact truth concerning the Trolley Combine, his +brother's part in it, and Pearson's. She listened without comment. + +"I see," she said when he had finished. "I think I see. Mr. +Pearson felt that, as a newspaper man, an honest one, he must go +on. He knew that the thing was wrong and that innocent people +might lose money in it. It was his duty to expose it, and he did +it, even though it meant the loss of influence and of father's +friendship. I see." + +"That was about it, Caroline. I think the hardest part for him was +when 'Bije called him ungrateful. 'Bije had been mighty kind to +him, that's a fact." + +"Yes. Father was kind; I know that better than anyone else. But +Mr. Pearson was right. Yes, he was right, and brave." + +"So I size it up. And I do sympathize with your father, too. This +wa'n't such an awful lot worse than a good many stock deals. And +poor 'Bije was perfectly desp'rate, I guess. If it had gone +through he'd have been able to square accounts with the Rubber +Company; and just think what that would have meant to him. Poor +feller! poor feller!" He sighed. She reached for his hand and +stroked it gently with her own. + +After another interval she said: "How I insulted and wronged him! +How he must despise me!" + +"Who? Jim? No, no! he don't do any such thing. He knows you +didn't understand, and who was responsible. Jim's got sense, lots +of it." + +"But it is my misunderstanding and my insulting treatment of him +which have kept you two apart--here, at any rate." + +"Don't let that worry you, Caroline. I see him every once in a +while, up to the city." + +"It does worry me; and it will, until it is made right. And," in a +lower tone, but with decision, "it shall be." + +She rose and, bending over, kissed him on the forehead. "Good +night, Uncle," she said. + +Captain Elisha was disappointed. "What!" he exclaimed. "Goin' +aloft so soon? We ain't had our readin' yet. Pretty early to turn +in, seems to me. Stay a little longer, do." + +"Not to-night, dear. I'm going to my room. Please excuse me this +time." She turned to go and then, turning back again, asked a +final question. + +"You're sure," she said, hesitatingly; "you're quite sure he will +not come here--to you--if you tell him I understand, and--and you +ask him?" + +"Well, Caroline, I don't know. You see, I was responsible for his +comin' before. He had some scruples against it then, but I talked +him down. He's sort of proud, Jim is, and he might--might not want +to--to--" + +"I see. Good night, Uncle." + +The next morning, after breakfast, she came to him again. + +"Uncle Elisha," she said, "I have written him." + +"What? You've written? Written who?" + +"Mr. Pearson. I wrote him, telling him I had learned the true +story of his disagreement with father and that he was right and I +was wrong. I apologized for my behavior toward him. Now, I think, +perhaps, if you ask him, he will come." + +The captain looked at her. He realized the sacrifice of her pride +which writing that letter must have meant, and that she had done it +for him. He was touched and almost sorry she had done it. He took +both her hands in his. + +"Dearie," he said, "you shouldn't have done that. I didn't expect +you to. I know you did it just for my sake. I won't say I ain't +glad; I am, in one way. But 'twa'n't necessary, and 'twas too +much, too hard for you altogether." + +"Don't say that," she begged. "Too much! I never can do enough. +Compared to what you have done for me it--it . . . Oh, please let +me do what little I can. But, Uncle Elisha, promise me one thing; +promise that you will not ask me to meet him, if he should come. +That I couldn't do, even for you." + + + +CHAPTER XXI + + +Promises of that kind are easier to make than to keep. The captain +promised promptly enough, but the Fates were against him. He made +it his business to go to town the very next day and called upon his +friend. He found the young man in a curiously excited and +optimistic frame of mind, radically different from that of the past +few months. The manuscript of the novel was before him on the +desk, also plenty of blank paper. His fountain-pen was in his +hand, although apparently, he had written nothing that morning. +But he was going to--oh, yes, he was going to! He was feeling just +in the mood. He had read his manuscript, and it was not so bad; by +George, some of the stuff was pretty good! And the end was not so +far off. Five or six chapters more and the thing would be finished. +He would have to secure a publisher, of course, but two had already +expressed an interest; and so on. + +Captain Elisha drew his own conclusions. He judged that his +niece's letter had reached its destination. He did not mention it, +however, nor did Pearson. But when the captain hinted at the +latter's running out to the house to see him some time or other, +the invitation was accepted. + +"That's fine, Jim," declared the visitor. "Come any time. I want +you to see what a nice little place I've got out there. Don't +stand on ceremony, come--er--next week, say." Then, mindful of his +promise, he added, "You and I'll have it all to ourselves. I've +been cal'latin' to hire a sail-boat for the summer; got my eye on a +capable little sloop belongin' to a feller on the Sound shore. If +all goes well I'll close the deal in a few days. I'll meet you at +the depot and we'll have a sail and get dinner at a hotel or +somewheres, and then we'll come up to the house and take a whack at +Cap'n Jim's doin's in the new chapters. Just you and I together in +the settin' room; hey?" + +Pearson did not seem so enthusiastic over this programme, although +he admitted that it sounded tip-top. + +"How is Miss Warren?" he asked, mentioning the name with a +nonchalance remarkable, considering that he had not done so before +for weeks. "She is well, I hope?" + +"Yes, she's fust-rate, thank you. Very well, everything considered. +She keeps to herself a good deal. Don't care to meet many folks, +and you can't hardly blame her." + +Pearson admitted that, and the remainder of the call was largely a +monologue by Captain Elisha. + +"Well, then, Jim," said the latter, when he rose to go, "you come +up Monday or Tuesday of next week. Will you?" + +"Yes. I--I think so." + +"Don't think, do it. Let me know what train you're comin' on, and +I'll meet you at the depot." + +This last remark was what upset calculations. Pearson came on +Monday, having written the day before. He did not mail the note +himself, but trusted it to Mrs. Hepton, who was going out to attend +evening service. She forgot it until the next day. So it happened +that when he alighted from the train at the suburban station the +captain was not there to meet him. He waited a while, and then, +inquiring the way of the station agent, walked up to the house by +himself. As he turned in at the front walk, Caroline came out of +the door. They met, face to face. + +It was a most embarrassing situation, particularly for Caroline; +yet, with feminine resourcefulness, she dissembled her embarrassment +to some extent and acknowledged his stammered, "Good afternoon, Miss +Warren," with a cool, almost cold, "How do you do, Mr. Pearson?" +which chilled his pleasure at seeing her and made him wish devoutly +that he had not been such a fool as to come. However, there he was, +and he hastily explained his presence by telling her of the +captain's invitation for that day, how he had expected to meet him +at the station, and, not meeting him, had walked up to the house. + +"Is he in?" he asked. + +No, Captain Elisha was not in. He had gone to see the sail-boat +man. Not hearing from his friend, he concluded the latter would +not come until the next day. + +"He will be so sorry," said Caroline. + +Pearson was rather thankful than otherwise. The captain's absence +afforded him an opportunity to escape from a place where he was +plainly unwelcome. + +"Oh, never mind," he said. "It is not important. I can run out +another day. Just tell him I called, Miss Warren, please; that I +wrote yesterday, but my letter must have gone astray. Good +afternoon." + +He was turning to go, but she stopped him. She had fully made up +her mind that, when he came, she would not meet him--remembering +how she had treated him on the evening of her birthday, she would +be ashamed to look him in the face. Besides, she could not meet him +after writing that letter; it would be too brazen; he would think-- +all sorts of things. When he visited her uncle she would remain in +her room, or go to the city or somewhere. + +But now she had met him. And he had come in response to her +uncle's invitation, given because she herself had pleaded that it +should be. To let him go away would be rude and ridiculous; and +how could she explain to the captain? + +"You mustn't go, Mr. Pearson," she said. "You must come in and +wait; Captain Warren will be back soon, I'm sure." + +"Thank you; but I think I won't wait. I can come another time." + +"But you must wait. I insist. Uncle Elisha will be dreadfully +disappointed if you don't. There isn't a train for an hour, and he +will return before that, I am sure. Please come in." + +Pearson was reluctant, but he could think of no reasonable excuse. +So he entered the house, removed his overcoat and hat, and seated +himself in the living room to await the captain's return. Caroline +excused herself, saying that she had an errand at the shop in the +village. She made that errand as long as she could, but when she +returned he was still there, and Captain Elisha had not appeared. + +The conversation was forced, for a time. Each felt the +embarrassment, and Pearson was still resentful of the manner in +which she had greeted him on his arrival. But, as he looked at +her, the resentment vanished, and the other feeling, that which he +had determined to forget, returned. Captain Elisha had told him +how brave she had been through it all, and, contrasting the little +house with the former home, remembering the loss of friends and +fortune, to say nothing of the unmasking of those whom she believed +were her nearest and dearest, he wondered and admired more than +ever. He understood how very hard it must have been for her to +write that letter to him, a letter in which she justified his +course at the cost of her own father's honor. He longed to tell +her that he understood and appreciated. + +At last he could not resist the temptation. + +"Miss Warren," he said, "please excuse my speaking of this, but I +must; I must thank you for writing me as you did. It was not +necessary, it was too much to expect, too hard a thing