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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bachelors, by William Dana Orcutt
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Bachelors
+       A Novel
+
+Author: William Dana Orcutt
+
+Release Date: August 28, 2010 [EBook #33565]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BACHELORS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "LAUGH IF YOU LIKE; I SHAN'T MIND. THE MORE RIDICULOUS
+YOU MAKE IT THE SHORTER WORK IT WILL BE."--_See page 244_]
+
+
+
+
+THE BACHELORS
+A NOVEL
+
+
+BY
+WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT
+
+AUTHOR OF
+"THE MOTH," "THE LEVER," "THE SPELL," ETC.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
+NEW YORK AND LONDON
+MCMXV
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1915
+BY HARPER & BROTHERS
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE BACHELORS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+They were discussing Huntington and Cosden when the two men entered the
+living-room of the Club and strolled toward the little group indulging
+itself in relaxation after a more or less strenuous afternoon at golf.
+It was natural, perhaps, that no one quite understood the basis upon
+which their intimacy rested, for entirely aside from the difference in
+their ages they seemed far separated in disposition and natural tastes.
+Cosden's dynamic energy had made more than an average golf-player of
+Huntington, and in other ways forced him out of the easy path of least
+resistance; the older man's dignity and quiet philosophy tempered the
+cyclonic tendencies of his friend. The one met the world as an
+antagonist, and forced from it tribute and recognition; the other, never
+having felt the necessity of competition, had formed the habit of taking
+the world into his confidence and treating it as a friend.
+
+These differences could not fail to attract the attention of their
+companions at the Club as day after day they played their round
+together, but this was the first time the subject had become a topic of
+general conversation. The speaker sat with his back to the door and
+continued his remarks after the newcomers came within hearing, in spite
+of the efforts made by those around to suppress him. The sudden hush and
+the conscious manner of those in the group would have conveyed the
+information even if the words had not.
+
+"So you're giving us the once over, are you?" Cosden demanded, dropping
+into a chair. "You don't mean to say that the golf autobiographies have
+become exhausted?"
+
+"I never heard myself publicly discussed," added Huntington as he, too,
+joined the party. "I am already experiencing a thrill of pleasurable
+excitement. Don't stop. Connie and I are really keen to learn more of
+ourselves."
+
+"Well," the speaker replied, with some hesitation, "there's no use
+trying to make you believe we were listening to Baker's explanation of
+how the bunkers have been located exactly where the golf committee knows
+his ball is going to strike--"
+
+"Heaven forbid!" Huntington exclaimed; "but don't apologize. I
+congratulate the Club that the members are at last turning their
+attention to serious things. 'Tell the truth and shame the
+devil'--provided it is Connie, and not me, you are going to shame."
+
+"Don't mind me in the least," Cosden added. "My hide is tough, and I
+rather like to be put through the acid test once in a while."
+
+"Oh, it isn't as bad as all that," the speaker explained. "We love you
+both, but in different ways, yet we can't make out just where you two
+fellows hitch up. Now, that isn't _lese-majeste_, is it?"
+
+"What do you think, Connie?" Huntington asked, lighting his pipe. "Is
+that an insult or a compliment?"
+
+"I don't see that it makes much difference from this crowd. We don't
+care what they say about us as long as they pay us the compliment of
+noticing us. That's the main point, and I'm glad we've been able to
+start something."
+
+"But why don't you tell us?" insisted the speaker. "You aren't
+interested in anything Monty cares for except golf, and he hasn't even a
+flirting acquaintance with business, which is your divinity, yet you two
+fellows have formed a fine young Damon and Pythias combination which we
+all envy. Why don't you tell us how it happened?"
+
+"I don't know," Cosden answered, serious at last and speaking with
+characteristic directness. "I never stopped to think of it; but if we're
+satisfied, whose concern is it, anyhow?"
+
+"If friendship requires explanation, then it isn't friendship," added
+Huntington. "Connie contributes much to my life which would otherwise be
+lacking, and I hope that he would say the same of my relation to him."
+
+"Of course--that goes without saying; but neither one of you is telling
+us anything. If you would explain your method perhaps we might become
+more reconciled to some of these misfits lying around the Club--like
+Baker over there--"
+
+"We have a thousand members--" Baker protested.
+
+"What has that to do with the present discussion?"
+
+"Why pick on me?"
+
+"Which is the misfit in my combination with Monty?" Cosden demanded.
+
+"I'm not labeling you fellows," the speaker disclaimed--"I couldn't if I
+tried; but each of you is so different from the other that such a
+friendship seems inconsistent."
+
+There was a twinkle in Huntington's eye as he listened to the persistent
+cross-examination. "We are bachelors," he said quietly. "That should
+explain everything; for what is a bachelor's life but one long
+inconsistency? If our friends were all alike what would be the need of
+having more than one? This friend gives us confidence in ourselves,
+another gives us sympathy; this friend gives us the inspiration which
+makes our work successful, another is the balance-wheel which prevents
+us from losing the benefit which success brings us. Each fills a
+separate and unique place in our lives, and, after all, the measure of
+our life-work is the sum of these friendships."
+
+The two responses demonstrated the difference between the men. William
+Montgomery Huntington came from a Boston family of position where wealth
+had accumulated during the several generations, each steward having
+given good account to his successor. He had taken up the practice of law
+after being graduated from Harvard--not from choice or necessity, but
+because his father and his grandfather had adopted it before him. His
+practice had never been a large one, but the supervision of certain
+trust estates, handed over to his care by his father's death, entailed
+upon him sufficient responsibility to enable him to maintain his
+self-respect.
+
+It would have been a fair question to ask what Montgomery Huntington's
+manner of life would have been if his father had not been born before
+him. He lived alone, since his younger brother married, in the same
+house into which the family moved when he was an infant in arms. Modern
+improvements had been introduced, it is true, in the building just as in
+the generation itself; but the walls were unchanged. The son succeeded
+to the father's place in directorates and on boards of trustees in
+charitable institutions, and he performed his duties faithfully, as his
+predecessor had done. Now, at forty-five, he had reached a point where
+he found it difficult to distinguish between his working and his leisure
+hours.
+
+Cosden's heritage had been a healthy imagination, a robust constitution,
+and an unbelievable capacity for work. Even his uncle Conover, from whom
+he had a right to expect compensation for the indignity of wearing his
+name throughout a lifetime, had left him to work out his own salvation.
+His parents had never worn the purple, but, being sturdy, valuable
+citizens, they spent their lives in fitting their son to occupy a
+position in life higher than they themselves could hope to attain; and
+Cosden had made the most of his opportunities. Seven years Huntington's
+junior, he had succeeded in a comparatively short time in extracting
+from his commercial pursuits a property which, from the standpoint of
+income, at least, was hardly less than his friend's. He, too, was a
+product of the university, but his name would be found blazoned on the
+annals of Harvard athletics rather than in the archives of the Phi Beta
+Kappa. His election as captain of the football team was a personal
+triumph, for it broke the precedent of social dominance in athletics,
+and laid the corner-stone for that democracy which since then has given
+Harvard her remarkable string of victories. The same dogged
+determination, backed up by real ability, which forced recognition in
+college accomplished similar results in later and more serious
+competitions. In the business world he was taken up first because he
+made himself valuable and necessary, and he held his advantage by virtue
+of his personal characteristics.
+
+Cosden was not universally popular. He won his victories by sheer force
+of determination and ability rather than by diplomacy or finesse. In
+business dealings he had the reputation of being a hard man, demanding
+his full pound of flesh and getting it, but he was scrupulously exact in
+meeting his own obligations in the same spirit. To an extent this
+characteristic was apparent in everything he did; but to those who came
+to know him it ceased to be offensive because of other, more agreeable
+qualities which went with it. They learned that, after all, money to him
+was only the means to an end which he could not have secured without it.
+
+To the man whose ruling passion is his business it is natural to measure
+himself and his actions by the same yardstick which has yielded full
+return in his office; to him whose property stands simply as a counter
+and medium of exchange the measure of life is inevitably different. The
+good-natured chaffing at the Club was forgotten by Huntington before he
+stepped into his automobile, but it still remained in Cosden's mind. As
+the car rolled out of the Club grounds he turned to his companion.
+
+"Monty," he said, "what is there so different about us that it attracts
+comment?"
+
+"We should have found out if you hadn't snapped together like a steel
+trap. There was the chance of a lifetime to learn all about ourselves,
+and you shut them off by saying, 'If we're satisfied, whose concern is
+it, anyhow?'"
+
+"Of course we are different," Cosden continued; "that's only natural. No
+two fellows are alike. I wonder if what you said about our being
+bachelors hasn't more truth than poetry in it.--Give me a light from
+your pipe."
+
+"What is the connection?"
+
+Cosden suddenly became absorbed and gave no sign that he heard the
+question. When he spoke his words seemed still more irrelevant.
+
+"Monty," he said seriously, "I want you to take a little trip with me
+for perhaps two or three weeks, or longer. What do you say?"
+
+Huntington showed no surprise. "It might possibly be arranged," he said.
+
+Again Cosden relapsed into silence, puffing vigorously at his cigar as
+was his habit when excited. Huntington watched him curiously, wondering
+what lay behind.
+
+"Did you ever try smoking a cigar with a vacuum cleaner?" he asked
+maliciously. "They say it draws beautifully, and consumes the cigar in
+one-tenth the time ordinarily required by a human being."
+
+Cosden was oblivious to his raillery. "What do you think of marriage?"
+he demanded abruptly.
+
+The question, and the serious manner in which it was asked, succeeded in
+rousing Huntington to a point of interest.
+
+"What do I think of-- So that's the idea, is it, Connie? That's why you
+picked me up on what I said about bachelors? Good heavens, man! you
+haven't made up your mind to marry me off like this without my consent?"
+
+"Of course not," Cosden answered, with some impatience; "but what do you
+think of the idea in general?"
+
+Huntington looked at his companion with some curiosity. "Well," he said
+deliberately, "if you really ask the question seriously, I consider
+marriage an immorality, as it offers the greatest possible encouragement
+to deceit."
+
+Cosden sighed. "You are a hard man to talk to when you don't start the
+conversation. I really want your advice."
+
+"Would it be asking too much to suggest that you throw out a few hints
+here and there as to the real bearing of your inquiry, so that I may
+come fairly close on the third guess?"
+
+"I've decided to get married," Cosden announced.
+
+"By Jove!" The words brought Huntington bolt upright in his seat. "You
+don't really mean it?"
+
+"That's just what I mean. It occurred to me on the way home from the
+office last night. What you said about a bachelor's life being an
+inconsistency reminded me of it. I believe you're right."
+
+Huntington regarded him for a moment with a puzzled expression on his
+face; then he relaxed, convulsed with laughter. Cosden was distinctly
+nettled.
+
+"This doesn't strike me as the friendliest way in the world to respond
+to a fellow's request for advice on so serious a subject."
+
+"You don't want to consult me," Huntington insisted, checking himself;
+"what you need is a specialist. When did you first feel the attack
+coming on? Oh, Lord! Connie! That's the funniest line you ever pulled
+off!"
+
+"Look here," Cosden said, with evident irritation; "I'm serious. With
+any one else I should have approached the subject less abruptly, but I
+don't see why I should pick and choose my words with you.
+
+"And the trip"--Huntington interrupted, again convulsed--"'for two or
+three weeks, or longer'? Is that to be your wedding-trip, and am I to go
+along as guardian?"
+
+The older man's amusement became contagious, and Cosden's annoyance
+melted before his friend's keen enjoyment of the situation.
+
+"Oh, well, have your laugh out," he said good-naturedly. "When it's all
+over perhaps you'll discuss matters seriously. Can you advance any sane
+reason why I should not marry if I see fit?"
+
+"None whatever, my dear boy, provided you've found a girl who possesses
+both imagination and a sense of humor."
+
+"I have reached a point in my life where I can indulge myself in
+marriage as in any other luxury," Cosden pursued, unruffled by
+Huntington's comments. "I've slaved for fifteen years for one definite
+purpose--to make money enough to become a power; and now I've got it. Up
+to this time a wife would have been a handicap; now she can be an asset.
+After all is said and done, Monty, a home is the proper thing for a man
+to have. It's all right living as you and I do while one's mind is
+occupied with other things, but it is an inconsistency, as you say.
+Now--well, what have you to put up against my line of argument?"
+
+"Am I to understand that all this, reduced to its last analysis, is
+intended to convey the information that you have fallen in love?"
+
+"What perfect nonsense!" Cosden replied disgustedly. "You and I aren't
+school-boys any more. We're living in the twentieth century, Monty, and
+people have learned that sometimes it's hard to distinguish between love
+and indigestion. I won't say that marriage has come to be a business
+proposition, but there's a good deal more thinking beforehand than there
+used to be. A woman wants power as much as a man does, and the one way
+she can get it is through her husband. It's only the young and
+unsophisticated who fall for the bushel of love and a penny loaf these
+days, and there are mighty few of those left. Get your basic business
+principles right to begin with, I say, and the sentimental part comes
+along of itself."
+
+Huntington was convinced by this time that Cosden was seriously in
+earnest. He had believed that he knew his friend well enough not to be
+surprised at anything he said or did, but now he found himself not only
+surprised, but distinctly shocked. He had joked with Cosden when he
+first spoke of marriage, but in his heart he regarded it with a
+sentimentality which no one of his friends suspected because of the
+cynicisms which always sprang to his lips when the subject was
+mentioned. He believed himself to have had a romance, and during these
+years its memory still obtained from him a sacred observance which he
+had successfully concealed from all the world. So, when Cosden coolly
+announced that he had decided to select a wife just as he would have
+picked out a car-load of pig iron, Huntington's first impulse was one of
+resentment.
+
+"It seems to me that you are proposing a partnership rather than a
+marriage," he remarked.
+
+"What else is marriage?" Cosden demanded. "You've hit it exactly. I
+wouldn't take a man into business with me simply because I liked him,
+but because I believed that he more than any one else could supplement
+my work and extend my horizon. Marriage is the apotheosis of
+partnership, and its success depends a great deal more upon the
+psychology of selection than upon sentiment."
+
+Huntington made no response. The first shock was tempered by his
+knowledge of Cosden's character. It was natural that he should have
+arrived at this conclusion, the older man told himself, and it was
+curious that the thought had not occurred to Huntington sooner that the
+days of their bachelor companionship must inevitably be numbered. There
+was nothing else which Connie could wish for now: he had his clubs, his
+friends, and ample means to gratify every desire; a home with wife and
+children was really needed to complete the success which he had made. He
+had proved himself the best of friends, which was a guarantee that he
+would make a good husband. Huntington found himself echoing Cosden's
+question, "Why not?"
+
+"Have you selected the happy bride, Connie?" he asked at length, more
+seriously.
+
+"Only tentatively," was the complacent reply. "I met a girl in New York
+last winter, and it seems to me she couldn't be improved upon if she had
+been made to order; but I want to look the ground over a bit, and that
+is where you come in. Her name is Marian Thatcher, and--"
+
+"Thatcher--Marian Thatcher!" Huntington interrupted unexpectedly. "From
+New York? Why--no, that would be ridiculous! Is she a widow?"
+
+Cosden chuckled. "Not yet, and if she marries me it will be a long time
+before she gets a chance to wear black. What put that idea in your
+head?"
+
+"Nothing," Huntington hastened to say. "I knew a girl years ago named
+Marian who married a man named Thatcher, and they lived in New York."
+
+"She is about twenty years old--"
+
+"Not the same," Huntington remarked. Then after a moment's silence he
+laughed. "What tricks Time plays us! I knew the girl I speak of when I
+was in college, and I haven't seen her since her marriage. Go on with
+your proposition."
+
+"Well, she and her parents went down to Bermuda last week, and it
+occurred to me that if you and I just happen down there next week it
+would exactly fit into my plans. More than that, I have business reasons
+for wanting to get closer to Thatcher himself. We've been against each
+other on several deals, and this might mean a combination. What do you
+say? Will you go?"
+
+"Next week?" Huntington asked. "I couldn't pick up stakes in a minute
+like that."
+
+"Of course you can," Cosden persisted. "There's nothing in the world to
+prevent your leaving to-night if you choose."
+
+"There's Bill, you know."
+
+"Well, what about Bill? Is he in any new scrape now?"
+
+"No," Huntington admitted; "but he's sure to get into some trouble
+before I return."
+
+"Why can't his father straighten him out?"
+
+Huntington laughed consciously. "No father ever understands his son as
+well as an uncle."
+
+"No father ever spoiled a son the way you spoil Bill--"
+
+Huntington held up a restraining hand. "It is only the boy's animal
+spirits bubbling over," he interrupted, "and the fact that he can't grow
+up. You and I were in college once ourselves."
+
+Huntington was never successful in holding out against Cosden's
+persistency, and in the present case elements existed which argued with
+almost equal force. He was curious to see how far his friend was in
+earnest, and was this combination of names a pure coincidence? He
+wondered.
+
+The car came to a stop before Huntington's house.
+
+"Well," he yielded at length, as he stepped out, "I presume it might be
+arranged.--Let Mason take you home. You've given me a lot to think
+over, Connie--"
+
+"This wouldn't break up our intimacy, you understand," Cosden asserted
+confidently. "No woman in the world shall ever do that; and it will be a
+good thing for you, too, to have a woman's influence come into your
+life."
+
+"Perhaps," Huntington assented dubiously; "but because you show symptoms
+of lapsing is no sign that I shall fall from the blessed state of
+bachelorhood. I supposed that our inoculation made us both immune, but
+if the virus has weakened in your system I have no doubt that any woman
+you select will have a heart big enough for us both."
+
+"If she hasn't, we won't take her into the firm," laughed Cosden.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+II
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Huntington was unusually preoccupied during the period of dinner. Even
+when alone he was in the habit of making the evening meal a function, in
+which his man Dixon and his cook took especial pride. But to-night the
+words of praise or gentle criticism were lacking, one course succeeding
+another mechanically without comment of any kind. When Dixon followed
+him up-stairs to the library with coffee and liqueur he found him with
+his _Transcript_ still unfolded lying in his lap; and, whatever may have
+happened in the mean time, the same attitude of abstraction prevailed
+when Dixon returned, three hours later, received his final instructions,
+and was dismissed for the night. Cosden had undoubtedly dropped off into
+that slumber which belongs by right to the man whose day has presented
+him with a brilliant inspiration; but Huntington still sat alone,
+absorbed in his own thoughts.
+
+The chronicler has already intimated that Huntington was possessed of a
+sentimental nature, but were he to stop there he would understate the
+real truth. Huntington was exceedingly sentimental--far more so than he
+himself realized, which made it natural that his friends should be
+deceived. He was a bachelor not from choice, as he would have the world
+think, but from circumstance, and the absence of home and wife and
+children represented the one lack in an otherwise entirely satisfactory
+career. It was the only thing his father had not provided for him, and
+he himself had not possessed sufficient energy to take the initiative.
+
+The conversation on the way home from the Club brought matters fairly
+before Huntington's mental vision. One moment it seemed monstrous that
+his friend of so many years' standing should deliberately announce his
+intention of entering into an estate from which he himself must perforce
+be barred, yet while the treachery seemed blackest Huntington found
+himself acknowledging that it was the proper step for Cosden to take,
+and admiring that characteristic which saved him from committing his own
+mistake. Yet, if years before he had only--but herein lies the most
+extraordinary evidence of Huntington's sentimentality. If the story were
+told--and it can scarcely be called a story--it would begin and end like
+Sidney Carton's in one long "what might have been."
+
+It was the mention of the name quite as much as the subject of their
+conversation which started in motion all that mysterious machinery which
+forces the present far out of its proper focus, disregards the future,
+and brings into the limelight those events of the past which the
+intervening years have magnified. No one can really explain it, and the
+wise make no attempt. "Marian Thatcher," Cosden had said. She was Marian
+Seymour when he had known her, twenty-odd years before, and the Marian
+he had known married a man named Thatcher right under the very noses of
+the legion of admirers, himself included, who fluttered about her. Of
+course it was only a coincidence, this combination of names, for the
+girl Cosden spoke of was only twenty; but just as substances combined by
+chemists in their laboratories begin to ferment and produce unwonted
+conditions, so did the combination of those two names start in
+Montgomery Huntington's brain that series of mental pictures which
+caused him to forget that the hour had come when sane persons of his age
+and disposition sought repose.
+
+This was not the first time that he had thus outraged Nature, and for
+the selfsame cause. Not a year of the more than twenty had passed
+without at least one mental pilgrimage to the shrine which had become
+more and more sacred as time piled itself on time. Satisfied that he
+alone was awake in the house, Huntington rose and drew a small table
+before his chair, and with a key taken from his pocket unlocked the
+drawer. It was a curious performance at that hour of night, and he
+seemed to be filled with guilty apprehensions, for he glanced from time
+to time at the closely-curtained door as if fearing interruption. The
+lock yielded readily and the contents of the drawer lay in front of him.
+Then, before seating himself again, he laid a fresh log on the open
+fire, turned off the lights, and resumed his favorite seat, with the
+table and the open drawer before him, illumined only by the flickering
+glare from the fireplace.
+
+For a moment he threw himself back in his chair, shading his eyes with
+his hand as if the mental picture was even more delectable than the
+sight of the actual objects before him. Then he sat upright again, with
+a deep sigh, and transferred from the open drawer to the top of the
+table a most remarkable collection of articles, which seemed to belong
+to any one else rather than to him.
+
+There was a long white glove, which he reverently unfolded and placed at
+the further edge of the table-top; there was a bunch of faded flowers,
+the dried petals of which fell softly onto the white glove in spite of
+the delicacy of his handling; there was a yellowed envelope, from which
+he drew a brief note, read it word by word, shook his head sadly,
+replaced the note in its covering, and laid the envelope tenderly on the
+table beside its fellow-exhibits. A piece of pink ribbon followed the
+envelope, and then--fie! Monty Huntington! where did you get it?--then
+came a pink satin slipper; and the exhibition was complete.
+
+The showman seemed well satisfied with what he saw before him, for he
+reached across to his smoking-table and found as if by instinct a
+well-burnt brier pipe, with stem of albatross wing, which he filled with
+his own mixture of Arcady and puffed contentedly, his eyes fixed upon
+the exhibits. Then the dim, flickering light and the incense of the
+tobacco accomplished their transmogrification. No longer was he William
+Montgomery Huntington, lawyer, man of affairs, director, trustee
+and--bachelor; he was Monty Huntington, senior in Harvard College, back
+in his rooms in Beck after his Senior Dance, stricken by the darts of
+that roguish Cupid who shot his shafts from the soft tulle folds of the
+gown worn that night by this same Marian, the casual mention of whose
+name even now caused him to forget his age and position and the dignity
+demanded in a bachelor of forty-five.
+
+The cloud of fragrant smoke concealed the fact that the long white glove
+was empty now; the flickering light made golden the words of the brief
+note which thanked him for the evening which his escort had made so
+wonderful a memory in a young girl's heart; the faded flowers were
+things of color and fragrance, more sweetly redolent because they had
+risen and fallen with her breath of life; the pink ribbon seemed to have
+a dance-card at one end and to be tied to a graceful wrist at the other;
+and the slipper--yes, the slipper--the dreamer smiled as he recalled the
+fleeting figure which flew up the brownstone steps behind her chaperon
+when he had last seen her, in playful fearfulness because he had managed
+to whisper in her ear that she was the sweetest, dearest, most
+bewitching maiden he had ever seen. The slipper had dropped off, and
+remained in his possession by right of capture since the owner would not
+come outside the door to claim her own.
+
+He had intended to make this selfsame slipper the excuse for following
+up what he was convinced was the romance of his life; but Marian Seymour
+had already returned home to New York when he called three days later.
+This was a disappointment, still at that moment it seemed but a
+postponement after all, for he was sailing for Europe a fortnight hence
+and could easily reach New York a day or two earlier than he had
+planned. Thus far the idea was capital; but when the second call was
+paid, with the pink slipper safely reposing in his pocket, he found that
+the dainty foot to which the slipper belonged had stepped upon an ocean
+steamer which sailed the day before.
+
+Even this second misadventure failed to dampen his ardor. Good fortune
+had arranged for him to follow in her direction, and surely, when once
+upon the same continent, the slipper would be a lodestone of sufficient
+potency to draw together two souls such as theirs. Yet he returned six
+months later without having had the expected happen, and soon after
+landing he learned of her engagement to a Mr. Thatcher.
+
+There is a certain gratification which comes to the experienced man of
+the world of twenty-two when he finds himself a martyr; and Monty
+Huntington enjoyed this gratification to the utmost. He was
+conscientious in believing himself to be wretchedly unhappy, but as a
+matter of fact he had in the instant become a hero to himself. Women
+were faithless: misogamists in prose and poetry had so chronicled the
+fact, and he had already, at this early age, become the victim of their
+perfidy. Marian Seymour should have known the depth of his love for her;
+she should have known that he would have told her of his affection had
+she given him the opportunity; and the mere fact that he had never so
+declared himself was not of the slightest importance. She had
+deliberately disregarded his impassioned though unexpressed sentiments
+toward her, and had thrown herself away on a man he did not even know!
+
+Fortunately, Time treats with kindly hand those tragedies which are
+imagined as well as those which actually exist. Each year added to the
+luster of the memory. Marian Seymour herself would not have recognized
+her own face could Huntington have translated it out of the figments of
+his mind upon the crude medium of canvas. And, be it said, had
+Huntington come face to face with the original during these years, it is
+doubtful whether he would have recognized her; for the idealization had
+become absolutely real to him. No sculptor had ever modeled hand and arm
+so perfect as that which the yellowed glove had held; no foot was ever
+shaped with graceful line equal to that which once the satin slipper had
+incased. The faithlessness of woman had long since been forgotten, and
+the sanctity of this romance, which might have been, provided all the
+details which it would otherwise have lacked. Each year made it more
+real, until now there was no doubt about it. Other men worshiped at the
+shrine of departed dear ones with no greater sincerity than did
+Montgomery Huntington revere this near-romance of his life.
+
+So, as he sat there, he was not the bachelor his friends considered him,
+but rather a man bereft of wife and children. Cosden, knowing nothing of
+this secret grief, had wantonly torn the veil aside and exposed the
+wound. Yet, with the sorrow of the widower and the childless, there must
+have come back to Huntington some memories which were not sad, for when
+Dixon happened upon him in the morning, soundly sleeping in his
+favorite chair with this curious exhibit before him, and with a pink
+slipper firmly grasped within his hand, there was a smile as if of
+happiness upon his face. And Dixon, discreet valet that he was, showed
+no surprise, a half-hour later, when he found the table and its strange
+contents carefully put away without his aid, or when his master summoned
+him to his room, where he appeared to be just rising as usual from a
+sleep as restful as it had been unportentous.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+III
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+"Then I shall leave Bermuda feeling that my beautiful dream is wholly
+incomplete."
+
+Mrs. Henry Thatcher spoke with a degree of resignation, but her tone
+signified that the apparent retreat was only to gain strength for a
+final advance which was sure to gain her point. She knew that this
+discussion with her husband would end as all their differences of
+opinion ended, and so did he. Perhaps his opposition was the inevitable
+expression of his own individuality which every married man likes to
+make a pretense of preserving; perhaps it pleased him to see his wife's
+half-playful, half-serious attack upon his own judgment in gently
+forcing him into a position where her wishes became his desires.
+
+"Better to have your dream incomplete than his privacy invaded," was the
+apparently unmoved reply. "When an owner plants a sign, 'Private
+Property,' conspicuously at the entrance to his estate, he is sure to
+have some idea in the back of his head which is as much to be respected
+as your curiosity is to be gratified."
+
+"It is a compliment in itself that we wish to see the grounds," she
+persisted; "the owner, whoever he is, could not consider it otherwise."
+
+"A compliment which has evidently been repeated often enough to become a
+nuisance--hence the sign."
+
+Marian Thatcher sighed heavily as she threw herself back in the
+victoria. Her husband was holding out longer than usual.
+
+"I simply must see the view from that point," she declared; "and until I
+can examine that gorgeous _bougainvillea_ at closer range I refuse to
+return to New York."
+
+"There!" laughed Edith Stevens, looking mischievously into Thatcher's
+face, "that is what I call an ultimatum! Come, Ricky,"--speaking to her
+brother--"let us walk back to the hotel. It will be humiliating to see
+Marian disciplined in public!"
+
+"You all are making me the scapegoat," Marian protested. "You know that
+you are just as eager to get inside those walls as I am. Look!" she
+cried, leaning forward in the carriage. "Isn't that-- Yes, it _is_ a
+century plant, and it's in bloom! Oh, Harry! you wouldn't make me wait
+another hundred years to see that, would you?"
+
+"Let me be the dove of peace," Stevens suggested, manifesting unusual
+comprehension and activity as he stepped out of the carriage. "I'll run
+in and beard the jolly old lion in his den."
+
+Thatcher shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly, Marian clapped her hands
+with delight, and Edith Stevens smiled indulgently as they settled back
+to await the result of the embassy.
+
+This midwinter pilgrimage to Bermuda was the result of a sudden impulse
+made while the Stevenses were their box-guests at the opera in New York
+two weeks before. They had exhausted the superlatives forced from their
+lips by the dramatic transformation from December to June--from ice and
+snow to roses and oleanders; they had followed the beaten track,
+touching elbows with the happy bride and the inquisitive traveler,
+seeing the sights in true tourist fashion; they had passed through the
+stage of quiet contentment, satisfied to sit on the broad sun-piazza of
+the "Princess" in passive lassitude, watching others experience what
+they had seen, learning the regulation forms of recreation indulged in
+by those who settled down more permanently. From the same point of
+vantage they had watched the great sails of the pleasure-boats pass so
+close beside them that they could have tossed pennies upon their decks;
+they saw the gorgeous sunsets behind Gibbs' Hill, with the ravishing
+changes of color and light and shade thrown upon the myriad of tiny
+islands scattered picturesquely throughout the bay.
+
+Then the period of inaction turned into a desire to learn more deeply of
+the beauties which the tourist never sees, and they poked through the
+narrow "tribal" lanes and unfrequented roads on foot, on bicycles, or
+_en voiture_, searching for the unexpected, and finding rich rewards at
+the end of every quest. It was one of these expeditions which led them
+to the highest rise of Spanish Point, where they stopped their carriage
+before the entrance to a private estate, within the walls of which they
+saw evidences of what the hand of man can do in supplementing Nature's
+work.
+
+Presently Stevens could be seen coming toward them, waving his hat as a
+signal for their advance. The driver turned in through the gateway.
+
+"He's a mighty decent sort," Stevens announced as he met the approaching
+vehicle. "Can't make out whether he's English or American, but he
+offered no objections whatever."
+
+"There!" Marian cried triumphantly; "of course he feels complimented! If
+his grounds were merely the commonplace no one would want to disturb his
+'privacy,' as Harry calls it. Did you ever see such a spot?"
+
+"Wonderful!" echoed Edith, equally impressed by the luxuriant bloom on
+either side of the driveway. "Thank Heaven here is a man who knows how
+not to vulgarize flowers."
+
+As they reached the front of the coraline stone house the owner stepped
+forward to greet them. He was a man of striking appearance, and his
+visitors found their attention at once diverted from the beauty
+surrounding them to the personality which manifested itself even in this
+brief moment of their meeting. He was fairly tall, but slight, the
+narrowness of his face being accentuated by the closely-cropped beard.
+As he removed his broad panama he disclosed a heavy head of hair, well
+turned to grey, which, with the darkness of his complexion, was set off
+by the white doe-skin suit he wore. As he came nearer his visitors were
+instinctively impressed by the expression of his face, for the high
+forehead, the deep, restless, yet penetrating eyes, the refined yet
+unsatisfied lines of the mouth, belonged to the ascetic rather than to
+the cottager, to the spiritual seeker for the unattainable rather than
+to the owner of an estate such as this.
+
+"I am glad you discounted my apparent inhospitality," he said, with
+pleasant dignity. "The tourists would overrun me if I did not take some
+such measure to protect myself; but I am always glad to welcome any one
+whose interest is more than curiosity."
+
+"It is good of you to make a virtue out of our presumption," Marian
+replied as their host assisted them to alight. Then their eyes met and
+there was instant recognition.
+
+"Philip!" she cried in utter amazement. "Is it possible that this is
+you--here?"
+
+The man bowed until his face almost touched the hand he still held, and
+the surprise seemed for the moment to deprive him of power of speech. He
+courteously motioned his guests to precede him through an arbor of
+_poinsettia_ into a tropical garden on a cliff overhanging the water.
+
+"Harry," Marian continued, still excited by her experience, "this is
+Philip Hamlen--you've heard me speak so many times of him. My husband,
+Mr. Thatcher, Philip," she added, as the two men shook hands; then she
+presented him to the Stevenses.
+
+Outwardly Hamlen showed none of the confusion which Marian so plainly
+manifested. He was the self-contained host, seemingly interested in the
+coincidence of the unexpected meeting, but by no means exercised over
+it.
+
+"Welcome to my Garden of Eden," he said, smiling, as the magnificent
+expanse of cliff and sea greeted them--"thrice welcome, since to two of
+us this is in the nature of a reunion."
+
+It was a revelation even in spite of their expectations. Involuntarily
+the eye first took in the turquoise water and the crumbling, broken
+shore-line undershot by the caves formed by the pounding of centuries of
+waves against the layers of animal formation. Except for the great
+dry-dock and the naval barracks across the entrance to Hamilton Harbor,
+all seemed as Nature had intended it.
+
+Then, as the vision narrowed to its immediate surroundings, the visitors
+realized how much art had accomplished in making the garden into which
+their host had shown them seem so completely in harmony with the
+brilliant setting of its location. They had thought of Bermuda as the
+home of the Easter lily, not realizing that this is but a seasonal
+incident; they could not have believed it possible to make the luxuriant
+bloom of the tropical trees, shrubs, and flowers so subservient to the
+beauty of their foliage, yet so marvelous a finish to the brilliancy of
+the whole. The great rubber-tree extended its awkward branches in
+exactly the right directions to add quaint picturesqueness; the
+_poincianas_, as graceful as the rubber-tree was _gauche_, lifted their
+smooth, bare branches like elephant trunks, from which the great leaves
+hung down in magnificent clusters; the calabash, with its own ungainly
+beauty, proved its right by exactly fitting into the landscape at its
+own particular corner and the row of giant cabbage-palms stood like
+sentinels, adding a quiet dignity suggestive of the East. Between these
+and other massive trunks the smaller trees and flowering shrubs were
+interspersed in so original and bewildering a manner that each glance
+forced a new exclamation of delight. The night-blooming cereus crawled
+like an ugly reptile in and out among the branches of the giant cedars,
+but the bursting buds gave evidence that at nightfall they would redeem
+the hideous suggestiveness of the trailing vine. Cacti and sago-palms
+formed brilliant backgrounds for the lilies of novel shapes and colors,
+and for the other flowers which vied with one another for preference in
+the eye of their beholder.
+
+The conversation was commonplace in its nature, and in it Marian took
+little part. The vivacity which usually made her conspicuous in any
+group had entirely left her. Her interest in the view from the Point and
+in the magnificent vegetation had vanished, and her eyes followed Hamlen
+as he indicated each special beauty to his guests. Edith Stevens was the
+only one who sensed the unusual; the men were too discreet or too
+occupied by the novelty of their experience.
+
+"Do you mind, Harry," Marian said aloud, turning to her husband, "if the
+gardener shows you around the grounds? It has been years since I last
+saw Mr. Hamlen, and there are some matters I simply must talk over with
+him."
+
+Nothing Marian Thatcher asked or did ever surprised her husband or her
+friends. The abruptness of the question, and the certainty she
+manifested that her request would at once be complied with, were
+characteristic. In the present instance, however, it was obvious that
+the unexpected meeting touched some hidden spring which took her back to
+a time in her life before they themselves had claims upon her, and they
+respected her desire to be alone with her revived friendship. A few
+moments later, with jocose chidings that she had appropriated for
+herself the chief attraction of the estate, they moved off under the
+guidance of the gardener, who was proud of the interest manifested in
+the results of his work in carrying out his master's plans.
+
+"Please don't come back for at least half an hour," Marian called after
+them. Then she turned to her companion.
+
+"So this is where you disappeared to?"
+
+Hamlen bowed his head. He was not so careful now to conceal his
+emotions, and it was evident that old memories were stirred within him,
+as well.
+
+"Could I have found a more beautiful exile?" he asked.
+
+"How many years have you been here?" she demanded.
+
+"I left New York the week following the announcement of your engagement
+to Mr. Thatcher. Perhaps you can figure it out better than I. Time has
+come to mean nothing to me here."
+
+"That was in ninety-three," Marian said, reflecting,--"over twenty years
+ago! You have been here ever since?"
+
+Hamlen hesitated before he answered. "I have been back to the States
+only once--when my father died. I have made short excursions to London,
+to Paris, to Berlin, to Vienna; but the world is all the same, and I was
+always glad to return here, to this retreat."
+
+"Twenty years of solitude!" Marian repeated. "Don't tell me that it was
+because of--"
+
+"I came here because I wanted to get away from every old association,"
+Hamlen interrupted hastily. "I settled down here because I loved this
+beautiful island--and I love it still."
+
+"But your friends, Philip--"
+
+A tinge of bitterness crept into his voice. "Friends?" he repeated after
+her. "What friends did I ever have whom I could regret to leave behind?"
+
+"I know," she admitted, striving to ease the pain her words had
+inflicted; "but your father--and your classmates."
+
+"Yes--my father. I was wrong to leave him. Had I waited but two years
+longer, I should have left behind me no ties of any kind. But the good
+old pater understood me; he was the only one who ever did."
+
+"Haven't you kept in touch with any one at home?"
+
+"This is 'home,'" he corrected.
+
+"Not for you, Philip," she insisted. "This is a Garden of Eden, as you
+yourself called it, this is a dream life of sunshine and the fragrance
+of flowers, this is the home of the lotus-eaters, for the present moment
+enticing men--and women, too--away from the stern pursuits of life; but
+it is not 'home' for such as you."
+
+"I have found it all you say and more," Hamlen replied firmly; "but it
+has not been the life of inactivity which you suggest. The very things
+which tempted you to turn in here from your drive show that my years of
+patient study and experiment have not been altogether in vain. Inside
+the house I have my library, which can scarcely be equaled in the
+States. There I keep up my work more assiduously than I could possibly
+have done elsewhere. The literature of the past belongs to me, for I
+have made it part of myself. I know Homer, Vergil, Dante, Shakespeare,
+not as books only, but almost word for word. I can speak five languages
+as well as my own. Is this the existence of the lotus-eater, Marian? Is
+this merely the dream life of sunshine and of flowers?"
+
+She looked at him long before replying. Then she rested her hand gently
+upon his arm.
+
+"It's the same Philip, isn't it?--the same old Philip who refused, over
+twenty years ago, to recognize the real significance of life? The same
+Philip--older, more refined by the chastening of time, more polished by
+the refinement of accomplishment, but with his eyes still closed to the
+difference between the means and the end."
+
+The expression on Hamlen's face showed that he failed utterly to
+comprehend.
+
+"Why had you no friends to leave behind you?" she asked abruptly,
+realizing the cruelty of her question, but determined to make him see
+her point.
+
+"Because no one understood me," he answered doggedly.
+
+"Was it their failure to understand you, or your failure to give them
+the opportunity?"
+
+"Both, perhaps. I had no time to fritter away in college; most of the
+men did."
+
+"There you are! Can't you see what I mean? The particular things the
+fellows did there were forgotten within twenty-four hours, but the
+friendships formed while doing them have endured throughout their lives.
+The 'things' were the means, the experience was the end. What
+friendships can you have here?"
+
+Instead of answering her, Hamlen rose and motioned silently that she
+precede him through the arbor and up the path to the edge of the cliff.
+
+"Do you think I can be lonely while I hear the surge of that great ocean
+upon my shore?" he demanded. "Do you think I miss the friendships which
+so often bring sorrow in their wake while I can conjure up from the past
+the most glorious friends the world has ever known, visit with them,
+argue over my pet theories, and give them all this setting here whose
+counterpart can never be surpassed?"
+
+She smiled sadly in reply. "You have built your life upon the same basis
+as this island itself," she said--"upon the foundations of what is dead
+and past. You have argued with yourself until you have come to believe
+the fallacy you preach--that you, an Anglo-Saxon, can be content with
+such a life as this. Are you true to your responsibilities? Are you--"
+
+"What do I owe the world?" he interrupted. "I ask from it nothing but
+peace and solitude, and surely even the most insignificant has a right
+to that without incurring responsibilities. Why, Marian, I stand here
+upon this Point, as the little steamers leave their trail of smoke
+behind them, and thank God that for one day, three days, a week, we are
+cut off from the world. There is nothing I love so much as this
+separation from my fellow-men."
+
+"Then how fortunate, after all--" she began, but he interrupted her.
+
+"That is another story," he insisted. "I am speaking of what life means
+to me to-day, not what it might have meant under other circumstances."
+
+They strolled slowly back into the garden and settled themselves upon a
+stone seat which commanded a superb view of the surrounding country. It
+was her heart rather than her eyes which controlled Marian now, and she
+saw before her nothing but this man-grown boy, who at an earlier time in
+her life had exercised an absorbing influence upon her. It was her
+heart, still loyal to the friendship which remained, struggling to find
+the right word which should start in motion the machinery to bring the
+latent potentiality into action.
+
+"Your ideas are no different now than then," she said at length, "except
+that time has intensified them. You used to compare what you found in
+books with what you found in life, to the distinct disadvantage of the
+realities."
+
+"Yes," Hamlen admitted; "and it is just as true to-day."
+
+"Do you know why?" she demanded pointedly.
+
+"Because life is so full of insincerity."
+
+"No," she protested, "you are wrong, absolutely wrong. The real reason
+lies in you. You have always given of yourself in your intellectual
+pursuits, and have received in kind. In your relations with life you
+have never given of yourself, and again you have received in kind.
+Philip, Philip! why don't you study yourself as you do your books, and
+even now learn the lesson you need to know?"
+
+"Was that why--back there--" he began.
+
+She paused for a moment as the conversation took her back to the earlier
+days.
+
+"You thought me changeable," she evaded the question; "but for that you
+yourself were responsible. You drew me to you with irresistible force,
+then repelled me by your intolerance of all those lighter interests
+which were natural to youth of our age. Your letters stimulated my
+ambition, your conversation stirred in me all that was best; but as soon
+as we were separated I felt a lack which for a long time I was unable to
+understand."
+
+"Why did you come," he asked, "to awaken these memories I have tried so
+hard to forget?" but she seemed not to hear him.
+
+"Then I realized what a dream it was," she continued. "Music to you
+meant canon and fugue, counterpoint and diminished sevenths; to me it
+was the invitation to dance. You had no friends, and I was frightened
+by your willingness to be alone. You had nothing in common with me
+or my friends; you gave my heart nothing to feed upon except
+intellect--intellect, and I found myself one moment beneath its hypnotic
+influence, the next striving to break away from its oppression. Perhaps
+this was what you had in mind, Philip, that we two run off to some
+island such as this, to spend our lives in Utopia, alone except for
+ourselves and your books."
+
+"For me, that would have been all I could have asked."
+
+"But no one, Philip, can live on that alone. We need to draw from our
+companionship with others in order to give of it to each other. And you
+forget"--she smiled mischievously--"that when Aristotle begins to bore
+you he can be placed back upon the shelf. You couldn't do that with a
+wife! Admit, dear friend, that I or any other woman would have made you
+utterly wretched."
+
+"I will admit that of any woman other than you."
+
+They rose as by mutual impulse and strolled about the garden for several
+moments in silence, the thoughts of each centered upon the past.
+
+"See this wild honey." Hamlen touched the curiously formed leaf. "It
+took me months to make it twine about that tree."
+
+"How long would it have taken to make a baby's fingers twine about your
+heart?" Marian asked meaningly.
+
+A twinge of pain shot across his face. "Have you--children?" he asked.
+
+"Forgive me, Philip," she answered contritely. "Yes," in answer to his
+question; "a daughter, whom you shall meet at the hotel, and a big,
+strapping son. He's a senior at Harvard now, and his name is--Philip."
+
+Hamlen suddenly seized her hand and pressed it to his lips. "Your
+husband won't begrudge me that," he said, with a quaver in his voice.
+
+"Thank God!" Marian cried unexpectedly. "It is a relief to find even a
+small defect in that intellectual armor of yours! Philip, you are a
+humbug, and you deceive no one but yourself! It is not solitude which
+you love, it is not friendship which you despise; it is simply that you
+have made a virtue out of a condition which exists because you don't
+know how to change it. Let me help you now."
+
+"How can the leopard change his spots?" he demanded incredulously.
+
+"Go back with us when we sail for New York week after next. Leave things
+here just as they are, and keep this wonderful spot as a retreat when
+life becomes too strenuous. Harry and I will return here with you if you
+wish us to, and will introduce so many serpents into your Garden of Eden
+that you'll relegate us to the cliff while you take refuge in your
+library. But between now and that time go back with us into that life
+which is your life. Place yourself where you can feel the competition of
+what goes on about you. Try pushing against the current, and learn the
+joy of contact with something which opposes. Study the people around
+you, and make friends--it's not too late, with your splendid personality
+and with me to show you how. Come and get acquainted with your namesake.
+Help him to learn from you what you can teach him better than any one I
+know, and learn from him what his youthfulness can teach you. Will you
+do it, Philip? Will you let this wonderful work you've done here be the
+means and not the end? Will you put your accomplishments where they can
+be of value, instead of hoarding them, as a miser does his gold?"
+
+He stood watching her wonderful animation as she spoke with a conviction
+which swept him off his feet. In the past she had listened to him, and
+he could but be conscious of the domination which his mind had held over
+hers; now he knew their positions to be reversed. Was this what the
+world had given her? And the boy--Philip, named after him. Why was it
+that the lessons he had taught himself during all these years proved so
+inadequate to combat the yearning which he felt within him?
+
+Marian was not slow to sense the conflict in his heart, nor to follow up
+her advantage.
+
+"What have you really accomplished, Philip?" she asked quietly. "Be
+generous in sharing your splendid development with us."
+
+"I could not give this up," he protested.
+
+"Of course you couldn't, and you should not," she assented. "Give up
+nothing, but simply add to what you have by assimilating from others. I
+want you to know my husband, my children, and my friends, and I want
+them to know you. Say that you will return with us, Philip."
+
+He gazed at her helplessly, then turned his head aside. The emotion
+against which he had fought for twenty years had escaped from his
+control, and he was ashamed that another should see what he knew his
+face betrayed.
+
+"It is impossible," he said, when he was himself again; "it would not be
+fair."
+
+"To whom?" she demanded.
+
+"To you--or to your husband--"
+
+"Nonsense! We all understand one another too well for that! It is the
+boy who needs you and whom you need."
+
+Hamlen turned to her again. "The boy," he repeated after her--"Philip!
+You would let him come into my life?"
+
+"I desire nothing so much," she answered resolutely, a great joy surging
+in her heart as she seemed to see the barrier between him and life
+crumbling before her attack.
+
+"Would the boy permit it? I might not be able--"
+
+"Let me be judge of that," she smiled.
+
+The man passed his hand wearily over his eyes as Mrs. Thatcher watched
+his uncertainty with fearfulness and yet with eager expectancy. She knew
+that she could say no more, that there was danger in bringing further
+pressure upon this spirit already extended to its extremest tension; and
+yet she longed to take advantage of what she had gained in awakening the
+latent human element and in disturbing the complacency which habit had
+established upon premises so false.
+
+"Oh, Marian!" Hamlen cried at length, in a voice so full of suffering
+that it staggered her; "the world is not to be trusted even when you
+hold it up so temptingly before me. It always has been false and always
+will be so for me. Each time I have given it the chance it has struck me
+a harder blow than before. No, Marian, I can't expose myself again. If I
+could make myself a part of some one else--if this boy-- No, no! I
+couldn't take the risk. You mustn't ask me. You mean it kindly, but--"
+
+"Trust me," Marian said softly. "Come," she continued, nodding in the
+direction of the returning party. "I will tell Harry that you are dining
+with us to-night at the 'Princess.'"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+IV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+It was in the long, spacious dining-room of the "Princess" that Cosden
+pointed out the Thatcher party to Huntington, and Hamlen was with them.
+Naturally enough Huntington's eyes first rested on the girl's face, and
+in it he found enough that was reminiscent to cause a start. It was
+Marian Seymour as she must have looked when he knew her, but not at all
+as he had come to think of her during the intervening years. How
+ridiculously young she was! But Huntington had discovered that young
+people were getting to look younger every year now. It almost annoyed
+him, whenever he went to Cambridge to straighten out some mix-up of
+nephew Billy's, to see how much smaller and younger the students were
+to-day than when he was there. He remembered distinctly that he and his
+mates had been men when he was in college; but the present generation
+was made up of youngsters who should not be allowed abroad without their
+nurses.
+
+Miss Thatcher, whom Cosden pointed out to him, came within the same
+category. She carried herself with a dignity not always seen in girls of
+her age, but she was undeniably young. Then his glance passed from her
+to the older woman whom he took to be her mother, and he found himself
+guilty of staring shamelessly. This was undoubtedly the Marian Seymour
+of sainted memory, now delightfully matured into an extremely attractive
+matron of thirty-eight or forty. The slight figure had changed but
+little from what he remembered; the face still showed traces of its
+former mischievous vivacity, even though it had become more decorous.
+Such changes as he saw were only those which come in the natural
+development of a charming girl into a well set-up woman of the world. So
+this was the genius who would have presided over his household if he had
+happened to find her at home upon either of those two momentous
+occasions, or if he had happened to discover her in Europe on that
+eventful trip and had happened to tell her of his devotion, and,
+incidentally, she had happened to respond to his declaration of undying
+affection.
+
+His inspection was as complete and analytic as the distance between the
+two tables would permit. She was a fascinating woman, he acknowledged,
+and yet--she was so different from what he had pictured her. The wife
+with whom he had mentally lived these twenty years he himself had
+created out of the all-too-scanty materials of memory, added to
+substantially by what his imagination had skilfully selected of what he
+thought she ought to be. He had not been more successful in his creation
+than Nature herself, he was forced to admit, but while looking at Mrs.
+Thatcher he experienced the mortifying sensation of being a
+self-convicted bigamist.
+
+Curiously, he had never thought of her as growing older along with him.
+His glance returned to the daughter's face, and in it he found a closer
+semblance to what his mind had pictured. She was more mature than her
+mother had been, yet she possessed many of the same physical
+characteristics. Was it possible that she might have been his daughter?
+Here came the third distinct shock. For the first time he had something
+against which to measure his own age, and involuntarily he touched his
+heavy head of hair to reassure himself that baldness, that advertisement
+of advancing years, had not overtaken him in the moment.
+
+"Well," Cosden interrupted his reveries; "I'm waiting to hear your first
+impressions."
+
+Huntington started guiltily, as if his friend had witnessed the
+gymnastics his mind had executed. It was natural that Cosden, being
+nearest to him, should come in for the force of the reaction.
+
+"How do you suppose I can express an opinion on a girl half-way across a
+room the size of this?" he answered with as much asperity as ever crept
+into the evenness of his tone.
+
+Cosden looked up surprised. "Why, Monty!" he expostulated, "don't get
+peevish!"
+
+"Don't bother me with foolish questions," was the ungracious rejoinder.
+"I'm studying the situation. Later I'll give you my impressions."
+
+"But you've seen her," Cosden persisted. "What do you think of the
+perspective?"
+
+"She is very young," Huntington replied, regaining his composure and
+realizing that to fall in with Cosden's mood was easier than to explain
+his own.
+
+"She's twenty--just the right age for a man thirty-eight," was the
+complacent reply. "I've figured it all out. A woman grows old faster
+than a man, and eighteen years is just the proper handicap."
+
+"Which is her husband?" Huntington asked.
+
+"Her husband?" Cosden repeated after him.
+
+"I mean her mother's husband," Huntington corrected hastily; "which one
+is Mr. Thatcher?"
+
+"The man with the smooth face; I don't know the others. We'll meet them
+later."
+
+As the party left the dining-room Mr. Thatcher recognized Cosden and
+fell behind to greet him.
+
+"Well met!" he exclaimed cordially, after being presented to Huntington.
+"It is a relief to see some one I know. Down here on a vacation trip, I
+suppose?"
+
+"Why--yes," Cosden hesitated, seeing some deeper meaning behind the
+bromidic question; "that is, I thought so until I saw you. Now I'm not
+quite sure."
+
+Thatcher laughed. "I had the same idea, but I can't seem to get away
+from business; it pursues me! I've stumbled onto something--not very
+tremendous, but still it may be a good thing. I'd be glad to have you
+look it over with me if you care to. We'll discuss it later if you don't
+object to talking shop during leisure hours."
+
+Cosden's face assumed that keen, resourceful expression which his
+friends knew so well. "I'm never too much at leisure to discuss
+business," he said.
+
+"Good! Now, when you and Mr. Huntington have finished dinner, join us on
+the piazza and we'll all have our coffee together."
+
+Huntington looked at his friend significantly as Thatcher moved away. "I
+didn't come down here on a business trip," he suggested.
+
+"It won't interfere with you at all," Cosden reassured him. "Thatcher is
+a big man, and has a good eye for things. What he has in mind may be
+well worth looking into."
+
+"So long as you don't let it divert us from our main purpose I won't
+object," Huntington conceded gravely; "but the spirit of the chase is on
+me, and I can't mix sport and business. This is the first time I have
+ever approached a girl from a matrimonial point of view, even
+vicariously. I'm beginning to enjoy it and I refuse to be thrown off the
+scent."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There is no moon like a Bermuda moon. The contrast between its soft yet
+brilliant light--as it fell first upon the harbor, throwing the islands
+into silhouette, then flooding the piazza--and the electric glare, out
+of which the two men stepped ten minutes later, made a deep impression
+upon Huntington. The eyes of his friend, however, were focused upon the
+little party, chatting merrily about the table, awaiting their arrival.
+
+"I had them postpone our coffee," Thatcher explained as he presented
+Cosden to the Stevenses and to Hamlen, and Huntington to each. "We shall
+enjoy it the more for having you with us."
+
+Huntington found himself sitting between the daughter and Hamlen, while
+Cosden sat next to Mrs. Thatcher across the table. There had been no
+recognition, and Huntington was glad of it; he preferred to introduce
+the subject in his own way and at his own time. The girl, however, had
+already discovered a bond.
+
+"Aren't you Billy Huntington's uncle?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," he admitted; "but where in the world did you meet him?"
+
+"He is a particular friend of my brother Philip's," she explained.
+"Philip is a year ahead of him at Harvard, you know, but they are great
+pals. My brother always has him at the house whenever he's in New York."
+
+"Well, well!" laughed Huntington. "The young rascal never told me
+anything about it! But wait a minute--Phil Thatcher--why, of course!
+Billy has had him in to dine with me several times. So he's your
+brother!"
+
+"Yes; I was sure I was right," she smiled. "We're friends already,
+aren't we?"
+
+"We are," Huntington acquiesced gravely; "and I shall do something
+particularly nice for Billy to show my appreciation of what he has done
+for me."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher caught the general drift of her daughter's conversation,
+and she leaned across the table.
+
+"Are you not a Harvard man, Mr. Huntington?" she asked. "If so, you and
+Mr. Hamlen must have been in college at about the same time."
+
+"Yes," Huntington replied; and turning to Hamlen he gave the year of his
+graduation.
+
+"That was my Class also," was the reply; but there was nothing in
+Hamlen's manner to invite reminiscence.
+
+"Hamlen--Philip Hamlen," Huntington repeated meditatively. "I don't
+believe we knew each other, did we? But the name is familiar. I have it!
+You are the lost Philip Hamlen our Class Secretary has been searching
+for; I have seen the name in the list of missing men each time a Class
+Report has been issued. You must send him your history, my dear fellow.
+We're proud of our Class, and we don't want to lose sight of a single
+member."
+
+There was a bitterness in Hamlen's voice as he replied. "My history
+would interest no one; it is better that I remain among the 'missing
+men.'"
+
+Huntington sensed at once what lay behind his classmate's response. "No
+college graduate can afford to do that," he expostulated. "Whether one
+wishes it so or not, he has accepted a heritage which carries with it
+responsibilities, and these force him to his capacity for the honor of
+his Class and of his Alma Mater."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher was following the conversation not only with interest, but
+with a certain degree of anxiety.
+
+"Mr. Huntington is right, Philip," she added; "you know that he is
+right."
+
+Hamlen moved uneasily in his chair. "It is curious how much more
+interested our classmates become in us after we separate than while we
+are together in college," he said significantly.
+
+"Why is it curious?" Huntington persisted. "Why is it not the natural
+sequence of events?"
+
+"You could not understand." Hamlen spoke with rising emotion. "You had
+everything in college; I had nothing. You remember my name only because
+you've seen it listed amongst the 'missing men'; but I knew you the
+moment I saw you. Back there you were Monty Huntington, manager of the
+crew, member of all the exclusive societies, in everything, a part of
+everything. Your classmates courted your acquaintance, and the four
+years at Cambridge meant something to you. To me they meant nothing
+except what I learned in the class-rooms. You as an alumnus owe all that
+you say to the Class and to the Alma Mater, for both gave you much; I
+owe them nothing, for they gave me nothing."
+
+"My dear fellow!" Huntington expostulated hastily, "forgive me for
+touching on so tender a subject; yet I am glad I did, for it is only
+fair that you let me set you right. The college world is a small one,
+and its citizens are young, untried boys. They are sometimes selfish and
+cruel and unreasonable without meaning it, while they are enjoying what
+is to most of them their first freedom, and they are trying to conduct
+themselves like full-grown men. There are heartburns which at the time
+seem tragedies. Then the undeveloped citizens of this little world, the
+biggest of them, pass out into the great world, for which the college
+life is only a training-school, and become infinitesimal parts of it.
+There the ratio becomes readjusted. What seemed essentials--like the
+clubs, for instance, or athletics--become non-essentials as the men look
+back upon them; become simply pleasant memories of delightful
+companionship. The next few years represent the real trying-out period,
+and each member of the Class measures up his fellow-members by what they
+have done since college. The mere fact of being members of the same
+Class is the bond. I don't care what you did in college, Hamlen; but I
+sha'n't let you get away from me until you tell me what you've done
+since, or until you promise that I shall see you when next you come to
+Boston. The fact that I didn't know you in college makes me the more
+keen to know you now."
+
+"I thank you a thousand times!" Mrs. Thatcher cried impulsively. "What
+you have said in five minutes will do more to set Mr. Hamlen right than
+weeks of argument from me. I found him to-day in a veritable paradise
+which he has built here, and where he has lived alone practically since
+he left college. I am trying to persuade him to come back into the world
+again, and you can help me to accomplish it."
+
+Hamlen was visibly affected by Huntington's cordiality. "This has been a
+bewildering day," he said. "For over twenty years I have lived alone,
+nursing a resentment toward college and life in general until it has
+come to be a religion. This afternoon Mrs. Thatcher finds me
+unexpectedly and begins to batter down my defenses; now Mr. Huntington,
+without realizing it, attempts to complete the demolition. Don't wonder
+that I'm not myself to-night; but I thank my classmate for what he has
+said, just as I thank Mrs. Thatcher for her earlier efforts."
+
+"Mr. Huntington," Thatcher remarked, "you have given Stevens and me a
+new idea of the value of a college degree. I wasn't especially keen
+about having my boy go to college, but now, by George! I wouldn't have
+it otherwise."
+
+"Huntington is a living propagandum for Harvard," Cosden said lightly,
+realizing the desirability of leading the conversation into a less
+serious channel. "My degree represents simply an additional tool to use
+in carving out success, to him it means idolatry. If Huntington's house
+was on fire, I should expect to see him climbing down the firemen's
+ladder in his pink pajamas with his precious sheepskin under his arm
+carried as tenderly as a mother would a child."
+
+"Oh, you may make light of it," Huntington replied good-naturedly, "but
+Hamlen and I are treading on sacred ground. The one weakness of college
+life is that the opportunities it offers come before we are competent to
+appreciate or embrace them. That is what brings about the condition
+which he has misunderstood. It would be much better if we all could have
+two years of college when we're seventeen and the other two when we're
+forty."
+
+The conversation drifted into smoother channels, but by the time the
+party separated the acquaintance had developed to a point far beyond an
+ordinary first meeting. Underneath it different elements were at work in
+each one's mind and heart, put in motion by the unexpected intensity of
+almost the earliest words which had been exchanged. Hamlen was the first
+to leave. He said good-night casually to the group, but managed to
+separate Huntington from the others.
+
+"You have done much for one of your classmates to-night," he said
+simply. "I thank you for it."
+
+"Nonsense!" Huntington protested. "I'm more than delighted to have this
+opportunity to know you--and I want to know you better."
+
+"Will you come to my villa some day this week?"
+
+Hamlen seemed to hang expectantly upon the answer.
+
+"Of course," Huntington replied promptly. "If you hadn't asked me, I
+should have come anyhow. It's an inherent right which I demand."
+
+Hamlen pressed his hand and turned to Mrs. Thatcher, who walked with him
+to the door.
+
+"I don't know whether to thank you or to curse you, Marian," he said
+feelingly in a low voice. "Through you I have had more interjected into
+my life in this single day than in the twenty-odd years which have
+passed by. Is this the dawn of a to-morrow or the epitome of human
+suffering? Are you my Genius or my Nemesis? Before God I ask the
+question seriously. I myself cannot answer it."
+
+"Don't try," she answered, smiling; "let Time do that!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+V
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Cosden had been sitting on the hotel piazza half an hour when "Merry"
+Thatcher emerged from the dining-room, gazed about the almost total
+vacancy as if looking for some one, and then advanced, recognizing in
+the solitary smoker an acquaintance of the night before.
+
+"I'm always the first one," she complained after greeting him. "We're
+going sailing this morning, but I might have known that no one else
+would be down for breakfast at anywhere near the appointed time."
+
+"Why not cheer me up while you're waiting?" Cosden suggested. "I formed
+the habit of early rising years ago when I had to do it; now that I
+don't have to, the habit still sticks."
+
+"Mr. Huntington hasn't appeared yet?" she inquired.
+
+Cosden laughed, and then looked at his watch. "When you come to know Mr.
+Huntington better you will admire his mathematical precision: he is
+never late, but he never arrives a moment earlier than is necessary. The
+breakfast hour is over at nine-thirty; at nine-fifteen you will observe
+the gentleman leisurely strolling in the direction of his table, with
+every detail of his morning dress perfectly adjusted, as if the world
+had placed all its time at his disposal, when in reality he can just get
+his order in and have it served hot."
+
+The girl smiled at the description of his friend. "Not many men are so
+dependable," she commented.
+
+"There is only one William Montgomery Huntington," Cosden admitted
+cheerfully. "It would be exactly the same if the closing of the
+breakfast room was four-thirty instead of nine-thirty."
+
+The smile on her face changed to a deeper expression as she looked out
+across the harbor. She turned to Cosden suddenly.
+
+"Wasn't he splendid last evening when he talked about the
+responsibilities of college life! For the first time I wished I were a
+boy!"
+
+"He is a very intense person on some subjects; that happens to be one of
+them."
+
+The girl could not fail to interest Cosden, even if he were not already
+attracted by his previous slight acquaintance, for the present mood
+showed her at her best. The nickname "Merry," given to distinguish the
+younger Marian from her mother, scarcely served as a descriptive
+appellation, for underneath the girlish vivacity ran a serious vein
+which gave her unusual poise, and made her seem older than she was. To
+Cosden she appeared at that moment the embodiment of attractive
+girlhood, for the big panama, almost encircling her face, well set off
+the dark hair and the sympathetic brown eyes, while the color which
+plainly showed in her cheeks, despite the depth of the complexion, gave
+just the touch needed to heighten the effect. The soft lines of the
+white flannel skirt and the pink silk sweater disclosed the youth and
+litheness of the figure. Cosden was surprised to find himself noticing
+these details so carefully, and accepted the fact as evidence that his
+interest in the girl was even deeper than he had supposed.
+
+"I love intensity in men," she said simply; "so many seem ashamed to
+show it no matter how strongly they may feel!"
+
+"That is due to the training of life," Cosden explained, caring little
+what direction the conversation took so long as they became better
+acquainted. "The higher up you go, the greater the repression. Diplomacy
+is the climax of gentlemanly concealment of one's real feelings, and the
+art among arts of courteous insincerity. In business, of course, there's
+a reason--"
+
+"Can't a man be sincere in business?" she asked, looking at him with
+eyes so deep and straightforward in their expression that he found the
+question disconcerting.