for you to +do. It makes me feel guilty. I--" + +"Please don't!" she interrupted. "Don't speak in that way. It was +right. It was what I should have done long ago." + +"But it was not necessary; I understood. I knew you had heard +another version of the story and that you felt I had been +ungrateful and mean, to say the least, in my conduct toward your +father. I knew that; I have never blamed you. And you writing as +you did--" + +"I did it for my uncle's sake," she broke in, quickly. "You are +his closest friend." + +"I know, but I appreciate it, nevertheless. I--I wish you would +consider me your friend as well as his. I do, sincerely." + +"Thank you. I need friends, I know. I have few now, which is not +strange," rather bitterly. + +He protested earnestly. "I did not mean it in that way," he said. +"It is an honor and a great privilege to be one of your friends. I +had that honor and privilege once. May I have it again?" + +"Thank you, Mr. Pearson . . . Now tell me about your novel. I +remember it all so well. And I am very much interested. You must +have it nearly completed. Tell me about it, please." + +They were deep in the discussion of the novel when Captain Elisha +walked into the living room. He was surprised, stating his +feelings at their mildest, to find them together, but he did not +express his astonishment. Instead, he hailed Pearson delightedly, +demanded to know if they had dared tackle Cap'n Jim without the +"head doctor's" being on the scene; and insisted upon the author's +admitting him to the "clinic" forthwith. Pearson did not take the +next train, nor the next. Instead, he stayed for dinner and well +into the evening, and when he did go it was after a prompt +acceptance of the captain's invitation to "come again in a mighty +little while." + +Caroline, when she and her uncle were alone after their visitor's +departure, made no protest against the invitation having been +given. She did not speak of Pearson at all. Captain Elisha also +talked of other things, principally about the sail-boat, the summer +lease of which he had arranged that afternoon. He declared the +sloop to be an "able craft of her tonnage" and that they would have +some good times aboard her or he missed his guess. In his own +room, when ready for bed, he favored his reflection in the glass +with a broad smile and a satisfied wink, from which proceeding it +may be surmised that the day had not been a bad one, according to +his estimate. + +Pearson came again a week later, and thereafter frequently. The +sessions with Cap'n Jim and his associates were once more regular +happenings to be looked forward to and enjoyed by the three. As +the weather grew warmer, the sloop--Captain Elisha had the name she +formerly bore painted out and Caroline substituted--proved to be as +great a source of pleasure as her new skipper had prophesied. He +and his niece--and occasionally Pearson--sailed and picnicked on +the Sound, and Caroline's pallor disappeared under the influence of +breeze and sunshine. Her health improved, and her spirits, also. +She seemed, at times, almost happy, and her uncle seldom saw her, +as after the removal to the suburb he so frequently used, with +tears in her eyes and the sadness of bitter memories in her +expression and manner. Her work at the University grew steadily +more difficult, but she enjoyed it thoroughly and declared that she +would not give it up for worlds. + +In June two very important events took place. The novel was +finished, and Stephen, his Sophomore year at an end, came home from +college. He had been invited by some classmates to spend a part of +his vacation with them on the Maine coast, and his guardian had +consented to his doing so; but the boy himself had something else +to propose. On an evening soon after his return, when, his sister +having retired, he was alone with the captain, he broached the +idea. + +"Say," he said, "I've been thinking a good deal while I've been +away this last time." + +"Glad to hear it, I'm sure," replied his uncle, dryly. + +"Yes. I've been thinking--about a good many things. I'm flat +broke; down and out, so far as money is concerned. That's so, +isn't it?" + +Captain Elisha looked at him keenly for an instant. Then: + +"It appears that way, I'm afraid," he answered. "What made you +ask?" + +"Nothing. I wasn't asking, really; I was just stating the case. +Now, the way I look at it, this college course of mine isn't worth +while. You're putting up for it, and I ought to be much obliged; I +am, of course." + +"You're welcome, Stevie." + +"I know; but what's the use of it? I've got to go to work when +it's over. And the kind of work I want to do doesn't need +university training. I'm just wasting time; that's what I'm +doing." + +"Humph! I ain't so sure about that. But what sort of work do you +want to do?" + +"I want to be down on the Street, as the governor was. If this +Rubber Company business hadn't knocked us out, I intended, as soon +as I was of age, to take that seat of his and start in for myself. +Well, that chance has gone, but I mean to get in some way, though I +have to start at the foot of the ladder. Now why can't I leave +college and start now? It will be two years gained, won't it?" + +Captain Elisha seemed pleased, but he shook his head. + +"How do you know you'd like it?" he asked. "You've never tried." + +"No, I never have; but I'll like it all right. I know I shall. +It's what I've wanted to do ever since I was old enough to think of +such things. Just let me start in now, right away, and I'll show +you. I'll make good; you see if I don't." + +He was very earnest. The captain deliberated before answering. + +"Stevie," he said, doubtfully, "I rather like to hear you talk that +way; I own up it pleases me. But, as to your givin' up college-- +that's different. Let me think it over for a day or two; that is, +if you can put off the Maine trip so long as that." + +"Hang the Maine trip! You let me get into business, the business I +want to get into, and I won't ask for a vacation; you can bet on +that!" + +"All right then. I'll think, and do some questionin' around, and +report soon's I've decided what's best." + +He laid the stump of his cigar in the ash receiver and rose from +his chair. But his nephew had not finished. + +"There was something else I intended to say," he announced, but +with less eagerness. + +"That so? What?" + +"Why--why, just this." He fidgeted with his watch chain, colored +and was evidently uneasy. "I guess--" he hesitated--"I guess that +I haven't treated you as I ought." + +"I want to know! You guess that, hey? Why?" + +"Oh, you know why. I've been thinking since I went back to New +Haven. I've had a chance to think. Some of the fellows in the set +I used to be thick with up there have learned that I'm broke, and +they--they aren't as friendly as they were. Not all of them, of +course, but some. And I wouldn't chase after them; not much! If +they wanted to drop me they could. You bet I didn't try to hang +on! I was pretty sore for a while and kept to myself and--well, I +did a lot of thinking. I guess Caro is right; you've been mighty +decent to her and me." + +He paused, but Captain Elisha made no comment. + +"I guess you have," continued Stephen, soberly. "When you first +came, you know, Caroline and I couldn't understand. We thought you +were butting in and weren't our sort, and--and--" + +"And a hayseed nuisance generally; I know. Heave ahead, son; you +interest me." + +"Well, we didn't like it. And Mal Dunn and his mother were always +sympathizing and insinuating, and we believed they were our best +friends, and all that. So we didn't try to understand you or--or +even make it livable for you. Then, after the news came that the +money had gone, I acted like a kid, I guess. That business of +making Mal stick to the engagement was pretty silly. I was nearly +desperate, you see, and--and--you knew it was silly. You never +took any stock in it, did you?" + +The captain smiled. + +"Not a heap," he admitted. + +"No. All you wanted was to show them up. Well, you did it, and +I'm glad you did. But Caro and I have talked it over since I've +been home, and we agree that you've been a great deal better to us +than we deserve. You didn't HAVE to take care of us at all, any +more, after the money went. By gad! considering how we treated +you, I don't see why you did. _I_ wouldn't. But you did--and you +are. You've given us a home, and you're putting me through college +and--and--" + +"That's all right, son. Good night." + +"Just a minute. I--I--well, if you let me, I'd like to thank you +and--and ask your pardon." + +"Granted, my boy. And never mind the thanks, either. Just keep on +thinkin' and actin' as you have to-night, and I'll be satisfied. I +want to see my nephew makin' a man of himself--a real man; and, +Steve, you talk more like a man to-night than I've ever heard you. +Stick to it, and you'll do yet. As for goin' to work, you let me +chew on that for a few days." + +The next morning he called on Sylvester, who in turn took him to a +friend of his, a broker--employing a good-sized staff of clerks. +The three had a consultation, followed, the day after, by another. +That evening the captain made a definite proposal to Stephen. It +was, briefly, that, while not consenting to the latter's leaving +college, he did consider that a trial of the work in a broker's +office might be a good thing. Therefore, if the young man wished, +he could enter the employ of Sylvester's friend and remain during +July and August. + +"You'll leave about the first of September, Steve," he said, "and +that'll give you time for the two weeks vacation that you ought to +have. Then you can go back to Yale and pitch in till the next +summer, when the same job'll be ready for you. After you're +through college for good, if what you've learned about brokerin' +ain't cured you of your likin' for it--if you still want to go +ahead with it for your life job, then--well, then we'll see. What +do you say?" + +Stephen had a good deal to say, principally in the line of +objection to continuing his studies. Finding these objections +unavailing, he agreed to his guardian's proposition. + +"All right," said the captain; "then you can go to work next +Monday. But you'll HAVE to work, and be just the same as any other +beginner, no better and no worse. There'll be no favoritism, and, +if you're really wuth your salt, you won't want any. Show 'em, and +me, that you're wuth it." + +The novel, the wonderful tale which Captain Elisha was certain +would make its author famous, was finished that very day in June +when Stephen came back from New Haven. The question of title +remained, and the "clinic," now re-enforced by Steve--whose dislike +for Pearson had apparently vanished with others of his former likes +and dislikes--considered that at several sessions. At last "The +Man at the Wheel" was selected, as indicating something of the +hero's profession and implying, perhaps, a hint of his character. +Then came the fateful task of securing a publisher. And the first +to whom it was submitted--one of the two firms which had already +expressed a desire to read the manuscript--accepted it, at what, +for a first novel, were very fair terms. During the summer there +was proof to be read and illustrations to be criticized. Captain +Elisha did not wholly approve of the artist's productions. + +"Jerushy!" he exclaimed, "look at that mainmast! Look at the rake +of it! More like a yacht than a deep-water bark, she is enough +sight. And the fust mate's got a uniform cap on, like a purser on +a steamboat. Make that artist feller take that cap off him, Jim. +He's got to. I wish he could have seen some of my mates. They +wa'n't Cunarder dudes, but they could make a crew hop 'round like a +sand-flea in a clam bake." + +Or, when the picture happened to be a shore view: + +"What kind of a house is that? Did you ever see a house like that +Down-East? I'll leave it to anybody if it don't look like a sugar +man's plantation I used to know down Mobile way. All that feller +standin' by the door needs is to have his face blacked; then he'd +start singin' 'S'wanee River.' This ain't 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' +Bah!" + +The advance copy, the first one, was ready early in September, and +the author, of course, brought it immediately to his friends. They +found the dedication especially interesting: "To C. W. and E. W., +consulting specialists at the literary clinics, with grateful +acknowledgments." Probably Captain Elisha was never prouder of +anything, even his first command, than of that dedication. + +And the story, when at last it appeared for sale, was almost from +the beginning a success. The reviewers praised it, the reading +public--that final court of appeal which makes or unmakes novels-- +took kindly to it, and discussed and recommended it; and, most +important of all, perhaps, it sold and continued to sell. There +was something in it, its humanity, its simplicity, its clearly +marked characters, which made a hit. Pearson no longer needed to +seek publishers; they sought him. His short stories were bid for +by the magazines, and his prices climbed and climbed. He found +himself suddenly planted in the middle of the highway to prosperity, +with a clear road ahead of him, provided he continued to do his best. + +In September Stephen gave up his work at the broker's office, spent +the weeks with his friends in Maine, and then returned to Yale. He +gave up the position on the Street with reluctance. He was sure he +liked it now, he declared. It was what he was fitted for, and he +meant, more than ever, to take it up permanently as soon as he was +free. And his employer told Captain Elisha that the youngster was +bright, clever, and apt. "A little conceited, needs taking down +occasionally, but that is the only trouble. He has been spoiled, I +should imagine," he said. + +"Yup," replied the captain, with emphasis; "your imagination's a +good one. It don't need cultivatin' any." + +The novel being out of the way, and its successor not yet far +enough advanced in plot or general plan for much discussion, the +"literary clinics" were no longer as frequent. But Pearson's +visits to the Warren house were not discontinued. All summer long +he had been coming out, once, and usually twice, a week. Captain +Elisha had told him not to stand on formality, to come any time, +and he did. On most of these occasions he found the captain at +home; but, if only Caroline was there, he seemed quite contented. +She did not remark on the frequency of his visits. In fact, she +mentioned him less and less in conversation with her uncle. But, +as the autumn came and moved towards its prime she seemed, to the +captain's noticing eye, a trifle more grave, a little more desirous +of being by herself. Sometimes he found her sitting by the open +fire--pleasant in the cool October evenings--and gazing very +soberly at the blaze. She had been in good spirits, more merry and +light-hearted than he had ever seen her, during the latter part of +the summer; now her old sadness seemed to be returning. It would +have troubled him, this change in her mood, if he had not believed +he knew the cause. + +He was planning a glorious Thanksgiving. At least, it would be +glorious to him, for he intended spending the day, and several +days, at his own home in South Denboro. Abbie Baker had made him +promise to do it, and he had agreed. He would not leave Caroline, +of course; she was going with him. Steve would be there, though he +would not come until Thanksgiving Day itself. Sylvester, also, +would be of the party; he seemed delighted at the opportunity. + +"I'm curious to see the place where they raise fellows like you," +the lawyer said. "It must be worth looking at." + +"Graves don't think so," chuckled the captain. "I invited him, and +he said, 'No, thank you' so quick that the words was all telescoped +together. And he shivered, too, when he said it; just as if he +felt that sou'west gale whistlin' between his bones even now. I +told him I'd pretty nigh guarantee that no more trees would fall on +him, but it didn't have any effect." + +Pearson was asked and had accepted. His going was so far a settled +thing that he had commissioned Captain Elisha to purchase a +stateroom for him on the Fall River boat; for of course the captain +would not consider their traveling the entire distance by train. +At an interview in the young man's room in the boarding house, only +three days before the date set for the start, he had been almost as +enthusiastic as the Cape Codder himself. The pair had planned +several side excursions, time and weather permitting, among them a +trip across the Sound to Setuckit Point, with the possibility of +some late sea-fowl shooting and a long tramp to one of the life- +saving stations, where Pearson hoped to pick up material for his +new book. He was all anticipation and enthusiasm when the captain +left him, and said he would run out to the house the following day, +to make final arrangements. + +That day Sylvester 'phoned, asking Captain Elisha to come to his +office on a matter of business. When, having done so, the captain, +returning, alighted at his home station, he was surprised to see +Pearson standing on the platform. + +"Why, hello, Jim!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Just +come, have you?" + +His friend shook his head. "No, Captain Warren," he said; "I'm +just going." + +"Goin'? What for? Been up to the house, of course? Caroline told +you where I'd gone and that I was cal'latin' to hurry back, didn't +she?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, then, course you ain't goin'! You're goin' to stay to +dinner. I've got some things to tell you about that life-savin' +station cruise. I've been thinkin' that I know the cap'n and most +of the crew on the lightship off back of the Point. How'd you like +to go aboard of her? You could get some yarns from those fellers +that might be wuth hearin'." + +"I have no doubt I should. But I'm afraid I can't go. The fact +is, Captain, I've decided not to spend Thanksgiving with you, after +all." + +"Hey?" Captain Elisha could scarcely believe he had heard correctly. +"You can't go--to South Denboro?" + +"No." + +"Why not, for the land sakes?" + +"Well, I've decided--I've decided not to." + +"But, Jim! Why, I can't have it so! I'm dreadful disappointed. +I've counted on your goin'. So has Abbie. She's read your book, +and she says she's crazy to see the feller that wrote it. She's +told the minister and a whole lot more, and they're all comin' in +to look at you. 'Tain't often we have a celebrated character in +our town. You've GOT to go." + +"Thank you, Captain. I appreciate the invitation and your +kindness, but," with decision, "I can't accept." + +"Can't you come later? Say Thanksgivin' mornin'? Or even the day +after?" + +"No." + +"But why not? What's the matter with you all of a sudden? Come +here! let me look at you." + +He took the young man by the arm and led him, almost by main +strength, close to the lighted window of the station. It was late, +and the afternoon was gloomy. Here, by the lamplight streaming +through the window, he could see his face more clearly. He looked +at it. + +"Humph!" he grunted, after a moment's scrutiny. "You've made up +your mind; I can see that. Have you told Caroline? Does she +know?" + +"Yes. You'll have to excuse me, Captain Warren; my train is +coming." + +"What did she say?" + +Pearson smiled, but there was little mirth in the smile. "I think +she agrees with me that it is best," he observed. + +"Humph! She does, hey? I want to know! Look here, Jim! have you +and she--" + +He got no further, for Pearson broke away, and, with a hurried +"Good night," strode up the platform to meet the city-bound train. +Captain Elisha watched it go and then walked slowly homeward, his +hands in his pockets, troubled and wondering. + +He entered the house by the back door, a remnant of South Denboro +habit, and found Annie in the kitchen. + +"Where's Caroline?" he asked. + +"She's in the living room, sir, I think. Mr. Pearson has been here +and just gone." + +"Um-hm. So I heard. Say, Annie, you needn't hurry dinner; I ain't +ready for it yet awhile." + +He hung his coat and hat in the back hall and quietly entered the +living room. The lamp was not lighted, and the room was dark, but +he saw his niece, a shadowy figure, seated by the window. He +crossed to her side. + +"Well, Caroline," he said, cheerfully, "I'm home again." + +She turned. "I see you are," she answered. + +"Humph! your eyes must be better than mine then. I can't see +anything in here. It's darker than a nigger's pocket. Suppose we +turn on the glim." + +He struck a match as he said it. By its light he saw her face. +The match burned down to his finger tips and then he extinguished +it. + +"I don't know but the dark is just as good and more economical," he +observed. "No use of encouragin' the graspin' ile trust unless +it's necessary. Let's you and me sit here in the dark and talk. +No objection to talkin' to your back country relation, have you?" + +"No." + +"That's