+
+"Why,--of course," he stumbled; "but 'sincerity' isn't exactly a
+business expression. If I let you know by my manner that I was eager to
+buy something which you wanted to sell, or to sell something you wanted
+to buy, it would naturally affect the price, wouldn't it?"
+
+"Ought it to?" she persisted. "Why isn't that taking advantage?"
+
+Cosden smiled indulgently. "Some time, if you like, I will give you a
+learned discourse on values and what affects them, but anything so
+erudite now would take your mind off the gaieties of your sailing
+trip."
+
+"Will you?" Merry exclaimed delighted. "Father always makes fun of me
+when I ask serious questions. I am sure I should hate business, because
+it seems always to be a question of taking advantage of some one else;
+but I should like to know something about it."
+
+"You don't approve of taking advantage of some one else?"
+
+"It is exactly the opposite of what we are taught to consider right,
+isn't it?"
+
+"How about bargain-sales when you are home?" Cosden asked with apparent
+innocence. "Do you ever patronize them?"
+
+"Why, yes," Merry replied frankly; "I frequently wait for them when I
+want some particular thing, and my allowance is running low."
+
+Cosden laughed outright. "If consistency were really a jewel, then would
+woman go unadorned!"
+
+"How in the world are you going to twist what I said into an
+inconsistency?"
+
+"I'll let you make the demonstration yourself. Here is the problem: a
+dealer, believing a demand to exist for a certain article, lays in a
+stock to supply that demand. If you, and other dear ladies who really
+intend to buy the article, purchased when he first offered it for sale,
+his estimate of the demand would have been correct. But you all have
+learned the habits of the shops, so instead of rushing to his counters
+you play 'possum until the dealer really believes that he has
+over-estimated the demand, and down goes the value to him and
+consequently the price to you. Then you rush frantically from your
+lairs and secure the article you have really wanted from the beginning
+at a bargain price. Don't you admit that you are taking advantage of the
+dealer?"
+
+"Oh, you men do put things in such a disagreeable way!" Merry laughed.
+"We have to do that to protect ourselves against the outrageous prices
+they charge in the first place."
+
+"It's all a game," Cosden said seriously, "and a mighty fascinating one.
+So long as you stick to the rules you may bluff all you choose, and the
+best bluffer takes the blue chips."
+
+"I'm sure I should hate it," Merry repeated. "I'm going to learn to be a
+teacher, so that if some one outbluffs father I can fall back upon a
+respectable pursuit."
+
+"Even then you'll still be in the bluffing game," chuckled Cosden.
+"Think of the knowledge a teacher has to assume which he doesn't
+possess!"
+
+"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed in despair. "Why be an iconoclast? You leave
+me nothing but matrimony--"
+
+"The worst bluff of all," interrupted Huntington, stepping forward from
+behind their chairs, immaculate in white flannels and a panama which
+rivaled Merry's. "Seeing Mr. Cosden in an academic mood, I could not
+resist the temptation to snare the nuggets of wisdom which fell from his
+lips. This must be my excuse for eavesdropping."
+
+"There he is," Cosden said significantly to Merry. "You'd never dream
+that he'd come within an ace of missing his breakfast, would you?"
+
+"Missing what?" Huntington demanded. "In what little pleasantry has my
+friendly critic been indulging himself?"
+
+"Let the critic answer for himself," Cosden retorted. "I predicted to
+Miss Thatcher the exact moment when you would appear, thus proving
+myself a prophet."
+
+"You take yourself too seriously, Connie. You're no prophet, nor even
+the son of a prophet; you're simply a good observer. Some men run a
+block and then wait five minutes for a car; I learned years ago that it
+was wiser to walk deliberately to the white post and arrive there at the
+precise moment. But I don't let that car get away from me, my friend."
+
+"If my memory serves me right, Mr. Huntington, you were not always so
+deliberate," remarked Mrs. Thatcher significantly.
+
+Huntington looked up quickly, unaware until then that the other late
+breakfasters had followed so closely on his heels.
+
+"The night has been telling tales," he said.
+
+"It was stupid of me not to recognize you before," she answered.
+
+"Do you and Mother know each other?" Merry asked, much interested in the
+new turn of the conversation.
+
+"Your mother," said Huntington gravely, "did me the honor to accept my
+escort to our Senior Dance--I won't tell you how many years ago. She
+deliberately broke my heart, sailed away to Europe, and then returned
+and married your father, just out of pique. Now that you know the story
+of my life, I ask you, why should I accelerate my motions, as my
+captious companion seems to think I should, when your mother's quixotic
+conduct deprived me years ago of all possible incentive?"
+
+"Then you are really the Monty Huntington I knew!" Mrs. Thatcher
+exclaimed. "I was sure of it when you spoke of your Class to Philip
+Hamlen."
+
+"I was sure it was you before you spoke at all," he said quietly. "I
+recognized an aroma the moment I came into your presence--"
+
+"An aroma?" Mrs. Thatcher interrupted questioningly.
+
+"I know not whether it was fragrance or reminiscence, but either is
+equally sweet."
+
+Huntington's gallantry, half assumed, half real, as it seemed to those
+who heard his words, passed simply as a pleasantry with all except
+Cosden, who knew his friend too well not to recognize the presence of
+something deeper beneath the lightly spoken expressions. But Thatcher's
+voice brought him back from his surmises.
+
+"We are counting on you both to join us," he insisted. "Our party will
+be incomplete without you."
+
+"Please come," Mrs. Thatcher added. "For the last twenty-four hours I
+have been renewing all my girlhood friendships, and poor Edith Stevens
+here hasn't had a chance even to express an opinion. That for Edith is
+real self-sacrifice."
+
+"Edith is sitting back and learning a thing or two," Miss Stevens
+retorted calmly.
+
+"Do come and give her a chance to demonstrate," Mrs. Thatcher appealed.
+
+"I suppose bachelors are as necessary to the demonstration as
+guinea-pigs to the laboratory," Huntington said. "Come on, Connie; let
+us take a chance."
+
+No truer statement had ever been made in jest than that the previous
+twenty-four hours had been a period of self-sacrifice to Edith Stevens.
+She was younger than Mrs. Thatcher, and their friends accused them of
+accepting each other as foils to accentuate their contrasting
+characteristics. Miss Stevens was slight and erect, and was always
+gowned with a taste and skill which gave her an air of distinction; her
+friend possessed such striking fascination of person and manner that she
+gave distinction to any fashion she might adopt. Mrs. Thatcher's
+activities accomplished results; Edith's seemed simply the expression of
+an eternal unrest. The younger woman's hair was light, and her eyes
+blue, while Mrs. Thatcher was a perfect brunette; and the approach of
+the two women to the same subject was always from a different
+standpoint. Yet they had been the closest of friends from school days.
+
+Except with Marian, Edith, as a rule, dominated the situation at all
+times. Now, however, she found herself absolutely side-tracked, while
+her friend occupied the center of the stage in the interesting character
+of past or present object of admiration from three perfectly good men.
+Men were a hobby with Edith Stevens. Her brother feelingly remarked that
+the only reason she never married was that no individual male possessed
+the composite attributes she demanded. To be one of three women,
+surrounded by five men, and not to be able to command the attention of
+any one of them except her brother was nothing less than irony. She had
+tried flirting with Thatcher years before, and had long since given him
+up in despair; Hamlen was annexed by Marian before she had even a chance
+to compete, and of the two remaining eligibles Huntington suddenly
+confessed himself a part of the flotsam her friend had left behind in
+her beblossomed path toward the altar.
+
+"Take one more look at Mr. Cosden, Marian," she said maliciously, as the
+little party walked slowly down the steps toward the yacht. "Perhaps he,
+too, was an early admirer."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher laughed. "No," she reassured her, "I'm sure he never
+crossed my horizon until last night. I'll renounce all claims on him,
+but don't you set your cap for Philip Hamlen; I have other plans for
+him."
+
+"Where is Mr. Hamlen?" Edith demanded. "Didn't you invite him?"
+
+"No," Marian replied quickly. "It would be cruel not to give him time to
+recover his balance after yesterday. Heigh ho!" she sighed. "I wonder
+whether I'm glad or sorry that I found him here."
+
+"I've been waiting for a report on that reunion," Edith said
+suggestively. "I haven't forgotten the letters which we used to read
+together years ago."
+
+"Weren't they wonderful?" Marian exclaimed. Then she added, after a
+pause, "I don't believe I realized until yesterday the depth of
+suffering which a sensitive soul can reach."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+VI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+The sailing-party disembarked at the landing steps of the "Princess"
+shortly after six o'clock, and were greeted by a tall young man whose
+face was almost concealed by the broad brim of his hat, turned down as
+if to protect its owner from possible prostration from the sun. At the
+opposite end of the young man the white trouser-legs were turned up at
+least two laps higher than would have been expected, so that hat and
+trousers together made a normal average. Below the turn-up of the
+trousers showed a considerable expanse of white-silk hosiery,
+terminating in spotless white buckskin shoes; below the down-turned
+hat-brim was a grin which extended well across the boyish face.
+Altogether, the young man warranted the attention he attracted.
+
+The skipper made so perfect a landing that the identity of those on
+board was disclosed only at the last moment; but the single glance the
+young man had was sufficient to reassure him, and he stepped forward
+eagerly.
+
+"Hello, everybody!" he cried cheerfully. "Wish you Happy New-Year!"
+
+Merry was the first to grasp the significance of the excitement. "Why,
+it's Billy Huntington!" she exclaimed.
+
+"Of course," he admitted, still grinning; "who else would charge down
+here like a young dace just for the pleasure of wishing you the
+compliments of the season?"
+
+The young man paused long enough to assist the ladies over the rail,
+with a greeting to each.
+
+"There's your uncle," Merry said, nodding in the direction of the men;
+"don't you recognize him?"
+
+"Surest thing you know," Billy answered, still hanging back. "I'm
+waiting to see if he will recognize me, under all the circumstances."
+
+"Come here, you young rascal," Huntington responded to the implied
+question as he stepped on the pier; "come here and give an account of
+yourself."
+
+"Well," Billy replied slowly, clinging to the extended hand as a refuge,
+"you see I didn't know Mr. Cosden came down with you, and it was
+vacation, and I thought you'd be awfully lonely here without me--"
+
+"I see," his uncle said dryly; "it was all on my account."
+
+Billy seemed to feel the necessity of further explanation. "Of course I
+knew Merry--the Thatchers were here. Phil told me--"
+
+"Too bad Philip couldn't have come with you," Mrs. Thatcher remarked.
+
+"Yes; he went up to the Lawrences' house-party for over Christmas as he
+planned."
+
+"How did you leave your worthy parents?" Huntington inquired.
+
+A look of dismay passed over the boy's face. "I forgot to telegraph them
+from New York, and I meant to cable just as soon as I arrived." Then an
+expression of relief came to his assistance: "But they'll know I'm with
+you--somewhere."
+
+Huntington sighed. "Another reckoning for me when I return!" he said
+resignedly; "but it's worth it all to know that you 'charged down here
+like a young dace' as soon as you realized your poor uncle's 'awful
+loneliness.'"
+
+"Then it was you who tried to signal us from the tender?" Merry came to
+his rescue.
+
+"Yes; I thought it was you; I wigwagged until I almost plunged
+overboard. I've got to go back Monday, to reach Cambridge in time to
+register, so I hated to lose a whole day out of three."
+
+"There's one thing about a college education which Mr. Huntington didn't
+mention last evening," Thatcher remarked to Cosden as they walked toward
+the bar for the anteprandial cocktail; "it gives a boy freedom of action
+and breadth of imagination."
+
+"Huntington left out a whole lot of things he might have touched on,"
+Cosden said testily. "That's a topic on which we don't agree, and never
+shall. There is a boy with many sterling qualities going to waste
+because Monty has more wishbone than backbone in the matter of
+discipline."
+
+"Don't get started on that, Connie," Huntington's voice came from the
+rear. "I've no doubt it's deserved, but that boy keeps me from
+remembering that my own days of irresponsibility are so far behind me. I
+believe I enjoy him the more because I haven't a parent's duty to
+perform."
+
+"It's a sort of reciprocity without personal liability," laughed
+Thatcher.
+
+"Exactly. I wonder sometimes if what we gain by experience is worth what
+we lose in illusion.--Aren't you coming up-stairs to dress for dinner,
+Billy?" Huntington continued, as his nephew and Merry walked past them,
+engaged in an animated conversation.
+
+"Don't wait for me," was the prompt response. "I'm a bear at dressing,
+and I'll be ready before Dixon has put in your collar-studs."
+
+"I feel easier down here since I know that you're off duty, too, and not
+likely to upset my apple-cart while I'm away," Thatcher remarked to
+Cosden with a smile. "Did you know, Mr. Huntington," he continued,
+turning, "that your friend is a wrecker of other men's plans?"
+
+"It's the best thing he does," Huntington agreed promptly. "That exactly
+explains my presence here."
+
+Cosden was immensely pleased by Thatcher's acknowledgment of his
+importance, but he tried to carry it off lightly.
+
+"Oh, well," he said indifferently, "you must let me have my innings once
+in a while. I have to get to you sometimes to make up for other bouts
+which I've been glad to forget."
+
+"You'll join us, of course," Thatcher added, to Huntington.
+
+"I can resist anything but temptation," Huntington replied soberly; "I
+love the enemy."
+
+"This cocktail-drinking is a curious thing," Thatcher remarked. "In cold
+weather we take it to warm us up, in warm weather to cool us off; when
+we are depressed it is to cheer us, and when we're happy it's because we
+want to celebrate. And there you are.--How about the Consolidated
+Machinery deal?" Thatcher changed the subject abruptly, and spoke to
+Cosden. "Are we going to fight each other on that?"
+
+"I'm afraid we'll have to," Cosden admitted frankly; "but I'll be glad
+to talk it over with you. From here, the interests look too far apart
+even to compromise."
+
+Cosden and Huntington went up in the elevator together, leaving Thatcher
+on the piazza.
+
+"What the devil did that young cub show up here for just at this time?"
+Cosden demanded.
+
+"Didn't you hear?" Monty explained innocently. "He wanted to cheer me up
+in my 'awful loneliness.'"
+
+"Lonely fiddlesticks!" Cosden protested irritably. "Don't you grasp the
+fact that his coming is going to mess things up?"
+
+"Why, no," Huntington said slowly, pausing at the door of his room to
+give his friend opportunity to finish his remarks; "I can't for the life
+of me see that."
+
+"Don't you see that it's Merry Thatcher the kid is making up to?"
+
+"Oh, ho!" Huntington exclaimed. "So that's the situation! It was stupid
+of me not to understand."
+
+"Well, that's it; and I won't have it."
+
+"Of course you won't; but how are you going to stop it?"
+
+"That's your job, Monty. It's up to you to send him about his business."
+
+"That doesn't appeal to me as a sporting proposition," Huntington said
+after a moment's deliberation. "I didn't come down here to help you get
+a corner in anything, but merely as an observer, and to give you expert
+advice. Now you suggest a combination--trust, as it were--of two
+full-grown men against a half-baked boy. It isn't worthy of you, Connie,
+and I'm not sure that it isn't an illegal restraint of trade. Oh, no; I
+couldn't think of it."
+
+"I'd like to see you in the same situation just once," growled Cosden.
+"Why the devil can't you send the boy home?"
+
+"If I did, he'd come back so quick he'd meet himself going away,"
+Huntington said gravely; "but as a matter of fact I understand that he
+plans to go on Monday, and there's no boat sailing before then anyhow."
+
+He opened the door of his room and stepped inside.
+
+"I might add, Connie," he continued, "that if you're afraid to take
+chances with a boy like that I don't feel much confidence in the final
+outcome of your benedictine expedition."
+
+"I'm serious in this," Cosden snapped back. "My bump of humor evidently
+got light-struck in the developing. Billy has twenty years ahead of him
+to pick out a girl while I haven't, and he must understand that I mean
+business."
+
+"Of course he must," agreed Huntington. "It hadn't occurred to me until
+you spoke of it that there was the remotest chance of having Billy show
+sense enough to become interested in any girl so well calculated to
+make a man of him. In fact, I doubt very much whether his own intellect
+has carried him so far. It's all right for you or me to contemplate
+committing matrimony, but a young man, in these days of increasing cost
+of everything, is likely to become a grandfather before he can afford to
+be a father. Only the other day, Connie, the thought came to me that if
+this high cost of living continues it will make death a necessity of
+life."
+
+"You are evidently in no frame of mind to discuss anything serious now,"
+Cosden retorted; "I'll wait until after dinner."
+
+"Do!" Huntington's face brightened. "Look at the reproachful expression
+on the bosom of that beautiful white shirt which Dixon has laid out for
+me. Can't you almost hear the pathos in its tone as it asks to be
+filled?"
+
+The door slammed, and Cosden's heavy tread could be heard as he
+disgustedly retreated down the hall to his own room.
+
+One of the compensations of maturity is that the adjustment of proper
+proportions comes more quickly than to youth. It may be that Cosden saw
+the modicum of truth which lay beneath his friend's bantering; it may be
+that he was ashamed to have shown any uncertainty in his mind as to the
+final outcome of his embassy. At all events, he seemed to be in the best
+of humor when he dined with Huntington and the boy, and even accepted
+with good grace the unexpected announcement that Billy and Merry were to
+"take in" the dance at the "Hamilton." It may be that he was determined
+to demonstrate his strength of mind, for when the little party
+reassembled on the piazza, and the young people disappeared soon after
+the coffee, he devoted himself to Edith Stevens with an assiduity which
+caused Huntington to smile quietly to himself. Stevens and Thatcher,
+finding the ladies well provided for, went down-stairs for a game of
+billiards. Mrs. Thatcher cheerfully accepted Huntington's invitation to
+stroll to the pier, leaving Miss Stevens and Cosden by themselves.
+
+"I've made an appointment for you on Monday morning," Thatcher remarked
+to Cosden as he passed by.
+
+"Good! I'll keep it," was the prompt response.
+
+"What do you think of Marian's resurrection?" Edith asked him when they
+were alone.
+
+Cosden looked in the direction of the pier. "Do you mean--" he began.
+
+"Oh, no!" she interrupted him. "That is merely a revival, which I
+imagine may develop into an experience meeting. I mean Mr. Hamlen. Think
+of a devotion that forces a man to bury himself for twenty years! I
+could throw myself on his neck for restoring my lost belief in the
+constancy of man."
+
+"I hadn't heard that side of the story," Cosden observed.
+
+"It was while we were at school together," Edith explained. "Marian was
+irresistible then--as now, and every man she met lost his head
+altogether; but for a time she and Mr. Hamlen were engaged. Then she
+married the last man we expected; but she and Harry have been very
+happy. It simply shows that you never can tell."
+
+"Did you know Hamlen then?"
+
+"No; but I heard enough about him. If he had been merely intelligent
+instead of intellectual he might have had her just as well as not. He
+simply frightened her out of it."
+
+"Where did Monty come in?"
+
+"I never heard of him; things couldn't have gone very far."
+
+"You remember what he said just before we started out this morning? I
+know him pretty well and Monty doesn't speak like that unless there is
+something back of it."
+
+"Well," Edith laughed, "I'm sure I should have known, even so. Why, I
+could reel off so many names that you would think Marian was a heartless
+coquette; but it wasn't that at all. She simply loved attention, as all
+women do."
+
+"How about the daughter?" queried Cosden.
+
+"Merry?" Miss Stevens interrogated. "Oh, Merry is an up-to-date,
+twentieth-century thoroughbred. Marian has never known just what to make
+of her because she isn't like other girls, but to my mind the comparison
+is all to her credit. I'm generous when I give the child so good a
+character, for I know she heartily disapproves of me."
+
+Cosden was pleased with the intuition he had shown in his selection. "I
+should think young Huntington would bore her about as much as a
+youngster in kilts," he said, to draw her out.
+
+"He is her brother's friend, she adores athletics and dancing, and she
+is exercising the prerogative of her age and sex."
+
+There was a silence of several moments, during which time Cosden was
+debating with himself whether it was too late for him to bring his
+dancing of the vintage of the nineties up to the present confusion of
+innovations. He had scoffed at modern dances but it might become
+necessary to revise his views.
+
+"What an unusual ring you have," Miss Stevens exclaimed, leaning over
+his hand which rested upon the arm of his chair. "Is there a romance
+connected with it?"
+
+Cosden took it off and handed it to her. "No," he said. "When you know
+me better you will understand that romance doesn't come into my make-up.
+I bought that ring myself particularly to avoid any sentiment. I can
+take it off when I like, wear it or not as I choose, and if I lose it
+nobody's heart is broken."
+
+"That is an original idea," she laughed; then her face sobered. "I used
+to think romance was everything," she said seriously. "Now I wonder if
+what we call romance isn't another word for illusion. As I look back at
+my girl friends and see how many romances became tragedies, and how many
+matter-of-fact marriages, like Marian's and Harry's, have developed into
+real unions, I'm inclined to think that romance is a form of hypnotism."
+
+"You've expressed my idea to a dot," Cosden replied emphatically.
+"Huntington is a sentimentalist, and he stamps my common-sense ideas as
+evidences of a commercial instinct. I've seen just what you've seen, and
+I believe that the business of life rests on exactly the same basis as
+the business of trade."
+
+"Take Harry Thatcher, for example," Edith continued her own
+conversation rather than replied to his; "there's nothing brilliant
+about him outside his business success, but you always know where to
+find him. He's a comfortable man to have around. With men, they say he
+dominates everything he goes into, but in his home,--well, every now and
+then he stands out just on principle, but as a matter of fact even his
+ideas are in his wife's name."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher and Huntington approached them returning from their
+moon-bath on the steps of the pier.
+
+"Did you ever see so wonderful a night, Edith?" she exclaimed with
+enthusiasm. "This atmosphere, and the renewing of my friendship with Mr.
+Huntington, make me feel like a girl again."
+
+"Monty must have been composing poetry," Cosden remarked.
+
+"No," Huntington disclaimed promptly; "poetry is the one contagious
+disease of youth which I have escaped. But Mrs. Thatcher has helped me
+to set back my clock of life more than twenty years, and that is an
+achievement of which I feel justly proud."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+VII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Sunday morning found the party possessed of divers minds regarding the
+proper use to make of the wonderful sunshine and the mild yet bracing
+air, delicately scented with thousands of blooms on every side. Mr. and
+Mrs. Thatcher announced definitely that they proposed to hear the band
+concert at the Barracks, which gave a certain basis upon which to hang
+other plans. Billy Huntington suggested to Merry that they walk to Elba
+Beach, and Cosden, with the cordial disapproval of Edith Stevens and
+Billy, invited himself to accompany the young people on their walk.
+Huntington accounted for himself by reporting that Hamlen had
+telephoned, asking him to make the promised visit that morning, so the
+Stevenses joined forces with the Thatchers, and the plans were complete.
+
+Hamlen was visibly ill at ease when Huntington arrived. It was the only
+time during the twenty years of his residence there that any guest had
+been received at his villa by invitation of its owner. The new
+experience excited him, but the sincerity of Huntington's admiration of
+the grounds, and the friendliness of his attitude, made it impossible
+for any barrier long to exist between them. A touch of the old-time
+bitterness passed through Hamlen's mind, soon after Huntington's
+arrival, as he thought what it would have meant to him during any one of
+those four years at college to have had Monty Huntington come to his
+room in the same spirit of comradeship! Yet, he admitted to himself, the
+tragedies of that small world did lose some of their poignancy in
+retrospect, just as Huntington had said. He had been at a disadvantage
+in that the world into which he had been graduated was not the great
+world of which his classmate spoke, but rather another little one,
+smaller even than that which had tortured him,--so small that he had
+remained still instead of growing, as the others had, into an estate
+from which he might look back with broader vision.
+
+This much at least had borne fruit from the conversation at the hotel,
+but beyond this there was an impression still deeper which increased
+Hamlen's spirit of unrest. From the time when he began to feel things
+strongly there had existed in him a sense of justice which completely
+dominated his other attributes. By the time he entered college this
+sense had assumed exaggerated proportions, and he had reached a point
+where he was looking for injustices, and was quick to resent them. He
+might have made a place for himself in athletics had he not expected
+some one else to take the initiative; he might have made friends except
+that he waited to be sought out. When he saw other fellows around him
+succeed where he had failed, the sensitiveness of his nature placed his
+classmates on trial, appointed himself judge, and condemned them as
+guilty of injustice, the most heinous crime in the category of sin. As a
+penalty, he had banished them from his life. The fact that they bore
+their punishment with seeming indifference served only to twist the
+knife in the wound.
+
+His devotion to Marian Seymour gave his strange nature its only outlet.
+Her father and his had been bosom friends in boyhood, and they had hoped
+to see their children bound together in even closer ties. The tense,
+deep nature of the boy dominated,--even more so after he went to college
+and she to school, and they saw less of each other. He was different
+from other boys she knew, and at first it pleased her vanity that he had
+no thought for any one else, even though he demanded so much of her.
+Then she became fairly terrified by his intensity, and when she broke
+the engagement, just after his graduation, she welcomed her release.
+
+Her engagement and marriage to Thatcher supplied the final evidence that
+the whole world was built upon a structure of injustice, and Hamlen fled
+from it with a sense of leaving behind a thing despised. During all
+these years the judge had worn his ermine, and the world represented the
+condemned prisoner, working out its sentence, but somehow failing to
+gain salutary results from its long chastisement. Now a belated witness
+appears, supplying testimony which shakes the integrity of the judicial
+decision. Huntington presents the case from a position new to the
+self-appointed judge, and Hamlen had spent many hours since that
+eventful meeting wondering whether the world had really been on trial
+or he himself. Many of the words which Marian had spoken, which had not
+made their impression when he first heard them came back with redoubled
+force after Huntington had added his testimony to hers. "Was it their
+failure to understand you or your failure to give them the opportunity?"
+she asked. "The citizens of the college world are young, untried boys,"
+Huntington explained, "trying to conduct themselves like full-grown
+men." What right had he to condemn them because in their youth and
+inexperience they had fallen below the standard older men had set? Had
+he a right to expect them to search him out any more than they a right
+to demand the same of him? "You drew me to you with irresistible force,"
+Marian admitted, only to make the agony the more unbearable when she
+added, "Then you repelled me by your intolerance of all those lighter
+interests which were natural to youth of our age." Intolerance! That was
+a form of injustice, and he had judged her guilty upon the same
+indictment! "Each member of the Class measures up his fellow-members by
+what they have done since they have left college," Huntington had said.
+Every word seemed seared into Hamlen's brain as he put himself through
+this fierce analysis. "What have you really accomplished?" was Marian's
+question.
+
+So Hamlen had struggled with himself during the intervening hours, and
+now Huntington came to him as a classmate, as a friend, claiming kinship
+and insisting upon recognition of his claim. If Monty Huntington had
+been what Hamlen believed him to be in college, he would not now have
+forced himself upon him in spite of his own rude disclaimers of any
+present desire for recognition. If he had misjudged Huntington had he
+not misjudged his other classmates, had he not misjudged the world at
+large?
+
+This was the doubt which had been raised in Hamlen's mind, and with it
+came a sense of responsibility and the necessity of restitution should
+that doubt turn into a certainty. Forty-eight hours earlier he had asked
+Marian, "What do I owe the world?" and it was from Huntington he
+received his answer. It was uncanny how closely the two opinions of the
+case, made by persons widely separated in viewpoint and environment,
+dovetailed each into the other. This interview with Huntington would
+settle all doubt, he was convinced, and if the injustice proved to be
+vested in himself alone, what was there left for him out of the wreck he
+had made of life? What wonder that he was ill at ease; what wonder that
+his heart beat more quickly as he realized that the moment of his own
+conviction might be at hand!
+
+They walked about the grounds, as the others had done, and Huntington's
+exclamations were no less enthusiastic; yet it was obvious that this was
+but a prelude to the real purpose of his visit. They paused for a moment
+as they came back through the garden, and the hesitation forced the
+question from Hamlen's lips.
+
+"Don't you care to see the view from the Point?"
+
+"Not to-day," Huntington answered frankly. "I want to come again and
+examine every cranny; but to-day, Hamlen, my interest lies in something
+deeper. You have shown me what you are by profession; now show me what
+you are by nature. You remember the old Greek adage, 'Would you know a
+man, give him power.' My version of it is 'Would you know a man, give
+him leisure'; for leisure is the expression of power, the stored-up
+capital of that unmeasured treasure called Time whose currency is in the
+blood and which promotes life itself. Here, in these grounds, your work
+has been similar to that of any one of us in his office. Now I want to
+know the man. Take me to his workshop."
+
+Hamlen understood him beyond the necessity of further words. He had told
+Marian that it was in his books that he found his relaxation, but it was
+not to his library that he now silently led his guest. It was to a small
+room on the back of the villa, in which Huntington found cases of type,
+a hand-press, and a bench containing every description of binder's
+tools. As they entered Hamlen closed the door behind them.
+
+"I don't know why I brought you here," he spoke apologetically, "except
+that by what you just said you seemed to know this place existed. No one
+else has ever entered with me, for I have a sentiment about it which
+would seem ridiculous to any one except myself."
+
+"It is a miniature printing-office and bindery combined!"
+
+"This is where I spend my leisure. This is where I withdraw into a
+solitude even more complete than that in which I live. These
+books"--pointing to a case near by--"represent the pitifully meager
+contribution which I have made to the world while you and my other
+classmates have taken the positions to which you are entitled. That I
+show them to you now is a confession of the narrow outlook I have always
+had on life."
+
+Huntington was busy examining the volumes, one by one, giving no sign
+that he heard the crisp words. He turned the leaves critically, he
+examined the bindings, he studied the typography and the designs. Then
+at length he looked up.
+
+"I was mistaken when I said I did not know you," he remarked.
+
+"I don't understand," Hamlen replied.
+
+"Printing as an art has always been a hobby of mine," Huntington
+explained. "With two exceptions I have every one of these books in my
+collection at home."
+
+The color came into Hamlen's face. "You mean--" he began.
+
+"I mean that these splendid examples of the bookmaker's art have
+attracted much attention among those of us who understand what they
+represent, and I count myself fortunate to be the first to solve the
+mystery which has surrounded them, when I next meet with my
+fellow-collectors."
+
+"How is it possible," demanded Hamlen, "that any of these should have
+fallen into your hands?"
+
+"Were they not placed upon the market?"
+
+"I did not suppose any of them reached America," Hamlen explained. "Out
+of curiosity to see what would happen I sent the first volumes to a
+dealer in London, and he has been kind enough to take the subsequent
+volumes as they have been issued."
+
+"And kind enough to himself," Huntington added, "to call the attention
+of all the leading collectors to the uniqueness of the work. Some time I
+will show you his circulars if you care to know what he thinks of you;
+and I may add that there is none of us who considers his claims
+exaggerated."
+
+"Then the work is good?" Hamlen asked, unable to conceal his excitement.
+
+"It is superb both in conception and execution; but its greatest merit
+is its originality. Most of the good printing and binding which we have
+to-day rests definitely in conception upon some one of the great
+master-printers or binders of the past: the work of Aldus, Jenson,
+Etienne, Plantin, Elzevir, Baskerville, Didot, William Morris, is drawn
+upon to greater or less degree by every modern printer, the volumes of
+Grolier, Maiolus, or Geoffroy Tory are revived in nearly every modern
+binding of importance; but your books are absolutely unique. Frankly, I
+don't sympathize with all of them, but there is not one which does not
+interest me. Tell me, where did you learn the art of bookmaking enough
+to make yourself a master?"
+
+"Your praise is too high," Hamlen answered deprecatingly.
+
+"I am not praising your work," Huntington insisted; "that would be
+presumptuous. Its merit has passed far beyond the point where praise
+from me could affect it. Each volume which comes into the market is
+hungrily snatched up, and we all have been eager to discover who the
+master was. Where did you learn so much?"
+
+"I have been interested in the mechanics of printing ever since, as a
+boy, I had my first press," explained Hamlen; "but I only turned to it
+seriously after I came here and felt the need of something to keep my
+mind engaged. I have in my library examples from probably most of the
+great printers and binders, but--I'm afraid you won't understand me when
+I say it--they have never interested me particularly, nor do they now. I
+am only interested in what I do myself; and when I explain I am sure you
+will not think me egotistical."
+
+"Go on," Huntington urged as Hamlen paused, but there was a break before
+the speaker continued.
+
+"You said a moment ago that you did not sympathize with some of my
+books; that is perfectly natural. I said just now that I was only
+interested in my own work; that, too, I believe, is natural. I have no
+knowledge of the great _incunabula_, I know nothing of the history of
+printing, and in making these few books I have had no thought of
+producing examples of the printer's or the binder's art: they stand to
+me simply as symbolic of certain phases of myself,--some good, perhaps,
+some bad; but all representative of my mood when they were made. I tell
+you, Huntington"--Hamlen continued with deep intensity--"I tell you now
+what I have never before put into words, that those are not books at
+all; they are simply the expression of a something in my soul which
+demands an outlet, and it comes out through my finger-tips. That sounds
+absurd, but it is the solemn truth!"
+
+"Absurd?" cried Huntington. "My dear fellow, what you have just said is
+the explanation of the books which we collectors, poor simple fools,
+haven't been able to give. Don't you see that by your very act you have
+placed yourself among the masters? What else are the sculptures of
+Michelangelo, the paintings of Raphael, but the expression of their
+messages to the world made through the media with which they were
+familiar? With them it was stone and canvas, with you it is type and
+paper and leather. Thank God you couldn't write!"
+
+Hamlen listened to him in amazement, unable to grasp at once the
+significance or the breadth of all he heard. It was natural that
+Huntington's last words should be the first in his hearer's mind.
+
+"What do you mean,--'thank God you couldn't write'?"
+
+"I mean that what you have just told me is the reason why the arts of
+painting, architecture and sculpture have stood still these four hundred
+and fifty years. Stop and think, man! Who in those arts has surpassed
+the work of the old masters within that limit of time? No one, I say; no
+one! And why? Think of your dates! Four hundred and fifty years take us
+back to the invention of printing. That was what did it! With all it
+accomplished for the cause of learning it was the death-knell to the
+further development of the arts; for with the invention of printing came
+an easier way to give to the world that message which the human soul
+contains. Since then the real artist, whoever he was, instead of
+laboring to express his message in stone, or bronze, or on canvas, has
+simply taken pen and ink and patient paper and given the outpourings of
+his soul to the dear public in the form of a book. Again I say, thank
+God you couldn't write!"
+
+When Huntington turned to his companion he was amazed to see that he had
+dropped upon a stool, with bowed head resting on his hands, was sobbing
+like a child. With a woman's tenderness and intuition Huntington gently
+rested his hand upon his head.
+
+"We have torn off the bandages too fast, my friend," he said quietly.
+"Philip Hamlen doesn't belong among the 'missing men'; he belongs among
+the masters of art of his generation."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+VIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Between Cosden and Billy Huntington the breach had become well-defined
+during the past twenty-four hours. Up to this time the boy had
+considered him merely as an unsympathetic personality, whose advice to
+his uncle frequently made the task of carrying his point more difficult;
+but as the point was always eventually carried Billy had borne him no
+permanent ill-will. Cosden looked upon him as a spoiled child, to be
+punished frequently on general principles just for the good of the
+service. Now, however, affairs assumed a different footing: the boy,
+jealous of the passing moments which brought the sailing of the
+"Arcadian" nearer at hand, regarded the older man's action in joining in
+the walk to Elba Beach as a distinct intrusion; while Cosden,
+unconsciously applying his familiar business principles, deliberately
+determined to eliminate the possible competition of a diverting
+influence by exhibiting to the "prospect" a superior line of samples.
+Not that he really considered Billy worthy of such serious attention,
+but he was exercising that precaution which more than once had saved him
+from committing a business mistake.
+
+Merry Thatcher was not unaware of the relations which existed between
+the two, even though Cosden's present viewpoint was naturally unknown to
+her. Billy had been particularly frank in his expressions the evening
+before, and as they started off that morning he found opportunity to
+paint his feelings in vivid colorings. Considering the situation as
+amusing rather than serious, she held herself as a neutral observer.
+
+When it became evident that Cosden was in earnest in his suggestion to
+accompany them, Billy was seized with an inspiration.
+
+"What kind of bike do you ride, Mr. Cosden?" he asked, stopping in front
+of the bicycle-shed of the "Princess."
+
+"Bike?" Cosden echoed. "I thought we were going to walk."
+
+"Oh, no!" Billy assured him with confidence. "It's too far for Merry to
+hike it along the pavements, and these roads are bully for wheels."
+
+"All right," Cosden assented without further hesitation. "I haven't
+ridden for some time, but I guess I haven't forgotten how."
+
+"You know it's pretty tricky, riding down here in Bermuda," Billy
+cautioned him. "You have to turn out to the left, and all that sort of
+thing."
+
+"I'll take care of that," Cosden answered with decision, recognizing
+what was in the boy's mind. "You go ahead and get the wheels."
+
+Billy's glance at Merry as Cosden turned aside to say a word to
+Huntington was most expressive, and he managed to speak with her in an
+undertone before the older man rejoined them.
+
+"The big stiff!" he ejaculated. "I hope he takes a header on this first
+hill!--You know how to ride, don't you?"
+
+Merry's laughing nod reassured him. "Yes," she said; "it will be loads
+of fun!"
+
+"Great! then let's tear things up a bit, and give him a run for his
+money."
+
+Huntington stepped up with Cosden as the negro boy brought out the
+wheels.
+
+"So you're going back to first principles, Connie?" he asked. "It must
+have been you who suggested bicycles."
+
+"No; Billy wants to show me a thing or two about riding."
+
+"Show _you_!" Huntington laughed. "You'll have your hands full, my boy,
+riding with him. Why, he won everything in sight in the bicycle-races on
+the Mott Haven team when he was in college. He was as good as a
+professional then, and I don't believe he's forgotten it all yet. Throw
+out your chest, Connie, and let the lady admire your medals."
+
+Billy's face fell, and he looked at Merry dubiously. "Let's walk," he
+said.
+
+"No, you don't!" Cosden insisted. "This was your idea, and now we'll see
+it through. Come on."
+
+There was a complete reversal in the boy's spirits. The way Cosden
+handled the wheel showed clearly enough that bicycle-riding was second
+nature to him, and Billy's interest in the trip had obviously waned. But
+Merry had already mounted and was starting on behind Cosden, so nothing
+remained for him but to follow. Down past the tennis-courts, out onto
+Front Street, winding through the closely-packed buildings of the town
+itself, past Parliament House and Pembroke Hall, with its magnificent
+group of Royal Palms, then around the harbor, they soon found themselves
+riding between gardens and great trees on either side, which protected
+the coraline houses, with their curious tiled roofs, from the glare of
+the sun and the inquisitive gaze of the passers-by.
+
+"Can you take that hill without dismounting?" Cosden challenged Merry,
+as they approached a steep rise in the road.
+
+"Try me!" she answered gaily.
+
+"Oh, what's the use in tiring Merry all out?" Billy protested. "This
+isn't an endurance test; we're out for fun."
+
+"We'll wait for you," the girl taunted him laughingly, and the two shot
+ahead for the hill. The boy muttered something about Mr. Cosden which
+undoubtedly would have been much to the point had it been heard, and
+pedaled hard to make up for their start, but he reached the top of the
+incline in considerably poorer condition than either of the others.
+
+"Whew!" Billy puffed, "let's stop a minute; there's a dandy view from
+here."
+
+"Shall we rest?" Cosden asked Merry.
+
+"Not on my account," she replied unhelpfully. "I'm perfectly fresh, and
+the ride is exhilarating."
+
+"Then it would be a pity to be held back by Billy's inexperience,"
+Cosden commented, glancing at him with a malicious smile. "On, on to
+Elba Beach!"
+
+The boy managed nearly to keep up with them for the balance of the
+distance, but was quite ready to throw himself on the ground when they
+arrived at their destination.
+
+"Those are the 'boilers,' Billy," Merry announced to him, as they found
+the expanse of sea spread out before them, with the curious coral atols
+in the foreground, around which the water seethed.
+
+"Nothing that boils interests me in the least," was the unenthusiastic
+reply. "Lead me to an ice-chest and I'll give it the bunny-hug. Say, Mr.
+Cosden, you are some rider, aren't you? And Merry is no slouch!"
+
+"I'm glad you suggested the change," Cosden said. "I have underrated
+your headwork, my boy."
+
+"You certainly ride mighty well for a man your age,--doesn't he, Merry?"
+Billy continued with apparent good humor, but, aggravated to a point of
+impertinence by the patronizing attitude, he determined to break even
+with his tormentor. "Your wind is good, and the way you pedaled up that
+hill made me forget that you were old enough to be my father. You're
+mighty well preserved, aren't you?"
+
+Cosden was nettled. "Your idea of age needs some revision," he retorted
+sharply. "If I were to figure things the same way, I would suggest that
+the next time you come to Elba Beach you use an automobile perambulator
+instead of a bicycle.--Now let's call it quits."
+
+"They don't allow automobiles down here," Billy corrected seriously.
+"That's one reason why I came. I never want to see a buzz-wagon again."
+
+"Skid, collision, run-over, smash-up--" Merry began helpfully.
+
+"No--worse still," Billy rejoined slowly, evidently surveying the past
+in his mind.--"Say, Phil was in this, too."
+
+"Phil?" the girl echoed anxiously. "He wasn't hurt, was he?"
+
+"No, not hurt exactly; but we both had the shivers all right, and the
+more I think it over the less of a joke it seems to me. You see, Bud
+Warner has a crackerjack car, and he asked Phil and me to dash out with
+him one afternoon. The first thing we knew he turned in at a place out
+in Belmont, rode to the front door, and went on in to fuss a dame there
+that he's been rushing. Well, Phil and I cooled our heels half an hour
+waiting for him and then we thought we'd get even by giving him the
+slip, for it was a good two miles' walk to the cars and Bud is no bear
+as a walker. We slid out with the motor all right, but just before we
+reached Harvard Square a wise-guy cop pinched us for stealing the car,
+and ran us both in."
+
+"Arrested you for stealing?" Merry demanded.
+
+"Surest thing you know," Billy confirmed. "When Bud found we'd slipped
+him, he was sore, and to get even he telephoned the police-station, gave
+them the number of the car, and said it had been stolen. Oh! we were in
+bad, for fair."
+
+"And Uncle Monty far from home," commented Cosden.
+
+"Yes," Billy admitted; "I didn't know it at the time or I should have
+been still more peeved. Well--we stayed there in the cooler for two
+hours when Bud showed up and was brought in where we were. He gave us
+the once over, and acted as if he'd never seen us before in all his
+young life. 'I couldn't have believed it of such respectable-looking
+young men,' he said,--the darned hypocrite! 'I couldn't send them to
+State's prison,' said he, 'on account of their families.' Then he made
+an imitation like thinking, and finally he said, 'Officer, I withdraw
+the charge of theft, but ask you to hold the prisoners for exceeding the
+speed limit.--What's the bail? I'll help them out for the sake of their
+families.' So he bailed us out, and we went back together, with Bud
+thinking he'd played us a fine, swell joke."
+
+"Did you jump your bail?" Merry inquired, thoroughly amused.
+
+"No; we didn't dare. We came up before the judge next morning, and it
+cost us ten bones apiece and costs. That's what made me so short on my
+Christmas money."
+
+"I'll guarantee you found some way to get around that," Cosden said,
+suggestively egging him on to display his youthfulness.
+
+Billy grinned. "I had to," he admitted. "I thought I could get some
+money from Uncle Monty, but he had gone away, so I had Mother's present
+charged to Father, and Father's present charged to Mother."
+
+"Frenzied finance!" cried Cosden, amused in spite of his desire to
+disparage the boy. "You are wasting your time in college; you should be
+in Wall Street."
+
+"Your advice ought to be good, Mr. Cosden," agreed Billy, "for you
+certainly know how to make your money work overtime. I can always tell
+when Uncle Monty gives me any of the tired cash he wins out of you from
+the gratitude it shows for getting a little rest."
+
+Cosden did not like Billy's come-backs, and he did not like the
+amusement which he saw restrained in Merry's face. Still, he accepted
+the responsibility in large measure for putting himself on the boy's
+level.
+
+"I'd like to have charge of your business education," he said
+significantly.
+
+"It may come to that," the boy said with a total lack of enthusiasm.
+"That's the one real threat Uncle Monty always holds over me."
+
+"You are impertinent--" Cosden realized that the ragging was going too
+far.
+
+"Who began it?" was the retort.
+
+"Who is going to invite me to have some strawberries and cream?" Merry
+interrupted, feeling it to be her mission to come to the rescue, and
+recognizing Billy's mistake in antagonizing so close a friend of his
+uncle.
+
+Billy was on his feet in an instant, but Cosden was ahead of him.
+
+"I know the place," Merry said. "You see, I'm the old settler here, so
+I'll show you all the attractions. Think of strawberries and cream in
+January!--Won't you go ahead of us, Mr. Cosden, and ask the boy to put a
+table out on the piazza? It will be lovely there."
+
+As Cosden moved out of earshot she turned to her companion.
+
+"You must not upset him like that, Billy," she reproved him firmly;
+"your uncle will never forgive you."
+
+"He has no right to butt in on us," the boy protested gloomily.
+
+"But he's here, and you must be civil to him. Think how much older he is
+than you are, and you're quarreling with him as if he were your own
+age."
+
+"Oh, I'll be civil to him if he'll only can his grouch. Why, he got sore
+with me for kidding him about his age, yet you noticed how old he is
+yourself."
+
+"He isn't old, Billy. Why, he's younger than Mr. Huntington, isn't he?"
+
+"Perhaps he is; but Uncle Monty always makes you feel that he's your own
+age. I never think of him any differently than I do of any of my other
+pals. But Mr. Cosden--ugh!"
+
+"I know, Billy; but you don't want to say anything that will queer you
+with your uncle, do you?"
+
+Billy looked at her quizzically before he replied, then his broad,
+good-natured grin replaced the frown.
+
+"I get you, Stevie--what's the feminine for Steve, anyhow? You mean that
+a fellow ought not to make _pate de foie gras_ out of the goose that
+lays the golden eggs.--Say, Merry, you're wonderful, you are,--simply
+wonderful!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+IX
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+On their return from the Barracks Mrs. Thatcher and Edith Stevens left
+the men on the piazza and went up-stairs for the ostensible purpose of
+lying down, but with that ease with which two women change their plans
+when once alone they found themselves sitting in Marian's room, engaged
+in a heart-to-heart conversation.
+
+"I really think he might do," Edith remarked, a propos of nothing.
+
+As Mrs. Thatcher was intimately acquainted with Edith's mental processes
+the remark was more intelligible than might have been expected.
+
+"You don't mean Philip Hamlen?"
+
+Edith laughed. "No; you warned me off of him yesterday. I mean Mr.
+Cosden."
+
+"At it again?" Marian laughed. "Edith, you are absolutely incorrigible!
+It has been so long since you have played ducks and drakes with a man
+that I really believed you had reformed. You are old enough to know
+better!"
+
+"I presume it will be the same with him as with the others," Edith
+sighed. "That is my great weakness, I admit: I like a man just so long,
+and then he bores me stiff. I don't see how a married woman stands it
+to have only one man around her all the time. If you were as honest as I
+am you would admit that it would be a relief to you, every now and then
+if you could pour out your breakfast coffee with some one else sitting
+in front of you instead of Harry."
+
+"Harry answers very well, thank you."
+
+"Habit, nothing else," Edith insisted. "He's as much a part of the
+family furniture as the grand piano. But that's what gives me hope: if
+you and so many other women can endure it, why can't I?"
+
+"There are hundreds of men; why pick on Mr. Cosden?"
+
+"I had a long, experimental conversation with him last night while you
+and Mr. Huntington were holding your revival meeting on the pier, and I
+really think he might do. Tell me what you know about him."
+
+"Only what Harry has told me. They have had some business dealings
+together, and Harry says he has made a lot of money. The fact that Monty
+Huntington is his friend is his best recommendation."
+
+"Mr. Huntington has a good social position in Boston, hasn't he?"
+
+"Good heavens, yes! I believe one of his ancestors discovered Beacon
+Street, or something of that kind; but that doesn't imply that Mr.
+Cosden has the same position. A bachelor may have friends at his clubs
+whom he does not necessarily bring into his social circle,--especially
+in Boston."
+
+"Mr. Cosden is frightfully commercial," Edith meditated aloud.
+
+"So are you," Marian broke in laughing.
+
+"I don't mind that," Edith continued, "so long as he has a human side.
+I believe I could serve as a counter-irritant to keep him from remaining
+merely a machine.
+
+"You mustn't take away his capacity as provider," Marian teased her; "he
+would need a fairly stiff income to sail the good ship 'Edith Stevens.'"
+
+"With everything I want costing more and everything I own yielding less,
+that is of vital importance, of course. But I really believe
+Cossie--Connie--whatever they call him, might do."
+
+"Well, it's fine to have that all settled, my dear," Marian agreed,
+still showing her amusement. "Now, when are you going to break the news
+to him?"
+
+"Ah! that's another question!" Edith answered, entirely unabashed.
+"Couldn't you find out from Mr. Huntington something about his hobbies
+and his antipathies?"
+
+"Of course; unless you select some one else in the mean time. Perhaps
+we'd better wait until after luncheon."
+
+"Oh, I'm serious," Edith protested,--"provided of course that he
+measures up all right. The more I think it over the more serious I
+become. Ricky was particularly trying this morning; I'm aghast at the
+amount of last month's bills, and all in all it makes me realize the
+importance of not letting one's age become an indiscretion. Even you
+referred to my passing years."
+
+"Poor Ricky!" Marian said sympathetically; "he never gets any credit for
+sacrificing himself."
+
+"I've acted in the interests of my sex," Edith asserted stoutly. "Ricky
+is a joke. Except for the fact that he's my own brother I'd say he was
+a scream. If it hadn't been for me he would have married some girl and
+bored her to extinction. She couldn't have escaped him, but I can.
+Somebody owes me a debt of gratitude."
+
+"Well," Marian sighed, "I wish you luck; if Mr. Cosden isn't smart
+enough to protect himself it will be his own fault."
+
+"Why be catty, Marian?" Edith retorted with asperity. "It isn't
+becoming."
+
+Marian laughed. "You silly child!" she said. "You are the most supremely
+selfish creature in the world, but you are so blissfully unconscious of
+the fact that I love you for it. Some one has to stand up for Ricky;
+Heaven knows he can't stand up for himself."
+
+"Very good." Edith was only partly mollified. "I've no doubt Ricky will
+be exceedingly grateful, but if you were to ask me I'd say that you have
+men enough on your hands already without him. Now, I'm going to my room
+to dress for luncheon. Afterwards, when you find an opportunity, I want
+you to pump Mr. Huntington dry about Cossie--Connie--I'll never get used
+to that name!--and leave me to do the rest."
+
+Unconscious of plots and counterplots, Cosden and Huntington sauntered
+innocently onto the piazza after their noonday meal. Billy had managed
+to get himself invited to the Thatchers' table, so the two friends had
+lunched by themselves. Both were self-centered, but neither noticed it
+because of his own abstraction. Cosden was measuring up the girl as his
+opportunity for observation broadened, Huntington was still affected by
+his experience with Hamlen. Curiously enough, in spite of their
+friendship, or perhaps because their intimacy gave each so clear a
+knowledge of the other's characteristics neither one cared to speak of
+the subject which was uppermost in his mind. "Monty is too much of a
+cynic to appreciate my situation here," Cosden told himself; and
+Huntington, without even mentally putting it into words, knew that
+Hamlen did not and never would appeal to Cosden.
+
+Shortly after the men had lighted their cigars the party from the
+Thatchers' table joined them. Marian noticed that Edith casually dropped
+into the chair beside Cosden's, and was amused to see that she began
+operations at once.
+
+"What are we going to do this afternoon?" Edith queried breezily.
+
+"We've all been going since breakfast," Stevens suggested; "why not sit
+still for a while?"
+
+"Ricky!" said his sister severely, "no one asked your opinion. What in
+the world is the use of sitting still? We can do that at home."
+
+"What do you suggest?" Cosden asked her incautiously.
+
+"Have you been to Harrington Sound?"
+
+"No," he admitted; recognizing at once that he had given an unwise
+opening.
+
+"Then why don't you let me show you the way?" Edith asked, as if the
+thought had only just occurred to her.
+
+A chorus of approval went up from Huntington, Mrs. Thatcher and Billy.
+
+"Suppose we all go," Cosden said, seeking safety in numbers.
+
+"We have taken the drive several times," Mrs. Thatcher abetted Edith in
+her conspiracy, "and I am sure Mr. Huntington is too gallant to leave
+us. You can drive over and back comfortably by dinner-time."
+
+"Won't you stop on the way home and get me some coral sand?" Merry
+asked. "Edith will show you the beach."
+
+A drive with Miss Stevens was the last thing Cosden had intended, but as
+there seemed no possible escape he rose to the occasion and at once
+ordered the victoria. Nor was the enthusiasm of Billy's send-off
+balm-of-Gilead to his soul as the carriage moved away from the hotel
+steps. Edith, in a suit of white Bermuda doe-skin, with a small purple
+hat perched rakishly on her head, and carrying a purple parasol with
+handle of abalone pearl, was looking her best, and to the amused
+onlookers her snapping eyes and beaming countenance seemed to promise
+compensation.
+
+"I wish we might have a word together about Hamlen," Huntington remarked
+to Marian as they turned back to the piazza.
+
+"That is the very subject which is uppermost in my mind," she replied
+eagerly. "You saw him this morning?"
+
+"Yes; and he has absorbed my thoughts ever since. Suppose we sit down
+and talk him over."
+
+The others in the party left them to themselves. They had heard
+Huntington's preliminary remark, and understood that they had no part in
+the conversation.
+
+"He is a pathetic figure," Huntington continued, "and he has won a
+sympathy from me which I never remember to have given to any one before.
+Think of twenty years of solitude! By Jove! he is the Modern Edmond
+Dantes!"
+
+"I've known him since he was a boy," Marian said as Huntington paused
+for a moment. "If you are to understand the situation, perhaps I ought
+to tell you more. For a time, we were engaged, but these relations were
+broken off soon after his graduation. In fact I feel that I am to a
+certain extent responsible for his present condition, for he left
+America as soon as he heard of my engagement to Mr. Thatcher."
+
+Huntington looked up quickly. "That gives Hamlen and me another bond of
+sympathy," he said quietly.
+
+"What do you mean?" she asked, surprised.
+
+"That same announcement produced disastrous effects upon my life as
+well."
+
+"Why, you never saw me half a dozen times--"
+
+"Once was enough," he replied seriously.
+
+"Your imagination is as highly developed as your gallantry, Mr.
+Huntington," Marian laughed; "but we mustn't let ourselves become
+diverted.--Philip Hamlen was always sensitive and moody, but until I
+discovered him down here I had no idea these characteristics could
+become so exaggerated."
+
+"He believes himself always to have been misunderstood," Huntington
+added. "To-day he felt that we met on common ground, and the gratitude
+in his eyes still haunts me."
+
+"Can't we do something for him, between us?" she asked earnestly.
+
+"We must," Huntington assented with decision. "I am still puzzling over
+the problem. Have you anything to suggest?"
+
+Mrs. Thatcher did not reply at once, and Huntington respected her
+silence. He realized that her answer could not be given spontaneously,
+that the proposition was too vital for anything but the most serious
+consideration. As a matter of fact, however, she had already considered
+it. Marian Thatcher was a woman of strong impulses, with strength of
+will equal to carry them through to success. She had been appalled by
+Hamlen's condition, and felt keenly her personal responsibility. During
+the hours which had intervened since the accidental meeting, many of
+them sleepless hours of the night, she had searched her mind for some
+expedient which should in part work restitution. She had discovered a
+possible solution, but it was of a nature so intimate that she hesitated
+to take Huntington into her confidence.
+
+"I had thought--" she began at length, but then she paused. "We must
+pull him out of himself," she began again; "we must get him where he
+will find something to think of other than himself."
+
+"Suppose that to be accomplished, what then?"
+
+"I had thought--he needs--he needs a woman who believes in him, to give
+him courage, to restore his lost faith in himself. A friendship such as
+you or any other man can give will help much, but if the right woman
+could happen to come into his life--"
+
+"Isn't that taking too long a step for a first one? Huntington
+inquired.
+
+"Perhaps; but I feel myself so largely responsible that it would mean
+much to me to atone--"
+
+Marian's intensity made its impression upon Huntington even as it had
+upon Hamlen; but he could not follow her. How a married woman could make
+atonement just at this crisis was not clearly apparent. She realized
+that her stumbling remarks must be confusing.
+
+"It is difficult for me to tell you just what I have in mind," she
+stated definitely at length. "You don't know me well enough not to
+misunderstand, and you don't know Merry. But if I am to accept your aid
+I must run that risk, mustn't I?"
+
+"I shall try not to misunderstand--"
+
+"You mustn't think me unmotherly or indelicate," she continued. "It may
+be the last thing in the world which ought to happen, but if Philip
+Hamlen and Merry should take it into their heads to marry it would seem
+almost like poetic justice, wouldn't it?"
+
+"By Jove, no!" Huntington ejaculated hastily, with visions of Cosden
+swimming before his eyes.
+
+"Of course you are surprised," Marian said, laughing consciously; "but
+if you think of it you must admit that Merry would make him an ideal
+wife, and I believe he would be a wonderful husband. Her interest has
+always been in men older than herself, and he is only now ready to enjoy
+his youth. Of course, it is only an idea, but stranger things than that
+have happened."
+
+"Well," he said guardedly, sparring for time, "that may be the ultimate
+outcome; but first of all we must do a bit of humanizing. I would like
+to take him back to Boston to pay me a long visit if he would go. After
+that, we could see how things worked out."
+
+"Splendid!" Marian exclaimed; "and being in Boston he would be nearer my
+Philip. That was the one suggestion which seemed to appeal to him when I
+tried to persuade him to leave Bermuda. He would be much more likely to
+accept the suggestion from you than from me. The boy is named for him,
+and I believe they could do much for each other."
+
+"Capital!" echoed Huntington. "I know from experience how much a boy can
+do to keep an older man from thinking too much about himself. We are
+making progress. I will do my best to drag him away from here, and if I
+succeed we will arrange with Philip to take charge of that side of his
+education."
+
+Marian smiled gratefully as she heard the plan put definitely into
+words. "You have relieved me of an oppressive burden," she said
+feelingly. "It is such a relief to talk the matter over with some one
+who really understands. Don't misjudge me by what I suggest about Merry.
+I can't forget the closeness of those earlier relations, I can't forget
+my responsibility, and I shouldn't be true to myself if I failed to do
+all in my power to bring Philip Hamlen back to himself."
+
+"His natural qualities and his helplessness form a strong appeal,"
+Huntington replied evasively. "I shall be glad to assist in this
+socialistic experiment, Mrs. Thatcher, but I'm not quite sure that I am
+wholly sympathetic."
+
+"You will see more reason in my suggestion after you know them both
+better," Marian said confidently, placing her hand within the one
+outstretched to her. "When you do, I am sure I shall have your cordial
+co-operation in bringing about the match."
+
+"If you are right, I shall ask that my case be placed next upon the
+calendar."
+
+"Willingly!" Mrs. Thatcher laughed. "I'll find a wife within a month."
+
+"Heaven forbid!" he cried. "Unless--" he added slyly;--"unless you
+become a widow in the mean time!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+X
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+For some reason best known to himself Huntington did not confide to
+Cosden the fact that Mrs. Thatcher had suggested the possibility of a
+match between Merry and Hamlen. She had referred to it as "poetic
+justice"; perhaps Huntington, knowing his friend to be unsympathetic in
+his relations toward poetry in general, might fail to appreciate the
+present application, particularly since he himself, though possessing
+pronounced fondness for the poets, had not fully risen to the idea. As a
+matter of fact, the suggestion shocked him no less than Cosden's
+business-like proposition concerning his own marriage. What were people
+thinking of, these days!
+
+He looked forward to the morrow and to the sailing of the "Arcadian"
+with a sense of partial relief, for Billy's boyish infatuation and
+Cosden's impatient demands for interference had considerably disturbed
+his tranquillity. Huntington was a man of action when he so elected, and
+he enjoyed doing things when they were of his own choice and could be
+done in his own time and way; but nothing annoyed him more than to be
+forced into action by another's choice or election. Now, just as he saw
+one disturbing element about to be eliminated, another of seemingly
+greater magnitude loomed up on the horizon, and he cordially wished
+himself back in Boston with nothing more serious than the east winds to
+worry him.
+
+But no disturbing element was apparent in his face as he stepped out
+onto the piazza after his leisurely breakfast the following morning.
+Glancing around, he discovered Cosden and Miss Stevens standing at the
+further corner, watching the hustle of the departing guests.
+
+"You're just in time to witness the great event of the day," she greeted
+him as he joined them, pleased that she had Cosden and Huntington even
+temporarily to herself. "One of the best things they do down here is to
+arrange the sailings to New York at a time when one may see the boat off
+without getting up at all hours of the night."
+
+Cosden started to speak and then paused, looking at her narrowly to make
+certain that by no possible construction could any answer of his be
+twisted into an invitation to drive to St. George's, or to some other
+point equally remote.
+
+"Your remark shows that you and Mr. Huntington have much in common," he
+observed at length.
+
+"Ability to sleep is an evidence of a clear conscience," she asserted.
+
+"Which explains my restless nights, and the necessity of making up my
+quota at the wrong end," Huntington said.
+
+"But you come from New England, Mr. Huntington," Edith expostulated.
+"I've always heard a lot about the New England conscience."
+
+"I'll wager you never heard anything good about it," Huntington smiled.
+
+"Does it ever really keep any one from doing the things he wants to do?"
+she asked mischievously.
+
+"No," Huntington answered gravely; "it simply makes him very
+uncomfortable while he's doing them."
+
+"I thought your sleeplessness might be caused by anxiety lest that
+precious nephew of yours forget to take the boat this morning," Cosden
+remarked dryly.
+
+Huntington was quietly amused. "How about you?" he asked.
+
+"I'm here to throw him bodily on board at the first sign of any change
+of plan."
+
+"You speak as if you had a grudge against the boy," Edith said, looking
+surprised.
+
+"Not at all," Cosden demurred; "Billy is all right, but he covers too
+much territory. Since he landed I haven't been able to put my foot on
+the ground without stepping on him. His Alma Mater needs Billy more than
+I do, and, as Monty says, we alumni must be loyal to our Dear Mother."
+
+"His Alma Mater will have to do without him for a few days longer unless
+he appears soon," Edith remarked calmly, pointing toward the dock. "The
+tender has just started and will be here at the pier in a moment."
+
+Both men sprang to their feet.
+
+"Where in the world can that boy be?" Huntington demanded with real
+concern.
+
+"You go up to his room and I'll look around down here," Cosden said,
+taking command of the situation.
+
+Huntington disappeared with astonishing alacrity, while his friend
+deserted Miss Stevens to pursue the search down-stairs.
+
+"Why don't you find Miss Thatcher?" Cosden suggested, coming back to her
+as the idea struck him; "that will probably locate the boy."
+
+"I'd rather watch the man-hunt from here," she retorted coolly. "I don't
+want to miss seeing you throw him bodily on board."
+
+The tender came slowly alongside the "Princess" steps, taking on board
+the passengers from the hotel. Cosden and Huntington both appeared from
+different directions as the gang-plank was drawn up and the little
+steamer's screw began to churn. Huntington was out of breath, but not
+empty-handed--he carried with him a bag which showed evidences of hectic
+packing, with pajama strings hanging out from the partially closed top.
+
+"He hadn't even packed his things!" Huntington panted indignantly.
+
+"Stay here a moment," Cosden said, leaving him standing irresolutely at
+the top of the stone steps, watching the stretch of water increase
+between the departing tender and the pier.
+
+"Please turn this way," Edith called, leveling her camera at him from
+the piazza rail. "I want to be sure to get that suit-case into the
+picture."
+
+"Wait until Connie comes back," Huntington begged.
+
+At that moment a disheveled figure appeared running frantically up the
+"Princess" driveway.
+
+"I've lost my boat!" Billy cried with well-simulated despair.
+
+"You did it deliberately, you young rascal!" Huntington cried, aroused
+at last to exasperation.