good. Well, Caroline, I'm goin' to talk plain again. You +can order me to close my hatch any time you feel like it; that's +skipper's privilege, and you're boss of this craft, you know. +Dearie, I just met Jim Pearson. He tells me he's decided not to go +on this Cape cruise of ours. He said you agreed with him 'twas +best he shouldn't go. Do you mind tellin' me why?" + +She did not answer. He waited a minute and then continued. + +"Course, I know I ain't got any real right to ask," he went on; +"but I think more of you and Jim than I do of anybody else, and so +maybe you'll excuse me. Have you and he had a fallin' out?" + +Still she was silent. He sighed. "Well," he observed, "I see you +have, and I don't blame you for not wantin' to talk about it. I'm +awful sorry. I'd begun to hope that . . . However, we'll change +the subject. Or we won't talk at all, if you'd rather not." + +Another pause. Then she laid her hand on his. + +"Uncle," she said, "you know I always want to talk to you. And, as +for the right to ask, you have the right to ask anything of me at +any time. And I should have told you, of my own accord, by and by. +Mr. Pearson and I have not quarreled; but I think--I think it best +that I should not see him again." + +"You do? Not see him--any more--at all? Why, Caroline!" + +"Not for a long, long time, at least. It would only make it harder-- +for him; and it's of no use." + +Captain Elisha sighed again. "I guess I understand, Caroline. I +presume likely I do. He--he asked somethin' of you--and you +couldn't say yes to him. That was it, I suppose. Needn't tell me +unless you really want to, you understand," he added, hastily. + +"But I do. I ought to tell you. I should have told you before, +and perhaps, if I had, he would not have . . . Uncle Elisha, Mr. +Pearson asked me to be his wife." + +The captain gave no evidence of surprise. + +"Yes," he replied, gravely, "I judged that was it. And you told +him you couldn't, I suppose. Well, dearie, that's a question +nobody ought to answer but the one. She's the only one that knows +what that answer should be, and, when other folks interfere and try +to influence, it generally means trouble. I'm kind of disappointed; +I'll own up to that. I think Jim is a fine, honest, able young man, +and he'd make a good husband, I'm sure. And, so far as his +business, or profession, or whatever you call it, goes, he's doin' +pretty well and sartin to do better. Of course, 'twa'n't that that +kept you from--" + +"Uncle Elisha! Am _I_ so rich that I should--" + +"There! there, my girl! I know 'twa'n't that, of course. I was +only thinkin' out loud, that's all--tryin' to find reasons. You +didn't care for him enough, I suppose. Caroline, you don't care +for anybody else, do you? You don't still care for that other +feller, that--" + +"Uncle!" she sprang up, hurt and indignant. "How can you?" she +cried. "How could you ask that? What must you think of me?" + +"Please, Caroline," he protested; "please don't. I beg your +pardon. I was a fool! I knew better. Don't go. Tell me the real +reason. Sit down again and let's talk this out. Do sit down! +that's it. Now tell me; was it that you couldn't care for Jim +enough?" + +She hesitated. + +"Was it?" he repeated. + +"I--I like Mr. Pearson very much. I respect and admire him." + +"But you don't love him. I see. Well," sadly, "there's another +one of my dreams gone to smash. However, you did just right, +dearie. Feelin' that way, you couldn't marry him, of course." + +He would have risen now, and she detained him. + +"That was not the reason," she said, in a low tone. + +"Hey?" he bent toward her. "What?" he cried. "That wa'n't the +reason, you say? You do care for him?" + +She was silent. + +"Do you?" he repeated, gently. "And yet you sent him away. Why?" + +She faltered, tried to speak, and then turned away. He put his arm +about her and stroked her hair. + +"Don't you cry, dearie," he begged. "I won't bother you any more. +You can tell me some other time--if you want to. Or you needn't +tell me at all. It's all right; only don't cry. 'Cause if you +do," with sudden determination, "I shall cry, too; and, bein' as I +ain't used to the exercise, I may raise such a row that Annie'll +send for the constable. You wouldn't want that to happen, I know." + +This unexpected announcement had the desired effect; Caroline +laughed hysterically and freed herself from his arm. + +"I mustn't be so silly," she said. "I had made up my mind to tell +you everything, and I shall. My not caring for Mr. Pearson was not +my reason for refusing him. The reasons were two--you and Steve." + +"Me and Steve? What in the world have we got to do with it?" + +"Everything. He would marry me, poor as I am; and perhaps I-- +perhaps I should say yes if things were different. Oh, there is no +use my deceiving you, or trying to deceive myself! I know I should +say yes, and be very, very happy. But I can't! and I won't! +I WON'T!" + +"But why? And where, for mercy's sake, do Steve and I come in?" + +"Uncle Elisha, I suppose you think I have been perfectly satisfied +to let you take care of me and of my brother, and give us a home +and all that we needed and more. No doubt you thought me selfish +enough to be contented with that and go on as I am--as we are-- +living on your bounty. You had reason to think so. But I have not +been contented with that, nor has Steve. He and I have made our +plans, and we shall carry them out. He will leave college in two +years and go to work in earnest. Before that time I shall be ready +to teach. I have been studying with just that idea in view." + +"Good land! Why, no, you ain't! You've been studyin' to help me +and Annie run this house." + +"That was only part of it--the smallest part. I haven't told you +before, Uncle, but one of the Domestic Science teachers at the +University is a girl I used to know slightly. She is going to be +married next year, and, if all goes well, I may be appointed to her +position when she leaves. I have a conditional promise already. +If I am, why, then, you see, I shall really be earning my own +living; you will not have to give up your own home and all your +interests there to make me comfortable: you can--" + +"Here! here!" Captain Elisha put in, desperately; "don't talk so +ridiculous, Caroline. I ain't givin' up anything. I never was +more happy than I've been right here with you this summer. I'm +satisfied." + +"I know, but I am not. And neither is Steve. He and I have +planned it all. His salary at first will be small, and so will +mine. But together we can earn enough to live somehow and, later +on, when he earns more, perhaps we may be able to repay a little of +all that you have given us. We shall try. _I_ shall insist upon +it." + +"Caroline Warren, is THAT the reason you sent Jim away? Did you +tell him that? Did you tell him you wouldn't marry him on account +of me?" + +"No, of course I did not," indignantly. "I told him--I said I must +not think of marriage; it was impossible. And it is! You KNOW it +is, Uncle Elisha!" + +"I don't know any such thing. If you want to make me happy, +Caroline, you couldn't find a better way than to be Jim Pearson's +wife. And you would be happy, too; you said so." + +"But I am not thinking of happiness. It is my duty--to you and to +my own self-respect. And not only that, but to Steve. Someone +must provide a home for him. Neither he nor I will permit you to +do it a day longer than is necessary. I am his sister and I shall +not leave him." + +"But you won't have to leave him. Steve's future's all fixed. +I've provided for Steve." + +"What do you mean?" + +"What I say." The captain was very much excited and, for once, +completely off his guard. "I've had plans for Steve all along. +He's doin' fust-rate in that broker's office, learnin' the trade. +Next summer he'll have another whack at it and learn more. When +he's out of college I'm goin' to turn over your dad's seat on the +Stock Exchange to him. Not give it to him, you know--not right +off--but let him try; and then, if he makes a good fist at it, +he'll have it permanent. Steve's got the best chance in the world. +He couldn't ask much better, seems to me. You ain't got to fret +yourself about Steve." + +He paused, almost out of breath. He had been speaking rapidly so +as to prevent interruption. Caroline's astonishment was too great +for words, just then. Her uncle anxiously awaited her reply. + +"You see, don't you?" he asked. "You understand. Steve's goin' to +have the chance to make a good livin' at the very thing he declares +he's set on doin'. I ain't told him, and I don't want you to, but +it's what I've planned for him and--" + +"Wait! wait, Uncle, please! The Stock Exchange seat? Father's +seat? I don't see . . . I don't understand." + +"Yes, yes!" eagerly; "your pa's seat. I've meant it for Steve. +There's been chances enough to sell it, but I wouldn't do that. +'Twas for him, Caroline; and he's goin' to have it." + +"But I don't see how . . . Why, I thought--" + +The door of the dining room opened. Annie appeared on the threshold. + +"Dinner is served," she announced. + +"Be right there, Annie. Now you see that you ain't got to worry +about Steve, don't you, Caroline?" + +His niece did not answer. By the light from the doorway he saw +that she was gazing at him with a strange expression. She looked +as if she was about to ask another question. He waited, but she +did not ask it. + +"Well," he said, rising, "we won't talk any more just now. Annie's +soup's gettin' cold, and she'll be in our wool if we don't have +dinner. Afterwards we can have another session. Come, Caroline." + +She also rose, but hesitated. "Uncle Elisha," she said, "will you +excuse me if I don't talk any more to-night? And, if you don't +mind, I won't dine with you. I'm not hungry and--and my head +aches. I'll go to my room, I think." + +"Yes, yes," he said, hastily, "of course. I'm afraid I've talked +too much as 'tis. You go up and lie down, and Annie can fetch you +some toast and tea or somethin' by and by. But do just answer me +this, Caroline, if you can: When you told Jim marryin' was out of +the question for you, did he take that as final? Was he contented +with that? Didn't he say he was willin' to wait for you, or +anything?" + +"Yes, he said he would wait, always. But I told him he must not. +And I told him he must go and not see me again. I couldn't see him +as I have been doing; Uncle, I couldn't!" + +"I know, dearie, I know. But didn't you say anything more? Didn't +you give him ANY hope?" + +"I said," she hesitated, and added in a whisper, "I said if I +should ever need him or--or change my mind, I would send for him. +I shouldn't have said it. It was weak and wicked of me, but I said +it. Please let me go now, Uncle dear. Good night." + +She kissed him and hurried away. He ate his lonely dinner absent- +mindedly and with little appetite. After it was finished he sat in +the living room, the lamp still unlighted, smoking and thinking. + +And in her chamber Caroline, too, sat thinking--not altogether of +the man she loved and who loved her. She thought of him, of +course; but there was something else, an idea, a suspicion, which +over and over again she dismissed as an utter impossibility, but +which returned as often. + +The Stock Exchange seat had been a part of her father's estate, a +part of her own and Steve's inheritance. Sylvester had told her +so, distinctly. And such a seat was valuable; she remembered her +brother reading in the paper that one had recently sold for ninety +thousand dollars. How could Captain Warren have retained such a +costly part of the forfeited estate in his possession? For it was +in his possession; he was going to give it to her brother when the +latter left college. But how could he have obtained it? Not by +purchase; for, as she knew, he was not worth half of ninety +thousand dollars. Surely the creditor, the man who had, as was his +right, seized all Rodgers Warren's effects, would not have left +that and taken the rest. Not unless he was a curiously philanthropic +and eccentric person. Who was he? Who was this mysterious man her +father had defrauded? She had never wished to know before; now she +did. And the more she pondered, the more plausible her suspicion +became. It was almost incredible, it seemed preposterous; but, as +she went back, in memory, over the events since her father's death +and the disclosure of his astonishing will, little bits of evidence, +little happenings and details came to light, trifles in themselves, +but all fitting in together, like pieces of an inscription in +mosaic, to spell the truth. + + + +CHAPTER XXII + + +November weather on Cape Cod is what Captain Elisha described as +"considerable chancey." "The feller that can guess it two days +ahead of time," he declared, "is wastin' his talents; he could make +a livin' prophesyin' most anything, even the market price of +cranberries." When Caroline, Sylvester, and the captain reached +South Denboro after what seemed, to the two unused to the leisurely +winter schedule of the railroad, an interminable journey from Fall +River, the girl thought she had never seen a more gloomy sky or a +more forbidding scene. Gray clouds, gray sea, brown bare fields; +the village of white or gray-shingled houses set, for the most +part, along the winding main street; the elms and silver-leaf +poplars waving bare branches in the cutting wind; a picture of the +fag end of loneliness and desolation, so it looked to her. She +remembered Mr. Graves's opinion of the place, as jokingly reported +by Sylvester, and she sympathized with the dignified junior +partner. + +But she kept her feelings hidden on her uncle's account. The +captain was probably the happiest individual in the state of +Massachusetts that morning. He hailed the train's approach to +Sandwich as the entrance to Ostable County, the promised land, and, +from that station on, excitedly pointed out familiar landmarks and +bits of scenery and buildings with the gusto and enthusiasm of a +school boy. + +"That's Ostable court-house," he cried, pointing. "And see--see +that red-roofed house right over there, just past that white +church? That's where Judge Baxter lives; a mighty good friend of +mine, the Judge is. I stopped to his house to dinner the night +Graves came." + +A little further on he added, "'Twas about here that I spoke to +Graves fust. I noticed him sittin' right across the aisle from me, +with a face on him sour as a sasser of green tamarind preserves, +and I thought I'd be sociable. 'Tough night,' I says. 'Umph,' +says he. 'Twa'n't a remark cal'lated to encourage conversation, so +I didn't try again--not till his umbrella turned inside out on the +Denboro platform. Ho! ho! I wish you'd have seen his face THEN." + +At Denboro he pointed out Pete Shattuck's livery stable, where the +horse and buggy came from which had been the means of transporting +Graves and himself to South Denboro. + +"See!" he cried. "See that feller holdin' up the corner of the +depot with his back! the one that's so broad in the beam he has to +draw in his breath afore he can button his coat. That's Pete. +You'd think he was too sleepy to care whether 'twas to-day or next +week, wouldn't you? Well, if you was a summer boarder and wanted +to hire a team, you'd find Pete was awake and got up early. If a +ten-cent piece fell off the shelf in the middle of the night he'd +hear it, though I've known him to sleep while the minister's barn +burned down. The parson had been preachin' against horse-tradin'; +maybe that sermon was responsible for some of the morphine +influence." + +Sylvester was enjoying himself hugely. Captain Elisha's exuberant +comments were great fun for him. "This is what I came for," he +confided to Caroline. "I don't care if it rains or snows. I could +sit and listen to your uncle for a year and never tire. He's a +wonder. And I'm crazy to see that housekeeper of his. If she +lives up to her reputation there'll be no disappointment in my +Thanksgiving celebration." + +Dan, the captain's hired man, met them with the carriage at the +station, and Miss Baker met them at the door of the Warren home. +The exterior of the big, old-fashioned, rambling house was inviting +and homelike, in spite of the gloomy weather, and Caroline cheered +up a bit when they turned in at the gate. Five minutes of Miss +Abigail's society, and all gloom disappeared. One could not be +gloomy where Miss Abbie was. Her smile of welcome was so broad +that, as her employer said, "it took in all outdoor and some of +Punkhorn Neck," a place which, he hastened to add, "was forgot +durin' creation and has sort of happened of itself since." + +Abbie conducted Caroline to her room--old-fashioned, like the rest +of the house, but cozy, warm, and cheery--and, after helping in the +removal of her wraps, seized her by both hands and took a long look +at her face. + +"You'll excuse my bein' so familiar on short acquaintance, dearie," +she said, "but I've heard so much about you that I feel's if I knew +you like own folks. And you are own folks, ain't you? Course you +are! Everyone of 'Lisha's letters have had four pages of you to +one of anything else. I begun to think New York was nothin' but +you and a whole lot of ten-story houses. He thinks so much of you +that I'd be jealous, if I had that kind of disposition and the time +to spare. So I must have a good look at you . . . I declare! +you're almost prettier than he said. May I kiss you? I'd like +to." + +She did, and they were friends at once. + +The rest of that day and evening were busy times. Captain Elisha +showed his visitors about the place, the barn, the cows, the +pigpen--the pig himself had gone to fulfill the unhappy destiny of +pigs, but they would meet him by sections later on, so the captain +assured them. The house and buildings were spotless in paint and +whitewash; the yard was raked clean of every dead leaf and twig; +the whole establishment was so neat that Caroline remarked upon it. + +"It looks as if it had been scoured," she said. + +"Um-hm," observed her uncle, with a gratified nod; that's Abbie. +She hates dirt worse than she does laziness, and that ain't sayin' +a little. I tell her she'd sand-soap the weather vane if she could +climb up to it; as 'tis, she stays below and superintends Dan while +he does it. If godliness wants to stay next to cleanliness when +she's around it has to keep on the jump. I always buy shirts two +degrees heavier'n I need, 'cause I know she'll have 'em scrubbed +thin in a fortni't. When it comes to REAL Domestic Science, +Caroline, Abbie ain't in the back row of the primer class, now I +tell you." + +Miss Baker had planned that her young guest should sit in state, +with folded hands, in the parlor. She seemed to consider that the +proper conduct for a former member of New York's best society. She +was shocked when the girl volunteered to help her about the house. + +"Course I sha'n't let you," she said. "The idea--and you company! +Got more help than I know what to do with, as 'tis. 'Lisha was +determined that I should hire a girl to wash dishes and things +while you was here. Nothin' would do but that. So I got Annabel +Haven's daughter, Etta G. There's fourteen in that family, and the +land knows 'twas an act of charity takin' one appetite out of the +house. Pay her fifty cents a day, I do, and she's out in the +kitchen makin' believe wash windows. They don't need washin', but +she was lookin' out of 'em most of the time, so I thought she might +as well combine business with pleasure." + +But Caroline refused to sit in the parlor and be "company." She +insisted upon helping. Miss Baker protested and declared there was +nothing on earth to be done; but her guest insisted that, if there +was not, she herself must sit. As Abbie would have as soon thought +of attending church without wearing her jet earrings as she would +of sitting down before dinner, she gave in, after a while, and +permitted Caroline to help in arranging the table. + +"Why, you do fust-rate!" she exclaimed, in surprise. "You know +where everything ought to go, just as if you'd been settin' table +all your life. And you ain't, because 'Lisha wrote you used to +keep hired help, two or three of 'em, all the time." + +Caroline laughed. + +"I've been studying housekeeping for almost a year," she said. + +"Studyin' it! Why, yes, now I remember 'Lisha wrote you'd been +studyin' some kind of science at college. 