+
+"Uncle Monty!" Billy's face wore an injured expression which would have
+fitted a Raphael cherub. "You know I wouldn't have missed that boat for
+anything. I'm sure to be rooked if I'm not in Cambridge Thursday."
+
+Cosden joined them in time to hear Billy's expostulations. "We couldn't
+let that happen," he said comfortingly. "Come on; I've fixed it up with
+the jolly skipper in this motor-boat. He swears he can reach the
+'Arcadian' before the tender does. Quick! there isn't a minute to lose!"
+
+"But I haven't packed my bag--"
+
+"Here it is!"
+
+Huntington removed Billy's one remaining hope, and the boy saw that he
+was fairly beaten.
+
+The broad grin returned to his face as he took his bag. "That's mighty
+good of you, Mr. Cosden," he said, with such apparent sincerity that it
+disarmed his uncle's wrath. "There aren't many men who would help a
+fellow out like that. I won't forget it!"
+
+He ran down the stone steps and took his place in the stern of the
+motor-boat. "Good-bye, everybody! Say, Uncle Monty, explain to Merry why
+I didn't have time to say 'good-bye' to her, and don't forget that this
+joy-ride is on Mr. Cosden. Good-bye!"
+
+They watched the little boat speed after the tender, which by this time
+had reached the narrows; then they turned back to the piazza.
+
+"We've succeeded in making ourselves fairly conspicuous," Cosden
+remarked. "A good deal of fuss over one small boy, eh, Monty?"
+
+"Thank you so much!" Edith cried enthusiastically as they joined her. "I
+haven't seen so much excitement since I arrived,--and I love to watch
+two live men in action."
+
+"It's frightful, being stared at, isn't it?" Cosden protested.
+
+"Don't believe a word he says, Miss Stevens," Huntington retaliated. "He
+really loves to be stared at; it's the disappointment on the people's
+faces after looking at him that causes the worry.--Now, Connie, you can
+put your foot on the ground without stepping on Billy. How are you
+planning to take advantage of your opportunity?"
+
+Cosden glanced at his watch. "I have an appointment with Thatcher at
+eleven on that little business proposition. We're to meet at the
+'Hamilton.' I've just about time to keep it. As for you, I suggest that
+you invite Miss Stevens to show you the way to the Devil's Hole. They
+have a wonderful collection of fish over there, which the Scotch keeper
+puts through their paces every little while whenever he needs the money.
+I commend your attention to the bachelor-fish: it has a bad disposition,
+makes itself obnoxious to its fellow-creatures, and would be sarcastic
+in its conversation if it had the power of speech."
+
+With this parting shot Cosden made his excuses to Miss Stevens and
+walked over to the "Hamilton." His spirits had improved immensely within
+the past half-hour, and the proximity of his appointment caused him to
+forget for the moment that his vacation trip thus far had distinctly
+bored him. To Cosden a vacation consisted, as Henry James would have
+described it, of "agitated scraps of rest, snatched by the liveliest
+violence." On other occasions, when he sought relaxation, he had found
+it in strenuous physical exercise; in the present instance he had
+intended to engage himself in the more unfamiliar occupation of offering
+a partnership to Merry Thatcher in the "Cosden Social Development
+Company, Limited," although he had not expressed it to himself in just
+these words. In this expectation he had so far signally failed. Had he
+been a baron of old he might have seized the prospective bride bodily
+and made off with her to his ancestral castle, but, even with the
+handicap imposed by modern civilization, now that the diverting
+influence had been eliminated, he believed the opportunity was nearer to
+the point of offering itself. The fact that Thatcher had turned to him
+in this proposition, whatever it was, not only pleased him as a further
+evidence of recognition, but supplied him with an agreeable outlet for
+his pent-up energy.
+
+Cosden had told Huntington that Thatcher was a "big man," and his
+friend, having learned his business vocabulary, understood what was
+meant by this designation: Thatcher was a man of substantial means, held
+influential positions on important boards, and wielded a power in the
+financial circles in which he moved. Cosden had been far-sighted, he
+told himself, to have happened upon the scene at this particular
+juncture, for Thatcher would scarcely have gone out of his way to invite
+him to join in the enterprise except for the coincidence of their
+meeting; and Cosden was not averse to being included in the Thatcher
+group of operators.
+
+Thatcher was awaiting him on the lower piazza when he arrived at the
+"Hamilton."
+
+"I wanted to have a few words with you before we join this promoter
+person up-stairs," he explained, "so I sent Stevens on ahead to tell him
+we are on our way. Duncan is the man's name. He's a Scotchman who has
+lived down here for many years. He has little education, and you could
+cut his brogue with a knife."
+
+"I won't object to his brogue if his signature is any good at the foot
+of a check," Cosden interrupted.
+
+"He doesn't come in on that end," Thatcher continued. "The idea is his,
+and he can be of service later on if we proceed with it. It isn't very
+large, and we can finance it easily if the thing is worth taking up at
+all. The scheme is to fit Bermuda out with a trolley system, and to
+bring the right tidy little island down to the twentieth century."
+
+"Not a bad suggestion," Cosden commented,--"and a great improvement upon
+the present system of bicycling." Billy would have rejoiced had he known
+how stiff his adversary's legs were after the famous ride to Elba Beach.
+"Why hasn't some one thought of it before?"
+
+"Duncan will tell you the story as he has told me," Thatcher said
+rising. "Come, let us go to him now. Ricky will have exhausted his
+vocabulary by this time."
+
+Cosden smiled at the mention of Stevens' name. "He's a curious
+fellow,--Stevens," he remarked. "With that vacant expression on his face
+he ought to make a corking poker-player. Is he interested in this
+deal?"
+
+"Ricky interested in business?" Thatcher laughed. "He would run a mile
+to avoid it! No, he's just a messenger this morning; but Ricky is all
+right in his way. He's the society member of his family. He isn't a
+heavy-weight, but when it comes to dancing or the latest word in men's
+attire, you can't overlook Ricky."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Cosden's departure left Huntington and Miss Stevens together on the
+piazza of the hotel. The bustle attendant upon the sailing had quieted
+down but Huntington had not recovered from the unusually violent action
+of the past few moments.
+
+"I was going over to have another visit with Hamlen," he remarked, "but
+the morning is gone."
+
+"It isn't eleven o'clock yet," Miss Stevens commented.
+
+"By Jove! is that all? Well, it's too late now, but I'll go this
+afternoon.--It seems as if ages had passed since breakfast! Do you
+suppose they'll keep that boy on board once they get him there?"
+
+"Of course," she laughed. "Why worry about him?"
+
+"I'm not worrying," Huntington protested. "I never worry,--I don't
+believe in it. Worry is for parents and married people generally."
+
+"What a cynic you are on the subject of marriage," Edith remarked; "you
+never pass an opportunity to knock it, do you?"
+
+"Am I so heartless as all that?" Huntington inquired by way of answer.
+"But why can't you and I, who may class ourselves among those fortunate
+ones who have escaped the snares, be honest with each other and enjoy
+watching the thraldom of others who have shown themselves less
+discreet?"
+
+"How do you know that I do class myself among the fortunate ones?"
+
+"Because you are unmarried, and seeing you is to know that you could not
+enjoy that blessed state except through choice."
+
+Edith smiled at his gallantry, wondering whether he was really as
+flippant as he would have her think.
+
+"If a woman were to take that position she would be accused of 'sour
+grapes,' wouldn't she?"
+
+"Probably; such is the instinctive pessimism of the times. It is so much
+easier to do the conventional when one sees it going on all about him
+that people are intellectually incapable of comprehending that to avoid
+the obvious may be a matter of pre-determination, and an evidence of
+strength rather than the result of accident or an act of omission."
+
+"Does Mr. Cosden share your views upon this subject?" Edith inquired.
+
+"Not at the present moment, if I am credibly informed by my
+observations."
+
+Edith looked at him critically. "Do you mean that he is engaged?" she
+asked pointedly.
+
+"Oh, no," Huntington disclaimed promptly, conscious that he was talking
+of his friend with considerable freedom, but suddenly inspired with the
+idea that it might help the situation; "no, I didn't mean that at all.
+He isn't as careful as he used to be about exposing himself; that is
+what I was trying to say. You see, I don't know how long inoculation
+holds good: it's seven years for smallpox, and three years for typhoid.
+How long should you say a man could hold out against matrimony on the
+same ratio?"
+
+"When was Mr. Cosden 'inoculated,' as you call it?" she asked, smiling.
+
+"When he started out to make his fortune, about fifteen years ago."
+
+"Then I'm sure it has run out of his system long since," she laughed.
+"He ought to be very susceptible."
+
+"I'm afraid you're right," Huntington sighed. "Of course, Connie has a
+strong, robust constitution and he may pull through, but I will admit
+that I've seen symptoms lately which cause me some anxiety. Did you
+notice anything while you were out driving?"
+
+"I noticed a good many things, but nothing which would contribute to the
+subject you mention. He was about as responsive as the wrong side of a
+mirror, but I talked at him until he had to say something in
+self-defense."
+
+"Dear me!" Huntington held up his hands deprecatingly. "That is one of
+the worst symptoms possible. I had no idea that it had gone as far as
+that. You and I must take Connie in hand."
+
+"Who is the girl?" Edith demanded abruptly.
+
+"Ah! I am counting on you to help me find out."
+
+"It all must have happened before you came down here."
+
+"On the contrary; Connie was quite himself until he reached Bermuda.
+Since then--"
+
+"Why, he hasn't met any one here except--"
+
+"You and Miss Thatcher," Huntington completed. "You see how the search
+narrows itself. I shall continue my investigations until I discover the
+truth.
+
+"How perfectly ridiculous!" Edith cried, not yet convinced as to his
+sincerity. "Why, Merry is a mere child, and--what makes you think there
+is anything of that kind in Mr. Cosden's mind?"
+
+"His vindictiveness. Haven't you noticed the way he treated Billy? And
+he has actually been harsh with me on two occasions. It isn't like
+Connie; and if it affects him like this now, Heaven alone knows what the
+outcome will be if matters go further. You know the old song:
+
+  "_You may carve it on his tombstone, you may cut it on his card,
+  That a young man married is a young man marred._"
+
+"There you go again," laughed Edith; "the cynic once more leaps into the
+limelight."
+
+"But won't you pledge yourself to assist me in my noble work? Why not
+form ourselves into a society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Single
+Persons, and be sworn to do all we can to intervene between matrimony
+and its victims?"
+
+"Of course each would be at liberty to use his own judgment?" queried
+Edith, amused.
+
+"Yes; so long as he did not confound judgment with sentiment."
+
+"That is a capital suggestion," she agreed smiling. "I will gladly join
+you. Our first undertaking, I presume, will be to prevent affairs from
+going any further between Merry and Mr. Cosden--granting that they
+exist?"
+
+"I don't say that. I recognize in you a superior person, and as such I
+have absolute confidence that you will act in accord with the unwritten
+constitution of our Society."
+
+"Thank you for that confidence," Edith said still smiling. Then she
+added enigmatically, "Whenever I accept a responsibility I always rise
+promptly to the emergency. In the present instance it requires careful
+consideration. Now, if you will excuse me I will take my morning
+constitutional."
+
+Huntington was not sorry to have a few moments of solitary
+contemplation. Throwing away a half-smoked cigar, he drew his pipe from
+his pocket and filled it with his favorite mixture--unchanged since he
+first became acquainted with it at college. A cigarette represented to
+Huntington the casual inconsequence of youth, a cigar the aristocracy of
+smoking, a pipe that comfortable companionship which encourages
+relaxation and introspective thought. With the first whiff he pulled his
+hat down over his face, settled deep in his chair, and began to run over
+the events of the past few days. Huntington's mind was methodical if not
+always orderly, and his account of stock, when finally classified under
+the head of "responsibilities," summed up about as follows:
+
+     _Responsibility 1_: To keep peace with Connie, and yet
+     persuade him against or frighten him out of his present
+     assinine intentions.
+
+     _Responsibility 2_: To pull Hamlen out of the solitary life
+     which he had affected, and to force him to assume that
+     position in the world to which he rightly belonged.
+
+     _Responsibility 3_: To demonstrate to Mrs. Thatcher that her
+     unmotherly idea of making restitution to Hamlen by throwing
+     her daughter at his head was the product of an overwrought
+     sentimentality rather than a rational suggestion.
+
+     _Responsibility 4_: To become sufficiently intimate with
+     Merry, the direct or indirect occasion of the entire
+     complication, to be able to judge as to the probable outcome
+     of all the other responsibilities.
+
+The sum total of his obligations appalled him, and he found himself
+proceeding in a mental circle, making no progress beyond the
+recapitulation. He was not displeased, therefore, when he found himself
+interrupted in his reveries by a bell-boy who stood before him, holding
+out a tray containing a telegram. He took it mechanically, wondering who
+had located him in this island retreat. Opening the yellow envelope he
+read the following message, sent by wireless from the "Arcadian":
+
+     "_That Cosden person has slipped it over on me this time,
+     but I depend on you to watch out for my interests with
+     Merry. She is the one best bet. Don't let that antique
+     vintage of 1875 annoy her with his attentions. I know I can
+     trust you. Please cable money to me in New York care of
+     Hotel Biltmore to pay for this message and other expenses to
+     Cambridge._
+
+  "BILLY."
+
+Huntington groaned aloud as he twisted uncomfortably in his chair.
+"Another responsibility to add to the others!" he cried, "and I believed
+bachelor's life one of freedom and ease! If ever I get out of this mess
+I'll bury myself in some monastery, and let its cold grey walls protect
+me against the matrimonial madness of the world!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+By a curious coincidence Edith Stevens' "morning constitutional" took
+her in the direction of the "Hamilton," and by another coincidence,
+equally curious, she met Thatcher, Cosden, and her brother as they
+emerged from the hotel after their conference with Duncan. Cosden was
+still in an elated mental condition as a result of the fact that he had
+again placed himself within the control of his master passion. Even
+though Thatcher spoke of the enterprise as "small," it was an opening
+wedge, and Cosden knew how to make the most of an opening.
+
+The visit to Bermuda had already taught him that he was engaging in a
+game of which he did not know even the first rudiments. It had seemed
+easy enough to him when he first undertook it, but the experience of
+these few days had undeceived him. When in the past he had wanted
+anything, he simply played the game until he won out; now he saw that in
+spite of his claim that marriage firmly rested upon basic business
+principles, there was a certain hiatus which could not be filled in by
+the education derived from every-day business routine in a
+counting-room. He had met no discouragements as yet, but he was making
+no beginning, and that of course was retrogression.
+
+As he saw Miss Stevens approaching Cosden was seized with one of those
+inspirations which had made his business career so signal a success. It
+was stupid of him not to have thought of it before! Whenever he wanted
+advice upon factory management he employed the best expert he could
+secure; now that he required specialized service in the matter of
+approaching Miss Thatcher upon the delicate subject he had in mind, why
+should he not employ the same method? Every woman was by nature a
+specialist in affairs of this kind, and from what he had already seen of
+Miss Stevens he believed he could scarcely have selected one better
+fitted to act in the capacity suggested.
+
+It was easy enough to manoeuver matters so that he should walk back
+with her to the "Princess," especially as she seemed unconsciously to
+fall in with his plans by addressing her greeting particularly to him.
+Cosden's response was so cordial and his pleasure in seeing her so
+sincere that Edith was thoroughly mystified. Previously he had seemed
+preoccupied, and appeared to endure her companionship rather than seek
+it; now he threw aside his indifference and met her as a comrade. An
+instant understanding flashed across her mind: Huntington had hinted
+that his friend had suddenly developed interesting tendencies, and had
+said plainly that the objective was either Merry Thatcher or herself.
+Could it be that--well, perhaps it would not be necessary to use force
+after all! Then, as a result of that curious feminine paradox, her next
+thought was contradictory: "If he is really interested in me then I
+shall lose interest in him." Still, the game was worth playing out.
+
+They turned in at the little shaded lane which offers a short cut to the
+hotel, but instead of entering the hallway Cosden stopped and indicated
+the steps leading down to the tennis-courts.
+
+"Would you mind having a very personal conversation with me down there?"
+he asked with so much significance in his voice that Edith became almost
+agitated.
+
+"I'd love to sit down for a moment," she assented. "I've been walking so
+long that I could take that bench in my arms and hug it."
+
+"I'm in a quandary," Cosden began without preliminaries as soon as Edith
+had adjusted herself where she would appear to best advantage. "I have
+an idea that you can help me out."
+
+"First aid to the wounded is right in my line," Edith assured him
+helpfully.
+
+Even with the inspiration which expectancy on the part of an audience is
+always supposed to give a speaker, Cosden's fluency became somewhat
+modified when he actually touched upon his main topic.
+
+"I'm a peculiar sort of man, I've no doubt--"
+
+"I wouldn't give a snap of my finger for a man who didn't possess
+individuality," she interrupted emphatically.
+
+"Well, perhaps it is more than individuality. Men seem to understand me
+all right, but I've never had a sister, and I've been too tied down by
+my business to cultivate women. I'm a man's man--I suppose that about
+expresses it."
+
+"That's a good recommendation; look at my brother,--he's a lady's man.
+Would you change individualities with Ricky?"
+
+"Perhaps not," Cosden said guardedly; "still in this matter your brother
+could probably give me a pointer or two.--Hang it all! when I talk to a
+man I don't have any difficulty in making myself understood, but here I
+am, floundering round with you like a school-boy!"
+
+"Just imagine for the moment that I am a man and that you are talking to
+me about some one else--"
+
+"That's it exactly; I knew you would understand. I thought Monty would
+help me out, but he absolutely refuses to take me seriously. The truth
+of the matter is that I've decided to get married."
+
+Even with the preparation given her by Huntington's remarks Cosden's
+statement came with an abruptness which surprised Edith into a becoming
+flutter. Her eyes fell for the moment and she could feel a flush come
+into her face. Knowing how some men admire the combination of blue eyes
+and rosy cheeks she hastened to look up, but was disappointed to find
+her companion's gaze resting upon the distant horizon.
+
+"You have decided?" she asked archly; "where does the girl come in?"
+
+"Oh, she'll come in all right at the finish, I've no doubt," Cosden
+replied. "I'm taking you at your word, and I'm talking to you just as I
+would to a man. I want you to tell me what I ought to do to make sure
+that nothing goes wrong. I've always got what I've gone after, and it
+would break me all up to come a cropper just because I hadn't handled
+the matter right."
+
+"Have you given the prospective bride any suggestion of your
+intentions?" Edith inquired, her eyes again drooping.
+
+"Not a word. That's not my way. I always plan things out to the finish,
+and then it's plain sailing to the end."
+
+"Have you reason to think she cares for you?"
+
+"She has no more idea that I think of marrying anybody than you had
+before I began to tell you; but I don't see why she should have any
+special objection to me. The whole point is, I'm somewhat older than
+she, and I'm not sure that I speak the same language."
+
+Edith's mind executed some lightning mathematical calculations, and she
+wondered if he were older than he looked.
+
+"There is not too much difference, I am sure."
+
+"Just eighteen years," Cosden announced with finality.
+
+The color left Edith's face, and then it returned with greater strength.
+Her surprise showed only in her snapping eyes, for she held herself well
+in hand; but her mind was working fast. She was thankful enough that he
+had been so wrapped up in himself that he was oblivious to her mistake.
+
+"It would serve him right if I did marry him, to pay him back for this,"
+was what her eyes said, but the words she spoke fitted well enough into
+Cosden's understanding.
+
+"Well, of course, eighteen years is a good deal--"
+
+"Just the proper handicap." Cosden repeated the phrase he had used in
+his discussion with Huntington. "Women grow old faster than men."
+
+Edith bit her lip to hold back the caustic reply which was almost
+spoken. He certainly was intent upon his purpose, but that did not
+excuse his lack of gallantry. His friend could give him points on that!
+The responsibility she had told Huntington she would assume became a
+real one!
+
+"Perhaps," she seemed to assent; "but of course it makes a difference
+who the girl is. If I knew her--"
+
+"You know her all right; it's Merry Thatcher."
+
+"Oh!" she exclaimed, as if the identity was a complete surprise. "Yes,
+you would have to plan your campaign pretty carefully with Merry. She is
+a girl with definite ideas of her own, and she might not be influenced
+by the fact that you always get what you go after."
+
+Cosden looked at her suspiciously.
+
+"Yes; I think I could help you," she added quickly.
+
+"I'd be mighty grateful if you would," Cosden said with obvious relief.
+
+"Now, let me see--" Edith proceeded carefully, but the way was clearing
+before her. "I think you will need to take quite a course of training,"
+she laughed. "Are you prepared to do that?"
+
+"When I place myself in my doctor's hands I usually take his medicines."
+
+"All right; then we'll start in at once. I must ask you a lot of
+questions. Are you fond of athletics?"
+
+"Next to my business, it's my longest suit."
+
+"There is the first point of common interest. You are making a good
+start.--Are you fond of reading?
+
+"I like a good detective story."
+
+"How about Stevenson and Ibsen and Lafcadio Hearn?"
+
+"Not in mine, except 'Treasure Island' and 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.'"
+
+Edith pursed her lips. "Not so good on the second test, Mr. Cosden. How
+about opera?"
+
+"My favorites are 'Lohengrin' and the 'Merry Widow.'"
+
+"Horrors! That you must keep sacredly hidden from the dear girl. I've
+known her to go to the opera eight times in one week, and sigh for more.
+Of course you adore orchestral music?"
+
+"You'll have to score zeros against me on music, but perhaps I can come
+back strong in some other branches."
+
+She held up a finger chidingly. "You from Boston, and don't rave over
+your Symphony Orchestra! That is a real blow! I supposed every one in
+Boston went to the Symphony concerts just for the prestige, even though
+he couldn't tell whether the orchestra was playing or only tuning up."
+
+"You see I'm not trying to sail under false colors."
+
+"Well, now I come to the supreme test of all: do you dance?"
+
+Cosden threw up his hands in real despair. "You are making me look
+ridiculous," he said. "I knew the old dances, but I've never put myself
+up against the new ones. I suppose I could learn."
+
+"Well, well, well!" ejaculated the fair inquisitor. "All I can say is
+that you showed real business judgment in coming to me first. Merry
+would have made short work of you; she's crazy about dancing. Oh, don't
+look so serious; the case may not be so hopeless as it seems."
+
+"I don't see how it could be much worse." Cosden was genuinely
+chagrined.
+
+"It isn't every one who finds a fairy godmother waiting for him when he
+comes out of his chrysalis, Mr. Cosden," Edith explained. "She will help
+young Lochinvar to throw aside his antiquity and come down to date. In
+two weeks' time you'll feel so spritely that Mr. Huntington and his
+friends of equal age will bore you,--all provided that you follow your
+instructor's precepts."
+
+Cosden caught the contagion of her optimism. "It's mighty good of you,
+Miss Stevens. I have no right to ask so much of a comparative stranger."
+
+"Don't worry a bit," Edith reassured him. "You are to start right in and
+practise on me. I'll teach you the new steps, and coach you in all
+that's needful. You may lose your breath and a few friends, but I'll
+guarantee to show you how to win a wife. Now you may begin your
+education by leading me in to luncheon."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Out of the helpless floundering in the lap of his "responsibilities" a
+realization came to Huntington that immediate action of some sort was
+imperative to prevent him from breaking his most zealously observed
+commandment, "Thou shalt not worry." His antipathy to this favorite
+pastime was not due to an acceptance of the Japanese theory that worry
+produces poison in the human system, but rather to a willingness on his
+part to let others do what he himself found distasteful. It was an
+article of faith with him to avoid the unpleasant. During luncheon
+Cosden was wrapped in his own thoughts, which gave final opportunity for
+this realization to crystallize into a conclusion that the moment was at
+hand to demonstrate his good intentions to Mrs. Thatcher, and to become
+better acquainted with her daughter,--all in a single operation.
+
+"If my leaving the table won't disturb your reflections--" he began.
+
+Cosden looked up quickly and smiled. "I didn't intend to be such poor
+company, Monty," he apologized. "The fact is, I have a good deal on my
+mind. Of course you can't understand what that means; all you have to do
+is to eat three meals a day, stand still while Dixon dolls you up at
+stated intervals and go to sleep at night after he tucks you away in
+your little trundle-bed."
+
+There was an indulgent expression in Huntington's eye as he listened.
+"Yes," he acquiesced; "it is always difficult for any one to see the
+other fellow's viewpoint. But don't apologize; I think I like you better
+when you're quiet.--Now, if you don't mind, I'll have a word with Mrs.
+Thatcher."
+
+He strolled leisurely to the table where the Thatcher party sat.
+
+"I am going over to Mr. Hamlen's villa this afternoon," he announced; "I
+wonder if Miss Merry would care to go with me."
+
+"I'd love to," the girl replied promptly, with evident eagerness in her
+voice. "Especially if you are going to talk with him as you did the
+other evening," she added.
+
+"You're taking that Hamlen chap rather seriously, aren't you?" Stevens
+volunteered.
+
+"He's entitled to it," Huntington said with a decision which Stevens
+took to be a rebuff, and subsided.
+
+Mrs. Thatcher was quick to understand that Huntington was acting in
+response to her suggestion of the night before, and her face showed her
+appreciation.
+
+"I have wanted Merry to see those wonderful grounds," she exclaimed;
+"this is just the time to do it."
+
+"When does our Society go into executive session?" asked Edith, with a
+significant smile; "my committee wishes to report progress."
+
+"Splendid!" Huntington responded. "The notices shall be sent out at
+once." Then he turned again to Merry. "You'll go?" he asked.
+
+"Of course I will; I'll be ready whenever you say."
+
+"I'll telephone Hamlen and see what time he would prefer to have us
+come."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Shall we walk?" she asked him, as they met at the appointed hour on the
+piazza of the hotel.
+
+"It's over two miles," he suggested doubtfully. The idea of walking
+anywhere when a conveyance was within reach never occurred to Huntington
+naturally.
+
+"I don't mind the distance at all unless you do," she replied; "I always
+walk when I can, and the afternoon is delightful."
+
+As Huntington regarded his vivacious companion he was conscious of
+another shock similar to those he had experienced when he first saw her
+and her mother the evening of his arrival. She had discarded the
+unconventional costume of the morning, exchanging it for an afternoon
+gown of softest texture, so girlish, yet to the practised eye revealing
+in every detail the artist's creation,--arraying herself with such
+special care that her escort could not fail to understand her
+appreciation of his attention. It was Marian Seymour once more whose
+hand he held in his as he assisted the girl down the long steps, and his
+mind leaped back again over the five and twenty years. But what a
+difference at his end of the picture! She was the same, but he--well,
+the years had dealt kindly with him he must admit, but forty-five at
+best must pay homage to twenty! Her youthful figure was disguised but
+not hidden by the quaint gown of white Georgette crepe and lace,
+relieved from its monotone by a soft, moon-blue satin girdle,
+embroidered with roses and leaves in pastel shades. The wide-brimmed hat
+of the same crepe, its crown of blue satin banded with flowers, the
+dainty parasol, and the white kid colonials completed a becoming
+costume. Huntington concluded that his slipper, so carefully preserved
+at home, was as antique a souvenir as himself! "Shall we walk?" she
+asked; he would have liked nothing better than to parade up and down
+forever before every one he knew with this splendid young creature
+beside him, exhaling all that glowing health and youth could add to the
+natural charms which were her birthright! Particularly was he unable to
+resist giving Cosden a look of triumph as they passed by him at the
+steps.
+
+"Room for one more in your party?" Cosden asked, rising impulsively.
+
+"Full house, Connie," was the uncompromising response. "We're off on a
+missionary trip, and you wouldn't be interested."
+
+To Merry herself this was an adventure as pleasing as it was unusual.
+Huntington had made a deep impression upon her on that one occasion to
+which she so often referred. In her quiet, tense way the girl was a
+hero-worshiper, and in that single moment Huntington had qualified for
+the hero's crown. That he should have selected her as his companion for
+this afternoon was enough to set her cheeks aglow and to make her eyes
+sparkle with girlish anticipation.
+
+"I'm afraid my nephew Billy has been imposing on your good-nature, these
+days," he began.
+
+"Billy?" she laughed. "Not a bit of it! Billy is the best fun ever. I
+never saw such an irrepressible boy; he's just like a big St. Bernard
+pup!"
+
+Huntington decided to remember this for later use in time of need.
+
+"I suppose we old-stagers forget how youthful we were at his age, but
+sometimes it seems to me as if Billy would never grow up."
+
+"Oh, he's all right, Mr. Huntington," Merry reassured him. "My brother
+Phil is older, but every now and then he breaks out just the same. I
+think they're lots of fun. It's only when they become serious that I
+feel worried about them."
+
+"Billy isn't often guilty of that," was Huntington's comment. "When he
+and I are alone I don't mind having him bubble over. It keeps me young,
+so I rather like it; but down here it seemed as if he was getting in
+every one's way,--just like a puppy, as you say. Mr. Cosden--"
+
+"I'm afraid Mr. Cosden doesn't remember his own boyhood as well as you
+remember yours," Merry interrupted. "How much more he would enjoy
+himself if he had a bump of humor, wouldn't he?"
+
+"Connie? Why, I never noticed that he lacked humor. Of course Connie is
+very intense; he goes at his business as if it were the only thing in
+life, and when it comes to play it's the same way. Now that you speak
+about it, I don't know that I have noticed much sense of humor in him.
+Perhaps that's why we pull together so well."
+
+"I'm glad you asked me to go with you this afternoon," Merry continued.
+"Mother has told me something about Mr. Hamlen, and I feel terribly
+sorry for him. He was so miserably unhappy the other evening. She says
+he has one of the most wonderful places she ever saw."
+
+"He has; but I believe you will be even more interested in studying the
+man than his frame. The morning I spent with him stands out as an event
+in my life. You heard us discussing college the other evening; well,
+Hamlen is the product of the one great fault in the life at Harvard when
+we were there."
+
+"For Phil's sake, I hope all the faults are overcome by now."
+
+Huntington smiled. His face was one which smiled easily, adding to the
+charm of his low, well-modulated voice.
+
+"Most of the faults have been eradicated," he replied, "but weaknesses
+will always exist. Perhaps I should have called this a weakness. To-day
+it is partially remedied, and I believe that the new freshman
+dormitories are going to be a large insurance clause against it."
+
+"I don't believe I understand--"
+
+"Nor can you until I cease speaking in enigmas," laughed Huntington. "I
+once went to a lecture William James gave on Pragmatism, and all I took
+away as a reward for my hour of careful listening was that 'nothing is
+the only resultant of the one thing which isn't.' I upbraided him for it
+when next we met, and he explained that the prerogative of a philosopher
+is that he can retreat behind meaningless expressions and still be
+considered wise. I am no philosopher, so it is cowardly of me to try to
+take similar advantage of you. Hamlen is a college-made recluse, and
+there is no denying the fact that at Harvard there has been less effort
+made by the students to find out the personal characteristics of their
+classmates than at any of the other colleges. Each fellow has had to
+show them forth himself, and it had to be done his freshman year. If he
+held back, as Hamlen did, they have let him stay in his shell; then he
+concluded they didn't like him."
+
+"But a boy can't advertise his characteristics--"
+
+"No; but he can manifest them in legitimate ways. Why, my freshman year
+there was a little fellow in the Class who didn't weigh a hundred
+pounds, and had no more strength than a cat; but he went in for crew,
+football, baseball, track athletics, debating,--and everything else you
+could imagine. He was no good in any of them, and didn't come within a
+mile of making any team. We all made fun of him and we all loved him for
+his grit. He didn't have to advertise; we knew him through and through.
+That is the kind of boy that makes good at Harvard."
+
+"Some boys wouldn't realize the importance of this until too late, with
+no one to tell them, would they?"
+
+"That is the whole point, Miss Merry, and it hasn't taken you as long to
+see it as it has taken the college authorities. When Hamlen and I were
+there no one made any effort to shake us up together. I had my own small
+circle of friends, and we cared precious little for any one outside of
+it. If I had known Hamlen then as I have come to know him here in less
+than a week, I should have insisted on his being one of that little
+circle; but I didn't know him at all. I am watching this segregation of
+the freshmen with great interest. It seems as if they must get to know
+each other better now; but if this experiment doesn't solve the problem
+then the authorities must keep on trying until they find one that does."
+
+They walked on in silence for several moments. Huntington was deeply in
+earnest, and Merry eager to hear every word. Her father, not being a
+college man, had always been more or less intolerant of the claims made
+by college graduates, so her ideas had naturally been colored by his
+views. Her brother was sent to Harvard because his mother wished it, not
+because Thatcher had changed his opinions, and Merry's new views, as
+gained by her brother's life there, had not given her any deeper
+understanding. What Huntington said to Hamlen supplied her with another
+viewpoint, and she was keenly interested in this continuation of the
+same subject.
+
+"Hamlen is a man cowed and embittered by his experiences," Huntington
+said, speaking again. "Every time he has gone out into the world it has
+been head foremost, without looking. He has butted against stone wall
+after stone wall when he could have seen the opening had he used his
+eyes. Each time he has been bruised he has fancied that the world struck
+him, when in reality the wound was self-inflicted."
+
+"Has he no friends--no hobby which can take him out of himself?"
+
+"He believes himself to be friendless, but he has a hobby; I discovered
+it when I was at his villa yesterday. Do you happen by any chance to
+know anything of the artistic side of bookmaking?"
+
+"I took some lessons from Cobden-Sanderson while we were in London two
+winters ago, but I haven't done much with what I learned."
+
+"Did you really?" Huntington stopped short and looked at her in genuine
+surprise. "That is a curious coincidence! I hadn't the remotest idea,
+when I asked the question, that you knew there was anything in a book
+except the story. Well, that does simplify matters! Hamlen has a
+hand-press and a miniature bindery, and has made some really exquisite
+volumes. It is his one remaining human trait. I've known the books for
+years, but no one could find out who made them. Well, well! I promise
+that you shall see Hamlen this afternoon in a mood quite different from
+the one you saw him in the other night; you shall know the man as I know
+him, and better than he knows himself!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Huntington noticed a new light in Hamlen's eyes as he greeted them at
+the villa. The man was more reserved in the presence of a third person,
+but Huntington was relieved to find that the fact of Merry's coming did
+not throw his host back into that restrained attitude which he
+manifested when first they met.
+
+"I have brought you another congenial soul," Huntington explained.
+
+"Can there be such--for me?" Hamlen demanded, but his guest continued as
+if he had not heard.
+
+"Quite accidentally I find that Miss Merry has been a pupil of
+Cobden-Sanderson's, and I want her to see what you have done in this
+miniature island press of yours."
+
+"I should be so interested," Merry exclaimed eagerly.
+
+"How can it interest any one but me?" Hamlen asked incredulously. "I am
+parading my inmost self in public, and it seems indecent."
+
+"I should not wish to intrude--" the girl began but Hamlen held up a
+deprecating hand, and the expression on his face refuted the apparent
+lack of courtesy.
+
+"I am sure you won't misunderstand, Miss Thatcher, being, as Mr.
+Huntington says, a congenial soul. It is I who am apologizing. To have
+any one show interest in what I do is a new experience, and I hesitate
+for fear I may be indelicate. And yet I want to show you what I've
+done!"
+
+"Of course I understand," Merry replied cordially; "I'm proud to be
+among the first to see your work."
+
+"Before we go indoors, may I not take you around the grounds?" he turned
+to Huntington. "Perhaps you are in the mood for it to-day?"
+
+"By all means," his guest responded. "It will give us exactly the right
+atmosphere for what is to follow."
+
+Huntington rejoiced to see Hamlen's attitude. For an hour they wandered
+from one point to another, Merry in a state of ecstasy from the superb
+beauty of it all, Hamlen supremely happy in this sympathetic
+companionship of which he knew so little, and Huntington contentedly
+watching the life-drama enacting before his eyes. On the stage such a
+sudden change from tragedy to comedy would have been considered crude,
+for who could write lines of such delicacy as to portray the yearning of
+a human soul, or what actors are there so great that they could mimic
+the birth of hope? "God is the master-dramatist, after all," Huntington
+murmured to himself as he studied the changes which made the tortured
+derelict of a few days before into the contained and self-respecting
+host.
+
+They returned to the house, and Hamlen took them to his press and
+bindery. Huntington purposely kept in the background, asking a question
+now and then, adding a word only where it was necessary, and giving his
+host the opportunity of explaining the finer points of the work to the
+responsive and comprehending mind of the girl. Little by little he could
+see the real Hamlen emerge from his manufactured self under the
+influences around him.
+
+But his interest was not wholly centered in Hamlen. Until to-day
+Huntington had observed Merry only in her relation to others; now he
+felt a personal pride in the way she carried herself, in her quick
+understanding, her sympathetic responsiveness. He felt unconsciously for
+these brief moments a pleasurable sense of possession which added to his
+enjoyment.
+
+"Now take us to your library," he said to Hamlen at length. "You told me
+that you had there some examples of the old master-printers at which you
+had scarcely looked. I want to see them; perhaps they may show us the
+influences which unconsciously affected your work."
+
+"Most of them belonged to my father," Hamlen explained, as he opened the
+door for his guests to pass through into the larger room.
+
+"He was a collector, then?"
+
+"In a small way. As I look back, he must have known a good deal about
+old books; but I had no interest then, so they made little impression."
+
+Huntington glanced around at the shelves critically.
+
+"Classics, classics, classics!" he cried. "Good heavens, man, do you
+mean to tell me that you haven't any modern books at all?"
+
+Hamlen flushed. "There are many of these which I don't know well yet,"
+was his reply. "Until then why should I accept counterfeits?"
+
+Huntington had already found the shelf which held the _incunabula_ and
+the later examples of printing.
+
+"Jenson, Aldus--ah, here is the 'Hypnerotomachia Poliphili,' and a
+splendid copy! That is the only illustrated volume Aldus ever issued,"
+he explained to Merry as he turned the pages. "Here is where you found
+that half-diamond formation of the type," he added, speaking to Hamlen,
+and pointing to the printed page.
+
+Hamlen bent forward. "I didn't even remember that it had ever been
+used," he said. "I simply felt the necessity of filling out my page."
+
+"So did Aldus," Huntington answered significantly. "Here is one of
+Etienne's Greek books. Splendid work, isn't it? And yet, after giving
+France the crown of typographical supremacy which Italy had lost, he had
+to flee for his life because he wouldn't let his books be censored!"
+
+"My father had a fine copy of Plantin's 'Polyglot Bible.'" Hamlen drew
+one of the massive volumes from the shelf.
+
+"Yes," Huntington replied, glancing critically at it and then at several
+of the other books; "your father must have known his subject well, for
+these examples follow the supremacy of printing from Italy down to
+modern times. See, starting with Aldus, you have one of Etienne's, then
+one of Plantin's, representing the period when Belgium snatched the
+prestige from France, then here is a 'Terence' of Elzevir's, printed
+when Holland was supreme; then Baskerville's 'Vergil,' which gave
+England the crown in the eighteenth century--"
+
+"Where does Caxton come in?" Merry asked.
+
+"He belongs to the period of Aldus, but his work was distinctly inferior
+to that of his Italian rival.--I say, Hamlen, where did your father go,
+after Baskerville?"
+
+Huntington, continuing his examination of the volumes, answered his own
+question. "Here it is,--a beautiful example of Didot's 'Racine,' printed
+in that type which he and Bodoni cut together. Splendid judgment your
+father showed! This explains everything: you come naturally by your
+genius. What you have called instinct is really inheritance. Now the
+next; what is it?" Huntington became impatient in his eagerness.
+
+"That is as late as my father's collection went."
+
+"But surely you have a Kelmscott 'Chaucer'?"
+
+"Yes; I bought one when I was in England."
+
+"Put it up here just after the 'Racine.' There you are: except for
+Gutenberg's 'Mazzarine Bible,' which you may be excused for not
+possessing because of its rarity, you have a complete set representing
+the best printing which has been done in each epoch."
+
+"You see how little I realized it," Hamlen apologized.
+
+"You expressed your realization in the most tangible way possible, my
+dear fellow! You produced examples which are worthy to stand on the same
+shelf with those masterpieces. We won't put any living printer's work
+there yet, until Time has placed its value upon it, but I'll wager that
+when the next selection is made the books of Philip Hamlen will receive
+consideration."
+
+"I wish I might believe that," Hamlen said with deep feeling; "it would
+mean everything to me."
+
+"You must believe it. When you come to Boston, and find out how other
+collectors regard your work, you'll think my praise is tame. Until then,
+believe what I tell you, and take out of it the gratification which
+belongs to you.--I want you to go back to Boston with me, Hamlen, and
+pay me a visit. Will you do it?"
+
+The change in subject was so abrupt that it took his host entirely
+unawares.
+
+"Do you mean that, Huntington?" he asked.
+
+"Of course I mean it. In fact, I insist upon it. I want to take you home
+to exhibit to my jealous friends as my own discovery.--Then it's all
+agreed."
+
+"I couldn't leave here," Hamlen said soberly.
+
+"I'll wait for you," Huntington replied. "I'm really in no hurry at
+all."
+
+Hamlen laughed, and it was the first time Huntington had seen his
+reserve break down. He could not help contrasting it with the burst of
+emotion which had preceded his departure only the day before.
+
+"You are a hard man to resist," Hamlen said lightly; "but that is
+something for the future. Let me have it to look forward to."
+
+"Well, I haven't left Bermuda yet, and I don't want to go without
+you.--Now, Miss Merry, I must get you safely back to the hotel. Do you
+feel equal to another walk?"
+
+"I'm eager for it," she replied.
+
+At the door Hamlen managed to have a word alone with Huntington.
+
+"You knew her mother when she was a girl, you said?"
+
+"Yes;--slightly," was the guarded reply.
+
+"She was wonderful!" he exclaimed with much feeling. Then he added, "The
+daughter is very like her, don't you think?"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Hamlen's remark remained in Huntington's mind long after it was spoken.
+He himself had been impressed by Merry's resemblance to her mother as
+they set out on their afternoon's pilgrimage; yet his reply to Hamlen's
+question was a prompt denial. Huntington's mind centered itself upon
+this paradox as they walked down the long driveway, and he wondered why
+he had impulsively yet deliberately given an impression so at variance
+with what he knew to be the facts. Seeking for self-justification, he
+turned his head slightly so that he might inspect his companion more
+closely without attracting her attention. After all, he satisfied
+himself, the resemblance was occasioned more by certain intangible
+characteristics than by any similarity of features. Marian Seymour
+possessed a beauty of more startling type than her daughter; indeed,
+until that afternoon Huntington had thought of Merry as an attractive
+rather than a beautiful girl. Now that the subject forced itself upon
+him he realized she was both, and that the type proved so satisfying
+that he had been content to enjoy it without the temptation of analysis.
+
+Huntington's further acquaintance with the daughter emphasized his
+disapproval of her mother's idea regarding her possible marriage to
+Hamlen, and this led him to make a comparison between Marian Seymour as
+she was to-day and the idealization with which he had been so long
+familiar. Her beauty still remained, her fascination was perhaps greater
+since experience had given substance to her girlish vivacity and charm,
+and her energy was such that she unconsciously dominated every situation
+of which she was a factor. She was evidently devoted to her husband and
+to her children, but her force of personality dominated them as it did
+all others with whom she came in contact. Huntington had rather admired
+this trait in a woman, but now it clashed with his own judgment. He gave
+her credit for believing that she would be acting in her daughter's
+interest, but her suggestion did shock him, for it seemed to show a lack
+of sympathetic understanding. The idea of Merry married to Philip
+Hamlen! The man was all right, in his way, of course. Eventually he
+might become less of the recluse and more nearly human; but obviously he
+was too old and too settled in his eccentricities to be inflicted on any
+woman, and least of all on a girl like this.
+
+"But still, confound him!" Huntington said to himself, "he came out of
+his chrysalis far enough to take notice!"
+
+Then his thoughts jumped from Hamlen to Cosden. Connie was more alive
+than Hamlen could ever be expected to become, but the same arguments
+applied to him in greater or less degree. It was easy enough to
+understand what had attracted him, for Connie always instinctively
+sensed in anything the really vital assets. Now that Huntington was
+becoming better acquainted with Merry he resented more and more the idea
+of this coldly-calculated courtship, and he wondered why this
+characteristic of Cosden's had not more often offended him in the past.
+
+From this point it was an easy shift to Billy,--dear, lovable, spoiled,
+heedless Billy! Of course he loved Merry, just as he had always loved
+every beautiful object he had ever seen; and, naturally enough, he
+wanted this beautiful object just as he had wanted hundreds of others
+during his brief but meteoric career. And still of course, he looked to
+his Uncle Monty to gratify his whim in this as in all other cases! It
+was going to the other extreme: Billy was as much too young and
+irresponsible as the others were too old and unsuitable. This much
+Huntington was able to settle definitely in his mind, and his arrival at
+a conclusion brought with it a sense of relief.
+
+Huntington suddenly became aware that his introspection had occupied
+more time than courtesy permitted, but Merry, absorbed in her own
+thoughts, had not noticed his abstraction. He tried to relieve the
+tension.
+
+"'Silence is golden, speech is silvern,'" he quoted. "What do you say to
+our adopting a silver standard?"
+
+Merry's laugh showed that the interruption was welcome. "You always say
+the least expected thing, Mr. Huntington!" she exclaimed. "My mind was a
+thousand miles from here."
+
+"A thousand miles," Huntington repeated reflectively. "I'm fairly good
+in geography, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you the direction before
+I locate the spot."
+
+"Straight up," she responded, half entering into his mood, half
+returning to her serious vein,--"straight in that kingdom where desire
+to do the right and wise thing is not hampered by a lack of knowledge."
+
+"You would like to help Hamlen?"
+
+"Indeed I would!"
+
+What a serious face it was! Huntington studied it with satisfaction yet
+with twinges of conscience.
+
+"I should not burden you with my problem," he said penitently. "Why
+should youth be made to carry loads which belong to older shoulders?"
+
+"Please--" the girl protested eagerly. "I want you to do it. I
+appreciate your confidence so much that I am eager to be of some real
+service."
+
+"You like--responsibilities?" he queried.
+
+"It isn't living to be without them, is it? They seem to come of their
+own accord to men: a woman usually has to work hard to find any that are
+worth while."
+
+"Some women do," Huntington admitted; "others have more than their share
+without deserving them. Burdens usually seek and find the willing
+shoulders."
+
+"Of course; but I mean the women who have been brought up as I have
+been. I've always had everything I wanted, and my parents have protected
+me against everything. They even protest when I rebel against my own
+uselessness by going into settlement work, and in other small ways try
+to express my individuality."
+
+"Such as the course in bookbinding with Cobden-Sanderson?"
+
+Merry smiled consciously. "That was such a poor attempt, because I had
+no ability. My squares were uneven, my backs were wrinkled, and it was
+really such sloppy work."
+
+"Granting that what you say is true, yet the experience gained in doing
+it enabled you to understand Hamlen to-day far better than if you had
+never attempted it. That is the main point, isn't it?"
+
+"I suppose nothing we do is ever wholly lost," she admitted. "I did
+understand Mr. Hamlen, but that understanding has brought me no nearer
+to the point where I can help him."
+
+"You helped him to-day more than any one has ever done except
+myself.--You see how frankly I accept first glory."
+
+"I helped him?" Merry protested. "Why, I only listened and allowed
+myself to be entertained."
+
+"Yes; but there is a difference in the way one does even that. He
+hesitated to show you his work and yet he wanted to show it to you. That
+was the struggle between the habit of years to restrain his real feeling
+and the desire which your sympathetic personality created in him. And
+the desire won out. Each time the habit is broken its power over him
+becomes weaker. Now do you see the value of the service you rendered
+him?"
+
+"It is wonderful how clearly you analyze things!" the girl exclaimed
+admiringly. "All I could see was depressing, but you found encouragement
+in everything."
+
+"Surely those beautiful books encouraged you?"
+
+"Yes; but they emphasized the awful pity of the deliberate repression of
+his full ability."
+
+"Still; the fact that the demand for expression was as stronger than the
+will to repress it shows the character beneath."
+
+"Then not to express one's individuality shows a lack of character?"
+Merry inquired soberly.
+
+"I think I sense some personal application," Huntington answered
+guardedly. "I must know more before I utter further words of wisdom."
+
+The girl looked up into his face inquiringly, and then laughed
+consciously. "I am really becoming frightened by your power to
+understand," she said, only half jokingly. "I do mean to make a personal
+application. I want to express myself individually, but, being a woman,
+I cannot find the opportunity. If I really had character I'm sure that I
+should force the opportunity."
+
+Huntington realized that in hesitating to answer her question he had
+been wiser than he knew. The seriousness which appeared from time to
+time on the girl's face, then, was not a passing mood, but rather the
+index of warring emotions. An unguarded word at this moment might do
+much injury to a nature which was striving to find itself.
+
+"Do you know yet what form you wish your individuality to take?" he
+asked cautiously.
+
+"Not exactly," was the frank response. "What I object to, is that a girl
+isn't allowed to become interested in anything that is worth while. She
+is given her education and 'brought out,' after which, whether she likes
+it or not, she seems to be placed in a position of waiting for some man
+to come along to marry her. Why can't she be allowed to do something,
+just as a boy is, until she finds out whether she wants to marry or
+not?"
+
+"That would be a fatal error!" Huntington explained with mock gravity,
+hoping to lighten the serious turn the conversation had taken. "If any
+such idea gained ground marriage would become the exception rather than
+the rule. How many girls do you think would ever marry if they were
+permitted to find any other real interest in life?"
+
+"But I'm serious, Mr. Huntington," Merry protested, showing that she
+felt hurt by his flippancy. "I couldn't bear to be a nonentity all my
+days. Think of realizing one's own ambitions only by marrying a man who
+could fulfil them! I could not be happy unless I contributed my share to
+the real life which we jointly lived."
+
+"You could do it," Huntington said with conviction, "but not every woman
+could.--See that old man bowing to us. Suppose we go and speak with him.
+Do you mind?"
+
+"Every one is so courteous here," she exclaimed as they crossed the
+narrow road. "I never pass one of the natives without receiving a
+greeting of some kind, and the children are forever shyly forcing
+flowers or fruit upon me. It makes one love the place."
+
+The old man was overjoyed to have attracted attention. He hobbled
+forward with difficulty as they approached, and bowed as low as his
+infirmities would permit.
+
+"You are welcome to Bermuda," he said with a cracked, high-pitched
+voice. "We are pleased to have strangers visit us."
+
+"Your visitors remain strangers but a little while," Huntington answered
+him, "because of your hospitality."
+
+"Won't you come in and sit down?" the old man urged.
+
+"Not to-day, thank you; but if we should not be intruding it would be a
+pleasure to return some other time."
+
+"You could not intrude, sir," he insisted; "for I am only waiting."
+
+"Waiting?" Huntington questioned.
+
+"Yes; waiting for that," and he pointed to a tall cedar growing inside
+the yard, beside which was the stump of another tree.
+
+"He wants to tell us something," Merry whispered.
+
+"They were planted there sixty years ago," the old man continued, "the
+two of them. They were little slips, stuck in our wedding-cake as is our
+custom here, when my wife and I were married. We put them in the ground,
+for everything takes root in this soil, and they grew side by side for
+fifty years. Then that one fell"--pointing to the stump,--"and the next
+day my wife was taken sick and died. We made her coffin from the cedar
+wood of that tree, sir. Now I'm waiting for the other one to fall. That
+was ten years ago now, so it won't be long."
+
+"Isn't that a beautiful idea?" Merry exclaimed, touched by the
+unconscious pathos of the old man's words. "We would like to come back
+and have you tell us about your wife."
+
+"She was a sweet, young girl like yourself when I married her," he
+replied. "We were both born here and never left the island. But the maps
+aren't fair to us; we're not so small"--he straightened and waved his
+arm--"we're not so small, as you can see."
+
+They left him happy over the unusual break in his monotony, and
+continued their walk to the hotel.
+
+"Here is the other side to the picture," Huntington remarked. "This old
+man and his wife, and hundreds of others no doubt, live their lives out
+here happy and contented with their nineteen square miles of world, yet
+you and I are pitying Hamlen because of his self-exile under
+circumstances infinitely more acceptable!"
+
+"It is a question of what one has within, isn't it?" Merry asked, "that
+something which keeps one from being satisfied with anything less than
+the most and the best that life can give him and he can give to life."
+
+Huntington looked at her with undisguised admiration. "You couldn't have
+stated it better if you had taken all the college courses in the world,"
+he said. "You're a wonderful little girl, Miss Merry, and if you don't
+let your heart play pranks with that well-balanced head of yours you
+will certainly achieve your great ambition."
+
+They were near the hotel now, and the conversation had strayed so far
+from the original subject that the girl did not follow him.
+
+"My great ambition?" she asked. "And that is--"
+
+"I won't tell you until we're up the steps."
+
+"Well?" she demanded archly, as at length they stood on the piazza.
+
+"You will marry a man who will let you contribute your share to the real
+life which you will jointly live."
+
+The laughing response which he had looked for was not spoken, but to his
+amazement Merry turned from him without a word and disappeared within
+the hallway.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XIV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Thatcher and Cosden chartered one of the hotel carriages the next
+morning and started on a tour of inspection over the route plotted out
+by Duncan for the proposed trolley-line. After passing beyond the town
+limits, and with the long stretch of superb coral road ahead of them,
+Thatcher turned to his companion.
+
+"Why can't we get together on the Consolidated Machinery?" he asked
+pointedly.
+
+"The public demands that your nefarious trust be compelled to recognize
+its rights," Cosden replied smiling.
+
+"Good!" Thatcher smiled in response. "Now that you have that piffle off
+your chest, please go on."
+
+"This time we have the goods," Cosden added significantly.
+
+"If you are so sure of it, why don't you show them to us? Then we can
+tell whether it's a real hold-up or merely an attempt."
+
+"That's just the point, and the sooner your crowd realizes it the less
+time you will waste. This is not a hold-up game; we have the goods, and
+we can make a better thing by operating than by selling out."
+
+"You have courage to buck up against an organization as strong as ours."
+
+"Not only courage but capital enough to see us through."
+
+The antiquated stage-coach, plying between St. George's and Hamilton,
+lumbered past them. Cosden smiled as he turned to his companion.
+
+"There's a perfect illustration of the situation," he said. "Your
+machines belong to the same vintage as that old coach, yet by
+maintaining a monopoly, as you have been able to do until now, you have
+succeeded in forcing manufacturers to employ antique methods, and to pay
+you a whacking big royalty for the privilege of remaining twenty years
+behind the times. That stage-coach will stand as much chance of
+continuing on its beat, if our trolley scheme goes through, as your
+machines have of keeping out of the scrap-heap when ours once get on the
+market. This isn't any news to you, Thatcher, and that's what makes your
+whole crowd so anxious."
+
+"If what Duncan tells us is correct," Thatcher retorted quickly, "we
+have just about as much show of pulling off the trolley scheme as you
+fellows have of putting this machinery game over on us. Somebody has
+been going to do this to us for twenty years, but somehow the
+manufacturers keep coming back to renew their contracts."
+
+"Of course they do," Cosden admitted; "they haven't dared to do anything
+else. Look at the terms in your leases! Any manufacturer would have to
+be absolutely sure that the new machines were backed strongly enough to
+keep you from punishing him for his temerity. That can now be
+guaranteed, and with the element of fear eliminated they will flock to
+us, rejoicing that they have the opportunity to leave their shackles of
+bondage behind them."
+
+"Another Emancipation Proclamation!" laughed Thatcher; but Cosden found
+the moment to impress the enemy with the strength of his position too
+opportune to allow himself to be diverted.
+
+"Think of it, Thatcher," he cried with characteristic enthusiasm. "In
+less than two years they can save enough, through the economies of
+production, to buy their machines outright, instead of continuing year
+after year to pay you tribute with nothing at the end to show for it. We
+give them methods as well as machines, and show them how an ordinary
+workman can produce the high-grade output of a skilled operative by
+means of the improved automatic features of our machinery. The makers of
+medium-quality goods can now turn out work equal to that heretofore
+produced only by high-grade manufacturers."
+
+"You're a grand salesman, Cosden," Thatcher said lightly. "Your company
+ought to put you on the road! Our people would pay you a big salary to
+handle the sales end of our organization."
+
+"I shouldn't be worth ten dollars a week to them. There are three kinds
+of salesmen, Thatcher: one sells his concern, another sells his
+customers, and the third sells his goods. A man can't belong in the
+third class unless he himself believes in what he's selling. I've been
+making these machines for our crowd for five years, including the
+experimental period, and I know what I'm talking about. Four big plants
+are now being equipped, and when they once begin running you'll see your
+royalties dropping away from you like friends after a failure. The fact
+that you have had a monopoly has encouraged your people to keep their
+eyes on the stock-market instead of on the improvement of their
+machines, and our biggest asset is the fact that every manufacturer who
+is leasing from you to-day is sore over his treatment."
+
+"That goes without saying," Thatcher admitted; "they would be sore if we
+gave them the machines outright. But if you are so sure your
+improvements are valuable, why go to the expense of duplicating our
+selling and manufacturing equipment when we stand ready to make a fair
+trade?"
+
+"The new machines wouldn't be worth as much to you as they are to us."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because you would never use them. The improved models would simply be
+side-tracked to keep them from competing against your antiques. You
+would be paying whatever it cost to get hold of them for hush money,
+just as you have done a hundred times before."
+
+"Suppose we did: what difference would it make to you, so long as you
+get a good thing out of it? I don't understand that your company was
+organized for philanthropic purposes."
+
+"No; business and philanthropy usually work better when they're given
+allowances for separate maintenance, but in this particular case the two
+seem to be walking along hand in hand. Self-interest, Thatcher, is the
+strongest motive in the world, and when you find a proposition which
+offers self-interest to the buyer as well as to the seller you have an
+irresistible argument."
+
+"This is a great road-bed for a trolley-line," Thatcher remarked,
+leaning over the side of the carriage. "The construction problem ought
+to be a simple one."
+
+"The proposition to have a line of cars run here is so obvious that
+there must have been powerful objections to obstruct it all these
+years," Cosden answered, quite content to await Thatcher's pleasure in
+resuming the main topic of their conversation.
+
+It was a beautiful clear, cool morning, and the sea at their left
+sparkled brilliantly in its sapphire splendor. To the right of the
+carriage road were attractive cottages, overgrown with blooming
+_bougainvillea_ or other less spectacular foliage. Every now and then a
+more pretentious mansion appeared, built on some elevation which
+commanded a view of the water on either side, and surrounded by heavy
+clumps of cedar and fan-leaved palmettos. Frequently the road passed
+between high walls of solid coral limestone, from the crevices of which
+the ever-decorative Bermuda vegetation showed scarlet, orange and purple
+blooms against the green.
+
+"There must be something more than sentiment," Thatcher commented. "I
+suspect that we shall uncover some large personal interests here which
+have been strong enough to protect themselves--"
+
+"And find concealment behind the convenient screen of sentimentality,"
+completed Cosden.
+
+"Exactly. I wouldn't spend any time on it at all except that it seems so
+important to the people themselves."
+
+Cosden laughed so spontaneously that Thatcher looked up quickly, trying
+to grasp the unintended humor in his last remark. His companion was
+hugely amused and made no effort to conceal it.
+
+"Well?" Thatcher interrogated good-naturedly; "aren't you going to let
+me in on it?"
+
+"It's funny, that's all," Cosden replied; "but it's perfectly good
+business either way you work it. Simply a question of how you sit when
+you have your picture taken."
+
+Thatcher's face demanded further explanation, but before Cosden spoke
+again by way of enlightenment his amused expression disappeared, and he
+became serious.
+
+"I don't know as it is so funny, after all," he said. "When you spoke of
+being interested in this trolley scheme principally because it was so
+important to the people, I couldn't help thinking how inconsistent you
+were."
+
+"Inconsistent?" Thatcher echoed.
+
+"Suppose you owned that line of stage-coaches, and leased it out just as
+you do these machines. Then some men came along and proposed to build a
+trolley-line which would push the stage-coaches off the map. That's what
+our new machines will do to your old ones. In one case you're interested
+in the improved method because it is so important to the people; in the
+other you say, 'The people be damned.' But you're no different from the
+rest of us. Our so-called consistency is as full of holes as a sieve;
+but it's always the other fellow who sees it. We're too close to
+ourselves to get the perspective."
+
+"I am relieved," Thatcher said. "If it is only a question of
+inconsistency I'll take a chance on holding my own. But sometimes we are
+not so inconsistent as we seem. The 'other fellow' thinks he has a joke
+on us when in reality he only sees part of the situation. This
+'nefarious trust,' for example which you cite as a hideous illustration
+of grinding monopoly, took hold of an industry, twenty years ago, and
+brought system out of chaos, shouldered all the risk, taught
+manufacturers how to make money out of their business, and enabled small
+factories to become big ones by leasing them machines which they could
+not afford to buy. The trust has prospered, but so have the
+manufacturers. Who shall say that those who took the risks are not
+entitled to the rewards, or that the system introduced and developed by
+the trust was not as much in the interests of the people as this
+trolley-line we are proposing?"
+
+"There isn't much of anything we can't prove if we argue long enough, is
+there?" Cosden retorted. "If I hadn't heard all that before, and if I
+hadn't seen the way the 'system' worked out, I should be almost
+persuaded. Some one told me once that there were two sides to every
+story except that of Cain and Abel, but I came across an Icelandic myth
+a while ago in which Abel was the murderer, and since then I've refused
+to believe anything until I know the other side. Probably the only way
+for you and me to agree on this question is for each of us to buy some
+stock in the other fellow's company."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Edith had secured the necessary records for the victrola from the hotel
+office, and she and Cosden were alone in the ball-room ready for the
+first lesson in modern dancing. Cosden had never before noticed how
+enormous the room was, or how many of its windows opened onto the
+piazza, or how curious the average hotel guest is when a novice is about
+to be initiated into the mysteries of terpsichorean art.
+
+"Pay no attention to them," Edith reassured him. "Those who know how to
+dance have had to go through it, and those who haven't learned are
+perishing for an opportunity. Listen!" she cried, as the music began.
+"Can you possibly make your feet behave when you hear that heavenly
+one-step? Look!"
+
+Lifting her skirts gracefully above her ankles, Edith made herself a
+veritable part of the music, pirouetting up and down and around, while
+he watched her in mingled admiration and trepidation.
+
+"There!" she cried, stopping before him; "it's perfectly simple, you
+see. Now, you try it."
+
+"By myself?" he inquired.
+
+"Of course," she laughed. "How else can you learn?"
+
+"All right," was the dubious assent; "but don't you think we might pull
+those curtains down?"
+
+"Nonsense! You might as well start in,--you couldn't look more foolish
+than you do now."
+
+"All right," he again assented, and took his place on the floor.
+
+"Now, left foot forward--one, two, three, four. No; left foot, I said.
+That's it. Now rise a little on your toes. Don't be so heavy, and for
+Heaven's sake look as cheerful as you can!"
+
+"This is awful!" Cosden ejaculated, mopping his forehead. "Don't you
+think it's too warm a day to begin?"
+
+"It isn't warm; it's really cool, and you haven't begun to begin yet.
+Now start in again. Left foot,--left I say, one, two--oh! that miserable
+victrola has stopped!"
+
+"Let me wind it up," Cosden insisted quickly, glad of the opportunity to
+struggle with something tangible.
+
+"Now we'll try again," Edith said amiably. "This time get started before
+the music runs down. Watch me just a moment. There,--now you know what
+to do. Left, dear man, left,--not right, and rise on your toes, one,
+two, three, four. Why don't you pay attention to the music?"
+
+"I think I could learn better without the music. It throws me off."
+
+"Move with it; then it will help you."
+
+"I can't; it mixes me up."
+
+"Don't you feel any impulse to move your feet when you hear that music?"
+
+"Yes; I feel an inordinate desire to run out of the room."
+
+"But, seriously, doesn't the rhythm of that one-step make you
+instinctively want to dance?"
+
+"Not the slightest. I never wanted to dance in my life until now, and
+only now because you tell me that it's part of the game."
+
+"Did you ever play any musical instrument?"
+
+"Oh, yes; when I was a boy I played the bones in a minstrel show."
+
+"Well, there's a ray of hope.--Wind up the victrola again, and we'll
+start all over. You do wind it beautifully!"
+
+"This is too big a job you've undertaken," he told her as they again
+stood facing each other. "Let's call it off."
+
+"No, indeed," Edith protested. "It is only fair to say that you are not
+what would be called a natural dancer, but that will bring all the more
+glory to your instructor when once you've learned. Why, look at the
+tricks they teach animals! I'm not a bit discouraged, are you?"
+
+"Are we down-hearted?" he echoed in a spirit of bravado.
+
+"Not a bit of it; now we'll dance together, and I'll try to pull you
+around. There, put your arm around my waist,--that's right. Hold me
+closer,--don't be afraid. Imagine I'm your sister if it will keep you
+from being embarrassed. Left foot forward--ta, ta, ta, ta--that's
+better. No, let me lead. There, we can go forwards and backwards anyway,
+but you mustn't step on my feet. That's the first thing to learn,--dance
+on your own feet."
+
+"I beg your pardon--"
+
+"That's all right; I don't mind it at all. But when we stop dancing,
+you know, you must take your arm away from my waist. How quickly you
+overcame that early embarrassment!"
+
+"I don't intend to give you another chance to suggest that I'm afraid,"
+Cosden retorted. "I may not know much about girls or dancing, but if you
+think I haven't nerve enough to put my arm around your waist,--well,
+it's up to me to demonstrate."
+
+"You bold, bad man!" Edith pointed her finger at him in mock-reproach.
+"I sha'n't dare go on with the lesson until I've forgotten your
+threatening attitude! Now let's see if a little turn on the piazza won't
+give us courage to continue."
+
+Cosden assented with alacrity. "Splendid notion!" he exclaimed; "that
+will give me a chance to cool off."
+
+"You are warm," she admitted, looking him over critically and noting
+that his collar was completely wrecked. "You must read the Polite Book
+of Dancing Etiquette--"
+
+"Oh, Lord!" Cosden groaned.
+
+"You will find there many useful suggestions which will add to your
+popularity with your partners. For instance, it tells you that when
+overheated by the exercise you should stand erect and throw your chin
+out; then the perspiration will run down the back of your neck and be
+less noticeable.--Come now, see what a light Bermuda breeze will do to
+cheer you up."
+
+Edith was well pleased with the results of the first lesson. She had
+felt some misgivings, for Cosden was the most masterful man she had ever
+met. If this masterfulness could not be broken down, then her plans
+could not be carried out; but she recalled the fact that Henry Thatcher,
+so pliable in his wife's hands, was spoken of as dictatorial and
+self-confident in his business relations. If this was true of Thatcher,
+it might be equally true of Cosden, and the experiment was well worth
+trying. In the hour just past Edith had proved her sagacity to herself.
+Cosden explained his present docility by saying that he always obeyed
+his doctor's orders; Edith had discovered in that brief time two facts
+unknown even to himself: that his confidence came only from a knowledge
+of his own strength, that in treading new and unknown paths he was not
+only willing to be led but accepted guidance gratefully.
+
+After this important discovery, she intuitively came to a better
+understanding of the man. "Men know more than they understand, and women
+understand more than they know," some one has tritely said. Edith
+Stevens was a woman, and understanding was enough; she did not crave to
+know. When Cosden stated so flatly, "I always get what I go after," she
+had thought him a tactless braggart, who deserved to be shown his place;
+now, with this new light thrown upon his character, she understood his
+remark quite differently. The man knew but one way to accomplish his
+purpose, and that was to go directly at it, head-on, overpowering
+opposition by the force of his momentum. In his beginnings, Edith
+surmised, he had not always felt so confident, and these bold assertions
+were made partly to give himself additional courage and partly to
+conceal from the world the existence of any doubt as to his ultimate
+success. What had been first a policy became a habit, and if Edith were
+correct in her analysis Cosden was at the present moment repeating his
+early experiences.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Time in Bermuda cannot be figured by calendar days. Whether this is due
+to the evenness and perfection of the temperature, which so satisfies
+the physical demands as to eliminate all desire for change, or to the
+natural beauty which exorcises those sordid demands life elsewhere
+compels, it would be difficult to determine; but the fact remains that
+except for the sailing of the little steamers a week is like a long,
+delicious day, with the nights a passing incident,--a curtain drawn for
+a moment to deprive the vision of its wondrous panorama, lest the spirit
+become satiated and thus less appreciative.
+
+More than a fortnight had passed since Billy Huntington's spectacular
+departure, yet no one suggested that vacation days were drawing to an
+end. It was Thatcher who found least to occupy him, yet even he had
+fallen beneath the spell and was content to drift. By this time Marian
+was fully convinced that a match between Hamlen and Merry was
+foreordained, and that her mission was to drag him forth from his exile;
+but she was not satisfied with her progress in either one of her
+self-imposed labors. Hamlen was a changed man since the new
+companionship came into his life, but whenever he was brought up against
+the question of leaving his retreat the old terror seized him, and he
+slipped back behind his defenses.
+
+"I wish I might," said he to her one day, "believe me, I wish I might;
+but you don't know what you ask. The bitterness of my attitude toward
+the world has become an abnormal condition which you could not be
+expected to understand. Your visit here has tempered it--I know now that
+there are exceptions; but don't urge me against my better judgment. Let
+me remember this visit in all its happiness; perhaps its memory will
+enable me later to do as you suggest."
+
+Huntington was no more successful in his efforts. His classmate listened
+to him patiently and showed a full appreciation of the friendly
+suggestions; but no promise could be exacted, and Hamlen seemed stronger
+than the combined forces against him. Yet, in spite of disappointments,
+Huntington was optimistic.
+
+"We may not be able to take him with us," he admitted to Marian, "but
+after we are gone he will find this place unendurable. Time will be our
+ally."
+
+Cosden's sudden intimacy with Edith Stevens mystified Huntington, but he
+welcomed it as a temporary respite. So long as Cosden was making no
+exertion to advance his interests with Merry, no more active effort
+could be expected from his friend. He asked no questions and Cosden
+vouchsafed no information, which on both sides marked a change in the
+relations of the two men.
+
+Edith was equally mysterious with Marian, smiling sagely when her friend
+tried to draw her out; but she admitted or denied nothing. She
+faithfully performed her self-assumed duties, and Cosden lived up to his
+agreement to take the medicine his doctor prescribed. By this time he
+was able to pull through on the one-step and the canter waltz, but his
+great success was the fox-trot. This, he discovered without assistance,
+is danced in as many ways as there are individual dancers, so he
+developed an original "series" which gave him supreme satisfaction,
+since as he explained, no one could prove whether he or his partner was
+at fault when a mistake was made. Edith had long since given up all hope
+of having him follow the music, but he had actually learned the steps,
+and his persistency in pursuing with grim relentlessness what she knew
+to be an irksome duty could but win her respect.
+
+In fact, she looked upon the result of her experiment with no little
+pride. Each afternoon the two might be seen on the ball-room floor,
+working away as if their lives depended upon it, with the Victrola
+repeating over and over the same tunes which, except for her own
+persistency, would have driven Edith mad. Always after the dancing
+lesson they promenaded the hotel piazza "to cool off," and their joint
+devotion to their undertaking was so assiduous that it became almost a
+feature of the hotel life. Edith's triumph came when Merry was called in
+to "assist" at one of the later lessons. Try as they would, Cosden and
+his new partner were at odds in each effort they made to dance together,
+while with Edith he succeeded passably well. In Cosden's mind there
+could be but one explanation.
+
+"I always thought she knew how to dance," he expressed it after Merry
+left them alone. "How little you can judge of anything until you know
+how to do it yourself!" And Edith, wise person that she was, did not
+explain to him that this was the first time he had danced without her
+guiding hand!
+
+Cosden had become dependent upon his chief adviser in other ways than
+dancing. He found her so sympathetic in listening to his problems and so
+helpfully intelligent in discussing them that he gradually confided to
+her more of his intimate affairs than he had ever shared with any one
+else. Ostensibly, she was adviser only in his affair with Merry, but it
+was a short step to extend her line of operations without having him
+realize that she was exceeding her contract. She explained matters which
+seemed subtle to him with such clearness, her counsels were so wise and
+her criticisms so fearless that Cosden's admiration was profound.
+
+"You are a bit severe, you know," he said to her one day; "but I like
+it. The only reason I go to a specialist is because I know he
+understands his subject better than I do, and so I swallow what he tells
+me, hook, line and sinker. And you are a great success as an expert in
+your line, Miss Stevens,--you're all right."
+
+Whereupon Edith courtesied gracefully and answered demurely, "Thank you,
+sir; I am glad I give satisfaction."
+
+Thatcher and Cosden had carried the trolley proposition as far as lay
+within their power, and awaited a response from the Bermuda government
+before they could proceed. This threw Cosden back again upon his
+original purpose, to which he clung with a bulldog tenacity. Edith knew
+by this time that when his mind once settled upon a course diversion was
+an impossibility, so she encouraged rather than opposed him. She left
+Cosden's confidence in himself undisturbed while she encouraged his
+dependence, and complacently permitted affairs to take their course.
+Just when the master stroke would be delivered she could not tell, but
+she was prepared to have it descend suddenly at any moment.
+
+The fortnight had given Huntington a new lease of life. His efforts to
+humanize Hamlen forced him out of his habitual course along the line of
+least resistance, and without analyzing his new sensations he found them
+to be agreeable. In addition to this Merry and he were boon companions
+now, and he discovered that the vivacity of a young girl was no less
+effective in making him forget his years than the noisier enthusiasm of
+his youthful nephew. Merry accepted her responsibilities with great
+seriousness, and discussed Hamlen's persistent obstinacy with Huntington
+from every possible angle. In fact, Huntington made a point of inventing
+new angles in order to prolong the discussions, and to supply the excuse
+for walks and drives which threw them much together.
+
+As a result of their growing intimacy Huntington came to favor Billy's
+ambitions far above those of Cosden. He had not changed in his
+conviction that neither one of them was at all suited to the girl, but
+if it could be possible to hold matters in abeyance until the boy might
+be developed up to her, there would at least be much satisfaction to him
+personally if Merry could be kept in the family. Of course he must be
+loyal to his friend, but as Cosden seemed to be finding much pleasure in
+Miss Stevens' companionship his conscience did not suffer any twinges
+which were too painful to be endured.
+
+But complacency is ever a forerunner of seismic upheavals. The days had
+repeated themselves often enough now for Huntington to regard their
+routine as practically fixed, and he was anticipating the usual quiet,
+after-breakfast smoke on the piazza, during which period he would
+discuss with Merry some new attack upon Hamlen's obstinacy, or some new
+trip during which the attack could be devised. This had seemed such a
+certainty to Huntington that Cosden's words were in the nature of a
+shock.
+
+"Miss Thatcher and I are going sailing this morning," he announced.
+
+"Eh--what? Oh, sailing--are you?" Huntington stumbled a bit before
+recovering himself. "It's a fine morning for that," he continued with
+decision.
+
+"You've been doing better lately, Monty," Cosden complimented him. "At
+first I didn't think you were going to help me out at all, but for some
+time now you've been putting yourself right into it, just as I wanted
+you to. What have you to say about the girl now? She's all right, isn't
+she?"
+
+"You don't mean that you're still serious in that direction--"
+
+"Of course I am. Why should you think I had changed my mind?" Cosden
+interrupted. "I don't often do that, do I?"
+
+"But you have hardly seen her."
+
+"I've been biding my time, Monty, that's all, while Miss Stevens coached
+me up a bit. It's really a great game,--there's more to it than I
+thought."
+
+"You are absolutely unsuited to each other."
+
+"Why, Monty, I believe you're jealous!"
+
+"Well, suppose I am?"
+
+Cosden showed his amusement. "I would take that as a challenge from any
+one but an old cynic like you," he laughed.
+
+Huntington failed to enter into Cosden's lightheartedness. "This is a
+serious matter, Connie," he insisted. "That little girl is too fine to
+have her name bandied like this. I give you warning right here that I
+step down and out on this proposition. I can't imagine a worse crime
+than to harness a high-strung, thoughtful, sentimental child like that
+to a human adding-machine like you, and I won't be a party to it."
+
+The younger man realized at last that his friend was serious. He looked
+at him soberly for a moment, then he placed his hand on his shoulder.
+
+"Is this all our friendship amounts to?" he asked.
+
+"It is the greatest act of friendship I have ever been called upon to
+show you," Huntington returned. "You would be as wretched with her as
+she with you. I felt sure that you had come to the same conclusion, and
+I admired your good sense."
+
+"Is there by any chance some deeper reason?" Cosden demanded pointedly.
+
+"No, Connie," Huntington replied quickly; "don't be ridiculous! I am
+just as unsuited to her as you are. Why, I'm old enough to be her
+father! But somewhere there is a man who is meant for her and who is
+worthy of her, and I only hope that he will appear before any one
+persuades her into making a mistake.
+
+"Don't you think her capable of taking care of that herself?"
+
+"Frankly, I do. I don't think you have the remotest chance of
+interesting her."
+
+"What has happened to lower me so in your estimation?" Cosden persisted,
+puzzled rather than resentful. "Our friendship dates back a good many
+years, Monty, and this is the first time you ever made me feel you
+disapproved of me. Does it mean--"
+
+"It means that I'm proving my friendship now," Huntington interrupted,
+"by telling you an unpleasant truth. During this long friendship, which
+I never prized more highly than I do this moment, I have watched you
+work out your success, often against heavy odds. All this I have
+admired, Connie, but to win as you have done has been at a cost I had
+not realized until I saw you under these new conditions: it has kept you
+from developing those finer instincts which a man needs to guide him at
+a time like this."
+
+"You mean romance, I suppose, and sentiment."
+
+"I mean a sensing of the proportions and a respect for appropriateness
+even if it interferes with your preconceived plans. Your interest in
+this girl exists admittedly because of what an alliance with her will do
+for you: it will bring you closer to the group of operators of which her
+father is the head, she will preside with credit over your household,
+through her you may perhaps secure social advantages which now you feel
+are beyond your reach."
+
+"Isn't all that legitimate?"
+
+"Entirely legitimate, measured by laws of barter and sale,--but to my
+mind eminently improper when applied to Miss Thatcher."
+
+As Huntington grew more and more intense Cosden's attitude gradually
+became normal again, and an indulgent expression replaced the serious
+aspect which his face had assumed as their conversation progressed.
+
+"Well, Monty," he said, slapping him on the back, "you've got that off
+your mind, and it's a good thing to have happen. What you want is to
+take your endorsement off my social note; that's all right,--consider it
+done. Your sentimental notions are great in story-books but less
+valuable in every-day life. You stick to your ideals, and I will to
+mine. I've made up my mind to get married, and you know what happens
+when once my mind is made up."
+
+"You are absolutely hopeless!" Huntington cried despondently.
+
+"Hopeful, you mean," laughed Cosden, "in spite of your gloomy
+forebodings. What you say ought to shake my confidence in myself, no
+doubt, but somehow I think I'd rather hear it direct from Miss Thatcher
+herself. Hello!" he exclaimed as he looked at his watch, "it's time to
+start. Cheer up, Monty! Really, things aren't half as bad as they look
+from where you sit!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XVI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+However abrupt Cosden's action may have appeared to Miss Stevens or to
+Huntington, in his own mind he believed himself to have selected the
+psychological moment for which he had patiently waited. It was true that
+he had seen comparatively little of Merry Thatcher, but the time had
+been well spent in preparation for the grand event. Now, particularly
+since Huntington had spoken as he did, Cosden was eager to put his
+new-found knowledge to the test, and to disprove his friend's
+contention.
+
+It was a business axiom with Cosden that an order must be half sold
+before the salesman approached the prospective buyer. "People don't buy
+anything these days," he hammered into his sales-manager; "they have to
+be sold." And Cosden was a man who practised what he preached. The
+frankly-admitted lack of familiarity on his part with the particular
+market in which he proposed to trade was offset, he believed, by the
+expert coaching he had received from Miss Stevens; and this should have
+prepared him for any emergency. After all, were not the principles the
+same the world over? Somewhere, back in the hazy, academic past when
+Latin had been compulsory, he remembered that a certain gentleman whose
+name he could not then recall had plunged _in medias res_. He remembered
+distinctly how much this act had won his admiration; now he proposed to
+emulate his illustrious predecessor.
+
+Even granting that Cosden's self-analysis was correct to the extent that
+he possessed no romance in his make-up, the present surroundings were
+such as to suggest the "psychological moment" even to the most obtuse.
+The sloop, after running before the wind, was skilfully guided in and
+out among the little islands and past the beautiful shores of Boaz and
+Somerset by a hand on the tiller to which sailing was evidently
+second-nature. The girl rested against the gunwale, her eye alert, her
+face lighted by a smile of quiet contentment, her white, lithe figure
+brightly contrasted against the varying background of blue water and the
+green of the islands as they were left behind.
+
+"Where did you learn to handle a boat?" Cosden asked her, interrupting
+the silence which she seemed content to accept.
+
+"Oh, there's nothing to it here," she answered. "I wonder if they have a
+breeze like this all the time in Bermuda? It seems to be ready-made for
+the visitors. But I think it would become monotonous, don't you? I like
+something to work against."
+
+"You have evidently sailed a boat before."
+
+"I'm on the water a good deal every summer. Father gave me a knockabout
+two years ago, and I've had lots of fun in her. It isn't always as
+simple on Narragansett Bay as it appears to be here."
+
+"You seem to be pretty good at anything you undertake."
+
+"Oh, no!" Merry laughed deprecatingly. "I play at everything, and
+perhaps that is why I am not particularly good at anything. Phil says I
+have more courage than judgment."
+
+"That sounds like jealousy! I'll wager you can beat him in most games,
+unless he is better than the youngsters I know."
+
+"I can, in some," she admitted, "but Phil is a great oarsman. He's on
+the crew at Harvard, you know," she added with a pride which amused
+Cosden; "he will probably row against Yale again this year. But Phil
+doesn't go at other sports as hard as I do. I have to go at them hard. I
+simply must be doing something. Mother calls it restlessness and Father
+says it's because I haven't grown up yet. Perhaps they are both right;
+but whatever it is I just can't help it."
+
+"I hope you will never grow up, if to lose your enthusiasm is the
+penalty."
+
+"Then you don't think it's unwomanly?" she asked, grateful for his
+approval.
+
+"On the contrary," Cosden asserted. "It is enthusiasm which wins in
+everything to-day. Confidence in one's self, belief in one's subject,
+enthusiasm in its presentation; that is my daily creed."
+
+"But you are a man," Merry protested. "You have made your success, so
+you have a right to have confidence in yourself--"
+
+"My success is only partially complete," Cosden interrupted, quick to
+seize the easy opening. "When I left college I undertook to make money:
+I did make it. Then I undertook to compel that money to earn me a place
+in the business world: I made that dream come true. Now I have reached
+the third effort. My money is of value only so far as it secures for me
+what I want, and a part of what I want I can't get alone: that is a
+home, with the right woman in it. A man can make his clubs and all that
+sort of thing by himself, but it takes a woman to secure for him the
+social life which he ought to have. I'm looking for that woman now, and
+I intend to get her."
+
+A smile crossed Merry's face as Cosden concluded his matter-of-fact
+statement. "You are demonstrating your daily creed," she said.
+
+"Of course I am. If I didn't you would accuse me of inconsistency."
+
+"Have you found the woman you--intend to get?"
+
+"I'm not sure. What kind of woman do you think she ought to be?"
+
+Merry's face sobered, and she became thoughtfully serious. "First of
+all, a woman who loved you," she said at length; "that goes without
+saying."
+
+It was Cosden who smiled this time. "I see you still have some
+old-fashioned ideas left; I had looked upon you as absolutely
+up-to-date."
+
+"Is love old-fashioned?"
+
+"Love is a result rather than a cause. It comes from the combination of
+one or more causes: propinquity, similarity of tastes, natural
+attributes, I might go on indefinitely. Two natures are attracted to
+each other before marriage, but love really comes as a result of the
+closer companionship which follows. Could anything be more common-sense
+or scientific than that?"
+
+"Is that what men believe?" she asked.
+
+"Not all; which explains the appalling list of matrimonial bankrupts."
+
+They were out beyond Ireland Island now, past the great dry-dock and the
+barracks. The girl brought the boat about and started on the homeward
+tack.
+
+"That is a very interesting idea," she said soberly as she shifted to
+starboard. "It never occurred to me that love had become a commodity.
+That is very interesting."
+
+"But you haven't told me what kind of woman you think my wife should
+be," Cosden insisted.
+
+"She should be a poor girl, of good birth and personal attractions," she
+answered promptly.
+
+"Why poor?"
+
+"Because otherwise she would be giving everything and you nothing. You
+must supply something which she lacks or it wouldn't be a fair trade,
+would it? If a woman loves a man, there is no need to measure what she
+gives against what she receives, but your 'common-sense' plan suggests
+it, and from a 'scientific' standpoint I should think it absolutely
+essential."
+
+"But your statement is not correct, Miss Merry," Cosden protested
+earnestly. "You would do me an injustice if you stopped at that point:
+am I not offering her my name and my protection?"
+
+"Of course all this is an imaginary situation," Merry laughed
+mischievously, "or I shouldn't dare to speak so freely; but in justice
+to my sex I can't stop now: suppose her name is as good as yours, and
+that she is entirely competent to protect herself?"
+
+"Great Scott! Don't tell me you are a suffragist!"
+
+"But you would want this woman you--intend to get to be a suffragist,
+wouldn't you?"
+
+"Not under any circumstances!"
+
+"Still, your marriage is to be on an up-to-date common-sense, scientific
+basis: can it be unless you and your wife stand on equal terms?"
+
+"I never saw such a girl to ask questions," Cosden protested almost
+petulantly. "You must have been going to woman's suffrage meetings all
+winter."
+
+Merry laughed outright. Her triumph was too obvious not to be enjoyed;
+but she quickly checked herself.
+
+"I have been very rude," she said contritely; "but what you said so
+completely destroys the vision which every girl has in her heart that I
+couldn't resist the temptation to tease you. No, Mr. Cosden; I'm not a
+suffragist, and I never attended a public meeting in my life. Mother
+thinks I'm too young to enter into such things; but I've read a good
+deal, and I can't see why, in this scientific age, men and women
+shouldn't stand side by side at the ballot-box as well as elsewhere. For
+myself, I'm not quite ready for it, but I admit that it is nothing but
+sentiment--a holding on to a bit of old-fashioned precedent if you
+like--which holds me back. It seems to mar that vision I just spoke of,
+Mr. Cosden, even as your ideas completely destroy it."
+
+She was in earnest now, and the girlish, mischievous attitude had
+completely vanished. Her grasp upon the tiller tightened, her eyes
+looked far ahead and Cosden knew that in this mood she would have
+welcomed a young typhoon--anything to struggle with, rather than the
+smooth lapping of the water against the sides of the boat as the light
+wind bore them tranquilly on toward their landing. Even to him,
+unaccustomed as he was to the finer sensibilities which expressed
+themselves in every feature of the girl's face, the surging thoughts
+which forced so tense a silence commanded silence in his own response.
+It was the closest he had ever come into a woman's inner shrine, and
+instinctively he respected it.
+
+It was her own movement--a brushing back of a strand of hair which the
+breeze had loosened and blown across her face--which finally broke the
+tension, but her eyes did not drop. Still looking far ahead of her she
+spoke again, but the words seemed addressed more to herself than to her
+companion.
+
+"I can't bear to give that vision up," she said quietly, "and yet I
+never expect to see it realized."
+
+"Tell me what it is," Cosden urged as she paused. "Visions aren't
+exactly in my line, but perhaps you can make me see this one."
+
+"It's silly of me; you wouldn't be interested, of course."
+
+"But I am," he insisted. "Please go on."
+
+"Well," the girl said consciously, "since you have confided your creed
+to me, I'll tell you what my vision is,--but you mustn't laugh at it for
+it means a great deal to me."
+
+"I promise--cross my heart," Cosden replied.
+
+"In this vision each one of us atoms, man or woman, has a distinct
+individuality, and each atom is intended to express its own
+individuality alone and in its own way unless two atoms become joined
+together by laws of natural attraction. In that case these two continue
+on their way together, each strengthened by the combination, and thus
+enabled to express their joint individuality as neither could do alone.
+But love must be the crucible, Mr Cosden. Common-sense won't merge them,
+science won't do it. The two atoms can't be made into one without the
+crucible."
+
+They were almost at the "Princess" landing now, and Merry gave her full
+attention to her duties as skipper. As the boatman took possession,
+Cosden assisted her onto the landing and they walked slowly up the stone
+steps. At the top she turned to him suddenly, the brightest of smiles
+replacing her former seriousness. Cosden marveled at the rapidity with
+which her mood changed.
+
+"That's my vision, Mr. Cosden," she said simply; "don't think it too
+foolish. I must have some guide just as you have your daily creed. I
+haven't confidence in myself, but I do believe in my subject, and you
+tell me that I have enthusiasm. Please let that atone."
+
+"But that vision of yours--" Cosden demanded doubtfully. "You asked me
+if all men regard marriage as I do; let me ask you if all women have
+that vision, as you call it."
+
+"I suppose they have. If not, why should they give up their
+independence?"
+
+"I thought all women wanted to marry--"
+
+"That is where _you_ are not up-to-date, Mr. Cosden," she laughed.
+"Perhaps the woman you--intend to get has no vision; if so, it will be
+that much easier. But she must be poor, Mr. Cosden,--you really mustn't
+take advantage of her!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XVII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Huntington passed an uncomfortable half hour after watching Merry and
+Cosden start off on their sailing-trip, and he was glad to have Edith
+Stevens break in upon his unprofitable self-communion. Cosden had put
+into words a fact which until then Huntington had stubbornly refused to
+acknowledge: he had actually reached a point where he heartily
+disapproved of his friend. Connie had said it, and the realization that
+what he said was true shook the long-established friendship to the core.
+
+As he analyzed the case Huntington found it difficult to explain why
+this complete change in conditions should suddenly have taken place.
+Cosden was no different from what he had been during all these years of
+their intimacy. In fact, he knew no one among his friends who was so
+absolutely consistent in conducting his life in accord with principles
+established before their friendship began. Others had commented on
+Cosden's commercial instincts, and Huntington always defended him, yet
+now these same traits caused him to criticise his friend even more
+severely than those whose attitude he had previously thought
+unwarranted.
+
+The change, then, Huntington concluded was in himself rather than in
+Cosden; and from this point he tried to discover what that change really
+was. What had their relations been during these years? They had never
+come together in any business way, and Huntington now for the first time
+wondered why it would not have been natural for Cosden to turn over to
+his office some of his frequent cases in litigation. It had not
+previously occurred to him that he might have expected it, but now he
+wondered. This in itself was evidence that his friend did not consider
+him seriously in the practice of his profession. The real fact was that
+they had played together, and that their intimacy had stopped at that
+point. Huntington now recalled that in gratifying those characteristics
+which found enjoyment in music, art or literature he instinctively
+sought the companionship of other friends, and the same analysis
+revealed to him that Cosden had done likewise in turning to other and
+more kindred spirits in living that part of his life with which his
+friend had little sympathy. It had all happened so naturally that
+Huntington had never realized until now that in spite of their intimacy
+there was a side to each man's life into which the other never entered.
+
+This was the explanation as Huntington thought it out, and the fact that
+it could be explained at all gave promise of readjustment. The present
+situation did not require any change in the relations of the two
+friends. It had been precipitated by the accidental pulling aside of a
+curtain which revealed a picture Huntington must always have known was
+there, but at which he had always steadfastly refused to look. The
+mistake came when Cosden insisted that he peer behind the curtain, and
+became intensified when he permitted himself to be drawn into that side
+of his friend's life in which he should have known he had no part. The
+friendship need be in no way affected: simply restore the old relations,
+use greater discretion in keeping them within the bounds which Nature
+had prescribed for them, and all would be as before.
+
+Huntington abhorred an enigma because when once focused in his mind a
+mental impossibility was created to rid himself of it. He found it
+lurking behind his _Transcript_ in the evening, it tried to crystallize
+itself in the smoke of his last pipe before retiring, it flirted with
+him coyly over his coffee-cup the next morning. Until the figment became
+a reality and was dismissed it was a haunting menace to his peace of
+mind. Now that he had discovered an explanation of his disapproval of
+Connie and had found the antidote, that particular enigma was disposed
+of, and he should have been free to resume his normal state; but to his
+further discomfiture this was just what he found he could not do. He had
+cut off one of the Hydra's heads, but others remained which spat at him
+viciously.
+
+Why was it that Cosden's attitude caused him such peculiar annoyance at
+this particular time? Had he been entirely straightforward with his
+friend, had he been quite frank in answering Hamlen's question regarding
+Merry's resemblance to her mother? Huntington's disgust with himself at
+that first slip became intensified by its repetition. He recalled De
+Quincey's arraignment of the murderer on the ground that murder so
+dulls the sensibilities that it is an easy step from this to falsehood.
+Huntington, with his Puritan ancestry, would have allowed himself to be
+torn by wild horses before he would deliberately tell an untruth, yet
+here, on two separate occasions, he had undeniably juggled with the
+facts.
+
+When Cosden suggested that there might be some deeper reason for his
+objections he promptly and equivocably denied the implication that he
+had any interest in Merry beyond that of an older friend; yet he now
+knew that the denial was absolutely false. What he told Cosden was what
+ought to be the case rather than what the case really was. This was his
+secret, and he had protected it in the easiest way, which as usual was a
+cowardly subterfuge. The fact that he had made a misstatement or that he
+had a secret to conceal had come to him only during this period of
+self-communion since the little sloop sailed away, leaving him alone
+with his reflections. What he said to Cosden, that he was equally
+unsuited to Merry and that he was old enough to be her father, expressed
+the cold, hard facts; but he needed no second-sight to tell himself that
+during these days of companionship, such as he had never before known,
+the girl's sweet personality had penetrated the sham armor of the cynic,
+and that he was face to face with an emotion far deeper than any he had
+experienced from time to time in his library, in front of that table
+with its curious exhibits, with the stage-like accessories of the
+albatross-stem pipe and the flickering light from the burning logs. How
+tinsel-like it all seemed to him now, compared with this
+flesh-and-blood experience in the open air, with its glorious setting of
+the sea and the beautiful island foliage!
+
+He had reached this point in his mental activities when he saw Miss
+Stevens approaching, and he greeted her cordially. Face to face with
+this latest revelation, he disliked his own company. His
+responsibilities, which had seemed terrifying to him so short a time
+before, now appeared insignificant compared with the new responsibility
+with which he had saddled himself. He thought little at this moment of
+the burdens imposed upon him by Mrs. Thatcher, by Cosden, or by Billy:
+he must now protect the girl against himself, and that would be the
+hardest task of all.
+
+Edith Stevens, as well as Huntington, found herself without her usual
+occupation this morning. Cosden told her, the evening before, of his
+plan to take Merry sailing, so she reverted to her natural habit of late
+rising, from which she had temporarily reformed herself, knowing that
+Cosden always breakfasted early and was usually looking for
+companionship. Seeing Huntington absorbed in self-contemplation she
+gravitated in his direction.
+
+"We've lost our little playmates, haven't we?" she said cheerfully, as
+he rose and pulled up another piazza chair for her. "Why isn't this a
+good time for our Society to go into executive session?"
+
+"Capital!" Huntington assented, replying only to the second part of her
+question. "Is the secret-service department ready to make its report?"
+
+"I've found the girl," she announced bluntly; "but I imagine you know
+already who she is."
+
+"The girl Connie is going to marry?" Huntington simulated a proper
+attitude of interrogation.
+
+"The girl he thinks he wants to marry," she corrected.
+
+"Oh! he only thinks so. That's it, is it?"
+
+Edith raised her eyes from the toe of her buckskin shoe, which she had
+been poking vigorously with her sunshade, and smiled brightly.
+
+"Yes," she said; "that's it."
+
+"You speak with conviction."
+
+"Well," Edith explained, "I know Mr. Cosden better now than when the
+Society last met. He wants to get married, and he thinks he has picked
+out the right girl, but--"
+
+"But--what?"
+
+"But--he hasn't; that's all." And again Edith smiled brightly into
+Huntington's face.
+
+"Connie isn't in the habit of making mistakes; he usually gets what he
+goes after."
+
+"So he told me," she admitted, with an expression on her face which
+Huntington thought significant; "but there's always a first time to
+everything; and this is where Mr. Cosden meets his Waterloo."
+
+"I understood that you had been coaching him--"
+
+"So I have."
+
+"But I thought we agreed--"
+
+"We did; and I've lived up to our agreement. You watch his face when he
+comes in! I'm oozing out the balance of the morning here simply to give
+myself that satisfaction."
+
+"You must have some inside information which has not been incorporated
+in your report."
+
+"Not exactly; but I know Mr. Cosden and I know Merry. When he begins to
+trade for a wife she won't understand the language, and if he tries to
+teach it to her--well, he may learn something himself."
+
+"You think he will propose to her this morning?"
+
+"If she lets him get as far as that. He's been working up to this point
+ever since he arrived, and the only way to cure him was to let him have
+his own way."
+
+It was a novel experience to Huntington to see any one other than Cosden
+himself undertake to manage his personal affairs. The certainty with
+which Miss Stevens spoke evidenced a closer acquaintanceship with Connie
+than Huntington had realized existed.
+
+"What will happen when this episode is over? Do you care to prophesy?"
+he asked.
+
+"He will come back to his counsel to have his wounds bandaged, and then
+the education of Mr. Cosden will continue from the point where it was
+temporarily interrupted."
+
+"You are assuming a great responsibility," Huntington suggested.
+
+"I'm still retained," she answered demurely. "That's what you lawyers
+call it, isn't it?"
+
+Edith rose and sat for a moment on the edge of the piazza rail, her eyes
+looking down the harbor. She was impatient for the returning boat, and
+made no attempt to conceal it. At last her vigilance was rewarded, and
+she returned to her chair.
+
+"S-ssh! they're coming!" she said mysteriously, placing her finger on
+her lips. "We mustn't seem to be waiting for them. Talk to me!"
+
+Huntington tried to obey her instructions during the intervening
+moments, but it was obvious that Miss Stevens heard little of what he
+said. She was intently watching the steps yet endeavoring to appear
+entirely unconcerned. Merry was the first to see them, and she came
+forward with her usual animation and enthusiasm.
+
+"We've had a wonderful sail!" she said. "The morning was simply perfect,
+and it is such fun to play hide-and-seek among these little islands."
+
+"She knows how to handle a boat all right," Cosden said from behind, but
+his tone did not reflect the girl's vivacity.
+
+"Why, it's like sailing a toy boat in a bath-tub," Merry disclaimed.
+"You come down to the shore some time when there's a good breeze and
+I'll show you some real sailing. Mr. Cosden is such good company!" she
+added, turning to the others. "He has given me some really new ideas,
+and that is more than one usually gains from a sailing-party. I'm going
+to think them over so that I can argue with him more intelligently next
+time we have a discussion.--I must run up now and get ready for lunch."
+
+Cosden remained behind.
+
+"Come sit down with us, Connie," Huntington urged.
+
+"I prefer to stand," was the unexpected answer, yet in spite of his
+remark he sat down on the piazza rail which Miss Stevens had so recently
+vacated. He too looked down the harbor, but his companions realized that
+it was not the panorama which interested him. They also sensed the
+kindliness of silence. At last he turned toward them.
+
+"I don't know why I shouldn't speak before both of you," he said. "You,
+Monty, are my oldest friend, and Miss Stevens has been good enough to
+let me take her into my confidence. I want you both to look me over and
+tell me what's the matter with me."
+
+"You look perfectly good to me, Connie," Huntington replied lightly,
+scenting unpleasantness, and helplessly trying to divert it.
+
+"You know what I mean," Cosden replied brusquely, determined to force
+the issue, "and I want you to take me seriously. What you said this
+morning gave me a jolt, of course, but it didn't sink in deep enough to
+affect my confidence in myself. Now it's gone all the way through and
+come out the other side, and at the present moment I feel as big as a
+two-spot in a pinochle deck."
+
+"Did she refuse you?" Edith asked, with almost too much eagerness in her
+voice.
+
+"Refuse me?" he echoed. "She didn't even give me the satisfaction of
+recognizing that I had the slightest intention to propose."
+
+"Then what did happen?" Huntington demanded. "You seemed to be on the
+best of terms when you came up here, and Merry complimented you on being
+good company."
+
+"She was rubbing it in, that's all. We didn't have any trouble; that
+isn't the point. I planned this out, as you both know, with the definite
+idea of asking her to marry me, and before I knew what had happened she
+had twisted the situation around where I was on the defensive and had
+made myself look so ridiculous that I wouldn't have had the nerve to
+propose to a colored cook. There is something in all this which I don't
+understand, and I must understand it. I'm average intelligent, I've had
+some experience in life, and if a slip of a girl like that can make me
+lose my confidence then there's something radically wrong. You struck it
+right this morning, Monty, and I tell you it hurts!"
+
+The man's humiliation was so complete that both his companions were
+eager to relieve him. Huntington's loyalty to his friend caused instant
+forgetfulness of his recent resentment.
+
+"Don't mind what I said, Connie," he urged contritely. "I had no right
+to speak as I did."
+
+"You had every right," Cosden insisted. "All these years you have seen
+the lack of this something in me, and you've overlooked it because you
+were my friend. This morning you had sand enough to tell me the
+unpleasant truth when you knew I ought to hear it. What I want to find
+out now is what these 'finer instincts' are, and how I am to get them."
+
+The momentary silence which followed was evidence of the difficulty his
+auditors found in answering his appeal. He was in such deadly earnest
+that it was impossible to avoid direct reply. When this mood was on him,
+Huntington knew that he would deal with nothing but facts.
+
+"Let me leave you and Mr. Huntington to discuss this," Edith said,
+rising.
+
+"Please," Cosden detained her. "We are past the point of sensitiveness.
+I want your advice as well as Monty's. I'm up against something I don't
+understand," he repeated, "and I'm looking to you two to show me up to
+myself."
+
+"What is the use, Connie?" Huntington expostulated. "You have gone alone
+all these years living your own life; why disturb yourself now over
+something to which you have always been blissfully indifferent?"
+
+"Can't you see that the situation has changed, Monty? It was all right
+until I found out that I was different from other people. This is what
+the boys at the Club meant when they jollied us about our friendship. I
+always thought I was as good as anybody, but if an experience like this
+can make me lose my confidence in myself then the matter is really
+serious. It is this confidence which has made it possible for me to
+accomplish what I have, and if I once lose it then my strength is gone.
+It's all I have, Monty,--I can see that now. I must protect it, and you
+must help me. You must tell me what the trouble really is; I don't care
+how brutally frank you are so long as you tell me."
+
+"Then come over here and sit down," the older man said gently. "I will
+try to make it clearer to you. The finer instincts I referred to can't
+be bought, for they are not for sale; they come from every-day contact
+with the humanities, and with those whose lives are spent in this
+atmosphere. Your business has been your religion, Connie, and you are
+branded with its ear-marks as plainly as the goods your factories
+produce. Now, for the first time, you find yourself in an atmosphere
+which considers business only as a means to bring the refinements of
+life within closer reach, and it stifles you because of your
+unfamiliarity with it."
+
+Cosden listened patiently to the lengthy discussion which followed with
+the same attention which he gave to Thatcher when the trolley
+proposition was outlined, but his expression when Huntington finally
+paused and looked up showed bewilderment rather than comprehension.
+
+"I hear your words, Monty," he said frankly, "and your meaning is as
+dense as Merry's talk about her 'vision.' But there's one thing you
+haven't said, probably because you want to spare my feelings, which no
+doubt explains the whole thing. This knowledge of the 'finer instincts'
+comes naturally to you, Monty, because you were born in that atmosphere
+you speak of; I wasn't. Some men acquire them as a result of their own
+efforts, some devote their efforts to other things, as I have done. 'You
+can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.' Isn't that what you really
+mean to say, Monty?"
+
+"You are too severe on yourself, Mr. Cosden," Edith said
+sympathetically, affected by the spectacle of this strong,
+self-sufficient man suffering under the lash without realizing in the
+least the power which wielded it. In his complacent mood she had longed
+for the ability to wound his self-assurance, but the climax had been
+reached without her assistance, and the woman in her failed to find the
+satisfaction she had anticipated.
+
+"Well," Cosden said finally, rising and holding out a hand to each, "I
+can't say that you've given me much enlightenment, but you've made some
+things fairly clear. It will be a long time before I can look my
+business in the face without blushing; but I count on those who are
+really my friends to stand by me while I pumice down the marks of the
+branding-iron. In the meantime, don't you think for a moment that I'm
+indifferent to this thing we're talking about. Now that I know it
+exists, in spite of your doubts, I intend to get it. If business
+interferes, I'll cut out business. I refuse to let anything stand
+between me and what I want."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XVIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Cosden pursued the subject now uppermost in his mind with the same
+relentless energy which he applied to other and more agreeable
+undertakings. He had no desire to make himself a "ladies' man," such as
+Edith Stevens described her brother and as he knew him to be; but this
+idea that he was unfitted to enter into any circle he might choose,
+provided he could force the entrance, was as novel as it was
+disagreeable. When Huntington first intimated that he lacked certain
+qualities Cosden had not taken him seriously. Monty was a Brahmin,
+albeit one of the best of fellows, and this class had never been an
+object of his envy nor considered by him an example to be emulated.
+Cosden had discovered that those who constituted it were eager enough to
+know him and to be intimate with him when once they came to realize, in
+a business way, that this relationship might serve their own best
+interests. Born outside the sacred circle, he expected nothing else, and
+the fact of his friendship with Huntington, and his close
+acquaintanceship with others of the same stamp, seemed to him a triumph
+of merit over birth. If a man could trace his ancestry back to the right
+people he became a member of this group automatically, and in spite of
+lack of personal achievement. How much more credit, Cosden argued, to
+the man who forced recognition through sheer accomplishment alone.
+
+For this reason he felt that Monty's criticism, if it was to be taken as
+such, was the expression of a class rather than an individual. It was
+not to be expected that his friend, reared in so unpractical an
+atmosphere, should sympathize with or even understand this common-sense
+approach to the subject of marriage. It was natural, indeed, that he
+should be shocked by it; yet it had been a surprise to have the
+easy-going Monty rouse himself to the extent of making definite
+objections to the method of procedure. But Cosden had observed that
+Huntington's conscience every now and then, like his liver, became
+overburdened, and on these rare occasions he was liable to make remarks
+which would sting if taken seriously.
+
+Now, however, it had been brought home to him that perhaps, after all,
+his friend's comments might contain a grain of truth. The fact was
+forced home not so much by what Merry Thatcher said to him as the wide
+divergence of viewpoint which became apparent as a result of their
+discussion. Cosden instinctively felt himself in the presence of
+something higher and finer than himself, and this feeling put him at a
+disadvantage. When he had ridden to Elba Beach with Merry and Billy they
+were companions and all met on the same footing; now, with Merry alone,
+he realized that the girl looked upon him as a man with ideas rather
+than ideals, and with a creed of life which she neither understood nor
+cared to understand. Yet he was not the first man to apply business
+principles to this all-important partnership, and others had not made
+themselves ridiculous. "Your business has been your religion and you are
+branded with its ear-marks," Monty told him. It was the branding which
+caused the trouble, Cosden concluded. The "finer instincts" could not be
+bought, perhaps, but surely they might be acquired. He had been too
+crude in the manner of expression. It came down to a question of finesse
+in this as in any other transaction of life, and when reduced to this
+medium he thought he understood.
+
+To arrive at this point required time. After a brief and silent luncheon
+with Huntington Cosden set out by himself for a long walk, returning in
+season for dinner in what appeared outwardly his normal mental
+condition. In the evening he visited with the little group which had
+formed the habit of taking their coffee together on the piazza, however
+far their paths might diverge during the day. Even Edith Stevens was
+deceived, but Huntington knew his friend's temperament well enough to
+realize that he was working everything out in his mind preparatory to
+the next step, by which he would endeavor to regain the lost ground.
+
+By the following morning Cosden had arrived at several definite
+conclusions, and his courage returned. He breakfasted at his usual early
+hour, and Edith Stevens, for some reason best known to herself, came
+down-stairs at about the same time. After breakfast, as had become
+almost a habit, they sat together on the piazza, he with his cigar, she
+with an infinite nothing upon which from time to time she plied a not
+overworked needle.
+
+"Well," he said at length, knocking off the ash from his cigar and
+regarding it contemplatively for some moments before he
+continued,--"Monty gave it to me good and straight yesterday, didn't
+he?"
+
+"You asked him to--"
+
+"I know I did. You remember the man who said he didn't get what he
+expected, and some one told him he was lucky not to get what he
+deserved? Well, I got both."
+
+"Mr. Huntington had to say what he thought; you forced him to."
+
+"But I didn't really believe he did think it. I've been bowling along
+all these years, and I suppose I've become too complacent. When I called
+myself names yesterday I hadn't the slightest idea that any one would
+agree with me. It was a case where I wanted to be contradicted."
+
+"Oh!" was all that Edith said, but the exclamation conveyed more to
+Cosden regarding her real attitude than a whole vocabulary.
+
+"Then you agree with Monty?" he demanded.
+
+Edith had expected this crisis to come, so it did not find her wholly
+unprepared. In fact she had been awaiting it as the point from which his
+education was to be continued, as she had explained to Huntington. She
+pursed her lips a little as she replied.
+
+"Yes--and no," she answered slowly, showing a serious consideration of
+the subject which impressed Cosden. "I think he was right in saying that
+business has left its mark upon you, but entirely wrong in his
+assumption that what you lack can't be acquired."
+
+"Of course it can," Cosden agreed emphatically; "and what is more, it's
+going to be acquired. I don't intend to have anything stand in my way.
+The only thing to consider is just how and when."
+
+"Exactly," she encouraged him,--"just how and when. These are the
+questions. Have you answered them?"
+
+"Not yet. I'm trying first to understand what Monty meant. I thought I
+had learned the game. While, as I've told you, I started out with the
+definite intention of making money, I've bent over backwards to conduct
+my affairs so that they should be absolutely above criticism. I believed
+that in doing this I proved that I had those 'finer instincts' which
+mean so much to Monty. I've made other people play the game square with
+me, but I've always played it square with them. My principle has been to
+fix things so that the other fellow would do right because he had to,
+and I would do right because I wanted to. You have to do that because
+the other fellow doesn't always want to. Take one case for example: I
+had a contract for a number of years with a house to supply them with
+goods of a certain standard, made in accord with a fixed formula. Six
+months ago my superintendent told me that by some mistake at the factory
+these goods had been ten per cent. below the standard called for,
+covering a period of nearly five years. My customer had made no
+complaint--he supposed he was getting what the contract called for, and
+so did I. The natural thing to do was to make all future deliveries up
+to standard and to let it go at that; but that isn't my way. The man had
+paid for something he hadn't received, and it was up to me to make good.
+So I figured out the difference between the two grades, and the volume
+of business, and sent him an explanation and a check for $6500."
+
+"That must have been a pleasant surprise for him, and you made a
+customer for life."
+
+"Yes," Cosden replied, with a queer expression on his face: "it was a
+pleasant surprise for him all right. He wrote me a beautiful letter,
+telling me what a noble, upright thing it was to do, and that he didn't
+believe another man in the trade would have done it. He even expressed
+his deep appreciation. Last month the contract came up to be renewed,
+and he canceled it because another house cut me a quarter of a cent a
+pound, and I wouldn't meet it."
+
+"I never heard of such a thing!" Edith cried indignantly. "But you have
+the satisfaction of knowing that you did the right thing."
+
+"Yes; I have the satisfaction and the other fellow has the contract. But
+I am only telling you about it to show you why I can't understand Monty.
+I thought I was showing some of those finer things he says I don't
+possess. The man who canceled that contract was born with those
+wonderful 'instincts,' and exhales them with every breath."
+
+"I don't believe you do understand just what Mr. Huntington means," she
+said quietly.
+
+"Let me tell you something more," Cosden went on. "There is many a
+corporation right in the city of Boston that spends more money in
+lobbying at the State House than it does in producing its goods, yet
+the officers of those same corporations go around without having their
+best friends tell them they are 'branded with the ear-marks' of their
+business. They are just as commercial as I am, and some of them aren't
+nearly as careful to play the game straight. That is where I can't
+comprehend Monty's attitude. If a man observes the 'finer instincts' in
+his business, as I believe I do, why isn't the brand it marks him with a
+hall-mark of respectability in any society in which he wants to mingle?"
+
+Edith had been very busy with her fancy-work, and she did not look up
+when Cosden appealed to her for an answer.
+
+"Now you're getting nearer to what Mr. Huntington means," she said with
+decision. "You know your business world,--its customs and its standards,
+and as you have just explained they are not always consistent. The same
+is true of the social world, and that, as I understand it, Mr.
+Huntington knows better than you do. The social world has its customs
+and standards just the same, and in many cases they are equally
+inconsistent. You can't explain these inconsistencies in one any more
+than in the other; they simply exist. What you still have to do is to
+become familiar with them as you have with those in the business world."
+
+"That is where the wife comes in,--that's what she's for," Cosden
+insisted. "That's the very reason I want to marry a woman who knows that
+end of the game. When I select a partner in my business I don't want him
+to handle my end, but rather some part of it which he can do better than
+I can. And the same thing ought to apply here."
+
+"Perhaps it ought, Mr. Cosden, but that is just the point,--it doesn't;
+and the first thing Mr. Huntington would tell you is that the two don't
+mix. Here are two distinct worlds which touch each other very closely;
+the one admits the other to a certain extent, the other never admits the
+one."
+
+"Then the wife won't do it?"
+
+"Not alone. Many a wife has accomplished for her husband what he never
+could have gained for himself, but only when the man has permitted her
+to teach him how to leave his business behind him when he leaves his
+office. Business plays its part in the social world, but it is one of
+those polite amenities not to recognize the machinery which makes
+society possible."
+
+Cosden moved uncomfortably in his chair. "I'm not a climber," he said.
+"I haven't any desire to force myself in where I'm not wanted; but here
+I am, a member of some of the best clubs in my own city, recognized in
+the business world, and acquainted with every one who is worth knowing.
+Until within twenty-four hours I supposed that I was as much a part of
+the social organization as I chose to be,--no more, no less. Now, the
+best friend I have in the world tells me point blank that the very thing
+I supposed was most to my credit is a bar across the path I have elected
+to take. I'm not ready yet to admit it. Monty says that I've lost
+something, but he's wrong: apparently the attributes he has in mind I
+never even possessed."
+
+"Then the more reason to exert yourself until you do possess them."
+
+"But if I lack them, why haven't I felt the lack before?" he appealed.
+"I'm thrown all the time with the very men on whom the social life of
+Boston rests."
+
+"Where, if I may ask?"
+
+"In business, and at my clubs."
+
+"But not in their homes?" Edith pursued.
+
+"No," Cosden admitted; "there has never been any reason to meet them
+there."
+
+Edith folded her work deliberately and looked squarely at her companion.
+
+"My friend," she said with decision, "'the time has come, the Walrus
+said, to talk of many things.' Some one must set you right. You have too
+much knowledge in other directions to be so childlike in this. If you
+still look upon me as confidential adviser, I'll appoint myself that
+one."
+
+"I should be eternally grateful."
+
+"Then don't be offended if I speak plainly. I believe that I understand
+the situation exactly: you have pursued the even tenor of your way all
+these years, following a definite plan, and accomplishing your set
+purpose. In the confidence of having accomplished it, you decide that
+the moment has arrived to exercise a side of your nature which up to
+that moment has scarcely interested you, and you try to put your new
+thought into execution as mechanically as you have carried through every
+other purpose which you have ever had. Your election to your clubs, no
+doubt, was the result of careful and business-like plans, laid down when
+your name was first proposed, and followed up with the same
+irreproachable persistency which would be applied to any other business
+undertaking."
+
+"Of course," he acknowledged: "that is the only way to put anything
+through."
+
+"So your clubs, which you have looked upon to certain extent as social
+achievements, have been only a part of your every-day business routine,
+after all?"
+
+"Yes; if you choose to put it that way."
+
+"Then let me tell you that however intimate you become with any man, you
+are not admitted to his social circle until he has presented you to his
+wife or sisters, and has invited you to his home. Every woman knows
+that, and I supposed every man did."
+
+"My ignorance is perhaps the best evidence of how crude I really am,"
+Cosden said soberly.
+
+"Don't say crude," Edith protested considerately; "say rather that your
+social life has been undeveloped. Until this new desire for a home came
+to you the necessity of considering that side had not appealed, and when
+you once decided to make the grand plunge the only way you knew how to
+go at it was as if you were selecting a partner in your business.
+Perhaps, as you say, the same rules ought to apply, but I assure you
+they don't. And that is just where you stand now."
+
+"Then I will learn the rules which do apply," he asserted with
+determination. "But why, if this is so all-important, have you yourself
+so little use for society?"
+
+"It is a very different matter, my friend, to make light of something
+which you have and something which you lack. I may despise society, but
+if it was society that despised me you'd see me starting a campaign in
+New York that would make a football game look like a funeral
+procession."
+
+Cosden regarded his animated companion for some moments in silence, but
+any one who knew him would have recognized that his mind had seized upon
+the germ of a new idea which pleased him, but which he was considering
+critically for the moment.
+
+"Look here," he said suddenly. "It doesn't take me long to make up my
+mind. Why couldn't I persuade you to start a campaign like that for
+me--for us--in Boston?"
+
+The abruptness of the suggestion, and the complete change from the
+subdued and humiliated seeker after light back to the dominating man of
+affairs who forces the solution of his dilemma, took even the astute
+Edith by surprise.
+
+"Am I by any chance to consider that as an offer of marriage?" she
+demanded.
+
+"That is just what I mean. What do you say?"
+
+"Well, of all things!" She rose to her feet and walked up and down the
+piazza with Cosden following close behind. It was a moment or two before
+she recovered herself, and then she turned on him.
+
+"I take back all the sympathy I ever gave you," she cried indignantly,
+"and I hate myself for having tried to help you with my advice."
+
+Cosden regarded her outbreak with consternation. "I always supposed an
+offer of marriage was the greatest compliment a man could pay a woman,"
+he exclaimed surprised.
+
+"It is no compliment when such an offer is based so cold-bloodedly upon
+business advantage. You come down here to get a wife, which you have
+decided in your counting-room will increase your assets. The first girl
+you select doesn't fit into your plans, as you had expected, so you look
+me over critically, tell me it doesn't take you long to make up your
+mind, and offer me a partnership.--All that remains, I suppose, is for
+us to discuss office hours and the division of the profits! My word! You
+are the most mercenary human creature I ever met!"
+
+Edith was splendid in her anger, but Cosden refused to take her
+seriously.
+
+"Come," he insisted; "you are far too sensible to look at it that way.
+Why, every one in the hotel is asking if we are engaged. What shall I
+tell them?"
+
+"Tell them you proposed to me and that I refused you," she retorted
+defiantly, turning from him and disappearing through the open door.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XIX
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+"Well Marian, my play-time is over for the present," Thatcher remarked
+as he folded a cable he had just received and placed it in his pocket.
+"They need me at the office, so I'll sail on Monday. There's no reason
+for you to leave until later unless you wish to."
+
+She looked up at him with an expression of such real disappointment that
+he felt the unspoken reproach.
+
+"We have stayed a month longer than we intended, as it is," he
+explained, "and my going need not hasten your plans at all."
+
+"I don't want you to return alone, Harry, and I loathe the thought of
+turning my back on this enchanting spot. Truly, each day makes it more
+difficult to leave it."
+
+"Then if you don't go at once the problem may become serious," he
+laughed.
+
+"You are so different down here, Harry, I hate to give you up to
+business again. That is a wife's real rival; I'm jealous of it."
+
+"A rival which has made our pleasures possible, so you should be
+friends. Only a few years more of it, little woman, and then you may
+plan my days as well as yours. Then we'll have one long play-time
+together."
+
+"You've been saying that for five years," she protested petulantly; "but
+we seem to come no nearer. Haven't we enough to do that now?"
+
+"Who shall say what 'enough' really is?" he smiled, taking her hand in
+his and looking with affection into her deep eyes. "That isn't what
+holds me; it takes time to work out of the old interests without serious
+loss, Marian, and present conditions aren't helpful."
+
+"I suppose not," she agreed unwillingly; "but do make the period of
+waiting as short as possible. Merry and Philip are grown now, and I'm
+hungry for another honeymoon, such as we have been having here."
+
+"Some day, little woman, some day!"
+
+"Don't say that, Harry!" she protested again, this time more vigorously.
+"There is no expression in the English language I detest so much as
+'some day.' When I was a little girl I had an uncle who was forever
+going to take me somewhere or give me something 'some day'; and 'some
+day' never came! I've always looked upon those two words as a diabolical
+combination invented by older people as an aggravation to children. But
+I will be patient, Harry. Can't you start in now to take some medicine
+which will be sure to clear your blood of business by the time these
+things you speak of work themselves out?"
+
+"If present conditions continue," he laughed, "they will accomplish what
+you wish better than anything so homeopathic as physic. We shall all be
+thrown out of business whether we like it or not. This cable I have just
+received," he continued more soberly, "is a case in point: the
+government is starting in to 'investigate' one of our pet interests, and
+the stock has begun to drop out of sight already. It is paternalism with
+a vengeance: protecting the infant industries to encourage their growth,
+and then spanking them when they respond!"
+
+"Well," Marian sighed, "it's all Greek to me, but if you say it's wrong
+then I know it is. Now," she added, slipping her arm through his, "let's
+go over to the pool and see what is going on there."
+
+Shouts of laughter and sounds of splashing greeted them as they reached
+the top of the tiled steps of the "Princess" pool, and they paused for a
+moment to see the finish of an exciting race.
+
+"You're too fast for us, Miss Merry," Huntington acknowledged his
+defeat. Then he turned to Cosden who finished just behind him.
+
+"Aren't you ashamed of yourself to let a girl beat you like that,
+Connie?" he demanded.
+
+"How about yourself?" was the retort; "you always claimed to be some
+swimmer."
+
+"You let me win!" Merry declared.
+
+"Indeed I didn't," Huntington protested stoutly. "It is eminently unfit
+that woman should defeat man in any athletic contest; she has beaten us
+out in everything else, and we must reserve something. Perhaps Connie
+let you beat him,--did you, Connie?"
+
+Cosden laughed consciously. "Did I ever let any one beat me in anything
+when I could prevent it?" he asked.
+
+"There you are," Huntington waved his arms dramatically. "We admit
+ourselves temporarily defeated, but not disgraced. As for myself, I
+shall immediately go into strict training, in an endeavor to alter my
+lines from endurance to speed."
+
+The Thatchers strolled along the edge of the pool and seated themselves
+on one of the benches at the farther end of the enclosure.
+
+"Here come Edith and Philip Hamlen," Marian called her husband's
+attention to the new arrivals; "where do you suppose she found him?"
+
+"Hello, people," Edith greeted them. "Mr. Hamlen has been waiting for
+you in the hotel, and I told him I thought we should find you here. This
+looks to me like a perfectly good party."
+
+"Come sit with us," Thatcher urged, drawing up another bench. "We
+elderly folk will watch the children at play."
+
+Edith suddenly caught sight of Cosden and she perceptibly stiffened.
+"Children!" she echoed, with an inflection of her voice and a toss of
+the head which attracted Marian's attention. "How is it that Mr. Cosden
+goes into the water? I should think he would be afraid of rust."
+
+"I supposed it was by your orders, Edith," Marian said smiling. "Isn't
+he still acting under your instructions? But why 'rust'?"
+
+"Certainly not by any orders of mine," she replied with emphasis. "What
+he needs as an adviser is a machinist to keep that wonderful business
+head of his in repair. Wouldn't you think it would rust if he got it
+wet?"
+
+Edith's new attitude was more intelligible to Marian than to the men,
+but discretion suggested a change of subject.
+
+"Harry is taking us home with him on Monday," she announced, suddenly
+turning to Hamlen and watching him narrowly as she spoke.
+
+"On Monday?" Hamlen repeated after her. The color rushed into his
+usually pale face, and a tremor in his voice showed how much the news
+affected him. "You are going Monday?"
+
+"The Thatcher family intact," Marian answered him; "I don't know about
+the others."
+
+"Of course Ricky and I go when you do," Edith added. "I'm quite ready.
+The place is beginning to pall on me."
+
+There was an injured look in Hamlen's face as he turned to her quickly.
+"Don't say that of my beautiful island!" he begged.
+
+"Oh, the place is all right," Edith assured him; "it is simply some of
+the foreign element I don't like."
+
+"Must you really go?" Hamlen asked Thatcher appealingly.
+
+"It is my master's voice, and we slaves of the market dare not disregard
+the call."
+
+Hamlen forced a smile. "I shall miss you," he said simply.
+
+"Come with us," Marian urged in a low voice. "That would make our visit
+here complete."
+
+The man made no response, yet she could see no signs of weakening. The
+color left his face and it was now more ashen than before. The lips were
+tightly compressed as if he feared to trust them, and his hands clenched
+the walking-stick he held in front of him with a grip of iron. He
+mastered himself at last, and the pathetic smile which wrung Marian's
+heart whenever she saw it returned to his face. It was too clearly the
+reflection of a wound which pride alone concealed from sight.
+
+"You are too generous," he said at length, feeling the necessity of
+making some response,--"far too generous; but it is like you, Marian.
+Huntington is generous too, but you both are mistaken in your kindness.
+There are some exotic growths which can't be transplanted; I am one of
+those."
+
+He paused for a moment; then he continued: "I must ask one more favor
+before you go--come to me to-morrow afternoon and let us have a final
+celebration in honor of our reunion. Come to my villa, all of you, and
+in the midst of the family I have created--my flowers, my trees--let me
+dedicate my home anew to the dear friends who have brought life back to
+me, even though they too will soon join the memories amongst which I
+must continue to live. Give me this last experience to remain with me
+after you are gone."
+
+"Of course we will, Philip,--we would love to come," Marian replied,
+affected by his words and the depth of emotion which his voice
+expressed. "It will be the one remembrance we would most rejoice to take
+back with us if we can't take you. For these days, Philip," she added in
+a voice so low that he alone could hear,--"these days have not been
+vital ones for you alone, dear friend. Our meeting has brought back much
+to me which I shall always cherish, and beyond all I wish I might be the
+means of giving you back that happiness you lost through me."
+
+"No, no! You mustn't say that, Marian!"
+
+"Oh, but I feel the burden of it, Philip! You give me no chance to make
+restitution. If you would only come--"
+
+A tremor ran through his frame but he quickly controlled himself. "No,
+Marian," he said firmly; "you must come to me!"
+
+While the little group were conversing together the bathers had left the
+pool, and now one by one appeared from the bath-houses, radiant from
+their invigorating exercise, and looking for new worlds to conquer.
+Cosden was first, and he seated himself on the bench beside Edith.
+
+"Am I forgiven?" he asked in a low tone, but with a smile which
+expressed confidence in the answer.
+
+"I never talk shop outside of business hours," was the chilling
+response, as she drew herself slightly away from him and looked straight
+ahead.
+
+Merry was not far behind, and her appearance prevented Edith's hauteur
+from becoming too apparent.
+
+"Mr. Huntington and I are going to have another race to-morrow morning,"
+she announced. "I'm sure he let me beat him this time just to humiliate
+me the more when he shows what he can really do."
+
+"I'd back you against the field if I could find any takers," Cosden
+insisted. "That shows what I think of his chances."
+
+"It's great fun, anyway. Isn't this a fine old world, Momsie?" she cried
+impulsively, throwing her arms around her mother's neck and kissing her.
+
+"'Here comes the bride,'" chanted Cosden as Huntington finally walked
+toward them with his dignified stride. "If I took as much time to prink
+as you do I believe I could fuss myself up to look like something."
+
+"You'd need a file!" Edith ejaculated spitefully.
+
+"I beg your pardon?" Cosden interrogated, but no explanation was
+vouchsafed.
+
+"This looks to me like a council of war," Huntington remarked.
+
+"Call it rather a demobilization," Thatcher corrected. "I have made
+myself everlastingly unpopular by deciding to return to New York on
+Monday. Marian insists on leaving when I do, and the Stevenses are
+equally considerate of my pleasure. So I've spoiled everything."
+
+"I have only been waiting for some one stronger than I to determine my
+own departure, so I include myself among the refugees. And Hamlen will
+go with me, won't you, my friend?"
+
+Hamlen held up his hand deprecatingly. "I must complete my sentence of
+exile," he said with finality.
+
+"Have you heard anything from New York?" Cosden inquired. "I left orders
+not to cable."
+
+"The market is bad, and liable to become worse."
+
+"Then my vacation is over, too. How about the trolley project?"
+
+"Another postponement. I'll give you the details later."