'Twa'n't settin' table +science, I guess, though. Ha! ha!" + +"That was part of it." She explained the course briefly. Abigail +listened in amazement. + +"And they teach that--at school?" she demanded. "And take money +for it? And call it SCIENCE? My land! I guess I was brought up +in a scientific household, then. I was the only girl in the +family, and mother died when I was ten years old." + +After dinner she consented to sit for a time, though not until she +had donned her Sunday best, earrings and all. Captain Elisha and +Sylvester sat with them, and the big fireplace in the sitting room +blazed and roared as it had not since its owner left for his long +sojourn in the city. In the evening callers came, the Congregational +minister and his wife, and some of the neighbors. The latter were +pleasant country people, another retired sea captain among them, and +they all seemed to have great respect and liking for Captain Elisha +and to be very glad to welcome him home. The two captains spun salt +water yarns, and the lawyer again decided that he was getting just +what he had come for. They left a little after nine, and Caroline +said good night and went to her room. She was tired, mentally and +physically. + +But she did not fall asleep at once. Her mind was still busy with +the suspicion which her uncle's words concerning his future plans +for Steve had aroused. She had thought of little else since she +heard them. The captain did not mention the subject again; +possibly, on reflection, he decided that he had already said too +much. And she asked no more questions. She determined not to +question him--yet. She must think first, and then ask someone +else--Sylvester. He knew the truth and, if taken by surprise, +might be driven into confession, if there should be anything to +confess. She was waiting for an opportunity to be alone with him, +and that opportunity had not yet presented itself. + +The captain would have spoken further with her concerning James +Pearson. He was eager to do that. But her mind was made up; she +had sent her lover away, and it was best for both. She must forget +him, if she could. So, when her uncle would have spoken on that +subject, she begged him not to; and he, respecting her feelings and +believing that to urge would be bad policy, refrained. + +But to forget, she found, was an impossibility. In the excitement +of the journey and the arrival amid new surroundings, she had +managed to keep up a show of good spirits, but now alone once more, +with the wind singing mournfully about the gables and rattling the +windows, she was sad and so lonely. She thought what her life had +once promised to be and what it had become. She did not regret the +old life, that life she had known before her father died; she had +been happy in it while he lived, but miserable after his death. As +for happiness, she had been happy that summer, happy with her uncle +and with--him. And with him now, even though they would be poor, +as she was used to reckoning poverty, she knew she could be very +happy. She wondered what he was doing then; if he was thinking of +her. She ought to hope that he was not, because it was useless; +but she wished that he might be, nevertheless. Then she told +herself that all this was wicked; she had made up her mind; she +must be true to the task she had set, duty to her brother and +uncle. + +Her uncle! why had her uncle done all this for her? And why had +her father made him their guardian? These were old questions, but +now she asked them with a new significance. If that strange +suspicion of hers was true it would explain so much; it would +explain almost everything. But it could not be true; if it was, +why had he not told her when the discovery of her father's +dishonesty and of the note forfeiting the estate was made? Why had +he not told her then? That was what troubled her most. It did not +seem like him to do such a thing--not like his character at all. +Therefore, it could not be true. Yet she must know. She resolved +to question Sylvester the next day, if possible. And, so resolving, +she at last fell asleep. + +Her opportunity came the following morning, the day before +Thanksgiving. After breakfast Captain Elisha went downtown to call +on some acquaintances. He invited Caroline and the lawyer to +accompany him, but they refused, the latter because he judged his, +a stranger's, presence during the calls would be something of a +hindrance to good fellowship and the discussion of town affairs +which the captain was counting on, and Caroline because she saw her +chance for the interview she so much desired. + +After the captain had gone, Sylvester sat down before the fire in +the sitting room to read the Boston Transcript. As he sat there, +Caroline entered and closed the door behind her. Miss Abigail was +in the kitchen, busy with preparations for the morrow's plum +pudding. + +The girl took the chair next that occupied by the lawyer. He put +down his paper and turned to her. + +"Well," he asked, "how does this Cape Cod air effect your appetite, +Caroline? I'm ashamed of mine. I'm rather glad to-morrow is +Thanksgiving; on that day, I believe, it is permissible, even +commendable, to eat three times more than a self-respecting person +ordinarily should." + +She smiled, but her answer was in the form of another question, and +quite irrelevant. + +"Mr. Sylvester," she said, "I wish you would tell me something +about the value of a seat on the Stock Exchange. What is the price +of one?" + +The lawyer looked at her in surprise. + +"The value of a seat on the Stock Exchange?" he repeated. + +"Yes; what does it cost to buy one?" + +He hesitated, wondering why she should be interested in that +subject. Captain Elisha had not told him a word of the interview +following Pearson's last visit. He wondered, and then surmised a +reason--Stephen, of course. Steve's ambition was to be a broker, +and his sister was, doubtless, with sisterly solicitude and +feminine ignorance of high prices, planning for his future. + +"Well," he replied, smiling, "they're pretty expensive, I'm afraid, +Caroline." + +"Are they?" innocently. + +"Yes. I think the last sale was at a figure between ninety and one +hundred thousand dollars." + +"Indeed! Was father's seat worth as much as that?" + +"Yes." + +"But," with a sigh, "that, I suppose, went with the rest of the +estate." + +"Yes." + +"Into the hands of the man who took it all?" + +"Yes; the same hands," with a sly smile at his own private joke. + +"Then how does it happen that my uncle has it in his possession?" + +The lawyer smiled no more. He turned in his chair and gazed +quickly and keenly at the young lady beside him. And her gaze was +just as keen as his own. + +"What did you say?" he asked. + +"I asked you how it happened that my uncle now has father's Stock +Exchange seat in his possession." + +"Why! . . . Has he?" + +"Yes. And I think you know he has, Mr. Sylvester. I know it, +because he told me so himself. Didn't you know it?" + +This was a line shot from directly in front and a hard one to +dodge. A lie was the only guard, and he was not in the habit of +lying, even professionally. + +"I--I cannot answer these questions," he declared. "They involve +professional secrets and--" + +"I don't see that this is a secret. My uncle has already told me. +What I could not understand was how he obtained the seat from the +man to whom it was given as a part of father's debt. Do you know +how he obtained it?" + +"Er--well--er--probably an arrangement was made. I cannot go into +details, because--well, for obvious reasons. You must excuse me, +Caroline." + +He rose to go. + +"One moment more," she said, "and one more question. Mr. Sylvester, +who IS this mysterious person--this stockholder whom father +defrauded, this person who wishes his name kept a secret, but who +does such queer things? Who is he?" + +"Caroline, I tell you I cannot answer these questions. He does +wish to remain unknown, as I told you and your brother when we +first learned of him and his claim. If I were to tell you I should +break my faith with him. . . . You must excuse me; you really +must." + +"Mr. Sylvester, perhaps you don't need to tell me. Perhaps I can +guess. Isn't he my--" + +"Caroline, I cannot--" + +"ISN'T HE MY UNCLE, ELISHA WARREN?" + +Sylvester was half way to the door, but she was in his path and +looking him directly in the face. He hesitated. + +"I thought so," she said. "You needn't answer, Mr. Sylvester; your +face is answer enough. He is." + +She turned away, and, walking slowly to the chair from which she +had arisen, sank into it. + +"He is," she repeated. "I knew it. I wonder that I didn't know it +from the very first. How could I have been so blind!" + +The lawyer, nervous, chagrined, and greatly troubled, remained +standing by the door. He did not know whether to go or stay. He +took his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. + +"Whew!" he exclaimed. "Well, by--GEORGE!" + +She paid no attention to him, but went on, speaking, apparently, to +herself. + +"It explains everything," she said. "He was father's brother; and +father, in some way, took and used his money. But father knew what +sort of man he was, and so he asked him to be our guardian. Father +thought he would be kind to us, I suppose. And he has been kind-- +he has. But why did he keep it a secret? Why did he . . . I +don't understand that. Of course the money was his; all we had was +his, by right. But to say nothing . . . and to let us believe . . . +It does not seem like him at all. It . . ." + +Sylvester interrupted quickly. "Caroline! Caroline!" he said, +"don't make any mistake. Don't misjudge your uncle again. He is a +good man; one of the best men I ever knew. Yes, and one of the +wisest. Don't say or think anything for which you may be sorry. +I am speaking as your friend." + +She turned toward him once more, the distressed, puzzled look still +on her face. "But I don't understand," she cried. "He . . . Oh, +Mr. Sylvester, please, now that I do know--now that you have told +me so much--won't you tell me the rest; the reason and--all of it? +Please!" + +The lawyer shook his head, regarding her with an expression of +annoyance and reluctant admiration. + +"Now that I'VE told you!" he repeated. "I don't remember that I've +told you anything." + +"But you have. Not in words, perhaps, but you have told me. I +know. Please go on and tell me all. If you don't," with +determination, "I shall make Uncle Elisha tell me as soon as he +comes. I shall!" + +Sylvester sighed. "Well, by George!" he repeated, feelingly. +"I'll tell you one thing, young woman, you're wasting your talents. +You should be a member of the bar. Anyone who can lead a battle- +scarred veteran of cross-examination like myself into a trap and +then spring it on him, as you have done, is gifted by Providence." + +"But will you tell me?" + +He hesitated, perplexed and doubtful. + +"I ought not to say another word on the subject," he declared, +emphatically. "What Captain Warren will say to me when he finds +this out is unpleasant to consider. But . . . But yet, I don't +know. It may be better for you to learn the real truth than to +know a part and guess wrongly at the rest. I . . . What is it +you want me to tell you?" + +"Everything. I want you to