+
+"Mr. Hamlen has invited us to have tea with him to-morrow afternoon as a
+farewell celebration, and I have accepted for all."
+
+"Not a farewell, Mrs. Thatcher," Huntington corrected, looking across at
+Hamlen. "There are some souls to whom we never say farewell. If he
+won't come with us now it simply means a brief postponement. This friend
+of mine cannot come into my life as he has done these weeks and then go
+out of it again. He and I have already lost too many years of the
+companionship which should have been ours; now together we must make up
+for lost time."
+
+Hamlen looked at him gratefully but did not answer. In single file the
+little party walked along the narrow edge of the pool, down the steps
+and back to the hotel. Cosden manoeuvered so that he had a word with
+Edith before they separated.
+
+"I sha'n't let you be cross with me," he said.
+
+"I'm not cross; 'disgusted' is the word if you really want to know."
+
+"But suppose my speaking was more sudden than my decision?"
+
+"I would rather not discuss it, if you please."
+
+"I've seen a great deal more of you than I have of Merry--"
+
+"But when you make up your mind, Mr. Cosden--" Edith recalled his own
+words.
+
+"I never change it without reason," he replied. "And more than that, it
+is very unprofessional to desert a client just when he needs you most."
+
+"When a client disregards his counsel's advice it is time to change
+counsel," she retorted with decision.
+
+"Oh, dear, no!" Cosden replied in so conciliatory a tone that she was
+partly mollified. The words rang with greater sincerity than she had
+believed him to possess. "That isn't the way real counsels do at all,
+especially when the client is so contrite."
+
+"What is their custom?" Edith asked, amused in spite of herself.
+
+"They charge it up on the bill and make him pay handsomely for his
+presumption."
+
+"Oh!" she said, weakening a little in the caustic attitude she had
+assumed. "If it comes down to a matter of bookkeeping perhaps we can
+effect a compromise."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XX
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+"To-day, Connie, is Saturday, to-morrow is the Sabbath, in which we are
+not permitted to toil, neither can we spin, and on the day which
+followeth we sail," Huntington remarked at luncheon.
+
+Cosden regarded his companion critically. "It doesn't rhyme so I know it
+isn't poetry; then it must be Scripture."
+
+"Freely paraphrased, it means that this afternoon is the last
+opportunity we shall have to exercise our golf-clubs on Bermudian soil."
+
+"Enough said," Cosden answered sententiously; "I'll be ready whenever
+you are. What a relief it will be to play on a real course again when
+the season opens at home!"
+
+"I admit that this is the one great deficiency of an otherwise admirably
+ordered resort," Huntington agreed. "Still, it is a whole lot better
+than no course at all, so let us be philosophers.--I'll be ready in an
+hour."
+
+The afternoon's round proved an eventful one to Huntington. Not that his
+clubs were under better control, or that he was less penalized by the
+atrocious lies encountered so frequently. Not that he succeeded in
+defeating his opponent, which was usually the measure of an eventful
+day; but he found Cosden in a state of mind which gave him infinite
+relief.
+
+The weak spots shown up by the analysis Huntington had made of his
+friendship with Cosden caused him real anxiety, explain them as he
+would. It was one thing to play with a man three times a week and
+another to live with him for a month of consecutive holidays. He had
+wondered whether their relations could ever return to what he had
+believed them to be before the shock came to his sense of propriety.
+Cosden's new state of mind shifted the balance so that the scales hung
+even, and the hope thus engendered made him indifferent to sliced
+drives, bad lies, or topped approaches. To Huntington, a friendship such
+as this had been assumed the proportions of a trust, and to disturb it
+was to shake the foundations of his every-day life to a most disquieting
+extent.
+
+"This visit to Bermuda hasn't been at all what I expected," Cosden
+confided to him; "but I'm inclined to think it has been a success after
+all."
+
+"I have found much to interest me here," Huntington admitted.
+
+"Between you and Miss Stevens I've learned a few things about myself I
+didn't know before. The experience hasn't been altogether palatable, but
+perhaps it will prove salutary."
+
+"That is ancient history now, Connie," Huntington protested, following
+his usual custom of avoiding the unpleasant. "Why bring it up again?
+Keep your mind on your game."
+
+"It hasn't become ancient history yet," he insisted. "I want you to
+understand that I appreciate your friendliness in going out of your way
+to say disagreeable things when you thought I needed to hear them. It
+isn't every one who would have done it."
+
+"That's all right; now let's forget it."
+
+"I don't want to forget it. In fact I'm particularly keen on remembering
+it. I tackled a job before I knew how to handle it, with the inevitable
+consequences. Now I think I can come nearer to understanding what the
+game is."
+
+He paused long enough to negotiate a particularly difficult stymie which
+Huntington had laid him on the third green. As the ball dropped into the
+cup he looked up with a satisfied smile.
+
+"You see I can play a game that I do understand, don't you, Monty? I'm
+going to play this new game just as well after I'm on to it. You were
+right: that little Thatcher girl is all I thought she was, but we are
+absolutely unsuited. I had to find it out for myself, but now it is as
+clear to me as it has been to you from the beginning. And this isn't the
+only thing I've found out."
+
+"The air is pretty clear down here, Connie; one can see a long ways."
+
+"Yes, when he's supplied with a pair of binoculars like you and Miss
+Stevens. The thing I can see clearest now is that I'm not ready to marry
+any girl just at present."
+
+Huntington stopped as he was about to swing, dropped his club, and
+seized Cosden by the shoulders.
+
+"Then you aren't going to desert me!"
+
+"Hold on!" Cosden cried as he released himself; "you're going too fast!
+Don't overlook the fact that I said 'just at present.' It may be I
+shall never marry, but something tells me that there are wedding-bells
+for me before I get through with it. There's no doubt at all, however,
+that before that takes place I must acquire some of those flossy things
+you've taught me to look for. I'm going to take a few hundred shares in
+some humanizing company and see what it does for me. Then I'll find out
+just what there is in it, and let the future take care of itself."
+
+Now that Cosden had come to these eminently satisfactory conclusions
+Huntington was too wise to offer any advice. His courage rose as this
+responsibility rolled away from his overburdened shoulders, and he dared
+hope that before he reached New York Mrs. Thatcher would voluntarily
+abandon her quixotic notion concerning Merry and Hamlen. This would
+leave him free to pull the strings for Billy,--but here he sighed. Could
+he hope ever to bring the boy up to the standard he himself would insist
+upon before permitting any thought of an alliance? And was the sigh all
+because of doubts of Billy? Forty-five must give way to twenty, but he
+admitted to himself that the supreme burden of all remained. If some of
+those years could only be turned back! But he knew himself now, and in
+that knowledge rested power.
+
+Sunday dawned bright and clear, one of those superlative days which
+Bermuda produces now and then as an aggravation to her departing
+visitors, and to demonstrate that she herself can improve even upon her
+own perfection. Those who had planned to devote the morning to packing
+against the morrow's sailing found the voice of duty too weak to make
+itself heard above the irresistible call to the open. Mr. and Mrs.
+Thatcher seized the opportunity to drive again to Harrington Sound,
+Merry and Huntington took a final walk to Elba Beach, while Cosden
+insisted that Edith Stevens permit him to escort her to the Barracks and
+the band concert. This left Ricky Stevens entirely out in the cold, but
+he was so accustomed to it that he did not even notice that it had
+happened again. Cheerfully lighting a cigarette, after the others had
+departed, and swinging his stick with an energy deserving of better
+things, he devoted the morning to making a final round of the
+tobacco-shops, laying in a huge amount of additional smoking materials.
+
+By afternoon all were again united, and set off together for Hamlen's
+villa. Their host elected to receive them in the garden instead of at
+the house, and as the guests passed through the rustic arbor, vivid in
+the coloring of the _poinsettia_ which bore it down, each felt in
+varying degree the dramatic effect of the reception. Hamlen stepped
+quietly forward to receive them, clad in the familiar white doe-skin
+suit which was never so effective as against its present background. His
+manner was courtly, but the reserve his friends had seen broken down
+during their visit again possessed him, and his face, even when he
+smiled to welcome them, was reminiscent of some great renunciation.
+
+"Forgive me for not meeting you when you first drove up," Hamlen said to
+Marian. "In my sentimentality I preferred to greet you here. These
+trees, these shrubs, these flowers," he indicated, "I planted one by
+one. I tended them in their infancy, I have watched them in their
+growth. To me they have personalities as much as human beings. They
+represent my family, they are all I have, and, as I told you yesterday,
+I want them to join me in this last meeting before you depart and leave
+us to ourselves."
+
+Their host's attitude was not fully appreciated except by the three who
+knew him best, so it was natural that by degrees the party separated in
+such a way that Mrs. Thatcher, Merry and Huntington were left with him
+while the others explored the grounds in greater detail.
+
+"For the first time in my life, Marian," Hamlen said, "I shall regret to
+see a steamer pass my Point and leave me cut off from the world. As I
+told you, always before I have gloried in it. To-morrow--"
+
+"We shall be waving to you to-morrow, Philip, and wishing you were with
+us."
+
+"It won't be long," Huntington added, "before you will be on one of
+those same steamers on your way to us."
+
+"I hope so," was the non-committal reply.
+
+"We do want you, all of us," Merry smiled persuadingly. "We have come to
+know each other so well here that we shall miss not being where we can
+run in to disturb you in your work."
+
+"I shall miss those interruptions too, and the work will be all I
+shall have to fall back upon. Somehow," he added, turning to
+Huntington,--"somehow I haven't been able to do the same work since you
+have been here. I don't understand it. I have been happier during these
+weeks than in all the years which preceded them, yet my work has not
+been so good. Why is it?"
+
+"The reason is obvious," Huntington answered quietly, but with a degree
+of satisfaction in his tone. "In what you say I find a pledge that you
+will come to us. Our visit, Hamlen, has disturbed the equilibrium of
+your life; it can never be the same again. Your work now is not so good
+because your mind has found a new horizon, and refuses to confine itself
+within the narrow compass which it had before. You can't do as good work
+again until your life finds new anchorage. Then you will reach heights
+beyond your dreams; but it will be through your friends that the new
+anchorage will come. We can afford to be patient, Hamlen, for you must
+surely turn to us; you cannot avoid it no matter how hard you try."
+
+Huntington's magnetic voice affected Hamlen as deeply as his words. His
+vision seemed so clear, his domination so complete that it startled the
+weaker man. Mrs. Thatcher and Merry knew at that moment that, if he
+chose, Huntington could have compelled Hamlen to follow him to the ends
+of the earth; and the response their host made showed that he recognized
+it too.
+
+"You won't force me, Huntington?" he appealed.
+
+"It must come only when you wish it," was the reassuring reply; "but
+when that moment does arrive, know well, dear friend, how hearty a
+welcome awaits you."
+
+Hamlen took his hand in both his own and gazed for a long moment into
+Huntington's face. "Classmate--friend," was all he said, but those who
+heard the words knew them to be enough.
+
+As they mixed again with the others, and the conversation became more
+general, the seriousness of Hamlen's earlier bearing partially wore
+away, relieving the unnatural tension which had almost turned an
+informal social function into the observance of a religious rite. Then
+the shadows lengthened, and two of the servants brought out a rustic
+table laden with eatables, with a huge bowl of strawberries as a
+centerpiece. There was no need of decoration beyond its cut-glass and
+rare china, for each dish was a selected masterpiece.
+
+"A Class Day spread in February!" Merry exclaimed enthusiastically. "How
+we shall miss these strawberries when we get home!"
+
+"'Strawberries may come and strawberries may go, but prunes go on
+forever,'" Cosden added, glancing at Edith for approval.
+
+The whole experience affected Mrs. Thatcher deeply. She saw the Hamlen
+of her youth full of promise and ambition, she saw the Hamlen of to-day
+bound hand and foot in the bonds of his false sophistry. What would he
+have been had she not broken her word to him? She was vaguely conscious
+that her present emotion was deeper than any she had ever been called
+upon to feel for her husband or for her children; she half-sensed the
+fact that previously her deepest feelings had been for herself. Now she
+felt a sympathy which demanded restitution, and the impulse must be
+worthy since it was for the happiness of some one other than herself. Of
+course, Merry should not be coerced against her will,--but if it could
+only be!
+
+Every episode, however epochful, must end, and Marian rose at length,
+indicating that the good-byes must be spoken.
+
+"You'll be down to see us off, Philip?" she asked.
+
+"No," he answered unexpectedly; "if you will excuse me I should prefer
+to watch you from my Point up there. I want you to remember me amid my
+own surroundings, rather than as a part of something to which I don't
+belong."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Next morning, as the little tender passed Spanish Point, carrying its
+passengers to the "Arcadian," three persons stood in the stern waving to
+a solitary figure standing erect and motionless. When he made out the
+greetings from the boat he raised his arm high above his head and held
+it there, like a Roman of old, in stately recognition. He gave no sign
+that he saw their further salutes, yet they knew he could not fail to
+see them. They remained there until the figure became smaller and
+smaller, and then finally was cut off altogether by a turn in their
+course.
+
+"This is too much for me!" Mrs. Thatcher cried suddenly, as if
+apologizing for the break in her voice. "If I don't get my mind on
+something else I shall burst into tears! I'm going forward with the
+others."
+
+Merry and Huntington still lingered, hoping that they might catch one
+more glimpse of the solitary watcher; but in vain. When the girl turned
+toward him Huntington saw that tears glistened in her eyes.
+
+"That is the most pathetic figure I have ever seen!"
+
+Huntington made no answer, but at that moment he became conscious that
+he was holding a small hand tightly grasped within his own. Impulsively
+he raised it to his lips, then he as suddenly released it.
+
+"To seal our friendship," he explained consciously, "at this crisis in
+the life of one who has been the means of bringing us together. I owe
+him much for that!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+The "Arcadian" rested lazily at anchor just outside the harbor,
+apparently as willing as other visitors to drift on the tide of peace
+and contentment. The coils of smoke, rising straight upward from its
+funnels, supplied the only sign of intended departure. The bustle and
+activity usually attendant upon a sailing seemed absent, and the boat
+lay there like a pleasure-yacht ready to take on board its master's
+guests.
+
+This impression deepened as the passengers from the tender were
+transferred on board and moved about the spacious decks, visiting their
+state-rooms resplendent with inviting brass bedsteads in place of the
+discouraging berths, and inspecting the swimming-pool.
+
+"You must be sure of your weather before you indulge yourself there,"
+Cosden remarked. "They told us, coming down, of a dignified British
+admiral who was tempted to a plunge, but no sooner was he in the pool
+than a young cyclone struck the boat, and for twenty minutes he was
+thrown forwards and backwards and sideways in spite of the efforts of
+the stewards to get him out. As he weighed nearly three hundred pounds
+the situation became serious. Finally, when the water was drawn off, he
+was dragged upon the stone slabs more dead than alive and held there
+until the storm abated, indifferent to the dignity of his person or to
+the glory of the British navy."
+
+"That ought to act as an excellent flesh-reducer," Huntington commented.
+"Perhaps it would serve in my efforts to alter my lines for speed."
+
+"I don't see that you need it," Edith laughed; "but we'll all be down to
+give encouragement."
+
+"About that time you'll be making love to your little brass bedstead,"
+remarked Mrs. Thatcher.
+
+Edith's face fell. "I forgot all about that!" she cried aghast. "You
+don't think it will be as rough going back as it was coming down, do
+you? Oh! I forgot all about that!"
+
+"It's certain to be bad enough to make you feel 'very annoyed,'" Marian
+confirmed maliciously.
+
+"Let's go on deck," Ricky Stevens said with a sudden show of interest;
+"it's so awfully stuffy down here!"
+
+Edith gave him a glance of approval. "For once in your life, Richard
+Stevens, you have a real idea. I can feel the boat beginning to roll
+now."
+
+"Nonsense!" Huntington laughed, "we're scarcely out of the harbor yet;
+but the deck is much the better place; we are passing close to the shore
+and this last view of the islands is beautiful. We shall have ample
+opportunity to inspect the boat later on."
+
+"I've seen all I want to," Edith asserted, as they started back to the
+companion way. "It was silly of me to forget that awful experience
+coming down. I am sure the boat is rolling, in spite of your denials."
+
+"Then look," Huntington insisted, as they stepped out on the deck again.
+"You could navigate this sea in a canoe."
+
+"Well, anyway," she compromised, "I shall be much more comfortable in my
+little steamer chair, so lead me to it."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher, still affected by her last sight of Hamlen, was glad to
+sit down beside her friend while the others walked up and down the
+decks, watching the passing panorama of the shore, knowing that it would
+last too short a time at best.
+
+"Marian," Edith said suddenly, "I have a presentiment that I shall die
+of seasickness on this trip home, and there is something I want to say
+to you while I can."
+
+"No one ever died of seasickness, child," Marian laughed; "but if you
+have something serious on your conscience the sooner you get it off the
+better."
+
+"It's Mr. Cosden," Edith explained.
+
+"I noticed that something had gone wrong in that quarter. Has he escaped
+you, after all?"
+
+"It is really too bad of you to take advantage of me when I'm so ill!"
+
+"My poor Edith!" Marian said soothingly, "forgive me, dear; I forgot
+your serious condition for the moment. Tell me about Mr. Cosden."
+
+"He is impossible," the invalid announced. "I really thought there was
+some hope for him until a few days ago, but he is so frightfully
+commercial that he crocks."
+
+"He--what?"
+
+"It comes off on everything he touches. He can't look at anything from
+any other standpoint. It's a tragic disappointment to me, and I think
+it just as well that I am going to expire from this awful seasickness. I
+really thought I could train him, but he's too crude. That is the only
+word to use."
+
+"He can't be that or he couldn't be Monty Huntington's friend. I rather
+like him. He's blunt and matter-of-fact and all that; but I like to see
+a man with confidence in himself."
+
+"I have an idea that Mr. Huntington has somewhat revised his opinions. I
+certainly have; and whatever anybody else may think I agree with
+myself."
+
+"That ought to be comforting to you, my dear; but I'm really sorry
+things haven't pulled through this time. I'm afraid it's your last
+chance. What did he do that was crude,--refuse to propose?"
+
+Edith sat bolt upright, her cheeks flaming, with all signs of her recent
+indisposition vanished.
+
+"I hate you in that tantalizing mood, Marian Thatcher! You always put
+the meanest interpretation on everything! Of course he proposed, but he
+didn't do it in a nice way; he just figured it out as if it was one of
+his business deals, and made me feel as if I ought to go right to the
+shipping department and get packed up."
+
+"My dear Edith," Marian expostulated; "you mustn't be so fastidious. It
+doesn't make so much difference how these men propose; the main thing is
+to have them do it. Truly, I'm disappointed in you! Here you have been
+working desperately to lead him to a point where he would let you put
+the ball and chain on him, and then, for some silly little reason, you
+let him get away from you! Really, I'm disappointed! From what I've
+seen, you two seem admirably suited to each other."
+
+"You don't understand, Marian," she protested; "he made this trip for
+the express purpose of picking out a wife--"
+
+"In Bermuda? Why couldn't he find one nearer home?"
+
+"The girl he had selected for the distinguished honor was in Bermuda--"
+
+Marian Thatcher was interested. Her amusement over her friend's
+annoyances, real or imagined, became tempered by curiosity, and that
+changed a passing incident into an event.
+
+"He told you this and yet proposed to you? Who was the other girl?"
+
+"You really don't know?"
+
+"Certainly not. Why should I know? This is all news to me."
+
+"I'm glad to be able to tell you something, my dear Marian," Edith said
+complacently. "You are so terribly superior it really cheers me up to
+have the chance to add to your knowledge, even in a small way. Mr.
+Cosden came down here for the purpose of proposing to Merry."
+
+"To Merry!" Marian cried. "That man had the audacity to think he could
+marry my child! Well, upon my soul! Why, he never saw her more than two
+or three times before he came to Bermuda! How could he possibly have
+fallen in love--"
+
+"In love!" Edith laughed. "Love? That's a real joke! Mr. Cosden has
+never dealt in that commodity! I tell you, Marian, he just picks out the
+thing he wants, and then he gets it--"
+
+"He could never get _my_ daughter."
+
+"But you just said you admired men who had confidence in themselves--"
+
+"I didn't say I cared for men with such unmitigated nerve as that. The
+idea!"
+
+"You thought us well suited to each other."
+
+"Certainly I did; that's an entirely different matter. You are just as
+mercenary as he, and I think you would make a perfect team,--but Merry!
+Ho, ho! The audacity of it!"
+
+Sitting on the edge of her steamer chair Marian tapped the deck
+excitedly with her toe and carefully adjusted an imaginary crease in her
+skirt. Suddenly she turned again to her companion.
+
+"So he came down to get Merry,--and proposed to you?"
+
+"Yes; rather well manoeuvered, wasn't it? You see, don't you, that my
+mercenary instincts saved you from an unpleasant maternal duty?"
+
+"I bless you for it," Marian said heartily; "but you've refused him, so
+that leaves him loose to begin over again. He's not safe yet."
+
+"I wouldn't worry about that just now," Edith reassured her. "Mr. Cosden
+has learned a few things since he has been under my instruction, and I
+think he will be less precipitate."
+
+"Why don't you continue the good work and polish him up for yourself?
+You must have found some good points or you wouldn't have gone to all
+this trouble."
+
+"No, Marian; it's too big a contract. I once had hopes but they are
+gone. The first thing I knew he'd have me packed up in spite of myself
+and shipped off somewhere. I'm very disappointed, but I dare not take
+the chance."
+
+It was fortunate, if Miss Stevens was to unburden her heart to her
+friend at all, that she acted so promptly, for after the headland of St.
+George's and St. David's light-house faded away in the distance it
+became apparent that the elements were not kindly disposed toward those
+on board the "Arcadian." The air became oppressive in its sultriness,
+and the clouds gathered ominously. Within an hour the calmness of the
+sea was forgotten. The little party playing shuffleboard found it
+difficult to keep their feet, and of a sudden a sharp, vicious squall
+struck the boat, sending all uncertain passengers to their state-rooms.
+Luncheon, served with difficulty, found a reasonable number at their
+seats, but by dinner-time the "good sailors" might have selected any
+locations they chose. Nature had declared a division, and the state-room
+stewards found far greater demand upon their services than did those in
+the dining-saloon. The majority of the passengers simply endured until
+the safe haven of New York harbor might be reached, the minority
+adjusted themselves to the conditions and made the most of them.
+
+Merry and Huntington were among the fortunate minority.
+
+"At last I have found something to struggle against!" she cried
+enthusiastically during the storm, as they stood in a sheltered position
+on deck watching the quivering steamer plow steadfastly through the
+great waves.
+
+"Still eager for a struggle!" Huntington exclaimed smiling,
+understanding the spirit of the girl better than he cared to
+acknowledge. "I don't like to think of you as struggling at all."
+
+"I must," she said firmly. "Unless I do, I feel myself slipping
+backwards."
+
+"Of course," he admitted, "struggling means development, yet my wish for
+you is freedom from anything which opposes. Is it selfishness on my
+part, this desire to keep you as you are, or is it merely another of
+those paradoxes of which life is made up?"
+
+"Whatever it is," Merry answered simply, "I know that your wish is for
+my good, for I know you are my friend."
+
+She turned toward him as she spoke and looked full in his face with an
+expression of confidence in her own which tested Huntington's
+self-denial. But the years--the inexorable years--were there!
+
+"It is you who have made me realize the necessity of struggling," she
+continued. "It is through the companionship I have had these weeks with
+you, and your friendship, that I have been able to crystallize ideas
+which before were so uncontrolled that they made me restless and
+discontented. What I heard you say to Mr. Hamlen, what I have seen in
+your every-day philosophy has taught me to concentrate my efforts in one
+grand struggle with myself."
+
+"If you keep it there," Huntington answered, "I shall be content; it
+would be no kindness to wish it otherwise. But one of these days, little
+friend, some man will come along with a nature equal to your own, and in
+the division of the struggle you will find the happiness multiplied.
+That will be your chance to contribute your share to the real life which
+you will jointly live."
+
+"You have remembered what I said that first time we walked home from Mr.
+Hamlen's!"
+
+"I shall always remember it. From it I first learned the depth and
+beauty of your womanhood."
+
+"Please, Mr. Huntington--" she begged deprecatingly; but her companion
+saw no reason to recall the words.
+
+On the second morning the passengers came up on deck in anticipation of
+landing in the afternoon. Even Edith Stevens had passed through the
+ordeal without the fatal results she had predicted. Cosden seized the
+first opportunity for a final word of reconciliation.
+
+"Don't give me up," he urged. "I've learned a lot of things down here,
+and I appreciate what you have done for me more than I have shown. I'm
+going to do a bit of sandpapering when I get home, and I want you to let
+me run in to see you once in a while in New York, just to report
+progress."
+
+And Edith, either because after her experiences she felt too weak to
+combat him, or because she thought he needed encouragement, ingloriously
+capitulated.
+
+The final good-byes were said on the dock, after the customs officials
+had completed their inspection.
+
+"Of course we'll see you in New York now and then," Mrs. Thatcher said
+to the two men; "and when we open up at the shore we must plan a real
+reunion."
+
+"I shall hope to have Hamlen here by then," Huntington remarked.
+
+"You are more optimistic than I; but in the mean time I shall be eager
+to receive news of him through you."
+
+"Drop in at the office next time you're in town, Cosden," said Thatcher;
+"we'll talk over Consolidated Machinery and the Bermuda Trolleys."
+
+"I'm thinking of getting out of business altogether, to devote myself to
+art," was Cosden's enigmatical reply; but the expression on Edith
+Stevens' face showed that at least she understood.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Nearly a month passed after their return to Boston before Huntington and
+Cosden really saw anything of each other. They met casually, they
+telephoned, they lunched in company with other friends at down-town
+clubs, but neither one suggested an old-time getting together, and each
+felt relieved by the omission of the other. Yet the reason each man held
+for this feeling, had he openly acknowledged it, was as opposed to the
+other's as were the characteristics of the men themselves. Huntington
+craved nothing so much as an opportunity to be alone, that he might
+review the extraordinary happenings of the past few weeks and thus
+fortify himself sufficiently to prevent any lapse from what he knew to
+be his duty; Cosden required a return to his usual feverish business
+activity in order to digest his new ideas. Huntington remembered the
+wonderful sunshine and the fragrant flowers, in the midst of which he
+always saw a sweetly serious face peering out at him in spite of his
+efforts at banishment; Cosden forgot everything except that he had been
+shown up to himself in a light which demanded immediate and drastic
+consideration. To both men the weeks just ended, including those which
+had elapsed since their return had been epoch-making. But
+self-confidence revives with time, however great a shock it may receive
+and when Huntington finally invited his friend to dine with him Cosden
+found himself quite ready to accept.
+
+This first meeting was more formal than any which had taken place during
+the many years of their acquaintance. Cosden often spoke of the relief
+it was to him to be permitted to drop in at his friend's house in such
+an intimate way,--without "fussing up," as he expressed it; now he
+appeared in his dinner-coat, dressed as immaculately as Huntington
+himself always was. His manner was more contained, and even though it
+was evident that his restraint was studied Huntington was interested and
+pleased to observe that as yet, at all events, the influence of the
+Bermuda experiences made itself felt.
+
+"Well, Monty," Cosden said as he lifted his cocktail-glass, "I'm glad to
+be aboard again. I've been associating a good deal lately with a fellow
+named Conover Cosden, and I must admit he bores me. Let's have this and
+then a little dividend just for good luck.--By the way, I saw you at the
+Symphony last night."
+
+"At the Symphony?" Huntington echoed surprised. "You don't mean to
+say--"
+
+"Oh, yes, I do!" he laughed rather consciously. "Not that it means much
+to me yet, but I've reached a point where I can call it an orchestra
+instead of a band, anyway. Mighty fine concert, wasn't it? I know I'm
+right, for I read the criticism in the paper this morning."
+
+"How long are you going to keep this up?"
+
+"To the bitter end!" Cosden declared dramatically. "If music has charms
+to calm the savage beast now is its chance to demonstrate! That isn't
+all, but you wouldn't believe any more. As a matter of fact I'm taking
+in everything which begins with H for fear I may miss some one of those
+'humanities'!"
+
+Huntington gazed at him in sheer amazement.
+
+"That's right," Cosden emphasized, only slightly embarrassed by the
+expression of incredulity on his friend's face. "Instead of being merely
+a 'sow's ear' I'm going the whole hog, and so far I've managed to pull
+through without casualties. Now what do you and Edith Stevens think of
+your handiwork!"
+
+"By Jove, Connie!" Huntington exclaimed feelingly, "it's wonderful, and
+I congratulate you. I had no idea--"
+
+"Other than that I would remain without those 'finer instincts' all my
+life," he finished for him. "Well, maybe I will, even at that; but at
+all events I'm giving the whole thing the once over. If my health and
+strength hold out perhaps when you and I make another vacation trip
+together you won't be mortified by your friend as you were last time."
+
+"Nonsense, Connie!" Huntington protested. "We both got out a little
+beyond our depth down there, and things didn't look quite normal to us."
+
+"Both?" Cosden demanded. "Where do you come in? That was my party, if I
+remember correctly, and I got all the presents."
+
+Huntington for the moment had been forgetful that he alone knew how much
+the Bermuda days had disturbed his own equilibrium, and he recognized
+that he had been almost guilty of betraying himself.
+
+"Well," he said lightly, "I interjected myself into your affairs in a
+shameless fashion, so whatever blame there is I insist on taking my full
+share.--What you tell me is simply incredible!"
+
+"Don't give me too much credit for it yet. Like everything else in my
+life there's a selfish motive back of it. Edith Stevens never said a
+truer thing than that it is a different matter making light of something
+which you have and something which you lack. Measuring things up on this
+basis shows me that nearly every time I've opened my mouth I've put my
+foot in it. Now I'm going to play safe and make myself very, very wise
+on some subjects regarding which I've been a bit of a scoffer. Then, if
+I don't want to, I won't do them, but never again because I can't do
+them!"
+
+"You needn't be ashamed of your motive; many a man has had one less
+worthy. But what is your business doing all this time?"
+
+"Well, well, well!" Cosden laughed. "Good old Monty! We've been together
+nearly an hour, and you are the first to mention business! You wouldn't
+have believed I could go as long as that without speaking of it, would
+you? But let me tell you I have them all guessing down at the office. I
+can see it every day. Of course, I'm keeping my eye on things as much as
+ever, but I'm not making so much noise about it. You see this is
+something I have, so I can afford to treat it lightly. Now I have
+something to measure myself by, and it helps a lot.--But don't let us
+spend all the time talking about me; what have you been doing with
+yourself?"
+
+"Drifting, as usual," Huntington replied, regretting that the
+conversation turned on him; "wishing I might take twenty years off my
+life and begin over again."
+
+"Why, Monty! You say that so seriously I really believe you mean it!
+What's happened? It isn't like you."
+
+"Nothing, dear boy, nothing at all," Huntington disclaimed quickly,
+trying to throw off the mood which had so promptly attracted his
+friend's attention. "I've seen quite a bit of Billy and his friend Phil
+Thatcher since I came home, and--I envy them their youth."
+
+Cosden looked at him long and searchingly before he spoke. "You're in a
+curious mood to-night," he said at length. "During the years I've known
+you I've never before seen you other than a philosopher, taking life day
+by day as you found it, and getting all there was out of it."
+
+"What is philosophy unless one can find the stone?" Huntington exclaimed
+with feeling. "It is the philosopher's stone I want to-night, and I
+can't get it. I'm feeling my age, Connie, and the sensation isn't
+agreeable."
+
+"Your age!" Cosden determined to overpower the surprising obsession.
+"The idea of talking age at forty-five! Out with it, man! Tell me what
+has taken hold of you. I've left you too much by yourself lately, and it
+hasn't been a good thing for you."
+
+"That's it, Connie," Huntington smiled weakly. "You mustn't do it again.
+First you take the heart out of me by declaring that you are going to
+get married, then you cheer me up by becoming normal again, and lastly
+you neglect me just as if you had taken the fatal step after all."
+
+"That's better," Cosden said, rising from his dessert and putting his
+arm around his friend's shoulders. "Come on up-stairs and we'll gossip
+over our cigars like two old cats. It won't be long before we can get
+out on the links again, and then you'll forget that you have any age at
+all. Age! the idea! Why, Monty, you and I have only just begun to live!"
+
+Arm in arm they walked slowly to the library in silence, but each one
+wondered at the new characteristic he had discovered in the other.
+Huntington was touched by Cosden's show of affection, the first time he
+had ever seen it manifested; Cosden marveled at the first break he had
+ever seen in his friend's self-possession. However easy-going Huntington
+might be, he always held himself well in hand; and Cosden envied him
+this trait. Huntington knew Cosden to be kind-hearted, but believed him
+to consider any outward demonstration as an evidence of weakness. The
+mutual discovery, surprising as it was, drew them closer together, and
+each realized that whatever had been the means a change had come in
+their relations which placed their friendship on a higher plane.
+
+"There's something deeper in this than appears on the surface," Cosden
+declared insistently as he held the light for Huntington and then lit
+his own cigar. "You said down-stairs that we both got out beyond our
+depth at Bermuda, and perhaps you meant more than I realized. Then,
+when we met the Thatchers, it developed that you and Mrs. Thatcher had
+known each other years ago. Now, tell me, is there any association
+between these two ideas, and is this by chance the explanation of the
+changed Monty I find here to-night?"
+
+Huntington did not reply at once. He was annoyed with himself that he
+had uncovered so much of his heart, and he had been pondering how to
+extricate himself from the delicate position. Under no circumstances
+must Cosden or any one else know how deep an impression Merry Thatcher
+had made upon him. The first duty he owed to her was to stand before the
+world simply as a devoted, older friend; his duty to himself was to
+prevent his associates from discovering how many kinds of fool he was to
+permit any such ridiculous condition to arise as that which at present
+existed. Now Cosden had unconsciously shown him the way out.
+
+"Yes, Connie," he replied calmly; "there is an association which may be
+made of those ideas, and since you have spoken of it I will ask you to
+stand by me at the finish. There is something I have intended to do ever
+since I came home, but I lacked the courage; now you have given it to
+me."
+
+Huntington rose abruptly, and crossing to the opposite side of the
+library he lifted the little mahogany table which stood there, placing
+it before the fire in front of the easy-chair from which he had just
+risen. Then he seated himself, and taking from his pocket the key to the
+small drawer he turned it in the lock. Cosden watched him with an
+interest far deeper than curiosity, for he felt from his friend's
+manner that the turning of the key unlocked something within him which
+until that moment had been closely hidden.
+
+"It will be better to get it out of my system," Huntington said finally,
+after bringing all the accessories together.--"You never knew of my
+romance, did you?"
+
+"Never," Cosden acknowledged; "I supposed you were the one man who had
+passed through life unscathed."
+
+"I couldn't have told you of it before because you wouldn't have
+understood, but now you will appreciate matters better if you know the
+facts.--Do you remember my surprise when you first mentioned the name of
+Marian Thatcher?"
+
+"Why, yes; you asked if she was a widow."
+
+"Exactly. Mrs. Thatcher was Marian Seymour when I first met her, my
+senior year at college. There is no need to go into particulars; the
+fact remains that I was hard hit.--Look at these!"
+
+He pulled out the drawer and laid the various exhibits on the top of the
+table. Cosden leaned forward and gingerly lifted the long white glove,
+looking into Huntington's face with a curious expression as he did so.
+Huntington met his gaze squarely, nodding his head in affirmation of the
+unasked question.
+
+"What's this?" Cosden demanded, laying down the glove and picking up the
+slipper.
+
+"You see," was the unabashed reply; "it went as deep as that. Laugh if
+you like; I sha'n't mind. We'll clean up this whole business to-night,
+and the more ridiculous you make it the shorter work it will be."
+
+"I would have laughed a month ago," Cosden admitted; "but, as you say, I
+understand some things now that I didn't before. Every man has a
+right to a romance, and he's entitled to have it respected."
+
+"Thanks, dear boy; but romances don't belong to five-and-forty, and this
+farce has gone far enough. Now we'll watch it go up in smoke, as most
+romances do. But first let us pay it befitting honor."
+
+Dixon appeared in response to the bell.
+
+"A bottle of Moet & Chandon, '98," Huntington ordered.
+
+During the time required by Dixon the two men puffed silently at their
+cigars. Huntington feared lest some inopportune word might disturb the
+success of his stratagem; Cosden, believing that he was witnessing the
+final act in the tragedy of his friend's life, respected the solemnity
+of the occasion.
+
+"Now, Connie," Huntington rose with the glass in his hand, "I ask you to
+drink to the dearest girl in the world, past, present and future,--to
+Marian Thatcher, God bless her!"
+
+"To Marian Thatcher--God bless her!" Cosden repeated after him; and
+Huntington turned away to chuckle to himself that he had paid homage to
+the reality while his friend believed him to be giving tribute to the
+figment. He blessed the figment for bestowing her name upon the reality!
+
+"Now for the renunciation," Huntington said solemnly, and one by one he
+laid the long-cherished trophies upon the fire, watching in silence
+their reduction to the elements. His success filled him with a spirit
+of bravado. The opportunity might never come again.
+
+"Once again, Connie old boy!" he cried.
+
+He held out his disengaged hand and grasped Cosden's as he lifted his
+refilled glass.
+
+"To Marian Thatcher--God bless her!"
+
+Cosden still held his glass after his friend placed his on the table.
+
+"Would it seem a sacrilege if I asked you to join me in a toast?" he
+asked, with an unnatural hesitation in his voice.
+
+"Why,--no," Huntington said wonderingly. "Fill up the glasses again."
+
+Then he held his high, waiting for his friend to speak.
+
+"To Edith Stevens," Cosden finally blurted out,--"God bless her!"
+
+"Edith Stevens!" Huntington almost choked in his surprise. "You don't
+mean--"
+
+"I don't know what I mean," Cosden admitted, blushing furiously; "but I
+miss her like blazes, and I'm either in love or else I'm suffering from
+a new disease the doctors haven't named!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+The letter postmarked "New York," announcing Hamlen's arrival, did not
+take Huntington by surprise, but it fulfilled his expectations sooner
+than he expected. The desirability of making certain changes in
+investments, the letter explained, made it necessary for Hamlen to come
+to the States, and if his classmate's invitation to Boston still held
+good he would be glad to avail himself of the opportunity to renew their
+friendship.
+
+This announcement found Huntington in the introspective mood which had
+alarmed Cosden, and suggested a comparison in which he placed himself
+under the microscope for a mercilessly minute analysis. Hamlen was
+convinced that he had made a failure of life, but what had he,
+Huntington demanded of himself, accomplished which could entitle him to
+claim success? He had not separated himself from his fellow-men, it was
+true, he had been a decent citizen, performing such duties as came to
+him with faithfulness and ability,--yet what had he really contributed
+to the community or to the life in which he lived which made it better
+because he had been a part of it? He had created nothing, nor even made
+an effort to create. No painting bore his signature; no volume added
+his contribution to the world's knowledge on any subject; no
+philanthropic or business enterprise owed its inception to his
+initiative; no child of his was growing up to bear its share in the
+struggle of to-morrow or to bless his memory for parental sacrifice and
+guidance. Hamlen at least had given himself to the world in the
+wonderful volumes which would live after him, even though their
+creator's identity never was disclosed. Hamlen at least had made the
+flowers and the shrubs of his island estate bear witness to the power
+within him which refused to be restrained; but Huntington's labors, if
+he could dignify them by so serious a name, had been perfunctory at
+best. He was rich in the world's goods and in human friendships, he was
+respected by all who knew him. For what? he demanded: because his
+grandfather and his father before him had created, and had played their
+part so well in the developing life of the city of their birth that a
+luster had been given to the family name. His virtues were wholly
+negative; his was a reflected glory and undeserved. The position in the
+community which Huntington knew himself to occupy, and the fact that
+Hamlen, because of his exile, would be considered to have forfeited his
+position, struck him as a commentary on the value of popular esteem and
+the lack of proportion in accrediting to each individual what was his
+proper due.
+
+Hamlen had nothing to his credit in the columns where Huntington scored
+heaviest: he was a poor citizen in his relations to those around him; he
+took no part in making others happier for his companionship or stronger
+by his example; his life had always been pointed inward, and yet, even
+with the limitations needlessly imposed upon it, there had been
+something within him, which Huntington had never felt within himself,
+great enough and strong enough to rise superior to these limitations, to
+burst the bonds by which Hamlen had sought to hold it back, and to force
+the expression of its own individuality! There, at least, was something
+positive; and yet the world would have called Huntington a success and
+Hamlen a failure! "We have torn off the bandages too fast," Huntington
+had complacently told Hamlen on that eventful first visit. Was it not
+presumption on his part when until now his own vision had been equally
+restricted? Huntington's first impulse was to make a frank admission,
+when Hamlen arrived, of the wide divergence between what people credited
+to him and what his real position ought to be; then he realized that his
+friend needed some one to look up to. He must, for a time at least,
+accept the position, however ironical it seemed; but he felt himself an
+impostor and a fraud.
+
+Since his return home Huntington had been more than ever grateful for
+the diverting influence of Billy's irresponsibility, and he encouraged
+him to come frequently to the house and to bring his friends with him.
+He would not have believed that a two months' absence could produce so
+momentous a change of his entire viewpoint. The calm tranquillity in his
+mental equipoise was seriously disturbed, and he welcomed anything which
+took his mind off himself and his personal affairs.
+
+He had urged Billy to bring young Thatcher in to dine with him, for in
+view of what Marian had said he hoped that Hamlen and the boy would make
+good with each other when once they met. Thus far Billy had always
+selected an evening when Huntington was engaged, but with the certainty
+that Hamlen would soon arrive a special effort produced a mutually
+convenient date, and the two boys appeared eager for their dinner and
+obviously ready to be entertained.
+
+Philip Thatcher carried himself better than his friend, and seemed
+older. His work on the crew had developed his frame and given him a
+poise which does not come to those college students who watch athletic
+sports from the side-lines. He had represented his university in
+competition, and this responsibility showed itself to his advantage.
+Those same "animal spirits" which gave Billy his boyish manner found a
+natural outlet, in Philip's case, during the hours of physical athletic
+training. His face was more his father's than like Mrs. Thatcher's; yet
+at times Huntington discovered expressions or mannerisms resembling his
+sister, which was enough to add to the interest he had already taken in
+the boy.
+
+"Hello, Uncle Monty!" Billy announced their arrival. "We've come in to
+eat ourselves out of shape."
+
+When this operation had been performed, and the coffee period took them
+back to the library, Huntington settled down to the real purpose of the
+evening.
+
+"Philip," he said, "there is a man coming to visit me next week whom I
+want you to know and who wants to know you. He is an unusual character.
+I wish you would show him something of what Harvard life is to-day, and
+when you get acquainted tell me what you think of him."
+
+"I should be glad to meet any friend of yours, Mr. Huntington," the boy
+answered.
+
+"He has a greater claim on you than simply as my friend," Huntington
+continued. "He was also a friend of your mother's, years ago, and while
+we were in Bermuda he showed us all a great deal of attention. He lives
+there."
+
+"You mean that Hamlen chap?" Billy asked. "Is he really coming here?
+He's a dead one!"
+
+"Don't let Billy's remarks prejudice you, Philip," Huntington urged.
+"Hamlen is a classmate of mine who has passed through some unfortunate
+experiences. He has lived by himself ever since he graduated, seeing
+hardly any one, and he will find much that is unusual when he returns to
+Boston and Cambridge after his long exile. He is a real man, Philip, and
+I want you to help me bring him back into the present again. Will you do
+it?"
+
+"I'll try,--gladly," was the hearty answer. "It sounds like a pretty big
+contract, but if I can really help I shall be glad to do it."
+
+"I know you will," Huntington said; "I was sure of it."
+
+"Why don't you ask me?" Billy demanded. "Why go out of the family?"
+
+"You may come into it later, but I want his first impressions to be
+favorable."
+
+"Stung!" Billy cried, laughing. "But I don't care. I don't care what
+happens now, for Phil has asked me to spend the Easter recess with him
+in New York, and I shall see Merry again."
+
+"So it is still 'Merry,' is it?" Huntington asked, looking at him with
+an expression which any one other than a boy would have noticed. "By
+this time I thought there might have been a dozen others."
+
+"Merry is still the one best bet," Billy insisted. "Phil here doesn't
+know what a cinch it is to have a sister like that."
+
+"I believe it's because of Merry that you like me," Phil declared, half
+seriously.
+
+"Well," Billy said guardedly, "it may have been the fact that you were
+her brother that first attracted me--"
+
+"Why, you never saw her until we'd known each other several months--"
+
+"We were acquainted before that," was the admission; "but I really came
+to know you after you introduced me to her. That, Phil, was the best
+thing you ever did. It was after I met Merry that I discovered that you
+were the finest old scout in the world."
+
+"You make me tired!" Philip answered disgustedly. "I never saw any one
+so crazy over a girl. There are lots of other things in the world,
+Billy, besides girls. I'd hate to think of getting engaged up and having
+to train around with just one girl all my life."
+
+"That's because you can't marry Merry,--she's your sister."
+
+"I don't make any exceptions,--Merry's just a girl, like the rest of
+them."
+
+"You don't appreciate her, that's all."
+
+"Oh, Merry is all right, of course. She and I have always been good
+pals, and we've played together like two boys. She'd make any one a good
+wife if he didn't mind being bossed."
+
+Huntington listened to the tilt between the boys with amusement, and yet
+with a real feeling of envy. What riches these youths possessed with
+life all before them, its mysteries still unexplained, its illusions
+still unshattered!
+
+"I thought your sister the finest girl I ever met," he said to Philip,
+curious to see what response the boy would make.
+
+"Oh, she wouldn't show that side to you," Philip replied; "it's only
+with people her own age."
+
+Huntington winced. There it was again, and again he had brought it upon
+himself! To these boys he seemed an antique fossil of humanity, entitled
+to respect and veneration! He must appear the same to her. "People of
+her own age,"--of course, that was the natural thing as it would appear
+to any one. Again he cursed himself inwardly for being fool enough
+deliberately to open up the wound.
+
+Billy was delighted to hear his uncle's comment on the girl, and beamed
+contentedly.
+
+"You see, Phil," he said, "even Uncle Monty noticed what a corker she
+is, and usually he never looks at a girl twice. Uncle Monty is a cynic
+on marriage, a woman-hater and all that sort of thing. Yet even he
+noticed Merry."
+
+"Don't say that, Billy!" Huntington protested with unusual vehemence.
+
+"But you are," the boy insisted. "The last time I dined here with you
+and Mr. Cosden, before you went to Bermuda, I heard you tell him that
+many a married man who seemed contented was only resigned."
+
+"That doesn't mean that I'm a 'woman-hater'; I won't stand for it! Be
+careful what you say!"
+
+Billy looked at him in amazement. It was a rare thing to see his uncle
+ruffled.
+
+"I beg your pardon, Uncle Monty," he apologized. "I didn't intend to
+bump any one's feelings. Truly I wasn't joshing at all,--I thought you
+meant it! But I'm glad you didn't, for now you'll be more sympathetic
+with me, and you can help me a lot."
+
+"All right, boy," Huntington said soberly. "I know you didn't mean
+anything by what you said, but marriage is a mighty sacred thing and you
+ought not to speak lightly of it."
+
+"How's Mr. Cosden?" Billy asked, eager to get the conversation onto
+safer grounds.
+
+"Well and happy; he dined with me last week."
+
+"Say, but he can ride a bicycle!--What did he have against me down at
+Bermuda?"
+
+"He said you covered too much territory."
+
+"I don't see where I got in his way, but he was forever butting in on
+Merry and me. And the way he hustled me off in that little speed-boat! I
+never had any one take such an interest in my getting back to college on
+time! That must have cost him quite a bit of kale. I can't understand
+it."
+
+"It was because he is so good a friend of mine," Huntington explained.
+"He saw a youngster down there who flopped around like a big St. Bernard
+pup"--Huntington was gratified that his memory still retained Merry's
+simile,--"and he served the best interests of his friend by keeping you
+from making a mistake on your latest flop. Doesn't that clear things
+up?"
+
+"As clear as mud," Billy grunted. "I guess I need one of those
+glass-bottomed boats they use down there to see the spinach and the
+gold-fish. I could see the gold-fish all right, but the spinach was on
+me.--That reminds me, Uncle Monty, will you lend me a hundred dollars?"
+
+"For what, this time?"
+
+"I want to lend it to Phil,--he's broke because his father has cut down
+his allowance."
+
+"Billy!" Philip cried aghast; "I told you that in confidence. I wouldn't
+think of borrowing money from Mr. Huntington."
+
+"How in the world do you expect to get a hundred dollars out of me
+unless I land Uncle Monty for it?--and he asked, 'for what?' You heard
+him."
+
+"It's all right, Phil," Huntington said reassuringly. "Billy doesn't
+have any secrets from me because he can't keep them. I would much rather
+lend the money to you than to him."
+
+"That isn't fair," Billy protested. "Phil is sure to pay it back, and I
+need it."
+
+"I don't know what has happened," Philip explained without paying any
+attention to what his friend was trying to say, "but all of a sudden Dad
+wrote that I must cut my expenses in two. That's a hard thing to do in a
+minute, and I don't see why I should do it anyway, for Dad has all kinds
+of money."
+
+"These are hard times in Wall Street, my boy," Huntington answered him,
+"and many a rich man's son has to cut his corners. If your father has
+written you that I advise you to follow his instructions. He isn't a man
+to say it unless he means it.--I'll gladly help you out while you're
+getting adjusted."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Huntington, but perhaps I won't need it. Even cut in two
+my allowance is bigger than most of the boys'."
+
+"Fathers are so inconsiderate," Billy yawned; "very few of them
+understand their sons."
+
+"A paraphrase of the old saw, Billy," Huntington commented. "To-day we
+would say that it is a wise stock which knows its own par."
+
+"Or a wise corn which knows its own popper," laughed Billy.
+
+"Or a wise beast which knows its own fodder," Philip added,--"now we're
+all even!"
+
+"Speaking of fodder," Billy said, showing renewed signs of life, "let's
+go down to the Copley-Plaza and get something to eat."
+
+"After the dinner you ate?" Huntington demanded.
+
+"That was over two hours ago, and I'm as hollow as a tin can. Come on,
+Phil."
+
+"You can't be serious, Billy," insisted Huntington.
+
+"I sure am. Whenever I get a real square feed I have a pain, and
+to-night I've felt perfectly comfortable."
+
+"All right, go on if you feel that way," his uncle replied. "Take him
+away, Phil, and let him stuff himself until he has a pain! I'll let you
+know when Hamlen arrives, and then I'll count on you to help me out.
+
+"Better include me," Billy insisted.
+
+"The next time I ask you to dine with me, young man, I'll thank you to
+get filled up at the hotel first!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXIV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+The Stevenses, brother and sister, lived together in the old family
+mansion in Washington Square. The income from the property left behind
+by the elder members of the family would have been ample if Richard had
+contributed even a modest amount as a result of his daily exertion; but
+as exertion had never proved one of Ricky's strong points, except in
+opposition to his sister's efforts to bully him into business, Edith was
+forced to practise many economies to make the divided sum serve her
+requirements.
+
+"If you ever showed half the ability after you got into business that
+you do in keeping out of it, you'd make a howling success," she told
+him; yet in spite of her perennial resentment she made many personal
+sacrifices to enable her brother to lead his aimless existence. They
+were a curious combination of selfishness and generosity, each going to
+extremes in both. Each criticised the other in unstinted terms, yet
+underneath it all lay an affection which would have carried either
+through fire and brimstone had the other required it.
+
+Richard Stevens still kept up his social activities, but Edith moved in
+a smaller and quieter circle made up of old-time friends. She knew she
+could not compete, in these days of extravagant entertainment, and
+unless she could repay her social obligations in kind she preferred not
+to accept. She could not have everything she wished, so she selected
+what she believed contributed most to her happiness and peace of mind.
+All this had been carefully considered, and having been thus settled she
+philosophically accepted conditions as they were. She exacted much from
+her brother by way of attention, and he responded willingly, still
+finding ample leisure outside her demands to live his own life in a
+manner which satisfied himself.
+
+It was the morning after one of Richard's off nights, when Edith sat
+leisurely finishing her late breakfast and reading the head-lines in the
+morning paper, that her brother put in his belated appearance.
+
+"Morning, Ricky," she greeted him cheerfully. "Up for all day?"
+
+"I think so," was the doubtful answer. "I'm awfully tired. I'd have been
+down sooner except that I couldn't decide whether to stay in bed until
+lunchtime and give up my breakfast, or get up and have my breakfast and
+give up my rest. Even now I believe I made a mistake, for I'm awfully
+tired and I don't feel hungry."
+
+"You might go back to bed again," Edith suggested helpfully.
+
+"No; I'm dressed now, and that would be too much trouble.--I think I'll
+make my breakfast off a jolly little bottle of Celestin."
+
+Edith laughed. "Too much wine last night, Ricky?"
+
+Stevens made a wry face. "I'll have to give up dancing or drinking, one
+or the other," he said emphatically; "it isn't scientific. Wine should
+be allowed to stand in the stomach just as it ought to stand in the
+bottle. This idea of churning it up by dancing is all wrong. I'd rather
+dance while I'm dancing and drink while I'm drinking; but every one else
+wants to do both things at the same time. It's all wrong.--That Celestin
+has a beastly bad taste this morning." He examined the bottle
+critically. "I was afraid the maid had brought me Hunyadi by mistake."
+
+"I was in at Marian's yesterday," Edith remarked. "Mr. Hamlen has
+arrived, and she expects Philip and Billy Huntington at the house over
+Easter."
+
+"Has Hamlen been there yet? He's a melancholy sort,--about as cheerful
+as a hearse. Feeling as I do this morning I think I'd rather like to see
+him; but I hope to feel better soon."
+
+"No; he hasn't been there yet. Marian tried to get him out for dinner,
+but some other friends were to dine with her so he wouldn't come."
+
+"He's a queer one,--but that reminds me: that Cosden man is in town."
+
+"He is?" Edith exclaimed, arresting her coffee-cup on its way to her
+lips and poising it in mid-air. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
+
+"I couldn't until now; it was only yesterday I saw him. He was much more
+civil than in Bermuda. Wanted to know about you and all that sort of
+thing. He's going to telephone you before he goes back."
+
+"Very kind of him, I'm sure," Edith sniffed. "Perhaps I'll be in and
+perhaps I won't."
+
+"Well that's your affair; you needn't see him on my account. But if you
+were to ask me, I'd say he's not such a bad sort."
+
+"I didn't ask you, Ricky," Edith said significantly, and Stevens, with
+precedent to guide him, refrained from further discussion of the topic.
+
+Yet in spite of the snap in her eyes when she commented on Cosden's
+inquiry it so happened that she was in when he telephoned, and she was
+also at home, arrayed in her most fetching afternoon gown, when he
+called an hour later. Not that he would notice whether she wore gingham
+or alpaca, she told herself, but she owed it to her self-respect to
+appear her best.
+
+She had expected to see Cosden in his business suit with bulky contracts
+and other papers bulging from his pockets, rushing in and out again like
+a hurricane; but instead she beheld him entirely at his ease in cutaway
+and silk hat, with immaculate grey spats over his patent-leather boots.
+He carried himself with an air quite different from that she had become
+familiar with in Bermuda, and the reception she had planned for
+him--brief, matter-of-fact and bristling with satire--required a certain
+modification.
+
+"I wasn't looking for a social call," Edith said guardedly after a
+non-committal greeting. "I thought perhaps you had some business matter
+to discuss."
+
+"Still unforgiving!" Cosden smiled. "What can I do to make you
+forgetful?"
+
+"Of what?" Edith asked with well-feigned surprise.
+
+"Then suppose we assume that you have forgotten."
+
+"Aren't you over here on business?"
+
+"Yes; and pleasure, too. This is the pleasure."
+
+Her mystification was genuine. Was this the self-assertive, vivified
+piece of machinery she had known three months before? Cosden could but
+see her surprise and it pleased him.
+
+"I told you I should find out what was the matter with me. Have I
+partially succeeded?"
+
+"Yes," she acknowledged frankly; "what did it?"
+
+"Huntington and--you."
+
+"But you couldn't change like this in so short a time; no one could."
+
+"Most of it is probably on the surface," he admitted cheerfully.
+"Underneath is the same Cosden branded with the ear-marks of his
+business. But I'm on my way, and if there's enough of a change to have
+you notice it, then there's hope!"
+
+"Have you seen the Thatchers?" Edith asked, not knowing just how to
+answer him.
+
+"I saw Mr. Thatcher yesterday. He asked me to dine with them to-night,
+but I thought I'd wait until next time I'm over. He says Mrs. Thatcher
+is planning to have our whole Bermuda party down at the shore in July.
+You will be there, of course?"
+
+"If it's in July, I shall be. Marian has invited me to spend the month
+with her."
+
+"Good! that was one of the things I called to find out."
+
+"What are the others?"
+
+"Whether you are forgiving and--forgetful."
+
+Edith laughed at the serious way he asked the question.
+
+"Are you laughing at me or with me?" he demanded half in earnest.
+
+"Why, I don't know what to make of you."
+
+"Make whatever you like,--it's in your hands!"
+
+"But I feel we ought to become acquainted all over again.
+
+"So do I; that is another one of the things I wanted to find out.--Will
+you dine with me to-night, and then go to the theater afterwards?"
+
+"Why--" she hesitated.
+
+"It's the best possible way to get acquainted over again," he insisted.
+
+"I'm not sure that I want to," Edith retorted; "but I will admit that
+you've excited my curiosity."
+
+"That's something," Cosden replied good-naturedly. "Why isn't an evening
+together the easiest way to satisfy it?"
+
+"All right," Edith said with sudden decision. "I really must know more
+about this."
+
+"The veneer may wear off before the evening is over."
+
+"That's what I'm thinking," she answered frankly. "I'm wondering how
+deep it really goes."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Easter came to New York, as it did to other places, and with it came
+Billy Huntington and Philip to the Thatchers. "Always have something to
+radiate from," some one once advised, "if only a fly-speck." To Billy,
+Boston was the fly-speck, entirely satisfactory as a point of radiation
+but far too respectable, much too decorous, and altogether too near home
+to be associated with his idea of a good time. Billy's life had been
+running so long on high gear that the lower speeds had almost been
+forgotten. This was typical of the times rather than a suggestion that
+the boy himself exceeded the speed limit. It was the limit which
+insisted upon exceeding itself, and he simply extended his pace to keep
+up with everything around him,--the limit of yesterday kept becoming the
+commonplace of to-day.
+
+In New York Billy always found the limit just enough ahead of what it
+was in Boston to give him the additional thrill which added zest to his
+life. The very atmosphere seemed charged with a different ozone, filled
+with microbes impelling incessant activity. Everything not already in
+motion seemed straining at its leash, impatient to dash forward at the
+earliest opportunity. No one ever seemed satisfied to where he was, but
+hurried onward to somewhere else or something different. It was the city
+of unrest but never of discontent, for the changing, kaleidoscopic
+conditions came as a result of a demand from those who had the price to
+pay. It fascinated Billy, as it fascinates its tens of thousands, and as
+he leaned back in the Thatchers' limousine, held up by the lines of
+traffic on Fifth Avenue, then dashing forward to make up for lost time
+between the intersecting streets, he turned his beaming face toward his
+friend and murmured contentedly, "This is the life!"
+
+"The ride home gets worse every time I take it," was Philip's comment.
+"If things keep on they will have to make the Avenue a double-decker
+street."
+
+"By that time New-Yorkers will ride home in their aeroplanes," Billy
+replied. "You can't hold them down by a little thing like congestion."
+
+Billy loved it, and for him the car turned off the Avenue all too soon,
+in its final dash for the East Side. He wanted more time between his
+arrival at the Grand Central Station and his appearance at the Thatcher
+mansion to shake off what he felt to be his Boston provincialism, and to
+feel outwardly as well as inwardly the real New-Yorker which he craved
+to be.
+
+"What are we doing to-night?" Billy asked as they drew near their
+destination.
+
+"I wrote Dad to get tickets for some show. You said you wanted to see
+everything in town."
+
+"Great! Merry will go, won't she?"
+
+"I don't know. I can manage Mother and Dad all right, but when it comes
+to Merry, that's different."
+
+"But she knows I'm coming--" Billy showed signs of feeling aggrieved.
+
+"Oh, she'll probably go all right. Why fuss until we find out? But I
+don't think she's as crazy about you as you are about her."
+
+"Girls always conceal their real feelings," Billy explained sagely.
+
+"Perhaps," Philip conceded very little; "but Merry isn't like most
+girls. Sometimes she seems about my own age and sometimes old enough to
+be my mother. But have it your own way; I should worry."
+
+The welcome was hearty enough to satisfy even Billy, so the pessimism of
+his friend was at once forgotten. Mrs. Thatcher opened her arms wide to
+both boys, while Merry, though less demonstrative, was equally cordial
+in her reception.
+
+"I'm awfully glad to see you," Billy said with a sincerity which could
+not be doubted, and grinning all over. "It seems ages since Mr. Cosden
+and Uncle Monty pushed me off the pier down at Bermuda."
+
+Merry laughed. "That was a splendid idea of yours, Billy, to miss the
+steamer, but I was afraid you couldn't work it."
+
+"S-ssh," Billy placed a finger on his lips. "Don't ever breathe that
+where Uncle Monty could hear you! I've made him believe it was a real
+accident."
+
+"We're dining at seven, boys," Mrs. Thatcher interrupted; "that will
+give us comfortable time to reach the theater."
+
+"Are we all going?" Phil asked.
+
+"All but your father; he's feeling too tired to-night."
+
+"Dad's well, isn't he?" Philip demanded quickly.
+
+"Yes,--but tired," his mother answered. "He's all right. Now run along
+and dress or you'll be late for dinner."
+
+On his way up-stairs Philip stopped in his father's room. "Hello, Dad!"
+he cried, pushing the door open unceremoniously. "Why, Dad,--you're not
+well! Mother said you were only tired."
+
+Thatcher was sitting in front of the great, old-fashioned desk which
+Philip had associated with business and mystery since his childhood
+days, and when the door was unexpectedly thrown open it disclosed him
+resting his head upon his hands. The papers which Philip usually saw
+spread out on the desk were lacking, so the position his father had
+taken was the result of habit rather than present necessity. It was the
+expression on the elder man's face which forced the exclamation.
+
+Thatcher rose quickly and stepped forward to greet his son. "Nonsense,
+boy! I'm all right," he exclaimed with an effort to speak lightly which
+did not escape Philip; "I'm just tired, as your mother said.--I didn't
+hear you come in or I would have been down-stairs to meet you."
+
+"You're not all right," Philip protested stoutly, still holding his
+father's hand and looking squarely into his face. "You don't need to do
+this with me, Dad; I'm a man now, and we ought to talk together like
+men.--Has this anything to do with what you wrote me about my
+allowance?"
+
+"We'll discuss it in the morning, Phil," Thatcher evaded. "Get dressed
+now, and later we'll talk things over like two men, as you say. It will
+help me to do that. Don't worry, boy; everything will come out all
+right."
+
+"That's a promise, Dad?"
+
+"Yes; we'll put our heads together in the morning."
+
+Thatcher was as gay as the young people when they sat down to dinner,
+and entered into the enjoyment of the home-coming so heartily that
+Marian was relieved.
+
+"All you needed, Harry, was to have Phil come home," she said. "Couldn't
+you telephone for another ticket and go with us?"
+
+"Not to-night; I have work to do. To-morrow Phil is going to lend a
+hand, and then perhaps we'll have some play together.--Tell us of your
+uncle, Billy."
+
+"Oh, Uncle Monty is all right,--except that he's become so terribly
+sober and serious. What did you people do to him down at Bermuda? He
+hasn't been the same since."
+
+"He was serious down there," Merry asserted.
+
+"Oh, he never was a cut-up, of course," Billy explained; "but he was
+always saying things to make you laugh, and I could jolly him just as if
+he was one of the fellows."
+
+"Can't you do it now?" Mrs. Thatcher inquired.
+
+"No; if I do he gets sore. Why, only the other night Phil and I went in
+there to dinner. I made some remark about his being a woman-hater, and
+he got huffed up in a minute. Didn't he, Phil?"
+
+"Monty Huntington a woman-hater?" Mrs. Thatcher laughed. "No wonder he
+was 'huffed'!"
+
+"But he never married, did he? Isn't that a sure sign that he's a
+woman-hater?"
+
+"Oh, dear no!" Mrs. Thatcher insisted. "That may be taken quite as much
+as an evidence of his profoundest respect and veneration for woman. In
+fact, if fifty per cent. of the men who do marry would refrain from it
+no greater tribute could be paid us!"
+
+The boy looked at her inquiringly. "Do all older people run marriage
+down like that?" he inquired. "Every time the subject comes up some one
+gives it a knock. With Uncle Monty, of course, it's sour grapes, because
+now he's so old no one would think of marrying him, but--"
+
+"He's not so old," Merry interrupted unexpectedly and with such force
+that Billy was taken by surprise.
+
+"Oh, ho!" Billy cried. "So that's the way the land lies! Now you've said
+a mouthful. This is a case of mutual admiration! Uncle Monty told us the
+other night that you were the finest girl he ever saw."
+
+"He did!" Merry cried, the blood rushing into her cheeks and her face
+aglow with pleasure. "I wish I thought he really meant it!"
+
+"He meant it all right," Philip corroborated. "Mr. Huntington doesn't
+make mouth-bets. He was calling me down for saying that you were just
+like other girls."
+
+"Were you so ungallant as that?" Thatcher asked. "Whatever else
+happens, Phil, we must stand up for the family."
+
+"Of course," he admitted; "but Billy was talking about Merry in
+superlatives as usual, and I was trying to quiet him down."
+
+"Phil is doing his best to put me in wrong again," Billy protested. "Now
+I'll tell you just what happened and you can judge for yourselves: I was
+telling Uncle Monty how happy I was to be invited here for Easter, and
+how glad I should be to see you all--"
+
+"You never said a word about any one but Merry," Philip interrupted.
+
+Billy looked vindictively at his friend and then smiled sheepishly.
+
+"I meant all of you, of course. Then Phil tried to jolly me about caring
+for girls and for Merry in particular--"
+
+"Don't be foolish, Billy!" Merry exclaimed.
+
+"My! but it's hard to tell a story here, but I'm going to do it if I
+burst a blood-vessel! Uncle Monty agreed with me, and then said that
+Merry was the finest girl he ever saw. That from him is some praise,
+because he never cuts in on girls at all; but you've made a hit with
+him, Merry, and you might as well know it."
+
+"I'm glad he hasn't forgotten me," she said quietly, but the color
+remained in her face after the conversation turned upon other topics.
+
+"What I said a moment ago isn't 'knocking,' as you call it, Billy," Mrs.
+Thatcher resumed; "it is experience. We older folk know from what we've
+seen, and from what we've been through, the dangers young people run
+during the inflammable age; so we sound the warning. You are at that age
+now, Billy, so your friends are trying to protect you. Philip apparently
+hasn't arrived there yet, but he will; and then we'll try to protect him
+from the idea that the 'only girl' is the one he happens to fancy while
+the period lasts."
+
+"You're making me look like a flivver!" the boy said with mortification
+in his voice; "and before Merry, too!"
+
+"No, my dear; you mustn't take it that way. I'm talking no more freely
+than you have been. We consider you one of the family, so I'm speaking
+to you just as I would to Philip."
+
+Billy's face was fiery red, but he never flinched in his dogged
+determination.
+
+"I don't care who knows how much I think of Merry," he said defiantly.
+"You've spoiled my visit! I'm not a bit ashamed--"
+
+"Forgive me, Billy," she soothed him gently,--"of course you're not
+ashamed. I wouldn't speak to you like this if you weren't one of my own
+boys; but I do want you to realize that it is seldom that early fancies
+are more than impersonal idealizations. I'm glad you and Merry like each
+other, and I hope you will always be the best of friends; but, in
+applying our idealization to the one who at the moment comes nearest to
+the realization, a mistake is usually made because the one we are really
+looking for hasn't yet crossed our horizon."
+
+"Sometimes, perhaps," Billy conceded; "but there are exceptions."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher smiled at his persistency. She liked the boy, and had
+seized on this opportunity to spare him the greater disappointment which
+she felt sure would come.
+
+"Yes," she answered kindly; "there are exceptions. I know of one in my
+own experience, but in this case it only made it more unfortunate. I
+knew a boy once who applied the idealization formed during the
+inflammable period to a girl who at that time thought she cared for him.
+Then her horizon broadened and she found and married the man she really
+loved; but the boy held on to his early ideal, becoming a recluse,
+embittered against the world and incapable of seeing that unless the
+ideal becomes a reality to both it can never safely amount to anything."
+
+Thatcher looked at his wife questioningly, and Merry's eyes also
+fastened themselves upon her mother's face. Marian's voice as much as
+her words disclosed more than she intended. As she paused Philip,
+supposing the conversation to be concluded, mentioned the name which was
+in each one's mind except the boys'.
+
+"By the way, Mother," he remarked, "Mr. Huntington wants me to meet a
+friend of his named Hamlen, who, he says, used to be a friend of yours."
+
+"Yes," she said, looking up at him quickly,--"yes; I, too, wish you to
+meet Mr. Hamlen. He is in New York now. Perhaps you will see him before
+you return. I want you to know him well."
+
+As Thatcher assisted them in getting off to the theater, he managed to
+draw Marian one side.
+
+"Hamlen's name is Philip, isn't it?" he asked.
+
+She nodded, wondering at the question.
+
+"Was that why you gave our boy the same name--and was it Hamlen you
+referred to just now?"
+
+"Yes, Harry."
+
+He drew her gently to him and kissed her. "Poor chap!" he said. "If I
+had known that I would have made a greater effort to be friendly with
+him."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXVI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+During these depressed months Thatcher was not the only man of affairs
+who saw the successes of his career threatened with disaster as a result
+of the unnecessary burdens imposed by inexperienced and impractical
+officials at Washington. Business groaned aloud as destructive control
+and regulation delayed and paralyzed commerce. Labor, hand in hand with
+its new ally Theory, stalked abroad through the land, demanding shorter
+hours and increased wages, receiving recognition as a privileged class
+from those in authority, exempt from respecting others' rights, which is
+necessary to create and preserve responsibility: substance when it
+struck at Capital, shadow when Capital in self-defense struck back. The
+corporations which formed the pulse of the country's life were so
+harassed that they paused in their constructive energies, wondering what
+new menace would rise up before them, and yet were expected to give
+better service while bound hand and foot by unwise legislative
+restrictions, and burdened by unnecessary legislative demands for
+increased expenditure. Samson, shorn of his strength by the shears of a
+legalized Delilah, was expected to hold up with his enervated arms the
+pillars of the temple which "psychological" complacency was pulling
+down.
+
+The first serious rumors reached Thatcher in Bermuda, and when he
+returned to his office his far-sighted perception told him that the
+business world was face to face with a real crisis. Many of his
+enterprises were in a condition where to pause in aggressive action
+meant going backwards, entailing loss upon all concerned; yet to proceed
+in the face of conditions as they were was to invite disaster and even
+to imperil the stability of his firm.
+
+Cosden had felt the result of the depression in decreased business, but
+he did not realize as soon as Thatcher the far-reaching results
+inevitable from the new governmental policy. His horizon was local
+compared to that of the New York operator, and he regarded the
+conditions as a phase of business life, bound to appear once in so
+often, rather than a blow at the basis upon which the commercial world
+rested. He cut down his expenses in proportion to his reduced volume of
+business, strengthened his relations at his banks, and considered his
+sails trimmed to weather any storm.
+
+Thatcher had invited him to call, and Cosden had no idea other than to
+make the most of the intimacy which had developed in Bermuda. More than
+that, the machinery matter they had touched upon had progressed even
+better than he expected. If Thatcher was still curious to learn more
+about the details the time had now come when he could safely be told.
+But to Cosden's surprise the subject was not once directly referred to
+during their interview. Thatcher was cordial and affable, seemingly
+interested in the general conversation and frank in his discussion of
+various topics which presented themselves, but, as it appeared to
+Cosden, strangely reticent upon certain specific subjects on which he
+would have been glad to draw him out. It was only when Cosden paused for
+a moment at the door of the private office that Thatcher made any remark
+which gave his visitor an insight as to what was in his mind.
+
+"The full meaning of these present conditions evidently has not struck
+Boston yet," he said. "Let me tell you that these are times when the
+wise man learns how to wait. Instead of blaming your customers who
+hesitate to give you the usual orders you should scrupulously
+investigate the credit of those who do."
+
+"I can wait," Cosden said confidently. "I've always held myself back
+from spreading out too thin, and if there's a storm coming on top of
+this sloppy weather I'm fixed where I can meet it better perhaps than
+some others."
+
+"You are to be congratulated," Thatcher told him with so much feeling
+that Cosden took it as a personal compliment and departed well satisfied
+with his interview.
+
+When he next met Huntington in Boston they discussed this among other
+topics, and Cosden was surprised to have his friend ask him point-blank
+whether he had heard rumors regarding Thatcher's firm.
+
+"You're dreaming, Monty," he replied with conviction. "Thatcher is a man
+who makes money whichever way the market turns. That's what I admire so
+much in him. I only win out when things go one way, but he wins coming
+and going. What in the world put that idea in your head?"
+
+The chance remark which Billy had made regarding the reduction in
+Philip's allowance was too much in the nature of a confidence to be
+repeated, but it had left Huntington with a definite impression that
+Thatcher must be feeling the conditions acutely or he would not have
+begun to curtail expenses at home. To a man who lived as Thatcher did,
+Huntington knew that this would be the hardest duty he would find to
+perform. Cosden's question was answered lightly.
+
+"Wall Street is being hit hard," he said. "I am hoping that so good a
+fellow as Thatcher won't be caught in the reaction."
+
+"Don't worry about that," Cosden laughed. "You'll find when the sky
+clears that he has looked far enough ahead to make even the storm pay
+him tribute."
+
+"Hamlen arrives to-morrow," Huntington remarked, changing the subject
+lest his question raise some doubts in Cosden's mind which might linger.
+"I shall give myself up to him a good deal while he is here, so you
+mustn't be surprised if you don't see as much of me as usual. He needs
+me more than you do."
+
+"That may be," Cosden admitted, "but how about you? I have an idea that,
+with the peculiar state of mind you've been in lately, you will forget
+your overpowering sense of age better with me than you will with him."
+
+"Perhaps," Huntington admitted, smiling; "but I must think of him
+first."
+
+"You don't mind my butting in on you both once in a while?"
+
+"On the contrary; but I know how little you have in common with Hamlen.
+I'm afraid he may bore you."
+
+"You forget my reincarnation," Cosden said dryly. "Who knows but that I
+was a professor of classical antiquities in my previous existence? If he
+bores me I'll cut out; but I've an idea that he can teach me a thing or
+two, and just now I'm keen on becoming educated."
+
+There was a marked restraint in Hamlen's manner when Huntington met him
+at the station and motored him to the Beacon Street house. His
+embarrassment and the all too obvious efforts he made to impress upon
+his friend the occasion of his leaving Bermuda would have convinced
+Huntington, if he had not already known, that the real reason was that
+which he had already anticipated in his prediction to Mrs. Thatcher. Yet
+no one but Hamlen knew the agony of loneliness he had experienced when,
+after watching the steamer disappear, he returned to his empty villa. No
+one but Hamlen knew of the struggle he had passed through in his efforts
+to readjust his life, or of the terror which came to him with the final
+realization that he could no longer find solace in the work which he had
+previously forced to absorb his waking hours.
+
+It was this terror Huntington saw in his classmate's eyes which told him
+all that any one would ever know of the real tragedy. Hamlen looked
+years older,--his face was more sallow, his hair more grey. Huntington
+looked at him in pity, and felt apprehensive lest the task he had
+allotted to himself had been too long postponed. Then the thought came
+back to him, "He considers himself a failure and me a success!"
+
+The welcome was such as to reassure Hamlen as much as anything could.
+Huntington made him feel as much at home as was possible for one whose
+mental poise was so sadly disordered. No special effort was made at
+conversation; everything was treated as a matter of course. Little by
+little Hamlen found himself, and as he spoke more freely Huntington
+entered into his spirit, but followed rather than led.
+
+"It is a relief to get into this quieter atmosphere after New York,"
+Hamlen remarked after they had sat in silence for some moments at the
+table after dinner. "I felt as if I had been suddenly put down in a
+whirling maelstrom, and there wasn't a minute when I did not expect to
+be annihilated the next!"
+
+Huntington laughed quietly. "A New-Yorker would consider that the most
+subtle compliment you could pay his city. It is not enough to have the
+stranger merely impressed; he must be appalled!"
+
+Hamlen raised his hands in a silent gesture.
+
+"Have you arranged your business matters to your satisfaction?"
+Huntington asked, rather by way of conversation than from curiosity.
+
+"Yes," Hamlen answered, but with a mental reservation which his friend
+noticed,--"yes; and yet even that wasn't as I expected."
+
+He paused a moment, gazing into the fire which Huntington had ordered
+lighted to take off the chill which the late Spring still left in the
+air.
+
+"I am puzzled about it," Hamlen continued. "You see, most of my
+investments have been in England, and it seemed to me that it would be
+wise to take advantage of an opportunity I had to realize on them, and
+to reinvest here in the States while everything is so much below its
+real value. Knowing Mr. Thatcher as I did I naturally went straight to
+him about it. He was most kind in advising me to hold off a while
+longer, as securities are likely to fall still further; but when I asked
+him to accept my money on deposit he declined, and offered instead to
+give me a letter of introduction to a bank."
+
+"Why, Thatcher's house does a large banking business."
+
+"That is what puzzles me; why should he decline my account?"
+
+"I don't believe he meant just that," Huntington explained; "he probably
+wanted you to understand that he was not looking for business from his
+friends."
+
+"No, he flatly refused to accept it; for I tried to insist upon it. I
+know few people here now, and I didn't feel like entrusting so
+considerable a sum to any institution, however well recommended, without
+personal acquaintance with some of its officers."
+
+"I don't understand it."
+
+"Nor I. Of course, I had no alternative, so I deposited it in the bank
+Thatcher suggested."
+
+"Did you see much of the family while you were in New York?" Huntington
+queried.
+
+Hamlen looked up quickly, with a return of the apprehensive expression
+his face had worn earlier.
+
+"I saw them several times," he said. Then, after a moment's hesitation,
+he added: "Later, you must let me impose still further upon your
+friendship. I have no one else to counsel me."
+
+Hamlen's voice was apologetic.
+
+"I sha'n't consider that you accept my friendship at its par value
+unless you call upon me in any way I can be of service to you."
+
+"Then perhaps you won't mind if I speak now," Hamlen responded eagerly.
+"It really has been preying upon me until I am unfitted for anything
+else. It would be a relief to share it."
+
+After saying this Hamlen found it more difficult to continue. "You
+probably don't know," he said at length, "that Mrs. Thatcher and I knew
+each other intimately years ago."
+
+"Yes," Huntington acknowledged frankly; "Mrs. Thatcher told me, while we
+were in Bermuda."
+
+Hamlen was relieved. "It was a very close intimacy," he continued. "I
+feel that perhaps I ought to be guided by her judgment now, yet I find
+it difficult to accept for many reasons. In short, she thinks that I
+should marry."
+
+During the last few moments Huntington had anticipated this
+announcement, but he refrained from making comment. Hamlen looked over
+at him for a word of encouragement, but as none came he went on.
+
+"I know myself to be entirely unfitted, and it is the last thing in the
+world I should have thought of; but lately I have mistrusted my own
+judgment, which leaves me absolutely without a guide of any kind. So
+when any one I respect as I do Mrs. Thatcher makes such a statement,
+and even suggests the possibility of my marrying her own daughter, I
+don't know what to do. I can't believe that the girl would consider me
+as a husband, yet Marian is confident that if it could be arranged it
+would be for the happiness of all concerned."
+
+"Are you fond of Merry?" Huntington demanded.
+
+"As Marian's daughter, yes. I admire her tremendously, for in some ways
+she reminds me of her mother. But what in the world have I to offer
+her?"
+
+"What has any man to offer the woman he marries," Huntington replied
+with feeling, "in comparison to what she brings into his life? He stakes
+nothing but his liberty; she stakes her future as well as her present."
+
+"I know; but what do you advise me to do?"
+
+"Has it occurred to you that Mrs. Thatcher is assuming a great
+responsibility in pledging her daughter's consent?"
+
+"Yes; I am afraid her influence over the girl is as strong as it is over
+me. She is a very magnetic woman."
+
+"Do you mean that you question your own strength?"
+
+"That is exactly what I mean," he answered, dropping his eyes.
+
+"My promise of assistance was an empty one, after all," Huntington said
+with more bitterness than had ever before crept into his voice. "The
+alchemy of a woman's heart is past the comprehension of a bachelor like
+myself. But why settle your problem so hastily? You are here with me
+now, and what I intend to show you of life will fit you better than
+anything else to answer that question for yourself. Don't let it
+overwhelm you. See how far you can enter into what goes on about you,
+and then draw your conclusions regarding the probabilities of the
+future."
+
+"Are marriages ever successful when one's heart is made up of burnt
+ashes?"
+
+"Don't ask me that, my friend!" Huntington begged. "You and I have
+reached an age where we are entitled to use logic and judgment, and to
+live the years which remain to us as those two attributes may dictate.
+For the next few weeks I want you to imagine that you are back in
+college again, with no responsibilities heavier than that of enjoying
+yourself better than before because your sense of proportion has been
+developed by experience. When these weeks are past, we may again
+consider whether our hearts are made up of burnt ashes or of rich
+Harvard crimson blood. Until then, my friend, let us steadfastly refuse
+to be stampeded, and claim the benefit of every doubt."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXVII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Philip Thatcher responded to the suggestion made by Huntington and his
+mother with such conspicuous success that within a fortnight Hamlen
+accepted his leadership from one experience to another with wonderment
+and devotion. The fact that the boy was his namesake formed the first
+bond, and with confidence once established intimacy developed rapidly.
+Boys to Hamlen had been unknown quantities, creatures to be endured if
+necessary but avoided if possible, and Philip did much to raise the
+standard of his genus in the older man's mind. Billy's explosive
+outbursts startled him for a time, but he learned to understand even
+these, and accepted them at their true value.
+
+The responsibility came to young Thatcher at just the time when he was
+best prepared to accept it. During the Easter recess his father suddenly
+discovered that the boy had become a man, and it was with real
+gratification that he took him into his confidence. To Philip, the
+statement of present conditions made impending disaster seem conclusive,
+and it was with difficulty that Thatcher persuaded him that many things
+might happen to ease the situation before calamity really overtook him.
+The boy wanted to leave college at once, and to throw himself into some
+sphere of business activity so that his income might be added to the
+family exchequer to keep the wolf from the door! His father,
+strengthened by the youthful loyalty and enthusiasm, pointed out the
+value, as a personal asset to himself, of actually possessing a college
+degree, now so nearly secured, and sent the boy back to Cambridge with a
+determination to make the most of the few remaining months in preparing
+himself to rush into the breach and save his family from the threatening
+malignant specters.
+
+The whole experience was a sobering one to Philip, and resulted in
+putting him nearer on a plane with Hamlen. To the one, the world had
+already proved its unreliability; to the other, it was now on trial with
+every presumption of speedy conviction. Each event in the day took on a
+new significance in the boy's mind, and Hamlen's dependence made him
+feel that he was already man-grown, taking his place in the front rank
+of the battle of life.
+
+Huntington watched these developments with a curious sensation of
+interest and surprise. The most he had hoped was that Philip might take
+the man far enough into undergraduate activities to give him by
+assimilation a fresh viewpoint, but he found his guest largely taken off
+his hands by one who was accomplishing the desired results far better
+than he himself could do. Day by day he saw Philip winning a deeper hold
+upon the affections of his older friend, and he marveled at the changes
+taking place in Hamlen. For himself, he quietly forced him to meet such
+of their classmates as were in Boston, preparing them by a brief outline
+of Hamlen's experiences to extend a fitting welcome; but he left it to
+Philip to show him what the new Harvard really is.
+
+It was impossible to have all this happen without misgivings and
+questioning on the part of his guest.
+
+"I appreciate all this," Hamlen said to him one evening; "but don't for
+a minute think that I take credit for the sudden interest on the part of
+the fellows who never noticed me when I was in college. That belongs to
+you. With the position you had then, and which you hold in the Class
+to-day, the boys would drink healths and sing, 'For he's a jolly good
+fellow' to a Fiji islander if he happened to be your friend."
+
+"Suppose we grant all that," Huntington answered frankly; "what
+difference does it make? Didn't you tell me that you owned a piece of
+land in Oklahoma on which oil was struck?"
+
+"Yes," Hamlen replied; surprised that his friend should so abruptly turn
+the conversation. "What has that to do with our discussion?"
+
+"How much did you value it before you discovered what it contained?"
+
+"It was a joke; I begrudged even paying the taxes."
+
+"Now you consider it well worth including among your investments?"
+
+"Naturally. It is one of the best things I own."
+
+Huntington smiled at him quietly. "Don't you see the application? It is
+no reflection on those who walked over that land that they were ignorant
+of the riches which lay beneath their feet. It is no reflection on the
+sincerity of your classmates that they like you now and did not know you
+before. I discovered what you really are, Hamlen, quite as accidentally
+as you struck oil in that apparently worthless land in Oklahoma. Now I
+stand simply as the promoter of a property which has proved its worth."
+
+When Hamlen unpacked his trunk at Huntington's house he produced a
+volume of Milton's "Areopagitica" which he placed in his friend's hand.
+
+"This is the latest issue from the 'Island Press,'" he said. "It was
+nearly completed before you all came down to Bermuda and disturbed my
+peace of mind. I put the covers on after you left, but I haven't been
+able to produce a thing since. I believe this is the last book I shall
+ever make."
+
+Huntington turned the leaves with great interest. "Exquisite!" he
+exclaimed. "Quite the best example you have turned out. I love that type
+of yours, Hamlen, for I feel it is the exemplification of William
+Morris' definition of the Type Ideal,--'pure in form, severe without
+needless excrescences, solid without the thickening and thinning of the
+line, and not compressed laterally.' You have carried out what he set
+himself to do and failed. How many copies did you print?"
+
+"Only fifty."
+
+"Splendid! But I am selfish enough to wish there was but one, and that I
+owned it! I never saw finer presswork in my life."
+
+"You may gratify your wish if you like," Hamlen replied indifferently.
+"I have the whole lot in my trunk up-stairs, and you may destroy the
+other forty-nine if you choose. They are yours to do with as you will."
+
+"You don't mean it!" Huntington cried, enthusiastically.
+
+He fondled the copy in his hand, and his face was lighted by the
+pleasure of the moment. Then he laughed.
+
+"It is a frightful temptation, Hamlen! Think of owning the only copy in
+existence of a book like that! Bibliomania leads one on almost to crime,
+and it would be nothing less to prevent other collectors from enjoying
+this wonderful volume. I accept the gift proudly, Hamlen; I will make
+good use of it."
+
+At the next monthly gathering of his fellow-collectors in their
+attractive club-house Huntington took Hamlen with him as his guest. He
+introduced him to his friends, but made no reference to the fact that he
+was the creator of the productions of the Island Press. They listened to
+an interesting paper, and then seated themselves at the long
+supper-table to prove that even bibliomaniacs are human. Here Huntington
+adroitly turned the conversation upon the subject of Hamlen's work.
+
+Huntington had told his friend that when once he heard the opinions of
+other collectors the words of praise spoken at Bermuda would seem mild;
+and the prediction proved true. Hamlen's cheeks burned as he heard his
+work extolled and himself compared to the master-printers of the past.
+There could be no doubt of the sincerity of the comment, for no one but
+Huntington knew his identity; and the pleasure he felt was so intense
+that it almost overcame him.
+
+As the discussion waned Huntington made his dramatic play. Each member
+present was handed a copy of the "Areopagitica," on the fly-leaf of
+which Hamlen had written his autograph.
+
+"A gift from our guest," Huntington explained; "and each copy is
+inscribed by the master-printer of the Island Press."
+
+The silence which followed heightened the effect of Huntington's _coup_,
+and Hamlen felt the blood rushing to his face. Huntington watched the
+proceedings with evident relish, and as comprehension followed surprise
+in the minds of his fellow-members he held his glass aloft.
+
+"To the health, gentlemen, of Philip Hamlen, our master-printer, an
+American, thank God, who knows how to preserve that art preservative of
+all arts!"
+
+It was the first triumph Hamlen had ever tasted, and as Huntington
+watched his face he feared that in the desire to give him the confidence
+of approval he had over-estimated his friend's physical strength. But
+joy never kills, and the first weakness was conquered by the necessity
+of living up to the position which had been thrust upon him. He
+responded bravely, and Huntington smiled contentedly as he saw still
+another barrier broken down between Philip Hamlen and the world he
+believed to be against him. On their way home no word was spoken in the
+motor-car, but when safe within the retreat of the library, which Hamlen
+had learned to love, the pent-up emotion burst forth.
+
+"Then I have done something after all!" he cried. "My life has not been
+all a mistake! Heaven knows what a mess I've made of it, but at least
+there is something saved out of the wreck? You think they meant it,
+don't you, Huntington?" he asked beseechingly, and he found his answer
+in the beaming countenance of his friend. "I had no idea it would mean
+so much, that so wonderful an experience as I had to-night could ever
+come to me. Even now I can't understand it. Those little books are only
+expressions of myself; I made them merely for personal gratification."
+
+"In doing so, my friend, you gave yourself to us; and more than that no
+man can do!"
+
+The wonderful weeks went by, filled with a bewildering series of unusual
+experiences for Hamlen and of continuing satisfaction to Huntington.
+Philip unfolded to him day by day the various elements which went to
+make the new Harvard spirit, and Huntington supplemented the boy's
+efforts by keeping his guest in touch with the graduate activities
+centered in and reaching their climax in the building of the "Home of
+the Harvard Club" in Boston, dedicated as "the tomb of Harvard
+indifference." Hamlen saw the freshmen segregated in their own
+dormitories, and forced to become acquainted one with another, and he
+realized what it would have meant to him at a similar time in his life
+if heads wiser than his own had compelled him to show himself to his
+classmates. He stood within the massive Stadium, he went to a
+mass-meeting at the Harvard Union, he followed the crew on the Charles
+in the launch "John Harvard," proud that Philip, his namesake, had won
+a place in the boat. He spent many hours at the Harvard Club with
+Huntington, watching the democracy which means unity, and the unity
+which means fellowship. For the first time he felt a pride to be a part
+of it, for the first time his degree stood to him as something more than
+what he learned from books. Philip was to row against Yale, and he felt
+that he himself, at last, was to take part in an intercollegiate
+contest, once the ambition of his life. He was no longer a man without a
+college, but was one of that great brotherhood which recognizes its
+heritage, and stands ready to live up to the responsibilities this
+heritage entails.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXVIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Huntington placed his house at the disposal of the Thatchers during
+Class Day week, and urged them to arrive the Saturday before so that he
+might show them something of Boston before the college festivities set
+in. He had corresponded freely with Mrs. Thatcher during the weeks
+Hamlen had been his guest, sharing with her his own gratification that
+their joint undertaking proceeded with such promise of success. But each
+letter she wrote contained some reference to her desire to carry the
+rejuvenation to a climax.
+
+"Don't let him get too young," she wrote in one, "or Merry won't care
+for him. She always feels more at home with older men."
+
+In another, accepting Huntington's invitation, she added: "Your
+suggestion is particularly fortunate as it will give Merry a chance to
+see Philip Hamlen under ideal conditions."
+
+There was no escape. Mrs. Thatcher still assumed that he was as eager to
+bring about the match as she herself, and with woman's pertinacity
+presented the matter to him in such a way that he was forced to act as
+her ally whether he chose to do so or not. He had no restitution to make
+to his classmate, he stoutly assured himself, and because a charming
+woman felt a moral obligation to bring about "poetic justice" there was
+no reason why he should be stampeded into aiding and abetting a scheme
+of which he thoroughly disapproved. Huntington reasoned it out logically
+and conclusively, arrived at a definite determination to have no part in
+it, and then did the one thing which Mrs. Thatcher most desired by
+inviting them all to his home. Such is the innate inconsistency of man
+when he attempts to defeat the plans of a clever woman who always has
+her way!
+
+Yet, curiously enough, Huntington believed that he was acting on his own
+initiative, and that this plot of his to have the girl near by, where he
+could again enjoy her companionship without betraying how much she had
+become to him, was a triumph of diplomatic genius. He even dreaded lest
+a refusal of his hospitality should defeat his carefully-laid plans,
+never realizing that the idea itself had come through the most delicate
+psychological suggestion between the lines of a letter which touched on
+every subject but the one in point. Such is the inevitable climax of
+man's originality when his plans include feminine co-operation!
+
+Hamlen did not again refer to the matter on which he had sought advice
+until Huntington told him that the Thatchers were to arrive. Then his
+manner took on that phase which his host knew well, and the old
+apprehensiveness returned. The change was so noticeable that it could
+not be passed by without comment.
+
+"Don't you want to see them?" Huntington demanded flatly. "You act as if
+their coming really frightened you."
+
+"It does," Hamlen admitted frankly.
+
+"Why should it?"
+
+Huntington had come closely enough to him now to speak pointedly, and
+Hamlen seemed grateful for it. He wanted to be treated like other men,
+even though at times the new experience hurt; and his friend more and
+more took him at his word. "Why should it?" Huntington repeated.
+
+"Because I can't trust myself yet. All is going so well that I fear
+something may happen to cause a setback."
+
+"Nonsense! The old dread of meeting people hasn't worn off yet, but you
+are making splendid strides. I shall be proud to have Mrs. Thatcher see
+you as you are now."
+
+"I am not myself when I am with her," Hamlen insisted, avoiding his
+friend's eyes as he spoke.
+
+"If you prefer, I'll put you up at the Club while they're here."
+
+"I should prefer it; but I think I had better fight it out while I have
+you near at hand to help me."
+
+There was a new note of determination in his voice, but the dread was
+still there. "I do not want to marry Miss Thatcher, Huntington," he said
+slowly, with emphasis on every word; "yet unless you help me I shall do
+it. I cannot resist Mrs. Thatcher if she is determined to accomplish
+this. You spoke of logic and judgment when we talked of it before, but
+these are not enough. Marian is a wonderful woman. She believes that
+this marriage will be for our happiness, but I tell you, Huntington, it
+would be a tragedy for us both. I have never had but one woman in my
+heart, and any effort to dethrone that image would produce a condition
+for which I cannot hold myself responsible. That is what I fear, and you
+must help me."
+
+"Of course I'll help you, my dear fellow," Huntington reassured him,
+"but are you not exaggerating Mrs. Thatcher's attitude? I can't believe
+that she will proceed further when she knows how you really feel."
+
+Hamlen shook his head. "You have heard of men who lost their reason by
+being accidentally locked in a tomb overnight--think what it has meant
+to me to live with the specters of the dead for twenty years! As I look
+back, I wonder that I've held together at all! I'm not rational even
+now,--I know that; but I'm improving every day. What you have looked
+upon as an obsession, an eccentricity, has been a condition over which I
+have had no control, but through you I have been able to partially
+extricate myself. Mrs. Thatcher stirred the dead embers when she found
+me in Bermuda, and beneath them lay the smoldering flames which had
+slowly consumed my life. That I was able to hold them in check there
+gave me courage to accept your point of view, and I know that I have
+gained strength during these weeks I have spent with you."
+
+"You are stronger in every way," Huntington said with decision. "If you
+were able to hold yourself in check then, you should now feel doubly
+safe."
+
+"Perhaps," Hamlen admitted doubtfully; "that is why I don't follow my
+strong impulse to let you put me up at the Club. I want to test myself
+still further. Whenever Marian Thatcher's name is mentioned I feel such
+a confusion of emotions that I realize how far I am yet from being my
+own master. I must either conquer or else return to the old life."
+
+"I'll stand by you--of course I will!" Huntington laughed, hoping to
+lessen Hamlen's apprehension by treating the subject lightly. "Keep the
+specters of the past back among the dead where they belong; don't let
+them stalk in your present in which you are just beginning to find what
+life really is. Mrs. Thatcher is a beautiful woman of flesh and blood
+and not an avenging Nemesis!"
+
+"My God, Huntington! can't I make even you understand!" Hamlen cried
+out. "It is the fact that Marian Seymour is a beautiful woman of flesh
+and blood that the specter stalks! You who have never loved can't
+sympathize as I do with the aboriginal man who struck down whomever
+stood between himself and the woman he wanted, and carried his prize
+bodily to his cave. I boasted that these twenty years had given me
+opportunity for super-intellectual development, but instead I find
+myself controlled by almost primeval instincts. My respect for law is
+weakened, my regard for the rights of others seems stultified. This
+woman has been mine since we were boy and girl together, Huntington, and
+I want my woman! Before she broke the engagement my domination was too
+complete, for it made her fear me; when we met twenty years later it was
+she who dominated. Now, as I am coming back to myself, I feel my former
+power returning, and I know that if I chose I could compel a
+subservience of her will to mine. That is what I dread, for my exile
+has destroyed my sense of proportion. If I do not exercise my own
+strength then I must let her will be supreme, and that means that I
+shall marry the girl while I worship the mother.--Don't belittle my
+fearfulness, Huntington; it is a real thing to be reckoned with."
+
+"Whether real or not," Huntington said kindly, "the fact that you think
+it so is enough. I shall not advise you nor urge you to do anything
+except what you yourself think wise, and so far as I can, whenever or
+wherever you wish it, I will help you."
+
+This discussion left a deep impression upon Huntington. He had never
+looked upon Hamlen as a man of force, but rather as a visionary of
+nervous tenseness; yet this outburst showed a strength which would have
+carried his classmate far had it been properly directed. In spite of his
+present activities Huntington could see that Hamlen still lived much in
+his past,--the unconscious return to Mrs. Thatcher's girlhood name was
+evidence of that, his reference to the ghostly companions of his Bermuda
+life was equally convincing. What puzzled him was Hamlen's conviction
+that Mrs. Thatcher was determined to compel the suggested alliance
+against his will. This Huntington could not believe. She had expressly
+stated to him that it was only an idea to be acted upon in case it
+proved wise. Had Hamlen shown an interest in Merry, then undoubtedly
+Marian's influence would be exercised in his behalf; but surely a
+mother's heart would not be insistent in so serious a crisis! In this at
+least Hamlen's apprehensions carried him too far.
+
+The opportunity to satisfy himself came to Huntington the day after his
+guests arrived. They had motored down the North Shore and back to the
+Club for lunch on a bright Sunday morning which seemed prepared
+especially to show Boston's environs off to best advantage; and as they
+strolled about the Club grounds he found himself paired off with Mrs.
+Thatcher.
+
+The evening before had developed nothing of any moment. The two boys
+rushed in after dinner, completely monopolized the situation for such
+time as they were present, and then dashed off to keep a college
+engagement. Things were too "thick," Billy explained to Merry, to have a
+real visit. Thatcher seemed worn out and asked the indulgence of his
+host to permit his early retiring; Mrs. Thatcher was happy and
+complacent, rejoicing in the change she found in Hamlen and grateful to
+her ally for having brought it about; Merry appeared strangely quiet,
+but even if her presence had been wholly silent it would have seemed a
+benediction to Huntington, whose sentiments no one suspected, and on
+whom all depended for the expression of their individual purposes.
+Huntington smiled grimly to himself as he recalled Hamlen's
+matter-of-fact assumption that love had never entered into his life; he
+even questioned whether his friend's self-imposed restraint was more
+difficult than the repression of his own emotion!
+
+After luncheon they walked out onto the golf links, Huntington and
+Marian finding a retreat in one of the thatched-roof shelters from which
+they could command an extended view on all sides. Thatcher and Hamlen
+had fallen behind, following Merry, who was eager to secure a better
+idea of the earlier holes in the course. Marian seated herself and then
+looked up into Huntington's face with an expression of complete
+satisfaction.
+
+"It is simply wonderful!" she exclaimed.
+
+"It is a fine course--"
+
+"I'm not thinking of the course," she interrupted. "What you have done
+with Philip Hamlen is simply wonderful!"
+
+"You must give your boy his share of the credit; his influence over
+Hamlen is no less than mine."
+
+"I am glad my son could do something toward paying his mother's debt,"
+she replied feelingly. "Now if you and I can complete the work I shall
+feel that restitution has been amply made."
+
+"You refer to your daughter?"
+
+"Yes; if I can see Merry married to Philip Hamlen I shall be blissfully
+content."
+
+Huntington did not reply at once. He must be fair to this woman of whose
+determination he could now have no doubt; he must be fair to Hamlen, but
+above all he must be fair to the girl herself. Could he assume any
+position of impartiality? Would not each word really be a cry from his
+own heart, not against Hamlen but against any one who should create a
+barrier between himself and her? But Hamlen had besought his aid, so
+after all a responsibility existed, not of his making, which could not
+be shirked. He would meet the issue squarely with special care to
+eliminate himself.
+
+"I regret to say that I cannot sympathize with that plan," he said
+deliberately.
+
+Mrs. Thatcher looked at him in complete surprise. "I thought we
+agreed--"
+
+"I have had greater opportunity to study Hamlen since we last talked."
+
+She was genuinely distressed by Huntington's attitude. "I have set my
+heart upon it," she said firmly. "Through me his life was wrecked; it
+would be only justice if I helped him to find his happiness."
+
+At that moment Huntington wondered how Marian Seymour could ever have
+attracted him. He had told Hamlen that the alchemy of a woman's heart
+was past his comprehension, but he had believed that mothers' hearts
+were all the same. He knew that Mrs. Thatcher was devoted to her
+daughter, yet her insistence appeared to him inexplicable and
+reprehensible. Had his companion been a man he would have told him so;
+under the present circumstances he spoke more guardedly.
+
+"Being friends and allies, we should be frank in expressing our
+conviction," he explained; "this must excuse my otherwise unwarranted
+objections."
+
+"You know Merry now. Don't you agree with me that her interest is in men
+older than herself?"
+
+"Has she been consulted?"
+
+Mrs. Thatcher flushed. "No," she answered; "I shall not speak to her
+until Philip Hamlen has been persuaded."
+
+"You think she will acquiesce?"
+
+"I am sure of it. She may not understand at first, but I am certain that
+she will feel as I do. Who could fail to see that he would be an ideal
+husband for her?"
+
+"What would your life have been if you had married Hamlen?"
+
+"But he has changed,--he has learned much from his experience."
+
+"He is still, and always will be an abnormal personality," Huntington
+insisted. "Marriage, in my opinion, has no place in his life, and no
+woman could possibly endure his eccentricities. He can still find much
+to interest him among men, but I beg of you not to pursue an experiment
+which contains so many elements of danger."
+
+"You put it strongly, Mr. Huntington."
+
+"I feel it strongly; that must be my excuse."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher was visibly affected. It was several moments before she
+spoke, and Huntington could see that she resented his attitude.
+
+"You look at it wholly from a man's standpoint," she protested. "No one
+with Philip Hamlen's temperament can find the life he craves in
+companionship with men alone. Of course I respect your convictions, but
+you in turn must respect mine. I am so sure I am right that I cannot
+abandon the hope I have so long cherished. It will be more difficult of
+accomplishment without you, but if necessary I must carry it through
+alone."
+
+"Forgive me, Mrs. Thatcher,--but are you not thinking of him and of your
+obligation more than of your daughter?"
+
+"You surely don't think I would force Merry against her will!"
+
+"Sometimes we leave one a free moral agent," Huntington said pointedly,
+"and at the same time bind him with chains stronger than iron by
+expression of our own desires."
+
+The approach of Hamlen and Merry brought the unsatisfactory discussion
+to a forced conclusion, and Huntington rejoiced that it saved him from
+further expostulations. Thatcher had returned to the club-house to
+telephone, leaving Hamlen and Merry by themselves. Hamlen responded to
+Merry's spontaneous vivacity, and both were in the best of spirits as
+they walked toward the shelter. He was heavier now and it became him.
+The sallowness had left his face and a slight color appeared in his
+cheeks. The girl beside him, as always when enthusiastic, radiated
+happiness. Her companion could scarcely keep up with her as she half
+walked half ran up the slight incline.
+
+"Look at them!" Mrs. Thatcher exclaimed, turning to Huntington. "Who are
+you to tell me I am wrong!"
+
+Huntington was spared the necessity of reply for Merry had reached them.
+Mrs. Thatcher rose and strolled away by herself to relieve her
+overwrought feelings.
+
+"Oh, for a golf-skirt and a bag of clubs!" the girl cried. "When may I
+play this adorable course?"
+
+"To-morrow morning," Huntington replied promptly, "if my guests permit
+me to provide them with other entertainment. After to-morrow I must give
+you up to those most exalted of personages, the Seniors."
+
+"I'd love to play this course," Merry said gratefully,--"but you're
+going over for Class Day, aren't you?"
+
+"Yes; but we old grads don't count as against the Seniors. They are the
+heroes and we bend the knee. On Thursday we shall walk respectfully up
+to the graduating class, bow politely, and say, 'We who are about to
+die, salute you'!"
+
+Merry laughed gaily. "Then, the next day, these heroes jump down off
+their pedestals, walk respectfully up to the old grads, bow politely,
+and say, 'Please give us a job'!"
+
+"Don't be an iconoclast, Miss Merry," Huntington retorted. "These boys
+may be looking for jobs, but they are richer than any of us: they have
+youth, and life is before them."
+
+"Grandpa!" the girl laughed mischievously.
+
+"I sha'n't let you call me that!" he cried, really piqued.
+
+"Then don't be so unfair to yourself!" she retaliated; "you are the
+youngest 'old' man I ever met!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXIX
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+It was with real regret the following morning that Huntington watched
+his ball drop into the cup on the eighteenth green. The round had been
+too perfect, the experience too enjoyable to come to an end so soon.
+
+"Five down," Merry remarked. "That looks to me like a real defeat."
+
+"I'm glad to find some game I can play better than you," Huntington
+replied banteringly. "I'm still sore over our swimming-races in Bermuda.
+But in all fairness I must admit that this course is built for a man's
+game, and the premium on the length of the wooden clubs was all that
+saved me to-day."
+
+"You are generous,--but I acknowledge my defeat. Do we have to go home
+now?"
+
+"There is at least an hour between us and the rigid convention of
+luncheon," Huntington answered. "Shall we spend it on the piazza?"
+
+"It is much nicer beneath one of these great trees," she said, suiting
+her action to the word and sitting down upon the grass. "Come. Let us
+imagine that we're back in Bermuda again!"
+
+Huntington seated himself beside her, still rebellious that their
+moments together were passing so swiftly. He had wondered how she would
+appear to him when he saw her again, half hoping to find that the charm
+of the earlier setting had exaggerated her attractiveness, half dreading
+an awakening. This would have simplified his problem, but it would also
+have robbed his life of the richness which had entered it. Even though
+he saw his course plainly plotted out for him, there was a delicious joy
+in knowing that there existed one who had awakened in him that which
+alone is best and without which no man's experience can be complete.
+
+But his half-hope was not to be gratified nor his half-dread realized.
+The girl was different, but the intervening months had done their work
+well. She seemed older and more mature, yet this passing of the girl
+into womanhood had been accomplished without marring those
+characteristics which he had before admired. His eyes rested on her face
+longer than he realized, as these thoughts passed through his mind, but
+until she spoke he had no idea that she had noticed the closeness of his
+scrutiny.
+
+"Well," she said smiling, "do you approve?"
+
+He made no apology, for they understood each other too well, but instead
+accepted her question seriously.
+
+"Entirely," he replied with an air of sincerity which forced the color
+into her face. "The expression of the mouth, the tilt of the head, the
+sparkle in the eyes,--all is perfection. But you suggested that we
+imagine ourselves back in Bermuda. For myself, I should not dare to try
+it, for it could never be the same."
+
+"Should we want it to be?" she asked earnestly. "An experience repeated
+must have something added or it fails to satisfy. To be the same would
+bring disappointment. I've argued that all out with myself, so I'm sure
+I'm right."
+
+"Why should you have done that?" he demanded.
+
+"Because those were the most wonderful days I have ever known," she
+explained simply and without embarrassment. "I found myself wishing them
+back; then I realized that if I could have my wish gratified it wouldn't
+satisfy me. I was unhappy when I went down there for no reason in the
+world except that I couldn't seem to find my place. With all their love
+no one at home has ever understood me, and I had reached a point where I
+didn't understand myself. Then you gave me the chance to know Mr.
+Hamlen, and in what you said to him and to me I saw what happens when
+one has no anchorage. That was what had made me unhappy,--I was drifting
+horribly."
+
+"You concealed it well," Huntington said. "All the time we were together
+I never suspected that you had a care in the world."
+
+"That is a compliment to yourself," the girl answered. "With your
+optimism you draw out the best in every one. See what you did with Mr.
+Hamlen down there, and what you have done with him since! You are the
+most completely happy person I have ever met, and--don't scold!--I have
+tried to imitate you. I haven't been very successful yet, but I'm
+trying. Some time, when the supreme test comes, I shall accept it, and
+then you will see what your example has accomplished."
+
+The sincerity of the girl's words made Huntington uncomfortable. At
+first it pleased him to discover how genuine was her respect, but as she
+continued he found himself embarrassed by the character she gave him.
+
+"I shall begin to think myself somebody if you go on," he expostulated.
+"You are crediting me with attributes I don't seem to recognize."
+
+"That is because they come so naturally to you," she explained. "You are
+happy because your life is spent in making other people happy. That is
+the lesson I learned."
+
+"You were doing that long before I met you, and you are doing it now."
+
+"No," she insisted; "it may have seemed so to you, but I was really
+trying to find happiness for myself, and because I was thinking of
+myself it didn't come. Since I returned home I've tried your plan, and
+so far it has worked splendidly."
+
+"But the supreme test," Huntington asked,--"what is that to be?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know," she answered with an effort to speak indifferently;
+"being a girl I suppose it will be my marriage."
+
+"That should be the supreme triumph of your happiness rather than the
+test."
+
+"I used to think so but I've changed my mind. I had a vision once of
+what I thought marriage ought to be.--We spoke of it in Bermuda, and you
+made fun of it, don't you remember? I'm convinced now that it was all
+wrong."
+
+"You said that you would marry only a man who would let you contribute
+your share to the real life which you would jointly live."
+
+"Yes," Merry answered consciously; "and you laughed at me! But you were
+right. I ought not to think so much of myself." She paused a moment.
+"The man I really loved probably wouldn't care for me at all," she
+continued soberly, her eyes averted. "If I am convinced that I can make
+the man I marry happy, then I am more certain of finding happiness
+myself. That is making a tremendous compromise with sentiment, but don't
+you think it more sensible, after all?"
+
+"Then the supreme test, as I understand it, would be to marry a man you
+thought you could make happy whether you cared for him or not?"
+
+Merry nodded her head in affirmation. A sudden suspicion came into
+Huntington's mind, and he looked at the girl curiously.
+
+"Has your mother been talking to you upon this subject?" he demanded
+with more directness than he had a right to use.
+
+"Why, no," she answered, showing her surprise. "She thinks me too
+indifferent to men; but we have never discussed the matter seriously
+because there has been no occasion."
+
+Huntington was relieved by her words but her ideas were not reassuring.
+He started to tell her that she was entirely wrong, but he checked
+himself because he realized that differing with people had now come to
+be a habit with him. Two days before he had carefully explained to
+Hamlen how erroneous his convictions were only to discover that he
+himself had been in error. Yesterday he had differed with Mrs. Thatcher,
+and now he found his ideas at variance with Merry's. Instead, he lifted
+the girl's left hand, which rested on the grass beside him, and gently
+pointing to the third finger he looked earnestly into her deep eyes.
+
+"Merry," he said calling her by her name for the first time, "when the
+moment comes for some man to slip a gold band on there I want you to
+remember what I tell you now. You have pictured me as an apostle of
+optimism and as the happiest person you know. I could tell you something
+about that, but instead I'll try to live up to your picture. But this
+much is gospel truth, and I want you to remember it: that gold band will
+stand as a symbol and the circle means completeness. It doesn't stand
+for sacrifice, or for supreme tests, or for anything of that sort,--it
+does stand for just what you saw in your 'vision.' A very wise person
+once said that marriage was either a complete union or a complete
+isolation, and he was right. My friends think me a cynic on this
+subject, but my cynicism is a result of the complete isolation I see
+every day in the lives of my friends. I want your marriage to be a
+complete union, little girl, and that can't come if you apply your
+present ideas to a sacrament so sacred that every-day principles become
+meaningless. Marriage is the merging of all that is beautiful in two
+lives, and unless the love on each side strives to outdo the other in
+contributing to the joint account, the beauty fades, and the gold
+circlet stands as a symbol of slavery instead of representing the most
+wonderful relation which mortals are permitted to enjoy."
+
+"Mr. Huntington!" she exclaimed in a low tone, "I had no idea you looked
+upon marriage like that! I didn't believe any man did! It makes me have
+more faith in my vision. Still, after all, that doesn't change the fact
+itself, for you are the exception. But, feeling as you do, I know now
+that the only reason you are not married is that you have never found
+the girl."
+
+Huntington looked full into her face before he turned his head aside. "I
+did find the girl," he answered with a depth of feeling in his voice;
+"but I found her too late."
+
+"Forgive me!" Merry cried impulsively, convinced that she had torn open
+a concealed wound.
+
+"There is nothing to forgive, dear child," he said quickly. Then with
+that smile which took the world in its embrace he added, "Don't waste
+your sympathy on me; life has already given me more than I deserve."
+
+"I am so sorry," Merry replied soberly. "She must have been a wonderful
+girl to win such a love."
+
+"She was," he answered.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXX
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Billy Huntington was the founder of an original secret organization
+called the "Club for Undesirables." Being the founder he was privileged
+to write the By-Laws, and these consisted of a single Article: "The
+members of this Club shall be elected by the non-members." Exercising
+his prerogative he had proposed, seconded and elected Cosden and others
+of his acquaintance who failed to attain the standards he demanded of
+those around him; and now he unanimously declared Mrs. Thatcher a member
+in full standing.
+
+These were not red-letter days for the boy. Ever since his visit to New
+York at Easter the times had been out of joint, and he blamed Merry's
+mother for it all. From his viewpoint the visit had been a "frost," and
+he nursed his resentment so successfully that he came to look upon it as
+a virtue. Uncle Monty noticed the change, but having no knowledge of the
+cause gave Billy credit for at last showing symptoms of growing up.
+Philip looked upon his tragedy as a huge joke, and made his friend's
+life wholly unendurable by frequent veiled allusions to the "inflammable
+age," rubbed in as only a college chum can do. The sympathy he craved
+was sadly lacking, so he sought compensation by sympathizing with
+himself.
+
+Billy would have been better satisfied with the completeness of his
+martyrdom had he been able to include Merry among those who abused him,
+but he could discover no point where she had failed to preserve an
+aggravatingly consistent neutrality. She was always friendly, accepting
+his extravagant expressions of devotion with a good-natured indifference
+which robbed them of all significance She had taken no exceptions to her
+mother's humiliation of him, nor had she taken advantage of it;
+everything progressed with a disgusting sameness, when he had
+confidently expected that the result of his visit would be to acclaim
+him Merry's accepted suitor, and thus raise him to the seventh heaven of
+delight.
+
+While Hamlen had been in Boston Billy found himself again side-tracked.
+Not only was Uncle Monty engaged, but Philip devoted much of his time to
+his new responsibility. Everything conspired to throw Billy back upon
+his own resources, and here he developed a decided hiatus. The boy's
+strongest point was his ability to fit in with some one else's plans,
+and of all his friends Philip proved most fertile in his suggestions.
+
+Now Class Day was at hand, and as it was not his Class Day he felt
+himself eclipsed by the added glory which came to Philip and the other
+Seniors. As an under-class man he counted for absolutely nothing. When
+he was a freshman, the comparative size of the halos worn by his Class
+and the graduating students was an open question of debate; from a
+sophomore's standpoint, he was near enough the freshmen to be able to
+look down upon them with a gratifying sense of superiority; but as a
+Junior there was nothing to do but to wait for the coming year,--and
+waiting was a game not included among Billy's favorite indoor or outdoor
+sports. He had expected little from the visit of the New York friends,
+owing to the presence of "the Gorgon" as he christened Mrs. Thatcher,
+and in this expectation he was not disappointed. Merry herself was fully
+occupied, and her mother took every opportunity to prevent diverting
+influences from affecting what she considered a crucial moment. So
+Billy, thoroughly disgruntled, drew himself up with a dignity which he
+did not know he possessed, denied himself to the visiting friends, and
+permitted the procession to move on without him.
+
+Philip himself, being at New London with the crew, was prevented from
+taking personal participation in the Class Day festivities, but the
+classmate whom he delegated as substitute proved an ideal host. In
+Philip's absence Huntington had no compunctions in joining with Hamlen
+in the Thatchers' celebration; had the boy been there he would have felt
+it an intrusion for any one outside the family to share with them the
+triumph which comes but once in a college man's life. So they passed
+together from spread to spread, in and out of the Yard, listening to the
+music, admiring the attractive costumes and the still more attractive
+girls, entering into everything with a spirit which even Hamlen felt,
+and which took Huntington back to his own Class Day, so many years
+before.
+
+When the march to the Stadium was formed Huntington led Hamlen to that
+portion of the line where their own classmates were assembled, and
+presented him to each. Only a few remembered him, but all gave him a
+welcome which confirmed Huntington's predictions. Hamlen noticed who the
+men were standing side by side, and was impressed by the fact that while
+in college the groups had been made up quite differently. He and
+Huntington, then, did not form so grotesque a combination as he had
+imagined. Other members of his Class, who knew each other but slightly
+while in Cambridge, since then had discovered characteristics in each
+other which drew them together. As Huntington said to him in Bermuda,
+the ratio had become readjusted, the essentials only were remembered,
+and the real bond was the fact of being members of the great fellowship.
+Then the procession started, and he fell into step with the new life
+which it had taken him so long to find.
+
+After the exercises at the Stadium, Cosden, at Huntington's suggestion,
+took Hamlen with him to the Varsity Club, where the athletic heroes of
+past and present congregated. There was a motive back of the suggestion,
+and the effect on Hamlen of seeing these men, whose importance college
+ideals had magnified, in their present relation to the world and to
+their fellow-men, justified the experiment. Some of the old captains or
+record-holders showed unmistakably their continued pre-eminence; others
+had fallen back into the ranks after their temporary standard-bearing.
+Hamlen could understand it now: what they did in college was of
+importance only to the extent that it fitted them for what was to
+follow; it was the use they made of this fitting in the after-life which
+produced the permanent effect. This was the difference between the means
+and the end which Marian tried to explain to him in Bermuda.
+
+Then came Commencement as a crescendo. It would have meant little to
+Hamlen had it preceded Class Day, but each new experience gave him
+fuller understanding and richer enjoyment. He saw again the same members
+of his Class and felt now that he knew them; he met others, and was able
+to mingle freely as a fellow-classmate. On Class Day the alumni came as
+a unit, on Commencement they separated into Class groups, each with its
+own spread and reunion, offering greater opportunity for intimate
+exchanges of personal experience and mutual confidence.
+
+The climax came the following day with the boat-race at New London. The
+Thatchers had returned home immediately after Class Day with plans of
+their own still to be carried out, so Huntington and Cosden formed the
+body-guard which convoyed Hamlen to the great event. Huntington knew
+that he could not credit his friend's feverish anticipation wholly to
+the dawning interest in Harvard events, but was equally content to see
+how personal a triumph Philip's seat in the boat had become to him. Had
+Hamlen's nervousness been shared by his namesake and the other oarsmen
+the result of the race might have been foreshadowed! He changed his mind
+about going so many times that Huntington finally insisted upon a
+definite decision.
+
+"Of course I want to go," he explained; "but I never saw a Harvard crew
+win and I can't believe I'm going to now."
+
+"Perhaps you won't," was the frank disavowal of responsibility. "The
+worm must turn again some time, and it may be that this is the year, but
+Harvard has the habit of winning now, and that goes a long way."
+
+"It would kill me to see Phil lose!" Harden said with deep feeling.
+
+"Tell me," Huntington said,--"tell me frankly for my gratification, is
+your eagerness to see Harvard win to-morrow wholly on Phil's account, or
+have these days brought your crimson blood near enough to the surface to
+make you keen for the crew to win because it's a Harvard crew? Don't
+deceive yourself or me. I really want to know."
+
+Hamlen hesitated before making reply, then he returned Huntington's look
+with a frankness which conveyed much. His eye was clear and responsive
+now; the haunting terror had left it. He met the question squarely.
+
+"Until this moment," he said, "I supposed myself sincere in believing
+that my interest lay wholly in having that boy come through victorious,
+but as you put it to me now I know there is a reason which lies deeper
+still. Thanks to you, dear friend, notes in my life which have always
+before been mute have now been struck, and I am finding a wonderful joy
+in the melody produced. I have awakened to my heritage, and I realize
+what I have missed in denying myself its privileges. I want Harvard to
+win, Huntington, because it's Harvard. I shall always want Harvard to
+win for the same reason. It may be better for the sport to have the
+victories alternate, it may be impossible to defend anything so selfish
+as a desire for an unbroken line of victories for years to come; but
+still I want it. There is no occasion to argue it, there is no logic to
+support it; I just simply want it!"
+
+Huntington regarded him with a satisfaction too deep for outward
+exuberance. "I knew the spirit was too strong to accept limitations!" he
+exclaimed quietly but with an exultant ring in his voice. "I knew that
+no man could once place himself within the influence of college ideals
+and not recognize their existence. You have tested my convictions,
+Hamlen, but my faith has remained 'calm rising through change and
+through storm.'"
+
+The strength of Huntington's emotion impressed Hamlen deeply. His own
+dawning was so recent that at first he could not believe it possible for
+his friend to be so affected by the subject under discussion.
+
+"Do other Harvard men feel as strongly as you do?" he demanded
+questioningly.
+
+"Of course," Huntington replied; "but it isn't a question of Harvard any
+more than of other colleges. We shout for our Alma Mater, but no more
+lustily than the Yale or the Princeton man or the men of the smaller
+colleges shout for theirs. It is merely the expression of the spirit of
+loyalty and the sense of obligation, Hamlen. Not to express it is
+unnatural, not to feel gratified when another laurel wreath is placed
+upon the brow of our Dear Mother is a lack of filial devotion which I
+refuse to believe exists."
+
+They elected to see the race from the observation-train, that they
+might watch the positions of the crews from beginning to end rather than
+at any fixed point. There was no novelty in the experience for
+Huntington or Cosden except the ever-present uncertainty of the outcome,
+but to Hamlen even the crowds which he had previously avoided added to
+his excitement by imparting to him the thrill of their repressed
+expectancy. He resented the calmness of his companions as they perused
+their morning papers on the train. He tried to follow their example, but
+found himself mechanically reading over and over again the statistics of
+the two crews. Harvard was the favorite, but that he took as a bad omen
+for he still remembered the Harvard teams which had gone into their
+contests with the odds on their side, and had failed to win the expected
+victories. Harvard overconfidence was a byword when he was in college,
+and it was overconfidence which he feared now.
+
+They took their places on the improvised seats of the platform
+freight-cars, ready to be hauled to the point of vantage at the start,
+but the train seemed frightfully deliberate in getting under way. Hamlen
+glanced at his watch nervously and was surprised that so little time had
+elapsed since his last observation. Finally they found themselves
+opposite the judge's boat. Harvard was already nearing the mark and the
+Yale crew followed only a few lengths in her wake. Hamlen watched the
+manoeuvers, disturbed by the conflicting cheers coming in sharp
+staccato from every direction. At last the boats lined up in position.
+Hamlen fancied that he could hear the referee's challenge: "Ready,
+Harvard? Ready, Yale?" Then the pistol cracked out with reverberating
+echoes, the oars gripped the water, the shells shot forward, and the
+race was on!
+
+Hamlen's face set grimly and he sat bolt upright, taking no part in the
+mad cheering or the boisterous excitement. His eyes followed every
+stroke of the oars, and he suffered keenly as the Yale boat took a lead
+of half-a-length at the quarter-mile. Then he saw Harvard settle down to
+her work with a stroke quickened enough to enable her to take the
+advantage. The same stroke kept the crimson boat forging steadily ahead.
+At the half-mile the positions were reversed, at the mile clear water
+showed between the shells, another mile added two lengths more, in spite
+of Yale's plucky efforts to close in on the gaping space. At three miles
+Harvard had five lengths to the good, and for the first time Hamlen
+relaxed his tense attitude.
+
+"If it would not be a case of overconfidence," he said quietly to his
+companions, "I should say that Harvard was going to win!"
+
+"Nothing but an act of God can save Eli now!" Cosden replied between his
+cheers. "Why don't you yell?"
+
+"I can't," Hamlen said; "I feel it too much!"
+
+Still the crimson boat gained, and the contest had changed into a
+procession.
+
+"Do they ever lose with a lead like that?" he asked Huntington
+anxiously.
+
+"Lose!" his friend shouted,--"lose! They're gaining every stroke! Rah!
+rah! rah! Harvard! Harvard! Harvard! There they go across the line!"
+
+He threw his arms deliriously around Cosden and Hamlen and they
+performed a war-dance on the unsubstantial seats. Every Harvard
+sympathizer on the train had gone mad, and the Yale streamers were
+buried in the avalanche of crimson flags.
+
+"Another one!" Huntington shouted; "another wreath for the Alma Mater,
+Hamlen! Rah, rah, rah! Harvard!"
+
+Hamlen had caught the contagion and was as affected with delirium as
+those around him. He shouted his college yell over and over again,
+unconscious that it was the first time in his life he had ever done so.
+Huntington, the sedate Huntington, was cavorting like a two-year-old,
+yet Hamlen saw nothing incongruous in his conduct. Cosden was so hoarse
+that his cries resembled a wheezy calliope, yet they were sweet music in
+Hamlen's ears. Harvard had won, Philip had won, he had won!
+
+At the station a crowd of undergraduates were singing hilariously:
+
+  "_Bring the bacon home, John,
+    We cannot eat it all.
+  We sometimes got a taste of it
+    When you and I were small.
+  But now you bring it home, John,
+    In springtime and in fall.
+  It seems an awful waste of it,
+    We cannot eat it all._"
+
+There was the hectic scramble for seats on the special train. Snatches
+of other songs came from here and there, and spasmodic cheering; but
+gradually the excitement settled down into the quieter calm of satisfied
+accomplishment. It was an orderly crowd which deserted the train at
+Back Bay, but the men bunched on the platform, before they separated,
+and again burst into song. The jibes were forgotten, the boastings
+hushed. These had their place only in the first expressions of exultant
+victory. A deeper sentiment seized the celebrating host, which was
+expressed with uncovered heads:
+
+  "_Fair Harvard! thy sons to thy jubilee throng,
+    And with blessings surrender thee o'er,
+  By these festival rites, from the age which is past
+    To the age which is waiting before._"
+
+Hamlen watched them in silence, touched with a new emotion by the sound
+of the words, familiar enough, but which now took on a different
+meaning. Huntington was right: it was not a boat-race he had just
+witnessed, it was not the celebration of a victory over Yale, it was a
+"festival rite," consecrating anew to its Alma Mater that brotherhood to
+which he belonged, in grateful acknowledgment of the character and power
+developed beneath her beneficent influence which placed within its reach
+"the Earth and all that's in it."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+In July, commercial stagnation increased, and the machinery of business
+which before had creaked dismally in its daily routine now groaned aloud
+in its travail; and the pity was that the conditions which caused it
+were artificially created. There was capital enough, but the banks
+hoarded it against possible contingencies; the crops were heavy, but it
+was suicidal for the railroads to move them at the rates legislated by
+the government; there were contracts to be let, but no one dared give
+them out or accept them because of the shadow which hung gloomily over
+every great industry in the shape of governmental paternalism and
+interference. Stocks representing property intrinsically valuable
+dropped lower and lower in the market, dividends which had been earned
+were diverted into surplus as further margin of safety against future
+developments, unknown and therefore to be feared. Incomes shrank in some
+cases almost to the vanishing-point, while Washington reveled in an orgy
+of those good intentions with which they say Hell is paved.
+
+Cosden by this time had come to a full realization of the significance
+of Thatcher's warning, and he understood now why the New York operator
+had shown so little interest in the attack on the Consolidated Machinery
+corporation which had seemed inevitable. In view of conditions as they
+had developed, and as Thatcher had foreseen them, no new enterprise
+would be launched until opportunity presented itself to take advantage
+of its inherent strength. The old-established company need fear no
+competition while its own business was dropping off in such alarming
+proportions. So Cosden again reduced expenses, still further extended
+his bank affiliations, and settled back to meet whatever conditions
+might arise, knowing that his sagacity had placed him outside the pale
+of those fighting for their existence.