sit down here by me and tell me the +whole story, from the beginning. Please." + +He hesitated a moment longer and, then, his mind made up, returned +to his chair, crossed his legs and began. "Here it is," he said. + +"Caroline, about twenty years ago, or such matter, your father +was a comparatively poor man--poor, I mean, compared to what he +afterward became. But he was a clever man, an able business man, +one who saw opportunities and grasped them. At that time he +obtained a grant in South America for--" + +"I know," she interrupted; "the Akrae Rubber Company was formed. +You told Steve and me all about that. What I want to know is--" + +"Wait. I did not tell you all about it. I said that another man +invested ten thousand dollars with your father to form that +company. That man, so we now know, was your uncle, Captain Elisha +Warren." + +"I guessed that. Of course it must have been he." + +"It was. The captain was older than your father, had lived +carefully, and had saved some money. Also, at that time, he +idolized his brother and believed in his shrewdness and capability. +He invested this ten thousand on Rodgers Warren's word that the +investment was likely to be a good one. That, and to help the +latter in business. For a few years the company did nothing; +during that time your father and uncle disagreed--concerning +another matter, quite unconnected with this one--and they did not +see each other again while Rodgers lived. In that long period the +Akrae Company made millions. But Elisha supposed it to be bankrupt +and worthless; because--well, to be frank, because his brother +wrote him to that effect." + +He paused, fearful of the effect which this announcement might have +upon the girl. But she had guessed this part of her father's +dishonor and was prepared for it. She made no comment, and he +continued. + +"Now we come to the will. Your father, Caroline, was not a bad +man at heart. I knew him well, and I believe that may be said +truthfully. He realized what he had done, how he had defrauded +the brother who had been so kind to him, and he meant, he kept +promising himself, to some day repay the money he had taken. To +insure that, he put that note with the other papers of the Company. +If he did repay, it could be destroyed. If he did not, if he +should die, it would be there to prove--what it did prove. But +always in his mind was the thought of you and Steve, the children +he loved. He had quarreled with his brother it is true; he had +cheated him, but restitution for that cheat he had provided. But +what would become of you, left--in case he died without making +restitution--penniless? He knew his brother, as I said; knew +his character, respected his honesty, and believed in his +conscientiousness and his big heart. So he made his will, and in +it, as you know, he appointed Elisha your guardian. He threw his +children and their future upon the mercy and generosity of the +brother he had wronged. That is his reason, as we surmise it, for +making that will." + +He paused again. Caroline did not speak for a moment. Then she +asked: + +"And no one knew--you or my uncle or anyone--of all this until last +March?" + +"No. Graves had, with his usual care and patience, pieced together +the evidence and investigated until we were sure that a stockholder +in the Akrae Company existed and that all of your father's estate +belonged to him. Who that stockholder was we did not know until +that day of the meeting at our office. Then Captain Warren told +us." + +"But he did not know, either?" + +"Not until then. He supposed his Akrae stock worthless, and had +practically forgotten it. When we told him of its value, of the +note, and of the missing shareholder, he knew, of course." + +"What did he say?" + +"Say? Caroline, he was the most distressed and conscience-stricken +man in the city. One would have thought he was the wrongdoer and +not the wronged. He would have gone straight to you and asked your +pardon, if we would have permitted it." + +"But, Mr. Sylvester, now we are coming to the part I cannot +understand. Of course the estate belonged to him, I know that. +It is his. But why didn't he tell Steve and me the truth then, +at once? Why did he let us believe, and employ you to lead us to +believe, that it was not he but someone else? Did he think we would +blame him? Why has he--" + +"Caroline! Caroline! don't you understand yet? Do you imagine for +one moment that your uncle intends keeping that money?" + +She stared at him in utter amazement. + +"Keeping it?" she repeated. "Why not? It is his. It belongs to +him." + +"Caroline, I'm afraid you don't know him, even yet. He was for +going to you at once and destroying the note in your presence. He +would have done it, but we persuaded him to wait and think it over +for a day or two. He did think and then decided to wait a little +longer, for your sake." + +"For my sake? For mine?" she passed her hand in a bewildered way +across her forehead. "Mr. Sylvester, I don't seem to understand +even now. I--" + +"For your sake, Caroline. Remember, at that time you were engaged +to Malcolm Dunn." + +Her intent gaze wavered. She drew a long breath. "I see," she +said, slowly. "Oh . . . I see." + +"Yes. Captain Warren is one of the best judges of character I ever +met. The Dunns did not deceive him for one moment. He was certain +Malcolm intended marrying you because of your money; for that +matter, so was I. But his was the plan entirely which showed them +to you as they were. He knew you were too honest and straightforward +to believe such things of the man to whom you were engaged if they +were told you; you must see the proof with your own eyes. And he +showed it to you." + +"But then," she begged, distractedly, "why couldn't he tell me +after that? I--I am so stupid, I suppose--but, Mr. Sylvester, all +this is--is--" + +"He might have told you then, but he did not think it best. +Caroline, your uncle has always believed in you. Even when you +sent him from your home he did not blame you; he said you were +deceived, that was all. But, too, he has always declared that you +had been, as he expressed it, 'brought up wrong.' Your money had, +in a way, warped your estimate of people and things. He believed +that, if you were given the opportunity, you would learn that +wealth does not, of itself, mean happiness. So he decided not to +tell you, not to give you back your share of your father's money-- +he refuses to consider it his--until another year, until you were +of age, at least. And there was Steve. You know, Caroline, that +money and what it brought was spoiling Steve. He has never been so +much a man as during the past year, when he thought himself poor. +But your uncle has planned for him as well as for you and, when he +believes the time has come, he--" + +"Please," she interrupted, falteringly; "please don't say any more. +Let me think. Oh, please let me think, Mr. Sylvester . . . You +say that Uncle Elisha intends giving us all that father took from +him? All of it?" + +"Yes, all. He considers himself merely your guardian still and +will accept only his expenses from the estate." + +"But--but it is wonderful!" + +"Yes, it is. But I have learned to think him a wonderful man." + +She shook her head. + +"It is wonderful!" she repeated, brokenly. "Even though we cannot +take it, it is wonderful." + +"What? Cannot take it?" + +"Of course not! Do you suppose that either my brother or I will +take the fortune that our father stole--yes, STOLE from him? After +he has been living almost in poverty all these years and we in +luxury--on HIS money? Of course we shall not take it!" + +"But, Caroline, I imagine you will have to take it. I understand +your feelings, but I think he will compel you to take it." + +"I shall NOT!" she sprang to her feet. "Of course I shall not! +Never! never!" + +"What's that you're never goin' to take, Caroline? Measles? or +another trip down in these parts? I hope 'tain't the last, 'cause +I've been cal'latin' you'd like it well enough to come again." + +Caroline turned. So did Sylvester. Captain Elisha was standing in +the doorway, his hand on the knob. He was smiling broadly, but as +he looked at the two by the fire he ceased to smile. + +"What's all this?" he asked, suspiciously. "Caroline, what-- +Sylvester, what have you been tellin' her?" + +Neither answered at once. The captain looked from one to the +other. + +"Well, what's up?" he demanded. "What's the matter?" + +The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. + +"What's up?" he repeated. "Humph! well, I should say the jig was +up. The murder's out. The cat is no longer in the bag. That's +about the size of it." + +"Sylvester!" Caroline had never seen her uncle thoroughly angry +before; "Sylvester," he cried, "have you--Have you dast to tell her +what you shouldn't? Didn't you promise me? If you told that girl, +I'll--I'll--" + +His niece stepped forward. "Hush, Uncle Elisha," she said. "He +didn't tell me until I knew already. I guessed it. Then I asked +for the whole truth, and he told me." + +"The whole truth? CAROLINE!" + +He wrung his hands. + +"Yes, Uncle, the whole truth. I know you now. I thought I knew +you before; but I didn't--not half. I do now." + +"Oh, Caroline!" he stepped toward her and then stopped, frantic and +despairing. "Caroline! Caroline!" he cried again, "can you ever +forgive me? You know--you must know I ain't ever meant to keep it. +It's all yours. I just didn't give it to you right off because . . . +because . . . Oh, Sylvester, tell her I never meant to keep it! +Tell her!" + +The lawyer shook his head. "I did tell her," he said, with another +shrug, "and she tells me she won't accept it." + +"What?" the captain's eyes were starting from his head. "What? +Won't take it? Why, it's hers--hers and Steve's! It always has +been! Do you cal'late I'd rob my own brother's children? DON'T +talk so foolish! I won't hear such talk!" + +Caroline was close to tears, but she was firm. + +"It isn't ours," she said. "It is yours. Our father kept it from +you all these years. Do you suppose we will keep it any longer?" + +Captain Elisha looked at her determined face; then at the lawyer's-- +but he found no help there. His chin thrust forward. He nodded +slowly. + +"All right! all right!" he said, grimly. "Sylvester, is your shop +goin' to be open to-morrer?" + +"Guess not, Captain," was the puzzled reply. "It's Thanksgiving. +Why?" + +"But Graves'll be to home, won't he? I could find him at his +house?" + +"I presume you could." + +"All right, then! Caroline Warren, you listen to me: I'll