+
+In this latter class was Thatcher. The very success of his varied
+interests now made them shining lights to attract the attention of the
+authorities in Washington. One by one he saw them attacked, and day by
+day he watched the dropping values of the stocks, called on by the banks
+to increase his collateral, drawing deeper and deeper into his personal
+resources which he had considered ample for any emergency. The strain
+was terrific yet the only break he permitted himself was during the week
+of his son's graduation.
+
+The question of the summer home gave Thatcher much concern. The heavy
+expense of its upkeep made it an item to be considered at this time, yet
+he could not bring himself to the point of doing what he knew would be
+an act of wisdom. In their town house the Thatchers lived the usual
+formal life which belonged to their position, but it was Sagamore Hall
+they always meant when they spoke of "home." To relinquish it, even
+temporarily, seemed to Thatcher nothing less than sacrilege.
+
+The estate consisted of some sixty acres wonderfully located on
+Narragansett Bay with nearly a mile frontage on the sea. A rolling,
+close-cropped lawn, bordered on either side by avenues of trees, ran
+back three hundred yards from the beach before the stately, old English,
+half-timbered mansion was reached, the broad expanse of green carpeting
+making a perfect harmony of perspective. The two great end gables of the
+house formed a shallow forecourt, filled in by a brick terrace with
+balustrade. Between these gables, the central facade, a double-storied
+loggia of stone, reminiscent of a Dorsetshire manor house, was
+strikingly beautiful with its splendid sculptured decorations.
+
+The opposite front of the mansion faced the road, though removed some
+distance from it, and was approached through a gateway and a winding
+avenue in keeping with the dignity of the building itself. To the south,
+connected by shaded walks, was an unusual garden, the boundaries of
+which were marked by rare trees and shrubs so arranged that they formed
+a pyramidal mass of verdure, against which perennial blooms of rare and
+beautiful plants showed their bewildering colors to the best advantage.
+This garden represented what Marian had put of herself into the estate
+during the twenty years they had lived there, and to her and to Thatcher
+each flower, shrub or tree represented something personal and recalled
+some happy experience.
+
+At Sagamore Hall Marian really lived, keeping out of doors most of the
+time, entertaining her friends in a manner which made every one feel
+that each of the many attractions had been arranged for his own special
+enjoyment. Here the Bermuda party was again united. Thatcher still kept
+his wife in ignorance of the business complications which now seemed
+certain to overwhelm him. Marian noticed that he was tired and worried,
+but this had happened so many times before that she had come to look
+upon these conditions as deplorable but none the less inevitable factors
+in her husband's business life. In fact he had so explained on earlier
+occasions when she questioned him, and had discouraged her from showing
+too much concern. She recognized that he was scarcely in a mood for the
+reunion she had planned, but justified her insistence on the ground that
+he needed the relaxation; while he deemed it wise to yield rather than
+attempt an explanation.
+
+Edith Stevens had been their guest for a fortnight before the other
+members of the party arrived. Philip was entertaining several of his
+college chums, including Billy Huntington, but Mrs. Thatcher
+particularly requested her daughter to have no guests during this visit,
+holding herself free to assist in the entertainment.
+
+Since her return home after the Class Day festivities Merry had shown
+little interest in what went on around her. Had her mother noticed it
+she would have passed it over lightly as "one of the child's moods," but
+Mrs. Thatcher was too completely engrossed in her own great scheme to be
+keenly sensitive to anything around her. In fact Merry's attitude
+seemed peculiarly receptive, and encouraged her, a few days before
+Hamlen was expected, to take her daughter into her confidence.
+
+In answering Huntington's question Marian expressed greater confidence
+in Merry's acquiescence than she really felt. To herself she admitted
+that she did not understand her daughter. Since the elaborate plans for
+Merry's social life fell through because of the girl's lack of interest
+and failure to respond, Marian had almost given up in despair. Merry was
+unlike the daughters of the Thatchers' friends, who might be counted on
+at all times to do the expected thing when given the expected
+conditions; with her it was always the unexpected which happened. She
+loved athletics, not because of the companionship of boys, as other
+girls did, but for the games themselves; she was fond of dancing, but
+she would as soon dance with another girl as with a man,--it was the
+rhythmic motion of the dance itself which fascinated her; she had no
+interest nor ability in making "small talk," but was always eager to
+discuss problems which her mother felt she might better leave alone; she
+tolerated young people of her own age, but expressed her real self only
+when thrown with older friends. Mrs. Thatcher worried more over her
+daughter's future than over any other phase of the family life, and the
+solution which now seemed to offer itself contained so much promise that
+Marian believed it to be foreordained.
+
+It was not easy to broach the subject, but when once accomplished Marian
+talked on for some time without waiting for Merry to enter into the
+discussion. It was important, she felt, that the girl should know the
+whole story before being permitted to express an opinion. As the full
+significance of her mother's words dawned upon Merry there was an
+instinctive recoil, but she listened with outward calm. Marian believed
+herself to be suggesting nothing save deepest concern for her daughter's
+future; Merry heard nothing but a personal appeal for sacrifice. The
+romance of her mother's early experience, the results which came from
+the breaking of the engagement, her own interest and participation in
+Hamlen's new life,--all went to strengthen the appeal, but still it
+asked for sacrifice.
+
+As she listened Merry's mind was working fast. What were the relations
+existing between them? She admired her mother tremendously, and was
+proud of the attention her beauty excited wherever they went. She
+respected her, for no wife or mother ever carried herself in these
+positions with greater regard for the proprieties. Did she love her? Of
+course! what a question to come to a girl's mind! Did she? The question
+repeated itself insistently. Merry wondered. If this were disloyalty,
+then the thought itself formed the offense; to analyze it was imperative
+before putting it aside. The girl knew that she was face to face with
+the crisis of her life, that the question now in mind had really been
+the cause of that unrest she had failed to understand.
+
+"Is this something which you ask me to do?" Merry inquired at length.
+
+"No, my dear; that would be exceeding a mother's rights."
+
+"But you wish it?"
+
+"Yes; that is a different matter."
+
+"I wonder if it is," the girl said soberly.
+
+"It is a very different matter," Marian insisted. "I am thinking only of
+you, dear child. Unless you felt convinced, as I do, that your marriage
+would mean your happiness, I should be the last one to wish it."
+
+"Why don't you let me wait, as other girls do, until I find the man I
+love?"
+
+"Because you're not like other girls, Merry--"
+
+"I've always been a disappointment to you, haven't I, Momsie?" she asked
+suddenly.
+
+"Not that, dear," Marian disclaimed. "Of course it has worried me that
+you would never be intimate with young people your own age. I have never
+understood it--"
+
+"That is because I never had any girlhood, Momsie," Merry explained
+seriously. "I grew up too soon. When I was little I couldn't play like
+other children because my governess was always teaching me manners; so I
+had nothing to do but think."
+
+"What are you talking about, child!" Mrs. Thatcher protested. "You are a
+perfect tomboy, even to-day!"
+
+"I've had to make up for lost time, Momsie. You never saw me play when I
+was little; that came after I became old enough to have my own way. Then
+I learned games, but not as a child learns them; they were serious
+problems, to be thought out because I had formed the habit of thinking.
+While I was away at school I felt older than the other girls there, and
+I wasn't interested in what interested them; that gave me a chance to
+think some more. Then I came home, and you gave me that wonderful
+coming-out party! It was after that I disappointed you most, wasn't it,
+Momsie? I couldn't live the life the other debutantes did--talking silly
+nonsense until early morning with men who hadn't any sense at all,
+rushing to _thes dansants_ smoking cigarettes, and all that sort of
+thing."
+
+"I never knew that you did smoke cigarettes," Marian said severely.
+
+"I don't suppose the mothers of the other girls knew it either; it was
+the secrecy which made it sporty and gave the smoking its only interest.
+I couldn't stand it, Momsie! I had to be doing something worth while!
+Finally you let me have my own way, very much against your will, and
+since then I've been a tomboy, as you say. Father gave in on the boat,
+and I've spent hours in her, all by myself, trying to find out what the
+things worth while are. I haven't been very successful yet, Momsie, but
+I do know that it is a waste of time to fool around with boys like Ted
+Erskine when one may find a chance to talk with a real man like Mr.
+Huntington."
+
+"Mr. Hamlen is a real man, too, Merry. If you knew something of life--"
+
+"It's because I know too much of life, and understand too little. Mr.
+Huntington has helped me to understand."
+
+"I had hoped that by being so much with him, you would be the more
+prepared to appreciate Mr. Hamlen," Mrs. Thatcher said.
+
+"I wish I might have been more with you, dearie."
+
+Marian looked up quickly. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded.
+"Haven't I given all my leisure to my family?"
+
+"You have had so very little leisure, Momsie."
+
+"I have had my own interests, of course--"
+
+"I'm not criticising you, dearie," Merry hastened to interpose; "I'm
+only trying to explain myself to you."
+
+"I have done my best to prepare my children for the life they would
+naturally enter--"
+
+"Isn't life what we live every day, Momsie? It isn't all made up of
+worldly things, is it?"
+
+"Upon my word!" Marian cried. "One would think that I had entirely
+neglected my family!"
+
+"No, Momsie; you have been most ambitious for us, and have made sure
+that we could have everything you thought we ought to have. Truly it
+isn't that I don't appreciate what you have done; I simply can't
+understand why any one should want the things you consider essential.
+Why, for instance, are you so anxious for me to be married?"
+
+"Because it is natural at this time in your life, Merry." Mrs. Thatcher
+was determined to have no quarrel, in spite of what she considered just
+provocation. "It is a mother's duty to advise her daughter when she sees
+her on the verge of a mistake."
+
+"Suppose I felt that I didn't care to marry, Momsie, that I should be
+happier to go through life expressing my own individuality?"
+
+"Don't let us get started on that," Marian protested. "You know how
+little patience I have with feminism in any form. I do wish we might
+discuss some subject in a normal way as other mothers and daughters do,
+Merry," she continued, softening. "I have your interests on my mind all
+the time, I want to help you to understand yourself and life, I love you
+so, dear child,--and yet, whenever we try to talk anything over, it
+always turns into an argument. What I have suggested to-day I have
+thought of for months, I have considered it from every standpoint before
+presenting it to you, but you give me no credit for that. Before you
+even know how you feel about it you are ready to dismiss it. I really
+think my efforts for your happiness are entitled to more consideration."
+
+"You think this would be for Mr. Hamlen's happiness too?" Merry asked
+soberly.
+
+"I am sure of it," Marian replied, seeming to see a sign of yielding in
+the girl's question.
+
+"Why hasn't he spoken to me himself?" Merry asked at length.
+
+"He will speak, of course; but to meet with another disappointment would
+undo all the advance he has made."
+
+"I can't think of Mr. Hamlen as a married man," Merry continued; "I
+can't believe that he would be happy under conditions changed from what
+they are now. If he could only go on living with Mr. Huntington--"
+
+"That is out of the question, of course," Mrs. Thatcher answered. "Mr.
+Huntington has accomplished a miracle in bringing him out of his old
+obsession, and if it were possible to surround him now with normal
+conditions there is no limit to the heights he might reach."
+
+"Has he told you that he cared for me?"
+
+"Not in so many words," her mother admitted; "that is scarcely to be
+expected. I understand him so much better than he does himself. He
+disparages his abilities, which is not a bad characteristic in a
+husband, and without some assurance of success I doubt if he would ever
+mention the subject to you. But you know what it would mean to him. I
+shall never urge you against your will, my dear," she repeated with real
+feeling,--"you know that without my telling you; but I do feel my own
+responsibility so keenly! He was a boy of such promise, as he is to-day
+a man of rare capabilities if the right one could only guide him in
+making use of his talents. Haven't you felt this yourself, my dear, when
+you have been with him?"
+
+Merry passed her hand wearily over her forehead. She could not
+understand why she did not at once protest against what she felt to be
+an unnatural suggestion. Still, the constancy of the lover, the sympathy
+which she had felt for Hamlen since their first meeting in Bermuda, and
+her own state of uncertainty combined in a confused way in the girl's
+mind. Huntington's face was before her as her mother spoke of Hamlen,
+his voice was in her ears, his words echoed in her heart: "I found the
+girl too late!" Mrs. Thatcher thought Merry's hesitation came from a
+consideration of the arguments just advanced, but what Huntington had
+said formed the greatest argument of all. This closed for her all hope
+of happiness coming as a direct response to the craving of her heart,
+and left her only the possibility of attaining it through the indirect
+means of giving happiness to some one else.
+
+"That is what he would do," she whispered; and the thought brought
+comfort.
+
+"Haven't you felt this?" Mrs. Thatcher repeated at length, to recall the
+girl to herself. "You have always seemed so much more at home with older
+men, and he must have appealed to you. He would respond so quickly to
+the sympathy you could give him."
+
+"Wouldn't it be wrong to marry a man you didn't love?" Merry asked
+quietly.
+
+"But you respect him, don't you, dear? And respect is the first step
+toward love. I wouldn't have you marry him unless that came, but there
+is plenty of time before the wedding need be considered."
+
+"I am very unhappy!" Merry exclaimed suddenly, with a little catch in
+her voice.
+
+"Unhappy, my dear!" Mrs. Thatcher cried with real sympathy, drawing the
+girl's head upon her shoulder. "Why should you be unhappy? Tell Mother."
+
+"I don't know, myself," Merry admitted, crying softly. "I've been
+unhappy ever so long. Now and then things have seemed to straighten out,
+but never for long at a time. Now I'm more unsettled than I have ever
+been, and I don't feel as if I could be much of a success in making any
+one else happy while I feel so miserable myself."
+
+"This may be just what you need to help you find yourself, my dear,"
+Mrs. Thatcher answered, kissing her affectionately. "Oftentimes, when
+we are wretched ourselves, we find happiness in giving it to others.
+Don't promise me anything, dear child, except that you will think the
+matter over carefully, and be prepared to settle it wisely when the time
+comes. Let me say again, unless you decide for yourself that your life
+will be made richer and brighter by marrying Philip Hamlen, of course I
+should not wish you to consider it."
+
+Unconsciously Mrs. Thatcher had touched upon the same argument Merry had
+used with herself. The girl had striven for happiness and failed to find
+it; she had evolved a creed which called for ideals which she had come
+to believe did not exist; she had demanded something for herself before
+she thought of giving of herself. In her failure she had proved her
+fallacy. The one person who had it in his power to disprove her present
+contentions must consider her a visionary without the character to make
+the visions real. Romance had already come to him, and having found the
+girl too late that chapter in his life was closed. He was happy because
+he always thought of others rather than himself. That was the only royal
+road after all. There was nothing repellent about Hamlen. He had many
+attributes which compelled admiration, and if he once became settled,
+that in itself might release the indisputable abilities he possessed to
+accomplish the great work which might lay before him. But would marriage
+give that to him? Was she the one to bring about the metamorphosis which
+her mother so confidently predicted? Would happiness come to her as a
+result of giving it to him?
+
+The thoughts and the questions crowded through her mind in such numbers
+and with such conflicting incoherence that she could hope to find no
+answers. But her decision need not be made now--that one fact remained
+clear and she clung to it. Perhaps another day would bring relief.
+
+"I will think it over, Momsie," she promised in a tired voice. "Forgive
+me if I haven't seemed considerate. I want to do the right thing, dear,
+but it is so hard to know what that is."
+
+"You are a darling!" Mrs. Thatcher cried, kissing her affectionately.
+"Don't worry about that. Mother will help you to find out."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Merry's promise to consider the suggestion was equivalent to a victory,
+in her mother's mind. True, it had not been won without a cost, for the
+girl's plain, straightforward comments left their sting; but, after all,
+they represented only a child's distorted viewpoint which failed to
+appreciate the manifold demands upon a parent's time. Marian knew that
+she had been a devoted mother, and she craved appreciation; but this was
+more than she could expect. Merry's strictures were merely another
+expression of her peculiar and unfathomable nature.
+
+The promise was the most that Marian could ask for, and with this
+concession she did not doubt her ability finally to show the child that
+the older judgment was wise and far-sighted. She knew that Merry had not
+given the promise lightly, and that once given she would be
+conscientious in fulfilling it. Her yielding, even to this extent,
+atoned for many instances in the past where the girl had seemed
+self-willed in insisting upon following her own judgment in spite of
+advice from all the family to the contrary; but these were unimportant
+incidents compared with the one at issue. Marian was now quite content
+to let her daughter have her own way in anything and everything provided
+she did not interfere in the gratification of carrying this one great
+desire of her mother's life to a happy conclusion.
+
+The relations which had existed between her and Philip Hamlen, and the
+responsibility she assumed for the aftermath, had become greatly
+magnified during these months. It was natural that she should feel a
+real satisfaction if she were able to repair the harm she had
+unwittingly inflicted; but Huntington's question, "Are you not thinking
+of him and of your obligation more than of your daughter?" proved so
+disquieting that before speaking to Merry she had made doubly sure in
+her own mind that the only way her responsibility affected her present
+actions was to color the result with the romance of the past. She was
+sincere in her conviction that at every step of her progress she had
+been guided solely by a desire for her daughter's complete and final
+welfare, and in her efforts she could find nothing other than a mother's
+natural love and anxiety.
+
+There was another satisfaction, Marian admitted to herself, but it had
+no bearing upon the situation until after she became convinced that her
+attitude was justified from Merry's standpoint. She had never forgotten
+Hamlen's domination over her as a girl. At the moment when she met him
+so unexpectedly in Bermuda she felt the old-time sensation of dread she
+had experienced so many times when alone with him during their childhood
+days and the period of their engagement. She had never loved him; this
+knowledge had come clearly to her during the years which had
+intervened. When she accepted the tacit understanding of an engagement
+it was because of the dominating influence of his mind over hers rather
+than a response from her heart to his fierce devotion. The break came on
+the occasion of the Senior Dance at Harvard to which she accepted Monty
+Huntington's escort. Hamlen, bitter against college and college life,
+and having no interest in the graduating festivities, not only refused
+to attend the dance but forbade her to go without him. Her indignation
+gave her strength to rebel against his domination. Later she sailed for
+Europe, feeling a profound sense of relief that she had been able to
+break the fetters which had bound her, she then realized, against her
+will.
+
+The Hamlen she met at Bermuda was not the unreasonable boy of twenty
+years before. He was still bitter, but they met on terms which gave her
+the ascendency. Those traits which she had admired were accentuated, and
+the fierce intensity had become modified. Now it was her mind which
+controlled and his which yielded. He had tried to hold out against her
+in refusing to come to America, but he had yielded; he was now trying to
+hold out against her judgment that his marriage to Merry would restore
+the lost equilibrium, but again he would yield.
+
+Still, above all other considerations, the great fact stood out in
+Marian's mind that the match itself was ideal. Merry would find in him
+an intellectual force which would satisfy her natural predilections; she
+would give him in her spontaneity a leaven to perpetuate the normal
+expressions of life which Huntington had taught him to understand. She
+would give him the youth which he had lost, he would give her the
+response which her unusual development could never obtain from a younger
+man. The balance was perfect. The mother's heart rejoiced that her
+efforts could make so noble a gift to her daughter, while the woman's
+heart found equal satisfaction that these same efforts could pay the
+debt of years in ample measure.
+
+It would have been a relief if her plans for entertaining the Bermuda
+party could have been carried through without including Huntington, but,
+entirely aside from the fact that this omission would have been a marked
+slight, his co-operation in bringing Hamlen to this satisfactory
+condition had been so conspicuous that there was no alternative. Mrs.
+Thatcher was apprehensive lest he take advantage of his influence with
+Hamlen to strengthen his will against her judgment; but this was a
+chance she had to take.
+
+Could she have read his mind Marian would have found nothing to fear
+from Huntington. His familiarity with Merry's nature made him aware,
+soon after his arrival, of the fact that something of unusual moment had
+occurred. There was a hectic excitement in her welcome, a yearning in
+her eyes, otherwise unexplained, which went straight to his heart and
+prepared him for the climax in the great renunciation of his life.
+
+"When the supreme test comes," she had told him, "I shall accept it";
+and he was convinced that the test had come and been accepted.
+
+"Ah, well!" he sighed deeply, "who am I to interfere?"
+
+It was the second day after his arrival before they finally found
+themselves alone together, and he realized that Merry had been awaiting
+this opportunity to have with him one of those intimate conversations
+which previously he had so much enjoyed. Now, knowing what was coming,
+he dreaded it. Until the words were spoken he could at least deceive
+himself into believing that he might be wrong, and this self-deception
+was all he now had left.
+
+"Let us sit down here in the sand," she said to him, "just as we used to
+at Elba Beach."
+
+"I wish we were back there now," he answered feelingly, as he responded
+to her request.
+
+"We always wish for something we have had, instead of something we are
+going to have, don't we?" she asked, her hand modeling indefinite
+figures in the damp sand. "I wonder why that is."
+
+"Because the past is known, and we can select the happy moments as we
+choose. The future is unknown, and we must take it as it comes."
+
+"Oh, if we could only look into that future!" she exclaimed suddenly.
+"If we could only be sure that in it we could correct our mistakes! How
+that would simplify the problems of the present!"
+
+"Why speak so strongly?" he asked. "That belongs to those who have
+mistakes to correct."
+
+"I have been thinking of myself all my life," she replied, at once
+making the personal application. "I formed an ideal which I insisted
+upon realizing, and when I found it at last it proved beyond my reach."
+
+"To have found it at all is more than most of us can claim."
+
+Her hand paused in its idle motions, and she looked up at him
+inquiringly.
+
+"But you found yours."
+
+"Don't!" he said softly, a twinge of pain crossing his face.
+
+"I've hurt you again!" she cried impulsively. "Don't you see how selfish
+I am? That proves it! There is no one I wouldn't rather hurt than you,
+yet twice I've done it. Please forgive me; I'll not do it again."
+
+"There is nothing to forgive," he insisted as he did before. "I'm too
+sensitive, that is all. Sometimes Life draws back the curtain and shows
+us a wonderful picture of what might have been, to test the strength of
+the philosophy the years should have taught us. The strong say, 'That is
+not for me,' and pass it by; the weak stretch out their arms and cry in
+vain for what they ought to know is not for them. I am among the weak."
+
+"You among the weak!" she cried incredulously. "How little you
+appreciate yourself! It is of your strength which you must give me now,
+for I am trying to be true to what you have taught me by your example:
+by making some one else happy I am going to seek for happiness myself."
+
+It had come! Huntington needed no further confidence to complete the
+avowal. He must be careful not to endanger the possibility of success
+coming to the efforts which this brave spirit was prepared to make.
+Hamlen was almost normal now. If this must be, Huntington knew that he
+had played his part in preparing his classmate for the supreme joy which
+ought to come to him in sharing the life of such a girl. At least he had
+made her happiness possible. But the irony of her reference to his
+teachings!
+
+"Then you are ready for the supreme test?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+"If it comes."
+
+Then it had not come! The reaction took him to an absurd extreme until
+his sober sense returned and he realized that this made no change. If
+Hamlen were eliminated, still the years remained. He saw still more
+clearly that his opposition was not impartial. If Merry were to tell him
+of her engagement to some younger man of whom he might wholly approve,
+how could he take their hands in his and pronounce the banal
+benediction, "God bless you, my children!" His heart would cry out and
+his spirit rebel as bitterly in one case as in the other. Except for the
+question of age he must admit that Hamlen was eligible; that what he
+lacked in certain traits was offset by super-abundance in others. If
+Huntington were to be consistent he must efface himself; to interfere
+would be to accept greater responsibility than he had a right to assume.
+
+"You are prepared to marry a man you do not love because you hope to
+make him happy, and thus gain happiness yourself?" he repeated the
+problem slowly, emphasizing every word.
+
+"Yes," she replied deliberately; "and the reason I so want to peer into
+the future is to make certain that either one of these results is
+assured."
+
+"I suppose Hamlen is the man," Huntington said soberly.
+
+"He has spoken of it to you?"
+
+"Yes; he mentioned it soon after he came to visit me."
+
+"Then he does care for me? I had not realized that."
+
+How could the question be answered? Even if Huntington felt himself free
+to repeat the confidence Hamlen had given him it would mar the
+perfection of the sacrifice for Merry to know the truth. Her very
+eagerness for happiness might bring it, and at whatever cost to himself
+he wanted that to come to her!
+
+"When we spoke of it Mr. Hamlen was not in a condition to know what his
+feelings really were," Huntington replied guardedly. "He realized his
+limitations, and questioned, much as you do, the possibility of making
+any other person happy. Since he has learned more of the world he is
+greatly changed, but we have not again referred to the subject."
+
+"With us both feeling our limitations, and with both striving to
+accomplish the same result, don't you think we ought to be successful?"
+
+There was an appealing expression in Merry's face which besought a
+confirming answer. Huntington could not resist it.
+
+"It must be so," he said with decision. He smiled into her tense face
+with a confidence his heart denied. "It must be so," he repeated.
+"Somewhere there must be a divinity which watches over gentle souls like
+yours, and brings them their reward."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+While Huntington's spirits sank lower and lower Cosden's rose to a point
+which made him oblivious to the cares and worries of the world around
+him. He had passed through the probationary period with Edith Stevens
+with marked success, and this opportunity of consecutive days with her
+amid such congenial surroundings filled him with a delight which he had
+never found in his business successes. Edith was right, Huntington was
+right, Cosden admitted, in their contention that there was something
+finer and more satisfying than business ideals; but he gave Edith the
+credit for having proved it to him.
+
+He went to extremes in this swing of the pendulum as in all others, but
+the net result was a smoothing down of many of the rough corners, and a
+tempering of the aggressive individualism which had often offended.
+Cosden sized himself up correctly when he remarked to Edith, "I never
+expect to be the finished product Monty is, but I'm going to quit
+advertising the fact."
+
+Edith could but admire the persistency with which he worked upon his
+disagreeable problem. Her curiosity to see "how deep it went" developed
+during the course of several other experiences together, into a complete
+willingness to forget past delinquencies, and a real desire to encourage
+him in the pursuit of his new course. It interested her to see that the
+same forcefulness which had made itself disagreeable before was the very
+agent which had accomplished the change she admired; that it was this
+same dogged determination which maintained the present poise and gave
+him the new dignity.
+
+Marian was delighted by the way her guests grouped themselves, and
+everything seemed to play wonderfully into her hands. Edith appropriated
+Cosden and appointed herself his hostess; brother Ricky enjoyed himself
+hugely motoring around the country in one of the Thatcher automobiles,
+and did not ask to be considered except at meals; Philip kept his boy
+friends engaged in an absorbing series of outdoor activities which
+prevented Billy from interfering with her plans for Merry; Mr. Thatcher
+was so engrossed with business matters that he became almost a
+negligible quantity, which his guests understood and overlooked;
+Huntington so far, Marian rejoiced to admit, had carried himself
+admirably, dividing his time between Merry, Hamlen and herself in such a
+way as to be really helpful instead of a menace to her plans. Never had
+she entertained a group of friends so accommodating, and she was more
+deeply appreciative at this time than she cared to state.
+
+Edith and Cosden strolled down a leaf-covered walk, flanked by antique
+statuettes, to an attractive pavilion at the end of the vista. Here they
+seated themselves after a leisurely walk about the estate. Edith knew
+she was taking chances, but as she felt quite capable of defending her
+position she saw no reason why she should not enjoy Cosden's continued
+devotion.
+
+"I've ordered tea served here," she announced. "We seem to be a little
+early."
+
+"I'm in no hurry," Cosden replied cheerfully; "are you?"
+
+"I have forgotten how to hurry, after these delicious weeks here," Edith
+answered, leaning back in her rustic chair. "I think it agrees with me
+to be deliberate, as Marian is. I am going to cultivate it."
+
+"You are deliberate with me, all right," he declared. "I don't quite
+understand myself nowadays. Usually when I find that I am making little
+progress along one line I shift onto another, but now I seem perfectly
+contented to sit back and watch you act your part. That shows that
+there's something deeper in all this, doesn't it?"
+
+"You might shift back to Merry," she replied calmly.
+
+"No," he said with decision; "I've learned the rules now, and you don't
+catch me revoking.--Tell me, if you don't like me, why do you let me
+hang around like this, and if you do like me, what's the use of putting
+me off so long?"
+
+"There are loads of people I don't even take the trouble to like or
+dislike, whom I 'put off,' as you call it."
+
+"Do you really dislike me?"
+
+"No," Edith drawled slowly, as if deliberating; "I can't say that. In
+fact I think I rather like you--in spots."
+
+Cosden leaned forward eagerly. "Isn't it stronger than that?" he
+demanded.
+
+"I can't say it is," she replied, her voice manifesting the same
+interest which she might show if he had asked any other commonplace
+question; "but don't get down on your knees now, for here comes the tea
+and I loathe demonstration before servants."
+
+"All right," Cosden said with resignation but without losing his
+cheerfulness; "you don't discourage me a bit. I guess counsel is just
+collecting a little extra fee for that break in Bermuda. I'll wait."
+
+"I know how many lumps you take in your tea, and I know that you prefer
+cream, but shall I pass you the raspberry jam?"
+
+"No, thank you," he replied promptly. "My mother always used to dose me
+up with calomel disguised in raspberry jam, and I can't eat it now
+without tasting the medicine."
+
+"Very well," Edith laughed, "try some honey. But please tell me what has
+put your friend Monty in the dumps. At Bermuda he was stimulating, but
+down here he's as cheerful as a crutch."
+
+"Monty in the dumps?" Cosden echoed, surprised. "Why, I hadn't noticed
+it. Just before Hamlen came to visit him, he was way down,--bemoaned his
+age, and all that sort of thing. I thought we'd got him out of that. I
+must look him over and see what the trouble is.--Here come our hostess
+and Hamlen. Did you ever see such a change in any one?"
+
+Marian approached with her brightest smile. "I'm glad Edith is keeping
+you from being bored," she said. "I'm afraid I've been very remiss."
+
+"I don't see how you could divide yourself into much smaller bits, Mrs.
+Thatcher," Cosden replied. "This is a big family you have at present."
+
+"The bigger the better," she exclaimed brightly. "I hoped I should find
+you out here, and as I see the tea is still hot perhaps Edith will let
+us join you. Philip and I have been walking and talking until we are
+really tired."
+
+"I am entranced with all this," Hamlen said, turning to Edith. "I had no
+idea, when I paraded my few acres at Bermuda, that I was competing with
+an estate like Sagamore. I wonder some one didn't rebuke me for my
+presumption!"
+
+"Isn't that a pretty compliment!" Marian cried. "You have put yourself
+into every inch of your beautiful place, Philip; Harry and I have only
+done that to a very small extent. It is beautiful, I admit, and I love
+it just as I love the beauties with which you have surrounded yourself
+at home."
+
+"It makes little difference, after all, where one finds it, so long as
+it is beauty," Hamlen replied. "'The dawn is my Assyria; the sunset and
+moonrise my Paphos and unimaginable realms of faerie; broad noon shall
+be my England of the senses and the understanding; the night shall be my
+Germany of mystic philosophy and dreams.' I used to think Emerson must
+have written that in Bermuda, but it might have been written here."
+
+Edith caught the expression on Cosden's face and almost laughed.
+
+"What's the use?" he whispered to her without being detected. "This pace
+is too swift for me! He reeled that off as easily as I could the latest
+quotations on copper!"
+
+"Oh, Philip!" Mrs. Thatcher exclaimed, "I can't tell you what it means
+to me to see you yourself again after that awful shock you gave me at
+Bermuda! Truly, when we left you behind us I gave up hope."
+
+"What hope there was you took away with you, so I was forced to follow."
+
+"Come, Cossie--Connie--," Edith stumbled,--"if I'm to call you by your
+given name you'll have to change it to something reasonable,--this is no
+place for us."
+
+"Don't let us drive you away," Marian protested.
+
+"That's all right; we want to be driven away. If we stay longer, and Mr.
+Hamlen talks like that, Mr. Cosden will become sentimental.--Bye, bye."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher and Hamlen watched them as they strolled leisurely up the
+path, Edith swinging her parasol and Cosden walking meekly beside her.
+Finally Marian turned to him and laughed.
+
+"What a dance that girl is leading him!"
+
+"Do you think she cares for him?"
+
+"In her way; but if he marries her he will have earned her!--He went
+down to Bermuda on purpose to become engaged to Merry."
+
+"He did!" Hamlen exclaimed, surprised; "why, they were never together
+when I saw them."
+
+"Nor often at other times. Of course, it was ridiculous,--but with you,
+Philip, she'll be the happiest girl in all the world."
+
+His eyes dropped quickly as she turned the conversation, and the
+expression on his face completely changed.
+
+"You are wrong, Marian," he protested; "no happiness can ever come to
+any woman through me."
+
+"Don't disparage yourself," she answered gently. "You are a different
+man from what you were. Do you think I would counsel this if I were not
+sure?"
+
+"You believe it, Marian," he conceded, "and I wish I shared your
+confidence. But I know myself. The time when I might have made something
+of what I had passed long ago. If I am to go on at all it must be with
+my real self suppressed, and the only way to do this is to plod my path
+alone."
+
+"Why slip back, Philip? Why suppress your real self?"
+
+"I know the danger of permitting it to assume control."
+
+"When last we talked you seemed willing to accept my judgment."
+
+"I am still, in everything but this. I appreciate your desire for my
+happiness, Marian, but you are taking a responsibility beyond what is
+wise. I am complimented by your daughter's willingness to listen to an
+offer of marriage from me, but if the test really came she could not
+meet it."
+
+"She would, Philip,--she would."
+
+"I cannot comprehend it," he continued; "she has seen me at my worst."
+
+"She understands you, and appreciates the wonderful qualities you
+possess. She is too young to know the depth of love, but old enough to
+recognize what a man like you can become to her. If you would only
+speak with her you too would understand."
+
+Hamlen moved uncomfortably in his chair, and was silent for what seemed
+an interminable period. When at last he turned he spoke with a
+conviction which shocked her.
+
+"No, Marian," he said deliberately; "it can never be. Let us end this
+farce before it goes too far."
+
+"Philip!" she cried, seeing her work of months crumbling before her, and
+reading in his determined face the miscarriage of what she believed to
+be predestined. "I can't permit you to destroy the years which remain to
+you."
+
+She leaned over and took his hand in hers. Success had been so near that
+she could not see it slip away from her now without a supreme effort.
+Merry needed such a man as this and Hamlen needed her. Why should these
+false ideas, created by years of self-depreciation, stand in the way of
+what she knew was best?
+
+"I can't let you destroy the years which remain to you," she repeated
+earnestly. "I can't see my child's happiness marred by your foolish
+insistence upon ideals which rest on conditions now long since passed
+away. Philip, if you loved me once, show it now by your confidence in my
+judgment, by your faith in my purpose. Tell me one reason why this
+should not be."
+
+"If I loved you once?" he echoed her words with a force which startled
+her. "Tell you one reason why this should not be? The one answers the
+other, Marian; for that love, intensified by the denial of twenty
+years, is now a power I can't withstand."
+
+"Philip!" she cried, striving to release her hand which he held in a
+grip which hurt her, "you don't mean that you still--"
+
+"I mean that I have never ceased to love you, Marian. Look at me now and
+tell me if you doubt it. Even while I cursed you for ruining my life, I
+loved you. Every day of the twenty years I have lived alone I have had
+your face before me, I have held out my arms beseeching you to come to
+me, I have beaten my head against the wall in despair that the one
+longing of my heart could never hope for realization."
+
+"You never told me--I did not know--"
+
+"I have at least been strong enough to keep my secret, Marian; but it is
+sacrilege for you to talk to me of marriage to your daughter. Now that
+you know the truth you will urge no further. Could anything be more
+dishonorable than to offer myself to her when even to-day my love for
+you is beating at my heart until I can scarcely contain it? No, no! let
+us have an end to all this mockery! In the name of a life's devotion, in
+the name of the love you once had for me--"
+
+"Release me, Philip," she entreated, frightened by his tenseness; but he
+only tightened his grip upon her hand. She realized the importance of
+terminating this impossible situation, regardless of the pain it might
+inflict.
+
+"I never loved you, Philip," she said deliberately. "At the time, I
+thought I did; but it was my mind and not my heart you dominated."
+
+He dropped her hand as if she had struck him, and, dazed, supported
+himself against the rustic chair.
+
+"You never loved me?" he repeated brokenly after her. "You never--oh,
+God! why did you tell me that! Why did you come back into my life to
+stir up those forces which had crushed me, but which I had at last
+subdued!"
+
+Then he turned his eyes upon her, full of the reproach which he dared
+not trust himself to speak.
+
+"If it was the domination of my mind then, why should it not be now?" he
+asked in a voice which trembled with emotion. "Look at me, Marian!"
+
+"Don't, Philip, I entreat of you; you frighten me!
+
+"Look at me!" he commanded, and she slowly raised her head and gazed
+into his face.
+
+"Do you remember the last time you looked at me like that?" he asked
+quietly, but even in his low tones there was a compelling force she
+recognized.
+
+"Come," he said rising, and drawing her toward him. "If it was not love
+which brought you to my arms before, then it must be the same impulse
+to-day. Come, Marian, it is not the daughter I want, it is you,--my
+beloved, my sweetheart of years gone by!"
+
+"Philip!" she protested feebly, "Philip--I entreat--" but the old,
+irresistible influence was too strong, and he folded her in his arms.
+
+In a moment his face changed as if touched by a magician's wand. The
+lines which years and disappointment had traced were miraculously
+smoothed away, and the expression of contentment was that which comes
+only when the seeker has at last reached the consummation of his quest.
+The lips moved silently, the eyes looked far into the distance. The past
+was forgotten, the future unheeded, but the wonderful present was his!
+
+A convulsive sob from Marian finally brought him to himself. He loosened
+his hold, and gazed into her face with abject horror.
+
+"My God!" he cried, as he allowed her limp form to slip back into the
+chair. "What have I done! Marian, child, speak to me! Tell me that you
+forgive me! It was the years which did it, not I; Marian! speak to me!
+Tell me you forgive me!"
+
+He gazed helplessly around as no response came. She lay there, her head
+resting on the back of the chair, sobbing hysterically but giving no
+sign that she even heard his words. He watched her until at last she
+opened her eyes and regained control. Then he spoke again.
+
+"Leave it unspoken, Marian," he exclaimed with an agony in his voice
+which the suspense intensified. "I have said it to myself. I have made
+myself an outcast, a pariah! Let me take you to the house. Then you need
+never think of me again."
+
+"No," she said brokenly; "leave me here."
+
+"This is the end, Marian!" The words came short and crisp. "I ask your
+forgiveness no more. There are some things which are past forgiveness. I
+only ask you to forget.--Good-bye!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXIV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+The long, sleepless night which followed Marian's harrowing experience,
+painful as it was, proved the most vital moment of her life. From
+girlhood it had been hers to receive rather than to give. Her beauty and
+vivacity had always attracted attention and homage, her positive nature
+demanded and was given leadership, until she came to regard this as
+natural and to be expected. To have Huntington question her judgment was
+as novel as it was unpleasant, to have Merry suggest a worldliness in
+her approach to life struck her as absolutely incongruous. Mrs. Thatcher
+knew herself to be a competent woman, and as no one before had
+questioned her ethics, she accepted the successful outcome of her
+undertakings as conclusive proof that her judgment was correct.
+
+She might pass Huntington's comment by as the expression of one who
+could look at any question only from a man's standpoint, she could make
+light of what Merry said on the ground that the girl knew so little of
+life; but in her experience with Hamlen she had come face to face with a
+mistake so real that it compelled a readjustment of her perspective. She
+could harbor no resentment against him: the climax had come as the
+direct result of her own error in judgment, and the responsibility
+belonged to her alone. Ever since that eventful meeting in Bermuda she
+had seen the battling of conflicting emotions. To her more than to any
+one else should have come knowledge of the limit beyond which this
+self-tortured soul could not be pressed. She had deceived herself in
+regard to the reclamation; Hamlen's condition remained unchanged;
+Huntington had simply developed him to a point where he had gained
+better control. Beneath the deceptive smoothness of the surface still
+surged the turmoil started twenty years before, seething with
+unsatisfied yearnings, and kept under only by the superb strength of
+will which she herself at last had broken down. Huntington had warned
+her of the danger but she refused to recognize its existence. Marian
+could blame no one but herself, and the fact that her intentions had
+been of the best did not mitigate the tragedy she had perpetrated. This
+latest buffet of the world would be conclusive evidence to Hamlen that
+he had no place in its daily routine.
+
+Marian had reached this point in her mental struggle when the most awful
+thought of all suddenly came to her.
+
+"Would the harm stop there!"
+
+She sat bolt upright, staring ahead into the grey dawn which lighted the
+chamber through the long windows. "Merciful God!" she cried aloud,--"not
+that! not that!"
+
+A moment later she sprang out of bed and threw a kimono about her. Then
+she opened the window-door and passed out onto the little balcony. The
+sun was just rising, and Marian unconsciously first felt the beauty of
+the breaking day. It had been long since she had seen a sunrise! She
+stood watching it for a brief moment, brushing back with her hand the
+mass of beautiful hair which fell about her shoulders and lay against
+her ashen cheeks. Then she stepped forward, and facing the East like a
+Sun-worshiper of old fell upon her knees in an agony of prayer. The God
+who made a world like this she supplicated, who flooded it with the
+radiance of such a day, would not so punish her for a single act of
+folly! Mistaken as it was, behind it all lay a desire to atone, an
+effort for the happiness of others. He would not ask for retribution
+such as that!
+
+Relieved by her outburst she returned to her chamber. She must see
+Huntington. He would know what to do. He would be God's agent to prevent
+the awful climax. But it would be several hours before she could disturb
+him, and these hours must be endured.
+
+Huntington responded promptly to the summons when it reached him,
+wondering what the occasion might be. Marian's explanation of Hamlen's
+disappearance the night before had been so diplomatic that he had
+accepted it, so the real story was a complete surprise. He listened
+intently as she told him everything, sparing herself in no degree,
+anxious only to receive from him some assurance that her fears were
+unwarranted.
+
+"You should have told me sooner," was the only criticism Huntington
+made, after learning the details.
+
+"I was completely dazed," Marian explained helplessly. "This awful
+thought only came to me in the early morning. You don't think it too
+late! Don't tell me that!"
+
+"It is useless to speculate," he answered gravely. "Knowing Hamlen as we
+do, and knowing how high his sense of honor, the next step seems
+inevitable. He will consider that he has sinned against the woman he
+loves, and will demand of himself an expiation beyond what he would
+exact from any one else. I shall do my best to find him. Let us hope it
+will be in time."
+
+"Couldn't I go with you?--No, of course I couldn't,--but how can I
+endure it until I know? What can I do to help?"
+
+Huntington had risen, ready to take his motor-car which had been
+summoned when first he learned the facts. There was no excitement in his
+manner, but an alert readiness to undertake his duty with the least
+possible delay. As Mrs. Thatcher asked the question a sternness seemed
+to come into his face, but his voice was kindly as he replied.
+
+"Whatever you tell the others," he said with decision, "Merry must know
+the whole truth. There is another tragedy going on in that little girl's
+soul which needs a mother's care. That is where you can help.--I shall
+telephone you as soon as I have news."
+
+As the crunching of the wheels on the gravel road died away Mrs.
+Thatcher rose and went to her daughter's room. Never before had she so
+promptly followed another's suggestion, but at that moment she felt an
+aversion to her own judgment, and welcomed the opportunity to follow
+rather than to lead.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"All this mystery is getting on my nerves," Edith remarked to Cosden as
+they sauntered out onto the piazza after a later breakfast. "Mr. Hamlen,
+after seeming perfectly rational with us in the _bosquet_ yesterday,
+rushes into the house, packs his belongings, and disappears without
+saying 'good-bye' to any one. Marian, also rational when we saw her
+yesterday, becomes invisible to the naked eye, and sends word she has a
+headache--the first I've ever known her to have. This morning she is
+down to breakfast before any one of us is up except Mr. Huntington, who
+by a strange coincidence also craves an early breakfast for the first
+time on record. Marian has gone up-stairs again, and our friend Monty
+has motored off to Heaven knows where. Now then, what's the answer?"
+
+"Why not accept Mrs. Thatcher's explanation until you have a better
+one?" Cosden asked, drawing his chair nearer to hers.
+
+"Because it's too fishy, and my curiosity is aroused."
+
+"In that case I'm sure you'll find out all about it," he said smiling.
+
+"Why aren't you interested?"
+
+"I'm perfectly comfortable," he explained, "and so entirely satisfied
+with the present company that I can spare Hamlen, Monty, and even Mrs.
+Thatcher just as well as not."
+
+"Then you're going to leave me to do the work?" she demanded. "That's
+just like a man!"
+
+"I'm glad they're gone," Cosden admitted. "It gives me just the chance
+I've been waiting for: will you marry me?"
+
+"Again?" Edith inquired.
+
+"No; just this once."
+
+"It would serve you right if I did!"
+
+"I dare you to!"
+
+"No! no! no! no!" she cried.
+
+"Give me an option for thirty days."
+
+"You silly!" she laughed. "For a sensible man you can be more kinds of
+foolish than any one I know."
+
+"Flattery doesn't hurt anybody unless he swallows it," Cosden retorted
+complacently.
+
+Whither their gibes would have carried them is needless to consider, for
+they were interrupted by the approach of a motor-car up the driveway.
+
+"Monty has made a quick trip," Cosden observed, "now you can satisfy
+your curiosity."
+
+"On the contrary," Edith retorted rising, "the plot thickens. That is
+Harry Thatcher. What in the world has happened to send him motoring down
+here at ten o'clock in the morning?"
+
+They passed through the hallway to the _porte cochere_ on the opposite
+side of the house. Thatcher was just descending from the car.
+
+"Hello!" he greeted Edith, who was ahead. "Where's Marian?"
+
+"Up-stairs. What brings you home at this time of day?"
+
+"Don't disturb her yet," he exclaimed, disregarding her question. "I
+want a word with Cosden first. You'll excuse us?"
+
+Locking his arm through Cosden's Thatcher led him back onto the piazza
+which the two had just left.
+
+"What's wrong?" Cosden asked. "Market gone to pieces?"
+
+"It's hell,--nothing less," Thatcher answered, speaking with an
+excitement unnatural to him. "I left New York at four o'clock this
+morning. I've come to you, Cosden, as a last resort. We've fought each
+other on every deal we've ever been in, so you understand how hard I'm
+pushed. If you're fixed so that you can put me next to a bunch of cold,
+hard cash, you can have anything I control at a fraction of its value.
+This is your chance to make your everlasting fortune if you can command
+the cash."
+
+"You don't mean it!" Cosden exclaimed. "Are you caught as bad as that?"
+
+"Worse than that. Securities are dropping out of sight. Germany will
+declare war inside of a week, and there is danger of other big nations
+becoming involved. If they do, God only knows what will happen to the
+money system of the world; it is strained already to the breaking-point.
+You may thank Heaven, Cosden, that your investments are not in
+speculative stocks! But we're losing time. I must get back by three
+o'clock. Is there any chance of pulling off my forlorn hope? If not,
+we'll close our doors to-morrow."
+
+"Do you actually mean that, Thatcher?"
+
+"Exactly that. I don't advise you to do this unless you're fixed so that
+you can carry things comfortably, for I tell you we're in for a crisis;
+but if you can, it's the opportunity of a lifetime, and by sacrificing
+my personal interests I can save my house."
+
+"How much do you need?"
+
+"Half a million, in cash. I'm that much short of what I must have to see
+me through. It might as well be a billion!"
+
+"What do you offer for it?"
+
+"Five million in Consolidated Machinery stock."
+
+Cosden whistled and then became contemplative, while Thatcher waited
+eagerly for his reply. The hesitation in itself was encouraging, for it
+indicated that Cosden could raise the money if he cared to do it.
+
+"As a matter of fact, Thatcher," Cosden said at length, "I've been
+laying my pipes for just this moment ever since the trouble began, and
+I'm fixed where I can handle it all right; but I don't quite like the
+proposition as it stands."
+
+"Then make your own proposition."
+
+"I've counted on having my available cash earn me something handsome, of
+course; but I don't think I'd enjoy my profits much if I got them by
+cleaning you out."
+
+"We must forget friendship and all else at a time like this," Thatcher
+cried. "For God's sake, man, if you can do it, don't stand on any
+foolish sentiment! It may ruin me, but my house will weather the storm.
+I ask it as a favor."
+
+"How soon must you have the money?"
+
+"By to-morrow."
+
+"All right; I'll give you drafts to take back to New York."
+
+"Thank God!" Thatcher exclaimed feverishly. "And you'll take the stock?"
+
+"No, I don't want the stock. Give me your note."
+
+"But I haven't a dollar's worth of collateral to put up with it.
+Everything I own is pledged."
+
+"Damn the collateral! The signature will be genuine, won't it? That's
+good enough for me."
+
+"You advance it simply as a loan?"
+
+"Of course. Now let's get the drafts fixed up, and you run back to New
+York and keep your finger on the pulse of the market."
+
+"You're sacrificing the chance of your life, Cosden," Thatcher
+exclaimed. "Why should you do this for me?"
+
+"I don't quite understand it myself," Cosden admitted; "but as long as I
+want to why not make the most of it? I might change my mind."
+
+"And we've always said you were a hard man, Cosden!" Thatcher exclaimed
+with gratitude in his voice.
+
+"I was once," he admitted; "but lately I've been getting humanized, and
+anybody can slip anything over on me. Now you trot back to New York and
+cable Willie Kaiser that I disapprove of his declaring war."
+
+"You are a friend in need!" Thatcher grasped his hand cordially. "I'll
+run up for a word with Marian, and then back into the vortex. Keep your
+eye on the cable news, Cosden. Hell is breaking loose!"
+
+As Thatcher rushed up-stairs Cosden relit his cigar which had gone out
+during the excitement, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked
+meditatively up and down the piazza. He was immensely pleased with
+himself, and felt entitled to his self-approval.
+
+"Even old Monty couldn't have done that better," he muttered. "Good old
+Thatcher--I hope it pulls him through!"
+
+"What's the matter with Harry?" Edith demanded in a stage whisper,
+appearing from nowhere.
+
+"He forgot his umbrella yesterday," Cosden lied, speciously, "and he's
+afraid it's going to rain."
+
+"Oh, you tantalizing brute!" she cried, stamping her foot indignantly.
+"I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man in the world!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXV
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Huntington's mind worked hard as he settled back in the motor-car and
+surveyed the situation. It was impossible for him to have been so
+intimately associated with Hamlen all these weeks without assimilating
+his friend's manner of thought and action accurately enough to follow
+him in this climax of his tragedy. Of his determination he had no doubt;
+that he had as yet put it into execution was another matter. Huntington
+believed that Hamlen would wish to see him once more before he visited
+upon himself the extreme penalty which his hypersensitive nature would
+decree.
+
+It was shortly after noon when the car drew up in front of Huntington's
+home. Mrs. Thatcher, in her feverish efforts to assist, had suggested
+that the fugitive might have gone across to Newport to take the boat
+from there to New York; but Huntington figured it differently. Hamlen
+disliked and distrusted New York, while Boston had become a second home
+to him. His belongings, such as he had brought with him from Bermuda,
+were still in the Beacon Street house, and Huntington was sure that
+following the instincts of a homing pigeon he would return there by the
+straightest path.
+
+Still, the doubt lingered with sufficient persistency to quicken
+Huntington's movements up the brownstone steps. As he let himself in,
+Dixon met him in the hallway.
+
+"Mr. Hamlen,--is he here?" Huntington demanded.
+
+"Yes, sir; he's up-stairs and very wild, sir."
+
+"Wild?" Huntington queried. "When did he arrive?"
+
+"Last night, sir, about ten o'clock. When I let him in he rushed past me
+and went up-stairs, sir. I followed him, thinking he might need
+something, but he turned on me and cursed me, sir. When I ventured to
+take him some breakfast he swore at me again, and told me to get out of
+the way. I'm glad you've come, sir. I was at a loss to know what to do
+about luncheon."
+
+Huntington waited to hear no more, but mounted quickly to Hamlen's room
+and knocked gently on the door.
+
+"Keep out, I tell you!" came a hoarse, guttural voice so unlike Hamlen's
+that it startled him. "How many times must I tell you to leave me
+alone!"
+
+"It is I,--Huntington."
+
+There was a sound of shuffling feet, the pushing back of a chair, and
+the door was flung open.
+
+"I knew you would come to me!" Hamlen cried, extending his hand eagerly.
+"You are the one man on earth who would stand by me!"
+
+"Of course; but you've given me a devilish shock, old man. Come
+down-stairs where we can talk things over."
+
+"Yes, we must do that," he assented, following. "My only fear was that
+you might not understand, and would delay your coming. I couldn't have
+waited long."
+
+"I came as soon as I learned the facts."
+
+"I should not have doubted. Now let us sit down."
+
+The real shock to Huntington was that so great physical change could
+take place within so short time. Hamlen seemed years older. His erect
+carriage had slackened, his face was sunken, his hands and body twitched
+nervously, and his eyes burned with a consuming fire. Pity filled
+Huntington's heart, and he leaned over and placed his hand on his
+friend's knee.
+
+"You mustn't take it like this," he said quietly. "There is something to
+be said on both sides."
+
+Hamlen looked at him with a wan smile. "I wish there were," he said;
+"but let us not speak of that. To you, at least, there is no need of
+explanation. I told you what I dreaded,--well, the worst has come to
+pass; that's all there is to it."
+
+"No!" Huntington contradicted, determined that he should not bear all
+the blame; "there is much more to it than that. You and I are not the
+only ones who understand. Mrs. Thatcher instructed me to ask your
+forgiveness for her blindness. She understands, too, Hamlen, and she
+knows that she brought it on herself."
+
+"Marian asks _my_ forgiveness!" he repeated stupefied,--"she asks me to
+forgive her?"
+
+Huntington nodded.
+
+He pressed his hands against his temples. "My God, man! Is the world all
+topsy-turvy! I forget my obligations toward my hostess, I am false to
+my responsibilities as a friend, I force myself upon a married woman
+whom in all honor I am bound to protect,--and she asks me to forgive
+her! You are mocking me, Huntington. It is unworthy of you!"
+
+"It is the provocation she understands, Hamlen, and having unwittingly
+given it, she accepts the responsibility, as she should. I'm not sure
+that I myself am not the one to blame, for I knew better than she the
+forces held back only by your self-control. If I had been more insistent
+in my warning all might have been different."
+
+"That may explain, but it does not condone."
+
+"At least it mitigates. The beaver, innocently enough, undermines a dam
+in securing material to build its home, and the waters rush down to the
+destruction of the surrounding country. Surely you can't blame the
+waters! Nor can you seriously blame the beaver for not comprehending
+those natural laws of cause and effect.--Come, Hamlen, admit there's
+something in what I say, and realize that this is an accident rather
+than a tragedy."
+
+Again Hamlen tried to smile, but the expression on his face failed to
+reassure.
+
+"It would be well for me if it were you upon the bench," Hamlen said
+gravely. "The prisoner at the bar would receive far more leniency than
+he will from me! No, Huntington; I can admit nothing. I believed that I
+reached my lowest depth before I met you all in Bermuda. I believed my
+life was over,--a miserable, useless, lonely life if you will, but at
+least an honest one. Then you instilled hope into my dry bones. Judgment
+warned me not to listen to you, human weakness tempted me to make one
+further effort to redeem myself. I came to you here. Out of the bigness
+of your heart you gave me of yourself, you taught me what life really
+was. I acknowledge my debt, Huntington, and am grateful to you. Don't
+mistake that, my friend, in what I am going to say. The joy of the new
+experience lulled me into a sense of false security. I thought myself
+like other men, strong enough to hold the passionate love I have always
+borne that woman down, down where no one could ever see it. That was my
+arrogance, Huntington; for it, I am paying the price."
+
+"She understands now if she never did before," Huntington reiterated.
+"She felt her responsibility for your lonely years, and in trying to
+atone made matters worse."
+
+"It is not her place to protect me," Hamlen continued with conviction.
+"Take your own simile, with which you try to ease my sense of shame:
+even though the waters are not to be blamed, what do people do with
+them? Do they let them continue on their path of destruction? No, dear
+friend, your arguments are kindly meant, but untenable. I intend to put
+those waters where they will do no further harm."
+
+Huntington's face set in determined lines. "So you will dare to assume
+the prerogatives of man and God?" he demanded sternly.
+
+Hamlen had never seen Huntington in this mood, and his eyes shifted
+uneasily as they met the unflinching gaze of his friend.
+
+"There will be no scandal, Huntington," he said quietly; "I shall not
+thus repay your royal hospitality. There are some matters I must turn
+over to you, and as my friend I know you will accept them. Then I will
+grasp your hand for the last time, thank you from the bottom of my heart
+for giving me back the life I had abandoned, and pass on,--whither, it
+concerns myself alone."
+
+"What are the matters you have in mind?" Huntington asked, hoping that
+some word of Hamlen's might give him inspiration.
+
+"First, as to my property," Hamlen replied with returning confidence as
+his friend showed willingness to listen. "Here is my will." He drew a
+folded sheet from his pocket, on which he had written perhaps twenty
+lines. "Please look it over, and tell me if it is legally drawn when the
+necessary signatures are added."
+
+Huntington took the paper, with difficulty focusing his mind upon the
+written words.
+
+"Yes," he said, looking up at length; "this document is wonderfully
+simple and direct in its statements. The only possible attack upon it
+would be to raise an issue as to your mental status at the time you drew
+it up."
+
+"Could any one question that?"
+
+"Your later actions will determine," Huntington said significantly.
+
+Hamlen laughed nervously. "Fortunately there is no one left who would
+have any interest to contest.--As I told you, the bulk of my property is
+now in liquid form on deposit in New York, which simplifies your work as
+executor. That, you see, I want to give to Harvard."
+
+He paused for a moment and became meditative. "How little I thought, six
+months ago, that I should become a benefactor of the college I then
+despised! That is your work, my friend,--making me realize my
+obligation.--Hold on a minute: I want to add to that document! My
+bequest shall go to Harvard as the 'William Montgomery Huntington
+Foundation, given by a friend, the income to be used to foster larger
+acquaintance and closer intimacy amongst the members of each freshman
+class.' Make a note of that, will you? There may be other changes."
+
+Huntington made the necessary notations. It was best to humor him until
+his entire plan was outlined.
+
+"Now, as to the estate in Bermuda," he went on. "You see what I've done
+with it,--but have I been quite delicate? This whole affair, and its
+outcome, will be humiliating to that sensitive little girl, and this
+might be a constant reminder. I would like her to have it; she would
+appreciate my trees and my flowers,--their fragrance might help her to
+forget my grave offense. Then again, perhaps Marian would see in this
+act an effort on my part to atone. I couldn't leave it to her, but do
+you think the girl would understand my motive?"
+
+"Better than any one I know," Huntington replied.
+
+Hamlen seemed to have reached the end of his elaboration, and was
+silent.
+
+"How soon is this remarkable document to become operative?" Huntington
+demanded.
+
+"Six months from to-day if you do not hear from me to the contrary, or
+upon receiving proof of death."
+
+"All right," Huntington rejoined with apparent complacency. "I'll have
+it drafted in proper form and you can execute it to-morrow or next day.
+Now listen to me."
+
+Hamlen looked up at him anxiously. Everything was progressing so well
+that the new tone in Huntington's voice gave him apprehension.
+
+"It is always well to have these matters provided for, and if you
+haven't a will it is time you drew one up. As to the disposition of your
+property, it is yours to do with as you like, and I appreciate the
+compliment you have paid to me. Up to this point I have no right to
+interfere."
+
+Hamlen stiffened at the suggestion of interference. "There are limits,"
+he said quietly, "even to the rights of a friendship such as ours."
+
+"True; but we haven't begun to reach them yet. You acknowledge--don't
+you?--that you still have an obligation to our Alma Mater which is
+unsatisfied?"
+
+"I think I have acknowledged that in a substantial way," Hamlen replied,
+surprised.
+
+"What can you think of an Alma Mater which would accept money in
+exchange for the life of one of her sons? Do you consider her as
+mercenary as that?"
+
+"When the son has forfeited his right to life--"
+
+"Who are you to take upon yourself the judicial ermine, Hamlen?"
+Huntington said sternly. "You have years before you yet to devote to her
+welfare. If you are a man, fulfil your obligations during your natural
+lifetime, and then supplement your labors by the princely gift you have
+in mind. If you will insist on assuming all the blame for this
+regrettable affair, don't let it make you shirk your duty, but go at
+life again with an added incentive to pay your debt."
+
+"You demand of me what is beyond my strength. I can't go on."
+
+"That is cowardice, Hamlen.--Forgive the word," he added quickly as he
+saw the color mount to his friend's cheeks, "forgive the cruelty; but I
+must make you see yourself."
+
+"It takes some courage to carry through what I have in mind," he
+protested.
+
+"Not the slightest in the world," Huntington contradicted. "Just pull a
+wretched little trigger, pump half an ounce of lead into your diseased
+brain, and you think your troubles are over. I know the pleasures of
+this world, my friend, but I am entirely ignorant of those of the next.
+Let us take our chances on these when our time comes, not before. No,
+Hamlen, the easy thing is to side-step our difficulties here; it is the
+hard thing to stand up in our boots and say, 'Yes, I've broken your
+laws, I've outraged your sensibilities; but I'm going to atone for what
+I've done.' You have that strength, Hamlen, and I sha'n't let you pass
+it up."
+
+"I'm sorry I waited for you!" Hamlen retorted sullenly.
+
+"No, you're not; for you are an honest man." It was hard for Huntington
+to be brutal, but this was the moment when Hamlen must be forced to
+yield if at all. "You said a moment ago that I gave you back the life
+you had abandoned; then that life belongs to me. If you destroy it, you
+rob me of something which is mine, and that is theft. I don't care
+whether you agree with me or not, but I demand of you my property, on
+which you gave up your claim. If I leave it in your hands will you
+protect it for me, and deliver it to me when I am ready to make use of
+it?"
+
+This was a new idea to Hamlen, and he could not meet it. He was only
+conscious that Huntington was taking full advantage of his influence
+over him, and was driving him on relentlessly. He shifted his eyes
+uncomfortably, and in them was bitter resentment.
+
+"You leave me no alternative," he said helplessly. "For God's sake tell
+me what you want!"
+
+"I don't know," Huntington admitted frankly; "but for the present give
+me your promise that you will stay here until I reach my decision. I
+must go back to Sagamore to relieve the anxiety of those who are
+suffering on your account. When I return I shall hope to have found the
+solution. Have I your promise?"
+
+Hamlen leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.
+
+"You are too strong for me," he muttered. "I must do as you wish."
+
+Huntington laid his hand kindly on the bowed head.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXVI
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+In spite of Mrs. Thatcher's watchfulness, Billy had seen Merry and met
+his Waterloo. Blissfully unaware of the momentous happenings about him,
+and determined to "get even" with "the Gorgon," the boy developed a plot
+of his own which was perfect in conception barring one important detail:
+he and Merry were to slip away in a motor-car, dash over to Fall River
+to a young clergyman he knew, have the knot tied before interference was
+possible, and then return to Sagamore Hall for the parental blessing.
+The question of license occurred to him, but that was a mere detail
+which could be arranged on the way over.
+
+It was several days after this brilliant idea came to Billy before he
+found opportunity to take Merry into his confidence, but the more he
+thought it over the more strongly it appealed. The fact that she seemed
+even less responsive than usual did not discourage him, for girls, he
+had discovered, always act exactly contrary to their real feelings in
+affairs of this kind. The details were so absurdly simple and the
+outcome would be so eminently satisfactory that the possibility of
+failure became more and more remote. But, as the strength of any chain
+is determined by its weakest link, it was in this one omitted detail
+that Billy's plan slipped up; the idea did not appeal to Merry with
+sufficient force even to be given serious consideration.
+
+As a matter of fact the boy could not have selected a less opportune
+moment for presenting his forlorn hope. Merry had reached that ecstatic
+height to which martyrs attain. Joan of Arc was no more zealous to
+sacrifice herself to save Orleans than was Merry to pay the debt of
+honor her mother owed to Hamlen. It may be that the Maid was influenced
+in her heart by other motives beyond the "heavenly voices" which are
+generally accredited; it may be that Merry was more susceptible to the
+"call" she believed had come to her for some reason other than a
+willingness for martyrdom,--but in both cases the sincerity of the
+response was too genuine to be questioned. Billy's infatuated wooing
+seemed to her like sacrilege, and his mad plan for elopement too
+ridiculous for discussion.
+
+"Let us be friends, dear Billy," she said to him sweetly and
+gently,--"just friends, you and Philip and I. We'll always have the best
+of times together, help each other over the hard places, and sympathize
+with every sorrow which comes to any one of us."
+
+"No!" he protested vigorously, kicking viciously at an inoffensive root
+protruding slightly beneath his foot. "Nix on this brother and sister
+game; there's nothing in it."
+
+"I need you as a friend, Billy,--I need you this very minute!"
+
+Billy pricked up his ears at the words and at the pathetic note in
+Merry's voice; but he did not intend to be caught off his guard.
+
+"What do you mean 'need me as a friend'? Want me to run an errand for
+you? All right, off I go."
+
+"No, Billy; I need your sympathy. We're old pals, and ought to stand by
+each other."
+
+He looked at her with a dawning understanding.
+
+"Merry," he said, with the conviction of one who has made a great
+discovery,--"you're unhappy!"
+
+"Perhaps," she admitted; "I'm not sure."
+
+"I knew it!" he declared with satisfaction. "You are unhappy and I know
+the reason why: you're in love with me without realizing it. You're
+fighting against your destiny and you don't understand what the trouble
+is. That's why you are unhappy."
+
+"No, no, Billy; that isn't it."
+
+"Yes, it is; you take my word for it. We'll just slip it over on the
+whole bunch, get married, and then you'll see. You'll be as happy as a
+lark."
+
+"Oh! Billy, I do wish you'd be serious!"
+
+"Serious? ha! I should say I was serious! And to show you how sure I am
+I'm right, I'll make you a sporting proposition: if our getting married
+doesn't shake your fit of blues then we'll call the whole thing off.
+What do you say?"
+
+Merry laughed in spite of herself. "You certainly are the most
+impossible boy! You speak of getting married as if it were a set of
+tennis."
+
+"It's easy enough to get a divorce. Why don't you take a chance? Come
+on, be a sport!"
+
+When he found this wooing ineffective, Billy adopted the tragic _motif_.
+"Every time I think I've picked a rose," he declared disconsolately, "it
+turns out to be poison ivy; and here I am, stung again!"
+
+It was unfortunate for Billy that Merry could never take him seriously.
+While the boy poured out his youthful protestations she was gentle and
+considerate, but her appeal to his reason proved futile because no such
+thing existed. Later, when alone, the absurdity of the situation gave
+her an outlet, and she laughed quietly to herself. Poor, dear,
+easy-going Billy! She would have spared him even these imaginary
+heart-pangs if she could, but the real meaning of life and its
+responsibilities was yet for him to learn.
+
+Constant in the purpose to which she had consecrated herself, Merry
+received her mother on that eventful morning with mind prepared to
+accept the supreme test. She had been standing at the window before her
+chamber door opened, looking out across the broad lawn to the wide
+expanse of water sparkling in the morning sun. She had watched a stately
+four-master sailing majestically by; she had watched the little pleasure
+craft, darting in and out as if playing at hide and seek. The great ship
+pursued its dignified course, following the track laid down for it by
+the mariner's chart; the frolicsome boats went hither or thither,
+whichever way the favoring wind filled their sails. The great ship by
+holding steadfastly to her course would eventually reach that port
+toward which she had set out, with her mission fulfilled; the little
+boats would return to the moorings from which they fluttered with no
+other purpose accomplished than the pleasure of the passing moment. Yes,
+Merry had told herself, it was purpose which counted. She had dashed out
+over and over again on brief excursions, but even her serious errands
+had been undertaken because they gave her pleasure. Unless the course be
+charted, unless the goal be predetermined, there could be no permanence,
+no majestic dignity to any performance. The time had come when she would
+permit no wavering. She would show her confidence in the experience of
+the older mariner, who had plotted out the chart, by following it
+without the semblance of a doubt.
+
+"I'm ready, Momsie," she said brightly, turning toward Mrs.
+Thatcher,--"why, Momsie! what's the matter? It's all right, dearie. I'm
+sure we'll be very, very happy. I'm ready to see Mr. Hamlen whenever you
+say. It's all right, dearie."
+
+Mrs. Thatcher sat down wearily, and Merry slipped to the floor at her
+feet, looking wonderingly up into her strained face. Marian leaned
+forward impulsively and kissed her, resting her cheek against the girl's
+face.
+
+"My darling!" she said in a low, tense voice. "I have made a horrible
+mistake!"
+
+The spoken words started a flood of tears which until then Marian had
+been able to restrain. The full weight of the responsibility again
+rushed over her. She had dared to interfere in two lives which should
+have been allowed to find their own expression, she had dared to pit her
+human judgment against Nature. What would be the final outcome? With
+Merry, she could not believe it would result in anything more serious
+than a further confusion of ideals, but with Hamlen she knew well how
+disastrous the effect must be. How could she make matters clear to this
+dear child when her own brain was so bewildered!
+
+But when the tears had relieved the tension, and Marian felt the
+sympathetic encouragement of the heart beating against her own, the
+mother love, as always, rose triumphant over mental and physical
+limitations. During the next hours, amid confidences and revelations
+which enabled each at last to understand the other, mother and daughter
+experienced that rare communion which had been denied them, but which
+was theirs by right. The sacrifice Merry had been ready to make
+accomplished its purpose without necessity of execution; the sincerity
+of her mother's purpose became clear, and the girl discovered the
+natural refuge where she might always find relief from overpowering
+perplexities. When they went down-stairs together, with arms around each
+other, and strolled out into the rose-garden, there was a new meaning to
+the sunlight and to the fragrance of the flowers. Marian saw in it a
+promise that her morning supplication might not have been in vain.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The telephone message from Huntington that Hamlen had been located and
+that all was well relieved Marian's apprehensions, and left her with
+such thankfulness and joy that she was able to join her remaining guests
+in the day's activities. How all could be well she was unable to
+comprehend, for the shock to Hamlen's nature must have been too great
+for easy convalescence; but at all events the worst had not happened,
+and until Huntington returned no further details could be obtained.
+Merry, too, entered into the family life for the first time with any
+show of interest. Philip and Billy, who now alone remained of Philip's
+friends, annexed themselves in the absence of something better to do.
+Billy was still disgruntled, but his malady seemed to be located in his
+head rather than in the region of his heart.
+
+Activity was an absolute necessity to Marian, so she announced that
+instead of the usual dinner they would picnic on the shore at a spot
+perhaps two miles distant from Sagamore Hall. Not that this required
+physical exertion for her, but it was a novelty which would prove
+diverting. As the sun sank low, the little party boarded the electric
+launch.
+
+"Excuse me for asking, Marian, but where does the picnic come in?" Edith
+demanded, noting the total absence of baskets and bottles and the other
+usual paraphernalia. "I don't want to criticise, but I'm no air-plant."
+
+Marian laughed, "Have faith," she replied. "A relief train is even now
+on its way to save you from starvation."
+
+"Too bad for Huntington and Hamlen to miss all this," Cosden remarked,
+hoping to call forth some word of explanation.
+
+"If you vote it a success, we may repeat it after they return," she
+answered evasively. "Perhaps then we can include Harry."
+
+"That reminds me," Edith broke in, looking vindictively toward Cosden.
+"Perhaps you will tell me why Harry rushed down here like a lost soul
+and then back again to New York. Mr. Cosden is very mysterious about it,
+and my curiosity is aroused."
+
+"There isn't any mystery," Marian assured her. "There were some papers
+he had forgotten to take."
+
+"Why didn't he telephone me to bring them to him?" Philip demanded. "Why
+is it he won't let me go to the office, when he promised me I could help
+him as soon as college was over?"
+
+Mrs. Thatcher looked at Cosden questioningly. "Is there anything more
+than Harry told me?" she asked him.
+
+Cosden knew that Thatcher was still trying to keep his family in
+ignorance of the strain under which he was laboring. It was for him to
+give such details as he chose rather than for his guest.
+
+"I don't know how much you already know, Mrs. Thatcher," he replied with
+apparent candor. "These are strenuous days in Wall Street, and no one
+can tell what is going to happen next. As for you, Philip, don't be
+impatient. This is no time to initiate a youngster into any business.
+War is breaking loose in Europe, and if Germany and England lock horns
+there will be something doing."
+
+"War!" Philip cried. "Do you really think there will be a war?"
+
+"The idea!" Edith sniffed. "Those little savage tribes in the Balkans
+may call each other names and throw things around, but Germany and
+England are civilized nations. How perfectly absurd!"
+
+"If there is a war, I want to get in it," Philip insisted. "I've always
+wanted to go to war, and never supposed I would have a chance."
+
+"I'll go with you," announced Billy with sudden enthusiasm, looking
+significantly at Merry as he saw the solution of his troubles. "I don't
+care what side I'm on or against whom I fight. Let's enlist together,
+Phil."
+
+"You couldn't fight except for your own country, you silly," Merry
+laughed.
+
+"Of course I could," he insisted stoutly. "You never think I can do what
+I say I can, but I'll show you. I can be a soldier of fortune like
+Robert Clay, or I can be a Canadian and get shot up as much as I like."
+
+"But this isn't in a story, Billy, and Robert Clay was. More than that,
+you're no Canadian."
+
+"Anyhow I was in Canada once."
+
+"Don't mind Billy," Phil interrupted. "I'm really serious. There must be
+some way I could get into it. You know, Mother, how much I've always
+wanted to."
+
+"Yes, my boy; I do know," Mrs. Thatcher answered. "Ever since you were
+old enough to play with toys it has always been soldiers and wars. I
+have thanked God that war was a horror of the past, for I know how hard
+it would be to hold you back if the opportunity offered."
+
+"If he goes, then I go with him," Billy said with decision.
+
+"You both had better wait until war is declared by somebody against
+somebody else," Cosden suggested.
+
+"You don't think they'll patch it up, do you?" Philip inquired
+anxiously.
+
+"Let us hope so," Mrs. Thatcher answered; "but this is a pleasure
+expedition. Let us banish thoughts of war."
+
+As the launch rounded a rocky promontory a roaring fire was disclosed
+burning on the beach, around which several of the house servants were
+already busied in preparing supper. Back from the beach, beneath great
+spreading oaks, a cloth was laid on the ground, to which the contents of
+the hampers were being transferred. The usual limitations of camp life
+were conspicuous by their absence, the fascinations were emphasized by
+the marvelous smoothness with which everything was conducted.
+
+"I don't call this picnicking," Edith declared, after her first taste of
+chowder. "Plant a forest of trees in Sherry's ball-room, paint an ocean
+on the wall, fake a moon rising over the orchestra stage, everybody sit
+cross-legged on the floor,--and there you have it. Sherry certainly
+couldn't improve on the service or the food."
+
+"I can't find even an ant on mine," Billy complained, corroborating
+Edith's praise.
+
+"Champagne like this is far too good for the common people," added
+Cosden turning to Mrs. Thatcher. "How did you do it? It is the
+apotheosis of gipsy life, and makes me reluctant to return to
+civilization."
+
+Billy edged around until he gained a seat next to Merry. "This feast
+might have been in honor of our marriage," he whispered. "It's all your
+fault that I'm going to war, and if I'm shot up I'll come back and haunt
+you."
+
+"Don't, Billy!" Merry sputtered, laughing and choking,--"you'll make me
+swallow this the wrong way. There--" she continued as she recovered;
+"that's better. Now don't be silly or you'll spoil our fun. We are going
+to be good friends always, and that's all there is to it."
+
+"You wait. You've been lots happier since I told you that you loved me,
+now haven't you? I know. You think it's a joke because you think I'm a
+joke, but when once I've gone to war you'll understand. I'll bet you
+even that you'll chase after me as a Red Cross nurse, and that I'll die
+with my head in your lap. Do you take me?"
+
+Phil approached near enough to put an end to the proposition without
+Merry's reply.
+
+"Do you suppose there's anything in this war talk?" he queried, sitting
+down beside them.
+
+"Not a thing," his sister replied. "That would be too absurd."
+
+"If there is, I could at least go as a correspondent,--that is, if Dad
+could spare me. I'm terribly keen about this."
+
+"How could you work me in?" Billy demanded. "I couldn't do any newspaper
+stunt."
+
+"How about taking pictures to illustrate my articles?"
+
+"Great! I can shoot a Kodak like anything. Then it's all settled that we
+go together?"
+
+"Suppose there isn't any war?" Merry persisted in throwing cold water
+upon their plans.
+
+Both boys looked gloomily at each other. Then Billy had an inspiration.
+
+"If there isn't," he declared with decision, "then Phil and I will dash
+over there and stir one up. We could make faces at them or do something
+and get one started. That's the idea, isn't it, Phil?"
+
+"You make me tired!" Philip retorted. "This is too serious a matter to
+joke about."
+
+As the older boy moved away disgustedly Billy again whispered to Merry.
+"Phil is just as bad as you," he said disconsolately. "He doesn't know
+seriousness when he sees it. Come on! Take a chance and be a sport!"
+
+The boy's persistency was the only jarring note in the whole experience,
+and the extent of that was too limited to produce lasting effect. The
+picnickers watched the sun set and the moon rise, then, filled with the
+calm delights which Nature so generously shared with them, and
+over-satiated with the creature comforts supplied by their hostess, they
+re-embarked in the launch and returned to Sagamore Hall. To their
+surprise, as they walked across the great lawn to the house, they saw
+some one coming down to meet them.
+
+"Mr. Huntington has returned!" Marian cried, and she hastened toward him
+in advance of the others.
+
+"Why, Harry!" she exclaimed surprised to discover that it was her
+husband. "How did you manage to get back to-night? I'm so glad to see
+you!"
+
+Cosden hurried forward, sensing important revelations in Thatcher's
+return. The new-comer grasped his hand cordially, and his face even in
+the moonlight showed a relief from the long strain.
+
+"With your help, old man, I've pulled through," he whispered later. "The
+stock-markets of the world are closed indefinitely. Germany and England
+are straining to jump at each other's throats. The history of the world
+starts revision from to-day, and now I'm going to stay down here for a
+while and let other people worry!"
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXVII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Knowing that his telephone message would allay Mrs. Thatcher's greatest
+anxiety, Huntington made no effort to return to the shore that night,
+and when morning came it was a question whether he could go at all. He
+knew that Hamlen would keep his promise so long as he remained master of
+himself, but the roving eyes and the twitching nerves warned Huntington
+that he must not place too great reliance upon this expectation. All
+through the hours of darkness, without his friend's knowledge, he
+watched over him, sharing in sympathetic silence the suffering which the
+tossing body endured in expressing the tortures of the mind. When
+morning came at last Hamlen was quieter, but this condition was due to
+the exhaustion of high fever rather than to even temporary relief.
+Hastily summoning a physician, Huntington watched the examination,
+becoming more and more apprehensive as the expression of concern
+deepened on the doctor's face. Together they stepped into the hall,
+where the doctor shook his head gravely.
+
+"Tell me something of what led up to this," he demanded.
+
+Huntington briefly sketched Hamlen's history, and the climax.
+
+"It will be nip and tuck," the doctor said crisply. "His resistance is
+low, but he'll probably pull through. What I'm afraid of is his reason.
+We'll break this fever now, and then you must find something to interest
+him outside of himself. That is his only salvation."
+
+"I wish I thought I could," Huntington replied doubtfully. "There will
+be no help from him, for the last thing he desires is to live."
+
+"But if to live is to--"
+
+"I know,--I shall do my best."
+
+A week later Hamlen's life was out of danger, but at times his mental
+wanderings confirmed the doctor's worst apprehensions. Yet Huntington
+came to dread the depression of the saner moments more than the vagrant
+hallucinations. The dramatic details of the unleashing of the war-dogs
+of one nation after another should have been enough to arouse his
+interest, but his only comment was, "It is a fitting end to a hollow
+world, with its thin veneer of sham civilization; would to God it had
+come sooner!"
+
+Finally it seemed safe to leave the patient in the care of the trained
+nurse, and Huntington made his deferred return to Sagamore Hall. Marian
+had kept in touch with Hamlen's progress as well as she could over the
+telephone, but there was much which her heart craved to learn more
+intimately. The illness afforded a simple explanation to the other
+guests of the peculiar disappearance of both men, so Huntington's
+confidences needed to be told to Mrs. Thatcher alone. Still, there was
+a single exception. One of the first questions Huntington asked of
+Marian was whether Merry knew the whole truth, and when he learned from
+both how much each had gained from their mutual confidences he insisted
+that the girl hear from him the details of what had happened since.
+
+He told his story simply, trying to spare Marian and making as light as
+possible of the part which he himself had played, yet the whole-souled
+devotion he had given his friend could be concealed no more than the
+serious results of Mrs. Thatcher's persistency. Huntington had claimed
+from him the life which would have been forfeited, promising to make
+good use of it; now that it was at his disposal, what was he to do with
+it? He admitted freely to Mrs. Thatcher and Merry that as yet he had
+found no solution.
+
+"This necessity of doing your splendid work over again is but one of the
+results of my culpable stupidity," Marian said penitently. "When I think
+of it, it seems as if I should go mad!"
+
+Huntington rejoiced in the change which he found in Mrs. Thatcher. The
+sudden view she had gained of herself was all she needed to understand
+that one lack which no one could have made her see or comprehend.
+Huntington felt the closer relationship between her and Merry, and he
+believed the girl had found the answer to her question.
+
+"We must forget our mistakes," he said, anxious to relieve Marian,
+"except when remembering them will prevent a repetition. We all have
+tried to do our full duty by this abnormal personality, and our
+shortcomings should not cause us to question the sincerity of our acts."
+
+"You are too generous," Mrs. Thatcher replied; "I shall never cease to
+hold myself accountable, never!"
+
+"Don't, Momsie!" Merry begged. "Perhaps even now we can suggest
+something which will undo the harm."
+
+"We must," Huntington said soberly. "Now, if I may finish out my visit
+with you it will be a real relief after these depressing days, and we
+will await the inspiration."
+
+"We are counting on your doing so," Marian replied promptly. "It
+comforts me to have you share this time with me. I can't tell Harry the
+whole story yet. And Billy is waiting for you. He and Philip are crazed
+by this talk of war, and are trying to find some way to get into it. Of
+course it is ridiculous, but boys are irrepressible creatures. I don't
+need to tell you that!"
+
+"I'm not so sure that it is ridiculous," Huntington surprised them both
+by saying. "I don't quite see where they could break into this war, but
+as for Billy I believe a first-hand knowledge of these terrible
+experiences would go far toward making a man of him."
+
+"You surely wouldn't have them get into the fighting!" Mrs. Thatcher
+exclaimed.
+
+"No, not that; but there are other ways. I heard some talk of forming
+ambulance squads to send to France. If they do that, I might urge
+Billy's father to let him go."
+
+"Still, there would be danger, wouldn't there?" Merry asked.
+
+"Some, perhaps; but there is danger in the life which surrounds these
+boys now. I am much concerned about Billy. Unless something happens to
+shake him up he will never know what life really is. The nobility of
+heroism, an every-day occurrence on the firing-line, is something which
+could not fail to leave its impress on these youngsters. It is worth
+thinking over."
+
+"I couldn't let Philip go," Marian said with the old-time finality in
+her voice.
+
+"Perhaps not," Huntington replied with a significant look. "It may be
+most unwise; but if Nature should seem to point strongly in that
+direction we must be careful not to thwart it."
+
+Marian flushed. "You are right, Mr. Huntington," she said with frank
+understanding; "I shall be careful, you may be sure."
+
+"Where are the boys now?" Huntington asked. "I would prefer to postpone
+the discussion with them until I am rested. I'm not used to problems,
+you know, and lately they seem to have concentrated themselves on me.
+Help me to escape them for another hour!"
+
+"Take Mr. Huntington down to the water-garden," Marian suggested
+smiling; "no one will think of looking for you there."
+
+"Would you like to go?" Merry asked him.
+
+"Nothing would rest me more."
+
+"Won't you come, Momsie?"
+
+"No, dear; you must do the honors in my stead."
+
+They wandered through the formal garden in silence, down the shaded
+_bosquet_, and across a bit of lawn to the fresh-water garden which was
+built only a little back from the shore itself. A miniature torii, from
+whose crossbeam hung a replica in straw of the mystic _shimenawa_,
+marked the entrance, sounding the motivation for the Oriental note
+within. They passed through this and walked between the rows of Japanese
+maples which formed an avenue ending in a vista of the sea. In the
+moment they had transported themselves, for within the limitations
+marked by the avenue of trees there was nothing to suggest anything save
+the East: there were the little shrines surrounded by Oriental
+flower-pots; there was a tiny lake, crossed by an arched stone bridge,
+through which could be seen the luxuriant bloom of the lotus and other
+rare aquatic plants, brilliant in their coloring and foliage, growing in
+and out of the water and over the rocks with well-planned irregularity;
+there was the lilliputian grove of dwarfed trees impudently challenging
+comparison with their taller neighbors.
+
+"I'm glad you brought me here," Huntington said as they seated
+themselves upon a curiously-carved stone. "Other parts of the estate are
+far more impressive, but you have no spot which appeals to me more by
+virtue of its beauty."
+
+"I love it too," the girl acknowledged. "Almost every one looks at it
+once or twice and admires it, but no one seems to care to linger here as
+I do. I am sure to be alone, so I come almost every day to read Lafcadio
+Hearn and to dream of Nippon."
+
+"I understand," Huntington said quietly; "and I'll warrant you find
+yourself spending much of your time gazing at the surface of that little
+lake."
+
+"Yes," she exclaimed surprised; "but how do you know that, and why
+should I do it?"
+
+"It is not so mysterious, after all," he answered smiling. "I have no
+psychic powers, but I know a little of the Oriental teachings: the
+surface of the lake is a mirror, symbolic of illusion and reflecting our
+souls, in which alone we must seek the Buddha.--But to-day it is of a
+modern divinity I would prefer to speak. These have been hard weeks for
+you, Merry, and I have sympathized with you."
+
+"Why,--yes; in a way," she admitted. "But like everything else I do,
+they haven't amounted to anything, have they?"
+
+"Haven't they?" he asked pointedly. "Isn't some of that unrest gone now
+that you and the dear mother understand each other?"
+
+"Of course. That means everything to me, but again it is I who benefit.
+Oh! Mr. Huntington, I want so much to do something for somebody else,
+and no matter how hard I try it always turns out that I am the gainer. I
+believed I had the opportunity at last, and again I was mistaken. But
+this time it wasn't my fault, was it? At least I was ready to do my
+part."
+
+"Don't you know that you can't try to do something for some one else
+without having it come back to you?"
+
+"Do you expect that what you are doing for Mr. Hamlen will bring you a
+reward?"
+
+"It has already given me your friendship. Isn't that enough?"
+
+The color came to Merry's face, and she turned her glance away. "What
+can that mean to you who have so many friendships?" she asked.
+
+"It is the friendship I value most among them all."
+
+She looked up at him quickly, startled by the intensity of his tone.
+"You can't mean that," she said. "To me it is different. You brought
+into my life something which it never had and never would have had
+except for you. To me your friendship is the grandest thing I know, but
+what can mine mean to you? Something fine and splendid must come in
+return for the months you have given Mr. Hamlen. I wish--" she hesitated
+a moment but then continued bravely--"yes, I wish it might even bring
+you back the girl you loved--and found too late!"
+
+"Merry! child! what are you saying!" he cried.
+
+"Have I hurt you again?"
+
+"Not hurt me; but you make it hard for me to be fair to our friendship."
+
+"Can't we be friends--because of her?"
+
+Huntington turned to her gently, taking her hand in his. His face showed
+the force of the emotion which fought for supremacy, but the calmness
+with which he spoke evidenced his control.
+
+"I have tried to be fair to our friendship," he repeated, "but you must
+not misunderstand. I wonder if it would be more kind to tell you the
+truth, even though it cost me what I value so."
+
+"Don't,--please don't!" she begged.
+
+"I fear I must," he said with decision, "no matter what it costs.
+Whether this strain with Hamlen has weakened my resolve, or because the
+romance of the Japanese Benten hovers over this spot and bids me speak,
+I must tell you, little girl, that my friendship has only been a blind
+to cover something far deeper, which I have no right to offer you. The
+time has come for you to know that, for it will tell you what you are to
+me. I would relinquish all I possess to turn back the years until they
+gave me the right to ask you to be my wife."
+
+She started to her feet and tried to speak, but he stopped her.
+
+"You don't need to answer," he insisted. "I understand only too well."
+
+"But the girl you met too late--"
+
+"Was you, dear child! I am a generation ahead of my time; otherwise I
+believe it might have been."
+
+He smiled as he always did when deeply moved, but this time the sadness
+showed through the mask. As the full comprehension of his words came to
+her, Merry's color faded but she looked into his face with a woman's
+candor.
+
+"Is the difference in our ages the only reason?" she asked.
+
+"Alas! that is enough!"
+
+"No, no!" she cried impulsively. "You wouldn't let that stand between
+us!"
+
+"Do you realize what you are saying, Merry? It can't be that you
+understand!"
+
+"I do! I do!" she cried. "Please don't stop. Say it to me!"
+
+He placed his arm around her and drew her to him. "Can it possibly be?"
+he demanded incredulously. "Can this really have come to me?"
+
+Merry hid her face on his shoulder. "Say it!" she insisted,
+"please,--please say it!"
+
+"Merry--child--I love you!"
+
+Her arm crept about his neck, and then her radiant face came out from
+its hiding place, and held itself ready for the consecration.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXVIII
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+They lingered in happy disregard of passing time, each seeming to fear
+disillusionment if they deserted their magic garden. Huntington no
+longer felt the oppression of the years, Merry no longer drifted from
+her anchorage.
+
+"Monty," she whispered slyly,--"dare I call you Monty?"
+
+"If you don't, I shall call you incorrigible!"
+
+"Monty,--who is Benten?"
+
+She asked the question so hesitatingly, as if ashamed to admit her
+ignorance, that he laughed.
+
+"Benten?" he repeated after her. "Surely you know Benten! She is none
+other than an adorable Japanese lady of antiquity who is known as the
+deity of Beauty, the divinity of Love and the Goddess of Eloquence. I
+have no doubt she has other attributes, but those are enough for us,
+aren't they, little sweetheart?"
+
+"Oh, Monty,--you know so much!" she sighed. "It is going to be a
+terrible strain!"
+
+She seemed very winsome in her present mood, and he smiled happily.
+
+"The strain will be on me, dear heart," he protested. "I have assumed
+wisdom all these years with no danger of being unmasked; now you will
+find me out.
+
+"I'm glad it happened here in this garden," she said contentedly. "I
+seem to feel more at home in this atmosphere. Benten shall be my patron
+saint from this day."
+
+"Shall we spend our honeymoon in Japan?" he asked. "Why not keep this
+setting to the end?"
+
+She clapped her hands. "Splendid!" she cried. "That will be
+Paradise;--and you'll teach me all you know about everything?"
+
+"Why not let your Hearn teach you of Japan? He knows it all. He would
+tell you, too, that Benten is also Goddess of the Sea," he pointed to
+the brilliant spot of color at the end of the avenue, now made
+spectacular by the radiance of the setting sun. "He would understand
+why, under this influence, I could not keep from telling you my secret;
+for 'is not the sea most ancient and most excellent of speakers,--the
+eternal poet, chanter of that mystic hymn whose rhythm shakes the world,
+whose mighty syllables no man may learn?'"
+
+"Oh, Monty," she murmured, nestling closer to him in blissful happiness,
+"please go on. To hear you talk is just like listening to a beautiful
+symphony. And to think you're going to share it all with me! Let us stay
+right here forever!"
+
+"Mer-ry!" came Philip's call across the lawn.
+
+"Uncle Mon-ty!" Billy halloed.
+
+"There come those horrid boys," she pouted, sitting up straight. "Why
+are boys, anyway?"
+
+"You told me once that it was only when they became serious that you
+worried about them," he teased her.
+
+"They are serious now,--they've found out you're here, and they're going
+to talk war with you.--I don't want to give you up even for a moment!"
+
+"Nor I you," he whispered, as the boys were close at hand; "but we must
+keep our secret a little longer."
+
+They rose and walked up the avenue to meet them.
+
+"Mother said to wait because you were tired, but Billy couldn't, so I
+came with him," Philip explained lamely.
+
+"I am never too tired to receive a welcome like this--"
+
+"We want your advice," Billy interrupted.
+
+"Won't it wait until we get to the house?"
+
+"No," Billy insisted; "it's urgent. Phil and I want to go to the war,
+and if we don't hurry they may call it off and then we'll be rooked."
+
+"I wish there was a chance they might," Huntington said feelingly.
+"There's no fear of that, boy. They are in for a long and terrible
+struggle."
+
+"Great!" cried Philip. "I've always wanted to go to war, and I never
+believed there would be another."
+
+"I'm going because I want to get shot up just to spite Merry," added
+Billy, remembering his grievance and looking at the girl gloomily.
+
+"The fact that you realize so little what you are saying is the greatest
+argument you could advance in favor of your going," Huntington said,
+looking at them gravely.
+
+"I didn't mean to speak as I did," Philip replied apologetically. "It
+is a terrible thing, of course, but since it has come I am crazy to be a
+part of it. I believe I'll run away if Mother and Dad don't let me go!"
+
+"I meant just what I said," Billy insisted stoutly. "Merry is very
+unhappy,--haven't you noticed it?"
+
+"Do I look so now?" she laughed at him.
+
+"You shouldn't interrupt," he reproved her; "it isn't polite.--She
+doesn't know what is the matter with her, but I do."
+
+"What is the matter, Billy?" Huntington inquired seriously. "If I knew,
+perhaps I could help her."
+
+"Of course you could; that's why I'm telling you. She's in love with me
+and she doesn't know it."
+
+"By Jove!" Huntington exclaimed, looking at Merry's beaming face as she
+walked beside him, and then at the serious features of the boy on the
+other side. "I'm afraid I can't help, after all."
+
+"Yes, you can," Billy insisted confidently. "Merry will believe anything
+you tell her. Now if I go to war and get shot up she will realize her
+destiny, and will come to the hospital over there somewhere and be a Red
+Cross nurse, and fix me all up. Then we'll be married,--unless my wound
+is fatal and I die," he added, gulping down the pathos which this
+painful picture stirred within himself.
+
+"I can't stay with you, Billy, if you harrow up my feelings like this,"
+Huntington declared. "It isn't fair to take advantage of your
+sympathetic old uncle."
+
+"He's just talking in bunches, Mr. Huntington," Philip said disgustedly.
+"You mustn't mind what he says. His mouth is full of mush all the time
+now. I'm sick of it!"
+
+"How about my feelings, Billy?" Merry demanded. "Have you no pity for
+me?"
+
+"Why should I?" he retorted. "It's all your fault.--Uncle Monty,
+wouldn't you like to have Merry in the family?"
+
+"I certainly would," was the frank response spoken with a sincerity
+which gave the boy unbounded encouragement.
+
+"Now you've said something!" Billy exclaimed and he turned to Merry with
+a gesture of finality! "I want you in the family, Uncle Monty wants you,
+Phil wants me for a brother-in-law--"
+
+"I'm not so sure," Philip interrupted.
+
+"Oh, yes, he does," Billy continued unabashed.--"So it's up to you. Will
+you make us all happy, or will you send me to meet my fate amid the
+horrors of war?"
+
+"That'll be about all of that," Philip said, scowling. "We came out here
+to talk war and not nonsense. I won't stand for it!"
+
+"We mustn't get these two great questions confused, Billy," Huntington
+said soothingly. "I have something to tell you later which may solve one
+of them, and we should approach the other with a calm and judicial mind.
+I haven't any right to advise you, Philip, for your mother and father
+probably have definite ideas which must be respected; but if a way could
+be found for Billy to have some of the experiences over there without
+running too much danger, I should be inclined to throw my influence in
+favor of his going."
+
+"Hurrah!" Billy cried.
+
+"That is all I could possibly expect, Mr. Huntington," Philip
+acknowledged. "If Billy is allowed to go, I'm sure Mother and Dad will
+consent."
+
+"Very good. I promise you to look into it carefully, and Billy will keep
+you posted as to the result."
+
+"What's the other solution?" Billy asked suspiciously.
+
+"I'll tell you later.--Now let me speak with the others. There is
+nothing more for us to talk about, is there?"
+
+"I'm sorry I spoke so lightly about the war," Philip said, grasping
+Huntington's hand as they separated. "I have fighting in my blood
+somewhere, and I'm so excited over it all that I forget myself
+sometimes."
+
+"War means to forget one's self at all times, my boy," Huntington
+answered kindly. "With all its savagery, with all its brutal return to
+primeval instincts, the sacrifices and the heroism it calls for ennoble
+those who are drawn into its hideous vortex. No man can once feel this
+and ever again look upon life in a small way. That is why, under certain
+circumstances, I might favor Billy's desire."
+
+"That is my second desire," Billy carefully explained; "my first is that
+Merry become a member of our family."
+
+"To that," his uncle replied, "I have already given my unqualified
+approval."
+
+The boys left them and they continued to the house. Mr. and Mrs.
+Thatcher met them at the steps.
+
+"I had begun to fear that you and Merry were lost," Marian said, after
+Huntington greeted his host.
+
+"We have been lost a long time," Huntington replied, with a meaning they
+did not comprehend; "now we have indeed found ourselves."
+
+He took Merry's hand in his and stood for a moment looking at them both.
+
+"Would this time be inopportune," he continued, "to ask if you can spare
+this little girl to some one who loves her very dearly?"
+
+"So Billy has persuaded you to become his champion?" Mrs. Thatcher said
+with some annoyance. "I didn't think Merry cared for him. He is so
+irresponsible, Mr. Huntington. It is difficult to refuse anything you
+ask, but couldn't the matter wait?"
+
+"The boy isn't grown up enough to think of such things yet," Thatcher
+added.
+
+Huntington smiled quietly at the natural mistake. "It is for one who is
+perhaps too far grown up I stand as champion, but I am hoping you will
+not look upon that as an obstacle. I did for many months, but Merry has
+a way of making one forget his years."
+
+"You!" Marian cried.
+
+"You don't mean it, my dear fellow!" Thatcher held out his hand
+cordially.
+
+"We children ask the parental blessing."
+
+Merry slipped by, into her mother's arms.
+
+"Oh! Momsie! I am happy at last!"
+
+"You have certainly kept us in the dark!" Marian exclaimed, recovering
+from her surprise.
+
+Then the pleasure in her face changed to one of concern. "You have
+loved Merry, yet stood aside these weeks?"
+
+"I could not believe that she could care for me."
+
+"Almost a triple tragedy!" Marian said soberly, so low that only
+Huntington heard her. "Can any one ever forgive me!"
+
+"Come, we must tell Edith and Cosden," Thatcher urged. "They are
+consumed with impatience to see you."
+
+"Let us wait until dinner," Huntington suggested. "Billy must be
+considered, for the dear boy believes himself madly in love with
+Merry,--even as I did once with her mother."
+
+"Nonsense!" laughed Marian.
+
+"It didn't seem like nonsense then, but I forgive you since you give me
+this sweet child, which I know you consider a greater gift than the one
+I would have asked."
+
+"I never heard of this," Thatcher exclaimed.
+
+"No man can marry a woman like Mrs. Thatcher without finding wrecks
+along the shore."
+
+"A very pretty remark from a son-in-law," she retorted. "I shall hold
+you strictly to your loyalty!"
+
+"Let me find Billy while you are dressing for dinner," Huntington said.
+"I'll overtake you after breaking the news gently to him."
+
+"Don't be late," Merry whispered to him in parting. "When I leave you I
+shall think it all a dream."
+
+"So it is, dear heart, but one which is sure to come true!"
+
+Billy joined his uncle in his room, and the older man sat down beside
+him on the window-seat.
+
+"Boy," he said, "you and I have been great pals, and I want you to be
+the first to know of a wonderful thing which has happened to me."
+
+"You've beaten Mr. Cosden at golf," Billy guessed.
+
+"It is something which will hurt you for a minute but I want you to show
+how good a sport you are."
+
+"You're not going to make me live within my allowance?"
+
+"Merry is going to marry me."
+
+"She isn't!" the boy cried, almost bursting into tears. "She
+isn't,--she's going to marry me!"
+
+"Steady, Billy, steady! Remember what pals we are! You wouldn't want her
+to marry you if she loved some one else, would you?"
+
+Billy quieted down, swallowing hard but saying nothing.
+
+"Think how many years I have waited for this wonderful thing to happen.
+Think how many years you have ahead of you in which to have it happen.
+For it will happen to you, boy,--it must."
+
+"But you are a woman-hater."
+
+"No, boy,--a Merry lover! Won't you forget your infatuation and wish me
+joy?"
+
+"I shall never marry," Billy said disconsolately.
+
+"That is what I said, twenty years ago!"
+
+"You can't depend on girls, anyhow."
+
+"That is what I said, twenty years ago! Won't you wish me joy? It's the
+first time I've ever asked you to do anything for me."
+
+"It's asking a whole lot."
+
+"It is,--and the greater the gift if you give it to me."
+
+"So Merry is really going to marry you?"
+
+Huntington nodded his head.
+
+"Oh, well, I suppose I shall get over it."
+
+"Good for you, boy! And you wish me joy?"
+
+"I can't; I'm a woman-hater now myself."
+
+"Wish me as much joy as possible under the circumstances."
+
+"I'll do that; but don't expect me to throw a fit in doing it."
+
+"All right," Huntington patted him affectionately on the shoulder. "Now
+run and get ready for dinner, and don't forget that I'm keeping Merry in
+the family!"
+
+"Oh! come. Don't rub it in!"
+
+"I won't, but I'm so happy that I'm kiddish!"
+
+"Many a married man seems contented when he's only resigned," quoted
+Billy maliciously.
+
+"Get out!" Huntington shouted, throwing a chair-pillow at the retreating
+figure.
+
+It was at dinner that the party reassembled, this time in its full
+strength of numbers. The table was set in the Italian dining-porch,
+which occupied the east gable, and by reason of its uniqueness formed a
+charming background for the ceremony. Three of its sides were open, the
+over-story being supported on columns; the plaster wall was covered with
+masses of flowering and decorative plants, clinging to a lattice, and
+broken in the center by a niche enclosing an old marble fountain. Edith
+and Cosden greeted Huntington cordially when he came down, plying him
+with questions until he begged for mercy.
+
+"You don't show any ill effects from acting as trained nurse," Cosden
+remarked; "in fact I never saw you look so well. Glad you came in time
+for this farewell dinner; I'm back into the harness again to-morrow."
+
+"I wish you could stay longer, Mr. Cosden," Marian urged.
+
+"I'm ashamed of the length of time I have already imposed upon your
+hospitality," Cosden replied; "but you must hold Edith responsible. It
+takes her an eternity to get a little word of three letters out of her
+mouth."
+
+"That isn't a commodity which requires advertising," she remarked,
+tossing her head.
+
+"I'll get you yet, you little devil!" whispered Cosden.
+
+"This dinner is epoch-making," Thatcher said seriously after they were
+seated, "and the epochs divide themselves into two parts. The first one
+I'm going to explain; then, as it is proper that my wife should have the
+last word, Marian will tell you the second. We have with us this
+evening--that's the way the toastmaster usually starts in, isn't it?--a
+man whom I have known for several years, whose integrity is
+unquestioned, but who has been considered by his business associates as
+one who exacted his last pound of flesh."
+
+Cosden looked quickly at Thatcher, and reddened at the pointed glance
+which Edith gave him.
+
+"A few days ago," Thatcher continued, "owing to extraordinary business
+conditions, that man found the one house which he would like best to
+control in a position where he could legitimately force it to accept his
+own terms. I know, because that house was mine."
+
+"Cut it out, Thatcher," Cosden growled; "this isn't an experience
+meeting."
+
+Thatcher paid no attention to him. "At this crisis, I went down on my
+knees, and begged him a favor to accept a little trifle of four and a
+half millions profit in exchange for saving my house and reputation."
+
+"Harry!" Marian cried. "I've been blind to your troubles too!"
+
+"This was his chance. He remarked coolly that he had been making plans
+to take advantage of his opportunity when it came, handed me drafts
+which enabled me to weather the storm, and refused to accept one penny
+of the blood-money which I was only too ready to give him. That is the
+way our friend Cosden collects his pound of flesh."
+
+"Connie did that?" Huntington demanded, gratified beyond measure but
+speaking lightly to cover Cosden's embarrassment. "Why, Connie,--I
+thought you were a business man!"
+
+Edith made no comment but her gaze never left Cosden's face. His
+confusion was genuine, for to be made a hero in the midst of one's
+friends is more than any man can stand. Marian hastened to his rescue.
+
+"I shall tell Mr. Cosden what I think of him when we are alone," she
+said gratefully. "Now let us turn from the worship of Midas to that of a
+coy little divinity who may yet teach Edith to speak in words of one
+syllable. Harry says that I am to have the last word. It shall be brief:
+Mr. and Mrs. Henry Thatcher announce the engagement of their only
+daughter to--Mr. William Montgomery Huntington."
+
+The effect of this announcement was even more dramatic than the first.
+
+"You sly old dog!" Cosden cried, reaching over and pummeling Huntington
+on the back.
+
+"Great work!" was Philip's congratulation, but he subsided when he saw
+the expression on Billy's face.
+
+It was epoch-making, as Thatcher had promised. The relief over the happy
+solution of the business crisis, and the surprise and joy of the
+announced engagement made the dinner pass from an episode into an event.
+Billy's lack of enthusiasm might be easily understood and as easily
+forgiven, but Edith's subdued attitude was less comprehensible. It was
+only as they left the table to go out upon the piazza that she broke her
+silence. She held back after Marian and Merry passed through the door
+and turned to Cosden.
+
+"Did you really do that?" she demanded.
+
+He nodded his head sheepishly. "You see, as Monty says, I'm no kind of
+business man after all."
+
+"I think you're the greatest business genius in the world!"
+
+"You do!" he cried. "Then why don't you follow Merry's example?"
+
+"I might," she said smiling.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XXXIX
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Huntington dared not extend his visit beyond a few blissful days, but
+into these he crowded the full expression of his long-delayed romance.
+The wonder of it never left him, the joy of it filled him with quiet
+content.
+
+The lovers watched Cosden's departure next morning, and by virtue of the
+priority of their engagement, considered themselves entitled to tease
+Edith who was not to leave until the following day.
+
+"Well," Huntington remarked, as they turned back into the hallway, "as
+Connie says, he usually gets what he goes after."
+
+"Don't you think he's earned me?" Edith retaliated.
+
+"And you him," Huntington retorted. "Everything is as it should be. You
+are just the girl for him, and he will make you a husband in a thousand.
+I need not tell you how cordially I have congratulated him."
+
+"I don't think our Society proved very effective," she remarked dryly.
+
+"On the contrary, it demonstrated its efficiency by the present most
+satisfactory exceptions.--But you are giving me a great many mysteries
+to explain to Merry!"
+
+The evening before Huntington felt it necessary to return to his patient
+he touched upon a subject which had been avoided.
+
+"Mamma," he said to Mrs. Thatcher, "I think--"
+
+"Don't you dare to call me that, Monty Huntington!" Marian exclaimed
+vehemently. "If I am to go through life with a son-in-law older than I
+am, at least I won't be called 'mamma'!"
+
+"I'm trying to be respectful," Huntington explained mischievously.
+
+"Never you mind that,--call me 'Marian.' That at least will give me the
+benefit of the doubt."
+
+"I'm sorry to mark my entrance into the family by causing
+mortification," Huntington continued in mock-seriousness. "It never
+occurred to me, if my prospective wife made no objections, that my age
+would be offensive to her parents. But the case isn't so serious as Ned
+Fordham's, is it?"
+
+"He married Mrs. Eustis, didn't he?"
+
+"Yes; and you remember that she has a married daughter and a small
+grandchild. Ned said the idea of a ready-made family was fine, but he
+thought it immoral for him to become a grandfather before he became a
+father."
+
+"Rather late for him to come to that conclusion, wasn't it?" Thatcher
+laughed.
+
+"Yes; but he found two other men in the same predicament, so the three
+of them have formed a 'Society of Illegitimate Grandparents,' and now
+they're looking for more members."
+
+"Ned would joke at his own funeral!" chuckled Thatcher.
+
+"It isn't your age I'm objecting to," Marian explained; "it's my own.
+Merry's engagement makes me realize it."
+
+"She and I are going to make you forget that you have any age at all,"
+Huntington declared.--"But when you interrupted me I was going to speak
+of a really important matter.--We mustn't be unmindful of poor Hamlen."
+
+"No, indeed," Marian replied seriously. "Happiness is selfish, isn't it,
+in making us temporarily forgetful? Poor Philip!"
+
+"We are doing him no injustice," he reassured her; "in fact I think the
+news I can take will please him. But I want you and Merry to go back to
+Boston with me."
+
+"Whatever you think is wise shall be done," she acquiesced, "but
+wouldn't it be better for you to go ahead to prepare him for our
+coming?"
+
+"That is by far the wiser plan," Huntington assented promptly.
+
+"Take me with you, Monty," Merry whispered; "I wish we never need be
+separated again."
+
+"Stay here, sweetheart, and plan out with the dear mother how soon that
+day may be. I have been waiting too long already!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The nurse met Huntington as he entered the door, and replied to the
+question his face asked sooner than his lips.
+
+"There is a remarkable improvement," she announced cheerfully. "The
+doctor was here this morning, and left word for you that the progress is
+beyond his understanding."
+
+"Splendid!" he cried. "Where shall I find Hamlen?
+
+"In the library, Mr. Huntington; it is all I can do to persuade him to
+go anywhere else."
+
+Huntington mounted the stairs two steps at time. "Hamlen!" he cried,
+"where are you?"
+
+"Here!" a well-contained voice replied as he entered the room, "in your
+library, sitting in your favorite chair, eating your food, drinking your
+rum--in short, exercising every prerogative a man can assume who has
+unfettered himself from worldly responsibilities, and awaits the command
+of his master."
+
+"You certainly are better," Huntington exclaimed, looking at him
+critically, astonished by the tone of his remark.
+
+"Except for my weakness," Hamlen answered, holding out his hand, "better
+than I've been in all my life."
+
+"You amaze me!" Huntington exclaimed. "I hoped for an improvement, but
+this return to more than your best self--"
+
+"I've fought the fight, my friend, and this is the result."
+
+"It is a positive triumph!" Huntington drew a chair beside the patient,
+and regarded him with an expression of mystified gratification. "What in
+the world has happened?"
+
+"You went away and gave me a chance to think," Hamlen replied seriously.
+"Do you know, Huntington, I'm convinced that there ought to be a law
+condemning every human being to solitary confinement for a certain
+period each year, to make him think. Deprive him of his companions, his
+books, his writing materials--everything, and just force him to think.
+We take things so much for granted, we accept so many half-truths, we so
+easily lose our sense of proportion."
+
+"That is a capital idea, but you've done your share of it already."
+
+"My thoughts were misdirected. You not only gave me the opportunity but
+something basic on which to build. I wonder if you realize how
+pitilessly you laid me bare!"
+
+"I had no intention, my dear fellow--"
+
+"Oh, it was right; that was the very thing which saved me. I was sincere
+in feeling myself sunk in degradation, in wanting to end it all, and I
+hated you for standing in my way. But when you laid claim to my life,
+which I valued so slightly, I began to analyze it to discover why you
+cared to have it. You have done more for me, Huntington, than any human
+being ever did for a fellow-creature, and why you did it was past my
+comprehension."
+
+"We are bound by ties of a great brotherhood," Huntington explained.
+
+"No man I ever saw before has considered them so sacred. You are an
+idealist, Huntington. Your devotion to college and to college
+responsibilities amounts to a fetish. But I thank God for your idealism:
+it is not what college relations really are but what they ought to be!"
+
+"I never will admit that, Hamlen."
+
+"Of course you won't; if you did you would lose your idealism. I saw all
+this, and it gave me my explanation: what you have done for me,
+Huntington, you would have done for any other college man under the
+same circumstances. It was not because of any claim the individual had
+upon you, but rather the acknowledgment of the greater appeal made by
+that brotherhood you venerate."
+
+"No, Hamlen; you must not depreciate the appeal which your own
+personality made from the first."
+
+"I don't depreciate it,--I'm proud of it; but to understand your
+idolatrous worship of the brotherhood makes it possible for me to accept
+the heavy obligations under which you place me. When you left me I felt
+that you must hate the sight of my haggard face, the sound of my
+complaining voice, the burden of silly weakness which I foisted upon
+your generous shoulders."
+
+"I understood what lay beneath."
+
+"You did, and to a wonderful extent; but it took me hours of bitter
+fighting to understand. Then the bigness of the great central thing at
+last came to me, and I recognized it. Sitting here in this chair I cried
+out in my excitement. The littleness of my own previous viewpoint
+overwhelmed me, and what had seemed tragedies assumed at last their
+smaller proportions. The greatness of your own ideals, the claim which
+the Alma Mater ought to have upon her sons, the right which the larger
+world outside has to demand big things of those to whom it gives
+advantages, made the petty failures of my life so insignificant that I
+was ashamed to have paraded them in public. I have been lying down on my
+weaknesses, Huntington, as no man ever has a right to do; but you have
+seen the last of that. I'll stand up now and take my medicine, I'll pay
+whatever penalty my latest indiscretion may demand, I'll practise some
+of that idealism which makes you what you are, and lay the ghost which
+for years has tortured me with pin-pricks."
+
+"You give me too much credit, Hamlen," Huntington insisted firmly; "but
+since you find relief in what I've said or done I rejoice in your
+exaggeration."
+
+"You claimed my life, my friend," Hamlen returned again to his earlier
+statement, "and it belongs to you. In all honor, I must make it reflect
+attributes which will give it value. With that accomplished, I stand
+ready to make delivery; but with it you must also accept its
+obligations. How will you have me pay them?"
+
+"Your obligations are not so serious as you imagine," Huntington replied
+with decision; "the only one as yet unpaid is to yourself. Had I not
+seen this surprising evidence of your latent strength I should not have
+believed you capable of meeting it; now I do."
+
+"But Marian--the insult my actions gave her--"
+
+"Forgotten, and forgiven,--if forgiveness be required."
+
+"If I could see her once more, and she would listen to me--"
+
+"She is coming here to see you as soon as I tell her you are strong
+enough."
+
+"Coming here?" he echoed; "I can't believe it! And the girl--can she
+ever understand?"
+
+"On that point I can reassure you with even greater certainty, for I am
+to be the substitute bridegroom!"
+
+Hamlen looked at him steadily to make sure he was in earnest.
+
+"You are to marry Miss Thatcher?" he asked deliberately.
+
+"The Gods have been good to me, Hamlen; they have given me the one gift
+I craved."
+
+"Then you have loved her all these weeks?"
+
+"Since first I saw her."
+
+"My friend!" Hamlen raised himself unsteadily in his weakness, refusing
+assistance, until he stood upon his feet. Then supporting himself with
+one hand, he raised the other to his forehead in salute.
+
+"You, sir, are a great man!" he said with dramatic fervor. "You not only
+possess ideals, but actually live up to them! A world that can produce
+one such as you is entitled to my respect, and is a place worth living
+in!"
+
+"Cease!" Huntington cried, genuinely embarrassed by Hamlen's tribute.
+"Leave me out of this, for this is your day. To rise superior to the
+habit of twenty years, to let the world knock you down time after time,
+and finally come up smiling with an acknowledgment that it was your
+fault after all, to stand ready to pool issues with that world which you
+have always considered your enemy, is an exhibition of character which
+puts you so far beyond the rest of us that you couldn't see us if we
+saluted you.--I thought my happiest moment came when I discovered
+unexpectedly that Merry loved me; now you have taken me to heights
+beyond.
+
+"I believe you," Hamlen answered him, his voice weak from the strain of
+the interview, but his eyes bright with excitement and his face
+radiant,--"I believe every word you say. For one of your great
+brotherhood to find himself at last means more to you than any personal
+happiness,--such is the strength of the fetish! I wonder if the girl is
+big enough to share you with your other idol!"
+
+"Have no fears," Huntington laughed contentedly. "She will worship at
+the shrine with devotion equal to my own, and my fellow-worshipers shall
+bow the knee to her."
+
+The nurse gave Huntington a reproving glance when she came for her
+patient, but Hamlen would not permit even a suggestion that his friend
+had been unmindful of his weakness.
+
+"It's all right," he reassured her. "I know I'm excited, I know that
+I've pulled too hard on my strength, but something has come to
+me--inside here--which no doctor could ever give me. You'll see. Take me
+away now and I'll be as docile as a child.--But, Huntington, please
+telephone Marian that instead of coming to see me, I'd rather go to her.
+I would prefer to tell her what I have to say down there where the trees
+are cousins to my trees, and the language of the flowers can fill in the
+words when I find my own speech inadequate.--She'll understand."
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+XL
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+It was another fortnight before the fugitive was able to return to
+Sagamore Hall. Huntington telephoned, as he had promised, but he also
+found it necessary to run down there himself, to explain in detail the
+miracle which had happened. Mrs. Thatcher appreciated his thoughtfulness
+of her, Merry expressed her full approval, and incidentally he found the
+experience agreeable, so the necessity of his appearance in person was
+unanimously conceded. Still, the satisfaction of this visit was
+completely overshadowed by his feeling of triumph when Hamlen actually
+accompanied him.
+
+The drone of the motor-car brought Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher and Merry to
+the door to greet them, for Marian wished their welcome to express to
+the fullest the fact that whatever had occurred was forgotten. Hamlen
+read it so, and it helped him.
+
+"I have to move a bit slowly yet," he explained as he rose cautiously in
+the tonneau. "Another month and I'll be as good as new."
+
+They assisted him up the steps and through the hallway to a great easy
+chair on the piazza beyond. Then, after a few moments of general
+conversation, they left him alone with Marian.
+
+"Isn't it wonderful?" he exclaimed with frank delight. "I'm as pleased
+with myself as a kitten with two tails."
+
+"You well may be!" she laughed at his expression, which in its nature
+was eloquent of the changed mental attitude. "And our rejoicing is not
+far behind yours."
+
+"I know it; that is the most wonderful part of the whole thing. No
+matter how idiotic my actions, you and Huntington have stuck right by
+me, and have proved me wrong by the bigness of your hearts."
+
+"Forget the past," Marian urged, "and start things from to-day."
+
+"No; I wouldn't want to do that, even if I could."
+
+He paused for a moment, and played with a tassel which fell across his
+lap from the cushion she had placed in the chair.
+
+"Of course," he said without looking up, "much of it will always seem
+like a delirious dream, but after all it is the past which has given me
+the present. And except for the past I should not have Huntington."
+
+There was a wealth of feeling in his words which showed Mrs. Thatcher
+how strong a hold his friend had gained upon him.
+
+"Does he know how much he means to you, I wonder?"
+
+Hamlen looked up quickly. "He hasn't the slightest conception," he
+answered. "I have never seen a man so oblivious to the power he
+exercises over others, or to the results which he obtains. He really
+thinks I've come through this crisis because of some latent strength of
+character, when in reality it has been the reflection of his own. He
+would tell you that when I was dying of shame and mortification I took
+myself by the boot-straps and pulled myself out of the abyss, and he
+would never believe it was the result of the philosophy he demonstrated
+by every word and act. He positively made me ashamed to do anything but
+respond. And now that I am out, he has fired me with a desire to use the
+years which remain in doing something for some one else. Can you wonder
+that I love him?"
+
+Marian's face reflected the pleasure his words gave her. "This is the
+real Philip Hamlen I have seen behind his mask," she exclaimed; "this is
+the Philip I tried in my mistaken way to rescue from the chaos of
+confused ideals. I failed but Mr. Huntington succeeded; my gratitude to
+him passes all bounds."
+
+"You must take some of the credit whether you wish to or not," Hamlen
+insisted. "When you invaded my Garden of Eden last winter and made those
+disturbing statements, you weakened the barrier of false beliefs with
+which I had surrounded myself. You could have restored the structure had
+I permitted it, but I wasn't ready for it then. You were entirely right
+when you said that I had forgotten the teachings of the masters I
+venerated, that I was blind to the difference between the means and the
+end. But, Marian--" for the first time his voice quavered--"that was
+before I had a friend! Think of living all those years without a friend!
+It was through your invasion that my horrible tranquillity was
+disturbed; it was through you that I met the one man in all the world
+who could take advantage of that condition to build a human structure
+upon such ruins."
+
+"Give me all the credit you can, Philip. I need it to help me to
+forget."
+
+"Tut! tut!" he chided her. "I may touch upon the past, but to you it is
+forbidden! Through you"--he went on--"I gained my friend, and, as if to
+demonstrate the philosophy he lives, in giving him to me you gained him
+too; for to your daughter is assured the most wonderful of
+companionships. Now, by the same token, in giving him to her, I shall
+expect the reward of being admitted to full friendship in this family
+whose members mean the world to me."
+
+"We already count you one of us, Philip, and we shall accept nothing
+less."
+
+"Then am I rich in friendship!" he exclaimed. "The law of compensation
+gives a greater joy of realization to one who has drifted than to him
+who has lived a normal existence: such a man is spared the depths, but
+he can never reach the heights."
+
+Two duster-clad, begoggled figures burst unceremoniously through the
+hallway onto the piazza where Marian and Hamlen had been scrupulously
+left alone by a comprehending family.
+
+"Well, I'm glad to find some signs of life!" cried a familiar voice.
+
+"Edith!" Marian exclaimed. "Where on earth did you come from? And Mr.
+Cosden!"
+
+"Connie and I crept up on the house to surprise you," she explained, as
+greetings were exchanged all around, "but we began to think the joke was
+on us and we'd struck the morgue by mistake. Where are the people
+anyhow? We can't stay but a minute."
+
+"Here we are!" Merry answered her, and as if by magic the entire family
+appeared from various directions.
+
+"Where did you come from, where are you going, and why can't you stay
+but a minute?" Huntington demanded of Cosden as he grasped his hand.
+
+Cosden grinned and looked at Edith.
+
+"Oh, go ahead and tell them if you want to," she remarked indifferently.
+"They're sure to find it out some time, and it might as well be now."
+
+"What in the world--" Mrs. Thatcher began.
+
+"We're married!" Cosden announced, his face beaming with happiness and
+satisfaction.
+
+"Yes,--that's right," Edith corroborated, seeing doubt in the eager
+faces peering at them, speechless with surprise. "I told you that if
+once I gave Connie half a chance he'd have me packed up and shipped
+before I knew it, and that's just what has happened!"
+
+"Don't apologize," Marian laughed, kissing her. "I think you've done a
+very smart thing to elope like this."
+
+"Good heavens, Connie, I never thought of that! An elopement for me
+would just be the last thing in the world! How can you call it that when
+there is no one to elope from but Ricky!"
+
+"Whatever you call it, I've got you!" Cosden declared, tapping his
+pocket. "The parson gave me a perfectly good bill of sale, and it will
+take some trying to break this contract. Now don't you try!"
+
+Thatcher was the only one who rose fully to the occasion, and as a
+result of his presence of mind the butler appeared with a bottle of
+Pommery from which he filled the accompanying glasses. After Thatcher
+proposed the toast to the happy couple, Huntington again raised his
+glass to Cosden.
+
+"Here's to Edith, God bless her!" he exclaimed.
+
+Cosden understood, and the spirit of mischief seized him.
+
+"How about that other toast we drank that night, Monty?"
+
+Huntington put his arm around Merry's waist and drew her closer to him.
+
+"It stands!" he replied with smiling defiance. "To Marian--little
+Marian--God bless her!"
+
+"You rascal! You slipped it over on me!"
+
+"Well, good-bye, people!" Edith interrupted.
+
+"Stay for supper," Mrs. Thatcher urged.
+
+"No; here it is five o'clock and the wedding breakfast hasn't been
+served yet. We're off!"
+
+"It is pitiful to see you kidnapped like this," Marian teased her.
+
+"Oh, well!" she looked slyly up into her husband's face. "Connie's not a
+bad sort as men go, and I'm game to take a chance."
+
+"Isn't she the best ever?" Cosden cried proudly. "I'm strong for the
+Benedicts and the Benedictines! Hurry up, Monty,--go and do likewise!"
+
+They were off like a whirlwind, then all returned to Hamlen on the
+piazza. The two boys had stayed with him while the farewells were spoken
+at the door. Billy felt a bond of sympathy at last, for he too had
+suffered from the perfidy of woman! Philip was genuinely fond of
+Hamlen, and the older man clung to his friendship with even greater
+tenacity since this return to his normal condition.
+
+"We are talking war," Hamlen explained to Marian as they returned to
+him. "These boys are eager to see what is going on over there."
+
+"So we've heard," she replied, smiling indulgently. "They have presented
+the case to us from as many angles as a certain manufacturer has
+varieties of pickles."
+
+"It would be a wonderful object lesson," Hamlen said meditatively. "Even
+to read about it makes our own troubles insignificant; what an
+opportunity, if on the spot, to give out from one's own personality, and
+thus demonstrate the teachings of the humanists in practical fashion!"
+
+The idea seemed to take possession of him, and his rigid figure and set
+features so clearly betrayed the workings of a strong emotion that no
+one interrupted him. At length he turned abruptly.
+
+"Huntington!" he cried.
+
+His friend stepped quickly to his side.
+
+"I believe this war was started especially for me!" he declared.
+
+"For you?" Huntington echoed, surprised.
+
+"Why isn't this my opportunity? Here I am, longing for the chance to
+express myself in doing something for some one else. I haven't a tie in
+the world to keep me from going over there. I have money which couldn't
+be devoted to a better cause, and I speak the languages like a native."
+
+"By Jove!" Huntington replied; "you've solved the problem! Be the first
+to endow a college unit, Hamlen, and let it be for the glory of
+Harvard. You can equip the outfit, select your professional corps, and
+go over with it to superintend the business end. It's a capital notion!"
+
+"I'll do it!" Hamlen said decisively. "With a definite purpose like this
+ahead of me, I'll shake this weakness in no time.--How about the boys?
+I'll need some chauffeurs."
+
+"Not Philip!" Mrs. Thatcher cried.
+
+"Let me have him, Marian?" Hamlen begged. "The personal danger will be
+slight, and I don't need tell you that I'll watch over him as if he were
+my own son."
+
+She looked appealingly to her husband.
+
+"I'd let him go," Thatcher said. "There's no chance for him to get
+started in business for several months yet, and I'm grateful to Hamlen
+for offering him this opportunity under such wonderful conditions."
+
+Philip pleaded. "You won't hold out now, will you, Mother?"
+
+"I can't," she answered soberly. "With your father's approval, and with
+Mr. Hamlen's assurances, I should surely be opposing Nature, shouldn't
+I?"
+
+Her question was put to Huntington, who understood it. He smiled
+approvingly.
+
+"Good for you, little woman," he whispered. "There are times when we
+must bow to something stronger than ourselves; this is one of them."
+
+"How about me?" Billy demanded.
+
+"I think I may promise to secure consent," Huntington assured him.
+
+"Come on, Phil," Billy seized his chum's arm. "Let's go out in the
+garage and practise on those cars."
+
+Marian disappeared within doors to quiet the apprehensions of her
+mother-heart; Thatcher drew a chair beside Hamlen's to discuss the war,
+which now assumed a personal interest; Huntington and Merry quietly
+slipped down the steps, and wandered through the formal garden to their
+favorite retreat.
+
+"Why not watch the sunset from the water-garden?" Merry asked.
+
+The sun set in proper and glorious fashion into the sea at the foot of
+the avenue of maple trees, but the successful completion of its task did
+not suggest to the lovers a return to the house. Still they sat on the
+curiously-cut stone seat, and told each other that story which is older
+than the stone, and which was first told long before Benten became the
+Goddess of Love. Twilight deepened into dusk, and stirred within
+Huntington's mind a quotation from a kindred soul who felt as he felt,
+but who couched his thought in more fitting words than he himself could
+choose:
+
+"I wonder if you love to listen to the music of the night as I do, dear
+heart,--with its space, its mystery, its uplift of spirit? It is written
+in the key of the ideal and in the cadence of the divine."
+
+"Oh, Monty!" she murmured contentedly, "I do; for it is written in the
+key of happiness, and in the cadence of my beloved's voice!"
+
+"You forgive me for being too old?"
+
+"Not too old, my darling,--just born too soon!"
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bachelors, by William Dana Orcutt
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BACHELORS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 33565.txt or 33565.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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