give +you till two o'clock to make up your mind to take the money that +belongs to you. If you don't, I swear to the Lord A'mighty I'll +take the fust train, go straight to New York, hunt up Graves, make +him go down to the office and get that note your father made out +turnin' all his property over to that Akrae Company. I'll get that +note and I'll burn it up. Then--THEN you'll have to take the +money, because it'll be yours. Every bit of evidence that'll hold +in law is gone, and nobody but you and Steve'll have the shadow of +a claim. I'll do it, so sure as I live! There! now you can make +up your mind." + +He turned, strode to the door and out of the room. A moment later +they heard a scream from Miss Baker in the kitchen: "'Lisha +Warren, what ails you? Are you crazy?" There was no answer, but +the back door closed with a tremendous bang. + + + +Half an hour after his dramatic exit Captain Elisha was pacing up +and down the floor of the barn. It was an old refuge of his, a +place where he was accustomed to go when matters requiring +deliberation and thought oppressed him. He was alone. Dan had +taken the horse to the blacksmith's to be shod. + +The captain strode across the floor, turned and strode back again. +Every few moments he looked at his watch. It was a long way to two +o'clock, but each additional moment was another weight piled upon +his soul. As he turned in his stride he saw a shadow move across +the sill of the big, open door. He caught his breath and stopped. + +Caroline entered the barn. She came straight to him and put her +hands upon the lapels of his coat. Her eyes were wet and shining. + +"Caroline?" he faltered, eagerly. + +"You good man!" she breathed, softly. "Oh, you GOOD man!" + +"Caroline!" his voice shook, but there was hope in it. "Caroline, +you're goin' to take the money?" + +"Yes, Uncle Elisha. Mr. Sylvester has shown me that I must. He +says you will do something desperate if I refuse." + +"I sartin would! And you'll take it, really?" + +"Yes, Uncle Elisha." + +"Glory be! And--and, Caroline, you won't hold it against me, my +makin' you think you was poor, and makin' you live in that little +place, and get along on just so much, and all that? Can you +forgive me for doin' that?" + +"Forgive you? Can I ever thank you enough? I know I can't; but I +can try all my life to prove what--" + +"S-s-h-h! s-s-h! . . . There!" with a great sigh, almost a sob, of +relief, "I guess this'll be a real Thanksgivin', after all." + +But, a few minutes later, another thought came to him. "Caroline," +he asked, "I wonder if, now that things are as they are, you +couldn't do somethin' else--somethin' that would please me an awful +lot?" + +"What is it, Uncle?" + +"It's somethin' perhaps I ain't got any right to ask. You mustn't +say yes if you don't want to. The other day you told me you cared +for Jim Pearson, but that you sent him away 'cause you thought you +had to earn a livin' for you and Steve. Now you know that you +ain't got to do that. And you said you told him if you ever +changed your mind you'd send for him. Don't you s'pose you could +send for him now--right off--so he could get here for this big +Thanksgivin' of ours? Don't you think you could, Caroline?" + +He looked down into her face, and she looked down at the barn +floor. But he saw the color creep up over her forehead. + +"Send for him--now?" she asked, in a low tone. + +"Yes. Now--right off. In time for to-morrow!" + +"He could not get here," she whispered. + +"Yes, he could. If you send him a telegram with one word in it: +'Come'--and sign it 'Caroline'--he'll be here on to-morrow mornin's +train, or I'll eat my hat and one of Abbie's bonnets hove in. +Think you could, Caroline?" + +A moment; then in a whisper, "Yes, Uncle Elisha." + +"Hooray! But--but," anxiously, "hold on, Caroline. Tell me truly +now. You ain't doin' this just to please me? You mustn't do that, +not for the world and all. You mustn't send for him on my account. +Only just for one reason--because YOU want him." + +He waited for his answer. Then she looked up, blushing still, but +with a smile trembling on her lips. + +"Yes, Uncle Elisha," she said, "because _I_ want him." + + + +The clouds blew away that night, and Thanksgiving day dawned clear +and cold. The gray sea was now blue; the white paint of the houses +and fences glistened in the sun; the groves of pitchpine were +brilliant green blotches spread like rugs here and there on the +brown hills. South Denboro had thrown off its gloomy raiment and +was "all dolled up for Thanksgivin'," so Captain Elisha said. + +The captain and Sylvester were leaning on the fence by the gate, +looking up the road and waiting for Dan and the "two-seater" to +heave in sight around the bend. The hired man had harnessed early +and driven to the station at least thirty minutes before train +time. Captain Elisha was responsible for the early start. Steve +was coming on that train; possibly someone else was coming. The +captain did not mean they should find no welcome or vehicle at the +station. + +The whistle had sounded ten minutes before. It was time for Dan to +appear at the bend. + +"I hope to thunder Jim got that telegram," observed the captain for +the twentieth time, at least, since breakfast. + +"So do I," replied his friend. "There's no reason why he shouldn't, +is there?" + +"No, no sensible one; but I've scared up no less than a couple of +hundred of the other kind. If he shouldn't come--my, my! she'd be +disappointed." + +"You wouldn't feel any disappointment yourself, of course," said +the lawyer, with sarcasm. + +"Who? Me? Oh, I'd be sorer'n a scalded wharf rat in a barrel of +pepper. But I don't count. There's the real one up there." + +He motioned with his head toward the window of Caroline's room. +Sylvester nodded. "Yes," he said, "I suppose so. Captain, I'm +somewhat surprised that you should be willing to trust that niece +of yours to another man. She's a pretty precious article, +according to your estimate." + +"Well, ain't she accordin' to yours?" + +"Yes. Pretty precious and precious pretty. Look at her now." + +They turned in time to catch a glimpse of the girl as she parted +the curtains and looked out on the road. She saw them looking at +her, smiled, blushed, and disappeared. Both men smoked in silence +for a moment. Then the captain said: + +"Waitin'. Hi hum! nothin' like it, when you're waitin' for THE +one, is there?" + +"No, nothing." + +"Yup. Well, for a pair of old single hulks our age, strikes me +we're gettin' pretty sentimental. You say you wonder I'd trust +Caroline to another man; I wouldn't to the average one. But Jim +Pearson's all right. You'll say so, too, when you know him as well +as I do." + +"I'll trust your judgment, any time. So you won't tell Steve yet +awhile that he's not broke?" + +"No. And Caroline won't tell him, either. Steve's doin' fust-rate +as he is. He's in the pickle tub and 'twill do him good to season +a spell longer. But I think he's goin' to be all right by and by. +Say, Sylvester, this New York cruise of mine turned out pretty +good, after all, didn't it?" + +"Decidedly good. It was the making of your niece and nephew. +Caroline realizes it now; and so will Steve later on." + +"Hope so. It didn't do ME any harm," with a chuckle. "I wouldn't +have missed that little beat up the bay with Marm Dunn for a good +deal. For a spell there we was bows abreast, and 'twas hard to +tell who'd turn the mark first. Heard from the Dunns lately?" + +"No. Why, yes, I did hear that they were in a tighter box than +ever, financially. The smash will come pretty soon." + +"I'm sorry. The old lady'll go down with colors nailed to the +mast, I'll bet; and she'll leave a lot of suds where she sank. Do +you know, I never blamed her so much. She was built that way. +She's consider'ble like old Mrs. Patience Blodgett, who used to +live up here to the Neck; like her--only there never was two people +more different. Pashy was the craziest blue-ribboner you ever saw. +Her one idea in life was gettin' folks to sign the pledge. She +married Tim Blodgett, who was the wust soak in the county--he'd +have figgered out, if you analyzed him, about like a bottle of +patent medicine, seventy-two per cent alcohol. Well, Pashy married +him to reform him, and she made her brags that she'd get him to +sign the pledge. And she did, but only by puttin' it in front of +him when he was too drunk to read it." + +The lawyer laughed heartily. "So you think Mrs. Corcoran Dunn +resembles her, do you," he observed. + +"In one way--yes. Both of 'em sacrifice everything else to one +idea. Pashy's was gettin' that pledge signed, and never mind ways +and means. Mrs. Dunn's is money and position--never mind how they +come. See what I'm drivin' at?" + +Sylvester laughed again. "I guess so," he said. "Captain Warren, +I never saw you in better spirits. Do you know what I think? I +think that, for a chap who has just given away half of a good-sized +fortune and intends giving away the other half, you're the most +cheerful specimen I ever saw." + +The captain laughed, too. "I am, ain't I," he said. "Well, I can +say truthful what I never expected to say in my life--that ONCE I +was wuth ha'f a million dollars. As for the rest of it, I'm like +that millionaire--that . . . Hi! Look! There comes Dan! See +him!" + +They peered eagerly over the fence. The Warren "two-seater" had +rounded the bend in the road. Dan was driving. Beside him sat a +young fellow who waved his hand. + +"Steve!" cried the captain, excitedly. "There's Steve! And--and-- +yes, there's somebody on the back seat. It's Jim! He's come! +Hooray!" + +He was darting out of the gate, but his friend seized his coat. + +"Wait," he cried. "I don't want to lose the rest of that sentence. +You said you were like some millionaire. Who?" + +"Don't bother me," cried Captain Elisha. "Who? Why, I was goin' +to say I was like that millionaire chap who passes out a library +every time he wakes up and happens to think of it. You know who I +mean. . . . Ahoy there, Jim! Ahoy, Steve!" + +He was waving his hand to the passengers in the approaching vehicle. + +"Yes," prompted his friend, hastily, "I know who you mean--Carnegie." + +"That's the feller. I've come to feel about the way he says he +does--that 'twould be a crime for me to die rich." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext Cap'n Warren's Wards, by Joseph Lincoln + diff --git a/old/cpnww10.zip b/old/cpnww10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..58aedd0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/cpnww10.zip |